Baseball Preview Capsules: Phillies focused on another trip to World Series
PHILADELPHIA — Losing the World Series only made the Philadelphia Phillies more determined to go back and win it again. From the start of spring training, it was clear these Phillies aren’t a complacent bunch. Winning the championship for the second time in three years is everyone’s goal.
"The success that we’ve had in the last three years, let’s make it greater," manager Charlie Manuel told his players. "We can do it. We’ve got a chance to do something real special here, and we want to continue it with the team that we have and there’s no reason why we can’t."
After beating Tampa Bay to win the franchise’s second championship in 2008, the Phillies fell two wins short of repeating last season, losing to the New York Yankees. Now they’re trying to become the first NL team in 66 years to capture three consecutive pennants. The St. Louis Cardinals earned two World Series titles when they did it in 1942-44.
How hungry is this team? Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and other regulars showed up early for spring training. The veterans are focused on winning and have set an example for the new guys and younger players.
"It’s kind of having the mindset of having unfinished business," Howard said. "Last year didn’t go the way we wanted it to. It’s tough because you never want to be that team on the losing side. Congratulations go out to the Yankees, they outplayed us. There’s no excuses. They won, they were the better team in the series and they get all the congrats and all the glory. This year is a new year and hopefully we can get out there and try to right the ship."
One new player on the Phillies is still looking for his first taste of the postseason. Pitcher Roy Halladay had spent his entire career in Toronto, looking up at the Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the standings. Halladay had a tough time watching the Phillies play against New York last fall, knowing he was that close to wearing red pinstripes. A midseason deal that would’ve brought the ace right-hander to Philadelphia fell through, and the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee instead. In December, the Phillies finally got Halladay and shipped Lee to Seattle.
"It was harder than most years watching. Just seeing the way things unfolded," Halladay said. "For me, it was wondering how I would do, how I would stack up. Are you going to handle this and how fun could it be? I watched kind of what-if more than with interest of who actually was winning."
Halladay was a six-time All-Star and won the 2003 AL Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays. He enjoyed his time in Toronto, but relished an opportunity to pitch for a contending team.
"For me it was never about changing teammates or environments or changing cities," Halladay said. "It was about wanting to pitch in October. That’s what I look forward to here the most. There’s no guarantees, but based on what they’ve done in the past and the guys that are in that clubhouse, I look forward to having that chance."
Halladay gives the Phillies arguably the best pitcher in baseball. He also helps take pressure off Cole Hamels, the postseason hero in ‘08 who struggled last year. Hamels arrived at spring training in the best pitching shape of his career. He’s worked on adding pitches to his repertoire, and seems poised to regain his old form.
Halladay and Hamels head a deep starting rotation that includes Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and 47-year-old Jamie Moyer, though Blanton went on the disabled list and could miss three to six weeks after he strained a left oblique on Wednesday. If needed, Kyle Kendrick could step in after a having solid spring and losing out to Moyer for the last spot.
The bullpen is the team’s main concern. Closer Brad Lidge, coming off an awful year, and J.C. Romero will start out on the disabled list. Both relievers are vital to Philadelphia’s success.
Scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem. A star-studded lineup that features Howard, Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez improved when Placido Polanco was signed to replace Pedro Feliz at third base. Polanco, who’ll hit second, balances the top of the order and Shane Victorino, who’ll drop to seventh, strengthens the bottom part.
"If everyone has career years, then it will be a pretty fun time," Rollins said. "If everyone has a solid year and everyone takes a turn carrying the team and no one really gets cold, that’s a lot of wins. We can do a lot of damage. But you want to be at that point coming into October. If it doesn’t happen in September and you find a way to get to the playoffs still, as long as you get there in October, we’ll be all right."
For the Phillies, playing — and winning — in October is what it’s all about. Anything less doesn’t cut it.
"We know what it takes to win," Manuel said. "We know it’s not easy. Teams are gonna be gunning for us. Nothing about it is easy. It’s never, ever easy. Just as soon as you think it is, that’s when you’re gonna have all kinds of problems."
Mets looking to bounce back after awful 2009
NEW YORK — Jose Reyes is starting the season on the disabled list. So are Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy. The beginning of 2010 seems a lot like 2009 for the New York Mets.
"We’ve got something to prove," said right-hander John Maine, part of a questionable rotation beyond ace Johan Santana. "We’ve got to get back to playing how we played the previous years, so we’ve got something to prove."
After a miserable 2009 riddled with injuries and poor play, the Mets are hoping for a renaissance in their second season at Citi Field. From the pitching staff to the lineup, there’s a long list of players with solid resumes and injury-related motivation. The Mets used the disabled list 22 times last year for 19 players, including eight former All-Stars.
Reyes, New York’s dynamic shortstop, missed much of last summer with an injured right leg. Center fielder Beltran played in just 81 games because of a bruised right knee, and is expected to miss the first month of this season following January knee surgery. Santana finished last season on the DL after an operation to remove bone chips from his left elbow.
The avalanche of injuries exposed a thin bench and underwhelming farm system, leading to a 70-92 record — New York’s poorest record since it went 66-95 under Art Howe in 2003. The run of injuries continued into this year, too, with Beltran, Reyes (thyroid) and first baseman Murphy (sprained right knee) set to start the season as spectators.
After a myriad of physical problems, the Mets’ ability to contend this year in the improved NL East could be a matter of just keeping their best players on the field.
"We know that if we’re healthy we’re going to win games," pitcher Mike Pelfrey said.
The length of the disabled list probably won’t matter if Pelfrey, Maine and erratic left-hander Oliver Perez can’t return to form. Pelfrey slipped to 10-12 with a 5.03 ERA last year, acknowledging this spring that all the injuries played a part in him trying to do too much. Perez was hampered by a balky right knee and his usual wildness. Maine threw better when he returned after being frustrated by shoulder discomfort for much of the summer. Those three must bounce back for the Mets to contend, and they looked shaky at times during spring training.
"As long as they are throwing strikes, and they are healthy, I think they will be OK," manager Jerry Manuel said.
New York has a similar problem in the bullpen, where the back end is set with All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez but getting to him could be an adventure. The eighth inning is of particular concern, and Manuel may have to let underrated lefty Pedro Feliciano face a few more batters than usual until he finds someone who can shoulder the load.
