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Upton Benching Is 'Ancient History'

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 8, 2008

SEATTLE - Joe Maddon expects the lesson to stick, but he had no interest in dwelling on his benching of B.J. Upton as the center fielder returned to the lineup Thursday.

"History," Maddon said. "Ancient history."

Upton took the same tack, saying he had learned his lesson after Maddon sat him Wednesday for failing to run out a grounder the previous day.

"It's done and over with," Upton said. "All I know is he wants us to run them out, so I'll run them out."

Maddon said he has had conversations before with players who have violated his basic tenets but felt it was necessary to take it an extra step.

"I don't want it to become a team-wide problem," Maddon said, "where you have more than one guy not hustling and all of a sudden it becomes OK to do it because he didn't do it."

Maddon was looking forward to watching Upton play Thursday night.

"I am not a grudge-holder, never have been," he said. "It's just a moment that had to be addressed; it's just like with your kids. I mean, you don't dislike your kids because you had to make them come home early because they broke curfew."

HEALTH WATCH: The Rays regained the services of LF Carl Crawford on Thursday after he sat out the previous three games with a sore left hamstring, but they were still awaiting SS Jason Bartlett's return to full health. And that in turn left Rocco Baldelli in limbo for another day.

Crawford said his hamstring is about "85 percent" healthy, but he'll have to deal with it constantly as an MRI exam revealed a mild strain.

Bartlett's severely bruised right index finger continues to give him trouble when he releases the ball on throws, and until that discomfort fades he'll be limited to hitting duties. His murky status has left Baldelli idle, as his activation from the 60-day DL is contingent on the Rays opening up a roster spot - likely by optioning out IF/OF Ben Zobrist.

Baldelli said being close enough to touch the field but unable to play isn't driving him too crazy.

"No, not really. I'm fine," he said. "I understand what's going on and I'm just hanging, waiting."

SHORT AT SHORT: Durham SS Reid Brignac was placed on the DL with a fractured left wrist.

Brignac had to leave Wednesday's game against Richmond after being hit in the hand by a pitch, and tests Thursday confirmed the fracture. Brignac will head to St. Petersburg to get checked out by a wrist specialist, and the Rays aren't sure how long he'll be sidelined. Depending on its severity, the injury could eliminate the possibility of a September call-up for the 22-year-old.

IT'S OFFICIAL: As expected, the Dodgers sold the Vero Beach franchise in the Florida State League to the Ripken Baseball Group - headed by Cal Ripken Jr. - with the Rays signing on as minority owners.

The Rays' FSL team will move from Vero to the new spring training facility in Port Charlotte beginning next season, and the team said it is considering adding a Rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate that would play there as well.

Marc Lancaster

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