Rays set Opening Day roster

The Rays set their Opening Day roster Sunday afternoon after trading pitcher Jason Hammel to the rockies for minor league pitcher Aneury Rodriguez.

No real surprises. Here is is:

Pitchers (12): RH Grant Balfour, RH Lance Cormier, RH Matt Garza, LH J.P. Howell, LH Scott Kazmir, RH Joe Nelson, RH Jeff Niemann, RH Troy Percival, RH James Shields, LH Brian Shouse, RH Andy Sonnanstine, RH Dan Wheeler

Catchers (2): Dioner Navarro, Shawn Riggans

Infielders (6): Willy Aybar, Jason Bartlett, Akinori Iwamura, Evan Longoria, Carlos Peña, Ben Zobrist

Outfielders (5): Pat Burrell, Carl Crawford, Gabe Gross, Matt Joyce, Gabe Kapler

DL (4): RHP Chad Bradford (15-day), RHP Jason Isringhausen (15-day), OF Fernando Perez (15-day), OF B.J. Upton (15-day)

Upton to bat leadoff

No word yet on who won the Fifth Spot in the Rotation Sweepstakes or which team has traded for Jeff Niemann, but Rays manager Joe Maddon did have some news before Saturday's exhibition season finale in Philadelphia.

B.J. Upton will bat leadoff when he returns to the lineup April 13.

Until then, Maddon will use Akinori Iwamura and Jason Bartlett as leadoff hitters, using Aki against right-handed pitchers and Bartlett against the lefties.

Once Upton returns for the home opener against the Yankees, Aki and Bartlett will move to the bottom of the order.

Aki will bat eighth and Bartlett ninth against righties and the two will switch against lefties.

Maddon also announced that Matt Joyce will start in center field and Gabe Gross will start in right against righties, meaning Joyce is your Opening Day center field when the Rays play the Red Sox on Monday at Fenway Park.

Gabe Kapler and Ben Zobrist will be in the outfield against lefties, though Maddon hasn't decided who will play center and who will play right.

The decision between Niemann and Jason Hammel will be made Sunday before the Rays set their Opening Day roster. The deadline is 3 p.m.

Both pitchers will pitch in a Triple A game Sunday. It's doubtful the race between the two fifth starter candidates is that close. The Rays have to be working out arrangements for a trade, probably for Niemann since he appears to have more upside.

Bus to the Trop

The Rays have partnered with ESCOT Bus Lines to provide transportation to Friday home games this season. Cost is $18 and will leave from three Beef O’Brady’s locations in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Game tickets not included in bus fare. Here is the schedule.
5:15 p.m. departure from Beef O’Brady’s, 5942 34th St. W., Sarasota.
6:00 p.m. departure from Beef O’Brady’s, 1795 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch.
6:35 p.m. departure from Beef O’Brady’s, 8913 US Highway 301 N., Parrish.
7:00 p.m. arrival at Tropicana Field.
7:30 p.m. scheduled first pitch.

Izzy wants to be a Ray

By ROGER MOONEY
rmooney@bradenton.com
PORT CHARLOTTE — They met and discussed and discussed and met and in the end, Jason Isringhausen will begin the season on the disabled list.

The right-handed relief pitcher threw only six innings this spring, enough to show his surgically repaired right elbow is fine, but enough to build sufficient arm strength to enable Isringhausen to begin the season on time.

“We all agreed I need a few more innings to get to where I want to be with my mechanics and my arm strength and stuff, so this is the right thing to do,” Isringhausen said Wednesday morning. “This is the right situation for me. I love the team. Love the guys, the management, the GM, everything. So, kind of a no-brainer for me. I could have went somewhere else and pitched, but that’s not the same situation. I want to pitch and I want to help these guys win as much as I can, because I think it’s a special group of guys. Groups of guys like this, they don’t come around very often. That’s pretty much the bottom line. I’m not worried about the rest of it. The rest of it will take care of itself. When it’s time to come off the DL things usually take care of itselves up in the big leagues and we’ll figure out some then. So until then we’re going to get a throwing program together and stick to that.”

Isringhausen will continue his rehab at Tropicana Field and join the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League on nights he’s scheduled to pitch.

“Obviously, we are very excited about this development,” Rays vice president of baseball Andrew Friedman said. “We feel there is a very good chance that at some point in 2009 Jason will help us win games. We are going to be fairly methodical here of getting him all the way back. We’ve seen a lot of good things this spring, and by doing this we feel it greatly increases the chances of him helping in a meaningful way.”

Isringhausen doesn’t expect to need much time to get ready, but Friedman didn’t want to place a timetable on Isringhausen’s return.

“When we feel like and he feels like he’s 100 percent, we’ll sit down and see where we are. But we feel he has chance to impact us once he returns to 100 percent. When that will happen we’re not sure,” Friedman said. “This guy is obviously very talented, has a lot of experience pitching late in games, and just provides even more depth for us, and we feel it’s a very good thing for us, and from talking to him (Tuesday), a very good thing for him as well. He knows the prudent thing is coming back 100 percent coming off surgery, and coming off the various ailments that plagued him last year and get him back to 100 percent. If anything, we feel we’ve saved some bullets for later on this season that can impact us in a positive way.”

Waiting is the hardest part
Jeff Niemann wore a long face as he walked through the clubhouse Wednesday afternoon. He had just met with manager Joe Maddon and Friedman and knew as much about his status as the team’s fifth starter as he did before he entered Maddon’s office.

Niemann and Jason Hammel will remain in Port Charlotte, where both will pitch in minor league games Sunday. The Rays have to announce their 25-man Opening Day roster at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Both Niemann and Hammel, and Lance Cormier, who will pitch in one of the two games in Philadelphia this weekend, will have to wait until Sunday to learn if they’ve made the team.

Cormier will be the long man in the bullpen if the Rays trade Niemann or Hammel, while the runner-up for the fifth spot in the rotation will move to the bullpen.
Niemann was asked if he is anxious.

“Yes and no,” he said. “It’s taken this long, what’s another day or two. It’s not an easy decision to make on either of us. It’s a great position for (the Rays) to be in, but it (stinks) for us.”

The bullpen
The Rays will start the year with a bullpen of Troy Percival, J.P. Howell, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, Brian Shouse and Joe Nelson.

To the DL
Isringhausen will be officially added to the disabled list on Sunday along with Fernando Perez, B.J. Upton and Chad Bradford.

Each will be retroactive to March 27, which means Upton is eligible to be activated for the April 13 home opener.

Back to Durham
Outfielders Jon Weber, Ray Sadler, catcher Michel Hernandez, second baseman Adam Kennedy and first baseman Chris Richard were all optioned to Triple A Durham. The six will make the trip to Philadelphia and play in the two exhibition games

Kennedy not surprised
Adam Kennedy, who signed a minor league contract the first week of camp, was not too upset to be headed to Durham.

“It would have more than a surprise if it had been anything other than Durham,” Kennedy said.

The Rays tried moving Kennedy around the infield and even played him in left field once in an attempt to use him as a Super Utility fielder.

He’ll play second base with the Bulls.

Kennedy said he was pleased with the amount of innings in the field and at-bats at the plate this spring.

He hit .302, one of seven Rays to hit above .300.

NOTEWORTHY
Jason Bartlett led the raise with a .362 average. Dioner Navarro batted .347 ... Joe Nelson pitched two perfect innings Wednesday, striking out two ... Grant Balfour pitched a scoreless inning, but needed a heads up play by Bartlett and a strong throw from Gabe Gross to cut down a runner who took too big of a turn around second base to get out of the inning ... Gross his second home run in as many days.