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Guillen clears it up: Corked bat was his

By JOHN ROMANO and MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 25, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jose Guillen has served his 10-game suspension for using a corked bat during a minor-league rehabilitation assignment, and now he wants to clear up any confusion about the incident.

For instance, he wants everyone to know he was guilty.

"It was my bat," Guillen said. "I have paid for my mistake. I wasn't the first one and I probably won't be the last one. It's over, I've paid my fine, I've gotten my suspension, now I think I have to get over that stuff."

Guillen said he was concerned about rumors that he was using the bat of another player, and he wanted to make sure no one else was implicated.

Guillen was activated by the Rays on Sunday after Gerald Williams was released. Guillen, disabled May 17 with a sprained left knee, was Tampa Bay's starting rightfielder at the time of his injury. With Randy Winn playing well in his absence, Guillen said he is unsure of his role now that he is back on the active roster.

He was hitting .252 with seven RBI in 103 at-bats at the time of his injury.

Guillen, who will wear a knee brace the rest of the season, was hoping to get a few more at-bats in Triple A before being activated. But with Williams being released, the Rays flew Guillen home from Pawtucket, R.I., Sunday morning. He arrived in the dugout by the fourth inning and, hours later, flew back to New England for tonight's game against the Red Sox.

"I'm feeling pretty good, I've been doing some running," Guillen said. "We'll see what happens."

A LITTLE SORE: Russ Johnson lost his starting job at second base after going on the disabled list with a strained quadricep. Johnson has another muscle pull in the back of his left leg, but he said he has no intention of sitting.

"I can play with pain," Johnson said. "It might slow me down a little on the bases, but it's not going to keep me from going out there."

Johnson hurt the leg while taking grounders during batting practice a couple of days ago.

ONE MORE TIME: Again, Bryan Rekar failed to get a victory for his efforts, but at least the starting pitcher was pleased with his performance.

Rekar said he could tell early in Sunday's game that he did not have the best command of his pitches. He loaded the bases with no outs in the first but survived by giving up only two sacrifice flies. Rekar ended up throwing seven innings and giving up three runs for his team-high eighth quality start.

"The first inning I was a little skeptical of how things were going to turn out," Rekar said. "I wasn't as strong as I've been in other games, so I had to be a crafty righty."

Despite leading the team in innings and strikeouts, Rekar has one victory in 16 starts. Rekar's 4.97 ERA is second to rookie Joe Kennedy among Rays starters.

MEET AND GREET: Manager Hal McRae, pitchers Ryan Rupe and Esteban Yan and third baseman Aubrey Huff met fans as they entered the Trop. McRae joked with fans and even hugged a couple while Yan handed out Screamin' Slammin' Raysballs.

EARNING IT: Last year Fred McGriff was the Rays' All-Star representative mostly because every team must have at least one player on the roster. McGriff most likely is headed back to the midsummer classic, but not because there needs to be a Rays jersey in the dugout.

The first baseman is hitting .336 with 14 homers and 45 RBI, has been the majors' top hitter since May 1 with a .382 average and is tied for second in the AL in hitting for June. McGriff hit .370 in May and is trying to put together the most productive back-to-back months of his 15-year career.

"It would have nothing to do with representing the Devil Rays," McRae said. "He's earned it this year."

Tonight: Rays at Red Sox, 7:05

WHERE: Fenway Park, Boston.

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

RAYS BY THE NUMBERS

0 -- Wins when trailing after eight.

1 -- Win when scoring fewer than four runs.

8 -- Come-from-behind wins.

9 -- Wins against AL East.

12 -- Wins when they get 10 or more hits.

16 -- Opponents' come-from-behind wins.

17 -- Losses when they get 10 or more hits.

25 -- Losses against AL East.

30 -- Losses when scoring fewer than four runs.

35 -- Losses when they commit an error.

48 -- Losses when trailing after eight.

The pitchers

RYAN RUPE: Rupe (4-6, 6.54 ERA) leads the Rays in wins. He is 2-2 in four starts since being recalled on Memorial Day. Against Boston, he is 0-2 with a 7.02 ERA, including his last start, an 8-2 loss in which he allowed four runs on four hits and struck out eight in seven innings.

DAVID CONE: After six years with the Yankees, Cone jumped to New York's most hated AL East rival. Cone is 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts. He has given up 39 hits in 34 innings, walked 13, struck out 29 and allowed 17 earned runs.

Outta leftfield

In his final game in a Rays uniform, Gerald Williams was nearly used as a defensive replacement ... at second base. Having started Aubrey Huff as the designated hitter and used pinch-hitters for Felix Martinez and Andy Sheets on Saturday, manager Hal McRae was out of infielders. Had the Rays tied the score in the ninth (they were trailing 2-1), McRae said he would have put Williams at second base with Damian Rolls shifting to third and Russ Johnson moving to shortstop. Alas, the Rays went down in order in the ninth, and Williams was sent packing Sunday.

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