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Isringhausen Impresses In Debut

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 23, 2009

Updated: 02/23/2009 11:25 pm

PORT CHARLOTTE - In Jason Isringhausen's mind, it was no big deal - just another bullpen session tacked onto the list of hundreds he has thrown in his life.

But the collection of Rays' coaches and executives gathered around to watch the newest addition to camp throw Monday morning indicated this was appointment viewing for the organization.

"After so many years of doing it, you're kind of used to people behind there watching," Isringhausen said. "The first few were a little hectic, but after that it started feeling normal again."

And "normal" apparently meant just that - not just standard spring training stuff. Isringhausen threw about 35 pitches in his first mound session since signing a minor-league deal with the Rays late last week, and his work Monday was a clear indication that he has recovered well from September surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.

"I thought he was pretty firm today," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I thought he threw the ball well and I think he felt pretty good about himself. It was kind of nice to watch."

Isringhausen said afterward that his arm felt fine and Maddon was pleased to see the veteran throwing all of his pitches "totally unencumbered." The Rays will resist any temptation to throw Isringhausen into a game situation in the immediate future, but they liked what they saw Monday.

Pitching coach Jim Hickey said Isringhausen would take two days off and throw another bullpen session Thursday. Incumbent closer Troy Percival is on the same schedule after throwing his third bullpen session since arriving in camp and reporting no ill effects Monday. He said he's shooting for his first game appearance to come around March 15-17.

PENA STAYS PATIENT

Most of Carlos Pena's assets remained frozen Monday because of a connection to the Stanford Financial Group, which is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several baseball players - many of them, like Pena, clients of agent Scott Boras - are in the same predicament, but at least Pena has other accounts he can access for the time being. He said he hopes to regain access to his assets soon but believes the move was "necessary for our protection."

"Basically what they told us was it'll be back to normal, like nothing ever happened, but this has to be done because you don't want your money up for grabs," he said. "I'm like, 'OK, I'm cool with that,' because I don't want my money up for grabs."

MILESTONE FOR McGEE

He threw about 20 fastballs, nice and easy, and didn't let them rip at anywhere near his normal velocity, but Jake McGee emerged from his bullpen session Monday with a smile on his face.

The left-hander threw off the mound for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July and said everything went well despite a bit of apprehension before his first delivery.

"It was coming out pretty good," he said. "I was pretty surprised."

McGee is targeting July for a return to game action. He expects to remain in Port Charlotte for extended spring training once camp breaks as he continues his rehab program.

DRESS REHEARSAL

The Rays held their usual workout in the main stadium Monday rather than on the back fields, using the opportunity to get a feel for their new home field as an estimated 3,000 fans on hand for an open house looked on.

Maddon called the fan turnout "tremendous" and said he thought it helped his team's energy during drills. The players took notice as well.

"If that's what it's going to look like when we're playing the games, it's going to get us right where we need to be going into the season," reliever Dan Wheeler said.

As for the stadium itself, Maddon said the infield was a bit soft, but other than that everything played fine heading into Wednesday's Grapefruit League opener against the Reds.

Marc Lancaster

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