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Sturtze keeps focus despite friend's loss

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 19, 2001

BOSTON -- Tanyon Sturtze insisted location was his problem Tuesday, not emotion.

Sturtze had every reason to be pitching with a heavy heart. He's a local kid, born and raised in nearby Worcester, and usually makes each trip to Fenway Park a festive homecoming.

But there was little joy this time. The wife of a friend -- the older brother of one of Sturtze's best friends -- was a passenger on the American Airlines flight that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Sturtze tried to call John Creamer on Tuesday, but he couldn't reach him. He figured he was busy trying to deal with the tragedy and the reality of becoming a single parent.

"I talked to his mom. I just wanted to let him know I was there for them, if there was anything I could do," Sturtze said. "There's nothing you can do, just let them know that I'm behind them. A couple friends said I should give him a call."

Despite the way the tragedy touched him, Sturtze said it was not an issue in his performance. "I was fine and I was focused on what I had to do tonight," he said.

Sturtze was on the brink of trouble several times but still went into the sixth inning with the score tied at 2.

But the Sox got a run on a Lou Merloni double, another on a sacrifice fly and a third on Trot Nixon's single. Any chance the Rays had disappeared when Manny Ramirez drove a 2-and-2 pitch over the screen atop the Green Monster, his 40th homer.

"I was into the game and I wanted to be out there on the mound," Sturtze said. "I don't think I got sidetracked. I just made a couple bad pitches over the middle of the plate, bad pitches to good hitters."

VAUGHN OUT AGAIN: Greg Vaughn was running in the outfield minutes before the start of the game when he felt tightness in his left calf, so much that he told trainer Jamie Reed he couldn't even jog.

The discomfort surfaced a few days ago, but Vaughn expected to be able to play through it. Instead, he was scratched from the lineup and may need to rest a few more days.

"I'm so tired of guessing," Vaughn said. "It's just frustrating, severely frustrating."

Vaughn said the tightness is probably related to the left hamstring strain that kept him out of the lineup Sept. 2-7.

ON THE RUN: Jason Tyner matched Miguel Cairo's 2000 team record with his ninth straight successful steal. Tyner has 23 overall, five shy of Cairo's season record.

IN AWE: Several Rays rookies were getting their first look at fabled Fenway Park. Right-hander Jason Standridge recalled coming up for a tryout just before the June 1997 draft. "I thought that was pretty cool and, golly, now I'm playing on this dad-gum field," Standridge said. "It's just awesome."

RAYS BITS: Chris Gomez's seventh-inning strikeout was the Rays' 1,000th of the season, tops in the American League. ... The Rays have hit a double in a team-record 27 consecutive games. ... Tuesday's game was the Rays' 16th straight against teams with winning records. They are 4-12. ... The Rays have lost five straight, their sixth losing streak of five or more games. ... The radio broadcast tonight and Thursday will be available on WDAE-AM 620 as WFLA-AM 970 sticks with news coverage.

Tonight: Rays at Red Sox, 7:05

WHERE: Fenway Park, Boston.

RADIO: WDAE-AM 620, WLCC-AM 760 (Spanish).

BY THE NUMBERS vs. East:17-41

vs. Central: 13-19

vs. West: 10-26

vs. NL: 10-8

vs. RH starters: 39-72

vs. LH starters: 11-22

On grass: 16-46

On turf: 34-48

In day games: 21-33

At night: 29-61

One-run games: 16-15

Two-run games: 10-17

Extra innings: 5-4

Scoring first: 37-27

Scoring four or more: 45-38

Scoring fewer than four: 5-56

WEATHER FORECAST: Partly cloudy with a high of 68 degrees, low of 56.

INFORMATION: Call (800) FAN-RAYS.

The pitchers

PAUL WILSON: Wilson is 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA in eight starts since rejoining the rotation, with the Rays winning six. He has allowed one run in his past two starts, covering 14 innings against Seattle. Against Boston, he is 0-2 with a 7.07 ERA.

DAVID CONE: The wily 38-year-old has been rejuvenated in Boston, going 8-5 with a 4.40 ERA. Last season, he was 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA for the Yankees. Cone is 1-0 against the Rays in two starts this season, 4-2 with a 3.04 ERA in his career.

You don't say

Manager Hal McRae has been known to dabble in the stock market, and he has been paying particularly close attention to the latest fluctuations. Does he have a lot of money invested? "I had a lot," McRae said. "I try not to think about it."

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