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Upton Pays For Not Hustling On Ground Ball To Pitcher

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 7, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - CF B.J. Upton may have saved the day for the Rays with a spectacular catch on a long fly ball Tuesday night against Cleveland, but not running out a ground ball later in the game got him benched Wednesday.

"You just can't pick and choose when you're going to put your effort out there," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It has to be there all the time."

Upton hit a ground ball back to pitcher Edward Mujica in the eighth inning of the Rays' 8-4 victory. Assuming it would be an easy out, Upton didn't sprint toward first. But Mujica bobbled the ball and had to go to a knee before throwing for the out.

The play might have been somewhat close.

"It happened; it's over with," Upton said after Tampa Bay's 10-7 win Wednesday. "There's no need to dwell on the negatives. There isn't much I can say other than I guess I didn't run it out. The positive is, my legs got a day of rest."

Maddon said he told Upton after Tuesday night's 8-4 victory against the Indians he wouldn't start the series finale unless necessary but might play. Upton did not play.

"I had a meeting about this whole situation recently in Kansas City and without any gray areas told them exactly what was going to happen," Maddon said, referring to repercussions for not hustling.

After Akinori Iwamura failed to run hard on a bloop double by Upton at Kansas City on July 26, Maddon addressed the importance of effort with the team.

"When it comes to individual effort, it takes absolutely zero talent to try hard and play hard every day," Maddon said.

Upton's running catch Tuesday night of a bases-loaded drive by Ben Francisco to the deepest part of Tropicana Field was No. 6 on ESPN's Top 10 plays.

TRYING TO GET HEALTHY: LF Carl Crawford entered this season with four AL stolen base crowns and the second-most stolen bases in the major leagues (268) in the last five years.

But despite getting his 300th career steal July 7 against Kansas City, Crawford has registered only 25 steals this year, a fall-off he attributes to a continuously sore left hamstring.

Crawford said Wednesday his leg finally felt good for a few games recently, but it began bothering him again Sunday. That's why the team rested him throughout the Cleveland series.

"I just haven't felt comfortable stealing bases because of my leg," he said. "I haven't felt strong or fast or quick. You see me get picked off. I can't even be as quick as I want coming back to the bag."

Crawford said the problem is exclusively with his left leg, the one he is "most explosive with," and the ailment also has affected his balance while swinging. A .300 hitter each of the last three years (including a club-record .315 last year), he's batting .271 in 104 games this season.

Three days of rest has him ready for a 10-game road trip that will be played exclusively on natural grass, Crawford said.

"It's pretty tough to play on the artificial turf," Crawford said. "It grabs your hamstring every time you take a step."

About whether the turf at Tropicana Field is better or worse than the others, he said, "It's soft, but it's like walking on sand. It makes you work muscles that you don't have to work elsewhere or on natural grass."

ROCCO UPDATE: Maddon said the Rays have "pretty much" decided to add OF Rocco Baldelli to the roster but are waiting until there aren't any immediate needs because of injuries.

Crawford and shortstop Jason Bartlett (finger) could return to their positions tonight at Seattle. Bartlett was the DH Wednesday and went 3-for-4 with two doubles.

The Rays will face a tough decision on how to create a spot for Baldelli, who is traveling with the team to Seattle. Ben Zobrist, who was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, has had two productive games at the plate.

ETC. ETC.: The Rays took a series from the Indians for the first time since Sept. 27-29, 2005, at Cleveland and the first time at home since May 21-23, 2004. ... At 68-45, Tampa Bay is 23 games over .500, matching their high-water mark for the season and franchise history. ... Zobrist, normally an infielder, played center field for only the second time in his major-league career.

Tony Fabrizio

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