Rays Spring Training Notes For February 16th

Timeline:
-Day 2 of Spring Training
-9 Days until the first game on Wednesday, February 25th vs. Cincinnati
-49 Days until the season opener on Monday, April 6th @ Boston
-56 Days until the home opener on Monday, April 13th vs. New York

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS: DAY 2:
- All 38 pitchers and catchers invited to camp worked out for the second straight day.
- Also 16 of the 23 position players have reported.
- 60 of the 61 players invited to camp are expected at Wednesday’s full squad workout. The lone exception, 2B Akinori Iwamura, will remain with Team Japan in preparation for the World Baseball Classic.

TOMORROW...DAY 3 OF PITCHERS AND CATCHERS:
- Players take the field at 9:30 am.
- Gates open at 9 a.m.
- Parking lot opens at 8 a.m.

FIRST FULL SQUAD WORKOUT:
- Wednesday, February 18 at 10 a.m.

Manager Joe Maddon on:
How today’s workout went: "Good. Just like yesterday. Again, we’re not pushing too hard. We want to make sure the guys get their throwing in, the pitchers get their work in. A lot of the drill work also has conditioning involved in it. So it’s all a matter of getting all that stuff done."

How nowadays players train year round: "We’d have to ask the guys that came in years ago to get in shape. Our guys are pretty much in good shape. It’s really rare that you get somebody coming into camp these days trying to get themselves to that point."

Players working on fundamentals: "This all has to happen. You have to go through the more mundane things; the pitchers fielding, etc. The one thing we really generate a lot of our success through is defense. And this is a big part of nurturing your defense. As a pitcher now there’s going to be some guys out there that take it more seriously than others. That’s just the way it is. A part of it is conditioning, but a big part of it is also getting your feet back together. You want to have good feet when you field in regards to stepping in the right direction and throwing with accuracy. All this stuff matters. The wonderful thing about our game is that it’s a cumulative kind of a thing where it takes a month to six weeks to get to the regular season so you don’t push it."