Mueller talks softly but carries a big stick

Despite another day of banging balls all over the field, Red Sox second baseman Bill Mueller remained quiet yesterday. He prefers to do his talking at the plate, with a bat in hand.

"I don't usually like to talk about myself," said Mueller, who is looking more and more each day like last year's American League batting champion.

Mueller went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles, a single, and a walk, and two runs in Boston's 6-0 victory against Tampa Bay.

"He's swinging the same way he was last year," Red Sox hitting coach Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson said. "Nothing's changed."

Since enduring a brutal 2-for-23 slump, Mueller has been on fire. The performance against the Devil Rays was Mueller's third straight multihit game.

He has a hit in eight of his last nine games, a run in which he is hitting .469 [15 for 32]. Over those nine games, Mueller has a home run, five doubles, nine runs, and eight RBIs.

Jackson said Mueller looks his best since returning July 2 after arthroscopic surgery. Mueller missed 37 games.

"When the knee is bothering you, it's hard to really get through the baseball like you want to," Jackson said. "So right now, he looks like he's really healed and he's really driving the baseball.

"It took him a little while to get back in the groove. He's feeling comfortable at the plate."

Playing the Devil Rays doesn't hurt, either. During the four-game series, Mueller was 7 for 13 with five runs. He came into the series with a .330 career average against the Devil Rays in 88 at-bats.

"He's about as professional a player as you are going to find," Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Those guys are nice to have around."

Francona praised Mueller's ability to switch from third base to second because of injuries to Pokey Reese and Mark Bellhorn. Mueller made his 11th start of the season at second base yesterday.

"It's not an easy move for him," Francona said. "The field's a little backwards right now for him, but [he's] the kind of player you can win with. And we all feel like that."

Mueller made two solid plays behind Pedro Martinez.

Tampa Bay's Tino Martinez hit a high hopper through the middle in the second inning that forced Mueller to range far to his right. Mueller stretched out to field the ball on a long hop, stopped his momentum, pivoted, and nailed Martinez at first.

In the seventh, Mueller made a nice turn on a 6-4-3 double play with shortstop Orlando Cabrera.

"He never says a word," Francona said about Mueller's willingness to move to second. "[He] goes out and takes ground balls early, makes all the plays, [and] is where he's supposed to be."