Sports: Surging Vaughn wins weekly honor

Greg Vaughn, who powered Tampa Bay to three victories in four games with nine RBI, was named the co-Player of the Week in the American League on Monday. Vaughn shared the award with Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams.

In his past six games, Vaughn has raised his average from .244 to .265 by going 10-for-22 with 10 RBI and a .773 slugging percentage. He is the first Ray to win Player of the Week since Albie Lopez in August.

FIRE AWAY: The reunion is not quite so poignant as going back to Kansas City, but Rays manager Hal McRae shares some ties with the Phillies.

Before joining the Rays as bench coach in the off-season, McRae had spent the previous four seasons as the hitting instructor in Philadelphia.

Along with manager Terry Francona, McRae was fired at the end of last season by general manager Ed Wade. And deservedly so, McRae said.

"We were all fired, and we deserved to be fired," McRae said. "I told the GM when he started going into his "we're sorry to let you go spiel,' I said, "Look, Ed, I deserve to be fired. You don't have to explain anything to me.' "

The Phillies improved their batting average under McRae in each of his first three seasons but did not in 2000.

McRae said he is not surprised Philadelphia has turned into a contender because he could see the talent among the position players last year.

"The position players were very young when I got there, so I spent a lot of time with some of those guys," McRae said. "It'll be nice to see them."

DRY SPELL: Lopez's groin and thumb problems are mostly behind him, but pitching coach Bill Fischer said the staff ace now needs a healthy psyche.

Having lost seven straight, Lopez could be suffering from a lack of confidence. Though he threw well in his past two starts, the right-hander still was hit hard, particularly after defensive lapses.

"He's got to weather the storm," Fischer said. "He has to battle his way through until he gets a win. You start going through a stretch like this and you wonder if you're ever going to win a game again."

During the early days of the franchise, the Rays prided themselves on playing better than average defense. Those days are long gone.

The five unearned runs yielded Sunday in a loss to the Mets gives Tampa Bay 56 this season, three more than it surrendered during its inaugural season.

Tampa Bay is last in the league in fielding average and is on pace for 146 unearned runs, which would be the most in the league since the 1940 St. Louis Browns gave up 152.

BRAZELTON UPDATE: Scouting director Dan Jennings is expected to meet with top draft pick Dewon Brazelton today in Tennessee to discuss details of a contract.

Tonight: Phillies at Rays, 7:15

WHERE: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg.

TV/RADIO: Ch. 32; WFLA-AM 970, WLCC-AM 760 (Spanish).

TODAY'S PROMOTIONS: Upper general admission tickets, usually $8, are $3 with a coupon from the Tampa Tribune.

TICKETS: Available at stadium box office; through Ticketmaster phone and retail outlets; at team stores in WestShore Plaza, Brandon Town Center and BayWalk.

INFO: Call 1-888-FAN-RAYS.

The pitchers

JOE KENNEDY: Kennedy made a smashing debut Wednesday in Toronto, holding the Jays to two runs over five innings and snapping the Rays' six-game losing streak. The 22-year-old left-hander was 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA in 11 starts at Double A and Triple A.

AMAURY TELEMACO: Telemaco (5-1, 4.21) is coming off his first complete-game victory Wednesday. The 27-year-old right-hander spent eight years in the Cubs organization, then moved to the Diamondbacks and Phillies. He made two relief appearances vs. the Rays in '99.

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