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Rays Ready For A Break

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 14, 2008

CLEVELAND - In a job where you never go more than one day without reporting to work from mid-February through at least the end of September, a four-day stretch without a game can seem like an eternity.

Including spring training, the Rays have had a game 123 of the past 136 days, so it's fair to say everyone in the clubhouse Sunday afternoon was more than ready to take the next three days off before reconvening at Tropicana Field for a workout Thursday afternoon.

Players and coaches will scatter to various parts of the country, or just relax at home in Tampa Bay in some cases, with the hope that this chunk of down time will help prepare them for the second half.

"You turn your mind off a little bit, shut your body down for a couple days, and just clear it out a little bit," Manager Joe Maddon said. "I know it's just three or four days or whatever it may be, but it does matter - particularly at this juncture with what's been going on."

As expected, Carl Crawford got a head start on his break by sitting out Sunday's game. Stuck in a career-worst 0-for-25 skid, he welcomed the chance to get an extra day off when Maddon offered it up to him.

"The rest always seems to help, so you never know," Crawford said.

Crawford's last extended break came when he was suspended for four games in June. He hit .421 with four homers and 11 RBIs in his first nine games after that respite, and Maddon would like to see another run like that out of his left fielder.

"Whatever it takes to get him feeling really good in the second half, I'm all for it," said Maddon, "because obviously we're not going anywhere without him and B.J. Upton and the middle of that batting order doing well."

NO WORRIES: The Rays' offensive slide heading into the break hasn't prompted executive vice president Andrew Friedman to spend any more time on his cell phone than he already does.

"With the funk we're in right now, there is no one hitter we could go out and acquire that would make too much of a difference," Friedman said before Sunday's game. "We would need the Michael Jordan of offensive players right now."

Notwithstanding the fact that Jordan wasn't a very good hitter once he got around to trying it, the bottom line is the Rays don't feel like they have to make a move because they believe they'll get more out of those already on the roster in the second half.

"We're confident in the guys we have," Friedman said. "They've got an established track record that we're counting on."

STARRY-EYED: Though he has been in the big leagues for only three months, Evan Longoria figures he already has crossed paths with most of the All-Stars he'll be around the next couple of days.

"But it is going to be a different feeling putting on the same uniform as them and being in the same clubhouse," Longoria said. "Obviously there's a lot of big-name superstars and it's going to be cool."

Cooler still will be Tuesday's Red Carpet Parade, which will travel 18 blocks up Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and feature all of this year's All-Stars along with, at last count, 49 Hall of Fame players, including Tampa's Wade Boggs.

"You best believe I'll have a video camera, soaking it all in," Longoria said.

Dioner Navarro said there wasn't anything in particular he was most looking forward to about his All-Star experience, but he's eager to get there. Not as eager as his wife, Sherley, though.

"My wife already went to the beauty salon and started getting ready," a weary Navarro said Sunday morning.

REHAB WATCH: Maddon said there's a "good chance" Al Reyes will be ready to come off the disabled list Friday, but it may be a few more days before Troy Percival and Jason Bartlett join him.

Reyes had a 1-2-3 inning for Vero Beach on Sunday and is slated for one more rehab appearance today. He probably will take the roster spot created when Reid Brignac was optioned back to Durham following Sunday's game.

Percival likely will throw to hitters during the Rays' workout Thursday and could be activated by the weekend, while Bartlett's wait may stretch into early next week. Either way, Maddon said it seems likely all will be active at some point during the six-game homestand.

CAN'T COMMIT: Trever Miller's uneventful two-thirds of an inning Saturday marked his 116th consecutive appearance without recording a decision, tying ex-Ray Bobby Seay for the longest such run by any pitcher in the last 50 years.

Why is Miller so indecisive?

"You'll have to ask my wife," he said. "I couldn't tell you right now."

Marc Lancaster

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