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Rays' Kazmir, Howell To Miss Part Of Spring Training

By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays will be missing two key pitchers for at least part of spring training after left-handers Scott Kazmir and J.P. Howell accepted invitations to pitch for the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic.

Kazmir said tonight that U.S. manager Davey Johnson called to ask if he would fill out a rotation that will also include Roy Oswalt, Jake Peavy and John Lackey and he agreed to do so.

"I'm just happy to be considered on that team, with all the guys that are already in place right now on the roster," Kazmir said.

Howell had heard rumors he might be considered but didn't know anything concrete until his agent called Wednesday night to pass along the invitation.

"It was an honor," Howell said from California this evening. "I couldn't even really believe it when I heard it - I jumped on the opportunity."

MLB.com first reported Kazmir and Howell would be on Johnson's squad. Neither was on the initial list of 22 players who had expressed an interest in joining the team that was released last week, but USA Baseball executive director Paul Seiler confirmed via e-mail that the pair had accepted invitations.

Kazmir made the commitment despite suffering an elbow injury early in spring training last year that sidelined him for the first month of the regular season and continued to give him trouble throughout the 2008 campaign.

Coming off that situation, why did he decide to disrupt the normal spring training routine this time around?

"Just the opportunity and the way my body feels right now," Kazmir said. "Everything feels really strong, so I feel like I'm really capable of starting early like this and being able to get it going."

Kazmir and Howell have been teammates with Team USA before, playing in the 2000 Junior World Championships in Cuba on a squad that also included B.J. Upton. Howell described that as an "incredible" and "special" experience and said he's thrilled to get another chance to wear a USA jersey.

Howell said he isn't worried about the tournament affecting his preparation for the season, especially now that he's pitching out of the bullpen full-time and doesn't have to worry about building up his innings in spring training.

"I think it's good because it may be less games, but the intensity of the games will match [the regular season] more than any spring training game could," he said. "So that's a positive in that it will kind of get your brain going a little bit before April 1, maybe get a little bit of that flow going."

Team USA will train in Clearwater beginning March 2 and open the tournament March 7 against Canada in Toronto.