GaryMrMets
02-24-2005, 11:49 PM
Giants Have One of Oldest Outfields
By JANIE McCAULEY
.c The Associated Press
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - A day after his bizarre news conference, Barry Bonds took a break from knee treatment to hand out a few hitting tips to Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom. These three will make up one old outfield this season.
Bonds, the left fielder chasing the home run record, is 40. Alou, San Francisco's new right fielder, is 38. And Grissom is the 37-year-old center fielder.
They aren't concerned about their age, even if having fresh legs might mean taking a few more days off this season. All three could be seen leaning on the back of the batting cage at the same time Wednesday, when the Giants held their first full-squad workout.
``I think it's an advantage,'' said manager Felipe Alou, Moises' father. ``The older outfielders are going to be asked a lot of questions. They all know they're going to need their days off.''
That's where Michael Tucker comes in. He'll be the top backup, expected to give the old guys a reprieve whenever needed.
``We're all old on our team, so it's going to be interesting,'' Bonds said. ``I'm going to talk to Michael Tucker a lot. We're going to go three days and then Tucker is going to play 162 - left, center, right, left, center, right - while the rest of us take some time off.''
While trainer Stan Conte prefers to call them veterans, the players' teammates are already having fun with the age jokes.
Reliever Scott Eyre carried a chair onto the field for a team meeting Wednesday, offering Bonds a seat since he's nursing two surgically repaired knees.
Eyre isn't the only one.
David Forst, the Oakland Athletics' assistant general manager, took a friendly jab at the team across San Francisco Bay during a recent baseball luncheon. Forst congratulated the Giants on their 48th year in San Francisco, then noted it was also the average age of the team's outfield.
But they're productive all right.
Bonds, Grissom and Alou accounted for 106 home runs and 297 RBIs last season.
Alou, who hit a career-high 39 homers with 106 RBIs last season for the Chicago Cubs, will bat behind Bonds. Everybody hopes Alou's presence will cause opposing managers to think twice about walking Bonds.
Bonds had 45 homers and 101 RBIs last year, and begins his 20th major league season 11 homers shy of Babe Ruth (714) and 52 short of Hank Aaron (755) on the career list.
``You know, I know that I'm older now,'' said Bonds, who turns 41 in July. ``I put my body through a lot in 147 games last year. I played more games than anyone on my team. I'm still trying to recover from that. But the most part is just my knees. I have to be able to play at the level that I want to play at.''
Grissom hit 22 homers and drove in 90 runs last season, and he spent his winter watching a lot more film in an effort to improve his production.
The Giants picked up Grissom's $2.75 million option in November.
``We all are proven,'' Grissom said of the old guys. ``There's a lot of experience, so I don't think it should be a problem. Holding up wise, I think we'll all do pretty good. At the end, we're looking to go to postseason play. I'm not expecting anything less out of myself or the other two guys either.''
And Tucker refuses to worry about his diminished role. He knows the other three will need their days off.
``You can't really be upset with what's gone on,'' Tucker said. ``Look at what the outfield situation looks like - you've got maybe a future Hall of Fame left fielder, you've got an All-Star center fielder and you bring in another All-Star outfielder to play right.
``They're up there in age, man. But at the same time, all three guys are still really capable of putting up the same numbers they have in the past.''
Tucker, 34, started in 114 of his 140 games last season - with 97 starts in right and 17 in center. A 10-year veteran, he batted .256 with 13 homers and a career-high 62 RBIs.
02/24/05 09:48 EST
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
By JANIE McCAULEY
.c The Associated Press
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - A day after his bizarre news conference, Barry Bonds took a break from knee treatment to hand out a few hitting tips to Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom. These three will make up one old outfield this season.
Bonds, the left fielder chasing the home run record, is 40. Alou, San Francisco's new right fielder, is 38. And Grissom is the 37-year-old center fielder.
They aren't concerned about their age, even if having fresh legs might mean taking a few more days off this season. All three could be seen leaning on the back of the batting cage at the same time Wednesday, when the Giants held their first full-squad workout.
``I think it's an advantage,'' said manager Felipe Alou, Moises' father. ``The older outfielders are going to be asked a lot of questions. They all know they're going to need their days off.''
That's where Michael Tucker comes in. He'll be the top backup, expected to give the old guys a reprieve whenever needed.
``We're all old on our team, so it's going to be interesting,'' Bonds said. ``I'm going to talk to Michael Tucker a lot. We're going to go three days and then Tucker is going to play 162 - left, center, right, left, center, right - while the rest of us take some time off.''
While trainer Stan Conte prefers to call them veterans, the players' teammates are already having fun with the age jokes.
Reliever Scott Eyre carried a chair onto the field for a team meeting Wednesday, offering Bonds a seat since he's nursing two surgically repaired knees.
Eyre isn't the only one.
David Forst, the Oakland Athletics' assistant general manager, took a friendly jab at the team across San Francisco Bay during a recent baseball luncheon. Forst congratulated the Giants on their 48th year in San Francisco, then noted it was also the average age of the team's outfield.
But they're productive all right.
Bonds, Grissom and Alou accounted for 106 home runs and 297 RBIs last season.
Alou, who hit a career-high 39 homers with 106 RBIs last season for the Chicago Cubs, will bat behind Bonds. Everybody hopes Alou's presence will cause opposing managers to think twice about walking Bonds.
Bonds had 45 homers and 101 RBIs last year, and begins his 20th major league season 11 homers shy of Babe Ruth (714) and 52 short of Hank Aaron (755) on the career list.
``You know, I know that I'm older now,'' said Bonds, who turns 41 in July. ``I put my body through a lot in 147 games last year. I played more games than anyone on my team. I'm still trying to recover from that. But the most part is just my knees. I have to be able to play at the level that I want to play at.''
Grissom hit 22 homers and drove in 90 runs last season, and he spent his winter watching a lot more film in an effort to improve his production.
The Giants picked up Grissom's $2.75 million option in November.
``We all are proven,'' Grissom said of the old guys. ``There's a lot of experience, so I don't think it should be a problem. Holding up wise, I think we'll all do pretty good. At the end, we're looking to go to postseason play. I'm not expecting anything less out of myself or the other two guys either.''
And Tucker refuses to worry about his diminished role. He knows the other three will need their days off.
``You can't really be upset with what's gone on,'' Tucker said. ``Look at what the outfield situation looks like - you've got maybe a future Hall of Fame left fielder, you've got an All-Star center fielder and you bring in another All-Star outfielder to play right.
``They're up there in age, man. But at the same time, all three guys are still really capable of putting up the same numbers they have in the past.''
Tucker, 34, started in 114 of his 140 games last season - with 97 starts in right and 17 in center. A 10-year veteran, he batted .256 with 13 homers and a career-high 62 RBIs.
02/24/05 09:48 EST
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.