Over the off-season I professed how I had a distaste for our bullpen, particularly the middle and back parts consisting of Gary Glover and Scott Dohmann. Every Monday I'll look at the usage over the past week, that obviously begins today.

Generally speaking the bullpen did an excellent job this week even with one loss credited to Al Reyes, and only one save to Troy Percival. The unit saw 13.6 innings worth of work, allowing six runs -- four by Reyes and the other two by Miller -- for an ERA of 3.97, quite an improvement over the 6.16 ERA last season, even at such a small sample size.

Beginning at the top, Percival was only called upon once and was efficient in preserving his first Rays save and the 325th of his career. Showing great poise Percival worked through an iffy non-strike call against Bobby Abreu and located his next pitch, striking the veteran out to end the game. Although his role thus far has been near minimal Percival's clubhouse demeanor and role have been unmatched, look for the new bullpen area configuration this week at the request of Percival.

Despite a bloodbath at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles Reyes has been solid in two of his three appearances, including cleaning up a mess left by Miller on Saturday. In the past I was skeptical about giving Reyes even more innings, but thus far it appears Joe Maddon is leaning towards using Miller and Reyes in union for the 8th inning, at least until their performance or address dictates otherwise.

Speaking of Miller he's hardly impressed, yet this is nothing unexpected. Over his career Miller has thrown more than 200 innings during the first half of the season and has an ERA of 5.18, as opposed to his 3.65 ERA in the second half. Another thing to watch during the unfortunately named "Miller Time" will be his pre-pitch tendencies, namely if he continues to go to the bill of his hat prior to each pitch.

We now reach a piece that the Rays have chosen as a core of the relief staff through 2010 at the earliest, yes the newest extension receiver, Dan Wheeler. Not only did Wheeler find himself with the most work this week but he also found himself as the most effective, not allowing a baserunner thus far while striking out two batters. As I've pointed out numerous times it wasn't hard to see that Wheeler was a candidate for performance regression, or in this case progression, based on his peripherals. His contract extension isn't just reasonable, it's a downright steal for an organization that since its inception has been hard-pressed to find consistently successful relievers and keep them in Rays uniforms.

From awful starter to potentially useful reliever, thus is the career path of one James Phillip Howell. As he showed Sunday Howell is able to go multiple innings without ill results, even against the most vaunted of lineups. To his credit, Howell also showed the ability to retire batters of either hand equally well, and even went on a streak of seven straight outs. For one day at least, Howell appears to have reached the point of his career where the talk of potentially becoming useful is turning into results and is certainly someone to watch for as this season ages.

Finally we reach Scott Dohmann and Gary Glover and while neither did anything to grant my ire, yet, I'm encouraged that Glover was used the least of all relief arms. To their credit both have been effective, but I sincerely question if the level of success achieved last year can be replicated by either. I'm skeptical, but hopeful, if the duo can at least be around league average the Rays pen could become amongst the deepest in the league.

Since the bullpen won't consist of these seven all season, or at least it's highly inconceivable that such a rarity would occur, I would also like to highlight some of the relievers at Durham during this space. Grant Balfour, the 8th reliever if you will, cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Durham. Steve Andrade remains on the disabled list to start the season meanwhile Chad Orvella has seemingly yet to recover from his injury, but the good news -- I guess -- is that Kurt Birkins has began throwing again and could join Durham soon. Dale Thayer, Calvin Medlock, Nick DeBarr and Scott Munter have been solid thus far with Ben Hendrickson  being anything but, allowing six runs in two and two-thirds innings of work.

AAA Durham Bulls (1-3)

BULLS 5, Toledo 4-3B Evan Longoria grounded into a double play and remained hitless on the season, but thankfully the other members of the Durham lineup didn't share the same luck as the Bulls won their first game of the year. The good news for Longoria was that he did reach base twice, on his first two walks of the year, and scored a run. Otherwise, the Durham offense was led by DH Fernando Perez and CF Justin Ruggiano, who each had 2 for 4 days. One of Perez's two hits was an RBI double, and he also drew a walk and stole a base. Also going 2 for 4 was LF Joel Guzman, who walked and drove in two of Durham's five runs, including the game winner in the ninth. Unfortunately for Guzman, he also made two errors in left field. SS Reid Brignac grounded into a double play and had just one hit among his five at bats, but it was a double.

