Notes: Bagwell gets in his at-bats
03/03/2006
WINTER HAVEN -- It's likely Jeff Bagwell had never led off a game at any point in his baseball life, and on Friday manager Phil Garner joked that he inserted the first baseman in that spot for speed reasons.
In truth, Bagwell, serving as the designated hitter, led off the Astros game in Winter Haven because Garner wants him to have as many at-bats as possible this spring. When the Astros host the Braves on Saturday, Bagwell will hit second, which is where he'll likely hit in the regular season, too.
With general manager Tim Purpura and company watching from the second row behind the plate at Chain of Lakes Park, Bagwell had three at-bats. He reached on an error in his first, knocked a solid single to left-center in the second and struck out in the third.
"It's always nice to get a hit, but if I didn't get a hit it still wouldn't have meant anything," he said. "I've been asked about that, about if I have to show that I can hit. I don't believe that I do. It's not that."
It's the throwing, which he has yet to do in a game situation. He's on a two days on, one off schedule in that respect, and by next week, he thinks he may inch closer to throwing on an everyday basis. At some point, he'll be ready to play his position at first base.
"It's whether or not I can throw, hit, play in a game, play back-to-back games, play three games in a row, and be able to still hit," Bagwell said. "There's only one guy that's going to be able to know that, and that's me, and how I feel."
Bagwell jokingly refers to this spring as a tryout camp. Although he says it in jest, there's some truth in that. He's being watched closer now than in any of his 15 years in the big leagues.
"I know there's more eyes on me now," he said. "Usually, it's just, 'Leave him alone, we'll get him ready, somehow he's going to make it on April 1 and everything will be fine.' It's not that anymore. It's a whole different animal out there right now."
Bagwell had a cortisone shot just before he arrived to Kissimmee, and if things go well this spring, he'll have another just before Opening Day.
But a lot can happen between now and April 3. He's trying to pace himself but admitted he feels somewhat rushed because of the club's urgency to know whether he can contribute in 2006. He doesn't blame the Astros in that respect.
"That's what makes it weird, different for me," he said. "It's not the same. It's not a normal Spring Training for me, obviously. It is what it is. I've come to grips with it. All I want to do is come down here and see if I could play."
Burke at short: The Chris Burke at shortstop experiment began in earnest on Friday, although the Astros weren't any closer to figuring out if he could play there when the game was over as they were before it started. That's because during Burke's four innings, no one hit the ball to him.
"I didn't get a ball hit to me at intrasquad, either," Burke said, referring to the Astros' scrimmage last Tuesday. "So maybe I'm allergic to the ball."
Chances are, he'll have more opportunities. Garner plans to play him at short a lot this spring, and by the time camp breaks, Garner should have a good idea whether Burke has the arm strength to play there as a backup option for Adam Everett.
Burke played shortstop in college at the University of Tennessee and in his first year of pro ball in 2001. The next season, he was converted to a second baseman, partly because of the question of arm strength. Five years later, it appears the Astros are willing to revisit the shortstop option.
"I want him to get some playing time there," Garner said. "If I want to make a double-switch sometime, I want to see if I would feel comfortable with that. I know [Eric] Bruntlett can play shortstop. I want to see what [Burke] can do."
Said Burke: "For me, it's been so long since I've been out there, I'm just going to go out there and make all the routine plays and see what happens."
Although he's pretty much guaranteed a spot on the roster, Burke is taking nothing for granted this spring.
"I always have something to show them," he said. "I'm always playing with something to prove."
Smart guy: Baseball players are often unfairly lumped into one big stereotype -- that of the "dumb jock." Consider Bruntlett the exception to that rule.
Not only did Bruntlett score a 1460 out of 1600 on his SATs, but he also completed his course work at Stanford University in 3 1/2 years.
"I didn't have any classes in the spring of my last year there," he said. "I slept until practice every day. It was a good deal."
Bruntlett, who majored in economics at Stanford, was modest about the SAT score.
"I've got everybody fooled," he said. "I'm not that smart. I got lucky."
Odds and ends: The Astros brought seven Minor League players with them to Winter Haven: right-handers Paul Estrada, Jailen Peguero and Chris Sampson, left-hander Josh Muecke and infielders Jonny Ash, Brooks Conrad and Ben Zobrist. "Just in case we need them, you never know," Garner said. ... Garner was impressed with right-hander Matt Albers' performance against the Indians in the Grapefruit League opener Thursday. "He threw a bunch of fastballs," Garner said. "He got to where I thought he was going to try a couple breaking balls, but he kept going with fastballs. I liked that."
