Rays' Shoppach feeling at home

Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach carried the cap of his alma mater, Baylor University, as he entered Dunedin Stadium. Shoppach, a native Texan, still feels an affinity for the Bears, particularly as they prepared to play in Friday night's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament regional semifinal.

"That's my team," Shoppach said.

His new team and new cap - the one with "TB" - fits more comfortably these days. Day by day, he's getting to know the Rays and the idiosyncrasies of Tampa Bay's pitching staff.

"It just takes time, getting to know everyone," Shoppach said Friday, before the Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 14-10. "But that's my job. Sometimes, you have to force the issue. These are (pitchers) you have seen from afar and you haven't really worked with them before.

"Getting to know their personalities, their likes and dislikes, that might be the most important thing I'm doing in spring training."

Rays manager Joe Maddon agrees with that assessment. And he also loves the offense provided by Shoppach, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles to raise his Grapefruit League batting average to .355.

"I like what he's doing," said Rays pitcher Wade Davis, who started Friday's game. "He's very sincere in wanting to work together with you."

Maddon said the Rays have two catchers - Shoppach and Dioner Navarro, recovering from a bruised nerve in his left shin but expected back next week - who are capable of playing effectively every day.

How will Shoppach, a six-year major-league veteran who had 21 home runs with the Indians in 2008, be utilized?

Maddon said he might go into a regular-season week, almost in spring-training form, and map out the workload for Shoppach and Navarro. Or he might simply go with the hot hand.

"I don't know (my role), and I'm not seeking it out right now," said Shoppach, 29, who was acquired from the Indians for pitcher Mitch Talbot in a Dec. 1 trade. "Everybody helps everybody here. I just want to be a teammate."

Maddon said he likes that attitude, along with Shoppach's handling of a pitching staff.

"It's always incumbent upon a catcher to do that (establish a relationship with pitchers)," Maddon said. "He's very eager, very animated. He's very much into things.

"As a former catcher, I think pitchers like a catcher who's alive, animated in a way, as long as he can catch. He's all of that. He's got a good bedside manner so far with the pitchers."

From afar, Shoppach was impressed with Tampa Bay's starting staff. Now he sees it first-hand - James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price and Davis (all 28 or younger) - and visualizes one of the major-league's best units.

"The stuff that all of them have, it speaks for itself," Shoppach said. "To have that much command of the strike zone at a young age, for all of those guys, it's pretty impressive.

"Of course, before I got here, I was aware of Tampa Bay. Now everyone is aware of Tampa Bay. It's a team that can compete with the best the American League has to offer. I'm really glad to be part of this."

He's more grateful each day.

From behind home plate, it already feels like home.