DODGERS NOTEBOOK: MIDDLE INFIELD 3-WAY STREET.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer VERO BEACH Vero Beach (vēr`o), city (1990 pop. 17,350), seat of Indian River co., E Fla., on Indian River (a lagoon and part of the Intracoastal Waterway); founded c.1888, inc. 1919. , Fla. - Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
Thurston graduated from Vallejo High School. positive reinforcement positive reinforcement, n a technique used to encourage a desirable behavior. Also called positive feedback, in which the patient or subject receives encouraging and favorable communication from another person. after the 23-year-olds played a sharp top of the second inning Monday against Florida, turning a hard double play and making the right moves on a hit-and-run defense they'd botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. before. That reflects the attention Tracy is paying to shortstop and second base - and might have to pay all summer - as he chooses from among Izturis, Thurston and veteran 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 . Tracy sounded as though he'd like a middle infield by committee, with starters based on game-by-game factors, Izturis mostly at short, Thurston mostly at second, Cora good for either position. ``You would prefer'' that one or two of them earns permanent starts, ``but I don't see how we can go wrong with those three guys,'' Tracy said. ``That wouldn't be a bad thing.'' Matchups and batting form could determine nightly starters. There would be flexibility if second-year Izturis or rookie Thurston faltered. The scheme might keep all three reasonably happy. ``The thought that doesn't enter my mind is `Will those guys catch the baseball?' '' Tracy said. Second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Thurston is 1 for 9 after going 1 for 4 while batting second for the first time this spring Monday in the Dodgers' 6-4 victory over the Florida Marlins The Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Marlins have played in Dolphin Stadium. . Shortstop Izturis is 1 for 7 after going 0 for 1 with a sacrifice while batting eighth. Izturis went to his right to start a double play as a shattered bat bounced near him. Izturis and Thurston showed they'd learned from an earlier mistake when, with a right-handed hitter up, Thurston covered second as a baserunner broke from first. --Perfect friendship: Marlins manager Jeff Torborg could have enjoyed his return to Dodgertown more if a certain one-time Dodgers teammate had been there Monday. Torborg had to settle for a phone chat with Sandy Koufax. Koufax was his old joking self, despite his recent controversy, Torborg said after he and Dodgers instructor Maury Wills called the Hall of Fame pitcher at his Vero Beach home ``just to say hello.'' Torborg said nobody brought up Koufax's absence from Dodgers camp in protest of a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper's gossip item. ``I had called him (Sunday). He'd called back last night and left a message (and said), `I'm getting old. I'm probably going to bed early,' '' Torborg said, laughing. Torborg, the catcher in Koufax's 1965 perfect game, turned emotional as he called the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Post's recklessness ``disgraceful - absolutely sickening.'' ``The man is a great man. He's been very special to everybody who ever played with him. He's never tried to be bigger than anybody who's around him,'' Torborg said of Koufax. ``Whatever is the situation, he's a very deep man and very bright. So he's got to be immensely hurt by this. He's not the kind of person who would hurt anybody else.'' --Recovering: Dodgers minor-leaguer Masao Kida was released from Orlando Regional Hospital on Monday and team Japanese interpreter Teppei Shiokawa was out of danger, two days after their car was struck head-on by a vehicle that crossed a highway center line. Shiokawa, 27, who had his spleen removed in surgery, is expected to make a full recovery, the Dodgers said. Kida, 34, a former Detroit major-leaguer who is in the Dodgers' minor-league camp, suffered less severe injuries. --Also: Tracy said Kazuhisa Ishii, Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort felt good Monday, the day after the pitchers' first post-injury appearances in a 10-5 loss to Houston. Brown's next start is scheduled for Thursday, Dreifort's for Friday; Ishii's wasn't announced. ... New Dodger Fred McGriff was in a lineup with Shawn Green and Brian Jordan for the first time Monday, batting cleanup between them. The heart of the order went 1 for 6, Jordan doubling against Carl Pavano and scoring on Todd Hundley's bloop bloop Baseball n. A blooper. tr.v. blooped, bloop·ing, bloops To hit (a ball) into the air just beyond the infield. adj. Hit just beyond the infield. single in the second. CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS vs. ST. LOUIS - Kevin Modesti |
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