TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Reyes Hopes To Come Back Strong

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Even with the occasional bumps in the road, Al Reyes appreciates how good he has had it this season.

'It was a little bit of a surprise for me - after being around for a long time, I got the shot to be a closer for a major-league team,' he said Saturday afternoon. 'I'm very happy with the way I came back this year after missing last year, and this year I've been pretty much healthy the whole year.'

That's saying a lot for a 37-year-old who missed all of last season after undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery. The only hiccup in his campaign was a stint on the disabled list for a mild rotator cuff strain that caused him to miss only 11 games because it was wrapped around the All-Star break.

He calls that 'minor stuff' and revels in the fact that his elbow feels '100 percent' and has passed every test he has thrown at it, including pitching three consecutive days and working more than one inning in an appearance.

'After this season,' he said, 'I'm going to work hard to get the elbow stronger to be ready for next year and come back stronger.'

The Devil Rays still must pick up Reyes' option for 2008, which will pay him about $2 million after he hit various incentives this season. But that will be an easy call to make even if the veteran is taking nothing for granted.

'I hope they pick it up,' he said. 'They gave me the chance to prove I'm healthy and show them I can do the job.'

With 24 saves in 28 chances, Reyes has done that far more often than not even after his slip-up Saturday night. It remains to be seen whether he'll be back in the role he has embraced this season, but even if he isn't the Rays know they'll have a reliable, bargain-priced setup man.

'If it was up to me, yeah, I'd like to close,' Reyes said. 'But as long as I help the team win, I'm fine with that.'

He'll be even better if wins ries are more plentiful in '08.

'This team is going to get better next year,' he said. 'Hitting is no question - we score a lot of runs. But pitching, we got experience this year, the young guys, and they're going to be better.'

AN EDGE AT LAST?: The Rays have never beaten today's Red Sox starter, Tim Wakefield, at Tropicana Field, but they're hoping their most recent showing against him represents a new trend.

The knuckleballer is the all-time wins leader against the Rays with 19, and he's 9-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 19 games (13 starts) at the Trop. He has allowed one run in 13 innings in two starts there this year.

However, the Rays got to Wakefield for seven runs on 10 hits in three innings at Fenway Park on Sept. 11 and will be looking for a repeat today.

'I think the fact that we did well against him last time matters,' Rays manager Joe Maddon said. 'It matters in regard to what he's thinking and it matters in regard to we know that we can do it now - although it wasn't in this building, with the air conditioning currents as they are.'

LINEUP SWITCH: With Carl Crawford and Brendan Harris still sidelined and his offense slumping, Maddon tried to change things up Saturday by moving Jorge Velandia up to the second spot in the order.

Velandia entered the game hitting .566 in six starts since being called up from Durham.

'I just wanted to get Velandia up there,' said Maddon. 'What I was looking for was to get somebody on base in front of Carlos Pena, which has been Carl obviously. As long as Jorge's doing as well has he has been, I thought I'd like to just see what that looked like.'

Marc Lancaster

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT