The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays season was the 11th season in franchise history, and the first season in which they were known as the Tampa Bay Rays, formerly being known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This was the third season with Joe Maddon managing the club. After being plagued by futility as the Devil Rays, amassing just a .398 winning percentage over their first 10 years as a franchise and finishing in last place nine times, the team finished their first season as the Rays with a 97–65 record to win their first American League East division title. In the postseason, they beat the Chicago White Sox three games to one in the ALDS, and beat the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS to advance to their first World Series in franchise history. They would go on to lose to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. Summary Spring training The Rays, with their off-season acquisitions and continued prospect development, fostered high hopes both within the organization and from analysts for the team to perform well during the 2008 season. Their performance on the field during spring training justified those hopes. On March 23, they won their team-record 15th spring training game, and finished with a record of 18–8 with two ties and two cancellations due to rain, along with having the highest winning percentage of all teams in spring training. There were lingering questions, however. Ace pitcher Scott Kazmir had been dogged with arm soreness all spring, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 21. He was expected to be ready in early May. Ben Zobrist, who had been groomed for a super-utility role, suffered a broken thumb during the second week of spring training. Rocco Baldelli, after missing most of the 2007 season with a hamstring injury, was sidelined indefinitely due to chronic fatigue believed to be caused by mitochondrial disease, and placed on the 60-day disabled list just days before the start of the season. Elliot Johnson, an infielder prospect on the 40-man roster who spent the previous season with the Durham Bulls, made headlines during a game against the New York Yankees when he crashed into Yankees prospect catcher Francisco Cervelli in a play at the plate. He was tagged out, but the collision led to Cervelli breaking his wrist. While the Yankee organization said