Padres Press Clips Monday, March 6, 2017

Transcription

1 Padres Press Clips Monday, March 6, 2017 Article Source Author Page Meet the MLB catcher who is also trying to become Yahoo! Sports Oz 2 a pitcher Baumann outing highlight of loss to Tribe MLB.com Bastian/Perkins 5 Chacin eager to win a spot in Padres' rotation MLB.com Perkins 7 Richard's spring debut goes awry in loss MLB.com Perkins 8 Dickerson inching closer to spring debut MLB.com Perkins 9 Richard hit hard in spring debut; Margot exits UT San Diego Lin 10 with sore knee Jhoulys Chacin eager to prove himself as a starter UT San Diego Lin 11 Craig Stammen hopeful for 'new lease' on career UT San Diego Lin 13 Padres Manager Is Also A Book Worm NBC 7 San Diego Togerson 14 1

2 Meet the MLB catcher who is also trying to become a pitcher BY: MIKE OZ Yahoo! Sports PEORIA, Ariz. One day recently in San Diego Padres camp, the fantasy happened right in front of their faces. Christian Bethancourt, the Padres great experiment heck, baseball s great experiment this spring finished a live bullpen session. He threw well. He executed his pitches. He impressed the coaches who have been watching him closely all spring. Then he walked off the mound, grabbed a bat and a helmet, stepped to the plate and hit the second pitch over the fence, an opposite-field homer. In a perfect world, this is what the Padres are molding Bethancourt to be. He can play catcher. And he can play left field if they need him. He can also throw 96 mph on the mound. Instead of making him choose a path, the Padres asked Bethancourt late last season, How about you just do it all? And right then the fantasy was born: Christian Bethancourt, two-way player. He s not going to be the next Babe Ruth, but he could be a heckuva weapon for the Padres. It s definitely a difficult task, says Padres bullpen coach Doug Bochtler. But it s every child s dream too. Before we go any further, let s be clear about what The Christian Bethancourt Experiment is not. It s not Rick Ankiel reinventing himself as an outfielder after coming into the league as a pitcher. Nor is it Kenley Jansen (and countless others, frankly) getting converted from a position player into a pitcher in the minor leagues. It s not exactly Shohei Otani either. Otani is the 23-year-old Japanese star now being called the Japanese Babe Ruth. He s a fantastic pitcher and hitter. He played the outfield some in his first two seasons, but really became a star when he was deployed as a DH when he wasn t pitching. Otani is exceptional at both pitching and hitting while Bethancourt is still trying to prove himself across the board. The Padres very much want to see if Bethancourt a backup catcher with a career.223 average can contribute behind the plate, on the mound, with a bat in his hand and even in the outfield. They want to take the idea of a utility player and add on the most taxing job on the baseball field. 2

3 I have to be ready for any situation at any time, says Bethancourt, a 25-year-old from Panama who was originally signed by the Braves in 2008 and traded to the Padres in That deal, coincidentally, involved Casey Kelly, who once played half a minor-league season as a pitcher and the other half as a shortstop. The Experiment started last season with two relief appearances in mop-up time, a somewhat common occurrence in baseball when a team is getting blown out and it doesn t want to waste its bullpen. But Bethancourt wasn t just some ex-high school pitcher out there yucking it up on the mound. He threw gas. The opposition noticed. The Internet noticed. And, most importantly, the Padres front office noticed. So after the second appearance, they came to Bethancourt with a proposal: Spend the winter learning to be a pitcher. Go play in the winter league as a pitcher. Train like a pitcher and a catcher would too. I accepted the challenge, Bethancourt says. The last true two-way player in the majors was Brooks Kieschnick, who appeared in 32 games as a relief pitcher for the 2004 Milwaukee Brewers and had a plate appearance in 75 games. He hit.270 and had a 3.44 ERA, neither exceptional nor horrible, but commendable if you re doing both jobs. Before that the last two-way player is believed to be Hal Jeffcoat, who played from mostly for the Reds and Cubs and really only had one season, 1954, where he pitched and played the field. All this is to say what Bethancourt is trying to do isn t all that common and it s certainly not easy. Sure, it happens in high school and college, but once baseball players get into professional environments, they re quickly assessed and specialized. Modern baseball is more about platoon right fielders and left-handed relief specialists than it is about calling in the left fielder to pitch for a batter or two. The fun part of it is you stick a guy out in left field for an inning, says Padres manager Andy Green. Pitch to a batter, come back in, go back out. He s got those kind of possibilities. He s got a long way to go, though. I thought his first outing was very encouraging. He threw the ball very well, the fastball very aggressively, even spun a slider for a strike. All those things were very encouraging. He still has three or four weeks of real work in order to make this a reality. Christian Bethancourt never asked for this. He wasn t one of those position players who deep down thought he could pitch or wanted to pitch because it would make a great story to tell when his playing days were over. You hear a lot of position players, Bethancourt says, say I want to pitch one day. I want to face a batter one day. You hear pitchers saying let me have one at bat. 3

