DODGERS NOTEBOOK: BENCH HAS ACES UP SLEEVES.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer KISSIMMEE, Fla. - When Jim Tracy
Robert Earl Brenly (born February 25, 1954 in Coshocton, Ohio) is a former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball and a current broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs alongside Len Kasper. Brenly is the Cubs' color commentator. of Arizona and Felipe Alou ``They had (players) on the bench who made it hard to do what you wanted to do,'' the Dodgers manager said of the opponents who beat him in the standings. ``We have a little bit of that ourselves (now).'' Tracy and general manager Dan Evans say they'll be happier with the weapons on the Dodgers' bench no matter which of their half-dozen or so bottom-of-the-roster candidates make the team for the March 31 opener at Arizona. That's the result of Evans' winter emphasis on giving Tracy more options for pinch hitting and defensive switches. Never mind the Dodgers led the league with 69 pinch hits and a 33-15 record in one-run decisions in 2002 - they know those statistics overstate the strength of the bench that included Alex Cora José Alexander (Alex) Cora (born October 18, 1975 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a utility infielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. University of Miami career , Marquis Grissom
Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 10th round of the 1986 MLB amateur draft, Reboulet would make his Major League Baseball and Chad Kreuter Chadden Michael Kreuter (born August 26 1964 in Greenbrae, California) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball and the current head coach of the USC Trojans baseball team. . All of those players except Cora are gone, replaced by Todd Hundley Todd made his major league debut with the New York Mets on May 18, 1990 when he was only 20 years old. , Daryle Ward, Mike Kinkade and the survivors from among Calvin Murray, Jason Romano, Jolbert Cabrera, Terry Shumpert, Quilvio Veras and Ron Coomer. Depending on whether the Dodgers carry two or three catchers, they have one or two bench jobs open. Hundley and Ward add left-handed power to go against the West's right-handed bullpen aces. Romano and Cabrera are valuable because they play infield and outfield positions. The watchword as Evans and Tracy make final selections is ``versatility.'' ``(Tracy) is so darned darned adj. Damned. Adj. 1. darned - expletives used informally as intensifiers; "he's a blasted idiot"; "it's a blamed shame"; "a blame cold winter"; "not a blessed dime"; "I'll be damned (or blessed or darned or creative with his roster, if you give him the personnel, he'll use every card,'' Evans said. ``Some managers, you give them options, they don't get used.'' Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks' and Giants' benches appear to have been weakened. Evans said he didn't improve the Dodgers' bench last spring because injuries forced him to concentrate on patching together a pitching staff. Tracy remembers the times when a clutch pinch hit would have gained the Dodgers a game in the standings. They finished 3 1/2 games behind wild-card San Francisco in 2002. ``What if a handful of those things had happened?'' he said. ``It would have changed things in '01 and '02.'' Evans likes having options of his own. So, he said, he'll preserve his flexibility on roster decisions and won't look to trade Dodgers surplus until closer to opening day. --0-dalis: While longtime Atlanta great Greg Maddux was pitching four perfect innings against the Dodgers on Tuesday, Los Angeles' young Odalis Perez was shutting out the Braves for four innings himself in his longest and strongest effort of a spring delayed by rain and stomach problems. Perez, 25, one of the three players the Dodgers got from Atlanta in the Gary Sheffield trade before last season, admitted he gets pumped up facing his former team. ``If I pitch against them, they see what kind of (pitcher I am), they maybe feel sad because I'm the kind of pitcher they'd like to have,'' said Perez, 15-10 in 2002 and 1-0 against the Braves. ``I've got nothing against them. I've talked to (team executives) and they say they didn't want to trade me, but if they didn't, the trade didn't get made.'' The Braves went on to win 5-3. Perez amplified his February statement that the Dodgers should be division favorites. ``I know we can win 100 games,'' Perez said. ``There isn't anything we can't do.'' --Hey, same to you: In the other clubhouse at the Braves' spring complex, Sheffield said games against the Dodgers hold no special meaning. ``To be honest with you, I haven't thought about it,'' said Sheffield, who went 0 for 2 as the Braves' right fielder Tuesday. ``Just like all the other (former) teams. ``The ball comes to you the same, it's hit to you the same, you're just wearing a different uniform.'' --Also: Dodgers Japanese interpreter Teppei Shiokawa was released from an Orlando hospital Monday night and was reported resting comfortably in Vero Beach, nine days after the head-on highway collision that injured minor-league pitcher Masao Kida less seriously. Shiokawa suffered internal injuries and foot and ankle fractures. CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS vs. NEW YORK METS
- Kevin Modesti |
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