DODGERS INSIDE LOOK: JORDAN UPBEAT AFTER POSITIVE OFFSEASON.Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer PHOENIX - Forget last fall's trade demand or next season's club option. Brian Jordan Jordan picked up Monday afternoon where he left off in September with a homer and three RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in in an 8-0 opening-day rout of Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit and the Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. . Even more impressive is the way Jordan waded through potential offseason distractions that included delicate knee surgery and issues about his future with the club. He admits he was angry most of last year after his trade from Atlanta with Odalis Perez for Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968 in Tampa, Florida) is a Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. . But ending 2002 strong enabled him to take on Johnson and this season with a positive outlook. ``All I'm thinking about right now is playing,'' said Jordan, who hit .347 with 30 RBI in the final month of last season. ``I'd say I was (upset) for three-quarters of last season. I like my situation now. I feel like a major part of the team. We can do a lot of good things.'' This from someone whose knee still is not 100 percent. And the option year for $10.5 million has not been resolved. Dodgers fans know how the volatile Sheffield might have reacted. ``You see what Brian can do in the middle of our order,'' catcher Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the New York Mets. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and Florida Marlins (2004-2005). said. ``He is so strong physically and as a presence in our clubhouse. Those things are so critical during a season.'' His teammates didn't have to wait long Monday. Batting cleanup between Shawn Green Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972, in Des Plaines, Illinois) is a 6' 4" left-handed Major League Baseball player. Green is the starting right fielder for the New York Mets.[1] Green was a 1st round draft pick, and has been a two-time major league All-Star. and Fred McGriff, Jordan came in with a .333 lifetime average against Johnson, the five-time Cy Young Award winner who never had lost on opening day. In Jordan's first two at-bats, Johnson started him off with sliders sliders a species of tortoise kept as pets. They have a black shell and a red stripe behind the eye. Called also Chrysemys scripta elegans, red-eared sliders. . When Jordan came to the plate in the sixth inning, Dave Roberts was at third base. Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly went to the mound, but Johnson elected to pitch to Jordan. On the first pitch, Jordan turned on another slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. and drove it 372 feet into the left-field stands. With Hideo Nomo in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of a four-hit shutout, that was more than enough. ``I expected Randy to pitch to me,'' Jordan said. ``He's a competitor and I'm a competitor.'' Jordan's a realist, too. Traded during a multiyear contract, he had the right to demand a trade after last season. But while he made his feelings public, Jordan, 36, and general manager Dave Evans were talking privately about ways to improve the club. ``That meant a lot,'' Jordan said. Jordan never played with McGriff but liked the idea of getting the veteran slugger. At the same time, Evans told Jordan's St. Louis-based agent, Jim Turner, the club had no interest in dealing his client. Jordan didn't have much leverage. He had a bad knee and was due $9 million for this season. But he began to see changes he liked. The Dodgers unloaded longtime favorite Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek and signed McGriff. Jordan was ecstatic and shelved his trade demand. He continued to rehab the knee and dropped 20 pounds. He came to spring training with a positive attitude. Even though he batted just .238 with one homer and six RBI, his leadership stood out on a team that often has struggled to find role models. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Brian Jordan (33), celebrating his two-run homer in the sixth inning with Dave Roberts, has become a Dodgers leader. Paul Connors/Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion