Five things to know about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays:

Devil Rays: Five things to know

By Scott Miller CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Scott your opinion!

Miller from Devil Rays camp ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Five things to know about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 1. Heads up: Mark Hendrickson, who led the Devil Rays staff with 11 victories last season, is a couple of weeks behind while recovering from a bone bruise in his right leg. For a pitching-thin organization, that's a situation that bears watching closely. Right now, Scott Kazmir, Casey Fossum and Seth McClung probably go 1-2-3 in the rotation. One glimmer of hope is that McClung, who worked only 109 1/3 innings last season after Tommy John ligament transfer surgery, says he feels great this spring. "This is the first spring since '02 where I haven't been hurting, so that's really positive," McClung says. "I'm ready to go." 2. The Rays also are watching left fielder Carl Crawford, who has been slowed in early camp by a sore left wrist. Crawford batted .301 last season and stole 46 bases; he is key to Tampa Bay's hope of respectability this season. 3. Among the things the Devil Rays must sort out heading into the season is their bullpen, which took a hit when they dealt closer Danys Baez and set-up man Lance Carter, their two most experienced relievers, to Los Angeles during the winter. Dan Miceli could wind up closing for the Devil Rays. Others in the mix: Chad Orvella, Shinji Mora and Jesus Colome. 4. Mori, a five-time Japanese League All-Star for the Seibu Lions, has gotten the juices flowing during his mound sessions in the early part of camp. Among other things, his forkball has been eye opening -- general manager Andrew Friedman came away from the cages after one live batting practice session calling the pitch "devastating." 5. Aubrey Huff has informed the club he prefers to play third base, which has caused a bit of a stir because the Devil Rays were planning on him in the outfield and newcomer Sean Burroughs, acquired from San Diego, at third. That leaves Crawford in left field, Rocco Baldelli in center and, intriguingly, could leave right field open for prospect Delmon Young. itchers shine in Devil Rays loss ST. PETERSBURG -- Joe Maddon didn't figure his Tampa Bay Devil Rays were going to go unbeaten. "If you don't win your third game, you can't win them all," joked the rookie manager following the Devil Rays' 6-1 Grapefruit League loss to the visiting Minnesota Twins on Saturday at Al Lang Field at Progress Energy Park. "When you lose a game, it's one thing," Maddon philosophized. "Still, you can put some hay in the barn if you do the right things." First the bad. Offensively, the Devil Rays managed just five hits off five Minnesota pitchers -- singles by Joey Gathright (bunt) and Rocco Baldelli in the first off starter Scott Baker, who faced only three batters in the inning because catcher Joe Mauer gunned down both Gathright and Baldelli trying to steal second; a single by Luis Ordaz in the third; a double by Ty Wigginton in the fifth; and a single by Aubrey Huff in the sixth. Wigginton scored on Ordaz's groundout against Errol Simonitsch, who was the pitcher of record when right-hander Shawn Camp, picked up over the winter from Kansas City, surrendered six runs (four earned) on six hits in just a third of an inning in the sixth. The big blow for the Twins (2-1) in the inning was Lew Ford's two-run triple. Now the good. The Devil Rays got a solid two innings each from right-handers Seth McClung and Jamie Shields, who held the Twins hitless for the first four innings. McClung, of course, is expected to be in the starting rotation with left-handers Mark Hendrickson, Scott Kazmir and Casey Fossum, with either holdover Doug Waechter or off-season acquisition Edwin Jackson (from Los Angeles) the fifth starter. Shields, who split his time last year between AA Montgomery and AAA Durham, likely will start the season in the starting rotation at Durham. But the Devil Rays like his stuff. "(Shields) looked great, looked sharp," said catcher Josh Paul, who caught McClung, Shields and the first inning of Camp's outing. "Shields was spotting everything where he wanted it. Seth started a little jittery, probably because it was his first time out. But he settled in and made some good pitches. He has a good fastball and a good, old-school breaking ball." McClung, who spent the better parts of the 2003 and 2004 seasons rehabbing from elbow surgery, was an inconsistent 7-11 with a 6.59 earned-run average in 109 1/3 innings in 2005 and knows he needs to improve. "I'm trying to focus on my release point," said the 25-year-old McClung, who struck out one and walked one in his two innings of work, after which Maddon walked over to the dugout and clapped as McClung came off the field. Shields, meanwhile, struck out three. "I'm just going to keep pitching, and whatever happens happens," the 24-year-old Shields said. RAYS NOTES: Prior to the game, the Devil Rays announced that Japanese reliever Shinji Mori, who missed his outing Friday when he felt a twinge in his right shoulder during warmups, was examined by Dr. Koco Eaton, who prescribed three days of rest, which will keep Mori idle until Tuesday. No one seemed concerned, especially Mori, who indicated through his interpreter that this was an every-spring occurrence. The Devil Rays also lost reserve infielder Luis Rivas with a broken knuckle for four weeks. There was good news, however. The Devil Rays beat Veracruz, 11-1, in a "B" game at the Naimoli Complex. Carl Crawford, coming off a late-season wrist injury, had one hit in four at-bats and will play Monday against Boston. Shortstop Julio Lugo, who went home to the Dominican Republic to take care of family matters, had a triple and will play today at Sarasota. The Veracruz team plays the Kia Tigers today at Charlotte County Stadium. You can e-mail John Fineran at jfineran@sun-herald.com.