Thursday, Oct. 09, 2008

Rays' Upton powering up

Centerfielder's shoulder, swing improving

The sweetness that is B.J. Upton's swing chose the right time to re-emerge earlier this week.

Now the Tampa Bay Rays are banking on some staying power - or any power they can squeeze from their talented centerfielder.

Upton's game received an overdue jolt during Games 3 and 4 of the American League Division Series, when he swatted three home runs over a span of four at-bats to help carry the Rays past the Chicago White Sox and into the American League Championship Series, which gets under way Friday night at Tropicana Field.

Guess the stroke is back, right?

"After two days, you can't make that assumption," Upton said Wednesday afternoon as the Rays readied themselves for the defending world champion Boston Red Sox. "We'll see how this series starts off, and hopefully, I can do the same."

Playing with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, Upton hit just nine home runs in 531 at-bats after finishing with 24 in 474 at-bats last season. He was still a key piece of the Rays' offense, pacing the team in walks (97), on-base percentage (.383) and doubles (37) while partnering with leadoff guy Akinori Iwamura to form a pesky 1-2 punch atop Tampa Bay's lineup.

That said, his return to form during the final two postseason games at U.S. Cellular Field was a welcome sight. His two-run home run kept the Rays in Game 3 before his first-inning shot in Game 4 put a bump in the White Sox's momentum.

He added another solo job in third inning of the final game, joining Adam Kennedy (2002) and Andruw Jones (1996) as the only players in the last 30 postseasons to homer three times in four at-bats.

"He's getting stronger, he's getting well," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "We backed off on the batting practice, so I just think we're seeing a stronger B.J. right now."

The shoulder feels as strong as it has all year, Upton said. But his mini-surge against the White Sox was also the byproduct of a slight alteration - after pulling off the ball for much of the season, Upton focused more on driving it up the middle.

Sometimes, that's all it takes.

"He has just figured how to make sure he stays close and he stays through the ball," said Cliff Floyd, the Rays' venerable designated hitter. "He was just pulling off, and he knew it. But sometimes, I know exactly what I'm doing, and I can't correct it. And that's what's great about the game - it's all about making adjustments.

"Taking balls just an inch off the plate - doing things that he couldn't do before, because he didn't know how to make that change."

Maddon remembers a number of Upton home runs that sailed over the State Farm advertisement that lines the left-field wall at the Trop. There haven't been many of those this season, mostly because Upton's ailing left shoulder - his front shoulder - prevented him from pulling the ball as often as he did last year.

After staying quiet for most of the season, Upton acknowledged the problem and the Rays worked on how to deal with it.

"We just backed off on the number of swings he's taking," Maddon said. "Now he's just stronger. You're seeing the same approach, but just a stronger player right now."

Upton hopes his strength holds up against the Red Sox, especially after he hit just .128 against them this season and is batting .196 against them for his career.

"They've got a great staff over there. They can shut any team down," Upton said. "You've got to be ready for it and make them throw some pitches."