Riding the Pine…Daily Update 02/20/2007

Player Movement:
Blue Jays – Extend the contract of Mgr John Gibbons…

Around the Web:
USA Today’s Spring Training Lists to Ponder.
Edgar Martinez to help at Mariner’s Spring Training.
Elijah Dukes is a changed man.
Second Chances: Rick Ankiel and Josh Hamilton.

Prospect of the Day
Lance Broadway, P, White Sox
Source and Scouting Report: Top Prospect Alert

Rumors
Source: BenMaller.com

Here’s how speculation gets started: Daisuke Matsuzaka asked for and received a uniform from Ichiro Suzuki, with whom he became good friends during the World Baseball Classic last season. The two had dinner before Red Sox camp opened. With Ichiro a prospective free agent after the season, you’re going to hear talk about Boston being a possible destination.

Alex Rodriguez never said he wouldn’t exercise his contractual right to opt out of the final three seasons of his contract following this year. However, he did say he wanted to be part of the 2009 Yankees. “I want to be a Yankee and I understand my contract and I understand my options,” Rodriguez said. “My goal is to go in with Derek [Jeter] and Mo [Mariano Rivera] and open the new [Yankee] Stadium. It’s pretty clear.” Agent Scott Boras probably didn’t want to hear that, because Boras thrives in the free agent market and would likely get A-Rod more than the $71 million he would be leaving on the table if he opts out in November.

Reds OF Adam Dunn, 27, is at a point in his career where it could go either way. The club holds a $13 million option for next year. The Reds could conceivably let him walk – something that seemed inconceivable after 2004, when he hit .266 with 46 home runs and 102 RBI.

GM Jim Hendry met with Carlos Zambrano’s agents for an hour Sunday, but no agreement was reached. Cubs sources said Hendry gave the agents a number and was waiting to hear back from them. Negotiations on a long-term contract will have to wait until the one-year deal is in place. “I have six more weeks to think about it,” Zambrano said. “And they have six weeks to make an offer.” Zambrano said he’s optimistic a deal will be done, based on his relationship with Hendry.

Braves 3B Chipper Jones on Andruw Jones and John Smoltz being eligible for free agency after the season, and the possibility of prospective new owner Liberty Media increasing payroll to re-sign them: “I’d obviously like to see us keep both of them. You’re talking about two guys who’ve been lifelong Braves; it’s not a hard decision, to me. I do think they’d stay here if the money’s competitive. “If I had a hunch, I’d say both of ’em will stay. But … if [Smoltz] is pushed, he will [leave].”

Todd Walker is choosing not to be grumpy over the Padres’ signing of second baseman Marcus Giles, which probably moved Walker off second base, into a utility role and perhaps onto the trading block. Because his salary will far exceed what the Padres usually pay a utility infielder, Walker could become trade bait next month for a club looking for a full-time second baseman.

An all-star last season with the Kansas City Royals, pitcher Mark Redman remains unemployed. Kansas City asked him to return on a minor-league deal. No one is more surprised than the Rockies’ Brian Lawrence, who is Redman’s brother-in-law. “I have been saying for a month that he was going to be signed somewhere. It’s hard to believe.”

Giants general manager Brian Sabean remained noncommittal about Omar Vizquel’s hopes of obtaining a contract extension before the season ends. Vizquel, who is in the final year of a three-year, $12.25 million deal that pays him $4 million this season, said on Monday that he and his agent, Adam Katz, hope to open preliminary talks with Sabean during Spring Training. “Whenever Mr. Sabean has the time,” Vizquel said. Sabean was neither encouraging nor discouraging. “It’s possible,” he said. “But how probable that is, I have no idea right now.”

Even if the Twins were looking for a strong bat to add, it doesn’t seem likely that Phil Nevin would be the guy they would look to for it. While Nevin was a late addition to the club last season for backup help, the Twins don’t need depth at first base, now that Jeff Cirillo has been signed and Nevin didn’t quite produce for the Twins when he was called upon. Nevin has yet to sign with a club, and it’s uncertain whether he will be playing baseball in the Majors this year.

