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Percival Returns; Reyes On DL

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By CARTER GADDIS | The Tampa Tribune
and MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 14, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Rays closer Troy Percival came off the 15-day disabled list Friday and RHP Al Reyes took Percival's place on the shelf with right shoulder tendinitis.

Reyes returned to the DL less than a month after spending 25 games there with a right shoulder impingement. He said the problem isn't in the shoulder joint, but in the right biceps.

"It's nothing serious, because I was able to throw," Reyes said. "But I don't have the slider, and it takes off from my velocity. It doesn't let me go hard and strong, the way I want to feel."

Reyes' latest turn on the DL is retroactive to Tuesday, which means he'll be eligible to return June 22.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Percival, who converted 14 of 16 save chances before being disabled May 29, is available for back-to-back games and even the occasional third consecutive day, previous pitch count permitting.

Percival no longer is concerned about the left hamstring that caused him to briefly fall in a heap on the mound as he threw a strikeout pitch in his last outing before going on the DL.

"It feels good," he said, "and I don't think I'll have any more problems with it this year."

BALDELLI ON THE VERGE? Rays OF Rocco Baldelli (60-day DL, mitochondrial disorder) appears close to joining a minor-league team for a 20-day rehabilitation assignment.

As of Friday, he was optimistic the rehab assignment would lead to a return to the majors this season.

"I can't tell the future," Baldelli said, "but I fully plan on being back as of the way I feel right now."

Baldelli said he remains concerned about the potential for strained hamstrings and chronic fatigue in his legs, which is one reason he has yet to hold any meaningful workouts in the outfield.

"Obviously, I'd like to be playing the field," Baldelli said. "But realistically, I'm trying not to look too far ahead."

DULY NOTED: The Rays quietly registered what Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon had to say about the aftermath of last week's brawl at Fenway Park. Quietly registered it, and filed it away for next time the teams meet (June 30-July 2 at Tropicana Field).

In short, Papelbon, during a television interview, asserted his belief that the feud is not over and made it clear he believed the Rays deserve "payback."

One of the principals, Rays OF Jonny Gomes - who completed a brawl-induced, five-game suspension Wednesday, would not be drawn into a long-distance conversation about it.

"What I have to say about that is I ain't gonna start a fight," Gomes said. "Nor am I gonna buy into a war of words. I've got too much respect for the game and for the Red Sox to have a ... war of words."

Maddon reiterated his stance that, as far as the Rays were concerned, the feud ended when Tampa Bay left Fenway Park. But Maddon conceded that Papelbon is welcome to express a different opinion.

"I believe in freedom of speech; always have," Maddon said. "From our perspective, like I said when it was over, it's over. It's over for us, and the next time we play them, we'll approach it in the same manner. Anybody can say whatever they want, whenever they want. I have no problem with that."

BACK AT IT: Rays RHP Matt Garza returns to the mound today for the first time since getting into a public argument and dugout scrap with C Dioner Navarro during Tampa Bay's game Sunday at Texas.

The air was cleared the next day, and Garza said he learned a lesson from the incident.

"My biggest concern is just to stay calm," Garza said Wednesday in California. "Stay calm, stay relaxed and just keep an even keel. It's a process I'm trying to work on, and it's going good."

NOTEWORTHY: Rays rookie 3B Evan Longoria was elected player representative to the union Friday, with RHP James Shields as the alternate. ... Hall of Famer Frank Robinson visited with several players and Maddon before and during batting practice. ... LF Carl Crawford served the first game of the four-game suspension he received after the Boston brawl.

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