ST. PETERSBURG — This is what converted starter Erasmo Ramirez said Wednesday when asked if he noticed a difference between pitching in the first inning and pitching in the ninth inning.
“Yes, louder.”
So the fans are a bit more hyped near the end of the game than they are at the beginning. So are the players. That’s why pitching at the back end of the bullpen is not for everyone.
In the Rays’ bullpen, that job belongs to Brad Boxberger. But with Boxberger on the disabled list until at least mid-May while he recovers from abductor surgery, the closer’s job will be spread among a number of candidates, including Alex Colome, Steve Geltz, Xavier Cedeno, Enny Romero, Danny Farquhar and Ramirez.