DODGERS NOTEBOOK: WHAT'S LEFT? A LEFTY WILLIAMS MAY HAVE TO FIT FOR HELP IN BULLPEN.Byline: Brian Dohn 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. - Davey Johnson Whether the configuration of the Dodgers' roster allows for that is another question, but one player everyone associated with the club is watching is rookie Jeff Williams For the poker player, see . For the physician, see . For the astronaut, see . Jeff Williams (born June 6, 1972 in Canberra) is an Australian-born, left-handed pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. . With competition strong and something riding on every outing, Williams, 27, made an impression by pitching a scoreless inning Friday against Houston. ``He made some good pitches on tough hitters,'' Johnson said. ``He made good pitches on (Moises) Alou, threw some good change-ups to him. He was impressive.'' The Dodgers like Williams' physical and mental capabilities, but they may want him to begin the season at Triple-A Albuquerque as a starter. He was 2-0 with a 4.08 ERA in five games with the Dodgers last season. However, if the need for a second left-hander in the bullpen is glaring, and if the Dodgers don't find a complement to Onan Masaoka Onan Kainoa Satoshi Masaoka (born October 27, 1977, in Hilo, Hawaii) was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1995 MLB amateur draft, Masaoka would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles either in camp or via trade (Dennis Cook Dennis Bryan Cook (born October 4 1962 in La Marque, Texas) is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for nine teams from 1988 to 2002: the San Francisco Giants (1988-1989), Philadelphia Phillies (1989-1990, 2001), Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-1991), of the Mets is a possibility), Williams could pitch himself into the picture. --Splendid Splinter visits: Ted Williams, the last man to hit .400 in a season, visited the Dodgers' clubhouse and spoke to players and coaches for nearly 30 minutes about hitting. Several of the players posed for pictures with Williams, including 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. . The two met at last year's All-Star Game and it remains a detailed image in Sheffield's mind. ``What kind of gave me shivers was the All-Star Game,'' Sheffield said. ``It gave me chills. The first time you meet the guy it's intimidating. Then you go to his museum and see all he accomplished.'' Odds and ends: The six-team summit (including the Dodgers) to discuss a spring training site in Las Vegas on Monday was postponed. Dodgers president and COO Bob Graziano said the meeting would be rescheduled. DODGERS vs. METS When/Where: 10:10 a.m.; Thomas J. White Stadium Tradition Field aka Thomas J. White Stadium is a baseball field located in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The stadium was built in time for the 1988 season and holds 7,347 people. It is the spring training home of the New York Mets, as well as the home to the St. , Port St. Lucie, Fla. TV/Radio: Channel 5; KXTA-AM 1150 Today's game: Right-handers Chan Ho Park and Orel Hershiser hope to eat up the first four innings against the Mets. Pitchers are being limited to 40 pitches in their first spring outing. Righty right·y Informal n. pl. right·ies 1. A right-handed person. 2. An advocate or member of the political right. adv. Rick Reed and lefty John Franco will pitch for the Mets. Friday's result: Dodgers pitchers gave up four home runs in losing their Grapefruit League opener to Houston 6-2. Dodgers right fielder Shawn Green had an 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 single in his first at-bat. - Brian Dohn WEEK IN REVIEW --Best story line: The barely ongoing contract talks involving third baseman Adrian Beltre. The Dodgers and agent Scott Boras met four times, progressed slightly, then took weekend off. --Best subplot sub·plot n. 1. A plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work or film. Also called counterplot, underplot. 2. A subdivision of a plot of land, especially a plot used for experimental purposes. : Dodgers pondering thought of whether to trade young pitching for possible lefty in the bullpen. Right now, they want to hang onto the youngsters. --Progress was made with: The double-play combination, as 2B Mark Grudzielanek and SS Alex Cora worked on their communication so they are familiar with each other. --Progress wasn't made with: The bullpen, where right-hander Mike Fetters went down with a quadricep injury. The Dodgers like him, but now must be patient with him. --Spring surprise: Shortstop Kevin Elster, out of baseball last season, has intrigued team officials and could wind up breaking camp with the club. --The week ahead: Action heats up with more games. By Monday, all six pitchers contesting for a spot in the rotation will have thrown. - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): photo, 2 boxes Photo: no caption (Adrian Beltre) Box: (1) DODGERS vs. N.Y. METS (see text) (2) WEEK IN REVIEW (see text) |
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