Rick Ankiel is 27 now and more than six years removed from his major league debut as a Cardinals pitching prodigy. He has reshaped his body to play outfield, possibly for Class AAA Memphis this season after a knee injury last March prevented him from making a single plate appearance in his second summer since walking off the mound for good. Rumblings persist that Ankiel might return to the mound to reclaim the lightning that ushered him into the major leagues. But Ankiel, long ago tired of the scrutiny that followed his search for command of his fastball, barely hears the question before stomping out the rumor. “It’s gone. Who the hell would miss that? That would be a blatant lie,” Ankiel said. If Ankiel still was a member of the Cardinals’ pitching staff, he would be older than all but four pitchers. But because he is an outfielder, Skip Schumaker and Cody Haerther are the only younger outfielders on the 40-man roster.

Pudge Rodriguez doesn’t know how many more years he’ll be in a Tigers uniform. But he has no problem seeing himself playing more than a few years before he even considers retirement. He has too much work invested to think otherwise. “Not a problem,” he said. “Every year that I play baseball, to be honest with you, I’m feeling better and better and better. My workout program is outstanding. I follow that day in and day out. When you love to work out and you concentrate and do the things that you have to do in the offseason to prepare for a 7 1/2-month season, that’s why you always end up having good years and healthy seasons. … At this point, he seems not only set to fulfill that, but to spend 2008 behind the plate should the Tigers pick up his $13 million option, as expected. It’s not impossible that he could get another contract beyond that. The Tigers have no obvious replacement in their farm system, and Rodriguez has no particular place he wants to go after this.

Orioles pitcher Kris Benson will put off surgery to repair his torn right rotator cuff and instead undergo a rehabilitation process, which could last a month, in a final attempt to pitch in 2007, a baseball source said last night. Dr. James Andrews examined Benson’s shoulder yesterday in Birmingham, Ala. It was the third opinion sought by the Orioles’ pitcher. A member of the New York Mets’ medical staff recently recommended that Benson have surgery, but Andrews provided a small glimmer of hope.

The Cubs are likely to take it easy with Kerry Wood as he begins a new role as a late-inning reliever. Piniella said it might take a few weeks of Cactus League games before Wood throws in back-to-back outings. Wood believes he’s already prepared for back-to-back assignments.

Brian Roberts and the Orioles are working on a multi-year contract extension that may or may not be completed by Opening Day. The 29-year-old said he’ll let his agent, Mark Pieper, handle the negotiations. Eventually, if the talks don’t progress, Roberts will set a cut-off date. But for now, he’s happy with the tenor of the discussions. “As I said, both sides want to get something done, so we’ll make a just effort,” he said.

Terry Francona, for his part, acknowledged yesterday that Mike Timlin indeed is a candidate to close. “My first choice, I think, is to have him (set up),” Francona said. “But he can close in my mind, there’s no doubt.” Based on recent history, at least, Timlin seems a logical choice. Though he struggled badly in the second half of last season, Timlin and Sox officials believe he was adversely affected by the preseason World Baseball Classic. Timlin believes he never really recovered from early-season elbow problems and posted a 6.06 ERA after the All-Star break. Still, during Timlin’s time in Boston, only Foulke (47) and Papelbon (35) have more saves. Timlin has saved 25 games.

Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera is a free agent after the 2009 season, and at the rate salaries are increasing, he is heading for a $100-plus million multiyear contract. Whether the Marlins can make such a contract work in their payroll parameters is the issue, not the fact he missed FanFest. But until he is a free agent, the team could opt to keep signing him to one-year deals for two more seasons. There is a commitment to winning by owner Jeffrey Loria, who will do whatever he can to retain Cabrera as long as possible. He is an elite player and at some point the Marlins will have to decide if they can afford him or not.

