Why did Crawford opt for surgery?

Carl Crawford is going under the knife.

Officially the word is 6 to 8 weeks recovery time after the subluxation of his right middle finger tendon is repaired.

The options, according to Rays Andrew Friedman, executive vice president of baseball operation, were simple.

1). Have the surgery and possibly miss the rest of the regular season.

2). Rehab.

The problem with rehab, according to Friedman, is that while rehab may have temporarily fixed the injury, it's very possible the same injury could reoccur and Crawford would end up in worse situation, needing a more serious surgery.

The timing, as all Rays fans know (and I know both of you are reading this), is terrible. Actually, it seems almost every other person now is a Rays bandwagon jumper, but it seems more about rooting for the small-market team than specifically for the Rays.

Folks are tired of the Red Sox and Yankees year after year.

The Rays are clinging to a 2 1/2 game lead after their 3-2 win over Oakland late Wednesday.

Good news of sorts from Rays Nation (OK, that's a stretch), is that rookie sensation Evan Longoria will likely just miss three weeks with the fractured right wrist, which if you know anything about wrists is, well, not too shabby. Seems like wrist injuries linger worse than a suitcase of limburger cheese.

Here's hoping the Rays have just enough fire power to make it to October.