DEWON'S WILD RIDE: Dewon Brazelton insisted it was a rookie mistake that caused him to show up after 5 p.m., more than an hour later than expected, for the 7:05 nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader in New York.
Leaving the team hotel, which is adjacent to Grand Central Station, Brazelton asked, and was told correctly, to take the No.4 subway train uptown to get to Yankee Stadium. It's about a 25-minute, $2 trip to the Bronx that players, coaches and even reporters make routinely.
When Brazelton, who did not encounter many subways growing up in Tennessee, got down to the platform, he tried to double-check his routing, even though there are plenty of signs.
"They said 4 uptown and I asked the lady on the train, she was a conductor, "Is this the 4 uptown?' and she said, "No, it's on the other side.' So uptown-downtown, she might have got me mistaken because I mumble sometimes," Brazelton said. "I got on the wrong train, which I'm sure that's happened before. But it happened to me and I'm the goat right now because I'm not pitching well."
Brazelton's next mistake was not realizing his error until he had been riding for a good half-hour and crossed into Brooklyn. At that point, having heard the horror stories of Manhattan afternoon traffic, he figured his best bet was to get on another train and ride 45 minutes the other direction.
"I'm thinking, I'm in New York and if I get in a cab at rush hour maybe I don't show up until 8:30," Brazelton said. "I don't know nothing."
ROCKET FUEL: Vince Naimoli might have added Roger Clemens' dissing of the Rays during an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman to his daily list of Top 10 Things to be Mad About, but Clemens didn't see a reason for all the fuss.
"You take it for what it is," Clemens said. "It's Letterman's Top 10 and they're always poking fun at everything."
ABOUT THAT LETTERING: A Sports Illustrated For Kids survey of 22 big-leaguers had good news and bad news for the Rays. The players voted the Rays as having the "best visitors locker room" and the "worst team uniform."
YOU DON'T SAY: "I told you I haven't seen a lot of things, and that's another thing."
- LOU PINIELLA, Rays manager after Yankees slugger Jason Giambi scored from first on a single Tuesday.
[Last modified June 22, 2003, 01:33:03]
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