Brazelton fine, just a little on wild side
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, MARC TOPKIN
Published March 7, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - Dewon Brazelton 's pitches hit the mitt of catcher Toby Hall with a distinguishable pop.
Had the right-hander's location been just a little bit better, his two-inning outing during Sunday's 5-3 victory over the Pirates at Progress Energy Park would have been a resounding success.
But three walks and two wild pitches admittedly took a bit of the edge off. Other than that, Brazelton said he built on last week's intrasquad success.
"I was pretty positive in the way I threw the ball," said Brazelton, who allowed a run on two hits and struck out two.
Even manager Lou Piniella took the walks in stride.
"Yeah, he did walk three, but he showed some poise getting out of a tough situation," he said. "At the same time it seems like he's got more velocity than he did last year. He's competing well. You don't want to see three walks but he wasn't all over the place. He was just missing with his pitches."
Brazelton said that isn't the end of the world this time of year. He also said he is well ahead of this time last season.
"I have a better idea of what I'm supposed to be doing," he said. "I have a better understanding of what's going on. My talent is no different or my ability. I think just mentally I'm better."
LINING UP: The Rays started what could be their opening day lineup, with Carl Crawford leading off, followed by Roberto Alomar , Danny Bautista , Aubrey Huff , Travis Lee , Julio Lugo , Alex Gonzalez , Josh Phelps and Hall. "That's pretty close," Piniella said. "We've still got a few decisions to make."
CANTU CAN DO: Infielder Jorge Cantu homered to right-centerfield in his one at-bat.
"Gosh, that ball sounded like a rocket launcher when he hit it," Piniella said. "That's a pretty good poke out there and the wind wasn't helping. He's a strong kid."
Including two intrasquad games and a game against Navy, Cantu is batting .688 (11-for-16) with three home runs and seven RBIs.
MORE GAME: Huff went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI and made a leaping grab at the leftfield wall to rob Ty Wigginton . ... Crawford missed a diving attempt in centerfield to snare Daryle Ward 's tailing liner that went for a double. ... Hard-throwing right-hander Angel Garcia , claimed in the Rule 5 draft, got the victory but was hit hard in one inning and allowed a run on two hits. "He's a young kid who pitched in A ball last year, so it's quite a bit different for him," Piniella said. "But he went out and threw strikes and that's what you want to see from a young pitcher." ... Hall threw out a runner trying to steal but also had a throwing error and a passed ball. ... Former Rays outfielder Ben Grieve was booed before each of his three at-bats but had two hits, including a bloop, run-scoring double.
B ROLL: Top draft pick Jeff Niemann , who wasn't sharp in last week's intrasquad game, pitched two perfect innings in the 4-2 B game loss to the Tigers in Lakeland, striking out three, all looking. The difference? "Comfort level," he said. "I knew I had to come out and get the intensity level back to where it needs to be. I threw well and felt good."
Chris Seddon (four strikeouts) and Chad Orvella each pitched two scoreless innings. Delmon Young had a two-run single for the Rays runs.
KID STUFF: Most of the top prospects, such as Young, B.J. Upton , Joey Gathright and Jonny Gomes , are headed back to the minors this season.
The Rays plan to take a long look before they go.
"I think you'll see us play our younger kids a lot longer into the spring than most clubs," Piniella said. "We want to give them as much experience as we can as this level. And that's probably with some of the young pitchers too. They can derive a lot from the competition and from facing major-league pitching and major-league hitting."
MISCELLANY: Hideo Nomo is scheduled to make his second exhibition start Tuesday against the Tigers in Lakeland. ... Phelps and third-base coach Tom Foley will be on tonight's Rays Insider show at 7 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. ... New radio broadcasters Andy Freed and Dave Will made their debut Sunday.