Kazmir's Return Looming: Rays Look to Take AL East by Storm

Scott Kazmir of the Tampa Bay Rays threw sixty pitches in the bullpen on Saturday. He is scheduled to throw batting practice on Tuesday. Kazmir strained his elbow warming up for an intersquad game on February 26. He has been sidelined with this injury throughout the spring. This progression towards a return is great news for a Rays squad that is playing without an ace. Kazmir was reported as saying he was throwing all his pitches without pain. The Rays season has started with the usual ups and downs. Splitting the first series against the Baltimore Orioles and taking two games against the New York Yankees. At this point in time there are many young inexperienced pitchers holding down the Rays rotation. Shields, Garza, Sonnanstine and Jackson have held their own to start the season. The question is how long can the Rays keep pitching without Kazmir. In 2007 the Rays record was significantly better when Kazmir and Shields were pitching than any of the other starters who took the hill. With Kazmir ... [link]