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No Relief For Niemann: 9 Runs, Less Than An Inning

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: March 21, 2009

DUNEDIN - It wasn't necessarily by design, but the Rays got their first look this spring at Jeff Niemann in the kind of situation he might face if he opens the season in the bullpen. They could have been forgiven for wanting to look away.

All but untouchable in four previous appearances this spring, Niemann suffered miserably after coming on to relieve Matt Garza with two on and two out in the fifth. After allowing both of the runners he inherited to score, Niemann proceeded to give up nine runs of his own on seven hits and three walks while recording a total of two outs.

Three of those runs scored after he had departed with the bases loaded, all of them coming home on a Michael Barrett double off Calvin Medlock, but this was undoubtedly Niemann's mess.

"It's definitely disappointing to have the worst outing and probably the most important outing at the same time," he said.

The carnage sent Niemann's spring ERA from a dazzling 0.82 to an unsightly 7.71, a jump that could be attributed mostly to his trouble putting the ball where he wanted it.

"Jeff just had a tough time with command of his fastball overall and a couple of the breaking balls that they hit were up," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We just have to get him back down in the zone, and the game just got out of control at that point."

Niemann had been warming up expecting to start the sixth inning but was pressed into service when the Blue Jays collected three consecutive hits with two outs and pushed Garza's pitch count up to 74.

"I'm not going to sit there and blame anything," he said. "It was just one of those days where you go out there and I wasn't able to put the ball where I wanted to put it, whether that was mental, physical or whatever."

LONGORIA HEADS OUT

After swinging by Charlotte Sports Park on Friday morning to pick up his gear, Evan Longoria boarded a midday flight from Tampa to Los Angeles to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. Longoria stopped by Maddon's office before departing and the manager wished him well.

"I just said, 'Have a great time with it,'" Maddon said. "It's a great opportunity for him, it's a great life experience, and I know he's going to handle it right."

Longoria won't start Sunday's semifinal game against Akinori Iwamura and his teammates from Japan, with David Wright to get the nod at third. U.S. manager Davey Johnson said at a Friday news conference that Longoria will be held in reserve.

"I'm not expecting to use him," Johnson said. "He's an insurance policy. I could have used somebody that could play first base because we've had injuries over there and it's a little more critical to the team."

OUTFIELDERS MOVE AHEAD

A day after he took his first swings against live pitching this spring, B.J. Upton reported that he felt fine Friday morning.

Upton is slated for three more at-bats in a minor-league game today in Port Charlotte and also will play three innings in the field, Maddon said. If he continues to progress, he could see his first Grapefruit League action by the middle of next week.

Matt Joyce, meanwhile, will make his long-awaited Rays debut today even though Maddon had some misgivings about it when he heard about the Orioles' pitching plans. Baltimore will throw LHPs Mark Hendrickson, George Sherrill and Jamie Walker today in Fort Lauderdale - not the easiest introduction for the lefty-swinging Joyce.

FRIDAY'S GAME

Garza looked solid until his final frame, but he said he was feeling a bit of the "dead arm" fatigue that occasionally catches up with pitchers late in spring training. ... LF Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer and a sharp single in his first two at-bats - both coming off LHP Brad Mills.

NOTEWORTHY

Scott Kazmir is scheduled to start a minor-league game Tuesday, an off day for the Rays. ... Dioner Navarro and bench coach Dave Martinez will be the guests on Monday's "Hot Stove" show, which will air at 7 p.m. on 620 AM.

Marc Lancaster

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