National League

Sporting News, The, Feb 14, 2000

Arizona

CLEARING THE AIR: The team rid itself of a potential problem when it released reliever Bobby Chouinard at his request. Chouinard faces mandatory jail time in an aggravated assault charge against his wife because it involved a handgun. Chouinard, 27, rebounded with a strong second half of 1999 and became one of manager Buck Showalter's most called upon middle relievers. Nelson Figueroa, who enjoyed a fine '99 season in the minors and followed with a strong showing in winter ball (4-2, 2.66 ERA in Hermosillo, Mexico), has the inside track for Chouinard's spot.... RHP Todd Stottlemyre, who suffered a partially torn rotator cuff, has spent the offseason lifting weights and has bulked up from 200 pounds last season to 225.

REPORTING EARLY: Versatile 1B Greg Colbrunn will report with the catchers and pitchers this season. He's now an emergency catcher, but he needs work. After being drafted as a catcher and playing there his first three years in the minors, he has played just one game there in his eight years as a big-leaguer.... CF Steve Finley, who suffered a chipped bone in his hand putting up Christmas decorations during the winter, has been cleared to throw and bat at full speed. --Pedro Gomez

Atlanta

WHO'LL SAVE THEM? Closer John Rocker's suspension means the team must find someone to fill his role as it prepares for the season. RHP Kerry Ligtenberg, who saved 30 games as a rookie in 1998 but missed all of last season because of ligament surgery on his elbow, is expected to be fully healthy by the start of the season. But the dub will approach his return cautiously and won't count on him as the full-time closer. The work likely will be spread among LHP Mike Remlinger, RHP Kevin McGlinchy and RHP Rudy Seanez, who is returning from a fractured elbow that cost him the final six weeks of last season.... Club president Stan Kasten and G.M. John Schuerholz recently met with seven of the team's veterans and asked if they wanted Rocker to return. The consensus: As long as he was disciplined in some fashion, they would give him a second chance.

TAKING IT SLOWLY: RHP John Smoltz is working to strengthen his arm and regain his overhand motion. Smoltz was on the D.L. twice last season because of elbow problems and finally was forced to adopt a lower, three-quarters motion to alleviate the pain. He wants to return to his old style, but acknowledges the three-quarters delivery is a possibility. --Bill Zack

Chicago

WHAT IF: G.M. Ed Lynch has been searching for a lefthanded hitter to back up CF Damon Buford. He may have to scour the waiver wire at the end of spring training. But an interesting situation is brewing. New manager Don Baylor successfully lobbied to have highly regarded CF Corey Patterson invited to camp. Patterson, 20, has only one year of pro ball under his belt, but it was a good one (.320 average with 20 home runs, 79 RBIs and 33 stolen bases for Class A Lansing). Bay]or wants his coaches to evaluate Patterson before he makes his major league debut, perhaps in September. Baylor wouldn't tip his hand when asked what would happen if Patterson makes a big impact in spring training, but he held firm that Patterson almost certainly would start the season at Class AA West Tenn.

LET 'EM GO: Usually a station-to-station team, the club will change to some degree. Baylor will give the new leadoff man, 2B Eric Young, the green-light as much as possible. One fear: The Cubs will run themselves out of potential big innings with OF Sammy Sosa, 1B Mark Grace and OF Henry Rodriguez coming up. With the tall grass at Wrigley Field, Young should have no trouble going from first to third on singles. --Bruce Miles

Cincinnati

TURF WAR: Despite hitting .306 with 78 doubles in the past two seasons, switch-hitting RF Dmitri Young won't be handed a full-time role in 2000. Instead, the Reds kept lefthanded-hitting Michael Tucker and acquired righthanded-hitting Alex Ochoa to push Young from both sides. That's fine with Young, who should have a slight edge with manager Jack McKeon after working his way off the bench midway through last season. Young was more productive batting lefthanded in '99, hitting .314 against righties, 46 points higher than Tucker. Ochoa is a bigger threat to work himself into a platoon role. He hit .319 against lefthanders last season, compared to Young's .266.

FAMILIAR FACE: Despite a disappointing finish to his '99 season, LHP Steve Avery might get a second chance as he continues to rebound from arthroscopic shoulder surgery in August. The Reds remember Avery's brilliance in April, when he pitched at least seven innings in each of his first five starts, led the league with a .162 opponents' batting average and posted a 2.02 ERA. Avery says he's healthier now than at any time last year, though he still has plenty of mechanical kinks to eliminate from his delivery. --Chris Haft

Colorado

LINEUP SWITCH: Manager Buddy Bell has altered his projected lineup, deciding SS Neifi Perez is better suited to bat seventh rather than eighth. C Brent Mayne, who was going to hit seventh, will bat eighth. Bell wants an eighth hitter with more experience and doesn't want Perez worrying about every situation and nuance that crops up in that spot. With the pitcher batting behind him, the eighth hitter will get few good pitches, particularly when there are two outs with a runner in scoring position. So he must know his limits as far as expanding the strike zone but have the discipline to walk. Perez batted .280 with 70 RBIs and 193 hits last year, but he saw an average of only 3.18 pitches per plate appearance and walked just 28 times.