New Rays begin life lessons

After three months of playing against each other and showing up at the same facility every day, the Rays' short-season teams have found their way north.

The Hudson Valley Renegades began their New York/Penn League schedule Tuesday night with a home game against the New Jersey Cardinals. The Appalachian League's Princeton Devil Rays kicked off their season on the road against the Bluefield Orioles.

Though the teams play slightly less than half a season, they serve one of the most important functions in a young player's career.

"We teach them what it's like to be a pro," Hudson Valley coach Dave Howard said. "We make sure they learn the fundamentals. Everybody likes to look at wins and losses, but the biggest thing we do is develop people."

Hudson Valley typically receives college players from the most recent draft, while Princeton fills its roster with players out of high school. Either way, the squads feature players who have played baseball almost all their lives but haven't lived baseball.

That's a challenge that goes beyond showing up at the park.

"We teach them how to take care of themselves on and off the field," Howard said. "Most of these guys may have played games Friday, Saturday and Sunday but then they don't do anything but practice for the next four days. It's not like that up here. You have to practice and play on the same day, every day. We show them how to eat right and treat your body right, try to teach them what the difference is between soreness and pain.

"I know I've been successful when a guy moves up and can fit right in with his new team because he knew what to expect."

Howard led Hudson Valley to a 39-37 record in 2001, one of three teams in the organization with a winning record. He points to players such as Edgar Gonzalez, Aaron Clark and Chris Flinn, who left the Renegades and are excelling at Charleston and Bakersfield.

Some of Howard's top players this year will be infielders Kevin O'Brien (35th round, 1999) and Vincent Harrison (13th round, 2001) and pitcher John Dischiavo (ninth round, 2000).

Princeton began the season with six players drafted this month, including second-round choice Jason Pridie and 10th-rounder Jason Hammel.

EXHIBIT A: Jon Switzer is one player who moved up from Hudson Valley to Bakersfield. The 2001 second-round pick is 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA and is third in the California League with 89 strikeouts in 621/3 innings. He won Bakersfield's final game of the first half, pitching six innings of shutout ball while allowing three hits and striking out 10.

ALL-STAR STARTERS: Two Rays farmhands were scheduled to start in All-Star games Tuesday night.

Charleston's Jarod Matthews was set to pitch for the Southern Division in the South Atlantic League's All-Star Game at Lakewood, N.J. Matthews was voted the starter after a first half in which he went 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA.

The California League sent Bakersfield's Mark Malaska to the mound against the Carolina League All-Stars at Wilmington, Del. Malaska, one of six Blaze members to make the squad, leads the team with six wins and has 84 strikeouts in 851/3 innings. He is tied for the league lead with two shutouts.

ALL-STAR SNUBS: Jace Brewer is one Blaze player not heading to Delaware, and he's not happy.

Brewer (fifth round in 2000) is second in the league with 84 hits and fourth on the team with a .308 average to go with his team-leading 14 doubles.

"I was upset with the decision. It really was a complete surprise because I was leading the league in hits," Brewer told the Bakersfield Californian.

Apparently being among the league leaders doesn't carry much weight. Teammate Jonny Gomes is second in the league with 17 home runs and does not appear on the All-Star roster.