Addition Of Burrell Is Applauded

ST. PETERSBURG - No one has to convince James Shields about new addition Pat Burrell's potential worth to the Rays. His memories of three battles with Burrell in Game 2 of the World Series remain fresh.

"It was funny, I was telling my dad a month or two ago that the hardest guy on the Phillies to face for me was Burrell, because he just grinded every single at-bat," Shields said Wednesday. "I think I threw 14 pitches an at-bat to him, it seemed like. He's not scared to take his walks, he's a very patient hitter, he wants to get his pitch. He'll foul pitches off just to get that one pitch. I think he's going to be really good for our team."

Shields wasn't alone in his assessment among the Rays gathered at Tropicana Field on Wednesday morning for an informal workout. The team's offseason acquisitions were universally applauded by the incumbents.

"I think it's awesome," Evan Longoria said. "It proves, definitely, that we're trying to be a contender in a league where that's very tough to do, especially with the two, three, four big-market teams we have in this league.

"But it definitely does show a step forward for the organization as far as the money they're going to spend and what they're going to do to try to make this a winning franchise."

B.J. Upton likes the thought of Burrell serving as the DH in a batting order that already has plenty of depth.

"Definitely a big bat for the middle of that lineup," Upton said. "He can bring us 20-plus home runs, and any time you can add that to your lineup, it's big. Especially when you add it to the speed we've got and the guys we've already got here, that's going to play a big part in what we do this year."

(tbo.com)