A Conversation With J.P. Howell

J.P. Howell's personality is difficult to describe. Perhaps the friendliest and most outgoing Ray, he's laid-back California cool and fast-twitch high-strung all at the same time. The explanation behind that dichotomy may lie in what he drinks and listens to before each game. That and other mysteries about the Rays' versatile lefty reliever were revealed in a discussion with The Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster.

What would you normally be doing on Oct. 8 if you were not here?

I would be sitting at home, I would just be starting a video game. I'd be playing NCAA Football. I'd probably be at my parents' house in Sacramento, chillin', stay there for a week, then go to my spot that I have there that I rent out every year. I'd just be getting up, too, right now around noon.

You're maybe 6 feet, 160 pounds, throwing 86 mph - how do you get people out?

Keep moving it. If it doesn't move, it's gone, man. Make the ball move and just try to hit the spot. Those guys that throw hard have a luxury in that they can get away with a heater, but for me, I've got to keep them guessing. That's my gig. It's totally different.

Do you eat anything specific before the games?

Yeah - PBJ and Doritos. That's it, man. Just simple.

Every game?

Every game.

Since when?

Aw, man, it probably started because my mom used to pack it in my lunch. She packed my lunch in high school, and then college I stopped in my freshman year and got hit. So sophomore year, I said, hey, I've got to go back, during the season, to eating my PBJs and Doritos, man. So I did and everything's been good.

Bet that was easier when you were a starter. You have to eat it every day now.

Every day, exactly. It's stepped up. But it's probably good for me - I could eat a little bit at 6-foot, 160.

Do you ever drink Red Bull or anything like that?

Coffee. I kill coffee.

It doesn't seem like you'd need the caffeine.

I don't need it, but I'll take it, man, in this environment, 86-88 mph, that's a lot of coffees. If I'm throwing 84, that means I haven't had my coffee yet.

How much do you drink?

Three cups a day, minimum. Minimum.

Any specific music you listen to?

I'll go hip-hop, and I'll go jazz, man. Sirius radio got me on that, and I used to listen to that when I was little. My mom made me listen to it.

Anybody in particular?

Louis Armstrong. Oh, and then Bach - that's what my mom made me listen to, too.

Bach?

Get the Bach, dude. Three coffees, I guess that counters it, you know? Hit all the angles.