www.bayarea.com Posted on Fri, Mar. 21, 2003 By Joe Roderick CONTRA COSTA TIMES

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - It takes a unique individual to hit behind Barry Bonds. Jeff Kent earned his money as Bonds' wing man for years, until even he struggled under the enormous weight of the job last season and was moved ahead of Bonds.

There are certain prerequisites for the job. The man should possess an easygoing demeanor, a steady pulse, or, as new Giants manager Felipe Alou so eloquently put it, he needs to be "a cold-blooded hitter."

Alou bestowed the compliment on third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, who will hit fifth and try to protect Bonds, if such a thing can be done.

If there are concerns about Alfonzo's ability to function in perhaps the most important role in the team's lineup after his power numbers dropped the past two seasons, consider that he hit behind Mike Piazza in New York last season. He batted .330 with runners in scoring position last season -- .318 for his career -- and does not get embroiled in the machismo of a manager intentionally walking the Big Man to get to him.

"Fonzi checks his ego at the door when he comes to the ballpark," said Bobby Valentine, his former Mets manager. "He's not going to get caught up in those little games. I think he will be absolutely delighted by how many opportunities he has to hit with men in scoring position. When he's hitting behind Barry he's going to cash in enough to where Barry is going to swing the bat more than people think."

After eight seasons with the Mets, Alfonzo left when the team offered him a two-year, $10 million contract, a pay cut of about $1.7 million from 2002, he said. Alfonzo, who wanted to stay in New York, was deeply hurt.

"I think I deserved a little more than that," he said. "Like I told them, I didn't ask for $30 million for four years or $20 million for two years. I wanted something fair for me, for my future. But if they don't want you, they don't want you."

Boston was on the verge of signing Alfonzo to a two-year deal worth roughly $15 million before the Giants, who were close to severing ties with Kent, signed Alfonzo to a four-year, $26 million deal. Critics say the Giants took a gamble considering Alfonzo's slip in productivity and a back problem that lingered for two years until last season.

"As long as I feel good, they can say whatever they want," he said of his critics.

Alfonzo also gained weight in his latter years with the Mets, presumably because of improper offseason conditioning.

"A lot of people don't train as hard as Edgardo," Valentine said. "He might train too much. Obviously he gained weight, but that wasn't because of anything he was doing. He was getting a little older and maybe he had to alter his eating habits a little bit. But he was working out five hours a day during the offseason and worked with a personal trainer last year and the year before that."

Valentine and Alfonzo were together for six seasons and formed an interesting bond. The former manager may have grated on some of his players, but not Alfonzo, even when Valentine was quick to pull his player aside when he felt Alfonzo's performance wasn't first class.

"I think at times when the results weren't up to what he expected them to be, I'd turn up the volume," Valentine said. "He responds to everything. He responds to the pressure of the situation, responds to his teammates' need.

"Fonzi is one of the guys, you don't have to go in any detail with him. He's well aware of what's going on, and sometimes he gets caught up in things that are not of the utmost importance."

Such as?

"Like the previous night's game," Valentine said. "Maybe he hit a double and the guy couldn't score in front of him. He'd go up and try to hit a homer. You can't do anything about last night's game."

Alfonzo didn't mind his manager's occasional prodding.

"Sometimes he'd get really (expletive) at you and you have to understand the guy," he said. "It's part of the game. He came to me and said, 'You should be better than that,' and that's exactly what I needed, for him to come and yell at me and wake me up. To me, it was nice. He knows what I can do and every time he saw me do things I shouldn't do he called it to my attention."

Alfonzo, who still lives in New York, is a hero in his native Venezuela. Valentine remembers watching him play one winter when the Mets were converting him from third to second base.

"Down there he was nicknamed 'The Wall,'" Valentine said. "Nothing gets through him."

There is something else, Valentine said, that rarely escapes Alfonzo: a curveball.

