Notes: Piniella confirms callups

TORONTO -- Lou Piniella decided to turn the tables on Tampa Bay's reporters on Friday. The Devil Rays' skipper leaned back in his chair in the coaches office and immediately had a question for the small group of media that surrounded his desk.
"Where'd you all get the names of the people coming up?" Pineiella asked, referring to a report in the St. Petersburg Times that said Dewon Brazelton and Eric Munson were the most likely candidates to join the team as part of the September callups.
"Brazelton and Munson is not a guess," he added. "That's who's coming up. That's what I've been told."
The duo is expected to finish the Triple-A season with Durham, which plays its last game on Sept. 5, then head to New York to join Tampa Bay for the three-game series with the Yankees that begins on Tuesday.
Brazelton, who has started eight games for Tampa Bay and is 1-8 with a 6.85 ERA in 18 appearances with the big club, will head back to the bullpen. The 25-year-old right-hander could move into the starting rotation as needed, too.
"If something goes wrong, if we have a rainout like we did the other day or we have to rest somebody or whatever, we have a starter here," Piniella said.
In five Minor League starts, Brazelton has gone a combined 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA at Durham and Double-A Montgomery.
Munson has only appeared in four games in the Major Leagues -- going 2-for-7. Through 97 games with the Bulls, he's hit .283 with 24 home runs and 64 RBIs.
Piniella said that Munson, who is primarily a corner infielder, would come off the bench and serve as an emergency catcher behind Toby Hall and Pete Laforest.
"[Munson has] been catching a couple days a week from what I understand," Piniella said. "Of course, it gives me a left-handed bat sitting on the bench, too."
Piniella wasn't aware of any other players that would be getting the call in the next few weeks. When asked whether or not he would have liked to see top prospect Delmon Young in a Devil Rays uniform before the season's end, though, Piniella went silent.
"I'm just going to say, 'no comment,' and leave it at that," he said after a long pause.
McClung back: Right-hander Seth McClung wasn't in Tampa Bay's clubhouse prior to Friday's game against the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Piniella said not to worry, though, McClung had just caught a later flight to Toronto and was still scheduled to start on Saturday.
McClung was placed on the bereavement list on Aug. 31 so he could attend his grandmother's funeral in Lewisburg, W. Va.
"He should be OK tomorrow," Piniella said.
After learning the news, McClung still went out and started on Aug. 29 against Boston. He gave up two home runs in just one inning before a one-hour, 43-minute rain delay following the first cut McClung's night short.
"With his grandmother passing away, I don't think it was conducive to his best concentration," Piniella said. "I think he learned a little bit from that experience. You just don't throw that get-me-over curveball, especially to a team that's swinging the bat as well as Boston."
Don't blame the bats: The Devil Rays scored 22 runs during their recent four-game series at Fenway Park, but were still swept out of Boston.
"We went in there and scored six, six, six, and four and we lose four ball games." Piniella said. "The problem in Boston wasn't really our offense, it was [our ERA].
"The secret is for the starters to get you into the sixth or seventh inning."
Actually, only McClung failed to pitch into at least the sixth inning during the series. Starters Casey Fossum and Doug Waechter each pitched into the seventh inning and Scott Kazmir lasted into the sixth.
But the starters' combined ERA was 7.78 in the series.
Laforest watch: Laforest could start in place of Hall against Toronto on Sunday, according to Piniella.
"It's a possibility," Piniella said. "We'll see how Toby feels. If we didn't have a day off on Monday, I'd play [Laforest] on Sunday for sure."
Quotable: "Then we go to California -- 'Calling all Angels.'" -- Piniella, on heading to Angel Stadium later this season after sitting through "New York, New York" at Yankee Stadium and "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park
On deck: McClung (5-8, 6.54 ERA) will take on Toronto's Josh Towers (10-10, 4.04 ERA) in the second game of a three-game series at the Rogers Centre.

Source: http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/