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Classic Is A Concern

Tribune photo by JOSEPH BROWN III

Kazmir will fill out a rotation that will also include Roy Oswalt, Jake Peavy and John Lackey.

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: January 18, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Even if they are keeping quiet about it, there undoubtedly are some people in the Rays organization who aren't too thrilled to be losing Scott Kazmir and J.P. Howell to the World Baseball Classic for a good chunk of spring training.

Any anxiety on the team's part would be understandable.

Kazmir got hurt early in spring training last year, and the effects of that elbow injury reverberated throughout the season. Howell was a workhorse out of the bullpen, and it's not clear how he'll bounce back after spending his career as a starter.

Plus, there's the inevitable concern that taking pitchers out of their traditionally structured spring training routine to play in games that matter might affect them once the season begins a few weeks later. Numerous pitchers who took part in the first edition of the WBC three years ago (most notably Dontrelle Willis and Bartolo Colon) saw downturns in their effectiveness immediately after playing in the tournament.

Dan Wheeler wasn't among that group, as his numbers with the Astros in 2006 after pitching for the U.S. team that spring were similar across the board to what he had done in 2005. That may have something to do with his enthusiasm for the endeavor his teammates are about to embark upon.

Wheeler said he had a chat with Kazmir on Friday morning during a workout at Tropicana Field and congratulated him on his decision.

"He's excited about it, and I told him it's an unbelievable honor to represent your country and an awesome experience," Wheeler said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."

On the most basic level, you can certainly see where Wheeler is coming from. Still, you can bet everyone in the Rays' offices in Port Charlotte will be keeping a close eye on Kazmir and Howell from afar.

Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey already had planned to take it easy this spring on all of the pitchers who were with the Rays throughout a 2008 season that ran a month longer than expected.

"The only thing that does concern me a bit," said Hickey, "is it's March 5, 6, 7, when a guy's out there with a USA flag across his chest trying to get crucial outs in situations where normally he'd be working on his third or fourth bullpen."

Wheeler concurred that getting dialed up to pitch in what he considers "playoff-type games" so early in the process was a challenge for him three years ago, but he said he didn't believe it brought about any detrimental effects down the road.

A bigger issue, in his mind, is the lack of work available during the tourney. Wheeler noted he was away from Astros camp for about 20 days last time around and ended up with only three innings.

When he returned for the final two weeks of spring training, he and Hickey (the pitching coach in Houston at the time) saw to it that he made more appearances in Grapefruit League games than he otherwise would have just so he could get up to speed.

NOTEWORTHY: Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman married Robin Hochman on Saturday in Puerto Rico. ... The Detroit Free Press reported that a potential three-way trade among the Rays, Tigers and Mariners during the winter meetings fell apart after the Rays declined to include Fernando Perez - largely because of concerns about B.J. Upton's return from shoulder surgery.

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