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With loss, Rays look at future

Tampa Bay is out of playoff contention after falling to Mariners 4-0.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 31, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- There are some things the Rays just know.

They were going to have to play a near-perfect game to beat the Mariners, and they didn't Thursday, losing 4-0.

They were going to be eliminated from playoff contention before Sept. 1, and with the loss they were.

The frustration of the long season would surface, and it did when Greg Vaughn was ejected for cursing an umpire after his fourth strikeout of the day.

Then there are other things they don't know. And that's what the rest of the season can be about.

Starter Ryan Rupe, for example, could be one of the more interesting case studies.

He pitched well for most of his 62/3 innings Thursday before an announced 12,260, but two home runs did him in. That's how it's been much of the season, performances in which he flashed the promise and dominance that got him to the majors so quickly, but making the kind of mistakes that result in the brutal reality of a 5-11 record and 6.86 ERA.

"It's been an up-and-down year, big time," Rupe said. "I'm trying to finish strong and do what I can to finish as well as I can to prove to (manager) Hal (McRae) that I can pitch and that I'm healthy. Right now, that's my goal."

With younger, fresher prospects such as Joe Kennedy, Nick Bierbrodt and Jason Standridge, it's easy to forget that Rupe is only 26 and potentially entering the prime of his career.

So where does Rupe fit in?

"I have no idea," McRae said. "He and (Paul) Wilson are tricky, I have no idea on either guy. What both guys have given us in their last start is what we need, what we're looking for. So they're on the right track."

Pitching coach Bill Fischer said Rupe needs to build arm strength and get stronger overall, and wonders whether Rupe is feeling the effects of a surgical procedure in September to clear a blood clot in his right arm.

"When he gets his arm strength back, he'll be dynamite," Fischer said. "Now he reaches a certain spot and he hits a wall and he stops. As big as he is and as strong as he looks, that wall comes up quicker than you think. Maybe in another year, maybe next spring, that wall will be knocked down, like the Berlin Wall."

Drafted out of Texas A&M in 1998, Rupe was in the big leagues by May 1999 and earned the team's top rookie honor after going 8-9 with a 4.55 ERA. But he struggled to a 5-6 record and 6.92 ERA last season, spending time on the disabled list and in the minors.

He lost his spot in the rotation after another slow start this season (2-3, 5.93), going to the bullpen, then back to the minors. He won his first two decisions after coming back up in late May but just one since June 14.

Still, Rupe is confident he can and will succeed here, and that he belongs in the 2002 rotation. "In my mind, definitely. No doubt about it. And I'll bust my butt to prove to Hal that I can," Rupe said. "As far as my role, I need to earn my job next year and that's the way it should be. ... I think if I finish strong, I fare well."

Rupe gave up a two-run homer to Bret Boone in the fourth, and a solo shot to David Bell in the fifth, and Travis Phelps allowed another in a sloppy eighth. But the Rays still had their chances against Freddy Garcia and the deep Seattle bullpen, getting men on base in eight innings.

The most opportune came in the eighth, when they loaded the bases. But Chris Gomez's hard liner was hit right at Bell. For the day, the Rays were 1-for-12 with men in scoring position.

"We didn't get anything fat in situations where we could hurt them and drive in runs," McRae said. "That's a credit to their pitchers for making their pitches. That does happen, and it happens quite a bit for them."

Even though the Rays lost two of the three games, they thought they made a good show against the team with the best record in the majors. "We were in the games," McRae said. "We were there."

As for being eliminated? It was their second earliest date of elimination -- Aug. 16 in 1998, Sept. 8 in 1999 and Sept. 10 last season -- but McRae wasn't exactly stunned.

"I thought we were eliminated in April," he said, smiling.

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