→ godblesssam:GO! 02/25 23:02
02/24/2008 6:15 PM ET
Notes: No lack of effort from Ensberg
Veteran infielder dedicated despite abundance of competitors
By Dawn Klemish / Special to MLB.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Morgan Ensberg has had a lot of adjusting to do over the past
year. New team. New expectations. New position. So far, he's taking it all
in stride.
"I don't think that the woulda, coulda, shouldas are very productive,"
Ensberg said. "I just continue to try to do right now. Past is past."
It's a past that could've been a bit more favorable to the 32-year-old
Ensberg. A combination of an off year in 2007 -- he hit just .232 in 85
games with the Astros -- and the steady performance of Mike Lamb, who hit
.299 (207-for-692) during the past two years combined, sent Ensberg to
San Diego in the final hours before last year's non-waiver trade deadline.
The Padres, in turn, released Ensberg after the season, whereupon he
shopped around for a bit, before inking a Minor League contract with
the Yankees.
"I had quite a few other teams where my position was much more secure,
where I could play third every day," admitted Ensberg. "When I really
sat down and looked at where I felt my best opportunity was, I felt that
the Yankees were the team. It had everything to do with the lineup, and
also the opportunity that was presented."
There was one small catch, though: Eleven-time All-Star Alex Rodriguez is
already holding down the hot corner, so Ensberg is forced to find another
spot to call home.
Nowadays, Ensberg is putting in extra work to better familiarize himself,
having landed with New York after spending all but three of his 621 career
big league games at third base. To date, he has anchored first in only one
game, as a member of the Padres last season.
Among the things Ensberg is focused on is how to read the ball's spin off
the bat. Ensberg readily admits he has spent a lot of time on the sidelines
intently tracking infield hits during batting practice, then putting his
new knowledge to work while taking grounders.
"I'm really just concentrating on working my tail off right now -- going at
it 100 percent, taking very small steps and keeping my thinking very short
term," Ensberg said.
Ensberg still has a long road ahead of him, as strong first-base contenders
already include veteran Jason Giambi, promising slugger Shelley Duncan and
Wilson Betemit. Ensberg had offers from other teams, so why put himself in
pinstripes knowing the uphill battle he would face?
At 32, he's certainly not considered a newbie anymore.
"I absolutely love competition," Ensberg said. "I think it makes you better.
I think it makes you sharper. I think I'm a much better player when dealing
with competition."
Captain speaks out: Derek Jeter must have nothing to hide. Jeter told
Bloomberg News on Sunday that not only is he not against conducting blood
tests on players for banned substances, he doesn't think it's any invasion
of a player's privacy, either.
"You can test for whatever you want to test for," the shortstop said. "We get
pricked by needles anyway in Spring Training, so we have a lot of blood work
to begin with."
Armed and dangerous: Yankees manager Joe Girardi knew that LaTroy Hawkins
had evolved into a solid ground-ball pitcher before Hawkins landed in
New York, but that didn't stop Girardi from lavishing praise on the
35-year-old righty after Sunday's workouts.
"The thing that I'm seeing in all of [Hawkins'] bullpens is that everything
is down. He's a versatile guy because he is a ground-ball pitcher," Girardi
said. "Obviously, you love having guys that have the ability to strike
hitters out in the back end, but sometimes, you need that double-play man.
Trying to get two with one pitch can be very important."
Also earning mention were right-handers Jonathan Albaladejo, Steven White,
Daniel McCutchen and Mark Melancon.
Rotation, rotation: The Yankees' pitching lineup has been finalized for the
first two games. Wednesday's seven-inning intrasquad matchup will showcase
Mike Mussina, Darrell Rasner, McCutchen, Albaladejo and Melancon against
Jeff Karstens, Steven Jackson, Scott Patterson, Billy Traber and Ross
Ohlendorf.
Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, Kei Igawa, Jeffrey Marquez,
Alan Horne and Scott Strickland will toe the slab during Thursday's
nine-inning game.
Great impressions: One of the pitchers prompting Girardi to take notice
early in camp has been Melancon, a right-handed reliever coming off
Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.
Melancon, who turns 23 on Monday, said that his right arm now feels
"as good as it ever has" in his short career, which could bode well for
his future progression.
A ninth-round pick of the Yankees in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, the
former University of Arizona closer missed the entire 2007 season after
meeting with noted orthopedic surgeon James Andrews the previous October.
He is primed to rebound pain-free and resume lighting up radar guns with a
power fastball, curveball and developing changeup.
"For the first couple of weeks, you look ahead and a year turns into a long
time," Melancon said. "After you get off the initial shock of surgery, you
just take it day by day. Before you know it, you're seven months through and
you're pitching on a mound again. It went a lot faster than it sounds like
it."
Melancon said that his initial meetings with Andrews left the impression
that he would not need surgery, but Melancon insisted that he would not
complain about his arm unless it hurt. Andrews ordered additional MRIs,
and after reviewing later images, he told Melancon that his pitching arm
"looked like mush."
"I didn't know what was really going on, so when I found out I needed
surgery, it was kind of a good thing," Melancon said. "I knew it was
fixable, and with Dr. Andrews doing it, I knew I could trust him and it
would be done right."
Bombers bits: Pitchers faced something different from the everyday bullpen
session on Sunday, as Girardi had them throw 20 pitches, sit for seven
minutes and toss another 20 in order to help better simulate an actual
inning. ... Workouts began just before noon ET, Girardi said, to allow
the players extra time with their families. ... The Yankees will likely
break camp with 12 pitchers because of the strenuous first month of play.
New York will open the season on March 31 against Toronto, take off April
1, then play its next 20 games without a break. ... Girardi said the Yankees
plan to use the designated hitter as much as possible during Spring Training,
which depends on which opponents will agree to use it as well.
Dawn Klemish is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to
the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://tinyurl.com/272gue
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.109.23.103