González eager to prove he's healthy and ready - Injury derailed Marlin in 2002
www.miami.com Posted on Wed, Feb. 26, 2003 BY KEVIN BAXTER kbaxter@herald.com
KEY YEAR: Alex González, whose 2002 season ended when he injured his shoulder in May, wants to prove he's up to the demands of playing shortstop: "This year is very much a key year for me," he said.
JUPITER - No matter what happens during the next nine months, Alex González can take comfort in knowing it can't possibly be worse than the past nine.
Since May, González has seen a potential Gold Glove-winning season wiped out by an injury, then watched first-hand as his native Venezuela became engulfed in deadly political violence.
So when he takes the field this afternoon for the Marlins' first exhibition game of the spring, he'll be thinking of the future, not the past.
''This year is very much a key year for me,'' González said Tuesday.
And not only because his $1.7 million contract runs out this fall; after all, every Marlin but center fielder Juan Pierre will see his contract end when the season does. But only González has the added burden of proving he's strong enough -- physically and mentally -- to be an everyday player at shortstop, one of the most demanding positions.
''He knows he has a tough season to face,'' said former shortstop and fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillén, now the Marlins' third-base coach. ``This season can be the biggest for him in his career. He can't go two years without playing the way he should be playing.''
González got off to a great start last season and was hitting .261, 40 points above his career average, after a month. He was also dazzling in the field, committing just one error in 22 games.
''The way he played before he got hurt, he was a Gold Glove winner without question,'' Guillen said.
But then in the third inning of a mid-May game against the Giants, González dislocated his left shoulder diving for a ball hit by Barry Bonds. It was the same shoulder he hurt in 1996, during his third professional season. Only this time González had a partially torn labrum as well. So after suffering through five painful rehab starts in the low minors, González ended his season early and was operated on by Dr. James Andrews.
For the next four months, González didn't touch a ball and aimed for a mid-January return in the Venezuelan winter league. But when widespread discontent with the government of President Hugo Chávez led to a general strike and riots in the streets, the league shut down, sidelining González another two months.
''I practiced with the team. I did some rehabilitation exercises on my arm. I did everything I could to . . . prepare myself for spring training. But it affected me,'' González said of his canceled winter season.
And it might continue to affect him. Although González's girlfriend, Johanna Josely, and the couple's 3-year-old son, Alexander, will be coming to South Florida in April, the rest of his family will remain in Venezuela, amid violence and uncertainty.
Guillén said González will have to put those worries aside when he takes the field, just as Guillén did in 1995 when his best friend, former Marlin Gus Polidor, was fatally shot by robbers at his home in Venezuela.
González, who is promising to play cautiously during the exhibition season, said he feels great and his arm is ''about 80 percent'' healed. Guillén and manager Jeff Torborg said González looks better than that, although the real test will come later in spring training.
''The worst thing about it is swinging the bat,'' Guillén said. ``The next day after swinging the bat, your body will be sore. I think he's ready to play. He's got one thing in his favor: The manager loves him.''
PROBABLE LINEUP
Torborg will debut his probable opening day lineup against the University of Miami today in the first exhibition, at 3:05 p.m. at Roger Dean Stadium.
Second baseman Luis Castillo will lead off, followed by Pierre, catcher Ivan Rodríguez, first baseman Derrek Lee, third baseman Mike Lowell, right fielder Juan Encarnacíon, left fielder Todd Hollandsworth and González. Nonroster invitee Dontrelle Willis will start on the mound.