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Pena's Approach Is Simple Enough

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 19, 2008

Updated: 08/19/2008 12:15 am

ST. PETERSBURG - What a story it would have made.

If we could only write that Carlos Pena took a look around the Rays clubhouse, populated by so many wounded and limping residents, and made a solemn vow to put the team on his back until order was restored.

After all, he has been among the hottest of Rays the past couple of weeks. He had four home runs in the last five games of the recently concluded road trip. He has 14 home runs since July, tied for third-most in the majors.

This, at a time when the likes of Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford have taken their place on the disabled list.

It's the stuff of Hollywood. The Rays most definitely hitched a ride on the Pena Express.

"He has kind of said, 'Jump on, fellas, and I'll take you there,'" teammate Eric Hinske said.

Alas, Hinske speaks only figuratively. The vow never happened.

Quite the opposite, actually.

"That would make sense for people to think that way, but you have to be a little bit tougher mentally than that. How do you help? You want to help the ballclub out? OK, keep it simple. It's almost backward. Human nature sometimes doesn't serve you well," Pena said.

"I understand that we went through some adversity, but talking to Cliff Floyd one day, I was asking, 'What do we do now?' He said, 'You can't go out there and try harder. That is the worst thing you can do for this team.' And he's right. If anything, make it even simpler. It sounds funny, but it's the truth, man."

It's also the truth that his swing has begun to look just like that beautiful precision motion that launched 46 home runs last year. He has 25 now, after a slow start.

"You've got to lean on your big boys when times are tough," Hinske said.

Wisdom Of Pete Rose

So much was expected from Pena this season following his stunning 2007 campaign. He was the American League Comeback Player of the Year following his 46-homer, 121-RBI season. He was rewarded with a three-year, $24.125 million contract.

Expectations can become a problem if you try too hard to live up to them, though. That's what seemed to happen here. Pena lost his way for a while in the first half.

"We all told him we weren't looking for him to put up the kind of numbers he had last year," bench coach Dave Martinez said, but Pena had to first convince himself to relax and focus on going after pitches he could drive.

"We could come up with a million different reasons for the struggles and they'd be mostly true, but it comes down to human nature. It gets the best of us sometimes. You can't have that in this game. You almost have to be cold-blooded," he said.

"If it's rain, sunny, cloudy, stormy, you do the same thing. You make adjustments, but it's through the same approach. I read an interview with Pete Rose and he said those who keep it simple the longest have the best careers. That is genius."

Sounds, uh, simple.

It isn't, of course.

"You know, there are six months in a season," Hinske said. "Carlos has been a slow starter sometimes, but he's really seeing the ball well right now. You can tell by the way he's taking walks. They throw him off-speed stuff or balls in the dirt and he just doesn't offer at it."

Confidence Is High

Losing Longoria and Crawford from the middle of the lineup could have been devastating. It would have been for a lot of teams.

"He has been most vital," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He hits big home runs that get us going, put us over the top. He's a threat every time he's up there. You can see it in his face right now. He is very confident right now. It's probably the most confident I've seen him since last season."

The reason for that confidence?

Well, you know.

"Let me tell you what it's all about. Everyone in here, when we walk through that door, we ask ourselves, 'What can we do today to help the ballclub?' You can come up with a million answers - I want to get a big hit, or pitchers might say they want to pitch a great game. But when you get rid of all the gibberish, it all comes down to one thing: How do you do it?" Pena said.

"For me, that means having a great approach at the plate. See the ball and keep it simple. So how can I serve my team? Do that. Keep it simple."

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