Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Arrojo faces former teammates in Rays

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2000

BOSTON -- Rolando Arrojo said he will treat tonight's start against his former Devil Rays teammates as any other.

"Normal," he said Tuesday, mixing English and Spanish. "I want to win."

And as much as the Rays want to treat the game the same way, the reality is that because of Arrojo's role in Rays history, it will be odd for all parties.

"I think it will be a little strange," manager Larry Rothschild said. "There's a lot of things out of the ordinary. You're going to run into the Herbert Perrys and (Tony) Graffaninos and guys like that; that's part of the business now. But now you're talking about a first-year player, the first All-Star, an important signing for the organization at the time."

Arrojo, traded to Colorado in December and by the Rockies to Boston last month, has told reporters all week that he won't have any extra motivation tonight.

The Rays aren't so sure.

"It will probably mean more to him facing us than it does to us facing him," Fred McGriff said. "He wants to kick our butt and show Chuck (LaMar, general manager) and everyone that they shouldn't have let him go. Our story is just that we're trying to win a ballgame."

Because Arrojo knows the Rays hitters and they know him, McGriff said, there will be something of a cat-and-mouse game both ways. "You have to treat him as you would any other pitcher," McGriff said.

Actually, catcher Mike DiFelice said, because of the familiarity, the players have to go a step further. "You don't want to get it in your head how he pitches or what he has," DiFelice said. "You have to try to treat him as a stranger."

TOUGH NIGHT: First, Dave Eiland got knocked out of Monday's game in the sixth inning. Then he really got knocked out.

Eiland said he woke in his hotel room about 3:30 a.m., went to the bathroom for a drink of water and collapsed, sustaining slight cuts on his nose and under his left eye after apparently hitting the vanity.

"Next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor and my face was all bloody," Eiland said.

Eiland, who summoned trainer Jamie Reed to his room, said he hadn't had much to eat or drink during the day. "I don't know what it was, maybe dehydration," Eiland said.

TUESDAY MORNING MANAGER: Rothschild said he gave it some more thought after Monday's game but still believes he made the right call in not having Jose Guillen bunt with two on and none out in the eighth inning with the score tied. Guillen flied out, and Russ Johnson then hit into a double play.

"First, he's hitting fifth, which is an RBI position, and he needs to have a better at-bat in that RBI situation, and the second thing is that I haven't asked him to bunt much, and when I have, I haven't been comfortable with it," Rothschild said.

Quinton McCracken was on the bench, but Rothschild said he wasn't inclined to use him. "To take my fifth hitter out to pinch-hit to have somebody bunt doesn't seem like the thing to do," he said.

Tuesday, by the way, Guillen batted sixth.

COMEBACK KID: The numbers don't necessarily show it, but Rothschild said Ryan Rupe is getting closer to his 1999 form. "I think there's been progress, but there's a ways to go," he said. "It could happen at any time." Rupe, who pitches tonight, needs to re-establish his changeup and better locate his fastball. "Once he gets his confidence back, which he's shown signs of, we'll see the other stuff coming," Rothschild said.

HIT RECORDS: The Rays set two team records in Monday's loss. Guillen was hit by a pitch for the 11th time this season. The three errors in the sixth inning were their most for an inning.

RAYS BITS: Bobby Smith went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the second game of his rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Durham. ... Miguel Cairo is 6-for-9 against Jeff Fassero. ... The Rays also stole five bases June 17, 1998. ... Greg Vaughn and Gerald Williams taped a segment Tuesday for This Week in Baseball, shown Saturdays on Fox. ... The Rays became the only AL team to keep Pedro Martinez winless in three consecutive starts.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright