Rain aside, Niemann's day not at all gloomy

The Opening Day rainout was a bummer for many, but it would have taken a lot more than that to get Jeff Niemann down Monday.

A day after he officially was anointed the Rays' fifth starter, Niemann joined his teammates at Fenway Park and could hardly keep the smile off his face.

"It hasn't really set in yet," he said. "I'm just looking forward to helping out whichever way I can and getting some W's."

Niemann pitched six innings in a minor-league camp game Sunday in Port Charlotte and got the good news afterward. He returned to his spring training residence, picked up his belongings and headed for St. Petersburg before catching an evening flight from Tampa to Boston along with Andy Sonnanstine, who also pitched Sunday. They arrived about 10:30 p.m.

"The best flight I've been on in a while," Niemann said with a smile.

His first turn in the rotation is scheduled to come Saturday in Baltimore against the Orioles, the same team he beat at Tropicana Field last April 13 in his major-league debut. That was a spot start for Matt Garza, who was on the disabled list, and Niemann allowed only one run in six innings.

This time he'll be able to settle in for a while, though - at least until David Price is deemed ready to step into the rotation. It's unclear where Niemann will fit once that happens - the Rays still haven't closed the door on him transitioning to relief work at some point - but the fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft is here now.

"It's been a long road, but it feels great to finally be here on Opening Day and break with the team," Niemann said. "Hopefully I can stay around a little bit."

COMING AND GOING

Most of the Rays were still at the team hotel when word came down that Monday's game wouldn't be played, but they headed to Fenway Park anyway.

With the rain not scheduled to arrive until later in the afternoon, the Rays hoped to take batting practice on the field, as the Red Sox had late Monday morning. But the skies opened up after the first couple of hitters took their swings against bench coach Dave Martinez and the Rays scurried for their clubhouse. The rest of their work was conducted in the indoor batting cages.

The rainout didn't force the Rays to change any of their pitching plans; they already had decided to let their starters pitch in order, without skipping the fifth starter the first time through the rotation. The only difference will be James Shields not getting an extra day of rest before he pitches again Sunday in Baltimore.

ANOTHER FIRST

World Series, All-Star Game, Rookie of the Year - Evan Longoria pretty much did it all in his first season in the majors, with one exception. His Opening Day came with the Durham Bulls, not the Rays, and he's looking forward to checking one more item off his to-do list.

"Actually, me and Jason Bartlett were talking about it Sunday," Longoria said with a laugh. "As if the start of my career wasn't storybook enough already, this is kind of a child's dream. Opening Day, Fenway Park - it's pretty cool. I'm excited."

Marc Lancaster