James Hammel ~ SP/RP [R]

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RHP Jason Hammel, vying for the fifth starter spot, has struggled with his command early on, walking the first two batters in the first inning.

Looks familiar to Hammel's last start. Pirates leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan also second after walking (Hammel gave up three stolen bases his last start, and said he needed to work on controlling the running game).

But also like he did in his last start, Hammel bounced back, striking the next two hitters out, and Navarro threw out Morgan trying to steal third to end the threat.

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Hammel got in a little jam in the third, but kept the Pirates off the board thanks to a great defensive play by RH Justin Ruggiano.

Ruggiano charged an Eric Hinske single, and threw a Pirates runner out at the plate with a one-hopper to Navarro, just to the left of home plate.


Pirates 2, Rays 0

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Hammel gave up two more runs in the fourth, with Jack Wilson lining another double to left.

Hammel just doesn't seem to have his best stuff today, and has worked his way out of jams. He's done after four innings, having given up four runs on six hits. He's been replaced by RHP Lance Cormier.

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RHP Jason Hammel was pretty upset with himself after struggling in Monday's start- giving up four runs on six hits with five walks - an outing he labeled "pretty ugly - every meaning of the word ugly."

Hammel, one of the top candidates for the fifth starter spot, struggled with his fastball command and wasn't aggressive as he was early in camp.

"Sums up in one word, basically unacceptable," Hammel said. "For a rotation hopeful, that's defintely not what you're supposed to get. .. The guy that I was in the first few starts and appearances wasn’t there today, I wasn’t aggressive, I was nitpicking, trying to pick the corners and just wasn’t aggressive.

Maddon said the Rays "havent' made up our minds yet" on the No. 5 spot; he said they're looking at RHP Jeff Niemann "very seriously," with him starting Wednesday.

"I'm telling you, we want guys that throw strikes," Maddon said. " We have a team that plays defense and you want your pitchers to put the ball in play. Yes, we’re looking at Niemann very sieriously and again with Jason, he and I have had this conversation we’re having right now, we got tp throw more strikes with the fastball."t

[love_that_reefer]

Hammel has to be looked at as trade bait right now. He is out of options, the bullpen is loaded and Niemann has looked better this spring. Tons of teams need depth in their rotation.

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Hammel could and should leave the team. We have Niemann and David Price.

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Jason Hammel struggled through four innings against the Pirates on Monday, allowing four runs and walking five batters.
For no logical reason, Hammel, who is 4-13 with a 6.41 ERA in 28 career starts, is the leading candidate to be the Rays' fifth starter initially. This takes his spring ERA up to 4.95, and he's getting worse, rather than better. Fortunately, there's still time for the Rays to change their minds and go with David Price.

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The battle for the fifth spot in the Rays rotation appears to be down to two candidates—RHPs Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann, with a decision expected by the end of the week. The Rays thinned the field by sending LHP Carlos Hernandez, RHP Mitch Talbot and LHP David Price to the minors.

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The pitching-poor Padres have inquired about both candiates for the Rays fifth starter's job, Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann, which could be a reason the Rays are holding off on making a decision.

But reports regarding Niemann in the San Diego Union-Tribune that the Rays have inquired about prospects Simon Castro, Wynn Pelzer, Juedy Valdez and Nick Schmidt, and that the Padres have "deemed the price too high" are not true, the Times has learned.