Is it cute or creepy? You make the call

It's awesome. It's disturbing. It's cuddly. It's creepy. It's the Zim Bear, which will be given to the first 10,000 fans who attend the June 29 game against the Tigers at Tropicana Field.

"What can I say?" Rays special adviser Don Zimmer said Wednesday while looking at a picture of the Zim Bear, which is a teddy bear with Zimmer's face.

"Wait (until) the kids see this," Zimmer said. "You know who'd get a kick out of this? Joe Torre would get a kick out of this."

The giveaway is one of 30 on a promotional schedule that includes an Evan Longoria walk-off home run figurine (April 21) and mini drum set (Sept. 9), a Jeremy Hellickson rookie of the year figurine, Desmond Jennings, James Shields, Joe Maddon and D.J. Kitty bobbleheads, a David Price jersey wallet and eight different T-shirts.

But the one garnering the most attention Wednesday after the schedule was released was Zim's bear. Twitter was buzzing with likes and dislikes for the sweet and scary promotion.

"It's very complimentary," Maddon said while looking at a picture of the Zim Bear. "It's Zim. It's cuddly. It's warm. It's cute. It's something you definitely don't want to take to bed with you. I don't want my 2-year-old putting that in the crib. That could be life-altering right there. I think it's more appropriate on a grownup's desk than in the crib."

Howell on the mark

LHP J.P. Howell was excited Wednesday after throwing his first bullpen session.

"A lot of fun to be able to play a game where you got to hit a spot instead of thinking is (the shoulder) going to hurt again," Howell said. "It's fun to play baseball again. That makes it a lot more enjoyable to be out there on that mound."

Howell struggled last season with consistency on nearly a pitch-to-pitch basis, mostly because he couldn't repeat his delivery. He said he rediscovered his groove while throwing a bullpen session just before Christmas.

"It makes it so much fun," Howell said. "I can play games in the 'pen to see how many times in a row I can hit a spot, and I can hit them four, five times in a row. I can do that rather than trying to build arm strength and not work on anything else. Now I can work on some pitches."

The Sam Fuld Rule

Major League Baseball has instituted Rule 3.05, which will "prohibit a manager from sending his current pitcher out to warm up with no intention of having him pitch because a relief pitcher is not ready to enter the game."

Some are calling it the Joe Maddon Rule, since he sent OF Sam Fuld to warm up in the bottom of the eighth inning last June in Milwaukee to allow LHP Cesar Ramos more time to warm up in the bullpen. Fuld pinch-hit for Howell, and Maddon was going to use RHP Joel Peralta until the Rays extended their lead to 8-1.

Fuld threw eight warm-up pitches and was replaced by Ramos.

"That's hard to understand. Is there any intention or not?" Maddon said. "Intent is very difficult to ascertain. I'm OK with the rule.

"I don't anticipate that happening. It's more of a National League play than an American League play."

Noteworthy

Maddon said he was impressed with RHP Fernando Rodney, who threw his first bullpen session Wednesday. Maddon said he was also impressed with Howell's session. … Price took the trophy he earned for winning the Rays fantasy football league on a victory lap around the field before the workout.

Roger Mooney