DODGERS NOTEBOOK: QUESTION: WHO'S UP FIRST?Byline: TONY JACKSON
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson 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. -- Addressing one of the offseason's hot-button issues for the first time, Juan Pierre Juan D'Vaughn Pierre (born August 14, 1977 in Mobile, Alabama), is a professional baseball center fielder who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He bats and throws left-handed. In his seven years through 2006, Pierre has batted . refused to fan any controversial flames Saturday. The fleet center fielder, whom the Dodgers signed to a five-year, $44 million contract in November, said he has no preference between batting first or second. Shortstop Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal[1] (born August 24, 1977 in Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic),[2] nicknamed "Fookie", is a shortstop in Major League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. , the guy who will fill whichever of those spots Pierre doesn't, hasn't arrived at spring training and isn't required to until Tuesday. "I went through a similar situation in Florida with Luis Castillo There are three people named Luis Castillo:
fur·cal adj. Forked. furcal forked. is a great leadoff man who did a great job last year. It won't change my approach. I always try to take pitches, regardless." 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. said he plans to try both Pierre-Furcal and Furcal- Pierre alignments during Grapefruit League games before making a decision. All Little has promised so far is that once he has decided, he won't change his mind unless the alignment he chooses proves after a time to be a failure. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , he won't flip the left-handed hitting Pierre and the switch-hitting Furcal just because the Dodgers are facing a certain pitcher. Although he has spent the vast majority of his career batting first, including 158 games with the Chicago Cubs last season, Pierre's lifetime on-base percentage (.350) is below optimum for a leadoff man. But Pierre said that statistic is misleading. "I try to get my walks," Pierre said. "I rarely swing at first pitches, and I get a lot of 2-0, 3-1 counts. But I usually won't take a pitch just off the plate because I don't trust the umpire to call it a ball, and I also expand my zone a little bit with two strikes." Pierre has two factors working against him. First, he is such a lethal stolen-base threat, having swiped as many as 65 in a season, that pitchers are loathe to give him a free ticket to first base. Second, pitchers who fall behind in the count aren't afraid to come back with meaty fastballs to him, because he never has hit more than three home runs in a season. "They know if they keep it over the plate, the worst they're going to give up is probably a double," Pierre said. "It's kind of a Catch-22 situation." Another starter candidate: Add non-roster right-hander Joe Mays Joe Mays (born Joseph Emerson Mays on December 10, 1975 in Flint, Michigan, USA) is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He is currently under a Minor League contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. , whom the Dodgers signed less than two weeks ago, to the long list of those vying for the fifth spot in the starting rotation. Little said before Saturday's first workout of the spring for pitchers and catchers that Mays will be kept on a starter's throwing program at least through the early part of camp. "He has a good history," Little said. "He will be given the opportunity to make this ballclub, and we will certainly try to put him in a position he is most comfortable with." Mays, 31, has spent most of his seven-year career in the majors as a starter, but his overall success has been spotty. He is 48-70 with a 5.05 ERA after pitching six seasons for Minnesota and splitting last year between Cincinnati and Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). . Alone time: Several members of the Dodgers' organizational brain trust walked out to Holman Stadium There are at least two sports venues called Holman Stadium:
Mueller, the former third baseman and American League batting champion who signed a two-year, $9.5 million free-agent deal with the Dodgers before last season, was forced into early retirement and a front-office career by an irreparable knee injury. "It's always difficult to not be playing when you feel like your skills are at a level where you still could play, but because of an injury, you're not," Mueller said. "But that's the way it is. I still love the game, and that's why I wanted to do what I'm doing now." tony.jackson@dailynews.com (818) 713-3675 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Center fielder Juan Pierre, left, and shortstop Rafael Furcal both will get a chance to bat leadoff during spring training. Left, Stephen Green/Getty Images; Right, Stephen Dunn/Getty Images |
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