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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Dawgs here, brought football weather
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. _ Greetings on a chilly, windy morning at Dark Star, where the weather can’t dampen the mood on the first gameday of spring training.
The UGA ‘Dawgs are in town, and the Braves are deploying most of their regular lineup, at least for the first few innings.
That includes Mark Kotsay in center field, batting sixth behind Jeff Francoeur and ahead of designated hitter Joe Borchard.
All other projected starters are in except catcher Brian McCann (former ‘Dawgs catcher Clint Sammons is getting a bone tossed his way, so to speak), and left fielder Matt Diaz, whose wife had a baby yesterday.
Bobby Cox hasn’t said yet whether Diaz and Brandon Jones will platoon, but there are indications that Diaz could get the majority of playing time in left, at least early. Diaz will make the trip to Vero Beach to face the Dodgers in the Grapefruit League opener Thursday.
(The starting outfielders except Kotsay will make that trip; don’t expect to see him on long bus rides, and if you’ve ever had a bad back you’ll understand. None of the starting infielders will be on that trip, by the way.)
Anyway, back to today. Yes, it’s chilly (upper 50s, very windy). And yes, the field’s still a little damp. And so you might be thinking with this weather, and Kotsay’s back….
Because, admit it: Many of you are going to be watching closely every time Kotsay swings and misses, or dives for a ball in the outfield, or tries to break up a double play. Not today, because the game’s not on the tube, but you know what I mean.
You’re going to be watching in the early season, at least, to see if he winces or leans over and grabs his back. To see if he shows the first sign of a recurrence of back problems.
I know I am.
But after talking to Kotsay for a while this morning in the clubhouse, it really does sound like he feels the best he’s felt since 2004, and that he believes he can play 140-150 games and prove skeptics wrong.
There’s a small scar at his lower back from the arthroscopic surgery he had 11 months ago, a reminder of the painful bulging disk that undermined his performance for the past two seasons and part of 2005, since the first in a couple of violent collisions with walls.
But Kotsay, who I’ve known since the Marlins drafted him out of Cal State Fullerton in 1996, told me he really feels good, finally. Surgery repaired the disk, and he’s maintaining a regimen of core-strengthening exercises and stretching designed to keep everything strong in his lower back.
We haven’t played a Grapefruit League game yet, and a lot can happen between now and March 30 at Washington, D.C. None of us are naïve enough to believe that Kotsay is in the clear and doesn’t have anything to worry about.
But so far, it’s been very encouraging.
Here’s a telltale sign of how good he feels: “I don’t have to come into the training room every morning to get treatment.”
When his surgically repaired back feels so good that daily workouts don’t require a trip to the training table to get things started, it’s usually a great indicator.
He’s 32 and almost certainly here for only one year, taking the baton from Andruw Jones and handing off to Jordan Schafer. But Kotsay wants to make sure his leg of this center-field relay is a stellar one, for the Braves, who showed a lot of faith in him, and for himself, to restore his value heading into free agency.
“There were a few other options out there, and they chose me - that makes me feel good,” Kotsay said of the Braves, who acquired him in a trade from Oakland that sent reliever Joey Devine and another pitching prosect to the A’s, who agreed to pay all but $2 million of Kotsay’s $7.35 million salary this season.
“They [Braves] were confident about my health,” said Kotsay, who told the Braves he had no problems during his winter workout regimen that included lifting weights, running and hitting.
He’s reported to camp early with the pitchers and catchers and has taken batting practice every day. He did baserunning drills without incident Thursday, and has been taking “good, hard routes” while shagging balls the past few days in the outfield.
“I’m not gonna say I feel like I did in ’04 yet, when I played [148] games,” Kotsay said. “But I definitely feel like I did prior to that season. I’d like to play 150 games.”
Kotsay’s last full, healthy season was 2004 with Oakland, when he had career highs in average (.314), doubles (37), home runs (15, which he matched in 2005), on-base percentage (.370) and slugging percentage (.459).
Since then he’s played 139 games (2005), 129 games (’06) and 56 games (’07). Last season he started and finished the season on the DL, rushing his return from surgery at midseason in hopes of helping the A’s make a playoff run. He didn’t (.214 with one homer in 206 at-bats) and they didn’t.
Now he’s got a fresh start and a healthy back (knock on wood).
He knows we’re going to be watching closely, at least for a while.
“They [fans] are going to be that way all the through the season,” he said, and he understands why that’s the case. But he doesn’t think Braves officials have those doubts.
“They brought me here to fill a role,” he said. “To play up to my capabilities defensively, and just be consistent day in and day out.”
He believes he’s going to do that. But he knows only time will tell.
The lineup: Teams are using the DH for today’s exhibition game, and here’s the Braves’ lineup — 1. Kelly Johnson, 2B; 2. Yunel Escobar, SS; 3. Chipper Jones, 3B; 4. Mark Teixeira, 1B; 5. Jeff Francoeur, RF; 6. Mark Kotsay, CF; 7. Joe Borchard, DH; 8. Brandon Jones, LF; 9. Clint Sammons, C.
And yes, UGA will use wood bats, as always. Braves do the college team (UGA or Tech) a favor of scheduling them each year, and that’s part of the deal. Braves provide the wooden bats, by the way.
Move the benches: Loved seeing giant-killer Vanderbilt pull off another upset of a No. 1-ranked opponent last night, the fourth straight time they’ve beaten a top-ranked team at home. However, I still say their arena setup shouldn’t be allowed, with the benches at the ends of the court. It cost Tennessee last night when Bruce Pearl couldn’t communicate with his players at the other end of the court and let them know not to foul as the shot clock was running down on Vandy. (Had to get that in there for Buster, a Vandy grad.)
”ABSOLUTELY SWEET MARIE” by Bob Dylan
Well, your railroad gate, you know I just can’t jump it
Sometimes it gets so hard, you see
I’m just sitting here beating on my trumpet
With all these promises you left for me
But where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Well, I waited for you when I was half sick
Yes, I waited for you when you hated me
Well, I waited for you inside of the frozen traffic
When you knew I had some other place to be
Now, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Well, anybody can be just like me, obviously
But then, now again, not too many can be like you, fortunately.
Well, six white horses that you did promise
Were fin’lly delivered down to the penitentiary
But to live outside the law, you must be honest
I know you always say that you agree
But where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Well, I don’t know how it happened
But the river-boat captain, he knows my fate
But ev’rybody else, even yourself
They’re just gonna have to wait.
Well, I got the fever down in my pockets
The Persian drunkard, he follows me
Yes, I can take him to your house but I can’t unlock it
You see, you forgot to leave me with the key
Oh, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Now, I been in jail when all my mail showed
That a man can’t give his address out to bad company
And now I stand here lookin’ at your yellow railroad
In the ruins of your balcony
Wond’ring where you are tonight, sweet Marie.
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