Consensus: There's no place like dome

Kevin Youkilis, sporting some leather after yesterday's workout, said of The Trop, ''It's a different atmosphere.'' (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tropicana Field is a little different; beloved by some, derided by many, a place where cheerleaders dance on dugouts, mascots race golf carts, cowbells clang, catwalks hang, balls go up and sometimes never come down, rock music induces headaches, and live Cownose rays swim just beyond center field. They play baseball there, too.

The assault on the senses makes the players who call it home proud and makes visitors uncomfortable. Purists dread the stadium's idiosyncrasies; fans revel in its cacophony. The building, nearly 20 years old, feels alive sometimes, as if taking on human qualities - it can be playful, ashamed, and, apparently, self-conscious.

"Well, you know," Rays outfielder Fernando Perez said. "The dome has feelings."

When the American League Championship Series commences tonight between the Red Sox and the Rays, Tropicana Field will face more scrutiny than ever before. The dome's oddities, quirks easily brushed off when the Rays languished at the bottom of the AL East, may help decide a World Series berth.

A ball may bounce off - or lodge in - one of the four catwalks helping support the 8-acre Teflon roof. A pop fly may disappear from an outfielder's view, blending into the white ceiling. A message may be lost between infielders, the ear-splitting noise making communication a distant hope.

You thought Tampa Bay simply making the ALCS was unbelievable? Just wait.

"For the Rays, just getting here might not be the most interesting thing that's going to happen," Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes said. "In a seven-game series, we could see some crazy bounces. It's going to be interesting."

As the Rays emerged this season, Tropicana Field confounded visitors. The Red Sox went 1-8 there, playing in front of frenzied crowds filled with Rays fans for the first time. The Rays went 23-3 at Tropicana Field when more than 30,000 fans attended.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon said he liked the atmosphere at The Trop now more than in its moribund past. Manager Terry Francona enjoys the view from the dugout and thinks the clubhouse is one of baseball's best. "A lot of people complain about this building," Francona said. "I don't know that I'm one of them." Not all of the Red Sox share his affection.

"It gets a little crazy," infielder Kevin Youkilis said. "Mascots driving around. It's a little different at Fenway and Yankee Stadium. There's no mascots, cheerleaders on the dugouts. To me, I think it's unprofessional. Most places, when fans are hitting on top of the dugout, security makes them stop doing that. It's kind of a little unprofessional.

"It's a different atmosphere. It's one of those atmospheres where they have to draw in fans. In Boston and New York, they get fans automatically. Here, they have to address the fans some way, somehow."

Campy as it may seem, at least the Rays can claim their park has some atmosphere now. Drab colors and empty seats for years siphoned life from the stadium. A heckler who sat behind home plate could be heard from center field.

It started changing three years ago, when owner Stuart Sternberg bought the team. He loved the "More Cowbell" skit from "Saturday Night Live." The Rays began playing the skit on their video board. The team implored fans to bring cowbells to the game, and this season they staged Cowbell Giveaway Night.

In an effort to alter the franchise's identity, the Rays dropped "Devil" from their team name before the season and changed team colors. Out went the dull green. Seats and walls were painted sky blue.

"They've actually done a pretty good job of making this into a baseball stadium," Francona said. "Catwalks aside."

Ah, yes. The catwalks. They built the place in the late 1980s, before weightlifting and performance-enhancing drugs gave rise to cartoonishly long and high home runs. The park was built with a major league baseball team in mind. They needed a roof because of the region's blistering hot and wet climate, and they decided catwalks and steel beams would be foolproof.

"I remember reading somewhere the architects said they should not be in play at all," Rays vice president of stadium operations Rick Nafe said. "Maybe back then, we didn't have the type of guys hitting like we do now. I walked through, looked up, saw it, and said 'We'll see.'

"They're big and round. And unfortunately, two of them are now in play with the bigger, stronger batters."

They are called the A, B, C, and D rings, lettered from inside to outside. The A and B rings are in play - balls that bounce off them are live but can be ruled foul balls, and balls that remain stuck in them are ground-rule doubles. The C and D rings are not in play - balls that strike them are home runs or foul balls, depending on where the ball makes contact.

In a September series, two balls lodged in the catwalks - Jason Bay's homer in the C ring, David Ortiz's homer in the D ring.

"Hopefully the catwalks don't come into play, or if they do, it's not a controversial play that can affect the outcome of the game," Francona said. "That's one of the concerns that I'm sure nobody wants to have happen."

The Red Sox play nine games here each season, but "when you're on the away team, it's a little bit of extra mysteriousness," Perez said. Chasing fly balls requires staring at the ball the entire time, not sprinting, head down, toward a spot to catch it. The oddly angled lighting may affect a visiting player at the wrong time in the wrong way.

Said Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia: "It's a little different. We understand what this place is. You've got to accept it and go out there and try to win games. If there's a high fly ball, you may have to run and catch it off that bar.

"It's a part of the game here. Hopefully, we hit that bar and it bounces in front of them."

Nafe understands the potential for that happening, and the potential for a ball off a catwalk to spark a massive controversy. He feels the rules are equal for both teams, that the catwalks will not decide the series, even if they may be a factor.

"The people that bellyache most about it are visiting radio announcers," Nafe said. "They always have to comment about it. I know it looks kind of funny-looking. Would we prefer not to have them? Absolutely. But it's what we have. It's what our home is."

Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore@globe.com