While there are several questions about the pitching staff, the Mets should have no problems scoring if the core of their lineup stays healthy. New left fielder Jason Bay, who signed a $66 million, four-year contract over the winter, had 119 RBIs for Boston last season, and David Wright drove the ball well this spring after hitting a career-low 10 homers in 2009.
The beleaguered farm system also showed signs of life while the Mets were training in Florida, providing some hope there may be more options if injuries are a problem again this year.
"I think we have more depth this year and better replacements," Manuel said. "We’ve got some young players on the rise that we think can sustain us if we find ourselves in a situation like" last year.
Anything resembling last season could cost Manuel his job, making a fast start imperative. The manager even shuffled his rotation for the start of the season to get better matchups and give Perez more time to prepare.
The whole thing didn’t seem to matter much to his players, who just seem ready to put last season behind them once and for all.
"This is the start of a new year and another opportunity for us to go out there and prove that we are a good team," Wright said.
-- Jay Cohen
Nationals eagerly await Strasburg’s arrival in ‘10
WASHINGTON — Of all the questions surrounding the 2010 Washington Nationals — a club coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons — one particular doubt stands above all others. And it doesn’t even involve a player on the opening day roster.
Everybody wants to know: When is Stephen Strasburg going to be called up? When will he be pitching in the majors, selling tickets and whiffing hitters? When will he start trying to help Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn, Ivan Rodriguez and the rest of the Nationals turn themselves into a competitive team?
Strasburg, the lanky righty out of San Diego State with the high-90s mph fastball and variety of other pitches, was the No. 1 overall pick in June’s amateur draft. He signed a record $15.1 million contract in August, and somehow managed to be as good as advertised against big league hitters during exhibitions this spring. The Nationals acknowledge it is a matter of "when" — not "if" — he will pitch for them this season.
"No question. Yes, he will," manager Jim Riggleman said. "Only thing that would stop that would be an injury, and we’ll do everything we can in the organization to not let that happen."
The 21-year-old Strasburg might as well have been speaking for every Nationals fan when he said in late March: "Hopefully, my time is going to be soon." He will open the season at Double-A Harrisburg, and the Nationals already have lined up his first appearance in the minors with Washington’s No. 5 starter’s schedule.
"What I think is going to be interesting is: How long can you keep that guy down there? I mean, he’s going to kill that league," outfielder Willie Harris said. "My questions is: ‘How long?’ You can’t leave him down there too long, that’s for sure."
The popular guess for a Strasburg sighting in the nation’s capital is early June.
Another player who will begin the season at Harrisburg but is expected to make his major league debut soon is Drew Storen. He is the closer-in-waiting that was drafted 10th overall. Strasburg and the 22-year-old Storen are viewed as key cogs in what general manager Mike Rizzo likes to refer to as a "building," rather than a "rebuilding."
"The young talent coming up here is very exciting, and we’ll see it kind of breaking through this year," said Dunn, whose two-year deal expires after this season and has expressed a desire to get an extension done. "I’ve already been through the bad. I’d like to be part of the good, you know?"
This will be Rizzo’s first full season as the full-time, full-fledged GM since taking over for Jim Bowden. Same goes for Riggleman, who had an interim tag when he replaced Manny Acta in July.
"We’re beyond moral victories and playing better," Rizzo said. "We want to win games. We want to be a real, real, real tough team to play."
He brought aboard a bunch of new faces in key roles, including starting catcher Rodriguez, closer Matt Capps, starting second baseman Adam Kennedy, and No. 2 man in the rotation Jason Marquis — free-agent signings, all. So was Chien-Ming Wang, who twice won 19 games for the New York Yankees but had shoulder surgery and isn’t expected to be pitching until May or June.
"They all have had some level of success in their careers. That breeds the character issue and learning how to win and expectations to win," Rizzo said. "We like to surround our players with as many players that have won championships that we can. That was a conscious effort for me this winter."
There’s also new starting shortstop Ian Desmond, a rookie who won the job over incumbent Cristian Guzman. Those are the types of changes that the club hopes will distance it from all of the losing that dates to its days as the Montreal Expos. In five seasons since moving to Washington, the franchise has four last-place finishes and one next-to-last-place finish.
"It’s not like we’re stuck with a core of losing players. Everyone in this room, for the most part, wasn’t here three years ago. So do they really know what happened here?" reliever Jason Bergmann said, scanning the team’s spring training clubhouse at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla. "These are all new guys, with different attitudes, different personalities. It’s not like this is a set of guys who contributed to the losing. We have more proven guys, with better track records. And it’s from the top down: We have a different GM, different manager, different players."
There are holdovers, of course, including speedy center fielder and leadoff man Nyjer Morgan, and the group of 3-4-5 hitters who carried an offense that was vastly improved if still middling last season: Gold Glove third baseman Zimmerman, first-baseman-in-training Dunn and left fielder Josh Willingham.
The team’s biggest problems in 2009 were pitching (NL-worst 5.00 ERA) and defense (majors-worst 146 errors). Rizzo is sure the defense will be better thanks to a full season of Morgan (he was acquired midseason from the Pirates, then missed time while injured), along with Rodriguez and Kennedy. The pitching, though, still might be shaky. Until, everyone assumes, Strasburg arrives.
"The sky’s the limit for this guy. If he stays healthy, I think all the hype is justified," the generally mild-mannered Rizzo said. "He’s a supreme athlete and a supreme prospect, with major league-ready stuff, that we thought needed a little bit more seasoning in the minor leagues."
-- Howard Fendrich
Marlins believe they’re playoff-bound
MIAMI — The Florida Marlins believe they’re playoff-bound even though they may be above average at only one position: shortstop.
Hanley Ramirez is way above average. The Marlins will need a big season from Ramirez if they’re to fulfill owner Jeffrey Loria’s expectations and reach the postseason for the first time since 2003. And reigning NL MVP Albert Pujols predicts there are a lot of big seasons to come for Ramirez.
"He’s a guy who is going to win many batting titles, maybe a lot of MVPs in his career if he can stay healthy," Pujols said. "Nothing that he does surprises me, because I can see the skill and the talent."
Ramirez won his first batting title last year, hitting .342 with 106 RBIs, both career highs. He finished second to Pujols in the MVP voting and helped the Marlins finish 12 games above .500, even though they outscored opponents by only six runs because of spotty pitching and defense.