Making his debut this season for the Bulls was RHP Chris Mason, who had a relatively successful outing. Throwing 76 pitches on the day, Mason gave up two unearned runs on three hits, one hit batsman, and one walk over 4.1 innings of work, while also striking out four. RHP Nick DeBarr followed him and gave up two runs in 1.1 innings of work, but RHPs Scott Munter and Grant Balfour closed out the game with 3.1 shutout innings.

BULLS Up Next-at Columbus, 7:05 ET (LH Mike Prochaska)

AA Montgomery Biscuits (2-2)

Chattanooga 8, BISCUITS 4 (8)-LHP James Houser had a decent first start for Montgomery, but a relative lack of offense and a sloppy defensive effort relegated the Biscuits to defeat in the first game of a double-header. Houser gave up just one earned run in five innings of work, but he gave up three unearned runs thanks to two Montgomery errors. He gave up just two hits and no walks while striking out five, though he did hit a batter. LHP Jino Gonzalez pitched two scoreless innings following Houser's departure, but RHP Jeremy Flanagan took the loss after giving up the four winning Lookout runs in the "extra" eighth inning.

Offensively, the Biscuits could manage only five hits. 1B Rhyne Hughes had an especially bad day, going 0 for 3 with two of Montgomery's three errors. He did garner a walk and score a run though. 3B Chris Nowak had one hit, a two run homer in the fourth, and scored once more when he reached on a Chattanooga error. DH Gaby Martinez and C Matt Spring each had one hit, while had an RBI single.

BISCUITS 10, Chattanooga 1 (7)-The Biscuits' offense exploded for 10 runs on 11 hits as Montgomery routed the Chattanooga Lookouts in the second game of Sunday's double-header. C John Jaso and 1B Rhyne Hughes had two hits, each of which included a solo home run, and Hughes drew a walk as well to atone for his sins in the first game of the double-header. Even though Montgomery put up prolific numbers on the scoreboard, those two were the only players with multiple hits on the day. DH Sergio Pedroza and 3B Chris Nowak each had one hit, in Nowak's case a double, while LF Gaby Martinez reached base three times on one hit and two walks. He scored each time he reached. 2B Josh Asanovich had a three run homer and drew a walk to round out the lineup.

On the mound, RHP Richard De Los Santos pitched five shutout innings for the Biscuits before ceding control to RHP Wade Townsend and LHP Jon Barratt. Townsend's first appearance of the season was not a successful one, as he gave up one run on a hit and a walk. Barratt closed out the ballgame with a scoreless inning of work.

BISCUITS Up Next-vs Chattanooga, 8:05 ET (LH Mike Wlodarczyk)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (3-1)

Daytona 9, V-RAYS 4-RHP Matt Walker made his return to the mound for Vero Beach, tossing four shaky innings as the V-Rays suffered their first loss of the season. Walker gave up three runs (two earned) over four innings of work, walking two and giving up four hits while striking out three. RHP Chris Kelly and LHP Ryan Morse followed Walker and proceeded to give up the other five Daytona runs in four collective innings. LHP Ryan Owen pitched a scoreless ninth.

Meanwhile on offense, four Vero Beach players had two hits on Sunday. 2B Chase Fontaine, 3B Cesar Suarez, DH J.T. Hall, and C Christian Lopez were those players, though only Lopez had an extra base hit (a double). Suarez drove in a run and walked, though he also had a throwing error. Fontaine walked as well, as did PH Garrett Groce. LF Ryan Royster went hitless, while CF John Matulia went 1 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI.

V-RAYS Up Next-vs Daytona, 7:00 ET (LH Brandon Mann)

A- Columbus Catfish (1-3)

Savannah 4, CATFISH 3 (7)-RHP Josh Johnson gave up all four Savannah runs during his four inning start, and it would be all that the Sand Gnats would need as the Columbus offense mustered up only three hits in the first game of a double-header. Johnson gave up three earned runs on four hits and two walks in his first start of the season, giving way to RHP Jesse Darcy for the final three innings. Darcy pitched three perfect innings for Columbus with two strikeouts.

The Catfish fell just short offensively despite their three hit day, thanks to plenty of walks. CF Emeel Salem went 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, while 1B Henry Wrigley hit an RBI double and walked to lead the offense.

CATFISH 5, Savannah 0 (7)-RHP Jason Ragan threw for five of the Catfish pitching staff's seven shutout innings as Columbus notched their first win of the season in the second game of a double-header. Ragan gave up just three hits and a walk while striking out four; two Columbus pitchers combined to go the rest of the way.

