"Carlos Pena wants to go back that time to when his bat was the biggest in the Rays' lineup, and to do that Pena wants to take his mind back to the time when he was the last position player on the team.

That was Opening Day 2007 at Yankee Stadium. Pena made the team because of an injury to Greg Norton. He didn't play that afternoon or in that series, but he was happy to be wearing a major-league uniform.

"I remember when I was there. I think, 'You were so happy.' So 170 home runs later or whatever it is, a World Series appearance, home runs here and there, big hits, big play, don't come in here now and let all that energy start going down the drain. Remember where you came from," Pena said Wednesday afternoon as he prepared for the first of his two off-days during the heart of this playoff chase.

Pena, batting .201 for the season after his 0-for-4, two-strikeout night in Tuesday's loss, sat Wednesday against right-hander A.J. Burnett, and he will sit again tonight against lefty CC Sabathia.

"His numbers against Burnett overall are not good, and the same thing (tonight) with Sabathia, so it's kind of a nice two days to give him off and try to rearrange how he's thinking a little bit," Manager Joe Maddon said.

Pena is batting .143 for his career against Burnett. He's batting .114 with 19 strikeouts against Sabathia.

"These two pitchers are not good for him," Maddon said. "There's no reason for me to believe he's going to be able to pull out of it against these two guys, so why not just take the step back, which may be the better way to reestablish his confidence. We've been through it before with him. He's been through it before. He normally responds pretty well to these kinds of situations."

Pena said he's not happy about being benched for a pair of games against the Yankees, but he added it's not the time to be thinking about himself. If he can't help the team with his bat, he will help them with his defense.

Pena also admitted his impending free agency has played a role in his season-long struggle.

"No doubt about it, the uncertainties of the future, what I've been able to do in the past ... it all makes it more complicated," he said. "It definitely makes it a challenge for me, to stay focused despite the difficult times, it's not an easy thing to do.""