Aggressiveness may be costing Hall

© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2002

BOSTON -- Toby Hall usually isn't a hot April hitter.

Lately, he has been real cold: hitless in his past 15 at-bats, one hit in his past 23.

"Toby's chasing bad pitches," manager Hal McRae said. "He's an aggressive hitter, and he's feeding into what they're doing. And basically what they're doing is throwing the ball up and off the plate and he's swinging at it.

"Each time we play, everybody does the same thing. He's swinging at balls is what it amounts to. He's getting himself out. They're using his aggressiveness against him."

Hall wasn't too concerned even as his overall average dropped to .232.

"I can hit," Hall said. "This is just part of the game. I've got to stay aggressive; that's my game. Sometimes when you go into a funk it's because you're trying to do too much. And I think I'm trying to do too much."

Hall was scheduled to be off today, but McRae decided to rest him Friday given his struggles and John Flaherty's past success against Boston starter John Burkett.

STAYING CLOSE: Paul Wilson said there was a little, albeit very little, satisfaction in keeping the Rays in the game against the first-place Red Sox, allowing four runs (three earned) and nine hits over seven innings.

"I felt like I battled them good tonight, but I didn't battle them good enough," Wilson said. "I wanted to go back out there for the eighth but I'd gone over my pitch count (115). I think I did a fair job keeping us close. The one mistake hurt. I just couldn't finish.

"I wouldn't win a gold medal for this performance, that's for sure, but I probably would have medaled."

STREAKERS: It took a sixth-inning single that bounced through the middle, but Randy Winn extended his hitting streak to 12 games, matching his career high. The streak matches the seventh-longest in Rays history, six behind the team record by Quinton McCracken in 1998. ... Jason Tyner extended his hitting streak to seven games. ... Chris Gomez is scheduled to be off today with Felix Escalona starting at shortstop.

OH, THE MEMORIES: Fenway Park always will be special for Brent Abernathy, who made his major-league debut there June 25 and homered for his first big-league hit. "It was the first experience I had in the major leagues, so it's something I'll never forget," Abernathy said. "The way the crowd sounds. The way the clubhouse looks and feels. It was my first day, so it will always be special." ... Rookie Delvin James, who starts today, hopes his first experience is as rewarding. "I'm excited about pitching here," James said. "This is one of those ballparks you always hear about. I've seen it on TV plenty of times, but you don't get a feel for it."

CHILLY RECEPTION: It was snowing when the Rays arrived in Boston on Thursday night and 51 degrees when they started Friday's game.

The cold was eye-opening and bone-chilling, but McRae said the key was to not let it become an issue. "You're going to be cold whether you go 0-for-4 or 2-for-4, so you might as well have a good day," McRae said.

HOT HAND: Steve Cox delivered the Rays runs with a two-run homer in the eighth off ex-Ray Rolando Arrojo. With a 2-for-4 night, Cox increased his average to .348. His 10 RBIs are all in night games.

MINOR MATTERS: Durham second baseman Andy Sheets on Thursday had the first two-homer game of his 1,050 career minor- and major-league games. ... Bakersfield's Aaron Clark won California League Player of the Week honors after hitting .409 with three homers and nine RBIs. ... Bakersfield infielder Nestor Perez hit his first career homer in 1,700 minor-league at-bats.