Loria believes his team underachieved and said the Marlins have sufficient talent to make the playoffs. Such expectations may be excessive for a franchise that perennially has one of baseball’s smallest payrolls — about $45 million this season. But players say they share Loria’s outlook.
"We expect to make the playoffs," catcher John Baker said. "We’ve been getting closer and closer."
That’s true: In Fredi Gonzalez’s three seasons as manager, the Marlins have improved from 71 wins to 84 to 87.
"The goal is always to make the playoffs," ace Josh Johnson said. "After what we’ve done the past two years, there’s no reason we can’t."
With a new ballpark scheduled to open near downtown Miami in 2012, Loria is starting to spend a little more money. Team payroll will be the highest since 2005. Slugging second baseman Dan Uggla, who had expected to be traded, instead received a $7.8 million, one-year deal. Johnson signed a $39 million, four-year contract, then smiled when asked about seeking advice on how to handle his money.
"I’ve never really known anybody that has made that much — I’ve been here my whole career," he said. "We’re finally starting to get some guys who are making a lot of money."
Still, the Marlins upgraded only modestly in this offseason. The most significant newcomer is left-hander Nate Robertson, acquired from the Tigers at the end of spring training to fill out the rotation. Florida must count on improvement by returning players to make up last year’s six-game gap with the NL East champion Phillies, who went on to the World Series.
The Marlins’ core includes Ramirez, Uggla, Johnson, and starting pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, who have been together since their rookie seasons in 2006. That makes the perennially young Marlins no longer quite so young.
"Hopefully another year of experience will get us over the edge," said outfielder Cody Ross, who has also been with the team since 2006.
Reserve infielder Wes Helms, one of the Marlins’ oldest players at 33, senses a more mature mood in the clubhouse.
"It seems a little different this year," Helms said. "Guys seem a little hungrier and ready to do what it takes, maybe because they’re a year older and more experienced."
Age and experience are no guarantee of an ability to hit or pitch, though. The Marlins expect to generate enough offense after finishing third in the NL in batting last year. Leadoff hitter Chris Coghlan batted .321 and was chosen NL Rookie of the Year, and Uggla, Ross and third baseman Jorge Cantu combined for 280 RBIs behind Ramirez.
Pitching is more problematic. Johnson made the All-Star team for the first time last year and finished 15-5 with an ERA of 3.23 in 209 innings. No. 2 starter Ricky Nolasco had a strong spring but needs to improve on last year’s 5.06 ERA. Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad went a combined 13-21 in 2009, and Robertson is coming back from injuries after pitching only 49 2-3 innings for the Tigers last year. A bullpen that finished seventh in the NL in ERA has been revamped, although Leo Nunez remains the closer despite tying for second in the league with seven blown saves.
Still, long-time Marlins fans — and there are a few — figure the team is overdue to make the playoffs. The Marlins reached the postseason in their fifth season in 1997, then again six years later. Both times they won the World Series.
"We’re trying to do everything in our power to get to the promised land," Cantu said. "Losing is not acceptable. It’s not an option."
-- Steven Wine
Dodgers seek third consecutive NL West title
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers head into a new season seeking their third consecutive NL West title, something no team has won in the wild-card era. But they did little to improve their roster over the winter, thanks in part to the contentious divorce of owner Frank McCourt which threatens to overshadow what happens on the field.
A trial that could decide whether ownership of the team is shared because of McCourt’s divorce from estranged wife Jamie is set to begin Aug. 30, the same time the Dodgers expect to be battling for playoff position going into the final month of the regular season.
"You learn a long time ago, at least I did, your job is to manage the team that has been given to you," Joe Torre said. "My job, besides managing, is to try to insulate any players from the distractions. I learned that from New York."
Count Torre and Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully among the off-the-field issues. Torre is heading into the third and final year of his contract with no resolution on a possible extension. Last month, he told general manager Ned Colletti that he wanted to suspend talks until later. Scully has said he’ll broadcast this season before deciding whether to retire at 82.
The Dodgers open the season April 5 at Pittsburgh. Their home opener is April 13 against Arizona.
"We’re not looking to just do what we did last season," first baseman James Loney said. "The World Series is always the goal and we feel like we can get there. We’re confident in our team."
They shed a slew of free agents, most notably left-hander Randy Wolf, who had a 3.23 ERA as the team’s most reliable starter. He went to Milwaukee. Once again, they lack a true ace among the projected rotation of Vicente Padilla, left-hander Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and knuckleballer Charlie Haeger.
"His versatility is a plus," Torre said of Haeger. "We’ll give him a shot."
The Dodgers led the NL in team ERA last season.
"We expect a lot out of ourselves this year," Billingsley said. "We’re just going to control what we can control."
Billingsley got off to a hot start last season, with a 9-4 record and 3.38 ERA to earn All-Star honors for the first time. But the 25-year-old right-hander slumped in the second half, going 3-7 with a 5.20 ERA. He struggled with mechanics and his mindset so much that Torre used him only once in the playoffs and that was out of the bullpen.
"With every year, you’re supposed to get better," Kershaw said. "Hopefully everybody does what they’re supposed to do."
Once considered a strength, the Dodgers’ bullpen is facing all sorts of issues. Cory Wade is expected to miss at least three months after undergoing right shoulder surgery. Setup man George Sherrill struggled in exhibition games, and Ronald Belisario missed all of spring training because of visa issues in Venezuela. He went 4-3 with a 2.04 ERA in 69 games as a rookie last year, but after arriving last week, the Dodgers put him on the restricted list, where he can remain up to 30 days.
"They were a huge part of our success last year," Billingsley said of the bullpen. "If guys stay healthy that will be a big part of our season. Guys are going to get bumps and bruises and miss a day or two, but if we stay healthy we expect great things."
The NL’s best-hitting outfield of left fielder Manny Ramirez, center fielder Matt Kemp and right fielder Andre Ethier remains intact, although they’ll have to contend with the likes of two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum of the rival Giants, Dan Haren of Arizona, and Ubaldo Jimenez of Colorado.
"Pitching in our division is top-notch," Torre said. "We have four quality (pitchers) and hopefully we can keep them healthy."
Ramirez had a quiet spring on and off the field, and will try to regain the form he lost after returning from a 50-game suspension last season for violating baseball’s drug rules. The slugger was 5 for 19 with one home run and two RBIs against Philadelphia in the NL championship series. Blake DeWitt starts the season at second base, but his defensive struggles could create playing time for Ronnie Belliard.
