Roundabout trip worth it to rookie

SEATTLE - To get to the major leagues, Doug Waechter rode a bus Sunday night from Richmond, Va., to Durham, N.C., took commercial flights from Raleigh/Durham to Atlanta to Tampa Monday morning, then joined the Rays on their five-hour chartered flight Monday night to Seattle.

But he was hardly complaining. The St. Petersburg native was thrilled Tuesday to put on a major-league uniform for the first time.

"As much as you think you can do it and feel like you can do it, when it happens it's still a shock," he said.

Waechter, 22, owed some thanks for his promotion to Bulls teammate Matt Diaz. Waechter left his cell phone on the bus, so he didn't get the call when Durham manager Bill Evers was trying to reach him with the news. Evers instead called Diaz, who lived next door, and he let Waechter use his phone.

Manager Lou Piniella plans to use Waechter in long and middle relief. "He's got a nice arm," Piniella said. "This is going to be a wonderful experience for him here in the last week of August and September."

DRAFT BREEZE: The Rays signed fifth-round pick Jonathan Barratt, lost third-round pick Andrew Miller to the University of North Carolina and still are negotiating with top pick Delmon Young.

Barratt, a left-hander from Springfield, Mo., had been pitching for the U.S. Junior National team, going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in three games in the PanAm Cup.

Signability was a known issue with Miller, a hard-throwing left-hander from Gainesville who was named Gatorade's top prep player in the state. Miller, who according to predraft reports may have been seeking around $3-million, attended classes Tuesday, according to a Tar Heels spokesman, which means the Rays lost his rights.

The Rays are expecting to continue discussions soon with Arn Tellum, the agent representing Young, the only unsigned first-rounder.

HAMMER TIME: Piniella said he was glad to see that troubled prospect Josh Hamilton was back on the field working out with Durham but really would have liked to have seen him in the Rays outfield this season.

"He's not out of the plans, believe me," Piniella said. "We've just got to get him back on the field playing. He's a talented young man. He's been set back, basically for a whole year. But he's a kid who could come very, very quick.

"It's a shame, really. You look at our situation, he probably would have gotten himself some big-league time this summer."

Whatever Hamilton did during his unexplained three-month personal leave, it apparently didn't diminish his skills.

During his first workout with Durham on Monday, Hamilton put on an impressive batting practice show according to the Raleigh News and Observer, hitting a monstrous home run, estimated at 475 feet.

"He takes about a two-month layoff and he's out here doing that," Bulls outfielder Ryan Jackson told the newspaper. "Leave it to him to come out here in his first BP and do that."

Hamilton did not do any interviews Monday and may not until spring training.

QUIET WELCOME BACK: Piniella's second trip back to Seattle was a much lower-key affair than his first last month, with no formal news conference, no onfield presentation and no tearsr. "It's more baseball as usual the second time around," he said.

MINOR MATTERS: Outfielder Jonny Gomes, who had 17 home runs and 148 strikeouts in 120 games (442 at-bats) for Double-A Orlando, was promoted to Durham with pitchers Jim Magrane and Jose Veras.

MISCELLANY: Carl Crawford was caught trying to steal second, ending a streak of 18 straight successful attempts. ... Aubrey Huff is hitting .419 (13-for-31) over the past six games. ... The Rays have walked seven or more in 17 games. ... Todd Kalas is filling in on the TV broadcasts this week for Dewayne Staats, who is attending to a personal matter. ... Pitcher Jeremi Gonzalez, who went home to Venezuela after his wife had complications from surgery, is expected to rejoin the team Friday.