Orvella excited about opportunity

02/03/2006
ST. PETERSBURG -- Opportunities at the Major League level are fleeting, so the prudent move if such an opportunity heads in one's direction is to take advantage of it. You never know if a better opportunity will ever come along.
In the wake of the trade that sent closer Danys Baez and former closer Lance Carter to the Dodgers, several Devil Rays relievers will have the opportunity to seize the closer's role. Currently, the Rays' closing spot looks like it's a race between Shinji Mori, who came over from Japan, veteran Dan Miceli and Chad Orvella.
Entering his second season in the Major Leagues, Orvella understands the situation.
"With the trade of Baez and Carter, there's a lot of opportunity there," Orvella said. "There's a lot of opportunity for a few of us. So it will be good to have some competition going into Spring Training. I've done a lot this offseason to get ready for this."
In just his second professional season since joining the Rays as a 13th-round selection in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft from North Carolina State, the 24-year-old right-hander got his call to the Major Leagues on May 30 from Double-A Montgomery. At the time, Orvella had a microscopic 0.36 ERA, having allowed just one earned run in 25 innings while recording nine saves.
Orvella's first two Major League outings were scoreless against the A's and Mariners. On June 12, he earned his first Major League save in a 7-5, 13-inning affair at Pittsburgh that snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Though he had just one save for the Rays in 2005, he had 29 in 71 Minor League games. So he knows a little bit about finishing games.
Orvella's best stretch of the season came from Aug. 13 to Sept. 8, when he had a string of nine scoreless outings in 13 innings pitched. Particularly impressive was his work against the Yankees and Red Sox. In 13 innings against the two American League East clubs, Orvella allowed just four earned runs and held them to a collective .136 batting average. He finished at 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA.
"Probably the biggest thing I learned [in 2005] was to trust my own stuff," Orvella said.
In other words, he pitched the same way that prompted him to get called up to the Major Leagues.
"I think the adjustment period when you first get called up [is when you eventually realize to trust your own stuff]," Orvella said. "I suppose going into this year I'll be a lot more confident."
Orvella's repertoire includes a mid-90s fastball and a slider, but his changeup is his best pitch.
"I do throw it a lot," Orvella said. "But I love that pitch. It's just changing speeds."
Initially, one of the concerns about Orvella was his ability to pitch in back-to-back games. But Orvella isn't among those concerned.
"I started getting used to it toward the end of the year," Orvella said. "I know the last month or so I was being used a lot. And whenever I went out there, I was throwing more than one inning. ... So I'm not too concerned. I just have to get used to it."
Orvella managed to kick back some during the offseason, splitting time between his home in Renton, Wash., and St. Petersburg with an extended visit back to his college alma mater.
Preparing for a Major League season hasn't been any different than preparing to play in the Minor Leagues.
"I can't say there's any guarantee going into Spring Training," Orvella said. "Anything can happen. So I'm preparing this year just like I prepared for every other year. I've been pretty successful the past two years during the offseason. So I pretty much did the same things. I did a little more swimming this year. ... So I'm ready for this year to get started. I'm really excited about Spring Training."

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