The Rays won the AL pennant last year and they would have done it even without Jonny Gomes.

However, there’s not a chance they would have won it as colorfully if he weren’t around.

Gomes batted a dismal .182/.282/.383 in ‘08, easily the worst of his four seasons in St. Petersburg. He had only 11 plate appearances after Aug. 4 and was inactive for the entire playoff run. Therefore it came as no surprise that Tampa Bay non-tendered him on Friday, sending Gomes to free agency.

Non-tender is an excellent way of putting it because it’s very un-tender to cut someone who’s been with your organization since turning pro in 2001. And Gomes, despite a paucity of good statistics this past season, was important (yes, we’re stretching the word’s definition here) to the Rays rise to power in the AL East.

Gomes had a strong rookie season in ‘05, and owned the club’s record for home runs by a first-year player until some guy named Longoria came along. Gomes has struggled at the plate since, but he still has several mad skills that would be of use to a new ball club.

Perhaps Brian Cashman could sign him to a Yankees contract? If the New York GM or anyone else is interested in taking a further look, we’ve listed a few roles he would be able to fill for a major league squad:  

1. Celebration specialist: Nobody was more visible than Gomes as the Rays clinched a playoff spot, the AL East title, an ALDS victory and a World Series berth.

2. Shot pourer: Gomes had a special bottle of Patron at the ready when the Rays beat the White Sox in the playoffs. Joe Maddon drank some — of COURSE he did — and James Shields‘ esophagus might never recover. The tequila again surfaced after the ALCS.

3. Mohawk consultant: Gomes didn’t start the Rays’ odd team-bonding procedure of getting a Mohawk (or, as the term has been coined, a RayHawk) but his B.A. Baracus head was undeniably the scariest-looking of the bunch.

4. Basebrawl enforcer: Gomes was a supporting figure in the big Red Sox fight, but he ran the anchor leg of the brawl with the Yankees in spring training. If a team needs to involve itself in a solid bad-bloodletting, Gomes is a man you want on your side.

5. Athletic supporter: Gomes gave Major League Baseball its own version of the Stanley Cup by drinking Bud Light (nobody’s perfect) shooters out of Dioner Navarro’s jock.

Let’s make it a merry Christmas for Jonny. Let’s find him a new team.

You might remember that Joe Maddon pledged to find at least one Rays fan walking around Europe while on his honeymoon in November. 

Well, in a bigger upset than winning the AL championship with an up-and-coming squad, it turns out that Maddon’s search was a successful one. After spending three days in Rome, he and his new wife Jaye spied a young man boarding a train in Rome while wearing Rays gear.

Needle, meet haystack. 

"I said Jaye, I gotta go get this guy’s photograph," Maddon recalled at the winter meetings on Monday.

Maddon put the man’s name — Ryan Atwood from Tampa — into his iPhone and then retrieved it for those of us who asked about it. He also took a photo of Atwood, just as he said he would, but said the wayward Rays fan wasn’t aware of Maddon’s quest.

Nor did he seem interested in taking a picture of or with Maddon. 

"We just left it at that and we went our separate ways," the Rays manager said.  

All in all, a pretty fun and light story, which is why I left out the obligatory joke about there being more Rays fans in Italy than in the Tampa Bay area. 

Today’s Calls: Mike Singletary vs. the Refs, Lakers vs. Hawks, AI vs. CB, Ball State vs. BCS, FOX vs. ESPN, Tim Lincecum vs. Cy Young, Joe Maddon vs. Fredi Gonzalez, Stephen Curry vs. Turnovers and More.

The Opening Pitch: With no dominant story line this morning, we need some good ol’ manufactured debate:

— Mike Singletary should not be an NFL coach?!

— The Lakers are a failure if they don’t win 70?!

— You left Tim Lincecum off your N.L. Cy ballot?!

— Ball State has absolutely no claim to the BCS?!

— Stephen Curry should stick to shooting guard?!

There is one thing all fans seem to agree on: Charlie Weis is a truly terrible college football coach.

Discuss…

NFL: Now Mike Singletary and Mike Martz are blaming the refs. They didn’t know where the ball was spotted and the refs started the clock too quickly. They would be hilarious if they weren’t so sad. (No, seriously: Mike Martz heard about the issues shortly after the game after talking to ex-coach Mike Nolan, who alerted him to the issues. Huh?!)

More NFL: If it’s a weekday, T.O. must be griping. Get the ball in his hands? Sure: Just as soon as the Cowboys can find a QB.

Injury Watch, RB Edition: Steelers’ Willie Parker could play; Redskins’ Clinton Portis likely won’t; how many carries will new Bronco Tatum Bell get?

NBA Instant History: The Lakers are unstoppable.

Meanwhile, weren’t the Hawks supposed to drop off this year? Last year was a fluke, they lost Childress to Greece, the rest of the East got better, yada yada yada. … Atlanta is 6-and-freaking-0. (Al Horford wins Fantasy Stud of the Night: 27 pts, 17 reb, 6 blk, 3 asts and a steal. He out-boxscored Derrick Rose, who had 26 points, 10 reb and 6 ast.)

More: And there’s the AI the Pistons traded for (30 pts, 9 ast, 7 reb, in a road win at Sacramento). Meanwhile, the Nuggets are still unbeaten with Chauncey Billups running the team.

Deron Williams Makes Season Debut: His shooting touch wasn’t there (1/8 FG), but he had 9 asts, logged 31 minutes and the Jazz won.

