OAKLAND, Calif. - A month remains in the 2004 baseball season, but the Devil Rays are ready to take a peek at next season right now.
The Rays will call up a handful of players Wednesday as major-league teams can expand their rosters for September. Included in the callups will be outfielder Joey Gathright and Matt Diaz and pitchers Franklin Nunez and Chad Gaudin and, maybe, Seth McClung.
Plus, the Rays will get back centerfielder Rocco Baldelli and pitcher Doug Waechter from the disabled list.
Rays manager Lou Piniella hopes he can look at as many players as possible over the final month.
"That's what we're going to try to do more than anything else," Piniella said. "We're in a little bit of a unique situation in that we're trying to win as many games as we can, but at the same time, we're trying to play as many young people as we can and pitch as many young people as we can."
If Piniella is looking at next season, then expect to see many lineups that include Jorge Cantu at second base, B.J. Upton at third base and an outfield of Carl Crawford, Baldelli and Gathright.
Piniella hopes Waechter and rookie Scott Kazmir can stay healthy and effective enough to remain in the rotation.
If all this happens, Piniella can get a jump on next season. But, he's not forgetting about this season.
"The focus is to try and continue winning," Piniella said.
UPTON EJECTED: He has only been in the majors about six hours (actually, one month), but apparently Upton thought that was long enough to give a little grief to an umpire. Upton went a little too far and was ejected by home plate umpire Jim Reynolds after arguing a called strike three in the fifth inning.
"It just happened," Upton said. "I thought it was (outside) and he didn't. ... It's done with now. There's nothing I can do about it. It just sort of happened. It's probably something I shouldn't have done."
The pitch was borderline outside, but close enough that veteran pitcher Mark Mulder, and not the 20-year-old Upton, was going to get the benefit of a close pitch.
"He has to learn as a young player that there is a limit to how much you can argue and how much umpires will tolerate," Piniella said. "There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with an umpire's call. I think I did that once or twice in my career. But for a youngster, they can stick it to you."
PLEADING INNOCENT: On the surface, it looked a little fishy when Dewon Brazelton hit the A's Bobby Crosby with a pitch right after giving up a home run Saturday that gave the A's a 5-0 lead. Home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom must have thought so because we warned both teams.
Brazelton, though, said he did not intend to hit Crosby and he made a good argument.
"I throw a changeup and the changeup runs in and hits him," Brazelton said. "If I'm going to hit a guy, I'm going to throw a fastball. And Bobby Crosby is a friend of mine. We played on Team USA together (in 2000). So why would I hit him? No matter what happens, I'm not going to hit that guy. If I'm going to hit somebody on purpose, it's not going to be Bobby Crosby."
WAITING GAME: Baldelli (bruised right quadriceps) is due to come off the disabled list Tuesday, but the Rays might wait until Wednesday to activate him. If they activated him Tuesday, they would have to make a roster move. By waiting until Wednesday, the Rays can simply activate Baldelli without a roster move because teams can expand their rosters beginning Wednesday.
Physically, though, it appears Baldelli will be ready to play when he is activated.
WALK THIS WAY: Geoff Blum tied a club record by drawing four walks. It was the fifth time a Ray has walked four times in one game.
