Rays

Winning starting to breed confidence

ST. PETERSBURG - There are a few more smiles these days around Tropicana Field. A few more laughs, too. The atmosphere is relaxed, comfortable. That's what winning can do.

The Devil Rays have won seven of 10 and are 21-16 since July 3, their best 37-game stretch in franchise history.

"Winning is fun," manager Lou Piniella said. "That's what you put a uniform on for. You get in the habit of doing it and it becomes contagious, just like losing."

The key now, players say, is to not get too comfortable and think they have turned the corner on their losing ways.

Still, aren't they getting a little used to all this winning?

"You could easily get used to it," Damian Rolls said. "Are we used to it? I would say no, but we want to get used to it. We just have to keep playing good ball and keep up the tenacity."

So how have the Rays turned around their season? They're winning close games that they were losing not so long ago. The Rays were 0-9 in one-run games in June but are 12-2 in one-run games since.

"Earlier in the year, we played a lot of close games that didn't go our way," Piniella said. "Now we're winning these close ballgames and it gives you confidence. I tell you what, these kids come to the ballpark every day expecting to win a baseball game, and that's what you want to get this thing to."

FIRST SIGHT: Nice schedule.

The Rays have played 119 games. They have 43 left. Yet they play the Cleveland Indians for the first time tonight. The teams then will play each other seven times in the next 10 days.

"That is odd," Piniella said. "It really is. The unbalanced schedule is really unbalanced."

Tonight's game features an interesting matchup. The Rays are the youngest team in baseball with an average age of 26.45 years, while the Indians, who have a league-high 13 rookies on the roster, are the second youngest at 27.21.

"They're swinging the bats well," Piniella said of the Indians, who have won eight of 10. "They hit the ball pretty well. They hit for some power, and they look good for a young club. They are a lot like us."

WORDS TO LIVE BY: Piniella liked Rob Bell's seven-inning, two-hit performance in Tuesday's victory against Baltimore. He liked Bell's comments in the next day's newspapers even more.

Bell said his season has turned around since he stopped worrying about being sent down the minors or released based on every start.

"That's the most important thing," Piniella said. "Go out and concentrate on pitching your game. If you start worrying about things you shouldn't worry about, they distract from your concentration and your ability to go out and pitch. He made the right statements."