4 That wasn t him. Before last season, the last time he pitched was in Little League. He was a catcher, through and through, which was somewhat helpful because if any other player knows best what it s like to be a pitcher, it s a catcher. If you re facing the same guys, Bethancourt says, you already have in your mind what you need to throw in what counts and in what situations. Twice this spring Bethancourt has pitched for the Padres. The first appearance was Wednesday, in which he set down the Oakland Athletics in order. He threw 11 pitches, seven of them strikes. He was on the mound again Saturday, pitching an inning against the Diamondbacks. He didn t allow a hit or even hard contact. He got a fly out from Chris Ianetta, then walked A.J. Pollock, who was thrown out trying to steal and then induced a weak grounder from David Peralta. It s a small sample, sure, but the Christian Bethancourt Experiment is heading in the right direction. Saturday s appearance saw him facing big-league hitters and he still hasn t given up a hit both of those things are encouraging. But two spring appearances don t make a big-league pitcher. He s got a lot of work to do to prove that he s a Major League-caliber pitcher, Green said, before that second appearance. He s got the makings of that. But he s got a short window to make that happen. That s where our focus resides right now not necessarily on the novelty of what he d bring if he got it done. It s not a novelty for Bethancourt either. He doesn t talk much about how cool it would be to be a two-way player. He doesn t applaud himself as being special. He shows up to camp each day, often having to ask which role he s playing that day. Sometimes it s both. Lately, he s mostly been pitching, because that s where the Padres need the longest look at him. So that s meant working on throwing better breaking balls or just changing the way he throws a baseball, because pitchers don t throw the same as catchers. But on any given day, he might need to catch or play outfield too. Hopefully, I can do my job however they want me to do it, Bethancourt says. As serious as baseball can be sometimes with its analytics and tradition and situational smarts let s not let this part of the Christian Bethancourt Experiment get lost: It s cool. Like really cool. It s something people would tune in to watch and it s the type of potential weapon that the Padres would challenge themselves to use in the right moments. 4

5 Anything is possible, Green said. You take him out of the game as a pitcher and have [starting catcher Austin Hedges] take his gear off, have Christian put his on. It d be funny, but I don t know that it s practical. I don t know that it s the smartest move. But anything s a possibility, and in certain settings, everything makes some sense. That s one way to use Bethancourt, but there are many others that fly in the face of modern baseball convention. It s something the Padres can daydream about it. You re talking about the ultimate double-switch guy, Bochtler says. How could it play out in a perfect world? You have a situation where it s the seventh inning, you have a right-hander coming up to the bat, with two outs and the pitcher s spot is coming up in a close ballgame. Christian Bethancourt comes in out of the bullpen and strikes out the guy out throwing 97 mph then leads off the next inning with a home run. It s the extra-innings scenario where you ve used everybody up and you have a guy in left field who can come in and throw strikes at 97 miles per hour. You can always keep that guy in the lineup somewhere. It s quite a dream it s like something baseball fans would associate with video games or movies. But in real life, it s quite an undertaking for one player. It s not like spring training, when he knows when he ll pitch an inning. It s not like last year, when he was just pitching when games got ugly. He d need to be ready to help any given day, whether on the plate or behind the mound. When they say Play ball on Opening Day, I gotta be ready for anything, Bethancourt says. Left field, catcher, pitching, pitching back-to-back days, catching back-to-back days. That s a home run away from The Christian Bethancourt Experiment reaching 100 percent. Baumann outing highlight of loss to Tribe BY: JORDAN BASTIAN AND OWEN PERKINS MLB.com GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Andrew Miller completed his final tune-up for the World Baseball Classic, Francisco Lindor collected a pair of run-scoring doubles and top prospect Bradley Zimmer belted a home run in the Indians' 8-2 Cactus League win over the Padres on Sunday. Miller, who is scheduled to leave on Monday to join Team USA for the upcoming Classic, worked one shutout inning in the victory for Cleveland. The Tribe's relief ace said he was pleased with what he was able to get done in his four spring outings before the tournament. 5

