Maybe the devil wasn't in the details. It was the detail. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were baseball's worst franchise, a mess on and off the field. The Tampa Bay Rays, though, have never finished worse than 32 games above .500.

The nickname change last winter proved timely, but Tampa Bay's unlikely run to the American League East title was grounded in good business and good baseball.

Thanks to new ownership, new management and a new attitude -- and a slightly new name, it has to be said -- the Rays went from dismal to decorated in three years.

Many predicted this would be the season the Rays emerged from their tunnel of despair. Actually doing it is something else altogether. And the turnaround in Tampa hasn't hurt the Durham Bulls one bit.

Two summers ago, amid a disgraceful wave of arrests and suspensions involving players assigned to Durham by the Rays, no one would have blamed the Bulls for trying to get out of their affiliation agreement. Only two years removed from back-to-back championships, they missed the playoffs for the second straight year that summer.

Over the winter, the Rays brought a new coaching staff to Durham and manager Charlie Montoyo has taken the Bulls to the International League championship series two years in a row. Meanwhile, the Tampa roster is loaded with former Bulls.

While the 25-man postseason roster won't be announced until Thursday, as many as 14 on that roster will have spent significant time in Durham at some point.

Among the former Bulls who have been pivotal players in the title run are top rookie Evan Longoria, outfielder B.J. Upton and pitchers Andy Sonnanstine and James Shields, who will start Game 1 of the ALDS.

The Rays have clearly corrected the character issues in their organization, and that's paying dividends in both the minors and the majors. There were a handful of times this season when the Rays could have fallen off the pace, without shame or embarrassment. Instead, they held strong.

Who saw this coming? Just three years ago, the Devil Rays were a model franchise -- a model of how not to do things. With an out-of-touch ownership group and total fan disinterest, the smart money bet the Devil Rays would be contracted or moved before they made the playoffs.

Stuart Sternberg took over the team in 2005 and cleaned house. While the team was treading water for two seasons, his new front office was finally developing some of the talent the previous regime had been drafting.

This season, the Rays had a dangerous lineup to go with a strong, young pitching staff. This is a team that should -- emphasis on should -- be good for years to come.

With the Rays in the mix, this postseason is shaping up as one of the most compelling in years.

Lou Piniella's second year in charge of the Chicago Cubs resulted in the best record in the National League. A full century after the Cubs' last title, they're in position to break the drought.

The AL's best team, meanwhile, has flown under the radar out west, winning games with remarkable efficiency. The Los Angeles Angels are only six years removed from their World Series title, and while the national (and local) attention may go to the Dodgers, Southern California's best team plays in Anaheim.

A one-game playoff to decide the AL Central winner, the Milwaukee Brewers' first playoff appearance in 26 years, the Boston Red Sox losing the division to the Rays but looking to defend their title nonetheless -- there's quite a bit going on.

It never seems to work out that the AL and NL's best end up playing in the World Series, but there's a pretty good chance either the Angels or Cubs will be. The other team could be anyone -- and that includes the Rays.

For years, the Yankees and Red Sox treated the AL East like a two-team division, until the Rays crashed the party. And what a party it might be this October.

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