ST. PETERSBURG RHP Jeff Niemann was stiff and sore Friday but didn't have much of a bruise the day after getting struck on the right shoulder by a line drive. Niemann said he has been encouraged by his progress and is still hopeful he'll make his next scheduled start, Tuesday in Baltimore. He plans to play catch today and push his between-starts bullpen session back to Sunday, when the Rays will have a better idea of whether he'll be able to go. Niemann was pulled in the second inning Thursday after getting hit by a ball off 3B Miguel Tejada's bat. 'It's hard to tell,' manager Joe Maddon said. 'He could feel great (today), or he could feel more sore (today). We'll see.' J.P. UPDATE: LHP J.P. Howell threw Friday but gently as the ball was in a sock, the first step of his rehab from shoulder weakness. The reliever said he will play catch from 45 feet today. Howell said he definitely felt stronger and in his opinion was 'ahead of schedule.' But he also figured it would still be mid to late May before he would be back. 'I've never worked my arm like this, so I'm pretty excited,' he said. 'I want to throw normal. I want to get out there and chuck it. Then you can really know where you're at.' GLOVE LOVE: 3B Evan Longoria gets lots of stuff, but he'll be genuinely thrilled to receive his Gold Glove award before today's game. 'It's a beautiful trophy,' he said. 'I'm excited to put it in my house. It's one of my favorites.' Longoria often talks about the value of defense in his overall game: 'The hitting's not always going to be there, but if you focus on your defense, it should always be there.' Longoria's .970 fielding percentage (13 errors) was second among AL third baseman (Baltimore's Melvin Mora was .971), as were his 302 assists. He led all third basemen by starting 43 double plays. WADIN' IN: Having watched the other four starters take their turns, Wade Davis is eager just to finally have the chance to pitch today. Getting to do so against the Yankees and on national TV makes it even better. 'It should be fun,' Davis said. 'Definitely been champing at the bit to get out there.' PAT'S BAT: Maddon said the decision to start Willy Aybar at DH on Friday over Pat Burrell was just to get Aybar, the only position player not used in the first three games, involved. Maddon said Burrell (hitting .111 at 1-for-9) will be back in the lineup today and is working hard to get back on track. 'If a guy is not doing his work and having a hard time, then I have a hard time with the guy,' Maddon said. 'Believe me, nobody is trying harder than he is to get this straightened out. He's just missing his pitches. He's fouling it back too much. To me, it hasn't been awful.' NO WORRIES: Though RHP Grant Balfour acknowledged his velocity has been a little lower than expected, he said he feels good physically and is optimistic it will come around. 'The velocity is usually not at its peak until probably June anyway,' the reliever said. 'I figured I might have a little bit more right now, but it is what it is.' 