Even before Tuesday's road trip-opening loss, Rays manager Joe Maddon had seen enough from his slumping club to initiate the kind of understated action he prefers.
Maddon saw the Rays "gripping way too tight" as they tried to pull themselves out of last place, so he went to work.
During the course of the day, he checked in with each player individually, telling them to have some fun and not press so hard.
"Try easier," Maddon said, repeating one of his favorite mantras.
His message didn't have an immediate effect, as the Rays lost for the sixth time in seven games Tuesday night, so his charges took things one step further Wednesday afternoon. Just before batting practice, the players held a brief meeting that essentially amounted to a re-emphasis of that point in a group setting, with Carlos Pena serving as the keynote speaker.
"Joe's message to us yesterday was just to relax and try easier and play the game that we know how to play," said Evan Longoria. "I think Carlos just kind of backed that message. You can't control the outcome of the game, you can't control how you do. All you can control is how you prepare and the amount of fun you have playing the game and how you play it as a team. That's kind of the goal and the motto right now."
The Rays' record entering Wednesday's late game was 5-9, one game worse than they were through 14 games a year ago. Their place in the standings - last in the AL East - is the same as it was then. But, of course, the perception is far different for a team coming off an American League title.
"It's just one of those things where we've got to relax and do what we did last year to get back on track," said Longoria.
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