There was one thing Jason Schmidt didn’t know, and didn’t find out until it was too late. By the time someone told him, he already had signed the three-year, $47-million contract Dodgers general manager and former Giants assistant GM Ned Colletti used to lure Schmidt down the coast from San Francisco. “I thought they were moving their spring training to Arizona next year, and that was one of the key factors in me choosing to sign here,” Schmidt said. “When I got here, somebody told me it wasn’t happening until 2009. If it helps them build it sooner, I’ll get a shovel and start digging myself.” Although it still hasn’t been officially announced, the Dodgers are expected to leave Florida for Glendale, Ariz., where they will share a proposed two-team complex with the Chicago White Sox. Schmidt lives in suburban Scottsdale, which is no more than 45 minutes from Glendale, even in the notorious rush-hour traffic of metropolitan Phoenix.

The Nationals have a two-year offer on the table for closer Chad Cordero.

Reds 2B Brandon Phillips reported to camp Monday, looking a little thicker in the upper body. “I weigh 195,” he said. “I was 187 at end of last season. I added some muscle. I did a lot of core work.” Phillips hit .149 in September after hitting .330 in August. That dropped his overall average from .301 to .276. He attributes that more to playing with a badly bruised left index finger than fatigue. “I got hurt,” he said. “I wish I didn’t, but what can you do?”

Coco Crisp still is experiencing the aftereffects of a fractured left index finger almost a year after suffering the injury, according to Terry Francona. The Red Sox manager said that his switch-hitting center fielder recently told him that he still can feel the injury when he swings a bat left-handed but said he wasn’t concerned that it will continue to affect his performance during spring training. Crisp is due to report to camp with Sox position players today, undergo a physical examination tomorrow and take part in the first full-squad workout Thursday.

Manager Eric Wedge received his annual briefing from umpires Monday and learned there were no major changes in the rules. “There was nothing big,” the Indians’ manager said. “Several little things, like pitchers can touch any part of the mound with their foot, which was the informal rule anyway.” Another clarification involves batters who decide to run to first after swinging and missing a third strike that goes for a wild pitch. “Once the runner leaves the dirt, he can’t decide to run,” Wedge said. “And this year, teams have to paint in the entire batter’s box and catcher’s box.”

Carlos Beltran admitted yesterday that winning an MVP award is something that’s important to him. “It is,” the superstar center fielder said. “Last year, it was a good season and I finished fourth. I think that it would be great. Winning that award is a great feeling. That means that you played better than anybody in the big leagues. It’s a nice award and of course it’s always in my mind.” … He said he would like to rack up more steals this season (he swiped 18 last year) and said that the Mets’ “goal is to win the World Series.

The Angels remain hopeful that Juan Rivera will return this year. “I haven’t heard that scenario,” Mike Scioscia said of Rivera missing the entire season. “But this is an extreme injury that needs to heal.”

First baseman Richie Sexson looks around the clubhouse at the Mariners’ new additions — Jose Guillen, Jose Vidro, Jeff Weaver and Miguel Batista — and sees that the media focus has been altered. “I’m not the story any more,” Sexson said. “Me and Adrian (Beltre) could get a break this year.” Sexson prefers to keep as low a media profile as he can.

Josh Hamilton is trying to make the Reds’ 25-man roster this spring as a Rule 5 Draft pick. It’s the closest to the Major Leagues the outfielder has ever been. Only, this isn’t a free pass and there will be no special treatment. “If we don’t think he can help us at the Major League level, there’s a good chance he won’t be here,” Reds manager Jerry Narron said.

Julian Tavarez is part of the group of relief pitchers that the Red Sox intend to use to find a new closer, but he said that if he had his druthers, he would rather be starting.

The Phillies’ lineup probably won’t be known until April 2, when they open their season against Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park. But one thing is certain: Despite the impressive power numbers and RBI potential that Jimmy Rollins exhibited last season when he hit .277 with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs out of the leadoff spot, he is firmly entrenched as the team’s leadoff hitter.

Juan Encarnacion said he will spend the next week strengthening the wrist before taking cuts, possibly next week. Offseason rest did not soothe the pain that had sapped his power late last season and cost him playing time in the World Series. Encarnacion had surgery in late December to repair a torn ligament. The Cardinals’ right fielder is entering the second season of a three-year deal with the team. Despite the wrist injury he sustained midway through last season, Encarnacion hit 19 home runs, drove in 75 runs and batted .278, and his .443 slugging percentage was slightly above his .441 career average. He also led the Cardinals in games played.

