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Kazmir outing draws optimism

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Everyone sounded so optimistic about Scott Kazmir's progress Tuesday that it seemed the only difficult part of deciding when he will rejoin the Rays is determining who will go to make room for him.

The reviews of Kazmir's rehab start at Triple-A Durham on Monday were unanimously positive. The lefty needed only 78 pitches in six innings, didn't walk a batter, sat at 90-93 mph with his fastball and drew raves for his slider and changeup. And perhaps most importantly, "I felt like I wasn't thinking out there; I was having fun," Kazmir said.

"Everybody concluded pretty much the same thing: It looked really good," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "When you don't walk anybody, you throw that many pitches in that many innings - which obviously he has not done in the recent past - it's all a good sign."

Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said a decision on whether Kazmir will rejoin the rotation as soon as this weekend could come after the pitcher throws a bullpen session today. Unless something goes horribly awry, though, all indications are Kazmir is ready.

But where does he fit in? David Price took Kazmir's rotation spot when he initially went on the DL and he was knocked around by the Phillies on Tuesday, but the Rays have said repeatedly they don't intend to yo-yo the phenom back and forth between the majors and Durham.

Jeff Niemann hasn't been at his sharpest lately, but he leads the staff with six wins and can't be sent to the minors without clearing waivers, which he wouldn't.

That could leave Andy Sonnanstine in a lurch, even though he has pitched better lately than his 6.60 ERA for the season would indicate. He has options left but would seem more likely to be sent to the bullpen in this scenario.

Eager as the Rays are to get an effective Kazmir back in the fold, there are no easy decisions on how to do it.

Excited about Aki

No one foresaw the good news the Rays got Monday on 2B Akinori Iwamura, whose left knee wasn't damaged nearly as badly as earlier MRIs had indicated, allowing for a possible return this season.

"It was a complete surprise," Friedman said. "It's something that I don't think any of us reasonably thought was possible."

Rays orthopedist Koco Eaton discovered while he was in the midst of an arthroscopic repair of the torn meniscus in Iwamura's knee that he had suffered only a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament - an injury Eaton was able to fix without the reconstruction a full tear would have required.

Iwamura is expected to be at Tropicana Field today to resume his rehab, and he could be back on the field in six to eight weeks.

Where is everybody?

Rays management was as perplexed as anyone else regarding the expansive swaths of empty seats at Tropicana Field for the opener of the Phillies-Rays series. The paid attendance was 19,608, and based on the distribution of the cheering, plenty were pulling for the visitors.

"When planning for the season, we circled this series as one of the most compelling of the year. To host a rematch of World Series teams is a special occasion," Rays president Matt Silverman said. "Based on all the information we had, we projected full houses. It's a huge miss, and it's bewildering to us."

Plenty of tickets remain available for the final two games.

Trailblazing in Brazil

The Rays formally announced their agreement to open MLB's first academy in Brazil, saying they hope to follow in the footsteps of the game's movement into the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Mario Bulgarelli, the mayor of the city of Marilia, was among the contingent at Tropicana Field on Tuesday and spoke of his excitement about his city's deal with the Rays. Tampa Bay special assistant Andres Reiner said he believes Brazil could produce a bounty once the game is properly introduced.

"Kids sell the game to kids their own age," Reiner said. "It's the only way for the game to grow."

Odds and ends

RHP Jason Isringhausen underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow Tuesday in St. Louis. ... RHP Chad Bradford remains on track to come off the disabled list Monday. ... The Rays announced the signing of three more draft picks: OF Cody Rogers (seventh round), RHP Alex Koronis of the University of Tampa (11th) and LHP Zach Rosscup (28th).

Marc Lancaster

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