Harwell's magic -- and a pitch -- are Tropicana treats

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ernie Harwell, retiring after 42 seasons as Tigers broadcaster, threw out the first pitch Thursday in his final game at Tropicana Field. He had a decent catcher -- Al Kaline. Both are in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Harwell is pitching his latest book, My 60 Years in Baseball. With that rich history he can paint a picture for his listeners and, at a moment's notice, drift into a story while keeping up with every pitch.

When the Rays' Jason Tyner batted in the second inning Harwell observed, "It rhymes with Kiner but they don't hit the same." Slugger Ralph Kiner also is in the Hall of Fame. From there it was an instant hop to, "You know, Kiner owes a lot to (Tigers Hall of Famer) Hank Greenberg. He took Ralph under his wing early on and... " -- and Harwell didn't miss a beat, finishing the story just in time to call Tyner's inning-ending fly ball.

In assessing this season's Rays, Harwell was succinct. "They're headed in the right direction. When they had the old-timers (high-salaried, low-producing veterans) they were just playing out the string. These young guys have got a future and they're playing to it."

THE BIG STAGE: Joe Kennedy faces the Yankees in their home opener today. He was nervous the first time he pitched in Yankee Stadium. "It's something you dream about," he said. But as far as he's concerned now, it's just another ballpark.

"I know there'll be a little mystique, being opening day and them probably getting their (AL championship) rings," Kennedy said, "but I'm not going to worry about that. I'm just going to go out and pitch my game."

FLASHBACK: Bobby Smith is off to the same kind of start that got him demoted after six games last season. He batted .105 with 10 strikeouts then. Now his average is .077 with seven strikeouts, one just before pinch-hitter Randy Winn hit a fifth-inning grand slam.

"He's struggling now," manager Hal McRae said, "but we're winning so I'm not going to worry about it. It hasn't cost us a ballgame."

Smith will start at third until Russ Johnson comes off the disabled list. Johnson, who has a sprained ligament in his foot, is expected to go on a rehab assignment with Double-A Orlando by early next week.

HOW GRAND: Did Winn know the ball was gone the instant he hit it? "I haven't hit it out enough to know if they're gone or not," he said.

The grand slam was the Rays' 14th, their first since Ben Grieve's at Texas on June 27, and their eighth pinch home run. It also was Winn's second grand slam (Oct. 3, 1999, vs. the Yankees) and the Rays' second pinch-hit grand slam (Paul Sorrento, June 27, 1998, at Philadelphia).

THE CLASS OF '02: "All the scholarship players participated today," McRae said of shortstop Felix Escalona and pitchers Steve Kent and Jorge Sosa, who made their major-league debuts.

Escalona replaced Chris Gomez in the sixth inning and, in his first at-bat, singled in the eighth. "I was nervous," he said, "but after the (sixth) inning was over I said to myself, "This is the same baseball you've been playing. Let's just keep going.' ... The first at-bat, the guy (Matt Anderson) throws gas and I saw him throw me a pitch right there and I said, "Oh, my God, it's mine.' I was ready."

Kent gave up one hit and struck out one in a scoreless eighth. Sosa gave up ninth-inning home runs to Jacob Cruz and Mike Rivera.

ODDS AND ENDS: Infielder Jason Smith will make his first major-league start against the Yankees on Sunday. ... Sara Diehr, a 12-year-old from Tampa, was invited by the Yankees to sing the national anthem at today's home opener at Yankee Stadium.