TAMPA, Fla. – Curtis Mead is willing to play anywhere the coaches want him and has tinkered with his batting stance and will do anything that will allow him to succeed for the Rays. It’s been up and down with more down than up, but lately he’s been coming through, and skipper Kevin Cash says Mead has had it harder than all of the other young players on his club.
“You could make a case that his role is harder for a young player than just coming up and playing everyday,” Cash said. “We understand that. At the end of the day, you’ve got to get it done. He knows that.”
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The 24-year-old Australian is on an eight-game hitting streak. His consecutive game home run streak stopped at three after a 7-2 win over the Twins Monday Night. Tampa Bay has won 6 in a row, and it’s some of the younger players who have been coming through for Cash.
The Rays skipper says they were willing to give Mead some extra time to see if he could find a rhythm at the plate, and it’s paying off.
“But showing some sympathy, like this, is not easy,” Cash said. “We’re not maybe putting him in the best spot to go out there and play. There are eight positions to go play. We’ve got to pick between thirteen guys. But I’m really happy for the success that he’s had of late.”
“I’ve made some adjustments in how I’ve been training in the cage,,” Mead said. “Changed my setup a little bit and changed the environment training I’ve been doing. Yeah, it’s been cool to see it pay off a bit.”
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Mead admits that not getting regular at-bats or just playing time makes it hard to stay sharp. But Mead credits coach Brady North with helping him with his defense, hitting grounders before the game, with authority to the infielders.
“It is different being out there for nine innings each night,” Mead said. “But I think Brady does a good job of hitting the ball pretty hard at us in pregame, so I think it’s more challenging offensively.”
To counter the lack of live pitching, he has changed his approach to facing high velocity when he steps into the cage. Oh, and as far as changing his batting stance?
“I ultimately wanted to try and simplify a little bit and get closer to the position I wanna swing from,” Mead said. “It did feel good for awhile there, but I’ve scrapped that for now.”
Cash appreciates that Mead has been willing to try things in order to be productive at the plate.
He’s (Mead) really searching for that timing,” Cash said. “He tried to simplify, maybe his stance, the setup to where he could get his timing right. But at the end of the day, he kind of went back to being who he is and trusting that he’s got the ability to go up there and get caught up in the timing. His at bats have been really impressive lately.”
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