Notes: Lugo's brother trying to make it

02/27/2006
ST. PETERSBURG -- Shortstop Julio Lugo isn't the only Lugo in Devil Rays camp this spring as his brother, Ruddy, is a non-roster invitee.
Julio, 30, is five years older than Ruddy, a right-handed pitcher.
"When they told me last year that [Ruddy] would by in big-league camp this spring, I was thrilled," Julio said.
The two brothers are living together this spring.
"We've always spent a lot of time together," said Julio with a broad smile. "Having him here in camp is a dream come true."
Ruddy's face lights up when he talks about his older brother.
"I've always looked forward to playing on the same team he's been on," Ruddy said. "It's fun to be here. [Julio] is like a father figure, a role model, you name it."
The younger Lugo signed with the Rays during extended Spring Training in 2005 and went 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA in one game at Class A Visalia. He finished the season at Double-A Montgomery, where he went 1-1 with two saves and a 1.12 ERA in 26 games. Opponents hit just .169 against Lugo and he struck out 48 in 40 1/3 innings; 22 of his 26 outings were scoreless.
"He's good," Julio said. "He's got a good fastball, changeup and breaking ball."
Ruddy has not pitched against his brother.
"We never faced each other," Ruddy said. "We never played against each other. It's going to be exciting [when I face him]."
If and when it happens, Ruddy will forget Julio is his brother.
"Like I told him before, if it comes down to that, he's got to do his job and I've got to do mine," Ruddy said. "I'll be trying to get him out."
And will there be a little trash talking going on if that happens?
"Always," Ruddy said.
Fossum learning: Casey Fossum has pitched in the Major Leagues for parts of five seasons, but he's still learning.
"I think one thing I learned [in 2005] was keeping the pitch count down," Fossum said. "Just keeping the ball down at the knees."
Any time Fossum got the ball up in the strike zone when he was behind in the count, he said the hitter usually had success. He will strive to be more unpredictable when he finds himself in that situation.
"Throw something the guys aren't looking for," Fossum said. "I think a lot of it for me now will be if I'm able to execute a lot of my pitches. It's just a matter of figuring out what they're looking for. Over time, since I've seen the hitters more, I've gotten better about doing that."
Once the season was over, Fossum had a chance to reflect on the highs and lows.
The low came against the Orioles.
"I distinctly remember Jay Gibbons hit the grand slam off me at Baltimore," Fossum said. "I think I ended up giving up nine runs in that game. It was just a nightmare game for me. That was a good example of the snowball effect. If things go bad in the first inning, I don't want it to snowball it even more."
Working deep, as he did in a game against the Blue Jays, was among the highs.
"The first game after the All-Star break against the Blue Jays, I think we shut out them out and I went almost eight innings," Fossum said. "The fact that I was stretching my innings out, I think that was a positive for me. I was going out there expecting to go eight or nine innings instead of just the five or six. I had the mentality of going eight or nine last year."
State of Major League arms: Former Rays outfielder Dave Martinez had one of the top arms in the Major Leagues during his playing days. This spring, he's a special advisor in camp, and he spoke about why there is a lack of quality arms in the Major Leagues.
"I think it's because they got away from the fundamentals of throwing," Martinez said. "I threw long toss like every other day. And I constantly worked on my throwing during batting practice and worked on catching ground balls and getting in position to throw."
Martinez has been impressed with all the young talented outfielders in camp and has found some eager students.
"They want to work," he said. "I talked to [Carl Crawford] and the first thing he said is, 'I want to throw like you.' I said, 'Why can't you throw like me? All you have to do every day is work at it. You've got a great arm. As fast as you are, as quick as you are, you can get to the balls a lot quicker than I ever could.'"
Crawford, who is already a potential Gold Glove outfielder, was pleased about working with Martinez.
"He's been telling me little things about staying low and keeping a nice little base when I'm ready to throw," Crawford said. "We're kind of doing the basics right now, and hopefully we can work our way up to where I can be just as fundamentally sound as he was."
Manager Joe Maddon answered "absolutely" when asked about the prospect of an outfielder improving his arm.
"I've seen it, absolutely," he said. "Improves with better mechanics and long toss. ... I've seen it work."

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