Rays' party bubbles over

At $45 per bottle, G.H. Mumm's Brut Champagne ain't exactly Andre.

Considering the Tampa Bay Rays powered through 206 bottles of the stuff within minutes Monday night to celebrate their ALDS triumph - and precious little bubbly went down the Rays' throats - there's money to be wrung out of the visiting clubhouse's carpet.

The Rays went so wild so quickly after their 6-2 victory, perhaps mimicking their ascent from last to first in the American League East, that the stench of champagne could be smelled 10 yards beyond the clubhouse doors.

"We've got to celebrate until we can't celebrate anymore!" exclaimed Rays first baseman Carlos Pena, wearing goggles to try to escape the stinging liquid.

Then there was elder statesman Cliff Floyd.

While his teammates - a few of whom were in third grade when he broke into the bigs with Montreal in 1993 - jumped around and screamed in the middle of the room, Floyd found a dry spot near the door leading to the dugout.

That lasted only so long until teammates raced over and doused the 35-year-old Chicago native.

It didn't deter the ex-Cub from explaining why the youthful Rays are 4 victories away from their first World Series appearance.

For example, how did the youngsters respond to the challenge that Rays manager Joe Maddon trotted out on the first day of spring training?

"Guys woke up," Floyd said, "and started to realize that, 'I may not know what the (heck) it means, but it means something good.' You know what I mean?

"And it worked. We stayed focused. We stayed consistent. We stayed comfortable. We stayed confident. Everything positive. You didn't hear one negative thing in here."

That might explain Game 4 hero B.J. Upton's calm response when asked about the three times Maddon benched him in August for lack of effort.

"I forgot about August until you just brought it up," Upton said. "My thing is helping this ballclub win games. Whatever happens, once it happens you put it behind you and you move on. That's kind of what I've done."

Then Upton smiled.

"I don't even remember August," he said.

Maddon, meanwhile, offered kind words about the 24-year-old Upton that doubled as a warning for the rest of the American League.

"He responded great (to the benchings)," Maddon said. "Didn't make excuses, didn't push it off on someone else. And he is really making a difference right now.

"And like I said, he is going to keep getting better. This is just the beginning for a lot of our guys -"

Just like the postgame clubhouse revelry was just the beginning of the Rays' Monday night adventures.

"I can't wait to get on this flight to see what this plane ride's going to be like," Upton said.