"We’re still trying to put the pieces together," Torre said.
Two-time All-Star catcher Russell Martin was expected to be ready for the opener after being out since March 7 with a groin injury.
The Dodgers lost to Philadelphia in the NLCS for the second straight season despite their NL-best 95 wins.
"What we’ve done the past couple of years is to raise expectations. The fans are expecting more and it is our job to deliver it," Torre said. "We’re going to have the toughest division in the National League. You have Arizona, the Giants, Colorado, and San Diego is going through a transition, but they can still beat you up."
-- Beth Harris
Giants gearing up to get back to playoffs at last
SAN FRANCISCO — Pitcher Matt Cain isn’t going to make any bold predictions about playoffs at this early stage. He’s sure thinking about it, though. His San Francisco teammates are, too.
The Giants will be satisfied with nothing less than finally getting back to the postseason after a six-year drought. They were close last fall, in the wild-card chase well into September — and now this club believes it has the offensive power to get over the hump.
"It always seems like whoever kind of jumps out in this division usually has an upper hand," Cain said of the NL West. "That’s something we’ll definitely try to do. We’ll try to kick it up in April and work from there. ... That’s our biggest goal, to make it deep into October."
General manager Brian Sabean made additions to the lineup he expects will help support Cain and two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum at the front of a rotation also featuring lefties Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez. There’s new cleanup hitter Aubrey Huff to follow free-swinging slugger Pablo Sandoval in the middle of the order, then Mark DeRosa in the No. 5 hole.
"It’s the first spring training I’ve had where you come in and know you have a legitimate shot of going to the playoffs," Huff said. "My first six years with Tampa and my last three with Baltimore, you kind of know who’s going to be in first and second place in that division every year."
At 88-74 last season, the Giants won 16 more games than in 2008. Everybody knows this club boasts one of the best pitching staffs in baseball led by Lincecum, but now the offense must do its part if San Francisco is going to play deep into October. The Giants ranked 29th out of the 30 major league teams for home runs in 2009 with 122, ahead only of the New York Mets (95). They also were 26th in runs scored with 657.
Sabean acquired first baseman Huff, a career .282 hitter with 203 homers and 752 RBIs and a .340 on-base percentage. DeRosa provides flexibility as an infielder and outfielder but will be the primary left fielder. He received a $12 million, two-year contract to join the Giants in late December. The 35-year-old DeRosa, a 12-year veteran, underwent left wrist surgery after the 2009 season but doesn’t seem to be affected by it. He batted .250 with a career-best 23 homers to go along with 78 RBIs for Cleveland and St. Louis last season.
"Spring training as a hitter you search for timing. You don’t want to get too hot and you don’t want to be too cold," DeRosa said. "You want to fall somewhere in the middle. I feel like if my timing’s there and I’m not swinging at bad pitches, eventually the results will be there."
Juan Uribe brings some pop, too. Sabean has said he might play even more than he did as a super utility infielder in 122 games last season because of his versatility and production. He batted .289 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs. The Giants also brought back veteran catcher Bengie Molina on a one-year contract after he batted .265 with a career-high 20 home runs to go with 80 RBIs last season, his third with the Giants and 12th in the big leagues.
Sandoval’s slimdown was a big focus this winter — for him and the organization, which believes Sandoval will be even more effective and move better if he’s a little lighter. He just missed an All-Star nod last year in his first full season in the majors. Sandoval is down nearly 20 pounds from his playing weight in 2009, when he hit .330 with 25 home runs and 90 RBIs in 153 games and had a .556 slugging percentage. He also struck out 83 times to 52 walks and earned a reputation for swinging at anything in sight.
"I’m lighter and quicker," he said. "I feel great."
The Giants are counting on it. New hitting coach Hensley Meulens has been working with Sandoval and the rest of the Giants to be more selective at the plate. Cain and Co. can only hope for more run support. Cain and Lincecum were each All-Stars last year.
"I don’t think that’s anything you can think about when you go out there," Cain said. "When you start thinking about stuff you can’t control, you’re just going to get sidetracked. You worry about going out there and pitching and when I go to the plate getting my job done there as well."
Cain was a 14-game winner in 2009, a career best for victories. Sanchez also pitched an improbable no-hitter July 10. Lincecum recorded an NL-leading 261 strikeouts last season and tied for the league lead with four complete games and two shutouts. He went 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 32 starts and 225 1-3 innings. That came after his breakout 2008 campaign. He insists he’s grown up since his October marijuana arrest in his native Washington state.
The hard-throwing right-hander isn’t resting on his laurels of the past two years and the hardware he collected along the way — even with a new $23 million, two-year contract in hand after he avoided an arbitration hearing at the last moment.
"You go home and I can think about my awards and what happened and what kind of pressure that can make for me. That’s what it is, it’s me making pressure as opposed to just being out there and saying: ‘Hey, what I did in the past is in the past. This is a new season and I just want to relax and focus on now."’
Aaron Rowand is the Giants’ new regular leadoff hitter after doing so for a couple of months last season, and he’s eager for a fresh start at the plate. The center fielder has batted .271 and .261, respectively, in his first two seasons with San Francisco.
"On paper we look good, but you’ve still got to go out and perform," Rowand said. "We have the talent level in here to compete with anybody. You’ve still got to go out and do it. We have a great group of guys in the clubhouse. It’s fun."
-- Janie McCauley
Arizona looks to climb out of NL West cellar
PHOENIX — They lost one of the game’s best pitchers for the season after opening day. They booted grounders and threw erratically to the tune of 124 errors — second-most in the majors. There were lapses of concentration on the bases as well as in the field, timely hitting was at a premium and the bullpen was often ineffective. Little wonder the Arizona Diamondbacks staggered to last place in the NL West last season.
"It was a lack of concentration, the lack of fundamental play," manager A.J. Hinch said, "because I’ve said all along that the athletes, the players on our club, should not collectively be the second-worst defense in baseball. The talent level individually says that it’s a better defense than that."
The addition of first baseman Adam LaRoche and second baseman Kelly Johnson, along with the return of a healthy Conor Jackson in left field after a season lost to illness, should help the defense. Hinch heavily emphasized defensive fundamentals in the spring.
