TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Rays Set Starting Rotation, For Now
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: March 23, 2008
ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays had Andy Sonnanstine's head spinning the past few weeks.
The team seemed pleased with the work he had done in the starting rotation last year - especially toward the end of the season - but he wasn't getting any starts in spring training games. And even when the right-hander began inching back toward a starter's routine and workload during the last week or so, there was still talk he might be a good candidate to end up in the bullpen.
To hear Rays manager Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey tell it, they were relatively certain all along Sonnanstine would open the season in the rotation. But when they finally made that designation official Saturday, Sonnanstine breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"It definitely caught me off guard," he said. "I really had no idea coming in. I knew I was throwing the ball well and I had a pretty good shot and had set myself up well for the opportunity, but until today everything was still up in the air and I really had no idea which way it was going to go."
As it stands right now, Sonnanstine will start the third game of the season at Baltimore, following James Shields and Matt Garza in the rotation. Rounding out the starting five to open the season will be Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel, in an order that has yet to be determined.
Setting those spots left two pitchers on the outside. Jeff Niemann was optioned to Durham to head the Bulls' rotation and left-hander J.P. Howell is the odds-on favorite to begin the season as the Rays' long reliever.
Sonnanstine has pitched better than all of the above this spring, surrendering just one run in 14 innings during six appearances for a 0.64 ERA. Opponents have hit just .163 against him, and he hadn't walked a batter before issuing two free passes in his five-inning stint against the Yankees on Friday night.
More important than those numbers, the work he did after settling in with the Rays last summer earned the confidence of his manager and the rest of the team.
"It's all about competition," said Maddon. "He's not the biggest body out there, he's not the strongest-looking guy and he doesn't throw the hardest, but he competes and he expects to win, and every pitch that he throws, he's convicted to. That means something.
"Some guys that have these tremendous arms and throw for high velocities don't have nearly the conviction per pitch that he does. I think therein lies the difference with his success: Before the ball is thrown, he believes it's going to be successful for him. Some other guys just don't know, and that's why I think this guy's good."
Maddon and Hickey cautioned against reading too much into the sequence of pitchers, with Hickey calling it "irrelevant."
And it's subject to change - quickly - based on performance. The Rays were willing to give Jackson and Hammel the benefit of the doubt despite some inconsistency in part because they're out of options, but that doesn't mean they're locked in indefinitely. Maddon said the pitchers are "very much aware" that expectations will be higher and "there's a shorter leash" this time around.
Hammel, who has had the toughest spring of the group with a 7.13 ERA and team highs in walks (nine) and hits (21) allowed, got the message.
"It's time now to do it," he said. "There's no excuses; I'm not going to make excuses. It's time to win and that's it."
That's especially true for the final three pitchers in the rotation, as one of them will get bumped out to make room for Scott Kazmir whenever he's ready to come off the disabled list. The Rays say they still don't know when their ace will be ready to pitch, but the competition among those at the back end will continue until he arrives.
"As of right now, it's five starters and we're just waiting for Kaz to become part of that picture," said Hickey. "When he does, then certainly something's going to have to give."
Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)
* Keep it clean
* Respect others
* Don't hate
* Don't use language you wouldn't use with your mom
* Use "Report Inappropriate Comments" link when necessary
* See Member Agreement for details