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Johnson will get more time at shortstop

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Published: May 19, 2011

TORONTO - Manager Joe Maddon said SS Reid Brignac will be an everyday player at the major-league level, and he'll be one soon. Brignac just isn't one now.

The decision to play UTL Elliot Johnson at short on a more regular basis stemmed in part from Brignac's struggles — a .102 batting average during his past 14 games — and Johnson's production. He batted .375 on the recent homestand with a pair of home runs and drove in three runs in his first two at-bats Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.

"What's best for us is that we back off (Brignac) a little bit and give Elliot a little more playing time and see how that works out," Maddon said.

Brignac, who will get starts against pitchers who aren't particularly hard on lefties, is the second infielder to lose his job since the start of the season, joining 1B Dan Johnson.

Maddon isn't one to say those two "lost" their jobs, because he said they were never considered full-time starters despite the fact they were playing every day.

"It's not like there is an incumbent at each spot or an All-Star at each spot. It's also that the other guys involved are pretty good players, too," Maddon said. "It's not there's a clear winner. When people get opportunities coming out of spring training, that's their opportunity, but the people that were there in the background to support them are pretty good players, too. Until somebody really establishes themselves as that everyday player then I don't think it's wise to just say through thick and thin you're going to be playing this position at the expense of the Rays winning a baseball game."

The case with Kotchman is more cut and dry. Dan Johnson has been in a slump since the start of the season. His .120 average is second-lowest in the major leagues. He has not had a hit since April 27.

Kotchman, who has the highest fielding percentage (.998) among first basemen in major-league history, entered Wednesday's game with a .347 average in his past 19 games.

"Casey's really just kind of taken (first base)," Maddon said. "That wasn't like I chose to do that. Casey just took it."

Both Brignac and Dan Johnson will start tonight against Blue Jays lefty Rickey Romero, even though it's lefty on lefty, because Romero is actually tougher on righties (.206 batting average) than lefties (.258).

"He's a solid neutral guy, almost a reverse kind of a guy. He really plays up well against some of our righties. Advantage Romero," Maddon said. "So we'll see by including more left-handed hitters in the lineup it somehow works to our advantage."

Davis eager to go

RHP Wade Davis, who faces the Jays tonight, is pleased with some of the adjustments he made since his last start.

Maddon was concerned with the lack of command Davis had with his fastball during his past two outings. Davis said he will rely less on his two-seam fastball and more on his four-seamer, a pitch he can command better. He said he also tweaked his change-up.

As for a lack of velocity, Davis said that's normal for him this early in the season.

Davis said a good outing tonight will be one in which he executes his game plan.

"Be extremely aggressive, pitching inside more, keeping people off balance better, just having a more aggressive approach to everything," he said.

Noteworthy

RHP Andy Sonnanstine, who starts Friday against the Marlins, and LHP David Price, who starts Saturday, did not accompany the Rays to avoid early-morning flights to and from Toronto so they can be better rested for their starts. … Former Devil Ray Eduardo Perez visited the Rays clubhouse before the game. … A Sports Illustrated poll of MLB players on who is the "nicest player" in the big leagues ranked DH Johnny Damon third behind Jim Thome and Raul Ibanez. … 3B Evan Longoria's next charity yoga class to raise money for the Moffitt Cancer Center is scheduled for June 14. For more information, email bellaprana@gmail.com. … Possible dress theme from Anaheim to Baltimore during the Rays' next road trip: pajamas. … 2B Ben Zobrist has reached base via hit or a walk in his past 23 games. He has drawn a walk in nine straight games. … All signs indicate LHP J.P. Howell will rejoin the team Friday.

Roger Mooney

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