HAINES CONTINUES TO OPEN PLENTY OF EYES IN MINORS

It has certainly been a good several months for minor-league baseball player Talley Haines.

In December, Haines married Jackie Derwort, a former volleyball player at Southeast Missouri State University. Then in May, the Cape Girardeau Central High School product was promoted to the Class AA level after spending the previous two seasons pitching in Class A for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' organization.

"It's been a real good year," said Haines with a laugh during a telephone interview from Orlando, Fla., where he plays for the Orlando Rays of the Class AA Southern League. "Jackie really helps me out a lot, as far as keeping me on even keel, no matter if I had a good game or a bad game. Playing in the minors can be lonely, and it's nice to have somebody. I feel pretty lucky."

As well as Haines' personal life is going these days, his baseball isn't too shabby either. The right-handed reliever has been putting up impressive numbers since being promoted to Orlando. Through Friday, he was 2-2 with one save and a 1.54 earned-run average. In 35 innings, he had allowed 25 hits while striking out 27 and walking 16.

It's enough to make the 23-year-old Haines, who was selected by Tampa Bay in the 25th round of the 1998 amateur draft, think that a future in the major leagues is not just a pipe dream but a realistic possibility.

"It's kind of weird," said Haines. "When you start out playing (in the minors), you're at the bottom of the mountain. When you look up, you can't even see the top. Now I can see things at the top that I haven't seen before. I'm hoping I can make it up there."

When Haines began his third professional season this year in St. Petersburg, Fla., he expected to spend at least the majority of the campaign with that Class A team. But much to his surprise, he was promoted in the middle of May.

"I really wasn't even thinking I had a chance to move up quick because they usually move up guys that sign for big bonuses and stuff like that," he said. "But Orlando needed a relief pitcher, so I guess they thought I had the best chance to help out."

Haines, a 1995 Cape Central graduate who began his college baseball career at Southeast Missouri State before transferring to Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), said that initially he had to make quite an adjustment to the Class AA level.

"In the Florida State League (where Haines began the season), there are a lot of younger hitters who pretty well swing at everything you throw up there," he said. "But in Double A, it's a lot of older guys, some who have played in the big leagues, and they're not going to swing at just anything. These guys have been around. Some have played 10, 11 years of professional baseball."

Haines had been a closer for much of his stay in Class A, but he's primarily filling the middle relief -- or setup role -- for Orlando. And that's fine with him, because he figures that's the role he will have if he ever is fortunate enough to make it to the big show.

"I like throwing a few innings (as a setup man) instead of just one (as a closer)," he said. "If I get to the majors, I think I'll be a situational guy, somebody who gets one or two hitters out."

Haines, while not overpowering, can get the ball up in the 90 miles per hour range, but he said his best pitch is a sinking fastball that induces grounders.

"Maybe some day I can get up there and stop all those home runs," he said with a laugh.

Haines can see himself getting better each year and he simply wants to continue that trend as he chases his big-league dreams.

"I'm always learning new things, new ways to get people out," he said. "I just want to keep getting better and better and hopefully things will work out."