He doesn't want to waste a second. He beats most everyone to the park. Joe Nelson learned at his first training camp, in 1996. The then-Atlanta Braves prospect overslept twice. ...more

February 22, 2009

Now that they've arrived, the Rays are eager to prove they belong. ...more

February 22, 2009

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Rays first baseman Carlos Pena sports some broad shoulders. ...more

February 22, 2009

Sonnanstine is dependent upon precision and consistency, and his margin for error is narrower than most of his peers. ...more

February 22, 2009

Jason Isringhausen arrived to camp after signing a minor-league contract with the hopes of finding a role in Tampa Bay's deep bullpen. ...more

February 21, 2009

Once he recovered from the shock of being unceremoniously dumped by the Cardinals just before spring training began, Adam Kennedy knew he at least had his pick of where to sign. ...more

February 21, 2009

Jeff Niemann has only five major-league appearances to his credit, but in many regards 2009 qualifies as a make-or-break year for the former first-round pick. ...more

February 20, 2009

It might sound like a spring training cliche, but OF Carl Crawford looked and - perhaps more significantly - sounded like a new man Wednesday on his first day in camp. Reporting strong and healthy and saying he checked in at 225 pounds - 10 more than his listed weight - Crawford said he feels as good as he has in a long time. That isn't something he necessarily says every spring, either. ...more

February 19, 2009

Grant Balfour already knew it was a big deal to participate in the World Series, of course. But when he went back home to Australia after the Rays' magical run to the American League pennant last season, he found out firsthand just how big it really was. ...more

February 18, 2009

Scott Kazmir didn't sound surprised that his hopes of pitching in the World Baseball Classic had been rejected, but he was disappointed just the same. ...more

February 18, 2009