Brian Butterfield didn’t pick a winner in the Boston-Tampa Bay American League championship series.

But the recent inductee into the Orono High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays predicted a long series and said Tampa Bay’s dramatic turnaround hasn’t surprised him.

“It’s about time,” said Butterfield. “They’ve had the benefit of how many number one draft picks? This has been a long time coming. They’ve benefited from more number one picks and high draft picks than anyone in baseball, so they should be where they’re at.”

He said the two teams are evenly matched and Tampa Bay proved all year long they “aren’t intimidated by anybody. They have a great deal of confidence.”

He said the Red Sox have the biggest home-field advantage in baseball, but the Rays “think they can beat the Red Sox and that’s huge. That’s one of the keys. They should think that way. They’re good.”

The Rays went 2-7 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park but won two of the last three there in September. Tampa Bay won the season series 10-8, going 8-1 at home.

“But Boston is still Boston until someone beats them. It doesn’t matter who won the most games in the regular season,” said Butterfield.

Butterfield considers them to be the two best teams in the American League and said, “There’s a lot of things both can do [to win games].

“One of the underrated aspects is they can both catch the ball. Their outfield defense is great. In championship runs, you’ve got to be able to catch the ball,” said Butterfield. “You can’t give teams extra outs in the playoffs.”

He said both teams have solid pitching staffs and that the series will probably be determined by which team “can get key hits in key situations.”

Butterfield said the loss of third baseman and 2007 World Series Most Valuable Player Mike Lowell (hip injury) is a significant one for the Red Sox.

“He’s such a great player. That really hurts them,” said Butterfield. “But they’re lucky they have good depth. They can move people around. They’ve done a great job building that club and [manager Terry Francona] does a great job moving his players around.”

“If anyone can withstand an injury to Mike Lowell, the Red Sox can,” Butterfield added.

He expects both teams to be contenders for a long time based on the way they’ve constructed their teams.

“They’re built to last for a long time,” said Butterfield.

“This proves how tough our division is,” said Butterfield.

He added that the Red Sox did the right thing in trading malcontented slugger Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers in a three-team deal that included the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Red Sox got NL All-Star left fielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh.

“Unfortunately, nowadays, the players hold all the cards,” said Butterfield. “[Ramirez] wasn’t playing the game the way it should be played. He obviously wasn’t happy. He handled it totally the wrong way and that led to him being moved.”

Notes: Butterfield recently signed a two-year deal to remain with the Jays and manager Cito Gaston, who replaced the fired John Gibbons in June and retained three coaches, including Butterfield. … Bangor resident Matt Stairs will be involved in the National League series as he was traded by Toronto to Philadelphia late in the season. Stairs went 5-for-17 (.294) for the Phillies with two homers and five RBIs in 16 games. He hit .250 for Toronto with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 105 games. It will be his third playoff series as he has also played for Boston and Oakland, going 1-for-12. … Former University of Maine All-American center fielder Mark Sweeney has been left off the Dodgers’ playoff roster. The 14-year major leaguer, second all-time in career pinch-hits, hit a career-low .130 (12-for-92) and struck out 28 times this season. He hit .260 a year ago and is a career .254 hitter.