"He can hit a breaking pitch, the best pitch, in the toughest situation," Valentine said. "People are spoiled by how easily Barry does that. This guy (Alfonzo) is a quality hitter. Pitchers wonder how the hell he hit that pitch."

March 19, 2003 By Scott Miller SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Scott your opinion!

Camping Out with Miller TEMPE, Ariz. -- It's not like this is the first time in recent months that political unrest and trepidation have replaced strikeouts and the double play in the forefront of the mind.

With the glow of their first World Series championship still burning brightly, the Anaheim Angels parted ways for the winter with their newest star, hard-throwing reliever Francisco Rodriguez, knowing he was heading home to Venezuela, a country on the precipice of political upheaval.

The country experienced a coup last April, though President Hugo Chavez was restored to power just two days later. Then, the opposition to Chavez called a fourth national strike within a year's time in December, a strike that virtually paralyzed the state's oil industry for several weeks -- and, during which time, things turned violent.

"We had a pretty good idea -- in fact, before that stuff happened there, we had one guy who wanted to play (winter ball) there and we said no," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said. "It was a North American guy. With travel advisories going out from the State Department, there were a lot of signs that there could be trouble down there.

"I just felt it wasn't a great spot for employees to be -- especially foreigners. But how can you tell a native he can't go home?"

The Angels -- and other clubs with Venezuelan players -- obviously decided they couldn't. And there were some harrowing times over the winter as the violence escalated. Houston outfielder Richard Hidalgo was shot during an attempted car-jacking of his SUV (he's in camp with the Astros now, recovered from surgery).

Rodriguez's grandmother, whom he calls his mother, and his uncle, whom he calls his brother, were mugged at gunpoint three times in one week.

"It was out of control," Rodriguez said. "It's something I don't like to talk about. Sometimes it was scary."

It could have been scary for the Angels, too. K-Rod, as he came to be known after bursting onto the scene like a meteor last postseason, is a vital part of the club's future. He is the closer-in-waiting behind Troy Percival, and anybody who caught a glimpse of him last fall knows why.

At 20 years and 286 days old, he became the youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series game, working three stellar innings in Game 2. He won a total of five postseason games against the Yankees, Minnesota and San Francisco last fall, fanning 28 batters in 18 2/3 innings.

This after he pitched a mere 5 2/3 innings during the regular season, all of which came last September. He struck out 13 hitters in that brief time.

"A lot of his success is, he's one who never lacks confidence," Angels pitching coach Bud Black said. "He's fearless when he pitches, when he plays, when he competes.

"Even though he's just 21, and even though he basically has just over a month of major-league experience, this guy is a believer in his ability. There's never a sense with him that he's in a place where he shouldn't be."

In the midst of the Venezuelan strike last winter, Rodriguez -- a national hero in his native land after his October exploits in the United States -- lived about 1 1/2 miles from the city center in Caracas, close enough that he could hear the protests. Even when he closed his windows, the tear gas would seep in.

The park close to his home where he would do his offseason running became too dangerous, so he purchased a stationary bicycle to ride at home.

He declined to elaborate on all of this the other day, other than his brief comments above.

Thanks to his fiancée in Phoenix, Andrea Harvey, the Angels were able to communicate with him regularly. Because of that, the Angels weren't overly concerned about their phenom despite the ongoing protests and violence in Venezuela -- the world's fourth-largest producer of oil.

"We kept tabs on him, almost all of which was through his fiancée," Stoneman said. "We'd send information on down, or it would come back, and it was through her."

Sometimes it was others in the Angels' front office who would talk to her, sometimes it was Stoneman. Mostly, it was because they couldn't establish cell phone contact with Rodriguez in Venezuela.

Nevertheless, thanks to Harvey, communication flowed effectively.

"For example, when we found out that the U.S. Embassy was going to open for a few days -- he didn't have his visa, but he had gotten approval -- when we found that out, we were able to get the information to him pretty quickly," Stoneman said. "Then we got confirmation back that he had gotten the information, and a couple of days later we got the information that he had gotten his visa.

