Rays
Pitchers Do Job At Plate, Too
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Published: May 17, 2008
ST. LOUIS - The Rays' pitchers are at it again.
Building on a 2007 interleague campaign in which they collected eight hits as a staff - the most ever for an American League team - Andy Sonnanstine singled in the first two trips to the plate by a Tampa Bay pitcher this season.
It was a good start for a group that hopes to live up to its impressive work at the plate last summer. Rays pitchers hit .364 (8-for-22) with four RBIs in 2007 after collecting only six RBIs in their first nine seasons combined. All six Rays pitchers who had an opportunity to bat last season recorded at least one hit, with Sonnanstine and J.P. Howell tallying two apiece.
Much of the credit at the time went to pitching coach Jim Hickey, who instituted a schedule in which pitchers began to take batting practice more than a month before interleague play, with the frequency of those sessions increasing as the first trip to a National League park drew closer.
The Rays have followed the plan this season. But as Jason Hammel noted, the primary goal isn't to put up good numbers at the plate but rather to keep pitchers from hurting themselves - literally - by swinging from the heels the first time they get a chance.
"You can't expect pitchers to just be pitching, pitching, pitching and then go up there and grab a heavy bat and start swinging and expect them to be OK," Hammel said. "It's helped with being physically prepared and having the mind-set to do the right thing in the right situation. I mean, we're going to be bunting most of the time unless we're leading the inning off. In that case, we're swinging at the first pitch as hard as we can."
Sometimes it works, as Hammel can tell you. In his only career at-bat, last June 18 at Arizona, he doubled. So he has not only a 1.000 career batting average but also a nifty 2.000 slugging percentage.
That would be a pretty good line for posterity in the Baseball Encyclopedia, Hammel admitted.
"I would hope that my career is far from over, so I will have a few more at-bats in there," he said. "But I'd love to sit on 1.000; Babe Ruth never did that."
A DIFFERENT GAME: The loss of the DH this weekend means the Rays probably will get only one at-bat per game, if that, out of Cliff Floyd.
Manager Joe Maddon said he won't put Floyd in the field even for a brief stint. The 35-year-old came off the disabled list a week ago after missing a month following minor knee surgery.
"We'll use him as a pinch-hitter right now; we're covered everywhere else," Maddon said. "I don't think it's appropriate right now to push him into a defensive position."
Forced to choose between Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross as his starter in right field, Maddon went with offense over defense and tabbed Hinske for Friday's series opener.
BARTLETT RETURNS: SS Jason Bartlett arrived at Busch Stadium about 21/2 hours before Friday's game and was in the starting lineup after missing Thursday's game to be with his wife.
Kelly Bartlett is expecting the couple's first child and she began having contractions Thursday, even though the baby isn't due until July 6. Bartlett said Friday that his wife is doing fine and resting at their home in St. Petersburg. Her mother flew in from New York to help out in the meantime.
FARM FACTS: Columbus OF Emeel Salem, who last week was named the Rays' minor-league player of the month for April, won't be playing again for a while. The speedster broke his left elbow on a headfirst slide while stealing second base Wednesday and faces an extended absence, potentially missing the rest of the season.
Salem, the Rays' sixth-round draft pick last year out of the University of Alabama, was hitting .301 in 38 games and led the minors with 25 stolen bases (in 30 attempts).
PROCEDURAL MOVE: RHP Juan Salas, who has been on the restricted list after reporting late because of visa problems, must be reinstated to the 40-man roster today. The Rays have three open 40-man spots, so they won't need to move anyone out to make room for him.
Salas will then be optioned to Durham to continue getting up to speed. He already has pitched in three games for the Bulls, allowing five runs in six innings on what was considered a rehab assignment.
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