By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

Let’s get this out of the way: Jay Rainville didn’t retire on acrimonious terms. He left the Minnesota Twins organization late last week with the realization that his body had betrayed him, robbing the Pawtucket native from the potential of recapturing past glory.
Knowing the facts he did, Rainville made a decision that helped purge his soul.
“It’s definitely something that’s been on my mind for a long time now,” the ex-Bishop Hendricken standout stated recently. “Obviously I haven’t quite regained the form that I once had prior to the surgery [on his right shoulder in 2006]. Things have gotten progressively worse over the last two seasons.
“I did everything I could. I was able to get my arm strength back but never quite got the velocity back. It’s tough to pitch when you don’t have any velocity,” continued Rainville. “I sat down with my family and thought about [retirement] and I feel this is the right move.”
What ultimately pushed Rainville in the direction he chose was the continuous struggles he endured in each of the two seasons he spent with New Britain. There was hope the mid 90s heater he featured pre-surgery would at some point resurface. Instead Rainville trotted to the mound with diminished command, knowing full well he needed guts and guile to get hitters out.
“I think I owed it to the Twins and the Rock Cats not to keep spinning my wheels. I didn’t have what it takes to pitch competitively,” said Rainville about the patience demonstrated by Minnesota, the club that took him with the 39th overall selection back in 2004.
Rainville, upon glancing at the Eastern League standings, realized his roster spot could be better utilized with a healthy body. “(New Britain) is in a playoff push, and I just thought it would be better for someone to get up there and help the team better than I can. I just feel I can’t compete at the Double-A level, and that was the ultimate reason right there.
“The Twins molded me into the player that they wanted, which is a credit to them,” Rainville added. “I don’t know if it was quite as shocking to them, they know what type of competitor I am. I think in the long run the Twins thought that maybe this day [of hanging up the glove and cleats] would come.”
Rainville says the accord he reached is final.
“I’ve worked hard over the last three years since the surgery,” he reflected. “I consulted some of the best doctors that are out there. Unfortunately there’s not much else that can be done.
“I don’t want to be guy who retires, then comes back. Once I make a decision I stick by it.”
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Like Rainville, Chris Costantino was confronted with a strenuous decision. Should the Lincoln native and Hendricken product sign with the Boston Red Sox, the club that selected him in the 49th round of June’s amateur draft? Or should Costantino head to Walters State, a renowned junior college in Morristown, Tenn., with the intent of improving his draft stock?
For the time being Costantino is putting the pros on hold, informing Ray Fagnant, Boston’s Northeast scouting correspondent, of his plans last Friday. All MLB teams have until midnight tonight to reach agreements with their unsigned draft picks.
A major reason why the Hawks earned their fifth state title in the last seven years, Costantino was classified as a “summer follow-up.” The designation meant the Red Sox would track his progress in the months following the draft before coming to a mutual understanding.
Instead Constantino’s summer was marred by injuries while playing for Extra Innings Select, based in Warwick. It appeared that as one ailment quieted down, another one surfaced.
“I pulled my oblique, which is probably the worst injury you can have. I was out for two weeks and my swing wasn’t right. Then I hurt my hamate bone in my wrist,” said Costantino, a two-time First Team All-State selection. “(The Red Sox) really didn’t get the look they wanted.”
Boston invited Costantino and those draftees who hadn’t signed to a workout a Fenway Park a few weeks after the draft. “The experience was unbelievable, all the history that’s there,” said the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder. “You’re standing on the same field (once roamed by) Yastrzemski and Ted Williams, even (presently) by Pedroia and Youkilis.”
The college program Costantino enrolled in is certainly no slouch. Walters State was lauded as preseason No. 1 in 2009 and ranked fifth in the final poll. The Senators, the 2006 JUCO national champion, had six players taken in the 2008 draft.
“It’s a powerhouse” concurred Costantino.
For Costantino, Ggoing through the draft drama was new experience to behold. Now that he knows what the process entails, he feels he’ll have a firmer grip on what to expect the next time.
“This year was a good start,” admits Costantino, who would be eligible to put his name in next year’s draft.
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Lincoln’s Dan Rhault continues to plug away with the Princeton Rays, a Single-A affiliate of Tampa Bay. Entering Saturday the URI standout has appeared in 36 games, swinging at a .207 clip (23 hits in 111 at-bats) with five doubles, eight RBI and 14 runs. Among the highlights is a two-out RBI double Rhault delivered Aug. 8 in a 2-1 P-Rays’ loss.
Named the Atlantic 10’s Player of the Year this past spring, the 22-year-old Rhault was pegged in the 26th round.
Rhault’s former Rhody teammate and fellow Lincolnite Tom Coulombe spent his summer toiling with the Sag Harbor Whalers of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Coulombe owned a .220 batting mark, appearing in 19 games (18 starts).