Onus is on Kennedy to reclaim ace status

BALTIMORE - The Devil Rays expect Joe Kennedy back from California, where he was visiting his ailing grandfather, to start tonight's game against Cleveland.

They don't know, however, which Kennedy will show up.

There have been times this season, a few times, when Kennedy has looked like a successful front-of-the-rotation pitcher, highlighted by his shutout of the Tigers on May 2. But there have been so many more times when he has struggled, going 0-9 in 11 starts since his last victory May 13, that manager Lou Piniella has considered moving him to the bullpen.

"We haven't seen the consistency," Piniella said.

Overall, Kennedy, who was the Rays' opening-day starter, is 3-9 with a 6.19 ERA, including 0-4, 6.69, since coming off the disabled list July 9.

"We were expecting more," Piniella said. "I think he was expecting more."

Piniella said this week that adding two starting pitchers is his No. 1 priority for next season. If they do, and if they keep Jeremi Gonzalez and Victor Zambrano and one or two of their young prospects have solid springs, Kennedy could have serious competition for a job.

"If we add a couple starting pitchers to this mix, there's going to be competition for jobs in spring training, period," Piniella said. "That's the way it should be, right?"

ROTATION SHUFFLE: In an effort to give all their starters extra rest, the Rays are considering starting Jorge Sosa on Sunday and pushing Gonzalez back two days to Tuesday in Seattle, with Zambrano and Chad Gaudin following him.

The Rays made a similar adjustment just before the All-Star break, and the curious byproduct both times was that Gonzalez and Zambrano, their top starters, faced the Mariners, Piniella's old team.

"Like we did before the All-Star Game, we'd like to give everybody a nice little breather for the last five weeks," Piniella said. "It has nothing to do with the team we're playing. If you pitch against them one time, you're not going to pitch against them the next time."

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove is another baseball person who thinks Rocco Baldelli deserves the AL Rookie of the Year Award ahead of Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, though he doesn't think he'll win.

"My vote goes to Baldelli, but I'll tell you right now, Matsui will get it. He plays for the Yankees. He's got good numbers, but he doesn't deserve it," Hargrove said. "Watching Rocco play, he has a chance to be really good for a long time."

INDIAN SUMMER: If this weekend is anything like last weekend, when the teams split four games, the Rays and Indians should put on an entertaining show. Two games were decided on the final pitch and a third in the top of the 13th. There were two one-run games and two extra-inning games.

"They were all very competitive games," Piniella said. "We could have won all four or lost all four. They all came down to the wire. They were four really good games."

NO ROCCO, NO ROLLS: With the Rays facing right-hander Jason Johnson in the middle of a stretch of four left-handed starters, Piniella left right-handed hitters Baldelli, Damian Rolls and Toby Hall out of the starting lineup. "We'll rest a couple of left-handed hitters over the weekend," Piniella said. Adam Piatt is scheduled for his first Rays start tonight.

MISCELLANY: The Rays are 10-9 in a major league-high 19 games decided on the final pitch. ... Carl Crawford's hitting streak ended at 10 games. ... Jared Sandberg went 4-for-8 in the series with three homers and eight RBIs. ... Shortstop Rey Ordonez, who hasn't been seen since June knee surgery, is expected at Tropicana Field today to be checked by team trainers. ... Game-time temperature was 97. ... Sixth-round draft pick Christian Lopez and 31st-rounder Thomas Lagried, both catchers, signed; talks are expected to continue with top pick Delmon Young and possibly No. 3 pick Andrew Miller. ... Injured pitcher Seth McClung will sign autographs from noon-1 p.m. Saturday at the team store at Tampa's WestShore Plaza.