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Newcomers Are Excited About Rays' Chances

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By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - It's early enough in camp that newcomers Eric Hinske and Kurt Birkins are still feeling out their new team and teammates, but both already have a sense of what the Rays can do.

Hinske has spent his entire career in the AL East, playing for the Blue Jays and the Red Sox since 2002, and Birkins has had time in the big leagues with Baltimore the past two seasons. Baseball's schedule has seen to it that both have had ample opportunities to compete against Tampa Bay, and both like what they've seen.

"Every time I've played against this team, I've always thought, 'Wow, they're just a couple players away,'" Hinske said. "They're close, they're right on the brink. It's good to be a part of such a young thing moving in the right direction."

Hinske hasn't had much success facing Rays pitching over the years, hitting .246 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 284 career at-bats against Tampa Bay, so it might do him some good to be on the other side.

At the same time, Birkins has had difficulty dealing with the Rays' lineup. He has mostly been used as a situational reliever against the likes of Carl Crawford and Akinori Iwamura (who actually hits lefties better than righties), but did make a spot start for the Orioles at Tropicana Field on Labor Day last season. He allowed four runs in four innings but didn't get a decision as the Rays prevailed 9-7 to give James Shields his 11th win.

"Being left-handed, I was always facing CC, and Aki just owned me last year," said Birkins, who allowed four hits to Iwamura in six at-bats. "The lineup is very impressive."

Hinske spoke about how difficult it can be to handle the Rays from a defensive standpoint considering the athleticism throughout the lineup.

"It's scary, honestly," he said. "They give you fits on the bases. Guys get on base - Crawford hits a single and it's 'Thanks for the double,' pretty much. Pitchers know that, too. They don't like to pitch from the stretch and when they know guys are running and you know you've got guys that are going to give you good at-bats up at the plate, it definitely makes it tough on the opposition. It's tough to prepare for a team with speed like this and depth like this."

ROCCO WATCH: Rays coaches and medical officials met Monday to sketch out a plan for how Rocco Baldelli will be utilized this spring. Manager Joe Maddon said Baldelli will see some time in the field and also DH.

"As we get to the games, he'll do a little bit of both," said Maddon. "He's going to do his outfield work here and obviously he's going to do his batting practice. We're just going to try to figure out the best way to keep him as fresh as we can and see how it works as we build into the month."

NOTEWORTHY: In addition to Crawford, OF Jon Weber and IF Elliot Johnson also reported Tuesday. The only position players yet to officially check in were Carlos Pena (who has participated in a Rays caravan event already), Jonny Gomes, Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman. ... Aybar and Guzman are not expected to arrive on time because of visa problems and RHP Juan Salas remains hung up in the Dominican Republic with the same issue. There was no further word Tuesday on when he might arrive. ... Tuesday's Tampa Chamber of Commerce luncheon, which featured Rays players and officials, drew a crowd of about 375 - the largest in six years.

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