Ump's strike zone rankles Vaughn

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 24, 2002

[Times photo: Michael Rondou] After an 0-for-4 night, Greg Vaughn gets tossed by Bill Welke in a disagreement over a called third strike in the seventh.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Slumping at the plate and unhappy with the calls he was getting, Greg Vaughn's frustration bubbled over Tuesday.

The Rays designated hitter was ejected by home-plate umpire Bill Welke for arguing a called third strike in the seventh inning. It was the third time Vaughn had struck out looking in four at-bats.

"I just don't think it was fair in the way my at-bats went as opposed to the way he was calling the game for other guys," Vaughn said. "That's my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he thinks they were strikes. He called them, so that means he feels that way."

Second on the team in strikeouts (23) and batting .129 with five RBIs through 70 at-bats, Vaughn said he watched video replays of two strikeouts and felt both third strikes were inside.

"I take full responsibility for the way I've been playing and the way things have been going," he said. "I give those guys (umpires) the respect. But at some point, fair is fair.

"If they're calling the same pitches on them, I would expect I've got to go up there and swing the bat. I'm covering two sides of the plate and down. Maybe it's just a bad day for me. But enough is enough."

RETURN TRIP: It's back to the majors, and the bullpen, for right-hander Travis Harper.

The Rays purchased Harper's contract from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday after left-hander Tom Martin was put on the 60-day disabled list with an undetermined rotator cuff injury.

Harper, who started four games at Durham this season, will be used as a long reliever.

"I'm ready for anything," he said. "However they want to use me. I've been starting down there (in Durham), but it doesn't matter."

The Rays No. 5 starter at the start of the 2001 season, Harper was 1-2 with a 6.98 ERA at Durham this season, allowing 15 runs in 191/3 innings.

"Especially the last outing and the outing before that, I threw the ball very well," Harper said. "I think my command has been pretty good. I've not been getting hurt with walks or anything like that. I've been around the plate most of the games."

FAMILIAR FEELING: The moment he threw a fastball to Baltimore's Jay Gibbons in the ninth inning Saturday, Martin knew he had injured his left shoulder.

"My shoulder got real hot," Martin said. "It felt like it was a burning sensation. That's usually not good."

The prognosis isn't.

Martin is out for at least two months because of an injury to the same shoulder he had arthroscopic surgery on in 1999. An MRI was performed Monday, and team physician Koco Eaton examined him Tuesday.

Martin, who allowed three runs in 12/3 innings since joining the team April 15, will begin a two-week rehabilitation program, then be re-evaluated.

GIFT GIVING: Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski fouled off 20 of the 33 pitches he saw in four at-bats, including 13-pitch at-bats off starter Joe Kennedy and reliever Steve Kent.

"I don't know what I was doing," said Pierzynski, who lives in Fort Myers during the offseason. "Kennedy kept throwing strikes. It was funny. The guys were all on me. My family was making fun of me. I hit one to my cousin. I was trying to hit a foul ball to every fan."

ODDS AND ENDS: Second baseman Brent Abernathy returned after sitting out one game because of tendinitis around his left kneecap. ... Left-hander Wilson Alvarez, on the 15-day DL with a muscle strain in his ribcage area, threw his second long-toss session and could get some work off a bullpen mound this weekend in Boston. ... Steve Cox and Randy Winn have nine-game hitting streaks. It's a career high for Cox, whose homer in the third was the first by a Rays No. 3-5 hitter in 213 at-bats. ... The Twins placed David Ortiz on the 15-day DL with a sore left knee and recalled Matthew LeCroy from Triple-A Edmonton after the game.

-- KEVIN KELLY

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