ST. PETERSBURG -- Spring Training has swung into action across the Sunshine State, and while several teams call Central Florida home, the one closest to the area all season is the Tampa Bay Rays, who expected to put up a better showing this season than in years past.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said this season, the Rays' clubhouse was going to be policed by the correct people -- the veterans.
Closer Troy Percival has made his presence known. He made a different statement Monday with a jersey he wore, playing off an article he read in the St. Petersburg Times that compared the Rays' young staff of Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza, to the Atlanta Braves' young pitching staff of Tom Glavine, Steve Avery and John Smoltz, who helped turned the organization around in the early 1990s.
"There was a big article in the paper comparing our three starters to Glavine, Smoltz and Avery in the past, and we think we're jumping the gun a little bit, and let's go out there and prove what we can do," Percival said.
"I think it's funny," Garza said of Percival's shirt. "It releases a lot of pressure when they compare you to guys like that. It's like, 'Wow, those are hall of famers in their own right.' I think what he did is to take the pressure off us and say, 'Guys, you have nothing to worry about. I'm here to steal that show for you,' and I think that's good. That's what older vets should do."
"I think it adds a little pressure," Shields said, "No, I think we're a bunch of young guys, and hopefully we're going to have a fun season with it."
Percy is looking to become an entrepreneur in the T-shirt business, and I think he's on his way," Maddon joked. "I think somewhere in the near future, he's going to have a car wash, sushi bar, concession. He sees this eclectic personality, and he said, 'I have this T-shirt, and I saw it and thought it was kind of interesting."
Rays starter David Price, who was the first overall pick in the 2007 draft, told News 13 he was not angry he didn't make Percival's jersey, but he was eager to contribute on the major league level.
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