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Spring lessons As Opening Day approaches, what have we learned?Posted: Thursday March 13, 2003 12:14 PM
TAMPA, Fla. -- It's been about a month since pitchers and catchers reported. Opening Day is not even two weeks away. We've learned a few baseball things these past few weeks, if spring training is any indication at all. For instance ...
Starting for the Yankees ...There are a lot of spots on spring training rosters, both in Arizona and in Florida, that are being pretty heavily contested. A lot of very important spots.And then there are the Yankees. They have their everyday players, for the most part, all figured out. But the one battle for the one spot in the starting rotation that is still up for grabs -- the No. 5 hole, which may not even be used much in the early part of the season, with all the off days -- has grabbed a huge share of the New York media's attention. Sterling Hitchcock? Jose Contreras? Jeff Weaver? Who is No. 5? Manager Joe Torre is doing his best to quell the questions surrounding his pick for the final starter in the rotation. It is only mid-March, he points out. "I think the competition is much more in the media than it is with them," Torre said. "I'd like to think that they're seasoned enough that they know they can only control so much." Right now, unofficially, Weaver has looked the best, and is therefore considered the frontrunner for No. 5 (following Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Wells). But Torre isn't expected to finalize his rotation until just before the season, giving all his pitchers as many innings as is feasible to get a good read on them. In other words, hold on. There'll be a lot more talk about No. 5 in the next couple of weeks, whether Torre likes it or not.
Camping outSammy Sosa held a party at his Scottsdale home for Cubs players, coaches, staff and their families Sunday night and came away from it feeling all warm and fuzzy about the 2003 Cubs. We'd like to report on it further, but The Buzz wasn't invited ... The Diamondbacks keep waiting on first baseman Lyle Overbay, supposedly the next great hitter for the franchise. Now, spring training, as we all know, is no indication. But Overbay hitting .143 in his first 21 at-bats this spring indicates something, doesn't it? ... According to the Arizona Republic, ex-Diamondbacks bench coach Bob Melvin has a fear of clowns. That's right. Clowns. So the new Seattle skipper maybe should have seen it coming Monday when the Mariners and Diamondbacks played in Tucson and two clowns found their way onto the top of the Seattle dugout. The clowns introduced themselves as "Bob" and "Melvin" ... The Seattle Times also reported on the incident, with baseball beat man Larry Stone breaking out this word -- coulrophobia. Hey, look it up ... Hank Blalock, the can't-miss third baseman of last year's Rangers' camp, is trying his hand at second base this spring, even as slugger-to-be Mark Teixeira, a third baseman by trade, is trying his hand at first ... New Brewers manager Ned Yost says he still doesn't know what he's going to do with Barry Bonds when the Brewers host the San Francisco Giants in their home opener on April 4. Saturday, in his second at-bat in the fourth inning, Bonds smashed a home run off righty Matt Kinney. We say walk him, Ned.Spring Training Buzz will appear every Monday and Thursday until Opening Day.
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