"It’s not so much the amount of work that we’ve had on the defensive side but it’s the quality we’ve set and the standards that we’ve set," he said. "We make them do it again if they do it wrong. The things we do, they’re not innovative that much as they are demanding."
He said the team needs to be tougher mentally "to overcome when things start to spiral out of control, either in a game or you go on a losing streak. We weren’t very good at maintaining our composure last year."
With Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, LaRoche, Jackson and Stephen Drew, the Diamondbacks should be able to score runs. Pitching, though, could be a problem. Former NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb never pitched again last season after opening day, eventually undergoing shoulder surgery. His return has been slow, and he will start the season on the disabled list. The front of the rotation looks strong with Dan Haren and newcomer Edwin Jackson, an All-Star last season for Detroit.
But 25-year-old Ian Kennedy, who missed most of last season with an aneurysm, holds down the No. 3 spot, while 34-year-old right-hander Rodrigo Lopez, who underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in 2007, beat out a pair of youngsters for the fourth starting position in the spring. The team will start the season without a No. 5 starter because one isn’t needed until April 18. Hinch insists he’s not overly concerned about the rotation.
"We have some questions to answer throughout the year but those are going to happen over time," he said. "Heading into the season, the rotation’s going to get a lot of attention and when we get Brandon Webb back we’ll all feel a lot better. But I have confidence in our guys to be able to do their job and I have confidence to give them run support."
Upton and Reynolds got new contracts this spring, proof that the team’s owners are willing to spend money to keep the young core together. Upton, just 22, signed the second-largest contract in franchise history — $51.25 million over five years — after hitting .300 with 26 home runs, 30 doubles and 86 RBIs Reynolds, 26, who would have become arbitration eligible after this season, got a three-year, $14.5 million deal with an $11 million club option for a fourth. He had 44 home runs and 102 RBIs last year. With those kinds of numbers, the team can live with his penchant for strikeouts, although perhaps not the major league records of 204 and 223 he had the past two seasons.
LaRoche brings some left-handed power to the lineup. He has 136 career home runs, 25 or more three of the last four seasons. The 30-year-old first baseman knows what it’s like to play for a winner from his years in Atlanta and for a loser from his time with Pittsburgh.
"What it takes is putting your individual goals and interests behind those of the team," he said.
LaRoche could help fill a leadership void.
"He attracts a lot of teammates to him, by his personality, by his steadiness, so that’s naturally evolved over the course of spring training," Hinch said. "I would never try to appoint anyone a leader, but I do turn to him in instances when I feel like he could put his arm around somebody or help somebody as a teammate. Nine times out of 10 my guess is going to be that he’s been there already. That’s the way he is."
Hinch was a stunning choice by general manager Josh Byrnes when Bob Melvin was fired barely a month into last season. Promoted to vice president for player development just a few months earlier, he was 34 (now 35) and had no managerial experience. The players acknowledged it took some time for them to accept him.
"It was tough on him, being so young and having not managed before," Reynolds said. "But he came in this spring and ... and has taken control."
A Stanford graduate with a degree in psychology who played catcher for parts of seven major league seasons with four teams, Hinch said he never questioned his ability to do the job, although he knows others did.
"I’ve never been upset with anybody that was curious about how or why I became the manager of this club," he said. "I believe in myself. I’ve always felt comfortable in a uniform and in the dugout. It’s a unique way to get the job and become a major league manager, but my comfort level, my confidence level has never wavered."
With that confidence comes optimism.
"I believe in this club. I like our team," Hinch said. "We have our own set of deficiencies and we have our own set of work that we need to do, but heading into the season, I’m pretty proud of this group. I think we’re going to be able to play winning baseball."
-- Bob Baum
Rockies find stability with Jim Tracy in charge
DENVER — Rockies manager Jim Tracy reached into his mini-fridge after a spring game, pulled out a frosty root beer and settled into his office chair for a rare moment of relaxation. The serenity lasted all of one sip.
Soon, there were coaches tapping at his office door requesting an audience and players sauntering by just to chitchat. Tracy graciously invited them in. It was this same friendly and forthcoming manner that helped rescue the Rockies’ floundering season last year. Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle on May 29 after Colorado stumbled to an 18-28 start, falling 14½ games out of first place in the NL West.
Tracy’s easygoing demeanor was infectious, the team reeling off wins in 17 of 18 games to climb back into the playoff race and eventually make the postseason as the NL wild card, where they lost in four games to the Philadelphia Phillies. Colorado went 74-42 under Tracy, nearly catching the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of the year for the NL West crown. Fans and players alike wondered what might have been had Tracy been in charge from Day 1.
They’ll soon find out. The Rockies return virtually the same cast, except for some tweaks here and there, in 2010. Gone is All-Star pitcher Jason Marquis, who had a brilliant first half only to run out of steam toward the end of the year. In his place steps former ace Jeff Francis, who’s returning to the rotation after missing last year following shoulder surgery. The team also let go of third baseman Garrett Atkins but brought in a versatile utility player in Melvin Mora. The shrewdest move of all?
"Holding on to Jim Tracy," insists Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd.
The Rockies signed Tracy to a three-year deal last fall on the same day he was named NL Manager of the Year. In Tracy, the Rockies have a manger who meshes with their personality. His players have a set place in the lineup each day, which they appreciate. They have established roles, which they prefer.
"There is a certain way I like to see the game played. There is a group of people here that embraces that thought," Tracy explained. "We have a group of people focused on wanting to play the game the way it is supposed to be played."
No one benefited more from Tracy’s tutelage than star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Tracy offered up some friendly advice — stand more upright in the batter’s box — and Tulowitzki took off at the plate. He had a career season, hitting .297 with 32 homers and 92 RBIs. He also was his customary reliable self at shortstop, a virtual vacuum. The rest of the team prospered, as well, reaching the postseason for the second time in three seasons. Now, Tulowitzki scans the clubhouse and sees a team ready to win its first division crown.
"Since I’ve been here, we’ve made a playoff appearance and a World Series appearance. But I’d take this team over any of them, talent-wise," Tulowitzki said. "That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to transfer over to how the team jells and comes together. If we can jell and stay injury-free, I like our chances."
