Niemann leaves good impression

ROGER MOONEY
rmooney@bradenton.com

ST. PETERSBURG – Jeff Niemann cleaned out his locker last season after being optioned to Triple A Durham and was surprised to see a handful of reporters gathered in front of him.

Never a candidate to make the team, Niemann’s sole goal last March was to prove he was healthy.

This year it was a different story.

Niemann cleaned out his locker Saturday after again being sent to Durham, but the 6-foot-9 right-handed pitcher who was the Rays first pick in the 2004 draft leaves knowing he showed the Tampa Bay Rays he can pitch at the major league level.

“I’m just going to stay with what I’ve been doing here,” Niemann said. “I feel as back to normal as I’ve felt since I had surgery. That’s the biggest thing for me, once I’m healthy and once I’m right, I know what I can do. Now I have that confidence to back that up. It doesn’t matter where I’m pitching; I know I can pitch and I’ve just got to do it consistently.”

Niemann had a 1.50 ERA in four appearances, three starts.

He impressed manager Joe Maddon with his poise and his ability to keep the ball low in the strike zone.

“He’s starting to get it, and heads up when he does,” Maddon said.

Niemann is learning to use his height to his advantage. Being so tall, his pitches to the plate can have more of a pronounced downward trajectory, which makes it hard for batters to pick up.

“It’s an exclusive way to throwing a baseball. He’s got it, and he understands it,” Maddon said.

Niemann was asked when he thought he might surface at the major league level, a normal question for some one taken in the first round nearly four years ago.

“I’ve been asked that question the last two or three years and my answer is never right,” Niemann said. “So I’m going to take the fifth on that one.”

Howell stays in the pen
Talk of J.P. Howell moving into the mix of candidates for one of the openings in the rotation after Scott Kazmir’s strained left elbow will force him to the disabled list when the season starts was just talk.

Howell said he was told early in camp that he was going to the bullpen.
“It helped me out knowing two weeks ago instead of today when they set the rotation. I had time to prepare,” he said.

Maddon said he likes the idea of the soft-throwing left-hander in the bullpen, because hitters need at least one at-bat to adjust to Howell, which makes the pitcher less effective the second time through the order.

“As a long person he really fits the requirements,” Maddon said. “As a bullpen pitcher this is the kind of guy we can develop confidence in even later in a situation, because he has the kind of makeup to do those things. He’s very versatile.”

Howell, who has struggled as a starter at the major league level, said he’s fine with his new role.

“It’s good timing,” Howell said. “I think relieving fits my mentality right now. No doubt about it.”

The rest of the pen
Maddon set the rotation Saturday, but said it might take all of the final week of spring training to set his bullpen.

Troy Percival, Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler and Trever Miller are locks. It would appear Howell is in there as well, but Maddon said Howell is still competing for one of the final three spots.

Scott Dohmann, Gary Glover and Grant Balfour are also candidates, and Maddon has been impressed with Balfour’s work during the last week or so.

Longoria’s status
It was thought the Rays would make a decision on rookie third baseman Evan Longoria this weekend, but Maddon said that decision won’t come until sometime next week, maybe as late as March 29, the final day of spring training.

The Rays have to see if Willy Aybar is healthy enough to start the season as the third baseman if Longoria is indeed headed to Triple A Durham.

The Rays may also be giving Longoria a chance to play his way onto the big club.
Most teams will have two more cuts before the end of spring training, but Maddon said the Rays may just wait until the final day to set their roster.

“If this runs the course of the entire week I’m OK with it,” Maddon said.

Kazmir update
Scott Kazmir (left elbow strain) played catch with Rays trainer Ron Porterfield on Saturday, throwing the ball 25 times at a distance of 90 feet.

Kazmir still thinks he can be ready relatively early in the regular season.

“Any time we play catch my arm feels strong, so I don’t feel I have to build up arm strength,” he said.

He also said he and Porterfield will devise a throwing scheduled in the next few days that will end with Kazmir pitching for the Rays sometime in April.

Up next
The Rays travel to Sarasota for an Easter Sunday match-up with the Reds.

Matt Garza will start for the Rays.