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Henderson: Upton Emerges As Motor Driving Rays

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

B.J. Upton, often criticized earlier this season, has been in the middle of several of the Rays' best moments in the playoffs.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 14, 2008

It's no coincidence that the Rays' offensive renaissance in postseason has coincided with B.J. Upton's surge.

After his big game Monday at Boston, Upton has five homers in seven postseason games with nine RBIs. His slugging percentage is a sick .839.

Not many teams can match that kind of production from the No. 2 spot in the batting order (although, to be fair, Boston's Dustin Pedroia has been outstanding as well). And with Akinori Iwamura getting on base the way he has – he's hitting .355 in the postseason – it sets up well for Upton, Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria.

Upton is swinging confidently again after battling a debilitating shoulder injury for much of the season. He has always had such a quick bat – often waiting until the ball was almost past him to uncoil, but the injury robbed him of that ability for much of the season.

Not any more.

His three-run homer in the third Monday off Jon Lester was a rocket. That's about as hard as a human can hit a ball. It totally turned the game, and perhaps the series, around.

It's especially significant considering Upton's problems over the summer. We all know what happened – he was benched, fans booed, he struggled at the plate. A lot of the criticism was deserved. Even in a game like Monday he had a base-running blunder.

He rounded second base too far, thinking he could run to third if Boston's Kevin Youkilis made a play to first on a grounder. Instead, Upton got thrown out when Youkilis threw behind him.

That could have been a critical mistake in a close game, but at least this was one of aggression.

"… It's a wonderful moment we're in right now, but this is just the beginning, and you have to - when you're building it, when you're putting it together, you really have to establish the core principles. And that's one of them," Rays manager Joe Maddon said of the earlier issues with Upton.

"B.J. understands that. He never made an excuse, never cried about it; more to his credit. Again, he's one of the more gifted young athletes - not just the American League - in baseball right now, and he's a wonderful young man on top of that."

Now he's at the heart of one of the best continuing stories that has ever played out on a baseball field.

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