N.L

Sporting News, The, March 4, 2002

Arizona Diamondbacks www.sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/diamondbacks

LONG-TERM GOOD: Manager Bob Brenly intends to give LF Luis Gonzalez some games off this season. Gonzalez, whose 57 homers in 2001 were 26 more than his previous high, has played in 327 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak. Brenly says Gonzalez, who batted .258 over the final 23 regular-season games in 2001, would benefit from a day off once every two or three weeks. That also would give Brenly a chance to play David Dellucci or another reserve more. But the streak is a point of pride for Gonzalez.

EARLY SPRING SURPRISE: Most pitchers throw only fastballs on the first day of spring training, but RHP Todd Stottlemyre used his curve, slider and split-finger pitch. He said his 13-minute first session was his lightest of the past 40 days. He has thrown 80 pitches at full effort. Stottlemyre missed last season, hoping a damaged nerve in his right shoulder would heal. It did, and he is so far ahead of the other pitchers that he will pitch every fifth day when Cactus League play starts. All hesitation is gone for the first time since April 1999. "He gets full extension, his ball has great life on it--effortless velocity," Brenly says.--Ed Price

Atlanta Braves www.sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/braves

AGING GRACEFULLY: SS Rafael Furcal took some ribbing from teammates after his age jumped from 21 to 23 when a discrepancy between his birth certificate and passport was found. Furcal, who missed the second half of last season with a dislocated left shoulder, says he is free of pain and has been swinging a bat and throwing a ball every day for six weeks.... Otis Nixon is in camp to lend some baserunning wisdom to Furcal, OF Andruw Jones, OF George Lombard and SS Wilson Betemit. Nixon's task is persuading Furcal and Jones, who figure to hit one-two this season, to be aggressive.

EARLY SPRING SURPRISE: After a winter of playing long toss to strengthen his arm, RHP Darren Holmes arrived at camp ready to pitch. Holmes missed last season after back surgery. He is happy he doesn't have to ice his back after workouts and even more happy about his pitches. Pitching coach Leo Mazzone has simplified Holmes' delivery, lowering his hands and giving him an easy motion to the plate. Holmes gives this team a measure of experience in a middle-relief role.--Bill Zack

Chicago Cubs www.sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/cubs

BIG CHANGE: The center field job is Corey Patterson's to lose. Manager Don Baylor will give Patterson, 22, a long look in exhibition games. There is no questioning Patterson's fielding or athletic ability. The Cubs hope to make things easier offensively for Patterson by batting him seventh or eighth in the order. If he hits eighth, Baylor says Patterson will get a lot of pitches to look at, with the pitcher on deck. Roosevelt Brown, 26, and veteran Darren Lewis are Patterson's only competition in center.

EARLY SPRING SURPRISE: C Todd Hundley arrived at camp weighing 195 pounds, 10 to 12 pounds fewer than last season, and says his back feels better. He never found his batting stroke last year, and back problems knocked him out for a month. If Hundley stays healthy, he should benefit from a lower spot in the lineup, where there is less pressure. With RF Sammy Sosa, 1B Fred McGriff and LF Felipe Alou hitting 3-4-5, Hundley can bat sixth. Look for him to continue switch hitting. Hundley took up righthanded hitting again late last year after beginning the year hitting only lefthanded.--Bruce Miles

Cincinnati Reds www.sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/reds

GET OUT OF THE WAY: 3B Aaron Boone spent the offseason adjusting his batting stroke, which he hopes will help him avoid getting hit by pitches. He was hit 18 times in the last two seasons. Boone, who bats righthanded, wants to eliminate a slight kick of his left leg, which he believes kept him from getting that foot down and out of the way and left him less able to recognize and adjust to inside pitches. Boone also will wear a hard brace on his right wrist at the plate. Two of the three fractures he suffered last season were to the right wrist and right hand.

EARLY SPRING SURPRISE: It was somewhat surprising that Austin Kearns was the first position player to report. More surprising, Juan Encarnacion and Ruben Mateo, Kearns' primary competitors for the right field job, were not among the first arrivals. Kearns, the organization's top prospect, is expected to begin the season in Class AAA, but the rapid rise of OF Adam Dunn last season proves Kearns won't be held back because of inexperience. If Kearns shows he can do the job this spring, G.M. Jim Bowden says he'll make the team. Right now, Encarnacion has the inside track.--Mark Schmetzer

Colorado Rockies www.sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/rockies

SHUFFLEBOARD: The club traded RHP Kane Davis, a reliever, to the Mets for Class AAA reliever RHP Corey Brittan. Davis, 26, was perhaps the Rockies' most consistent reliever last season. He finished with a 4.35 ERA in 57 appearances, allowing 66 hits in 68 1/3 innings. But he has shoulder problems that leave him unable to pitch on consecutive days. The team often needs its relievers to pitch three days in a row, particularly during homestands. Davis became expendable when the team acquired a surplus of righthanded relievers. Brittan, 26, adds depth at the top minor league level. He was sensational at Class AAA Norfolk, posting a 1.98 ERA in 81 2/3 innings. Trading Davis enabled the team to put veteran RHP Pete Harnisch on the 40-man roster. Harnisch, 35, went 30-17 for Cincinnati in 1998 and '99 and could be the No. 2 starter, if he can avoid injury.