Tuesday, 05/17/05

Dewon Brazelton, a former Middle Tennessee State star and the opening-day starter for Tampa Bay this season, has not been in contact with the Devil Rays organization since being demoted last week.

Brazelton, 24, who lost that first game and saw his record dip to 1-7 with a 6.43 ERA after last Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the White Sox, did not report to Triple-A Durham (N.C.) on Saturday.

The Tullahoma native allowed five runs and six walks in 42/3 innings against the White Sox.

A message left on Brazelton's cell phone yesterday by The Tennessean was not returned. His mother, Monalisa Brazelton, could not be reached for comment.

Brazelton's salary is $1.1 million, but the Devil Rays placed him on the restricted list yesterday without pay. He no longer counts against Tampa Bay's 40-man roster.

If Brazelton reports to Durham at this point, the team must file a petition to the commissioner's office for his return.

It has been a frustrating season for Brazelton. Chuck LaMar, Tampa Bay's general manager, has not commented on Brazelton's failure to report to Durham but did talk about his poor performance after last week's loss that led to his demotion.

''There comes a point where a young prospect has to become a major-leaguer, and I think that's the point where Dewon is in his career,'' LaMar told the St. Petersburg Times.

''We've given him every opportunity, and we'll continue to give him every opportunity, but he's got to earn the right to be a major-leaguer.''

Brazelton's four-year career record with Tampa Bay is 8-22. His ERA is 5.54.

Along with his trouble on the mound, Brazelton was suspended five games by the league office for his aggressive actions during a bench-clearing incident in a game against the Red Sox last month.

Brazelton usually stays in touch with the MTSU coaching staff, especially associate head coach Jim McGuire. But McGuire said he has not heard from Brazelton since he was demoted.

''I was really hoping to hear from Dewon today, but unfortunately I didn't,'' McGuire said yesterday.

McGuire said he spoke with Brazelton's Nashville-based agent, Bo McGinnis, last week and knew that Brazelton was being demoted.

''I saw his agent last Wednesday at the Vanderbilt game and he told me Dewon was going to be sent down,'' McGuire said. ''I told him I'd try to get in touch with him over the weekend, but I wasn't able to.''

McGinnis did not return a call from The Tennessean yesterday.

Two years ago, as a Devil Rays rookie, Brazelton was sent down to Class A ball in Barkersfield, Calif. The demotion came after he boarded the wrong subway in New York and ended up in Brooklyn instead of the Bronx. He didn't arrive at Yankee Stadium until 4 p.m. on a day when he was scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay Manager Lou Piniella questioned Brazelton's preparation after he posted a 1-6 record with a 6.89 ERA that year.

Piniella said last week that Brazelton still needs work in terms of confidence.

''He needs to go down there (Durham) and help himself,'' Piniella told the Tampa Tribune. ''He started to struggle up here and I think he started to doubt himself. He needs to take a look at himself. He started to walk a lot of people, and that started to give him some problems. He has taken a step backward. Now he needs to work and get back to where he was.''