Instant attraction

Pudge's numbers have slipped, but not his popularity

Throughout spring training, SI.com will feature regular dispatches from Sports Illustrated staffers assigned to scout camps in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues.

By Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated

Team: Florida Marlins

Site: Jupiter, Fla.

Weather: 80 and blissful

Player I Saw Whom I Really Liked: Ivan Rodriguez. Pudge had a short day Tuesday -- he didn't play in the club's intrasquad game -- and was in a hurry to return to his home in Miami to take care of some personal business. Still, he perched himself on a stool behind the gate in the Marlins' part of the complex they share with the St. Louis Cardinals and signed every ball and hat and scrap of paper that was shoved at him through the bars. But the 31-year-old catcher has a rule: One per person; if someone sneaks back into line, the session is over. He accommodated perhaps 100 people, something he does most days. Rodriguez's numbers may have slipped over the past three years, at the plate and throwing out runners, but his stature never has been greater.

Around the Horn: Two Korean stars are training with the Marlins, a left-handed-hitting first baseman named Seung-Yeop Lee, a four-time Korean League MVP who plays with the Samsung Lions, and a right-handed-hitting left fielder, Jong-Soo Shim, who had 46 home runs and 119 RBIs last season with the splendidly named Hyundai Unicorns. Shim was especially impressive Tuesday, blasting a long home run in the intrasquad game. "Great short stroke," Marlins manager Jeff Torborg said. Both players, who were invited guests of the Marlins, are under contract to Korean League teams and will return to their country on March 9. However, Lee becomes a free agent after the coming season and Shim has made it known that he would like to play in the U.S. one day. ... Josh Beckett, one of a dozen Marlins who signed one-year contracts this offseason, pitched in the intrasquad game and showed no signs of the discomfort that ruined his season last year. The right-hander, a rookie in 2002, was forced him to the DL three times with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. "We had dermatologists look at it last year and their initial reaction was that it was no big deal," Marlins trainer Sean Cunningham said. ...The Marlins spent much of Tuesday morning drilling their catchers on blocking balls, a necessary skill on a team with a hard-throwing and often wild staff. "Last year you'd watch a Braves game and their catcher might have had to block one ball," said Mike Redmond, the No. 2 backstop behind Rodriguez. "I might have to block 10. Our pitching staff presents a physical challenge." ... The Marlins will have four different uniform tops this season, including a home-and-road jersey that is heavy on black and silver and light on the traditional teal. "The toughest part of playing here might be figuring out what we're wearing every day," first baseman Derrek Lee said. "I know they'll have to remind us."

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber will check in periodically with reports from his tour of spring camps.

 

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