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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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First round of cuts takes out 10

Posted Mar 13, 2007 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Mar 13, 2007 at 01:40 PM

Joe Maddon had indicated the first cut would be fairly small, but the Rays decided to go ahead and dispense with the pleasantries, cutting 10 players before today’s game. There are now 46 players in camp. Here’s the full list, with reaction below:

Optioned to Durham
Jeff Niemann
Mitch Talbot

Reassigned to minor-league camp
Josh Arhart
Reid Brignac
Evan Longoria
Tony Peguero
Jason Grabowski
Steve Andrade
Andy Sonnanstine
Fernando Perez

Jeff Niemann
“My goal was to show them I’m healthy. To come in and show them that there should be no doubt in their mind or anybody’s mind that there’s anything wrong. Come in, throw every day, throw hard, do whatever to show them that I am healthy and I can do this. I was trying to get that little thought out of everyone’s head.”

Evan Longoria
“It definitely makes me more hungry to strap it on and go hard for a full season to try to get myself back up here as soon as I can.”

“My stats didn’t prove anything, but at least I didn’t feel like I was overmatched. At least I didn’t feel like the game sped up on me or I really didn’t have an idea what was going on.”

Reid Brignac
“I learned, not only on the field, but off the field how to carry myself as a big-league ballplayer. It’s a little different than being a minor-league guy. “

“I think it’s going to give me a chip on my shoulder to get back here, to never stop working, to not be satisfied with being in the minor leagues.”