They dropped their gloves, tossed their caps, ran in from the outfield and flung themselves into a pile near the pitcher's mound as if this were the start of the 100-meter butterfly.

The Tampa Bay Rays, exuberant and champagne-soaked, now have to leave the partying behind and concentrate on baseball.

Manager Joe Maddon gave his newly crowned AL champions the day off yesterday to allow them to recuperate from their fourth celebration in the past month and begin to turn their attention to the Philadelphia Phillies and Game 1 of the World Series tomorrow night.

"This is a good day for recovery. Time to get the emotional drain out, take a day off and let it all sink in," said Matt Garza, who pitched the Rays past Boston in Game 7 of the AL Championship series Sunday night. "Tomorrow we'll come back and get to work."

Rookie left-hander David Price, who got the last four outs of the ALCS, spent part of the day at Legends Field in nearby Tampa, where he introduced Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

"It's been a whirlwind," Price said, adding he got about four hours of sleep. "It took a while to wind down."

The young Rays celebrated at home after clinching the first postseason berth in franchise history.

"It's getting a little more real. But it's very surreal for all of us," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

The Phillies, who wrapped up the NL pennant last Wednesday, had to wait four days to find out who they would face next.

"It takes a lot of the wonder away. Are you going to Boston? Are you going to play Tampa?" slugger Ryan Howard said.

It took about five hours to clean up the mess left behind after the Rays' clinching 3-1 victory over the Red Sox.

The grounds crew, meanwhile, worked diligently to remove ALCS logos from the field before the Phillies arrived for an evening workout at Tropicana Field.

"We left around 5 a.m.," equipment and home clubhouse manager Chris Westmoreland said, adding that there were 15 to 20 workers on standby to scrub and vacuum the carpet and remove plastic covering lockers after the celebration carried over into early yesterday.

"I want to get used to it," Westmoreland said. "I want to have one more here."

RAYS FAVORED IN SERIES

Las Vegas sports books favor the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies and would owe huge payouts if the American League champions prevail.

Oddsmakers say enough bettors took the Rays early in the year at long-shot prices to force books to adjust lines to encourage bets on the Phillies.

Sean Van Patten at Las Vegas Sports Consultants says the Rays are favored at minus-$1.35, meaning a gambler would need to bet $1.35 to be paid $1 if Tampa Bay wins.

Van Patten puts the Phillies at plus-$1.15, meaning a $1 bet would earn $1.15 if Philadelphia wins.

"What we're also trying to protect here is even more Tampa Bay money coming in," Van Patten said. "What we're trying to do is maybe get a little buyback on the Phillies."

Las Vegas Hilton race and sports book director Jay Kornegay says before the start of the season the Rays were a 200-1 shot for the title.

The Rays were slightly pricier at the Hilton at minus-$1.40, with the Phillies at plus-$1.20, Kornegay said.

ALCS GAME 7 A HIT

Game 7 of the AL Championship Series drew the most viewers in history for a baseball game on cable television.

Nearly 13.4 million people watched the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1, on Sunday night on TBS, the network said yesterday. That broke the mark set by the 1998 Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game on ESPN in which Mark McGwire hit his 61st home run to tie the single-season record.

Game 7 earned a 7.9 rating, with the series averaging a 4.6. That's up 64 percent from last year's NLCS on TBS — Colorado's sweep of Arizona.

ELSEWHERE

Orioles: Baltimore released pitcher Adam Loewen and outrighted five other players to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles outrighted right-handers Randor Bierd and Rocky Cherry, infielder Brandon Fahey, outfielder Jeff Fiorentino and catcher Omir Santos to Triple-A Norfolk.

Cubs: General manager Jim Hendry and Chicago agreed to a four-year contract extension through the 2012 season, a deal that would expire well after new owners are expected to take over the club.

Dodgers: Los Angeles has declined a $5.5 million club option on shortstop Angel Berroa, instead opting for a $500,000 buyout. Berroa, who becomes eligible for salary arbitration, earned $4.75 million this season.

Athletics: Oakland and second baseman Mark Ellis agreed to an $11 million, two-year contract. Ellis batted .233 with 12 home runs in 2008.