Rays/MLB

Seo has shown potential to grow

Joe Maddon has liked what he has seen from the recently acquired pitcher and will keep him in the rotation.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published July 16, 2006

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The only thing Jae Seo hasn't done for the Devil Rays yet is win.

The Korean-born right-hander, acquired last month from the Dodgers, had another solid outing Friday, holding the Angels to two runs over six innings, but had nothing to show for it in what turned into a 4-0 loss.

In three starts and one relief appearance, Seo has a 2.70 ERA, two quality starts, a decent .240 batting average against him - and an 0-3 record.

Seo said he is pleased with his work so far and hopes to do better.

"I came here to help," he said.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said he likes what he has seen so far.

"I just like the way he has gone about his business," Maddon said Saturday.

"He's very aggressive with his fastball. He's got a barely average velocity fastball, but he locates so well, it makes it an average to above-average pitch."

The only mistake Seo made Friday was the home run he allowed to All-Star Vladimir Guerrero leading off the sixth.

The Angels added a second run that inning when Adam Kennedy hit a good pitch up the middle for a single.

"One bad pitch," Seo said.

Maddon expects him to get better with regular work, a plan that Seo likes as well, saying pitching once every five days keeps him sharper.

"You look at his numbers from the Mets last year (8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts), they're pretty darn good," Maddon said.

"And I like him in the dugout. He's animated. He speaks enough English. He's very competitive. He does not like it when things don't go well, and he blames himself. He's not blaming anybody else, which I really like. So there's a lot of good things going on."

[Last modified July 16, 2006, 01:33:57]