"We felt more comfortable than maybe some other clubs did, because we were getting information."

Rodriguez reported to camp this spring none the worse for wear. The trouble at home doesn't appear to have affected his heart, and the success last October hasn't seemed to swell his head.

"He's been incredible," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said. "The pace of his practice, whether throwing bullpen or PFP drills (fundamental drills for pitchers), the pace of his practices has been incredible. But he's not the exception. He's the rule here."

Percival, the Angels' closer since 1996, has talked to Rodriguez some this spring, but the kid remains so young that Percival doesn't have a whole lot to discuss with him -- yet.

"It's kind of tough to give advice until you see a kid do more," Percival said. "You wait and let a kid experience success and experience failure on his own, and then you can talk. Like (former major league closer) Lee Smith did with me. Then you can learn."

Smith pitched in Anaheim in 1995 and 1996, passing the closer's torch to Percival in '96.

"When I'd go out, whether I'd get the job done right or wrong, he'd tell me what he thought I needed to work on," said Percival, who was 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 40 saves in 2002. "It's a (steep) learning curve when you need to pitch at this level. That's all stuff you find out through time."

It is stuff that Rodriguez, the neophyte who seems like he's been around for much longer than he actually has, continues to learn this spring. He's struck out 10 in nine innings of work this spring, holding opponents to a .167 batting average. He yielded his first home run Monday in Tucson, when the Chicago White Sox's Brian Daubach took him deep.

Still, even as a postseason hero in the U.S. last October and then a national hero back home in Venezuela, K-Rod is taking nothing for granted.

"Last year during the spring, I was just one more guy on the roster," he said. "It's very, very incredible. It's a 360-degree change, things changed so much after the World Series.

"My mom said what I did before in the postseason is in the past. Now, I have to stay focused, stay ready."

He is determined to do that.

"I want to prove who is Francisco Rodriguez," he said. "I want to show the Angels' office. I want to show the fans. I want to show my family and I want to show myself that this is what I can do. What I did in the postseason, I can do for a full season."

www.duluthsuperior.com Posted on Wed, Mar. 19, 2003
ROB MAADDI Associated Press

CLEARWATER, Fla. AP) - Surrounded by a group of Latin teammates, Bobby Abreu sits at his locker, cracks jokes and shares a few laughs.

Popular among the Spanish-speaking players on the Philadelphia Phillies, Abreu isn't just another funny guy. The 28-year-old right fielder is perhaps the most complete player on the Phillies, and one of the most underrated stars in the majors.

"I think Bobby is going to have a monster year," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "If everything falls through, he can put up nasty numbers."

Abreu arrived one day late to spring training because of civil unrest in his native Venezuela. He also showed up with a few extra pounds and a bit more muscle - he has bigger biceps, but a larger gut.

The added strength has allowed him to hit some balls a little farther than usual.

"There's no doubt he's stronger," Bowa said. "He's hitting balls to left field like he's a right-handed pull hitter."

Abreu attributes his new upper body to working out in the offseason. Because of the problems in Venezuela, Abreu didn't play baseball in the winter for the first time since reaching the majors in 1996.

But he certainly hasn't shown any signs of being rusty. Abreu is hitting .289 (13-for (45)- with four homers, three doubles and 10 RBIs this spring. He didn't make the long trip to Fort Myers for Wednesday's game against Minnesota.

Told that Bowa has high expectations for him, Abreu flashed his familiar smile.

"Really?" he said. "That's nice."

Abreu never has played in an All-Star Game, but has a .308 career batting average that is 15th best among active players with 3,000 or more plate appearances. Last year, he hit .308 with 50 doubles, 20 homers, 85 RBIs, 104 walks and 31 steals.

"I'm getting more experience in the game," Abreu said. "When you get more mature, that's when you start putting up big numbers."

Abreu hit a career-best .335 in his second full season in 1998. He had career-highs with 31 homers and 36 steals in 2001, becoming the first player in franchise history to join the 30-30 club.

