Rays tales

By Compiled by MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 11, 2000

HAKUNA MATATA: Rick White closed back-to-back games for the Rays last week, his first saves in nearly six seasons. A lot has happened since White was pitching for the Pirates in June 1994, when The Lion King was the hot new movie and All-4-One and Janet Jackson topped the pop charts. Consider that White has been married, had two daughters, moved three times, gone through five vehicles, changed his look (in his words) "from long hair to no hair," improved his bowling average by 40 pins, become an avid hunter and fisherman and gained 10-20 pounds. And he had surgery to replace torn ligaments in his elbow. "I threw harder then," White said, "but I'm a better pitcher now."

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Dave Eiland knows what life is like for Esteban Yan after homering Sunday in his first major-league at-bat. Eiland did the same April 10, 1992. "He's got a lot to live up to," Eiland said. "And I doubt he's going to see any more first-pitch fastballs. They pitched me tough after that, first-pitch breaking balls and sliders." Eiland has had 21 at-bats since and has gotten one hit.

IN TUNE: Players have different ways to relax. Ozzie Guillen likes to sing. Right there on the field. During the game. "Salsa usually, but whatever comes to my mind," Guillen said. Roberto Hernandez has been listening to Guillen for years, having played with him in Chicago. "He knows a lot about music," Hernandez said. And exactly who, or what, does Guillen sound like? Ricky Martin? Garth Brooks? Britney Spears? "He sounds like an athlete trying to sing," Hernandez said.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING Bill Conlin, writing in the Philadelphia Daily News about the Rays' attendance woes: "(Vince) Naimoli learned what many of us suspected during years of covering spring trainings on the Florida West Coast. Tampa Bay's hardball loyalties run right up I-75 through Atlanta, Cincinnati and the baseball towns of the upper Midwest, where mom and dad were from before the plants closed. And, now, their kids were living down there, too, with no local allegiances to pin them to an expansion team playing in a place where most of the catwalks holding up the roof of their tilting Teflon tepee were in play."

QUOTE OF THE WEEK "If you want to figure it out, take my career at-bats and my two triples. But the answer to your question is slim and none." -- JOHN FLAHERTY, Ryas catcher when asked what the chances were of him getting a triple to complete the cycle Friday

DISABLED LIST Player Injury Likely return LHP Wilson Alvarez shoulder surgery 2001 DH Jose Canseco strained heel mid-June RHP Dave Eiland left hip late-June RHP Juan Guzman shoulder tendinitis this week INF Damian Rolls shoulder surgery Uncertain LHP Tony Saunders fractured arm Uncertain

BY THE NUMBERS

.355: Winning percentage in 31 games when Greg Vaughn, Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff and Vinny Castilla are in the lineup together.

.393 Winning percentage in 28 games when at least one is out.

25: Rank, out of 30 major-league teams, in average attendance.

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