Rays' Howell mixes his pitches with precision

Sunday, October 5, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Dioner Navarro strolled to the mound Friday with much at stake. Tampa Bay had a 3-2 lead in Game 2 of its American League Division Series against the White Sox, but Chicago was one swing away from taking the lead, with a runner at first and Nick Swisher at the plate. Navarro had put down a sign, but pitcher J.P. Howell had shaken him off. Howell had had something else in mind.

Navarro is not pushy when he talks to his pitchers. He's not out to cast doubt on what they're thinking. He just wants to be sure that they are sure. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" he asked Howell.

"Yeah," the pitcher said.  
 

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  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

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