Winn wants to prove he's up for long haul

Centerfielder wants to win starting job, put erratic '01 behind him.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 19, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Most days last season, Randy Winn was a pretty capable outfielder and productive hitter for the Rays.

It was the other couple days each week that were in question.

Given his first opportunity for extended playing time, Winn last season established himself as a legitimate major-leaguer. Now having apparently won the starting centerfield job, he wants to show that he can do it day after day.

"I think he proved not only to us but to himself that he's a major-league player, that he has what it takes both physically as well as mentally to handle the major leagues," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "The next step is whether he can establish himself as an everyday player at the major-league level. And the way things have unfolded in spring training, it looks like he'll get that opportunity."

Winn, 27, came to camp hoping for that chance, so much so that before he stepped on the field, he stepped into manager Hal McRae's office to tell him how he felt.

"We had a lot of guys in camp, we had a lot of young guys and we signed Troy O'Leary, so I was just curious what his thinking was," Winn said.

"I said I felt that I had a good year, I thought that I proved that I could produce, and I told him I wanted to play every day. He said I would have to show him, and I said okay."

McRae was equally blunt.

"I told him how I felt, and he said he's better than that," McRae said. "He has to prove that he's an everyday ballplayer, and that takes time to establish that. I don't think he's established in anybody's mind in major-league baseball that he's an everyday ballplayer. He says that he is, and if he plays well enough he'll get an opportunity to establish that."

Winn has made a strong bid this spring, hitting .367 and playing solid defensively. But the long regular season will be what matters.

McRae's concern last season was that Winn's performance would drop after he played too many days in a row. A 25-for-62 stretch to start July was followed by a 2-for-20 skid; a 12-for-26 August streak was followed by a 4-for-23; an 8-for-14 September burst was followed by a 1-for-15.

One question is whether Winn is wearing down or being exposed by opponents. Another is whether the dropoff is in stamina or concentration. "We never know if it's physical or mental, but we see a different focus," McRae said.

Winn said the coaches weren't seeing the big picture.

"We'd have discussions about that and he'd say, "Oh, you look tired,' and I'd say, "Okay, I might be struggling at the plate, but how do I look on defense? I'm still running balls down and cutting balls off. I'm not tired. I'm just struggling at the plate.' So we'd go back and forth. And if that's his opinion, I want to change that opinion."

Winn already has had some success changing people's minds.

When the Rays took him from the low end of the Marlins farm system with the 29th of their 35 expansion draft picks, Winn was projected as a base-stealing, slap-hitting, bunt-dropping leadoff type.

Instead he got bigger and stronger and turned into a different player, one who can hit the ball into the gaps and out of the park, drive in runs from the No. 5 and 6 spots in the order, steal a limited number of bases and make an impact defensively. In what amounted to two-thirds of a season last year, Winn had 25 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 50 RBIs, 12 steals and 12 outfield assists. He hit .273 overall, though he was much better right-handed (.306) than left-handed (.259).

"Leadoff was okay, but I guess people had this perception and expectation for me," Winn said. "For a while I changed my game to try and be that person. In 1999 (former manager Larry Rothschild) came up to me and said, "Hey, I want you to take pitches and I want you to see pitches.' So I did that, and it didn't result in a high average, but I did see a lot of pitches. So I can do that, but I like to be a situational hitter."

All indications are that Winn will be in centerfield when the Rays open the season at Tropicana Field two weeks from today. But that doesn't mean the situation will have changed. McRae will watch Winn closely, planning to rest him regularly (with Jason Tyner and, if he makes the team, Jason Conti available to play center) and occasionally moving him to rightfield and using Ben Grieve as the DH.

Some scouts say Winn, who will make $960,000 this season, would be best cast as a fourth outfielder on a championship-level club, and there likely will be some trade rumors. Winn said he appreciates the assessment, but after last season's success he wants to be in the lineup every day.

"I was happy with last year, happy I got the opportunity, happy I was able to produce," Winn said. "But I still want more."