Notes: Three up for fifth starter spot

03/02/2006
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The guy the Rangers want to be their fifth starter threw 38 pitches and three innings in a Minor League game on Thursday. That's more pitches than any other Rangers pitcher has thrown so far this spring.
But enough of Roger Clemens' day in Florida.
In Arizona, three rookies took first aim at the fifth spot in the rotation on Thursday, and drew first blood in possibly the most intriguing competition of the Rangers camp.
Josh Rupe opened the exhibition season by pitching two scoreless innings in a 5-5 tie with the Kansas City Royals in a game called after 11 innings at Surprise Stadium on Thursday.
Thomas Diamond followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and even Edison Volquez got into the act. He followed Diamond and retired six straight hitters before a walk, a balk and a two-out, run-scoring triple by ex-Ranger Benji Gil ended his day.
The three combined to hold the Royals to one run on five hits in a combined 5 1/3 innings, while walking four and striking out two.
"I thought Josh, Eddie and Thomas handled their first outing well," manager Buck Showalter said. "It was fun to watch."
The competition is only beginning. Rick Bauer, who pitched in parts of the last five seasons, starts Friday and will get a shot. So too will knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, left-hander C.J. Wilson and Juan Dominguez, who is actually the incumbent but must still earn the spot.
Dickey pitches Saturday, Dominguez goes on Monday, and Wilson is still sidelined with a hamstring strain.
The Rangers would obviously like one of their young starters to emerge into a front-line starter, but the development of young talent no longer takes immediate priority over who is the right person for the job.
"Young, old ... we're not putting a restriction on their age unless it's a 20-year-old," Showalter said. "We're going to take the best guy for the team. It will not be a pure statistical evaluation."
"If you look at our track record, look at how many times players have made our Opening Day roster or been up early in the season who weren't expected to at this time in Spring Training," general manager Jon Daniels said. "Chad Allen last year, and Rod Barajas the year before. Mark DeRosa, Gary Matthews, Ron Mahay, Carlos Almanzar. All those guys came in to camp off the roster. Everybody is going to get a fair look."
Early games are critical. Those who impress early earn more mound time as the spring progresses. The more mound time, the more chances to win a job.
"You can only create so many innings," Showalter said. "You may keep a guy in camp, but he may become a backup."
Rupe allowed the first three hitters to reach base on two hits and a walk. But Barajas threw out the first runner trying to steal, and Rupe finished by retiring five straight hitters.
'"It's sort of a mini-competition, but you have to put that in the back of your mind and do what you do normally," Rupe said. "There's always a little pressure, but the biggest thing is putting pressure on myself, and thinking about what the other guys are doing isn't going to get me anywhere."
Volquez remains a wild card. He struggled in September last year, but so far, he seems to have responded to pitching coach Mark Connor's challenge to make the team.
"I like what I saw today," Connor said. "He came in and threw strikes, kept the ball down and used all his pitches. [He pitched] better than what we saw at the end of last year. He's just got to keep his focus and remember that if he's got two outs, the inning's not over."
Nevin goes deep: The first significant at-bat of the spring for the Rangers came in the second inning, when Phil Nevin crushed a breaking ball from Royals left-hander Mark Redman over the center-field wall for a home run.
"There was a pretty good reaction in our dugout," Showalter said. "Our guys know ... first at-bat of the spring, and he hits the ball out of the ballpark. I think our club knows what Nev means. That's a nice little return for his offseason."
First game for GM: Daniels watched his first Spring Training game in his new position, sitting directly behind home plate with a number of his assistants and team scouts.
The Rangers led, 5-3, going into the ninth, but Daniels was denied his first victory when the Royals rallied for two runs.
"I saw the guy behind me ready to pour the Gatorade," joked Daniels, "but then they tied it up and he disappeared."
Owner meeting: Owner Tom Hicks was in camp on Thursday to meet with Daniels, Showalter and their staffs.
"We want to let him get a sense of where we're at and the framework of some of the ideas we're going to mull over the next month," Daniels said.
Daniels said the Rangers may send a couple of players back to the Minor Leagues on Friday, but added, "We're not going to cut anybody healthy or who we want to see in a game. We're still a week away from that."
Briefly: Minor League camp opens today, but the Rangers are expected to be without pitcher Marc Malachi and outfielder Vince Sinisi. They are expected to play for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. ... Kevin Millwood is scheduled to throw in a simulated game on Friday. He'll have a catcher and will face four hitters. Said Showalter, "Anybody want to shag, let me know. Hopefully, they won't get any action." ... Matthews (strained rib cage) and Laynce Nix (strained groin) remain day-to-day, and C.J. Wilson (strained hamstring) throws off the front of the mound again on Friday. Showalter said Francisco Cordero could be a week away from pitching in a game, which would initially be either a "B" game or Minor League game.

Source: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/