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For Rays' Navarro, Rest Will Have To Wait

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By JOE HENDERSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 5, 2008

CHICAGO - It hurt just to watch Dioner Navarro try to play as the regular season wound down for the Rays. He could barely make it down the line on ground balls, and we can only guess at the protest his various body parts raised when he went into another crouch behind home plate.

"He's basically playing on all soul right now," Rays first baseman Carlos Pena said.

Here's a friendly suggestion, though. If you're talking with Navarro, don't bring this subject up! I speak from experience, because that's just what I did Saturday afternoon as the Rays gathered for an off-day workout at U.S. Cellular Field, the place where they hope to clinch a spot in the American League Championship Series tonight.

Navarro, a friendly ol' bear of a man, looked at me hard for a second, then laughed.

"I feel great. There's no pain, there's no soreness," he said.

Uh huh.

He melted a little.

"It's the playoffs," he said. "Call me a day after everything is over and I'll be pretty sore, but right now I feel great. There's no time to be tired now."

Navarro is correct on that point. He might be the Rays' most indispensible man at this most important time of their existence. Because of the infection that knocked backup catcher Shawn Riggans out, Navarro is playing without a net. He is backed up only by 30-year-old rookie Michel Hernandez - big-league experience: 10 games.

If Navarro is walking, or limping, or crawling, he's playing.

And he's not just playing, either. He has three hits in the Rays' first two playoff victories while continuing to establish himself as a standout defensive catcher and handler of pitchers. He has become exactly what the Rays believed he would when they acquired him in a trade from the Dodgers more than two years ago.

The road to get to this point, as we know, wasn't always smooth.

Became A Leader

Indeed, Navarro's transformation from punch line to irreplaceable is one of the better stories in a season filled with feel-good stories for the Rays. He was gosh-awful for much of last season, and even a good second half didn't do much to calm the fears. The Rays weren't sure whether they had a front-line catcher or a bust.

That was what Executive Vice President Andrew Friedman said to Navarro at a meeting at the end of last season.

"We had a pretty stern conversation with him. We let him know we had higher expectations for him. To be the starting catcher for us, with the young pitching we have and have coming, meant we'd hold him to a higher standard," he said.

"We laid out what we wanted him to do heading into this season and, to his credit, he did everything we asked him to do."

He became a regular in St. Petersburg during the offseason workouts instead of playing a full slate of winter ball in Venezuela. He got to know his pitchers better, on and off the field. He began to take charge of the staff, which was exactly what the Rays' brass wanted. And he stopped obsessing about his batting average, devoting most of his focus to the "catcher" part of his job.

The episode earlier this season where he jawed with Matt Garza got a lot of ink, but that was just one example of how Navarro took ownership of the position. The pitchers could see the difference right away.

"You could just tell from the start the way he was moving around, his energy and everything," starter Scott Kazmir said. "It goes just from body language, throwing down signs and stuff. You have to feel that confidence."

It was, as reliever J.P. Howell said, "night and day."

"Pitch-calling is his best asset right now," Howell said. "But it's really the whole package. He was really, really positive this year. He looked excited. That's huge for a pitcher when you're struggling out there and the catcher looks like he doesn't want to be there. He wants to be there."

Will Rest Later

Right now, he has to be there. Riggans isn't really close to returning and may not be available at all during the postseason, although the Rays still hold out hope he will be. Even if he could play (doubtful, folks), it probably would be only as an emergency backup.

Basically, this show is Navarro's. Catcher is the toughest position to play in the big leagues, and it takes a large physical toll, but with what's at stake there's no choice but to tape it up, ice it down, and keep going.

"Navi's not human, man," Pena said. "He's got the most incredible heart, you know what I mean? His body is pretty much spent, but he goes out there with incredible energy. Not only that, he delivers."

Of course he does. It's the playoffs.

There'll be time to rest up later.

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