Shields' 2010 goal: Finish what he starts

Unless he goes the distance tonight against the Orioles in his final start of the season, RHP James Shields will fail to throw a complete game for the first time in his young major-league career.

That's a shortcoming the 27-year-old is committed to avoiding in 2010.

"I don't know if it was the confidence or what it was that Joe (Maddon) had in me, but it seemed like I was getting taken out of every single game this year, and I wasn't able to finish innings," Shields said. "Those things happen. This season was really weird for me. Next year, one of my main goals is to finish my outings."

Asked if he plans to talk to Maddon about being pulled from games prematurely, Shields said, "Oh no, it's nothing against him or anything like that. It's just I don't think I got the job done the way I wanted to this year."

Shields cited his second start of the year, April 12 at Baltimore, in which he was pulled after 88 pitches with a three-hit shutout through seven innings. Maddon recalled that the Rays had a big lead (9-0 en route to an 11-3 win).and he thought it best to preserve Shields' arm.

"Everybody's got a different ceiling for me," Maddon said, "and the fact (Shields) has had such a tremendous body of work over the last three years (more than 260 innings, counting the 2008 postseason), maybe I might be a little more careful with him."

Shields (10-12, 4.17 ERA) will complete the season with the fewest wins, most losses and highest ERA of his three full seasons. His 233 hits allowed are the most in the AL, but his 2.2 walks per nine innings are seventh-fewest.

He threw three complete games and two shutouts in 2008.

"Hopefully, I can end this last little outing on a positive note going into the offseason," Shields said. "Either way, I'm going to go into next season with a positive attitude."

Odds and ends

With SS Jason Bartlett getting the night off, CF B.J. Upton batted in the leadoff spot for the first time since Aug. 2. Maddon said although Upton has batted near the bottom of the order for most of the past two months, his days as a leadoff hitter might not be over. "B.J. could be a leadoff hitter, he could be a two-hole, three-hole, four-hole, five-hole hitter," Maddon said. "He could be anything from one through five, no doubt in my mind." ... Maddon said RHP Jeff Niemann, who has shown signs of fatigue in two of his past three starts, will probably make his final start Saturday against the Yankees. "I really want him to go out there and pitch somewhat tired mentally and try to take a different approach into the game," Maddon said. "At this point in the year, you look up at the scoreboard and if it doesn't say 93 (mph), you don't have to try to have the next pitch say 93. Just pitch."