DODGERS NOTEBOOK: AYBAR TRYING TO GRAB ROSTER SPOT.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer FORT MYERS Fort Myers, city (1990 pop. 45,206), seat of Lee co., SW Fla., on the Caloosahatchee River, near the Gulf of Mexico; founded 1850, inc. 1905. It has a tourist trade and light industry and is a shipping point for citrus fruits, winter vegetables, flowers (especially , Fla. - Two simple numbers suggest Willy Aybar Willy Del Jesus Aybar (born March 9, 1983 in Bani, Dominican Republic), is an infielder in Major League Baseball under contract with the Atlanta Braves. He is the older brother of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop, Erick Aybar. won't make the Dodgers' season-opening roster. One is the number of utility players in camp who play more positions and have more experience. The other is the number beside Aybar's name on the stat sheet. Try .167. In a team-leading 30 at-bats. At least he can't accuse club officials of not giving him a chance. There are occasions, though, when Aybar offers a glimpse as to why he is such a highly regarded prospect. One of those occasions came last summer, when he was called up on Aug. 28 and became a feel-good story in an otherwise lost season for the Dodgers, batting .326 and posting a .448 on-base percentage while leading off and primarily playing third base. Another came on Monday, when Aybar's two-run homer off Jimmy Cerrano in the top of the 10th inning rescued the Dodgers after reliever Brian Meadows Matthew Brian Meadows (born November 21, 1975) is a relief pitcher and is currently a free agent. Meadows graduated from Charles Henderson High School in Troy, Alabama, where he played baseball. had blown a two-run lead in the ninth. The blast, Aybar's second hit of the afternoon, gave the Dodgers a 7-5 victory over Boston in front of 8,067 - the largest Grapefruit League crowd in Red Sox history - at City of Palms Park. Afterward, manager Grady Little William Grady Little (born March 30, 1950 in Abilene, Texas) is a manager in Major League Baseball. He guided the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003, and has been manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2006. added Aybar's name to the ever-growing list of Dodgers infield prospects who will see time in the outfield during the minor-league season. The Dodgers are loaded with legitimate infield prospects but are short on outfield prospects, which is why Joel Guzman and Delwyn Young Delwyn Rudy Young (born June 30, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. High School Years already have moved there this spring. ``Right now, I would say (second and third) are about all we can get out of (Aybar),'' Little said. ``So we want to get a look at him in the outfield, too.'' Asked about such a potential move, Aybar seemed surprised but amenable. He played some outfield for Estrella in the Dominican Winter League, so it won't be completely foreign. ``If I have to play there, I'll play there,'' he said. ``I have no problem with that.'' --New attitude: Reliever Jonathan Broxton Jonathan Roy Broxton[1] (born June 16, 1984, in Augusta, Georgia),[2] nicknamed "The Ox," and "The Biggest Man In The World" by former Cub and current Arizona Diamondbacks announcer Mark Grace, is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. , who had been shaky in two of his three previous outings, struck out two of the three batters he faced during a perfect seventh inning. Broxton, 1-0 with a 5.93 in 14 games last season with the Dodgers, has worked with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt --Ahead of schedule: Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis is making tremendous progress from reconstructive surgery reconstructive surgery n. Plastic surgery. reconstructive surgery, n surgery to rebuild a structure for functional or esthetic reasons. on his throwing elbow and says he'll be ready to play far sooner than expected. The Dodgers have said repeatedly they didn't anticipate Izturis playing before the All-Star break in July, but he said he expects to be ready for minor-league games by the time spring training camp breaks at the end of this month. Izturis took ground balls at second base for the second straight day Monday, and threw full-speed to first. He had surgery in September. ``It feels good,'' he said. ``It will be a couple of weeks before I can turn a double play and take balls at shortstop.'' Tony Jackson,(818) 713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: BEYOND THE BOX SCORE - Tony Jackson |
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