Mancini working to feel right at home in right field

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Trey Mancini outfield experiment continues today with another start in right in the Orioles' game against the Rays.

Mancini chased down two doubles yesterday, but didn't get a fly ball. He seemed to be comfortable at the position, which he hadn't played since August 2011 in college summer ball.

"Every day I go out and shag BP, but it's not in a game. It had been a while," he said.

"I've been working with Brady (Anderson) and (Wayne) Kirby prior to the game yesterday. I got a little bit of action, got a couple of doubles to run down a little bit. I felt good out of there. It was maybe a little funky at first, just because I hadn't been there in a game in a long time, but after the first inning, it felt good and I really enjoyed it actually a lot."

Mancini found cutoff man Johnny Giavotella yesterday, which is one of the biggest adjustments.

"Exactly," he said. "I think that's the toughest part. I felt really good everywhere except one thing I do think that I have to work on is transferring and throwing is a lot different in the outfield than the infield. You field it and you get rid of it really quick. It's a short arm slot, and in the outfield, you kind of take your time, wind your arm up a little more because you get a lot more carry if you do that.

"The two balls that I threw in yesterday, I thought I could have done better with that. I had a little too short of an arm action whenever I got the ball, so that's something I'm going to work on and think about more in today's game for sure."

Mancini raced to right-center field in an attempt to make his first catch, but Joey Rickard called him off. Speed rules. So does the center fielder.

"I was saying, 'I got it' as he did, but when you're in right field, if you hear the center fielder say anything, you back off. I definitely know that, the priorities and I know if Joey calls it, it's Joey's ball there," Mancini said.

"You know that, you know the priorities. I know if Joey calls it, it's Joey's ball there. Something with the crowd noise during the season, that will be an adjustment, I'm sure, too."

Rickard offered some instruction before the game because he had a novice beside him.

"He knew that I'd know if he called me off or anything like that that I'd listen, but he did tell me about some positioning," Mancini said. "I always keep my eye on the center fielder out there and I watched Joey pretty much. If he moved to the right, I moved a little bit to the right. If he moved left, I moved left a little. Kirby directs us from the dugout there, too. I had them helping me out and it felt really comfortable in that sense."

There's no problem hearing Kirby from the dugout.

"No, never," Mancini said, laughing.

Mancini said the game speed going from first base to right field wasn't as much of an adjustment as he expected.

"You're on the same side of the field, so the angle is pretty similar that you see the batter," he said. "You're just farther away, but your ready position and everything is pretty similar, so it felt a lot more comfortable than you would think actually - as far as just like seeing the game from out there and all that.

"The perception is different. You're out there and way further back. You've got to take a second to read fly balls and everything and see where they're going. But it does help I'd say being on the same side of field."