MLB Notebook | Tampa Bay can't even win against a Ballard eatery

Attempts by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to change their Web address have run into a Seattle road block.

The D-Rays will undergo a major transformation next season, starting with their name. They plan to drop the "Devil" and become simply the Rays. In conjunction will be a new logo and new uniforms, as well as a new web address.

But apparently not the one they wanted.

The Rays' first choice, rays.com, is already taken by the landmark Seattle restaurant, Ray's Boathouse in Ballard.

According to Lori Magaro, marketing and public-relations manager for Ray's, which has been in business since 1939, the restaurant reserved the rays.com address 11 years ago and has been fending off attempts to claim it ever since.

"We obviously could have chosen raysboathouse.com, but most people call us 'Ray's.' It's short and to the point," she said.

"Over the years, a lot of people named Ray want to have it, as well as other businesses that are 'Ray's this' and 'Ray's that.' "

The upshot?

"We're not selling," Magaro said. "The headache — are you kidding me? There's so many things we'd have to change. It's perfect for us."

And for the Tampa Bay Rays, as well.

"Technically speaking, there haven't been any direct requests from the Devil Rays I'm aware of," Magaro said. "We've gotten e-mails seeing if we would be willing to sell the domain, but none identifying themselves as being from the Devil Rays."

Recent publicity over the name-change issue has increased the traffic at rays.com, which is just fine with them. Besides, Magaro says, the Ray's Boathouse people are all Mariners fans.

Other options for the soon-to-be-Rays, according to the St. Petersburg Times, are therays.com, raysbaseball.com, and tampabayrays.com.

As for rays.org, that's taken, too — by Renton Area Youth & Family Services, another Seattle-area address thwarting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 2,500 miles away.

Notes

• The Red Sox could have an interesting dilemma regarding Clay Buchholz, their 23-year-old rookie whiz who already has a no-hitter to his credit and has been excellent in setup relief, as well.

The issue is that Buchholz, through Friday, had pitched 148 innings this season between the minors and majors. The Red Sox have been adamant about holding him to a 155-inning limit..

That gives the Sox a mere seven more innings to play with from Buchholz as they attempt to hold off the Yankees in the AL East — not to mention the potential 19 games ahead of them in the postseason.

Considering the dubious state of their middle relief, especially Eric Gagne, it will be awfully tempting for the Sox to stretch the Clay Rules.

• John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times was the first to report that the Pirates have settled on a surprise choice as their GM: Neil Huntington, special assistant to Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro.

It probably won't be long before Shapiro's staff is raided again. Chris Antonetti, their 31-year-old assistant GM, is regarded as a prime GM candidate.

• Interesting paragraph from Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer in a story about former Phillies general manager Ed Wade beating out current Phillies assistant Ruben Amaro for the Astros' GM job.

Speculating about the possibility of Amaro succeeding Gillick as Phillies GM, Salisbury writes:

"Gillick, 70, is not expected to remain in Philadelphia beyond next season. He has been rumored to be in line for a high-ranking position with the Seattle Mariners after next season. Gillick has shot down that speculation, but people close to him insist there is substance to the rumors."

The rumors about Gillick returning to Seattle have been around all season. Earlier in the year, the Boston Globe, citing "scouts, GMs and other baseball officials," speculated that Gillick was being mentioned as the possible head of a group trying to purchase the Mariners.

Both Gillick and Mariners officials shot that one down. But with Gillick purchasing a home in Seattle last year, the rumblings about him rejoining the organization he served as GM from 1999 to 2003 seem destined to persist.

• Jim Thome plans to drive from his home in Peoria, Ill., to Cooperstown, N.Y., this winter, with his father, to hand-deliver to the Hall of Fame the ball he hit for his 500th home run.