Orioles SS Miguel Tejada was so enthusiastic about this season that he called second baseman Brian Roberts several times this offseason and even asked Roberts for Jay Gibbons’s phone number. “I think Miggy was a little revitalized,” Roberts said. “He talked to Gibby. He said tell Gibby to call me. It’s like, ‘What?’ But no, Miggy is great. I’ve always loved Miggy and Miggy is a great teammate.” So confident and enthused is Tejada that he said he wanted to steal more bases this year if Manager Sam Perlozzo would allow it.

Barry Larkin, the longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop, was an assistant to Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden in each of the last two seasons. But entering this offseason, he didn’t know if his role would continue. “But I’m here,” he said. “I want to help in whatever way possible.”

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter’s annoyance with a few pitches during his first batting practice of spring was apparent by their location. “It shouldn’t be that hard to throw a changeup,” he said. After two seasons and one Cy Young Award as one of the elite starting pitchers in the National League, Carpenter isn’t content to just dispose of hitters with his cutter-curve combo. He wants a change. Carpenter said he had a changeup, lost it and plans to spend this spring regaining it.

Today, when position players are required to report to the Pirates’ spring training, shortstop Jack Wilson will have a clear first order of business: Talk with Jose Castillo, the second baseman he criticized and challenged publicly last month, and explain what he meant and why he spoke up in the manner he did. “It’s very important that he understands,” Wilson said by phone from his California home. “I just want him to know what I think he can be.” Wilson said he has been unable to reach Castillo by phone since his Jan. 26 comments in a televised interview, which included criticism of Castillo’s conditioning, work ethic and mental preparation. Castillo has spent most of the offseason in his native Venezuela. “There’s a chance he’s not going to be too happy about it, and I’ll understand that,” Wilson said.

Delmon Young, the preseason favorite for American League Rookie of the Year honors, is looking forward to 2007, but his only goal is to be on the field. “I just want to play at least 150 games,” Young said. “Stay healthy, just be out there every day. I’m not really worried about numbers, I just want to stay on the field and get as many victories on the board as we can and be competitive all year.” Young, who hit .317 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 30 games for the Rays in 2006, believes his experience from last year will help his all-around game.

Todd Walker stressed that no matter how his arbitration hearing goes on Tuesday, he is happy in San Diego — and there will be no hard feelings if the Padres prevail with their $2.75 million offer against his $3.95 proposal. Walker, 33, is expected to play a backup role at three positions — first, second and third. “Win or lose [in arbitration], I want to be back,” Walker said. “Once that happens, I’m ready to play. It won’t affect me after [Tuesday]. When you’re younger, you want to get your at-bats, play. When you’re older, you want to win. “When you play with a team that can win a World Series, it makes it a lot more fun. Nobody has a crystal ball, but I’m going to get my at-bats.”

One reason the Padres signed utilityman Oscar Robles is because he could play shortstop if Greene gets hurt, General Manager Kevin Towers said.

Like many grooms, Padres SS Khalil Greene was jittery as all eyes trained on him. “It’s the being the focus of attention,” said Greene, who married girlfriend Candice Cole on Nov. 18 in Texas. Wearing a wedding band on his ring finger yesterday, Greene promptly was asked about the nearby middle finger, the one that he tore up last Aug. 3. “It’s still sore,” Greene said. Greene waited until late December to resume swinging, and he said the chilly weather in South Carolina probably resulted in the soreness he experienced. He termed the soreness a “nonfactor” and said he is confident that warm conditions in Arizona will allow for pain-free swings.

The last of the Mariners stars arrived Monday when center fielder Ichiro Suzuki drove into the parking lot in a white Infiniti 4×4 about 4 p.m. MST. Ichiro originally planned to talk with the media, but after spending an hour at his mandatory physical exam, he decided to take batting practice and begged off until today.