There are plenty of components in place for a productive season. Colorado brought back Jason Giambi, who found no takers in the AL, where he had hoped to be a DH. The slugger became a September catalyst for the Rockies last season after the team signed him following his release by Oakland. In 19 games with Colorado, he hit .292 with two homers and 11 RBIs. Aside from his clubhouse leadership, Giambi provides insurance for Todd Helton, who returned from back surgery and hit .325 last season. Helton gladly welcomes the company at first, a position where All-Star right fielder Brad Hawpe and Mora could also spend some time.
"Jason’s just a good dude," Helton said. "He’s fun to have around, been through this."
That Giambi has, going to the World Series with the New York Yankees in 2003. He’s eager to lend any assistance he can.
"It’s my job to help push these kids along to get them to the next level and get that expectation level back to where it needs to be, which is making a World Series," Giambi said.
Those youngsters include Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler, outfielders who made quantum leaps last season. Gonzalez was acquired — along with closer Huston Street and lefty Greg Smith — in the deal that sent Matt Holliday on to Oakland in November 2008. And although Gonzalez struggled early, spending the first part of the season at Triple-A Colorado Springs, he caught fire toward the end of the year, hitting .320 after the break and was the Rockies’ best hitter in the playoffs.
Fowler made a rather seamless transition from Double-A ball all the way to the majors, enough so that Tracy gives him the green light whenever he’s on the basepaths. Fowler stole 27 bases last season. About the only position up for grabs is catcher, where Chris Iannetta and Miguel Olivo will split duties following the departure of Yorvit Torrealba, who had a nice rapport with the pitching staff.
The Rockies’ rotation is led by flamethrowing ace Ubaldo Jimenez, followed by Francis, Aaron Cook, Jason Hammel and Jorge De La Rosa. Once healthy, the bullpen will be pretty much the same as last season. Rafael Betancourt will be the bridge to Street, who saved 35 of 37 games last season. However, both Betancourt and Street have been contending with shoulders ailments all spring. Street is all but certain to start the year on the disabled list, but Betancourt believes he could be ready in time for the opener.
Expectations are high this season, with some national publications even tabbing the Rockies to win the West. Asked about the makeup of this squad Helton simply said, "Talented."
"But that doesn’t mean anything," Helton cautioned. "I’ve been on talented teams before that haven’t been that good."
That’s where Tracy and his easygoing ways may figure in.
"He’s a very good manager, a very good person," Hawpe said. "Everybody enjoys being around him and getting to know him."
-- Pat Graham
American League
Red Sox emphasize ‘run prevention’ over power
BOSTON — The offseason buzz words for the Boston Red Sox were "run prevention." They added a star pitcher and three outstanding defenders to keep opponents from scoring. Their failure to find a slugger, though, also could prevent runs — their own.
For most of the decade, the Red Sox had David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez clearing fences. Last year, they had Jason Bay’s team-leading 36 homers. But free agent Bay left for the New York Mets and Ortiz is a question mark after the worst of his seven seasons in Boston.
"We need to have some guys stepping up and doing some damage," Ortiz said. "When you play in this division, you need some run producers."
The world champion New York Yankees, who open the season at Boston on Sunday night, should have the best offense in the AL East with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. Challenger Tampa Bay, which won the American League pennant in 2008, still has Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford.
But the Red Sox should have one of the best rotations in baseball, led by Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and newcomer John Lackey, all winners of World Series-clinching games. Any of them could be the No. 1 starter for several teams. They also have better defense with the acquisition of former Gold Glove winners Mike Cameron in center field and Adrian Beltre at third base. Another outstanding fielder, Marco Scutaro, takes over at shortstop. The trio might take the last three spots in the lineup, although Scutaro scored 100 runs as Toronto’s leadoff hitter last year and Cameron hit 24 homers — with 156 strikeouts — for Milwaukee.
"A lot of talk has been centered on our offense last year and how to fix our offense," Boston general manager Theo Epstein said when Lackey and Cameron signed in December, "but lost in that mix is that our run prevention needs some improvement as well. We were one of the worst defensive clubs in baseball last year."
Compared to the rest of the AL, their run prevention was solid. The Red Sox allowed the third-fewest runs in the league, 736. The Yankees were sixth at 753 and the Rays were seventh at 754. Those teams also were bunched together in ERA — the Yankees’ were fourth at 4.26, the Rays sixth at 4.33 and the Red Sox seventh at 4.35.
Offensively, the AL East was by far the best division in the league. The Yankees were first in both categories with 915 runs and 244 homers, the Red Sox third in both with 872 runs and 212 homers and the Rays fifth with 803 runs and 199 homers. Throw in the Blue Jays — sixth in the AL with 798 runs and fourth with 209 homers — and the East is a division that will test pitchers game after game.
"If you’re going to be short somewhere, it better not be pitching. That’s the one way to derail your season," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "If you get to your bullpen too early, it’s a hard way to win."
Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard lead a solid relief corps but the middle relievers may get less work if the three aces stay healthy. The starting rotation includes 25-year-old Clay Buchholz, who was impressive in many of his 16 starts last year, and Tim Wakefield, at least to start the season. Daisuke Matsuzaka, in much better shape after an injury-plagued season, should be ready by late April after dealing with neck and back problems in spring training.
"Winning always starts with good pitching," Cameron said. "This is probably the biggest change in eight or nine years for this team, not having that quote-unquote ‘true bopper.’ But much is depending on the individuals. If guys just try to be who they are, then we’re going to be fine."
Much depends on Ortiz being who he was. He had 148 RBIs in 2005, then 54 homers in 2006 and a .332 batting average in 2007. But in his first 49 games last year, he had one homer, 21 RBIs and a .188 average. Then, from June 6 to the end of the regular season, Ortiz led the AL with 27 homers, tied for the league lead with 78 RBIs and hit .266.
Still, he finished at .238. And his 28 homers and 99 RBIs were the second-fewest in his time with Boston.
"I’m not a beginning guy," Ortiz said. "I’m an end of the season guy pretty much my whole career."
The Red Sox may lack a 40-homer basher, but they have plenty of offense in the first four spots with Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis. Ortiz figures to bat fifth with Beltre or J.D. Drew hitting sixth and the other seventh.
"You have guys here ... who’ve been really highly successful, batting with runners in scoring position, or batting with people on base," Cameron said. "So, I think that’s what really makes a team work — maybe not have as much power as there has been in the past but I think some other things are supplied to it that can make the offense much more presentable."