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
WINTER HAVEN -- It's likely Jeff Bagwell had never led off a game at any point in his baseball life, and on Friday manager Phil Garner joked that he inserted the first baseman in that spot for speed reasons.
In truth, Bagwell, serving as the designated hitter, led off the Astros game in Winter Haven because Garner wants him to have as many at-bats as possible this spring. When the Astros host the Braves on Saturday, Bagwell will hit second, which is where he'll likely hit in the regular season, too.
With general manager Tim Purpura and company watching from the second row behind the plate at Chain of Lakes Park, Bagwell had three at-bats. He reached on an error in his first, knocked a solid single to left-center in the second and struck out in the third.
"It's always nice to get a hit, but if I didn't get a hit it still wouldn't have meant anything," he said. "I've been asked about that, about if I have to show that I can hit. I don't believe that I do. It's not that."
It's the throwing, which he has yet to do in a game situation. He's on a two days on, one off schedule in that respect, and by next week, he thinks he may inch closer to throwing on an everyday basis. At some point, he'll be ready to play his position at first base.
"It's whether or not I can throw, hit, play in a game, play back-to-back games, play three games in a row, and be able to still hit," Bagwell said. "There's only one guy that's going to be able to know that, and that's me, and how I feel."
Bagwell jokingly refers to this spring as a tryout camp. Although he says it in jest, there's some truth in that. He's being watched closer now than in any of his 15 years in the big leagues.
"I know there's more eyes on me now," he said. "Usually, it's just, 'Leave him alone, we'll get him ready, somehow he's going to make it on April 1 and everything will be fine.' It's not that anymore. It's a whole different animal out there right now."
Bagwell had a cortisone shot just before he arrived to Kissimmee, and if things go well this spring, he'll have another just before Opening Day.
But a lot can happen between now and April 3. He's trying to pace himself but admitted he feels somewhat rushed because of the club's urgency to know whether he can contribute in 2006. He doesn't blame the Astros in that respect.
"That's what makes it weird, different for me," he said. "It's not the same. It's not a normal Spring Training for me, obviously. It is what it is. I've come to grips with it. All I want to do is come down here and see if I could play."
Burke at short: The Chris Burke at shortstop experiment began in earnest on Friday, although the Astros weren't any closer to figuring out if he could play there when the game was over as they were before it started. That's because during Burke's four innings, no one hit the ball to him.
"I didn't get a ball hit to me at intrasquad, either," Burke said, referring to the Astros' scrimmage last Tuesday. "So maybe I'm allergic to the ball."
Chances are, he'll have more opportunities. Garner plans to play him at short a lot this spring, and by the time camp breaks, Garner should have a good idea whether Burke has the arm strength to play there as a backup option for Adam Everett.
Burke played shortstop in college at the University of Tennessee and in his first year of pro ball in 2001. The next season, he was converted to a second baseman, partly because of the question of arm strength. Five years later, it appears the Astros are willing to revisit the shortstop option.
"I want him to get some playing time there," Garner said. "If I want to make a double-switch sometime, I want to see if I would feel comfortable with that. I know [Eric] Bruntlett can play shortstop. I want to see what [Burke] can do."
Said Burke: "For me, it's been so long since I've been out there, I'm just going to go out there and make all the routine plays and see what happens."
Although he's pretty much guaranteed a spot on the roster, Burke is taking nothing for granted this spring.
"I always have something to show them," he said. "I'm always playing with something to prove."
Smart guy: Baseball players are often unfairly lumped into one big stereotype -- that of the "dumb jock." Consider Bruntlett the exception to that rule.
Not only did Bruntlett score a 1460 out of 1600 on his SATs, but he also completed his course work at Stanford University in 3 1/2 years.
"I didn't have any classes in the spring of my last year there," he said. "I slept until practice every day. It was a good deal."
Bruntlett, who majored in economics at Stanford, was modest about the SAT score.
"I've got everybody fooled," he said. "I'm not that smart. I got lucky."
Odds and ends: The Astros brought seven Minor League players with them to Winter Haven: right-handers Paul Estrada, Jailen Peguero and Chris Sampson, left-hander Josh Muecke and infielders Jonny Ash, Brooks Conrad and Ben Zobrist. "Just in case we need them, you never know," Garner said. ... Garner was impressed with right-hander Matt Albers' performance against the Indians in the Grapefruit League opener Thursday. "He threw a bunch of fastballs," Garner said. "He got to where I thought he was going to try a couple breaking balls, but he kept going with fastballs. I liked that."
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
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