img src=”http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2009/03/28/RsAaISd3.jpg” alt=”Club expects precision, consistency and heart in infield and outfield” hspace=”5″ vspace=”5″ align=”left” /
TUCSON, Ariz. — When Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell was flying home after the National League Division Series had ended last October, he started making notes about what he wanted the infielders to work on.
He brought it up during the first couple days of Spring Training with the infielders.
quot;The message was, I was looking for a little more polish,quot; Trammell said. quot;It#039;s the package. It#039;s more consistency. That#039;s what Major League players do year in, year out.quot;
Which means working on little things like tag plays, routine drills, stuff that isn#039;t normally practiced. It#039;s having a regular routine, being prepared, trying to improve to be a consistent Major League player. It#039;s something Trammell wants to see from shortstop Ryan Theriot.
quot;He#039;s a great student,quot; Trammell said of Theriot. quot;He#039;s a confident kid anyways, but he knows he#039;s our starting shortstop, and that#039;s a good feeling, and it#039;s a good feeling from my perspective.quot;
Trammell#039;s pleased with the Cubs#039; other infielders, too. Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles are sponges, Trammell said, and love to work. Both started Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, with Fontenot at third and Miles at short.
quot;They might not be the smoothest guys in the Major Leagues, but they are guys who will get the job done,quot; Trammell said. quot;I#039;m very confident saying that. We#039;ll have no problems with whatever combination we use.
quot;They have this,quot; said Trammell, pointing to his heart. quot;We can live with that. They get the job done, and that#039;s all that matters.quot;
Trammell, subbing on Saturday for Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who was ill, discussed the Cubs#039; defense and how he#039;s been impressed with third baseman Aramis Ramirez and his glove work. Ramirez was a former shortstop, which Trammell noticed right away.
quot;That#039;s what helps him at third with some of the reaction things he can do,quot; Trammell said. quot;He has the ability like good players have, and he recognizes the hops, and that#039;s a talent in itself.
quot;I know his name doesn#039;t get thrown out there with the elite, but it should be. He#039;s a good player, he knows it, he#039;s confident. At some point, I would not be surprised to see him win a Gold Glove. He#039;s that good, and he#039;s capable.quot;
As for the outfield, one of the first things coach Mike Quade will do when the Cubs finally get to Wrigley Field is re-introduce Milton Bradley to right field.
quot;This guy#039;s a confident guy,quot; Quade said of the Cubs#039; new right fielder. quot;There#039;s nothing he can#039;t do. He#039;s just got to get familiar with it.
quot;They might not be the smoothest guys in the Major Leagues, but they are guys who will get the job done. I#039;m very confident saying that. We#039;ll have no problems with whatever combination we use.quot;
– Bench coach Alan Trammell, on the infielders
quot;There#039;s a tendency to start working your way toward the right-field foul pole, and in 95 percent of the ballparks, you don#039;t have the extra 30 feet to cover that you have in our place. Once you get used to that, combined with the wind and stuff, everything should be fine.quot;
Part of the reason for the extra work is that, because of the wells, corner outfielders are asked to quot;make plays that you#039;ve never had to make in your life going to the line,quot; Quade said.
The wider outfield track, added last year when the new drainage system was installed, has definitely helped at Wrigley.
quot;Anything that gives a guy a heads-up with enough time is good because you don#039;t want a heads-up with half a stride left,quot; Quade said. quot;The vines are nice, but they#039;re not pads. There#039;s brick out there. The heads-up with a half a stride to go is not a good thing.quot;
There#039;s also the basket to deal with and the overhang. Kosuke Fukudome will have a new perspective on that in his move from right to center field.
quot;The demands of Kosuke playing center field will be a little physical,quot; Quade said. quot;To me, it#039;ll be a 50-50 thing between physical things and demands that will be required of him, particularly in front of him than behind him, and the amount of ground you have to cover, and then the experience of taking charge.
quot;He#039;s so good instinctively. He#039;s so attentive to the homework we do prior to a series and where we want to position guys. That will go a long way in helping him, too.quot;
In Arizona, the outfielders have to deal with a tough sky. Last Thursday, the wind and bad lighting at Scottsdale Stadium made it difficult for the outfielders. Bradley wasn#039;t fazed at all by the conditions.
quot;The first play of that game was to Milton, and he handled it like it was calm, quiet and an easy night,quot; Quade said. quot;[The Giants#039;] Randy Winn plays a nice right field, and he was just about everywhere.quot;
Alfonso Soriano made an outstanding catch in the left-center-field gap on Friday, which Quade called quot;one of the best plays I#039;ve ever seen him make.quot; Soriano does get criticized because of his unique hops, but he#039;s also got one of the best outfield arms in the game.
quot;His energy level is excellent,quot; Quade said. quot;He loves to play, he wants to play and he likes to work. I do think, in watching him take balls off the bats, that he#039;s maybe enjoying it more.quot;
On the last bus ride from Mesa to Tucson, Quade was reading quot;The Fielding Bible,quot; a book that ranks Major League players. Quade was surprised to read that Fukudome had 17 quot;misplaysquot; last season.
quot;I thought I had them all on one hand,quot; Quade said. quot;That surprised me.quot;
Quade dismissed the criticism.
quot;My general feeling is that Kosuke is one heck of a right fielder, and we hope that translates into him playing center field,quot; Quade said.
While Bradley has quot;All-Star type stuff,quot; Quade does have a project with Micah Hoffpauir, who started at first Saturday. If Hoffpauir makes the big league roster, he#039;ll be asked to back up the corner outfielders as well as Derrek Lee at first.
quot;Plain and simple, he#039;s never going to be a Gold Glover,quot; Quade said of Hoffpauir, quot;but you don#039;t want a potent bat to be left behind because the defense is not up to snuff.
quot;That doesn#039;t mean he has to be Kosuke or Milton. He#039;s got to catch what he gets to, he#039;s got to finish a play like he did the other day. His hand-eye coordination, it#039;s one of the things he has going for him.quot;