Maddon will return to bullpen by committee

The potentially permanent departure of Troy Percival on Friday left the Rays back in familiar territory at the back end of their bullpen. It's closer-by-committee time again.

Both Manager Joe Maddon and executive vice president Andrew Friedman said mixing and matching will be the order of the day in the ninth inning, at least for the time being. That's nothing new, of course; the Rays went that route for a good chunk of last year during Percival's disabled list stints and in the playoffs.

"We're just going to piece it together," said Maddon. "No specifics, we'll just see who's available at that moment."

The Rays' most consistent non-Lance Cormier reliever lately may be J.P. Howell, and Maddon is comfortable using him against lefties and righties. But it could be Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler, Joe Nelson or Brian Shouse getting the call depending on the matchup.

And then there's Jason Isringhausen. One of the reasons the Rays signed the veteran closer to a minor-league deal during spring training was to serve as insurance for Percival, but Maddon said Friday he didn't want to "just thrust him into that role; he hasn't been there in a while."

The Rays have yet to see Isringhausen, who was activated from the disabled list Monday, work in a high-pressure situation. But if he shows he can approach the form that helped him accumulate 293 career saves, they will be open-minded.

"It's certainly feasible that he takes the position over and goes out the rest of the year and pitches the ninth inning, but we're not setting those expectations right now," said Friedman. "We're just going to continue to do it the way we have on days that Percy's been down and see if someone emerges."

Rapid rewards

It's fair to say neither Reid Brignac nor Dale Thayer foresaw the call-ups they got following Durham's game Friday at Lehigh Valley, where Bulls pitching coach Xavier Hernandez delivered the good news.

"I was like, 'X, what happened?'" said Brignac, "and he was like, 'Does it matter?'"

Neither should get too comfortable, as Thayer is expected to be sent down after Sunday's game to make room for David Price and Brignac probably will go when Pat Burrell comes off the disabled list - likely early next week. But it was a thrill for both.

Thayer, in particular, was quietly appreciative of the opportunity. The 28-year-old, originally signed by the Padres in 2002 as an undrafted free agent, has consistently posted outstanding numbers in the minors (0.93 ERA, six saves this year) but he has not caught a break.

"I just tried to prove myself every year, and finally it paid off," Thayer said.

"It took a while, but if you keep going at it, good things will happen."

The Rays didn't waste time helping Thayer work out any big-league jitters, getting him into Friday's no-pressure game and watching him pick up a save by working the final three innings. And even though Brignac made four appearances for the Rays last September, he still had a first to record after going 0-for-10 at the plate in that stint. He took care of it Friday with a single to center in his first at-bat of 2009.

Odds and ends

RHP Jeff Niemann should get to hit in a game today for the first time since a summer-league game between his junior and senior years of high school. He said he tripled in his final at-bat, but isn't exactly a burner on the bases. "There ain't much speed and there ain't much power," he said. "But there's a little bit more power than speed." ... The Rays would like to officially announce Maddon's three-year contract extension today, but it wasn't clear Friday if that would happen.

Marc Lancaster