Martinez is a big offensive improvement over current backup Jason Varitek, the catcher he replaced after being acquired from Cleveland at last season’s July 31 trade deadline. Martinez hit .336 in 51 games with Boston and had 23 homers with 108 RBIs in 155 games overall.
"I just don’t want people to start putting a lot of pressure on him," Ortiz said. "I would take anytime what he gave us last year."
The Red Sox, who won the World Series in 2004 and ‘07, would love to reverse their postseason trend of the past two years — a seven-game loss to Tampa Bay in the 2008 AL championship series and a sweep by Los Angeles in the AL division series in 2009 with Lackey pitching 7 1-3 scoreless innings for the Angels in the opener.
"Our chances are just as great as anyone in the East. There’s so many more intangibles that come into play when you have a lot of talented ballclubs in the same divisions," Cameron said. "It’s no cake walk. There’s nothing easy about it."
-- Howard Ulman
Rays eager to rebound from disappointing ‘09
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon walked into a popular restaurant during spring training, spotted Evan Longoria eating alone and settled into a seat beside the Rays’ rising star.
"He’s a very easy guy to have a conversation with, and it’s a mature conversation," Maddon said. "It’s all about team and about winning."
At 24 and entering his second full season in the majors, Longoria already is a two-time All-Star, AL Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award winner, and the face of a franchise brimming with young talent.
The Rays proved two years ago that despite a tight budget they could compete with the big-spending New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East, making an improbable run to the World Series following a decade of futility. Longoria and Co. were unable to duplicate that success in 2009, however there were plenty of positives to draw from, beginning with 84 victories that gave the club consecutive winning seasons after never finishing with more than 69 from 1998 to 2007.
The Rays’ mark of 181-143 over the past two years is fifth-best in the majors behind the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies. With Longoria and four other All-Stars from a year ago leading the way, the Rays could contend for their second division title in three years if a young pitching rotation continues to grow and offseason acquisition Rafael Soriano stabilizes a shaky bullpen.
Longoria hit .281 with 33 homers, 44 doubles and 113 RBI’s in 2009. With Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena, entering the final year of their contracts and owner Stuart Sternberg saying a payroll reduction is inevitable because the club is living above its means, the third baseman is big part of the team’s future.
Tampa Bay’s payroll increased from about $43 million when it won the AL pennant to $63 million in 2009.This season, it will exceed $70 million, too high for a club whose average home attendance of 23,148 fell well short of last year’s major league average (30,351).Pena ($10.125 million), the AL home run co-leader in 2009, and Crawford ($10 million), who’ll likely command a much larger contract than the Rays can afford if he becomes a free agent, are Tampa Bay’s highest-paid players. Longoria is signed through 2013, and the Rays hold options on the contract covering three years beyond that.
"He’s really motivated to win and get back to the World Series. It’s not winning a Triple Crown or whatever," Maddon said. "It’s never individual when you’re talking to him. It’s always about the group. That’s impressive."
But as good as the Rays could be offensively, especially if first-time All-Stars Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist continue to hit and B.J. Upton and Pat Burrell rebound from disappointing seasons, any shot of competing with the Yankees and Red Sox begins with pitching. Opening day starter James Shields, 28, is the eldest member of a rotation also featuring Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price and Wade Davis. The latter three combined to make 59 starts last year, most by rookies for a defending AL champion since the 1967 Orioles. The group’s youth and potential give the Rays a chance to have an imposing rotation for years to come.
"They may not be the marquee names of major league baseball. But stuff-wise and mentally, and the way they go about their work, they’re as best there is in this game," Longoria said, adding that at least on paper, the Rays probably have their most talented team ever.
"It’s unusual," Maddon agreed, "to have this many good arms, at that age, capable of throwing 200 innings and feeling comfortable about it."
Although the bullpen is not at full strength with lefty J.P. Howell expected to miss the first month of the season with a sore shoulder, Maddon is confident the unit is better with Soriano’s arrival as the closer. A couple of points of emphasis during spring training were the importance of playing well early, as well as the need to be more consistent defensively if the team is going to replicate its success of two years ago. The Rays went 9-14 in April a year ago — their worst opening month since 2005 — and were unable to recover.
"I thought we ran out of gas, quite frankly," Maddon said, noting the poor start left them behind the Yankees, Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in the division.
"It’s hard to muster enough energy to leapfrog three teams and be successful. I thought we expended a lot of energy to get back into the race. We did, then all of a sudden we just hit that wall."
-- Fred Goodall
Blue Jays taking new approach
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays are heading into a pivotal season. While the fans will be focused on the field, the real test will be how the new management team does behind the scenes. First-year general manager Alex Anthopoulos is 7 months into an ambitious reinvention of the organization, enacting a plan that seeks to develop a sustainable winner in the model of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, lacking the long periods of losing and missing the playoffs.
"The way the Yankees and Red Sox are set up there shouldn’t be too many peaks and valleys," Anthopoulos said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. "They can still have down years in which you don’t get performance, there are injuries, they have a bad draft, but it shouldn’t be cyclical for them.
"Their GMs don’t get the credit they deserve," Anthopoulos said of New York’s Brian Cashman and Boston’s Theo Epstein. "You take away the payroll from them and they’ll still be successful because they use their resources very well. That’s why we have to make sure we build it in a way to sustain it. We need to try and build towards being a team that’s not cyclical."
While many point to the vast revenue streams the Red Sox and Yankees draw upon as the driver of their success, crediting money alone is far too simplistic, Anthopoulos says. Rather, he says the Yankees and Red Sox have used their financial might to support a combination of clever roster management, smart free-agent signings, and productive drafting and trading to turn over their cores without bottoming out on the field.
If only it were as straightforward as it sounds. The Blue Jays head into 2010 with a decent young core led by second baseman Aaron Hill, designated hitter Adam Lind, outfielder Travis Snider, center fielder Vernon Wells plus pitchers Shaun Marcum, Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow.
They also have a handful of top prospects in the minors — highlighted by pitcher Kyle Drabek, first baseman Brett Wallace and catcher Travis D’Arnaud, acquired in the Roy Halladay trade — that will be sprinkled into the roster over the coming seasons. The challenge is in augmenting that group and then finding a way to keep the talent coming in a steady stream.
And this season will be largely about identifying additional pieces that can be added to the core, and trying to turn everyone else into an asset for the future. The development of youngsters such as Marcum, Morrow, Snider and Romero plus on-the-cusp prospects like Brett Cecil, Mark Rzepczynski and J.P. Arencibia is what matters most.
