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Navarro Doesn't Back Down

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 14, 2008

CLEVELAND - In attempting to get a read on where Dioner Navarro stands in the Rays' clubhouse, look no further than his face-to-face showdown with Matt Garza on June 8.

Rarely do defining moments in that nebulous concept that is clubhouse leadership play out in the public eye. But Navarro's actions that day in Texas and subsequent reactions from Garza, his teammates and his coaches left no doubt whose authority held sway that afternoon.

"It was something that he was very up-front and matter-of-fact about, conversationally," Rays manager Joe Maddon said of Navarro calling out Garza for losing control of his emotions on the mound. "He didn't pull back, and he followed through and did what he said he was going to do."

Navarro will make his All-Star debut this week because of the impressive offensive numbers and work behind the plate he has sustained throughout the season. But the underlying thread that ties everything together is one of the most assertive personalities the Rays have.

Though only two players in Tampa Bay's clubhouse are younger - Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton - Navarro has evolved into a take-charge guy, especially when it comes to his pitchers. That was the phrase Maddon used during spring training when talking about Navarro: His pitchers.

Every starting catcher is expected to exert a bit more influence simply because of the position he plays, but Navarro has embraced those responsibilities like never before in the first half.

"This year, I think everybody's tired of what has been going on in this organization for years," Navarro said. "It's a group thing that we're doing, and my job as the catcher is to take control of that moment - don't go too far, but don't be too far behind.

"I think I've been doing a pretty good job. I think everybody got to the point where they'd be, 'OK, Navi knows what he's doing, let's go with him. We trust him and we're going to follow his lead and he's going to guide us through the game, series, season, whatever.' That's the way I feel right now."

Navarro has reason to feel confident these days. All of the areas in which he can exert a direct influence - his own hitting, his own defense, and the overall performance of the Rays' pitching staff - are vastly improved from a year ago. And the work he has done to reach this point has garnered the respect of his teammates.

They watched him struggle through the first half of last season, hitting only .177 with 13 RBIs, then noticed how he pulled himself together for a strong second half and stuck to an offseason workout program that helped him report to spring training in much better shape.

"That impressed me quite a bit," Carlos Pena said. "That shows what kind of character he has."

While Navarro's body has undergone a bit of a makeover since last season, his personality remains the same. He leans toward the gregarious, isn't afraid to give anyone grief and rarely shies away from offering an opinion.

That last trait has helped endear him to Maddon and the coaching staff, who appreciate his willingness to take a stand.

"Absolutely - you want honesty, you want accountability, you want all that kind of stuff," Maddon said. "He really accepts criticism well. If we want to differ with the opinion, he doesn't try to make an excuse, he doesn't try to defend himself - he just listens.

"I've said that from the beginning about him; that's one of the major components about him that I love. He's not a crybaby, man. He comes to play, he doesn't make excuses, he's very calm about the way he plays and he's very confident."

That zealous commitment to following through on what he believes is right amounts to a bedrock principle for Navarro. He may be brusque in delivering his message, but he's far more concerned about making sure the message is received.

"I know for me, he keeps me on the same game-plan," Andy Sonnanstine said. "He doesn't let you stray. And if you do, he'll come out and let you know."

We've seen that already this season, and we'll see it again, if Navarro deems it necessary. For as much as he relishes collecting a couple of knocks at the plate on a given evening, his focus has to be on his pitchers first.

"It's easy when the guy's throwing three up, three down, three up, three down - that's easy for everybody," Navarro said. "But my job is to recognize and to let them know when they hang a breaking ball, they miss a spot on the fastball, whatever. I go, 'Hey, come on, man, you're better than that. You know you can do it better, so let's go.' Just letting them know, and that's my job."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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