Steve Swindal, the high-ranking Yankees executive who last week was charged with driving under the influence, yesterday expressed regret and embarrassment but also declared, “I’m here for the duration.” Swindal is a general partner of the team as well as George Steinbrenner’s son-in-law and designated successor as principal owner. Swindal faces a March 15 court date in Pinellas County for an incident early last Thursday, when he was pulled over by St. Petersburg police. “I just wanted to tell you on a personal level how embarrassed I am for my family, for the Yankees, for the fans,” Swindal, 52, said in his first comments since the arrest. “I know I let a lot of people down and I promise to do better and put this behind me.” Swindal said Steinbrenner has been in his corner. “I’ve been married 23 years, and guys, I’ve got to tell you, on a personal level, he’s been a great father-in-law and that’s not changed,” Swindal said. “It’s a family matter. He supports me. I don’t feel anything but a guy who is looking out after me and supports me.”

Abraham Nunez is not angry, he says, that the Phillies signed Wes Helms with the clear intention of replacing Nunez as the everyday third baseman. He is, he insists, focused on keeping the job. Not winning it. Keeping it. “I don’t think I’ve lost any ground,” Nunez said. “That’s a good mind-set,” said manager Charlie Manuel, who refused to shed any light on which way he’s leaning with the position. “Watch the games.” Watching the bottom line might make more sense. The Phillies will pay Helms $2.55 million this season. Nunez will make $1.8 million. They signed Helms, a 6-4, 220-pounder with power potential, because they wanted to pack as much righthanded power into the lineup. “It’s not going down like last year,” Nunez promised. “You’re going to see a difference. You’ll see. You’ll see.”

Jose Vidro is smart enough to realize that the conversion from being a position player to a full-time designated hitter for the first time will take some getting used to. Luckily for Vidro, he will be able to pick the brain of one of the best designated hitters to ever play the game — former Mariner Edgar Martinez. The Mariners confirmed Monday that Martinez will be in Peoria on Feb. 24-26 as an special guest coach to not only speak with Vidro but to work with other hitters.

While the Red Sox have yet to name their closer for 2007, Terry Francona said people should resist the urge to dissect the battle between Joel Pineiro, Brendan Donnelly, Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez. “It’s not a competition,” Francona said. “We’ve had names out there. We want to get them in roles where we feel like we can be best suited to compete every single day. Again, we’re not looking at ERAs in Spring Training. We want to sort it out where we’re comfortable, where if we have a lead after the sixth or seventh, it’s our game. That’s what good teams do. We want to get to that point “We just have to attach some names with roles. That will be our job this spring. First of all, you get them strong, stretched out and throwing strikes. Human nature says to go out and put up zeros. We don’t want them doing it incorrectly by throwing offspeed pitches behind in the count, things like that. We want them to get their arm strength first.”

Cal Ripken Jr. landed in Cooperstown this winter as a near-unanimous selection. But the big winners are his followers. For the better part of two decades, a shortstop no longer has to be, well, a short stop. At 6-feet-3, 205 pounds, Troy Tulowitzki is the Rockies’ shortstop of the future. He looks as much like a middle linebacker as a middle infielder. “I do think Cal Ripken changed how coaches thought about the position,” Tulowitzki said. “He was already a star when I started playing (in Little League) and I never had coaches saying I should play another position.” Tulowitzki, 22, grew up a Ripken fan. He made a point to attend Orioles games when Baltimore played at Oakland.

Rangers closer Eric Gagne took the mound on Monday for the first time since camp opened and threw 37 pitches without a problem. He was supposed to stick to fastballs and changeups but mixed in a few breaking balls as well. “My arm feels good,” Gagne said. “I was just working on being nice and easy and keeping the ball down. The thing I need right now is arm strength and the only way you’re going to do that is throw as much as you can.”

Phils manager Charlie Manuel and front office adviser Dallas Green appear to have buried the hatchet; they’ve been chatting together the past few days on the field. Manuel hollered at Green last season after Green criticized Manuel on the radio.

Who Knew? Dodgers OF Luis Gonzalez is third among active Major Leaguers with 547 career doubles, which trails only Craig Biggio (637) and Barry Bonds (587).

