Giving himself a break

Rays second baseman Brent Abernathy may need to ease up on himself to return to his solid form of last season.

By KEVIN KELLY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 27, 2002

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- He cares to a fault.

The losses, the disappointments, the personal struggles are compounded and magnified.

"It affects me off the field," Rays second baseman Brent Abernathy said. "I need to work on getting better on leaving my problems, our struggles at the field and forgetting about them, and coming back the next day to try and do something to help us win."

Abernathy had high expectations after experiencing a successful rookie season with the Rays in 2001, but little has followed the self-made script this time around.

"I think that I've pressed, especially being as young as I am (24 years old) and as inexperienced as I am (185 major-league games)," he said. "I got ahead of myself a little bit.

"I kind of need to take a step back and realize that I need to learn how to be a big-league second baseman first before anything else. That's kind of where I'm at right now. I need to get back to doing what got me here."

What got him to the big leagues in late June 2001 was steady, but not spectacular, defensive play and a reliable bat.

"It's making the routine plays and trying to be a spark in any way possible on offense," Abernathy said. "I'm the type of guy that needs to let the game situation dictate how I play and not try and do so much all the time. Certain situations call for certain things."

Inserted into the starting lineup after being recalled from Triple A last season, Abernathy batted .270 with five homers and 33 RBIs and had a .981 fielding percentage in 79 games.

Those statistics have dipped this season and compromised his position as the everyday second baseman. Rookie Felix Escalona likely will see the bulk of playing time the rest of the season in part because the Rays want to determine what level (minors, majors) might fit him best next season.

"I don't think that anybody would be here if they didn't have enough confidence in their abilities to say that they probably should be an everyday player," Abernathy said. "That being said though, I know there's a lot of areas that I need to improve on. I hope the struggles that I've gone through this year will make me the player that I want to be in the long run.

"I can always look back on this time and remember some of the things that I've learned. I've learned a lot more this year than I've ever learned in the game. Hopefully I can look back on this time and know that it made me a better player."

Abernathy is batting .235 with 16 doubles, two homers and 34 RBIs through 106 games played.

The cause for Abernathy's offensive struggles, manager Hal McRae believes, is that he is having trouble staying back on pitches and thinking more about where he would like to hit a pitch rather than just going with what is thrown.

"He's got some moxie about him ... and he's a heady player. You like that, and you can't take that away from him," McRae said. "At the plate he's probably been thinking too much. It helps to be able to figure things out. But sometimes we overthink. Once we become the lawyer representing ourselves, we seem to make mistakes.

"I think he was thinking too much because there was indecision at home plate and he was getting in between."

It's been a particularly rough few weeks for Abernathy.

He had the lowest batting average among the Rays in July (.191) and is 1-for-18 over his past five games and 18-for-114 over a longer stretch.

"I know I have the ability to hit .300 in this league," Abernathy said. "I've always been able to hit around .300. It's just a matter of relaxing a bit."

McRae hopes the time off, during which Abernathy continues to work with hitting coach Milt May and hone his fielding, will produce results.

"The waters should be clearer because he hasn't played every day," McRae said. "He's had a week or so to sit back, work, think about it. He's no longer in quicksand."

And that is how Abernathy prefers to look at this season. He can do nothing to change what has transpired in the first five months but can strive for a strong finish.

"I can turn this whole season into a positive, personally, by ending the season knowing that I was a better player than when I started and regaining the confidence in my abilities," he said. "I can work my tail off in the offseason and know that once Jan. 1 hits that 2002 is over with, and we can start fresh next year."