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Pitching Is Priority For ALCS Roster

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - He won 14 games for the Rays during the regular season, but he was squeezed off the roster for the first playoff round. But Edwin Jackson will be active as the Rays open ALCS play as Tampa Bay bumps up to 11 pitchers for the longer best-of-seven series.

The team won't officially announce its roster until today, but Eric Hinske and Troy Percival both confirmed they had been told they will not be active against the Red Sox.

"They just said they want to carry an extra pitcher, and I'm the odd man out," said Hinske, who was on Boston's World Series championship team last year. "That's how it is. It's something that I can't control. I'll be ready if somebody gets hurt. But it's not about me; it's about the team winning ballgames."

In choosing Jackson over Percival for the final bullpen slot, the Rays went with someone who could give them multiple innings in the event of a bad start, injury or lengthy rain delay. Percival said he understood that, though he said he is completely healthy and throwing as well as he has in years.

He will continue to throw in hopes he might make the World Series roster or step in if there is an injury.

"I'm healthy and ready to go if they need me," Percival said.
Big In Japan Baseball fans in Japan will have rooting interests everywhere they look during the championship series, as each of the remaining four teams boasts at least one Japanese player. But tonight's matchup of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Akinori Iwamura should garner plenty of attention for a game that will be televised live back home at 9:30 a.m. Tokyo time.

Iwamura and Matsuzaka have faced each other often since coming to the majors last season, with the Rays infielder getting the upper hand. He has hit .375 (9-for-24) with a homer against his countryman, and he says he won't change a thing even though the stage is much bigger this time around.

"I'm proud of myself playing the same exact game that I played through the season," Iwamura said through his interpreter, Tateki Uchibori. "I'm aware that this is a little bit different from a regular-season game, but at the same time I'm very excited about seeing Matsuzaka and I'm feeling no pressure about it."

Pomp And Circumstance

The Rays will reward longtime fans with ceremonial first pitch honors before their first two ALCS home games. Eleven original season-ticket holders were invited to throw out first pitches before Game 1, and another of their number, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, will get the call for Game 2.

The team also chose to stick with a local stalwart for the national anthem. Saxophonist B.K. Jackson, who did the honors before the first-round opener, gets an encore tonight. "God Bless America" will be sung by "American Idol" finalist David Archuleta during the seventh-inning stretch.

Marc Lancaster

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