Devil Rays through with 'Groundhog Days'
By TOM BONEBluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — The workout routine is familiar — stretches, easy tosses of the ball, shagging hits, avoiding dehydration. For a majority of the 2006 Princeton Devil Rays, the location of that activity on Sunday was unfamiliar, for now.
Hunnicutt Field, the Rays’ workplace for the 68-game season, came alive with the first workout of the season. The team arrived in Mercer County just before midnight Saturday.
Precious few practices are available before Opening Day on Wednesday at 7 p.m., when the Devil Rays will run out of the dugout to begin the season with the Pulaski Blue Jays. Admission is free and a large turnout is expected.
Jamie Nelson, back for his fourth year managing the Princeton franchise, compared spring training in Florida to a movie in which the same events kept repeating themselves in a frustrating way. “We just went through two-and-a-half months of ‘Groundhog Day,’ where it’s really hot (and) humid,” the Rays’ manager said.
“We’re in a new environment. Things are beginning to count, in three days. Stats go up. It’s exciting. There’ll be people in the stands. It’s more authentic. That, in itself, creates a better aura.”
Nine of the P-Rays are returnees to the squad, which finished second in the Appy League East at 34-31 last summer. Among them is pitcher Chad Pendarvis.
Pendarvis said, “Oh, man, it’s good to be out here again.” He said extended spring is a longer opportunity to “get the rust out,” but “it’s been a long training, and getting ready to start the season back up, we’re getting excited.”
In Princeton, he said, “Everybody’s real close here, and you get to know a lot of people, and make a lot of friends.”
Third baseman Mike McCormick said, “To get some fans out here, it’ll definitely be a boost for us. I enjoyed my time in Princeton last summer, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Nelson said that veterans on the roster are indisputably a help.
“It’s nice to have that experience on your club. Last year, we had some guys come back and I think it helped out. This year, we’ve got some guys returning and I think it’ll help the new guys out.
“And it’ll help them out. They’re a little bit more confident; they’ve been here, and they know what to go through and they know what to expect.
“I feel we have a lot of talent on this club. ... You never know how it’s going to turn out in their first year. They’re still adjusting to professional baseball and getting used to the daily grind.”
Nelson said that he was “excited” about Tampa Bay’s draft earlier this month. “I’ve heard nothing but good things. Obviously, they just reported, so time will tell. ...
“We’ve seen skills: We’ve seen BP (batting practice), we’ve seen some bullpens, we’ve seen ground balls and arm strength. But we haven’t seen the ‘7 o’clock skills’ yet. You know the old story ... a lot of people look good at 5 o’clock; let’s see how they look at 7 o’clock (game time).”
Pendarvis said in the off-season he worked out at home and at his former college in Louisiana, to stay in shape and keep his pitching sharp. “I got one of my old buddies, a catcher, to catch me some bullpens,” he said.
— Contact Tom Bone at tbone@bdtonline.com
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