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FORT MYERS - Time is up.
Well, it looks that way, anyway. The Devil Rays still have until Monday to come up with an opening day 25-man roster, but it appears most, if not all, of the final cuts will come this morning, and the list figures to include Tampa native and former Ray Fred McGriff.
But even though this is the 39th day of spring training, not all 25 spots have been locked up.
"There are still some things up in the air," manager Lou Piniella said. "There's still time (for players to make an impression)."
In normal springs, lineups are set early, and the Rays do have a good idea what their lineup will look like. And in normal springs, players fighting for the last couple of spots usually weed themselves out with poor performances.
"And they haven't," Piniella said. "And from the other side of it ... no one has really grabbed it, either."
The Rays' spring also has provided a few twists and turns. Robert Fick, counted on to come off the bench, has hit so well that Piniella is searching for ways to get him into the lineup. Meantime, at third base the Rays figured to platoon Geoff Blum and Damian Rolls, but Blum has struggled while Rolls leads the team in hitting.
Veterans brought in on minor-league tryouts such as Deivi Cruz and Fernando Tatis have performed just well enough to get an extra look. Then again, those two could draw trade interest. One potential destination for Cruz could be the Mets, who are looking for middle infield help. There's an outside chance one or both could accompany the team to Japan to buy a few extra days to swing a deal or figure out a way to get on the final roster.
McGriff's quest for 500 homers (he has 491) likely won't happen with the Rays. He wasn't expected to make the team, and chances are his second stint with the Rays will end today.
Meantime, Piniella has settled on four-fifths of his starting rotation with Victor Zambrano, Jeremi Gonzalez, Mark Hendrickson and Doug Waechter. Paul Abbott and Damian Moss are looking to get the fifth spot, but both probably will start the season in the bullpen, which also has an opening or two.
Many of those decisions will be made today, with the team leaving for Japan on Thursday.
"It would be better if we had an extra week or so because everybody here brings a little different thing to the party and the competition is really close," Piniella said. "I don't think you can go wrong any way you go, and it makes it much harder, especially when you don't have as much time."
ST. PETERSBURG'S OWN: Earlier this spring, Piniella kicked around the idea of sending Waechter to the minors to start a few games before calling him back up when the Rays went from a four-man to a five-man rotation in late April. But that won't happen and Waechter, though not told directly by Piniella, was happy for that news.
"The last thing I wanted to do was go back to Durham," Waechter said. "Obviously, if I did, I wasn't going to be crushed, but I didn't want that to happen."
Waechter had a so-so start Tuesday in a 7-4 loss to the Red Sox. He gave up three runs in the first, but settled down over his final 31/3. He ended up pitching 41/3, allowing five runs on six hits.
GAME DETAILS: Eduardo Perez made things interesting for the Rays at City of Palms Park. With the Rays down 7-0 in the ninth, Perez hit a two-out grand slam. Other than that, the offense struggled. Boston starter Derek Lowe allowed three hits over six innings. Carl Crawford went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
TRAVEL PLANS: Piniella said he has no worries about traveling internationally despite increased tensions in the Middle East after the assassination of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin and vows of revenge. The Rays are scheduled to leave Thursday for a week's trip in Japan.
"Japan is a safe country, so I have no concerns at all, none whatsoever," Piniella said. "I have more concerns about playing the Yankees than I do about safety."
POWER OUTAGE: Centerfielder Rocco Baldelli went into Tuesday's game batting a solid .333 while Aubrey Huff was hitting .304. Neither, though, had a homer.
Piniella said he realized it often takes a hitter much of spring to find his power groove, but he still would like to see a couple of longballs from the meat of his order, particularly from Baldelli. He would like to see Baldelli, who hit 11 homers last season as a rookie, bump up to the 15-20 range.
"I'd like to see a glimpse of it soon," Piniella said. "We'd like to see him cut it loose a little bit."
MISCELLANY: The two pitchers looking for the fifth spot in the rotation will pitch today. Moss will start and Abbott is scheduled to pitch after him. ... Perez, who played for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan in 2001, will record a daily diary on devilrays.com during the Japan trip.