Fantasy Camp Notes: Pirate catchers boning up
Here's the latest news from around spring training, and what it means from a fantasy point of view.
• Pittsburgh isn't quite happy with the defense of their catchers. Ronny Paulino has already been deemed the starter, and backup Ryan Doumit has been spending time in the outfield, hoping to not have to don shinguards as a prerequisite for lineup time. But between the two of them, the extra defensive drills they've been taking have been nightmarish. That's why, according to the Associated Press, Manny Sanguillen was invited to Bradenton for a special session. "I think they can do the job," the former Pirate said, "but you have to work for it." Hopefully, the visit from Sanguillen will inspire Paulino, who may end up in a platoon with either Doumit, or perhaps even a late veteran signing, if he can't keep his body in front of the ball.
• The Boston Herald reports that J.D. Drew is feeling healthy this spring, both mentally and physically. Hopefully the catcalls won't continue to rain down on Drew, thanks to a September that saw him hit .342, and a stellar post-season that included a grand slam off Fausto Carmona in Game 6 of the ALCS. That may erase the memories of a 51-game homerless streak that lasted most of the summer. Drew, for his part, isn't making excuses, but it's worth noting that Drew's infant son spent most of that slump in a body cast, and it's hard to fault a father for being a bit distracted. As for the physical side of things, the paper reports that Drew discovered bowling in the off-season, and found that rolling the ball down the alley helped keep his lower back from losing strength. I know, you don't want to overpay for Drew. But you shouldn't dismiss him out of hand either.
• Troy Glaus has reported to the Cardinals, and Tony LaRussa likes what he sees, according to The Canadian Press. "I think he's in great shape, and he's excited to be here," the manager said. Glaus could be primed for a comeback of epic proportions after a bad foot plagued him most of 2007. For one, playing on grass in St. Louis as opposed to the Toronto turf certainly will be less of a burden on his foot. Secondly, Glaus had a successful run through NL parks the last time he was in the league, with Arizona in 2005, when he belted 37 home runs. And if Albert Pujols stays healthy, and gets the same kind of "pitch around him" treatment he's had in past seasons, Glaus should get plenty of opportunities to drive in some runs.
• Jose Lopez finally got his visa issues straightened out and is in camp with the Seattle Mariners. Most people forget Lopez was an All-Star in 2006, and he well on his way to having an even better statistical 2007, when his brother died in an auto accident in Venezuela in June. After that tragic event, Lopez' sadness was evident in his performance. He hit only .223 in 91 games afterwards. But according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Lopez is ready to regain his 2006 form. "I don't know if I'll be an All-Star," he said, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "But I'll work a lot. My concentration with men on base sometimes wasn't too good. You have more chances to get a hit if you go to the right side. Last year I pulled the ball a lot. If I hit the other way, I've got more chances for hits." If he comes through on those chances, that will mean less chances at second base for Jose Vidro, who would be a lot more valuable if he could qualify at a position other than DH.
• The Los Angeles Daily News is reporting that Joe Torre will be working out Delwyn Young at third base. Torre wants Young, who is out of minor-league options, to get as many positions under his belt as possible so he can maximize his value to the club. Young has already worked out at second base, as well as in the outfield. "Obviously, it could help the ballclub, especially in the National League where you don't have the DH,'' Torre said. "We want to get him back into the infield mix. He started as a second baseman. We just want him to be a guy who has a few different gloves in his locker.'' More importantly, the versatility would give Torre the ability to trade away suddenly expendable players such as Nomar Garciaparra or Andre Ethier. That could ultimately prove to be the true value of Delwyn Young.
• Josh Fields just might need to send Mike MacDougal a thank you card. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Joe Crede tried to take batting practice on Friday, but his injured left hand forced him to shut it down early. Crede hurt his hand when a MacDougal pitch went awry on Thursday, and although the X-rays came back negative, the hand was still swollen enough that Crede will miss a few days of action. Certainly, there's tons of time for Crede to recover from this setback, but with Fields hovering nearby, chomping at the bit to grab the starting third base job, even a little time lost could prove to be too much.
• In other White Sox news, Ozzie Guillen appears to have set his rotation for the season. Although he hasn't yet made it official, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the current spring training schedule makes it likely that Mark Buehrle will get the nod on Opening Day. The rest of the five-man starting staff will be Javier Vazquez, John Danks, Jose Contreras and Gavin Floyd. Guillen did have kind words for Danks, in spite of his 6-13 rookie season. The team's official website quotes Guillen as saying, "Danks is third because when I look at it, I think Danks is going to throw a lot of strikes." Let's hope he means that opposing batters will be missing those strikes, and not making solid contact with them, or else we may end up longing for last season's 1.54 WHIP and 5.50 ERA.
• Trey Hillman is the new manager in Kansas City, and he's got a few crazy ideas. According to the Kansas City Star, one of those ideas is moving Miguel Olivo from behind the plate to left field. "If I can help the team that way," Olivo said, "I'll do it. He wants my bat (in the lineup)." Olivo has never played the outfield, but Hillman thinks he has the speed to do it, at least on a limited basis. Who knows? The experiment could work, and the ripple effect of Olivo in left field could see Mark Teahen moving to first base, especially if Ross Gload can't cut it. The real victim, if this scheme works out, could be Joey Gathright. He's hoping to see some time in left field, and wants a chance to prove himself to his new manager. "It's just difficult to do things if you don't have the green light," Gathright said. "If you look at my numbers in Triple-A and my numbers in the big leagues, you'll see a big difference." The not-so-subtle inference is that former skipper Buddy Bell kept Gathright from showcasing his talent, but 19 steals in 33 attempts isn't the kind of success rate that generally inspires a manager to give you more freedom.
• According to the Yankees' official website, catching duo Jose Molina and Jorge Posada are raving about Phil Hughes. They're saying his fastball has a lot more pop this season, and they're not the only ones who have noticed. Joe Girardi also is very impressed with the youngster. "You watch him and he leads the groups in running. He just looks like an athlete, a thoroughbred and a leader." The Yankees will likely start three very green pitchers this season, with Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy. If the three of them can push each other, perhaps the trio can develop much quicker as a group than any of them would if they were the lone neophyte on a completely veteran staff. It certainly seems like a promising start to the spring.
A.J. Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
