ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. | It was Gil Meche a year ago who got to experience the All-Star Game for the first time. So he knows what awaits one or more of his teammates, almost certain to be first-timers, when they learn today of their selection for this year's game.</p><p> “To be honest, when you get there, you feel like you don't belong,” Meche recalled. “You're surrounded by guys who have been All-Stars 10 times. It's an awesome honor. I just tried to take it all in. </p><p> “You're a little nervous in a way. You just don't know what to expect, but it's awesome. The best part about it is you realize, 'You know what? I'm a big-league All-Star.' There's no better way to describe it.”</p><p> Closer Joakim Soria projects as the Royals' leading candidate when the teams are announced Sunday afternoon by TBS in a national cablecast. Outfielders José Guillen and David DeJesus are the club's leading alternative possibilities.</p><p> “Whoever we have going is probably going to have the same type feelings that I had,” Meche said. “They'll want to just be quiet and stay to the side. But you've got to enjoy it. You're there for a reason. People picked you to go. So you feel like you deserve it."</p><p> Meche didn't appear in last year's game in San Francisco but still came away with a bundle of memories.</p><p> “The Home Run Derby stands out,” he said. “I'm sitting down the first-base line with the best pitchers in the game. You look around and think, 'This guy is one of the best starters; this guy is one of the best closers; and I'm in this group.'”</p><p> Meche said a feeling of accomplishment permeates the experience and doesn't go away.</p><p> “Once you get to the big leagues,” he said, “you just want to stay here and make it as a big-league player. So once you become an All-Star, you start thinking, 'Man, everything I’ve ever done has paid off.'</p><p> “It'll be an awesome experience for whoever we have who goes this year — especially being in Yankee Stadium. I don't think it could be any better for a guy who goes as a first-year All-Star to be in the biggest sports arena in the world in the last year that it's going to be open. It's going to be amazing.” </p><p><b>Nu&#328;ez to Omaha</b></p><p> Injured reliever Leo Nu&#328;ez is now unlikely to rejoin the club before the All-Star break but will begin his minor-league rehab assignment Monday at Class AAA Omaha.</p><p> Nu&#328;ez reported no problems Saturday morning following a throwing session Friday at the club's year-round complex in Surprise, Ariz.</p><p> “There's a week(-long) program set for him in Omaha,” manager Trey Hillman said. “That will all be determined on how he does in that first outing.”</p><p> Nu&#328;ez was the bullpen's primary setup reliever before suffering a strained muscle in his upper back in a May 27 appearance against Minnesota. He was 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA and seven holds in 21 appearances.</p><p><b>Buck on bench</b></p><p> Miguel Olivo replaced John Buck as the starting catcher in part as an effort to slow the Rays' running game, which leads the majors with 96 stolen bases.</p><p> It was also an acknowledgement that Buck might not be fully recovered from a bruised groin after being hit Wednesday in the cup by a foul tip. Buck made two throwing errors in Friday's 11-2 loss.</p><p> “He'd be the last one to say that it (affected him),” Hillman said. “That particular area, there's a lot of soreness. Enough said. He wasn't the same catcher back there (Friday).”</p><p><b>Fatigue factor</b></p><p> Outfielder Mark Teahen wasn't in the starting lineup for the first time since June 14, and third baseman Alex Gordon could also be in line for a one-day rest.</p><p> “There's not anything glaring with Mark Teahen right now,” Hillman said. “I just felt like he needed a day mentally as well as physically right now.”</p><p> Teahen has just one hit in his 11 at-bats and is batting .196 in his last 14 games.</p><p> Gordon entered Saturday's game in a five-for-29 skid that dropped his average to .258.</p><p><b>Etc.</b></p><p>• Mark Grudzielanek entered Saturday needing seven hits to become the 251st player in big-league history to reach 2,000 for a career. White Sox DH Jim Thome needed 15 to reach the same milestone. There are 17 active players with 2,000 or more hits, topped by Cincinnati outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., with 2,627.</p><p>• Joey Gathright returned to the lineup after missing the two previous games because of a sore left shoulder. It was Gathright's first game at Tropicana Field as a visiting player. He played for the Rays from 2004-06. </p><p>• The Rays' effort to boost attendance Saturday included a post-game concert by pop group Loverboy.