Question of the Day: Is Greg Oden going to play at Miami tonight?

CFB: Give Ball State credit. They are still undefeated. They are climbing the rankings simply by not losing (while better teams do). They are taking advantage of national-TV time during midweek showcases.

But any talk of "BCS-buster" consideration is premature: I won’t buy it until they dispatch their closest MAC rivals — Central Michigan and Western Michigan — back-to-back in the next two weeks.

(Even then, they need both Utah and Boise State to lose — and does anyone think that a two-loss TCU or one-loss BYU wouldn’t clobber them?)

Is the BCS moving from FOX to ESPN? I think the better question is: Can ESPN use its leverage to get the BCS to change its format to incorporate some form of playoff? Otherwise, it’s more of the same.

Re: Ball State et al: Why don’t the non-BCS leagues come together to create an eight-team playoff, with the winner earning a BCS bowl bid? Wouldn’t that shame the BCS cabal into re-evaluating their system?)

Embattled Charlie Weis is going to call the offensive plays for Notre Dame vs. Navy: I think it is too little too late, with vastly more downside than upside for Weis: Another flaccid ND loss would leave Weis nowhere to hide. It is funny to see Notre Dame sympathizers finally come to the realization the rest of us had at least two years ago.

(Speaking of coaching changes, Jon Gruden says he isn’t interested in the Tennessee job. Vols fans should be happy about that; I think in this era, pro football coaches make terrible college football coaches.)

MLB Awards Season: Managers! Joe Maddon is a lock in the A.L., and anything but a unanimous decision would be laughable.

In the N.L., I’m partial to the way Fredi Gonzalez similarly did more with less (payroll) in Florida. (It’s hard to pick Piniella or Torre, given the level of payroll support they had.)

N.L. Cy: Tim Lincecum was the best and/or most valuable starting pitcher for a full season* in the N.L. And that’s as valid a reason as anything to make him the N.L. Cy Young award winner. (Enjoy it, SF fans: The Giants are going to throw him until his arm prematurely falls off.)

* — I will notch it as a moral victory that CC Sabathia came in fifth, receiving a single — perhaps symbolic — first-place vote. (Note: There’s no place for symbolic votes in sports awards.)

Every year, some voter makes news by doing something "outrageous" with their ballot — the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Chris De Luca didn’t even have Lincecum on his ballot (Webb, Lidge, Santana).

Most laughably, De Luca tries to justify his snub by citing criteria as debunked as win totals as a reason for discounting Lincecum. Why do reporters get to vote again? The BBWAA’s role in awards is a farce.

Hot Stove: Given that the Dodgers are willing to go up to $60 million to keep Manny, I’m not sure I buy the rumors the team will pull the offer off the table on Thursday if Manny doesn’t sign.

CBB: Another rout for Duke, with another 19-point effort from Kyle Singler, who looks like he is becoming the go-to guy on this team.

Stephen Curry Watch: He is my preseason pick for Player of the Year, but I’m not entirely sold on his move to PG. Per last night: Good news is Curry drained 41 points (15/19 FG, 6/9 3-pt) in a Davidson exhibition rout of Lenior-Rhyne. Bad news is he committed eight turnovers. … (Here’s a Must-Read profile of Curry by Mike DeCourcy, who also ranks him as the No. 1 PG in the country).

The Last Word: Told you yesterday about FreeDarko’s new must-have book about the NBA. SN now has excerpts — try before you buy!

Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.

Joe Maddon’s going and getting himself married this weekend. No word if Evan Longoria will reprise Vince Vaughn’s role, but Maddon and his wife are definitely headed for a European vacation after all is said and done. And at this week’s GM meetings, Maddon said his No. 1 goal of the journey would be to find at least one Rays fan walking around across the pond.   

From the Associated Press:

"I’m hoping to be recognized in Europe, because that would truly indicate that the Tampa Bay Rays have arrived on the continent," the 54-year-old Maddon said. "That was one of my goals prior to the season."

Maddon said he would love to place a Rays cap on the head of the statue of David.

"My main objective is to see somebody wearing Rays gear," he said. "So in one of those places, I want to see somebody wearing some form of it. And I shall take a photograph. I’ll ask that person to pose."

As an early wedding present, I’ve taken the liberty of creating a possible meetup with Rays fans over in Florence. Here’s wishing Maddon the best of luck — both with his second marriage and that search for the Rays fan. For the latter, he’s going to need plenty of it. 

Speaking of the weekend, I’m going to ‘Duk out early on this week for a little extended rest. So see ya either next Monday or when Ned Colletti finally loses it and offers Manny Ramirez a contract involving eight figures. Whichever comes first.  

Cue “Holiday Road”: Rays manager Joe Maddon is taking some time off for a 10-day European Vacation with his new bride. Contrary to the way you and I might think, his main goal isn’t to tour the Coliseum in Rome or drink absinthe in Prague or do whatever it is people do in Germany. No, he simply wants to see some Tampa Bay merchandise over there:

"My main objective is to see someone wearing Rays gear in either Italy, the Czech Republic or Germany. If I see that, I shall take a photograph."

And if Joe sees that, I shall be amazed. I’ve never seen anyone here in good ol’ US of A wearing Rays gear, let alone some kid in Stuttgart. Although, if they got Jay-Z to rock a Rays fitted, it would blow up overseas. I saw more Yankees hats during my time in Europe than I’ve ever seen in New York City. I also saw a man selling marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and mushrooms all at the same time. They have no respect for division of labor over there. Marxists.