LOVE AFFAIR: Who would have thought a member of the hated Yankees could bring out such emotion in the tough-as-nails fans at Fenway Park? And who would have thought that player, now Rays manager Lou Piniella, would keep that moment tucked away in his heart?
But that is exactly what happened.
Piniella had just announced his retirement when the Yankees visited Boston in June of 1984. When Piniella came up for his first at-bat, the Red Sox fans gave him a standing ovation.
Remember, this was the player who helped spark one of the great brawls in the New York-Boston rivalry. It happened in 1976 when Piniella slid into catcher Carlton Fisk and came up swinging. In the ensuing melee pitcher Bill Lee was body-slammed and broke his collarbone.
Ah, memories. And they all came flooding back when Tampa Bay visited Boston this month.
"I always appreciated that, and it surprised me, being a Yankee player," Piniella said of the ovation. "Classy. Real classy. Totally unexpected. I had tears in my eyes at home plate."
Piniella was so moved he thanked the fans with a letter printed in one of Boston's newspapers.
KEEPING HIM UP: Reliever Danys Baez has added an element to his training program: getting up in the middle of the night to help care for his 8-week-old daughter, Daniela Lucia.
Wondering how that applies?
"Right now, the first couple of weeks, it's been pretty tough," Baez said. "She doesn't sleep too much at night and you have to wake up a couple of times. You know, you have to get ready for the game, especially the next day, especially if you're a closer."
Really, though, Baez is an old softy. He has four pictures of his daughter on his locker. And the only reason he doesn't have more is because "I don't have any more room."
HOME AND AWAY
When Piniella found out starting pitcher Dewon Brazelton is 0-9 in his career on the road, Piniella said he would seriously consider tweaking the rotation to ensure Brazelton only pitches at home. But Lou being Lou, the more he talked about it the more he turned it into a joke.
"Next spring I might have to get a home pitching staff and a road pitching staff," he said. "Go on the road and send some guys down, and come home and bring some guys up."
MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING
When the Rays beat the Angels 8-3 Tuesday, they did it with a 10-man starting unit that included three rookies and had a combined salary of $9.307-million, less than a quarter of Anaheim's $38.58-million and less than the salary of rightfielder Vlad Guerrero
YOU DON'T SAY
"I've got all the statistics. I've got more statistics than I've got money." - LOU PINIELLA, Rays manager on crunching his team's numbers
FAST FEET
Outfielder Carl Crawford on Thursday became the seventh active player to steal at least 50 bases in his first two full major-league seasons. Crawford had stolen 105 bases through Saturday.