6 "You could tell today. There was a little more intent, which is probably the way it should be. You try to get your feet under you, and your legs, and your delivery, and use your fastball. And then today, he was getting after it a little bit more," said Indians manager Terry Francona. "It was just trying to feel good," Miller said, "and trying to feel like you're moving in the right direction. I feel like I've accomplished that. For the most part, I've thrown a lot of strikes. And I feel like I'm getting a little bit better every time, a little crisper. I kind of worked in more secondary today, but I feel like I'm right where I need to be." In his spring debut, Padres lefty Clayton Richard surrendered six runs on eight hits in one inning (plus three batters). In both the first and second innings, Richard yielded a leadoff single to Indians prospect Greg Allen, who scored each time on a double from Lindor. Roberto Perez and Zimmer added run-scoring hits in the first. Indians starter Trevor Bauer turned in three solid innings, in which he allowed just one unearned run. The righty scattered three hits and ended with no walks or strikeouts. San Diego's Yangervis Solarte chipped in an RBI single off Bauer in the third, taking advantage of a fielding error by second baseman Ronny Rodriguez. Bauer has not given up an earned run through six Cactus League innings this spring. "It's good," Bauer said of his first two outings. "I threw to hitters some in the offseason, so I saw some reactions inside in a cage, which is a lot different than on a dirt mound and in game situations. So, I'm mostly just focusing on trying to locate the stuff that I worked on and get a feel for that in a game." Tribe relievers Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw each logged one shutout inning in their respective spring debuts. San Diego reliever Buddy Baumann shined for the Padres, as he struck out the side in the seventh inning. In the fifth inning, Zimmer, the Indians' top prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com, belted a towering home run to right-center, giving him two homers and seven RBIs this spring. His blast came after Tribe first baseman Richie Shaffer hit a homer to deep left field. The back-to-back shots came off Padres righty Jhoulys Chacin, who worked three innings. Chacin leaves Monday for the World Baseball Classic. "He had a 3-1 fastball run back middle that got hit out, and then he left a slider up that got hit out," Padres manager Andy Green said of Chacin's performance. "Outside of that, I thought he was pretty good. As the year goes on, he'll be a true mix guy at all times -- the kind of guy that you'll never know what's going to come next. When he does that, he's going to be very, very effective." Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin fouled a pitch off his right foot in the fifth and left the game after a brief conference with manager Terry Francona and an athletic trainer. The injury was deemed a bruised right foot. The results of an X-ray will be announced Monday. 6

7 San Diego outfielder Manuel Margot left the game with left knee soreness. Padres Up Next: The Cactus League gets its first look at three-time All Star Jered Weaver in a Padres' uniform when San Diego takes on the White Sox at Camelback Ranch at 12:05 p.m. P.T. Monday. Weaver played 11 years for the Angels before signing with San Diego in February, and he brings a career record and 3.55 ERA to his new club. Indians Up Next: Ace Corey Kluber is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut for the Tribe in a 3:05 p.m. ET split-squad contest against the Brewers on Monday at Goodyear Ballpark. Cleveland's second squad will have righty Danny Salazar on the mound in a 3:05 p.m. ET game against the Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz. Chacin eager to win a spot in Padres' rotation BY: OWEN PERKINS MLB.com GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jhoulys Chacin is hoping old habits die hard as he prepares for his second trip to the World Baseball Classic. Though Team Venezuela exited early in 2013, Chacin came back and had a career season with Colorado, going with a 3.47 ERA while pitching 197 1/3 innings. "[Padres General Manager] A.J. Preller told me that 2013 was the year I pitched in the WBC, and that was my best year, so why not try the same thing again?" Chacin said. "Hopefully, we as Team Venezuela, we go longer, go to the final and win the title. But being with all those group of players is an honor." Chacin's productivity fell off after 2013, as he played with four teams over the next four seasons, pitching a total of 234 innings with the Rockies (2014), Diamondbacks (2015), Braves (2016), and Angels (2016). The Padres are his fifth team as he starts his ninth season in the big leagues, and he's eager to play a leading role in the starting rotation. "San Diego told me I have a good opportunity to be in the rotation and a good opportunity to be one of the veteran guys and help the young guys," Chacin said. "That hit me. I know this division, and I've always pitched in this division. I'll be close to home. And I really want to be pitching in Petco." Chacin's outing against the Indians on Sunday was going smoothly, as he worked two scoreless innings, before he yielded a pair of home runs in his third inning of work. Surprisingly, Chacin has only pitched four games in San Diego's home park, compiling a 2-1 record and a 3.60 ERA over 15 innings. But for a pitcher who came of age in one of baseball's most hitter-friendly parks at Coors Field, the more to San Diego could have a dramatic effect. 7