On offense, CF Emeel Salem led the way with a walk, a run scored, and three stolen bases. RF Reid Fronk was also productive, hitting a two-run, inside-the-park homer in the third inning as the Catfish took control early. LF Stephen Vogt doubled, while C Michael McCormick went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

CATFISH Up Next-at Rome, 7:00 ET (RH Jeremy Hall)

AAA Durham Bulls (0-3)

Toledo 6, BULLS 1-3B Evan Longoria totaled up another hitless day for Durham as the Rays' AAA affiliate dropped their third straight to open the season. Longoria, who has not yet drawn a walk or garnered a hit through the Bulls' first three games, joined a parade of Durham hitters that were unable to muster much of an offensive effort off of Mud Hens pitching. Also going hitless on the day for Durham was CF Fernando Perez, who finished 0 for 4. RF Justin Ruggiano had an RBI single and LF Joel Guzman had the only extra base hit of the game, a double, for Durham.

On the hill, RHP Jae Kuk Ryu got the start for the Bulls and took the loss, surrendering three Toledo runs on four hits in four innings of work while walking one and striking out three. Two of the runs that he surrendered came on a two-run homer in the first, and his outing concluded with him having thrown just 73 pitches. Ryu was followed up by RHPs Dale Thayer and Scott Munter, who each threw 1.1 scoreless innings. LHP Brian Henderson made his first appearance in Triple A after multiple years at Double A Montgomery, and things didn't go so well for him. After getting one out in the seventh, he came back on to start the eighth only to be greeted by an onslaught from the Toledo lineup. He ended up up surrendering three runs on four hits in the eighth, including a two-run homer, and allowed Toledo to grab some extra insurance runs to seal away the ballgame. RHP Calvin Medlock relieved him and pitched a perfect eighth inning following his departure to prevent any further damage.

BULLS Up Next-at Toledo, 2:00 ET (RH Chris Mason)

AA Montgomery Biscuits (1-1)

BISCUITS 8, Chattanooga 5-Montgomery rebounded from a washed-out day off on Friday and evened up their record at 1-1 as Wade Davis threw a shaky five innings of work for the Biscuits. The Rays' highly touted pitching prospect gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings of work, striking out just one in the process. Nonetheless, Davis picked up his first win of the season in his debut start of 2008. The Biscuits' bullpen was able to hold the lead following his departure up until the ninth, when RHP Eduardo Morlan threw a perfect inning to pick up his first save of the year.

Offensively, the Biscuits lineup produced a fairly solid collective line, even if their individual marks in the box score weren't quite as pretty. C John Jaso and DH Gaby Martinez each had RBI singles for Montgomery, while RF Sergio Pedroza drew two walks to reach base a total of three times on the evening. Pedroza was also caught stealing, however, and Jaso committed his first miscue of the year on a throwing error. 3B Chris Nowak and 1B Rhyne Hughes were each held hitless for Montgomery, though Nowak did drive in a run via a sacrifice fly and Hughes drew a walk.

BISCUITS Up Next-Double-header vs Chattanooga, 3:05 ET (LH J. Houser, RH R. De Los Santos)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (3-0)

V-RAYS 4, Daytona 3-Vero Beach rallied for three in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Daytona Cubs on Saturday night, thus preserving their standing as the only undefeated team in the Rays organization. CF John Matulia had two hits for the Devil Rays, one of which was a double, and stole two bases while LF Garrett Groce went 1 for 4. RF Ryan Royster went two for four with a solo home run; he also drove in the tying run and scored the winning run on a phenomenal night for him. C Nevin Ashley added a hit for V-Rays.

On the hill, RH Josh Butler made his season debut for the Vero Beac and tossed a good ballgame. The second round pick of the Rays in the 2006 draft gave up just three runs (two earned) on six hits while walking one and striking out four. He recorded a 9:4 groundball to flyball ratio. RH Wilton Noel tossed the final three shutout innings for Vero Beach to earn the win.

V-RAYS Up Next-vs Daytona, 1:00 ET (LH Ryan Morse)

A- Columbus Catfish (0-2)

Savannah at CATFISH, PPD-Saturday night's game between the host Columbus Catfish and the visiting Savannah Sand Gnats at Golden Park was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a double-header this afternoon in Columbus, with the first game starting at 1pm EDT. The second game will begin approximately thirty minutes following the conclusion of the first. Both games will last seven innings.

CATFISH Up Next-Double-header vs Savannah, 1:00 ET (RH Josh Johnson, RH Jesse Darcy)