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Navarro Has Clicked When Rays Needed Him

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 25, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Thomas Edison, one of the truly great inventors, said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."

Dioner Navarro, poster catcher for the new, improved and accountable Rays, might amend the percentages to include ... humiliation.

"I can't even put in words what it was like," Navarro said Saturday before the Rays thumped the Orioles. He was talking about the first half of last season. At the All-Star break, he was batting .177, nowhere close to his weight.

"It was real bad. I was sort of lost."

And now he is found.

"It just clicked," Navarro said.

Few Rays have clicked like Navarro since July. Since that All-Star break, he's batting better than .300 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs. This season, he's hitting .350, tops among major-league catchers.

A lot of Rays hit Saturday in a resounding 11-4 win before 30,445 resounding fans at the Trop. The leading clubbers were Evan Longoria (two homers, six RBIs), Carlos Pena (three hits, three RBIs) and B.J. Upton (four hits, two RBIs). But Dioner Navarro rescued the Rays early this season, while other bats hardly stirred.

It just clicked.

There's Time To Grow

His work with the bat isn't even the real revelation. It's Navarro's work behind the plate that is turning heads, along with his attitude and energy.

Who is that masked man?

"He's turned it way up. You can feel it," Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir said.

And to think it started at batting practice just after the break. Navarro's slump was so epic he was hearing boos at home games. He kept trying teammates' bats.

"I went through a lot of guys' bats," Navarro said with a smile.

Then Greg Norton handed Navarro his lumber.

"It felt so weird," Navarro said. "The barrel was smaller, the handle was thicker, but I started hitting bombs."

He tinkered with his stance. He concentrated on hitting liners and working the opposite field.

"But that really is just the start," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He kept growing."

Remember, Navarro is just 24. There's time to grow.

This offseason, he worked hard in November and December, months he usually took off. He's not necessarily leaner, but he's meaner. His teammates noticed. They saw him work on his catching, on learning both batters' tendencies and the Rays young starters. Veteran relievers Troy Percival, Trever Miller and Dan Wheeler have helped Navarro up the learning curve. But it started with him.

"I had to step up," Navarro said.

He has stopped taking bad at-bats back behind the plate with him. He has probably blocked more balls than he did all last season. He is getting better at calling games, anticipating his pitchers and breaking down situations. Don't think the early success of Rays starters doesn't have some Navarro in it.

"He's taking a lot of pride in his catching," Percival said. "He's taking a lot of pride in his pitching staff. It's good to see from a young guy like that, because you get out there and all they want to worry about is their hitting. He's not doing that. He is thinking behind that plate."

Here's what Navarro thinks.

"I want to be part of this."

Some Moments To Remember

Every Rays player remembers the extra-innings win in Toronto, when Navarro, with the potential winning run on third in the 10th, blocked a succession of nasty sliders in the dirt from reliever Dan Wheeler before Wheeler escaped the jam.

And there was the other night in Oakland - another Rays win. Athletics reliever Joey Devine was protecting a 1-0 lead. He blew away B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria. But Navarro, the new Navarro, got ahead in the count, then fought off some fastballs before going the other way with a liner to left, which was misplayed for three runs by Oakland left fielder Emil Brown.

"Sometimes, you get lucky," Navarro said.

You know, he just might have deserved it.

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