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By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 4, 2001
SEATTLE -- Greg Vaughn was stiff and sore but back in the lineup Sunday despite being hit in the head with a pitch in Saturday's game.
Rookie Ryan Franklin's pitch made a loud thud when it struck the ear flap of Vaughn's helmet during a seventh-inning at-bat and sent the Rays slugger to the ground, where he lay frighteningly motionless for a few seconds.
The blow turned out to be somewhat glancing, and Vaughn got up and stayed in the game and insisted on playing Sunday, going 0-for-3 with two walks.
Though some batters would never want to see such a scary scene, Vaughn made a point to watch video of the incident.
"I wanted to see where the catcher was setting up; I wanted to see if they did it on purpose," Vaughn said.
Based on what he saw, and the reaction from the Mariners coaches and manager Lou Piniella, Vaughn said he thinks it was an accident.
"You don't enjoy being hit in the head and I'm not happy with it, but he didn't do it on purpose," Vaughn said. "The ball just got away."
HEADS UP: Rays manager Hal McRae was hit in the head several times during his stellar 19-season major-league career and said the worst part is going back up to the plate.
"It wasn't scary getting hit," he said, "it was scary my next at-bat."
McRae was hit in the head by Jim Bibby during a mid 1970s game and recalled coach Charley Lau insisting he play the next day.
"He told me the quicker you play, the sooner you get over it," McRae said. "I was afraid my first at-bat, and he told me to get in my stance and look the ball into the catcher's glove. I did that, and my knees were shaking. I took another pitch, and I was a little more stable. I ended up going 4-for-4."
PINIELLA ABSENT: Piniella went home to Tampa to be with his wife following the death of her father, Frank Garcia, on Sunday morning. Garcia, 77, died after a battle with ALS. Piniella is expected to rejoin the Mariners on Friday.
REAL DEAL: Pitching coach Bill Fischer was duly impressed after watching rookie left-hander Joe Kennedy throw in the bullpen over the weekend. "He's genuine," Fischer said.
Kennedy, called up Friday after posting a 6-0 record and 0.99 ERA in 11 starts for Orlando and Durham, is scheduled to make his major-league debut Wednesday in Toronto.
"If he throws like he did on the sideline, he'll be all right," Fischer said. "He's got good stuff. The rest is going to be making the adjustments. But he's a California kid, and they're a little more mature."
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: Andy Sheets came up with the Mariners and spent parts of two seasons in Seattle before the Rays took him in the expansion draft and traded him to San Diego in the deal for catcher John Flaherty.
Though Sheets has plenty of good memories here, including the chance to participate in the 1997 playoffs, he wasn't that upset to leave because the Mariners had a shortstop ahead of him named Alex Rodriguez.
"I was really torn," Sheets said. "You want to stay, but you want to get the chance to play somewhere, and obviously I was not going to get a chance with him there."
MINOR MATTERS: Durham catcher Toby Hall, leading the International League with a .346 average, returned to the lineup after missing six games with an injury. ... Brent Abernathy has a 10-game hitting streak, raising his average to .255. ... Charleston outfielder Rocco Baldelli had his hitting streak stopped at 12 games.
RAYS BITS: Wilson Alvarez and Juan Guzman are scheduled to pitch for the extended spring training team at the Naimoli complex at 1 p.m. ... Bob Harrison, father of Tampa Bay scouting coordinator R.J. Harrison, was honored in a pre-game ceremony as the Mariners' top scout. ... Steve Trachsel may be recalled from the minors to start for the Mets on Friday at the Trop.
The expansion 1962 Mets finished with the most losses in modern baseball history (since 1900). A look at how this year's Rays, at their current winning percentage, project against the worst losers of all time:
(Team,Lg.,W,L, Pct.)
NYM/'62* NL, 40, 120, .250
TB/'01, AL, 43, 119, .265
PHI/'16, AL, 36, 117, .235
BOS/'35, NL, 38, 115, .248
WAS/'04, AL, 38, 113, .252
NYM/'65, NL, 50, 112, .309
PIT/'52, NL, 42, 112, .273
Give Rays media relations director Chris Costello credit for trying. Given all the negative press resulting from the team's struggles, Costello included the following entry in Sunday's pre-game notes: "TWO POSITIVE THOUGHTS OF THE DAY -- 1. The Rays are 4-2 in games heading into an off day -- TOMORROW is an off day. ... 2. Rays are 4-3 on Sunday, winning their last three."