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Rays refusing to quit

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 3, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Maybe the Rays are just too young to know any better.

The fans don't seem to care about these late-season games, as only about 5,000 bothered to show up for the second straight night. The Red Sox definitely don't seem to care, as they showed up in body only.

So that leaves the Rays, and they not only are caring about these games, they are hustling, playing hard and winning at an impressive rate.

The Rays beat the Red Sox 10-3 on Tuesday, giving them a 5-1 start to the season-ending homestand, seven wins in their past nine games and 11 in 22 since Sept. 1. They've gone a season-high four straight series without losing one for the third time in franchise history.

At 59-98 the Rays still have the worst record in the majors, trailing Pittsburgh by one-half game, but they certainly aren't playing that way. They are 32-37 since the All-Star break, and their improvement from a 27-61 first half is the fourth best in the majors.

"I don't think there's any quit in the club, and the credit goes to the players for their character and their respect for the game," manager Hal McRae said.

"Our guys are just playing like hell and going like hell every day. I don't think the time of year, the staring at 100 losses, how many games we've got left, who we're playing, it doesn't really matter. This has been their attitude since they came up. I haven't seen anything else, and I don't expect to see anything else."

"We've got something to shoot for, and that's the future," catcher Toby Hall said. "Every day we come in here, we have the same goal. We're going to come in and play as well as we can regardless if there's 2,000 or 20,000 people in the stands. It's not going to change the way we play."

The Rays said 11,266 tickets were sold, but the actual crowd didn't appear to be half that large. Those who were there, besides having plenty of opportunities to catch foul balls, saw another solid effort by the hometown team.

Paul Wilson led the way to another strong pitching performance, working in and out of several jams during seven solid innings. The Rays have a 2.06 ERA over their past nine games and 4.18 since the All-Star break, fourth best in the league. Their overall ERA, decreasing for 14 consecutive games, is 4.99, the first time under 5.00 since May 8.

Thirteen hits, including six doubles and a Brent Abernathy triple, helped, as did another night of stellar defense, featuring three double plays.

"A hell of a team effort tonight," Wilson said.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, didn't seem to make much of an effort. Rookie Casey Fossum, whose wife is being induced into labor today, hit three batters. Fossum and Willie Banks each threw a wild pitch and committed a balk. Leftfielder Izzy Alcantara dropped an easy fly that led to three runs. Shortstop James Lofton booted a grounder.

In essence, they played as if they didn't want to be there. Which, if you read the Boston papers, apparently is pretty much the case.

The game was decided in the first inning, as much for the four runs the Rays scored as the runs the Red Sox didn't get.

Wilson seemed headed toward a rough start when he allowed singles to Jose Offerman and Darren Lewis and walked Trot Nixon to load the bases. But he rebounded impressively, striking out Brian Daubach and Morgan Burkhart and retiring Scott Hatteberg on a fly to center.

"Drama," Wilson said.

"The key to the game," McRae said.

By the time Wilson walked back to the mound the next inning, the Rays had scored four, and he was on the way to continuing his impressive second-half comeback.

Since rejoining the rotation July 25, Wilson is 6-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 11 starts, and the Rays have won eight of those games. In the first two months of the season, Wilson went 2-7 with an 8.43 ERA in 12 starts, then spent the next two buried in the bullpen. With a win in Sunday's finale, he can finish the season with a 9-9 record.

"It's been a complete turnaround," Wilson said. "The first half, that wasn't me. That wasn't who I was capable of pitching like. I'm enjoying this because I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing, what I'm capable of doing."

He may not be the only one.

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