Bowa thinks Abreu has the potential to hit at least .330 with more than 30 homers in the same season.

"Bobby is capable of doing whatever Bobby wants to do," Bowa said. "He's got a great future ahead of him. He hasn't even reached his peak."

Abreu should be helped by the addition of Jim Thome and the continued improvement of Pat Burrell. The threesome gives the Phillies a potent 3-4-5 punch in the middle of the batting order.

Bowa has experimented with batting Thome third and Abreu fifth and vice-versa. Abreu has hit No. 3 most of his career, but said he's comfortable in either spot.

"Those two guys are going to do some damage," Abreu said. "I just want to do my job."

Abreu came to the Phillies from Tampa Bay in 1997. He played parts of two seasons with Houston, was selected in the expansion draft by the Devil Rays and was traded to Philadelphia for shortstop Kevin Stocker, who is out of baseball.

In five seasons with the Phillies, Abreu has hit .300 four times, and has averaged 30 steals over the last four years.

"Bobby does some amazing things," Bowa said.

Notes: Right-handed reliever Turk Wendell left the team for at least one day for personal reasons. Wendell, who missed all of last season after having elbow surgery, has temporarily been shut down because of a sore elbow. ... 2B Placido Polanco is expected to return to the lineup Thursday after missing five of the last six games with a groin injury.

www.martinsvilleastros.com

Friday Aug 17, 2001 Catcher Reinaldo Ruiz was the man of the hour in Martinsville's 2-1 upending of the Bluefield Orioles Thursday night in front of 1,269 at Hooker Field.

Ruiz, a 6-foot, 170-pound from Falcon, Venezuela, went 3-for-4 with a home run to power the Astros (24-29) past the Appalachian League East leading Orioles (26-26). Ruiz was also instrumental in a late-inning defensive stop that sustained Martinsville's one-run lead.

With one out and a runner on third in the top of the eighth, Bluefield's Bryan Bass flied out to deep right field. With the runner heading full tilt toward home, Trevor Mote unleashed a smoking, one-hop strike to Ruiz, who effectively blocked the plate and made the tag for the third out.

The victory trims Bluefield's lead to three games over Martinsville and gives the Astros some much-needed momentum heading into their three-game road trip to Bristol.

Martinsville returns Aug. 20 to begin a nine-game homestand. The Astros face the Kingsport Mets in a double-header Monday that begins at 6 p.m.

Joey DeLeon picked up his first win of the season, scattering five hits and striking out five over five innings.

Leonardo Santana came on in the ninth and retired the side to pick up his sixth save.

Martinsville coach Gregg Langbehn credited his pitching staff and Mote's bullet from left field for making the difference.

"Joey threw a great ballgame. He never really got in trouble and we played good defense behind him tonight," he said.

"Trevor's play from right field was huge. Reinaldo did a good job of coming up with the ball and making the tag.

"As it turned out, that saved the game for us," he said.

Martinsville's first run came in the second inning as John Fagan doubled, took third on Ruiz's single, and scored on Esteban Avila's base hit.

Bluefield scored its lone run in the top of the fifth inning. Leadoff batter Adam Thomas singled and later came around on Omar Rogers' double.

By CHRISTIAN DOLLARHITE Bulletin Sports Writer www.martinsvillebulletin.com

www.btribebaseball.com

The Cleveland Indians announced the release of LHP Richard Spaulding on Friday from the Burlington Indians. Spaulding, a second year player out of Lexington, Ky., had an 0-1 record and 9.00 earned run average in eight innings this season. He was drafted in the 21st round in 2001 out of Lexington Community College. RHP Daniel Chirinos out of Guarenas, Venezuela, replaces Spaulding on the roster. Chirinos pitched last year in the Venezuelan Summer League. He has spent time on the Burlington and Dominican League disabled list while rehabilitating in Double-A Akron, Ohio.