Shelton gets a spark, but it has to last

ST. PETERSBURG Hitting coach Derek Shelton was asked Saturday about the speech he gave during a hitters only meeting before Friday's game with the Red Sox.

"What speech?" Shelton said as he breezed through the Rays clubhouse before the game.

What speech? The man is being modest, because if the Rays offense finally finds second gear and generates runs on a consistent bases, and if that production helps the Rays return to the playoffs, than that meeting might be seen as a pivotal moment for this season.

"It was motivational as well as instructional," Ben Zobrist said.

How so?

"I'm not really good at details," Zobrist said. "I just know at the end of it I told him I felt I could punch through a wall."

Punch through a wall?

"To get Zoey to the point where he's ready to punch a wall it had to be outstanding," manager Joe Maddon said. "It was Patton-esque I'm certain."

Zobrist didn't punch any walls Friday. He just hit a second inning grand slam, the Rays first bases-loaded blast of the season. He also drew a bases-loaded walk the following inning.

Both are examples of Shelton's message – have productive at-bats.

The Rays certainly did that during their 9-6 win.

B.J. Upton singled to center to score one run. Sam Fuld, the No. 9 hitter, singled home another run. Fuld was on base for Zobrist's grand slam because he was able to drop a sacrifice bunt in front of the plate that was botched by Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

For the Rays to continue winning this season, and win at a pace that will take them past the Yankees or Red Sox and into the postseason, they have to do little things like draw walks, move runners, single to center with runners on first and second.

Sure, grand slams and two-run homers, which Casey Kotchman delivered in the sixth inning, help, but the Rays really aren't built for power.

"We have to scratch things out. We have to find different ways to score runs. We have to make sure when we do have the opportunity to add on runs we do that," Shelton said. "Our offense is not built like New York's, like Boston's, like some of the other clubs, so we have to find different ways to score runs. We also have to be consistent with the ways we're doing it."

Much of the talk during the All-Star Break was the need for the Rays offense to join the fight. Shelton said that concept isn't anything new. He's been trying to get the troops moving toward that direction all season.

The problem is he's working with a roster dotted with young, inexperienced players, and young, inexperienced players often find themselves getting away from the game plan when things get tough.

"It's a matter of, as our younger players get experience, they have to realize that at times they have to get out of their own personal comfort zone to make sure team-wise we stay consistent," Shelton said.

The Rays are deep enough into the season where inexperience is no longer an excuse. Shelton's message was along that line. It's time for them to stop talking about having more consistent at-bats and start having consistent at-bats.

Friday's win was an example of what the offense can do when it works the count, when there are productive at-bats up and down the lineup.

We've seen this before. We've seen hitters get, as Maddon likes to say, toasty.

"That's the thing," Shelton said. "We see signs of it, and then we see it go the other way."

No team can eliminate those times when it goes the other way, but they can limit them, and that's what the Rays are aiming to do during the final months of the season.

Johnny Damon said the fate of the Rays rests with the offense.

"I don't know if it's all up to us, but we're at the point where we need to improve," Shelton said. "It can only help."