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McRae tells Grieve to take more swings

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 7, 2001

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Ben Grieve has been striking out at a record pace. As a remedy, manager Hal McRae wants him to be more aggressive.

That might sound like odd advice, but McRae believes such an approach can help Grieve, who has struck out 135 times in 132 games, matching Jose Canseco's 1999 team record for a season.

"If he were more aggressive, he wouldn't strike out as much," McRae said. "He takes a lot of third strikes. He's taken himself into the hole probably 50 percent of the time. Instead of swinging himself into a hole, he's taken himself into the hole."

Grieve has taken 63 percent of pitches he has seen, sixth-most among American League batters, according to STATS, Inc. And of his 135 strikeouts, 55 have been looking.

"His swings are very expensive," McRae said. "I kid him off and on about three for a nickel or one for a dollar. He takes that dollar hack instead of getting his three."

McRae said that if Grieve were to swing more, he not only would have more chances to get a hit, he'd have a better chance to do so.

"What hurts you most of all when you don't get three is that there's no gauge," McRae said. "A hitter kind of gauges a pitcher and gauges where he is. "I might be a little late, I might be a little quick, I might need to stay back, I might be working off the ball, I might be drifting.' You can feel these things as hitters, but if I don't swing I get no gauge and no measurement so I make no adjustment because I haven't swung the bat.

"So he hurts himself in a lot of respects when he doesn't swing because he can't make the adjustments he needs to make because he gets no reading from pitch to pitch. Even if he were to go up there and swing three times and strike out, he would learn something."

WILD NIGHT: There was a simple reason the Rays lost 12-6 to the Mariners on Wednesday. They didn't pitch very well.

Six pitchers threw 168 pitches, and most of them were bad.

"I don't know what to say about tonight," catcher Toby Hall said. "It was a blur."

The Rays held leads of 4-0 and 6-3, but the Mariners rallied with nine runs and nine hits in the fifth and sixth innings.

"They smelled blood and they attacked," Hall said.

Ryan Rupe struggled through 42/3 innings, allowing six hits and five runs, but said he wasn't too disappointed. "I've been hit around this year off and on, and this game wasn't that bad," he said. "I made some good pitches in critical situations, but they're a great hitting ballclub."

TOUGH TASK: Having just faced three starters among the league's ERA top 10 in Seattle, the Rays won't find life any easier in Oakland. On Saturday they face Mark Mulder, who ranks eighth with a 3.48 ERA, and Sunday they get Tim Hudson, who ranks third at 3.25.

RAYS BITS: Greg Vaughn had no problem running with his strained left hamstring Wednesday and could return to the lineup at DH tonight. ... Jason Tyner has 22 steals, third on the Rays' all-time list. Miguel Cairo had a record 28 last season. ... Randy Winn ranks fourth in the AL with 11 outfield assists.

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