ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Spring training-like drills in June for the team with baseball’s worst record?
Don’t snicker.
Joe Maddon is adamant that extra work he’s ordered for the Tampa Bay Rays can help his underachieving club, off to its worst start in nearly a decade, turn the season around.
Bunt defenses and refresher courses on fundamentals that can lead to turning more double plays and improving how outfielders play balls hit off the wall were the focal point of pregame workouts at Tropicana Field over the past few days. More sessions are planned this week, when the Rays finish a 10-game homestand.
“I’m really pleased with what they’ve done and how they’re doing it. It’s just a matter of sharpening the mental sword,” Maddon said, stressing the extra work that follows a stretch in which the Rays dropped 14 of 15 games is not punitive.