Rays’ Balfour cools fire with ire

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Grant Balfour is unapologetic.

By his own admission, Tampa Bay’s hard-throwing reliever will say just about anything to talk himself into the right frame of mind to do his job.

And, if his shouting and swearing on the mound occasionally riles an opposing batter, then so be it.

“That’s what I’ve been doing all year long,” he said. “I’m not going to change.”

The ALCS-bound Rays wouldn’t have it any other way.

Balfour has had a career year while contributing to one of the biggest bullpen turnarounds in major league history. He also was instrumental in Tampa Bay breezing through its opening-round playoff series against the Chicago White Sox.

The right-hander appeared in all three games the Rays won, working 31‚Ñ3 scoreless innings for a spotless 0.00 ERA with one walk and four strikeouts.

He fanned the only two batters he faced after entering Game 1 with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, feeding off Chicago’s Orlando Cabrera, who took exception to Balfour’s bravura and exchanged words with the reliever.

Cabrera calmed down after being told that’s how Balfour motivates himself. But by then, the Rays pitcher was incensed.

“I thought he was trying to show me up,” said Balfour, who bailed Tampa Bay out of another tight situation in the sixth inning of Game 2, retiring Cabrera and Nick Swisher with a runner in scoring position to protect a one-run lead.

Considering the vital role he played in the first two victories, it seemed fitting that Balfour closed out Monday’s series clincher, fanning Ken Griffey Jr. to finish a two-inning stint and send Tampa Bay into the next round against World Series champion Boston.

Histrionics or not, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has an appreciation for the way Balfour approaches the game.

“I love it. That’s my style. I think he’s great for baseball. I think he shows people he wants to win. He shows people the enthusiasm of the game, the passion of the game. I don’t have any problem with that,” Guillen said. “That’s the way he is. I tip my hat to it, and people have to respect that. He’s not hurting anybody. He just shows people he wants to be there.”

Balfour’s conversations with himself on the mound haven’t been his only motivation.

He’s still upset that he didn’t make it through the final cuts of spring training and wound up spending the first two months of the season at Triple-A Durham, where he was 1-0 with a 0.38 ERA in 15 appearances.