rockin500
02-20-2003, 10:14 AM
MESA, Ariz.--San Francisco Giants manager Felipe Alou did his part to send a motivated and rejuvenated son to Cubs manager Dusty Baker.
"He said, 'There's a lot of people talking [stuff] about you,''' Cubs left fielder Moises Alou said of his father's frank admission. "He said, 'You know what you can do. Go ahead and do it so those people can shut the hell up.' Once you have an off year and you're over 30, people start thinking you are washed up.''
Alou, 36, reported to spring training last year with a pulled rib-cage muscle, and other injuries plagued him all season. He hit just .275, far below his .303 career average. Alou knew the time had come this last offseason to start swinging the bat a month before spring training, rather than a week, and pay more attention to his conditioning.
"I remember talking to Gary Carter years ago when I was teammates with him [in Montreal],'' Alou said. "I saw him working out before the game and said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'You'll find out once you get to my age, you've got to work out harder.' I'm not that age yet, but he's right.
"I used to do nothing in the offseason until a week before spring training. I really found out this year how bad a shape I came to spring training last year. If you care and have pride, you are going to rebound and come back and do what you do. I worked more on getting my legs strong. Hopefully that can help me be a better hitter. Once I had my knee injury [and missed the 1999 season], my power went down.''
Baker has said he isn't sure if Sammy Sosa will hit third or fourth or where Alou will fit in the lineup. Alou hit fifth last year but could be No. 4 behind Sosa. The offense is up for grabs, but Alou realizes he can stabilize the outlook by being his old self.
"I just have to have a Moises Alou year,'' he said. "I'm going to be a key to where this offense is going to go. I'm going to have the type of year I usually have. That's going to make this team better. I don't know who are going to be the every-day guys in the lineup, but the pitching is going to take some load off the offense.''
Alou has vowed not to be bothered by the early-season weather the way he was last year. He has changed his mental outlook.
"It's going to be cold, so you deal with it, rather than say, 'Damn it, it's cold,''' Alou said. "The first month you have to expect the cold, but this year it's going to be OK.''
http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cside20.html
"He said, 'There's a lot of people talking [stuff] about you,''' Cubs left fielder Moises Alou said of his father's frank admission. "He said, 'You know what you can do. Go ahead and do it so those people can shut the hell up.' Once you have an off year and you're over 30, people start thinking you are washed up.''
Alou, 36, reported to spring training last year with a pulled rib-cage muscle, and other injuries plagued him all season. He hit just .275, far below his .303 career average. Alou knew the time had come this last offseason to start swinging the bat a month before spring training, rather than a week, and pay more attention to his conditioning.
"I remember talking to Gary Carter years ago when I was teammates with him [in Montreal],'' Alou said. "I saw him working out before the game and said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'You'll find out once you get to my age, you've got to work out harder.' I'm not that age yet, but he's right.
"I used to do nothing in the offseason until a week before spring training. I really found out this year how bad a shape I came to spring training last year. If you care and have pride, you are going to rebound and come back and do what you do. I worked more on getting my legs strong. Hopefully that can help me be a better hitter. Once I had my knee injury [and missed the 1999 season], my power went down.''
Baker has said he isn't sure if Sammy Sosa will hit third or fourth or where Alou will fit in the lineup. Alou hit fifth last year but could be No. 4 behind Sosa. The offense is up for grabs, but Alou realizes he can stabilize the outlook by being his old self.
"I just have to have a Moises Alou year,'' he said. "I'm going to be a key to where this offense is going to go. I'm going to have the type of year I usually have. That's going to make this team better. I don't know who are going to be the every-day guys in the lineup, but the pitching is going to take some load off the offense.''
Alou has vowed not to be bothered by the early-season weather the way he was last year. He has changed his mental outlook.
"It's going to be cold, so you deal with it, rather than say, 'Damn it, it's cold,''' Alou said. "The first month you have to expect the cold, but this year it's going to be OK.''
http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cside20.html