After an 0-for-21 start this spring, the Rays first baseman has one hit in each of his last three games, including a single Monday against the Red Sox, to raise his spring average to .100.
While you don't have a lot of hits, you've actually had a lot of good at-bats. Are you satisfied with where you are right now?
"I'm very happy where I'm at. Where my intent is, where my approach is and then the way I feel, it's right where I want to be. My focus right now is to put the barrel of the bat on the ball with a pretty good swing. It's putting a very solid swing at the pitch I'm looking for. We still have 10 days left to progressively work into that comfort zone."
What's the most difficult part of spring training?
"Just getting in the box where you say, 'OK, I'm comfortable here.' I think that's the most challenging thing of the whole spring, getting comfortable, and I feel I'm right where I want to be at this point."
How do you go about getting comfortable?
"Self control. You got to factor in being able to stay calm, trust yourself. That's the stuff that takes time in the spring. Not so much your swing. It's more trust in your eyes, what you see is what it is. The intangibles, things you can't really put a finger on, that feel."
You faced left-hander Brian Shouse in the sixth inning. Why?
"(Bench coach) Dave Martinez asked me before Shouse came in, 'You want to face him?' Yeah, I want to face him. I want to put myself to the test. I hit that ball (a ground out to second), not pure but pretty decent. That's what I'm looking for."
You broke two fingers on your right hand last September, an injury that required surgery. Is that an issue?
"No, I feel great. You look at the last three games and I'm hitting .333. I'm raking."
Roger Mooney
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