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Upton Back But 'Hesitant'

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By MARC LANCASTER The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2008

BOSTON - B.J. Upton was back in the Rays' lineup Sunday, but he wasn't quite himself.

For a guy who generates much of his power with incredible bat speed, Upton's cuts weren't terribly enthusiastic as he went 0-for-3 with a walk, two groundouts to second base and a strikeout.

"Probably in the back of his mind he really didn't want to turn it loose," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Upton admitted there "definitely" was "a little hesitation" on his part in his first action since leaving Thursday's game at Baltimore when he strained his left shoulder on a swing and miss.

"It'll come in the next couple days," Upton said. "It's just something I've got to get back into."

The good news was Upton didn't feel even a twinge of pain in his shoulder. Now he just has to get it into his head that that will be the case each time he swings. He believes getting into the controlled environment of Toronto's Rogers Centre will help - not to mention a regular round of batting practice, which he didn't have the last couple of days because of inclement weather.

"We'll definitely see what we've got then," he said.

ROUGH DAY: Perhaps some of the trouble could be attributed to Scott Kazmir's mechanical problems, but Shawn Riggans didn't have his best day behind the plate Sunday.

He was charged with two passed balls and the Red Sox scored on a wild pitch that nicked his glove.

"There's no excuse," Riggans said. "If it hits your mitt, you should catch it."

Adding to Riggans' misery, he also committed the Rays' only error of the series by firing the ball into center field while attempting to throw out Coco Crisp on the bases.

That fourth-inning play came on one of the five bases the Red Sox stole Sunday - the most for Boston since they swiped five July 3, 2002, against Toronto.

HE WUZ ROBBED: DH Jonny Gomes thought he had a double when he rocketed a Jon Lester offering off the Green Monster leading off the second inning, but third-base umpire Bill Welke disagreed, calling the ball foul.

Television replays showed the ball striking directly in the middle of the yellow foul line painted on the wall, which would have made it a fair ball, but no one in the Rays' dugout could see where the ball hit because of the angle of the stands down the third-base line.

"I heard it might have been fair," Maddon said. "I had no view of that."

INHERITING MEEK?: The Rays may get RHP Evan Meek back in their system after the Pirates designated him for assignment Sunday.

Pittsburgh selected Meek, who turns 25 next week, from Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft in December. He made nine appearances for the Pirates, posting a 6.92 ERA in 13 innings as he walked 12 and struck out seven.

Another team could claim Meek off waivers and would have to keep him in the majors the rest of the season or offer him back to the Rays, or the Pirates could work out a trade with the Rays that would allow them to retain Meek and send him to the minors.

Meek went 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA in 44 relief appearances for Montgomery last season.

NOTEWORTHY: 1B Carlos Pena's homer in the sixth inning Sunday was his first since April 12. The 18-game span between homers was his longest drought since he went 22 games without a longball from Sept. 4-28, 2003. ... RHP Gary Glover, who was placed on the disabled list Friday with shoulder tendinitis, flew home to St. Petersburg on Sunday to continue his rehab.

Marc Lancaster

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