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Boggs instructs enthusiastically

By ROGER MILLS

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 24, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- After 18 seasons as one of the game's best hitters, Wade Boggs jumped into his new career as Rays hitting coach with the kind of enthusiasm and oomph the franchise needs.

On the first day of full team workouts Thursday, Boggs' voice resonated across the practice fields at the Ray Naimoli Complex. The beat continued Friday morning.

And make no mistake, former teammate Boggs is now Coach Boggs.

"I'm here to do a job and make these guys better, and that's my responsibility," said Boggs, who retired after the 1999 season. "I laid out some groundwork about what I expect and guys are busting their tails. We're going to get better, and that's the bottom line. These guys are going to execute and I don't expect anything less."

The Rays made Boggs the franchise's third hitting instructor Nov. 7 after he served as a special assistant to the general manager for a year. The transition from player to coach was eased that year as Boggs spent time instructing hitters throughout the minor-league system.

"I think all the good coaches were at one point players, and in Wade you can see he still has the fire in him," second baseman Bobby Smith said. "From my standpoint, I don't find it unusual at all seeing him as a coach. Look, you want to know what this guy was able to do to hit .300 over his career. It's easy to respect his opinions."

Manager Larry Rothschild said that while every coach has a different approach, Boggs' intensity and credentials should lead to results.

"He brings energy, enthusiasm and knowledge, and that's pretty good combination," Rothschild said. "What he'll learn is to get with individual guys and go through things individually and do what's best for them. I think the hitters like to see the enthusiasm, and I think they'll respond to it."

Boggs sees it the same way.

"They better conform to it," he said. "When I look at the stats from last year ... we were last in average. We were last in runs. We were last in on-base percentage. We were next-to-last in walks. We have to get better in order to compete, in order to win."

FELIX IS THE MAN: In his three previous spring trainings, Rothschild has made it clear that few people have a lock on a starting position. But his resounding endorsement of shortstop Felix Martinez may make the defensive wizard an exception.

"Well, for Felix Martinez to not be our shortstop (on opening day), somebody's going to have to do a whole lot (with the bat) and be able to field pretty good," Rothschild said. Martinez is sixth among AL shortstops with a .976 fielding percentage. He started 103 of the final 117 games after being called up from Durham.

EASY DOES IT: With confidence bubbling, players have a tendency to be overexuberant at the start of spring training. Being patient, Rothschild said, is a key to making the most of the six-week session. "I think when the games start, you want to start seeing things happen quicker than you would imagine," he said.

One concern is players trying to do too much. "With some of the younger players, especially the younger pitchers, you have to watch them," he said. "But, if they've worked out and they are ready to do those things, I have no problem with them going ahead and doing it."

RAYS BITS: Infielder Alex Sanchez, pitchers Dan Wheeler and Ryan Rupe and outfielder Randy Winn agreed to one-year contracts, terms not disclosed. ... Several New York papers have speculated that the Mets' pursuit of Gary Sheffield could lead to talk with the Rays about a potential three-way deal with the Dodgers.

Today's schedule

The full-squad workout starts at 10 a.m. at the Ray Naimoli training complex and should last until about 1 p.m.

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