Asked if the best therapy for Vazquez at this point would be a trade, Guillen didn't hesitate to answer.

"No, no matter if he's coming here or another place, he clears his mind up and shows people how good he is," Guillen said. "He is good. A lot of stuff didn't go his way. The last thing Javy can do is just think about what he did last year and in the past. He just has to continue to be what he can be. Hopefully he has better luck and next year in his stats between wins and losses.

"Because if you look at everything else, it's good. The only bad thing is winning and losing, and this thing is about winning and losing. That's the way I look at it. I think Javy doesn't have to worry about anything. Just erase this season and start a new one."

But is that possible?

"I think he should," Guillen continued. "If he doesn't, he's going to have problems for the rest of his life. He's capable of a tremendous season next year."

Vazquez's downfall down the stretch has been somewhat of a head-scratcher.

After emerging as the staff ace last season (15-8, 3.74 ERA), he started the 2008 season 6-4 with a 3.64 ERA into June. But the more pressure that built around the playoff run, the more he seemed to wither. That included an 0-4 record in his last four games -- including Game 1 of the ALDS -- with a 13.22 ERA.

Adding to his problems, Guillen had come out two weeks ago and said that Vazquez was not a "big-game pitcher." Guillen's hope was to fire up the laid-back veteran.

It obviously didn't work.

"I think he lost his confidence," Guillen said.

But Vazquez is still Sox property for two more seasons, and with the team carrying dead money into next year because of Jose Contreras' ruptured Achilles and Mike MacDougal's complete ineffectiveness, that already puts $12.6 million in the book for two pitchers who might not throw a pitch in '09.

"I felt good, but it's not happening right now," Vazquez said of his bumpy stretch. "Like I said before, it feels terrible not to help."

RAYS 6, WHITE SOX 2: A solo home run by Paul Konerko and a solo home run by Jermaine Dye -- and that was Sox baseball in a nutshell this season as the Rays wrapped up the Division Series. Four hits in the game wasn't going to cut it against a Tampa pitching staff that once again was masterful in handcuffing any sort of a Sox rally.

As for Gavin Floyd, who had been earning a reputation as the team's stopper, he just had an off day. He got behind hitters and dug a hole that his all-or-nothing offense couldn't get out of. Once the Rays got into the Sox bullpen in the fourth inning, the writing was on the wall.