Willie Randolph said he didn’t feel the need to surround Lastings Milledge with a special support group. The Mets have, however briefly, considered bringing in one person to counsel Milledge — Frank Robinson. The Hall of Famer and former Expos/Nationals manager has a close relationship with Omar Minaya from their days with the Expos, and Minaya is aware of Milledge’s admiration for Robinson. “We talked about it a little,” Minaya said on Monday. “But we have other people coming in — not just for Lastings Milledge.”

Jayson Werth is expected to make the team, and back up starting outfielders Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand and Shane Victorino. Phillies general manager Pat Gillick selected Werth in the first round of the 1997 draft when Gillick was the Baltimore Orioles GM, so there is familiarity there. Familiarity is good. Especially because Werth didn’t play last season after he battled through the injury in 102 games with the Dodgers in 2005.

Dodgers manager Grady Little chose Derek Lowe for the opener last year, and he’ll probably do it again, even with the addition of Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf to the rotation. Little might follow Lowe with Brad Penny because it would put Penny in line to pitch April 19 at Coors Field. Penny was 5-0 against the Rockies last year and 2-0 in Denver. Little said he would not use a fifth starter until the second time around the rotation because of a day off April 5, although further juggling could allow Penny to face the Rockies twice in the first three weeks.

Royals 1B Ryan Shealy, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last October, reported to camp on Monday. “I had it cleaned up, it was real minor,” Shealy said. “I was off the crutches in a day and running around a couple of weeks after that. It was just bothering me the whole last part of last year. It was something I could play with and it was fine. “But then with getting the time off, I just figured it was a good time to just get it cleaned up. I’m ready to rock and roll now.”

Carl Crawford had on wrist sleeves to help combat any wrist pain he might incur while swinging the bat. The Rays’ left fielder has had trouble with his wrists in the past and plans to wear the sleeves throughout the season. The wrists “feel good,” Crawford said. “But I have a tendency to overwork sometimes. So I’ll just try not to overdo it.”

Rockies left-hander Tom Martin went 2-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 33 road appearances last season. He was 0-0 with a 7.28 ERA in 35 games at Coors. Yet, Martin wanted to come back and re-signed for $800,000. “I think the biggest issue was my head,” Martin said. “For some reason, I pitched up in the zone more in Colorado. I didn’t make the adjustments to keep the ball down in the zone. If I threw the same stuff that I threw up there last year but it was three or four inches lower, the outcome is completely different.”

A’s manager Bob Geren said Nick Swisher has been equally receptive to the idea of having to bounce between the infield and outfield again this season…Swisher hit a career-high 35 homers and drove in 90 runs in 2006. Asked if being able to focus on one position might lead to even better numbers, Geren hesitated.

The knock on corporate ownership is that teams would be run for profit rather than for winning. Critical investment in players would be withheld to help the bottom line and would hamstring teams’ competitiveness, the theory goes. However, the most flagrant examples of such a strategy come from the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, teams that slashed their payrolls to collect league revenue sharing money and increase their profit margins. Both are privately owned. Corporate-owned clubs are hardly chintzy when it comes to spending on players. The Cubs have the seventh-highest payroll in baseball at $95 million; the Braves, eighth at $92 million; the Mariners, 11th at $88 million; while the Blue Jays are right at the league median of $71 million. Also, the Cubs, Braves and Blue Jays carry by far the least debt of major league teams, according to Forbes baseball club valuations.

If the Diamondbacks get almost Angel-like on the bases this season, it is by design. New bench coach Kirk Gibson embodied aggressiveness in his major league career, and the Diamondbacks want their base runners to be more like him this season. “Base running is going to be a focal point” when the full squad holds its first full spring training workout Friday, said manager Bob Melvin, who plans longer work days to get in more teaching. Eric Byrnes led the D-Backs with 25 stolen bases last season, but Melvin said the emphasis will be not so much on stolen bases but on creating pressure on the defense. “You watch the way Anaheim does it — taking the extra base, being aggressive, creating doubt. Over the course of 162 games, teams know it,” Melvin said. “We have a lot of guys who can run.”