"The key for this organization moving forward is just going about your business the right way," said Vernon Wells, the team’s clubhouse leader. "I think that’s the biggest thing, to respect the fact you’re blessed to put on a uniform each and every day, and go out and play the game as hard as you can each and every night. That’s the only way you’re going to get better. That’s the only way you’re going to learn."
The other way to augment the franchise’s talent base is through the draft and international free agent signings, and those are areas of priority for Anthopoulos.
The scouting department has grown to about 70 people, dwarfing the staff under former GM J.P. Ricciardi. Anthopoulos has also made the Blue Jays players on the international market once again. They were among the finalists for Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman, who eventually signed with Cincinnati for $30.25 million over six years, and are soon expected to finalize a $10 million, four-year deal for another Cuban, shortstop Adeinis Hechavarria. Visa trouble is believed to be what’s holding that up.
The dollars involved in those deals show that team owner Rogers Communications Inc., fully supports Anthopoulos’s vision, and the necessary money will be available to the Blue Jays provided there is a plan to spend it wisely. Once the team’s talent level has reached a high enough level, there will be additional funds to push the roster forward via free agency. By then the farm system should be deep enough to provide chips that can be used in trades, and to replenish the holes left by aging veterans. That’s precisely what the Yankees have done over the past 16 seasons, and the Red Sox for the last 12. Neither looks to have a roster crunch coming.
"I think that you’re looking at a couple of teams that absent a salary cap can continue their record of excellence," Blue Jays president Paul Beeston said. "If you want to look at them as sustainable, competitive teams, they’re clearly there.
"But that doesn’t mean that other teams can’t join them," Beeston added.
The Blue Jays believe they can not only get back to their glory years, which culminated with World Series wins in 1992 and ‘93, but this time sustain the good times.
"Up until ‘94, we were almost the New York Yankees," Beeston said. "When Jack Morris was looking for a job, we were one of the premier places he wanted to come. Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, too. We’d make trades, players signed on here, they didn’t look to get out. But we were at that time the highest revenue club in baseball.
"We should be in that position in a city the size of ours with a winning team to generate the type of dollars to allow us to be competitive."
Tigers’ Leyland loves his club’s chemistry in 2010
DETROIT — Jim Leyland has been managing in the major leagues for more than two decades and feels better about the vibe he gets from the 2010 Detroit Tigers than any other team.
"The chemistry out here is as good as I’ve ever had," Leyland said.
Leyland hopes wins will let the good times roll. The Tigers expect to compete for the American League Central title this season after becoming the first team to lose a three-game lead with four games left and miss the playoffs. Detroit traded or lost Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, Edwin Jackson and Fernando Rodney in the offseason. It replaced them with Johnny Damon, rookies Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore along with Max Scherzer and Jose Valverde.
"I think we have a chance to go to the World Series," Valverde said.
The Tigers have had disappointing seasons and an awful one since 2006, when they lost to St. Louis in their first World Series since 1984. Detroit followed up the 2006 season with a second-place finish, an 88-loss season and an unprecedented collapse last year capped by an extra-innings loss at Minnesota in the tiebreaking, 163rd game.
"I did think about it for a little while when I got home, wondering why it happened," catcher Gerald Laird said. "But then I got over it because stuff like that happens in baseball."
But it hadn’t. The Tigers took sole possession of first place in the division on May 16, built a seven-game cushion in early September and blew it by losing four of the last five games. Making matters worse, their $152-million player got so drunk during the final weekend of the season that he created a distraction compounded by his poor performance.
Star slugger Miguel Cabrera had a 0.26 blood-alcohol reading on the last Saturday morning of the season. He got into a fight with his wife that left him with a bruised and cut face and earned him a trip to the police station, where general manager Dave Dombrowski picked him up. Then, Cabrera went 0 for 4 and stranded six runners in a loss to the Chicago White Sox on a night that Detroit could’ve won a division title for the first time since 1987. The 26-year-old first baseman insisted a month ago he hasn’t drank alcohol since the infamous night.
"I feel good with what I’m doing right now with my mind and my game," Cabrera said Wednesday. "I want to prove to myself, not anybody else, what I can still do."
Cabrera had 103 RBIs last season — his lowest total since playing 87 games as rookie in 2003 — despite hitting .324 with 34 homers. The Tigers are counting on Cabrera and outfielder Magglio Ordonez, who finished strong last season after a poor start, to drive in a lot of runs in a lineup that Leyland acknowledged isn’t great. They also need Damon to do what he’s done for much of his 15-year career, and designated hitter Carlos Guillen to produce at the plate after injuries kept him out of the lineup for half of last season.
"If the big boys do well, they’ll break in the young guys a little easier," Leyland said.
When Detroit dealt Granderson to the New York Yankees and didn’t offer Placido Polanco salary arbitration, it created holes the franchise hopes to fill with two players who will make their major league debut Monday in the season opener at Kansas City. Center fielder Austin Jackson, acquired along with reliever Phil Coke from the Yankees, and second baseman Scott Sizemore, drafted by Detroit four years ago, impressed Leyland during spring training.
"Sizemore has got some juice in his bat and he’s gotten better at second base right before our eyes," Leyland said. "Jackson has run the ball down extremely well in spring training and that’s hard to do with wind and sun.
"If we don’t put the expectations too high on them and after they have a good week every writer doesn’t have them in the Hall of Fame, we’ll be all right."
As complicated as baseball can be, good pitching is simply essential to win. Ace Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Scherzer, acquired from Arizona for Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis seem to be a solid rotation. Valverde, who averaged nearly 40 saves the past three seasons in Houston and Arizona, raved about the bullpen that includes Joel Zumaya, Ryan Perry, Fu-Te Ni and Coke.
"This is the best bullpen I’ve seen in my life," Valverde said. "If my starters can throw 5 or 6 innings, the game is done."
Willis believes a close-knit team can limit streaks and enjoy the good times even more.
"When you’re struggling, it can turn an eight-game skid into a four-game skid," Willis said. "When you’re winning, it’s easy and it’s all good for everybody."
Detroit’s players arrived at their clubhouse in Lakeland, Fla., on Thursday dressed in suits for a road trip to Milwaukee for two exhibition games before the season begins against the Royals.
"It’s time to go," Leyland said.
-- Larry Lage
