ST. PETERSBURG -- Prior to Wednesday night's game, Evan Longoria remembered an observation he made in February.
"This group has good chemistry," Longoria said. "I said that back in Spring Training. Everybody gets along well, and guys know their roles."
Rays manager Kevin Cash echoed Longoria when he told reporters, "We do feel we have very good chemistry in here."
"I think that starts with the guys who have been here awhile, and it's been added to by some of the guys who have come in," Cash said. "It's been a pretty seamless transition. You can think all you want during Spring Training, but you really find out a lot about the team and the guys once the season starts, when everything starts to count. And these guys have showed up really well."
Prominent among the newcomers are position players Hank Conger, Logan Morrison, Brad Miller, Steve Pearce, and Corey Dickerson.
Within that group, only Dickerson and Pearce are off to decent starts, while the rest have struggled. Despite their struggles, there has been no finger-pointing in the clubhouse. And Cash has not wavered in continuing to use platoons -- at first with Pearce and Morrison and behind the plate with Conger and Curt Casali.
"They've picked each other up, and we've had everybody play a role," Cash said. "And that's good to see."
Cash noted that it was a "huge compliment to the front office" for creating the composition of this year's team.
"You can go find players, but it's important to find the right fit, and they've done that," Cash said.