Gabe Gross and Geoff Jenkins reported to Brewers camp Monday morning, completing the group of outfielders expected to compete for roster spots. But before Jenkins can battle for playing time, he is battling a cold, and was sent back home with some medication. Gross, though, participated in the full workout.

D-Backs ace Brandon Webb put the open road into road trip this offseason when he and his family piled into a rented recreational vehicle for the round trip from the Valley to their home in Ashland, Ky. “It was something I always wanted to do, and I kind of liked it,” Webb said. “It was pretty fun.” The almost 2,000-mile trip took a little more than two days, with Webb pulling into a truck stop at night. “Those things are easy to drive,” Webb said, “except that one run coming into Flagstaff,” where the elevation approaches 7,000 feet.

When Eric Gagné signed with the Rangers, he discovered that his favorite number, 38, belonged to Rangers manager Ron Washington, who was more than happy to give it up and take No. 37. “I have no problem with the number,” Washington said. “I’m the manager. Nobody really comes to look at the manager so when he said 38 was his number, I just gave it to him. I’ve done what I had to do in 38, so hopefully I can be very good in 37.”

After catching Tigers pitchers on Monday morning, Ivan Rodriguez was off to the track early in the afternoon for sprint work. After that, he had an hour and a half of weight work awaiting him at a gym. That’s his routine for three days a week. On three other days, he’s on a bicycle for about two hours, covering about 40-45 miles.

Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee has switched to uniform No. 30 in honor of former Phillie Cory Lidle.

Roy Oswalt, Chad Qualls and Brandon Backe attended the Daytona 500 on Sunday but didn’t hang around long enough to watch the dramatic finish. The trio left with about 50 laps to go in order to beat traffic. “We stopped about halfway back and ate dinner, and when we got there, we were able to watch the last four laps on TV,” Backe said. “At least two of the wrecks would have happened in front of us on turn four. “I don’t want to see anyone get injured, but seeing a wreck at 180 mph would have been pretty cool.” Woody Williams, who also attended the race, stuck it out until the end.

A mutual admiration society comes to order every day at Dodgertown when new center fielder Juan Pierre meets with base-stealing legend Maury Wills. Wills is a special instructor, teaching the subtleties of the bunt and the stolen base. To Pierre, Wills is just plain special. “Something I was looking forward to from the day I signed was working with Maury,” Pierre said. “I know he stole 104 bases one year and that he’s a great coach.” Wills, whose 586 steals rank 19th all-time, has taken a liking to Pierre in a matter of days. Pierre has had at least 45 stolen bases in each of his six full seasons, ranking first or second in the National League every year. “He’s open to teaching,” Wills said. “Never once has he said, ‘Well, I do it this way.’ ” Pierre has led the league in times caught stealing four years in a row, so there is room for improvement.

Suffice it to say that it is amazing, given all Freddy Sanchez has experienced in the past year, that his head fit through the doorway when he showed up at McKechnie yesterday morning for a light workout. Never mind that National League batting title. Or even the multimillion-dollar contract he signed last month. This is someone whose offseason included having “Freddy Sanchez Day” declared in his native Burbank, Calif., having his uniform No. 21 retired by Burbank High School and being counted among Pittsburgh Magazine’s 25 most beautiful people. “Yeah, it’s been a lot,” he said yesterday after suiting up for the first time. “But nothing’s going to change about me, I can promise you that. Nothing’s going to change as far as the hunger and the way I play my game, no matter what happened last year. My game stays the same.”

Ryan Dempster, on Will Ohman’s suggestion the Cubs play heavy-metal music at Wrigley Field when the closer enters a game: “They can play Frank Sinatra for all I care.”

Cubs prospect Jeff Samardzija had 5 inches trimmed off his hair last week, after Lou Piniella objected to his trademark mane.

New Angels CF Gary Matthews and SS Maicer Izturis reported on Sunday. Matthews arrived with a Texas Rangers bag from his former employers and Scot Shields said: “Get that out of here!”

Braves pitcher Mike Hampton spent some of Sunday’s Daytona 500 in the pit of his good friend Jimmie Johnson, who wrecked and finished 39th in the event that he won last year.