Yet, Maddon is going to be 59 years old heading into the 2013 season, which presently makes him the seventh oldest manager in baseball. Even though he signed a three year extension to manage the Rays through 2015, one has to wonder how long Maddon will want to continue to manage. He would be 61 at the end of the contract, and may decide to follow other pursuits.

Presently, the Rays have Dave Martinez as their bench coach. A former outfielder who spent 15 seasons playing for nine different teams, Martinez is highly regards amongst baseball circles and is expected to be a future manager. Already, he had been interviewed by the Houston Astros, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Cleveland Indians for managerial openings, but had been bypassed for other candidates.

Recently, older managers have taken on coaches who they have tabbed as their successor upon retirement. Joe Torre did this with Don Mattingly initially with the New York Yankees, then later with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bobby Cox had been grooming Fredi Gonzalez to take over as manager of the Atlanta Braves upon his retirement before Gonzalez became manager of the Florida Marlins. Once Gonzalez was fired from the Marlins, it appeared to be inevitable that he would take over for Cox, which occurred for the 2011 season. Since firing Terry Francona, the Boston Red Sox have been trying desperately to bring back John Farrell, who they likely considered the heir apparent should Francona leave.

Could the Rays take the same approach with Martinez, and make him the heir apparent to Maddon? Martinez has been with the Rays since October 11, 2007, which coincided with the Rays beginning their run of success. He knows the clubhouse, the culture, and the players; and even more importantly, the team knows him. The Rays players and front office know what to expect, and he would help bring continuity to a team that have flourished under Maddon’s watch.

Should Dave Martinez continue to be bypassed for other managerial openings, he may well end up as the next manager of the Rays when Maddon determines that it is time to move on.

“I wish I wasn’t a free agent. Definitely I want to be back. I’m wishing, I’m hoping, I’m praying that I can come back here. This feels like home.”

“I want what I deserve — I don’t want more, I don’t want less. So it’s up to them. I’m cheap. They can afford me.

The Rays would be ecstatic to have Peralta back as the 36 year old has led the team in appearances the past two years while pitching effectively, and he has been a key part of the back of their bullpen, even filling in capably as closer when Kyle Farnsworth went down in September of 2011. If Peralta is willing to stay at a modest salary, say 3 to 3.5 million after he made 2.17 million this season, the Rays have to sign on. Peralta is one of the older relievers who the Rays found off the scrap heap and managed to get good value from, but unlike a guy like Farnsworth, he hasn’t had the slightest whiff of an injury the past two years and has been one of the Rays’ most dependable relievers. Peralta wants to come back, and it makes sense for the Rays to oblige if the price remains low.

In the same article, Topkin also talked about how the Rays’ coaching staff looks to remain the same for 2013, with the qualifier that bench coach Dave Martinez is a candidate for managerial positions. Joe Maddon returning was obviously a given and Jim Hickey was as well as he’s one of the best around as well. He did an excellent job this season working with four rookie and sophomore starters in Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, and Chris Archer, and although all four had their struggles, all of them showed significant improvement over the course of the season. The biggest question mark may have been hitting coach Derek Shelton as the Rays offense struggled mightily this season, but the problem is personnel more than anything, especially considering the injuries the Rays endured. Hopefully the Rays are healthier in 2013 and their offense performs better, but if it struggles again Shelton might be done.

Now to Dave Martinez. Martinez was a finalist for the Astros’ manager job before it went to Nationals third base coach Bo Porter, and Topkin pointed him out as a possibility for the Colorado Rockies, where Bill Geivett, a former special assistant to the general manager for the Rays from 1997-1998, is Director of Baseball Operations. Martinez is a great baseball guy and clubhouse presence who is a valuable asset for the Rays, but best of luck to him as he interviews for managerial positions.

@evan3longoria is the man (in case you didn’t already know) and Fernando is the new rays leader for saves!! He is overnasty (shieldsism)

— David Price (@DAVIDprice14) September 28, 2012

Star players are defined by stepping up in BIG moments.No one in #Rays history has done that better than @evan3longoria!

— TK (@TampaBayTK) September 28, 2012

With three games left against the collapsing White Sox followed by three against one of the teams they’re chasing, the Orioles, whom they now trail by exactly three games, the Rays may yet get that “baseball miracle” I said they would need last week when declaring them “effectively out of the hunt.” – Cliff Corcoran of Sports Illustrated

That’s kind of a joke. Rodney used to pitch for the Tigers but wasn’t that great for them. He closed one year for them, saved 37 games, but with a 4.40 ERA. The Tigers let him walk and he signed with the Angels, where his ERA was 4.32 the past two seasons. He had more walks than strikeouts for them last season. Of course they let him walk. Why wouldn’t they? And now he’s put together one of the great relief seasons in history. How do you explain this? You can’t…..As our pal Jonah Keri said, in reference to Rodney’s infamous post-save celebrations: He is an arrow-firing cyborg. That cyborg is a reason the Rays are still alive. Very much alive. — David Shoenfeld of ESPN’s Sweetspot

“I think we’ve kind of gotten used to the idea of not being able to control things,” Evan Longoria said. “The lack of pressure of playing from behind is more familiar to us. It gives us a little extra drive, determination.” The Rays were answering questions Thursday about last year’s amazing comeback, because Friday is the one-year anniversary of Game 162, and Longoria’s wild-card clinching home run. ”I remember crossing the plate, and seeing the unbelievableness, if that’s a word,” he said. ”Myriad of emotions,” Maddon said. “Within minutes, going from losing to winning to celebrating.” Now, incredibly, they’re setting up for what could be another crazy finish. — Danny Knobler of CBS

@evan3longoria wow!!! Huge win right there Longo with a huge hit(shocker) and kimbo now the saves leader! Lets play some BAALLL #162strong

— Chris Gimenez (@ChrisGimenez5) September 28, 2012

One down, six to go!Wanna see the playoffs soooo bad!!!

— Jeff Keppinger (@JKeppinger) September 28, 2012

That a boy goldy!!!! @evan3longoria. We’re still here and LET’S PLAY SUM BAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL! @davidprice14

— Ryan Roberts (@rroberts19) September 28, 2012

Absolutely unbelievable. It was pandemonium in Rays Nation on Thursday night, and hopefully this is just the start.

In less happy news, Roger Mooney had the scoop that Jose Molina could miss the rest of the Rays’ series with the White Sox with a right quad injury

We’ll close with a quote from Dave Martinez on not getting the Astros’ manager job and a couple of awesome stats about the Rays this year.

#Rays Dave Martinez says no hard feelings on not getting #Astros job: “I know one day I’m going to manage.”

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 27, 2012

#Rays on Weds. notched 58th game in which they struck out 10+ batters, breaking MLB record of 57 by ’03 Cubs

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) September 27, 2012

Shields & @davidprice14 are only 7th set of teammates to have consecutive 200+ K seasons. Others include Koufax/Drysdale, Johnson/Schilling.

— Jonathan Gantt (@Jonathan_Gantt) September 26, 2012