8 It doesn't hurt that after several years of nursing arm issues, Chacin is starting the spring at full strength. "Finally, my arm is back to normal," Chacin said. "People told me it would take a year and a half to get back to where I used to be. Last year my velocity came back a little bit more. My arm was healthy all year. I feel like this is going to be a good year for me. I feel healthy. I pitched in Venezuela after the season. My arm is great. Hopefully I can keep healthy and I can help the San Diego Padres to win games." So far the Padres like what they've seen. "He was what we expected him to be early on," manager Andy Green said before Sunday's game. He was sharp, slider was good, he pitched both sides of the plate. He's been great. He's very, very professional. I know him as a competitor, I had him when I was in Arizona the last month of '15, and I loved the way he was wired and competed." Both Chacin and Green are excited by the dangerous slider in his arsenal, and Green hopes to see him use it even more often, especially against right-handers. "Fair to say that pitches are successful we want guys to throw more often," Green said. "We're working on altering the pitch mix, but we have a lot of confidence in his slider against anybody that's in the box." Chacin's good health excites him, and he's hoping for more of the same from his big 2013 season. "I've got the same pitches, I pitch the same way," he said. "I just want to get back to normal." Richard's spring debut goes awry in loss BY: OWEN PERKINS MLB.com GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Clayton Richard has pitched in 42 Cactus League games over the course of his career, and he knows better than to let an inning or two in early March get into his head. So Richard took his one-plus inning outing in stride, even after allowing six runs on eight hits and one walk while facing 12 batters in a game the Padres eventually lost to the Indians, 8-2. "My delivery was less than ideal," Richard said. "At times I tried to overpower as opposed to just trusting the stuff. Clearly the results weren't great, but, fortunately, I'm more focused on the process right now. I think I let the energy of the at-bat take me away from my delivery at times." 8

9 It's the challenge of Spring Training games -- where Richard's 6.40 Cactus career ERA is more than two full runs higher than his regular season ERA of 4.23 in 206 big league games. There's usually something more important than winning that a pitcher is focusing on from start to start. "I went in the first inning with a plan of throwing fastballs and trying to execute fastballs in and out and up and down," Richard said. "I didn't want to get away from that, even though it clearly wasn't working. But I wanted to be able to execute fastball location. So it wasn't terrible, but it clearly wasn't great." Manager Andy Green understands the importance of process in Spring Training, but he didn't lose sight of the mentality pitchers need to take to the mound. "Sometimes you lose that competitive fire that actually is what makes him so great," Green said. "He was just out there trying to execute pitches instead of competing, trying to get the batter out. First day of spring, some guys do that. I think he'll move to a more competitive mode pretty quickly." Early in the game, outfielder Manuel Margot was taken off the field with the trainers, suffering from left knee soreness. "I think he's going to be fine," Green said. "He just slipped coming out of the box his first at bat, and he was kind of sore around the knee. Nothing major from what we see. I just pulled him out, kind of precautionary, and let him get back at it in the next day or so." Margot was examined by the team doctor, and Green's report was that Margot's knee "looks perfectly fine, just sore." Dickerson inching closer to spring debut BY: OWEN PERKINS MLB.com PEORIA, Ariz. -- Alex Dickerson took a step closer to returning to game action Sunday as he recovers from back stiffness that took him off the field after the first weekend of Cactus League play. Dickerson hit in the batting cage Sunday and was happy with the result. "I felt like I hadn't missed a beat," Dickerson said. "It was about 40 swings, off the tee and front toss. It wasn't anything too aggressive, but I was getting the pitches outside, inside, up and down, so it's all I could really ask for as far as that session goes." The 26-year-old left-handed outfielder is coming off a strong rookie campaign in 2016 that saw him hit.257 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 84 big league games. 9

10 "I feel like I'm in a good spot," Dickerson said. "My core's about as strong as I've ever been with all the exercise I've been doing. The ball was coming off [the bat] really good. I'm excited to keep progressing, and it's baseball, so I won't be surprised if I don't hit it great tomorrow, just because it's the nature of the game and building back up. "I feel like I haven't missed a step health-wise. I feel like I'm right there." In other health news, right-handed pitcher Jon Edwards raised concern after his initial progress recovering from forearm stiffness seems to have taking a step back. He was scratched from pitching Thursday and his only Cactus League action has been a perfect inning against the Angels on Feb. 27. "He was feeling better coming off of it," manager Andy Green said Sunday of Edwards' condition on Saturday. "He felt sore today. We haven't had any test on it at this point in time, but we're probably getting closer to doing that based on how he's feeling today." Edwards is shut down until the soreness goes away. He missed all of 2016 with a flexor strain in his right elbow. Green also noted that catcher Tony Cruz has an injury in the intercostal area. "Tony Cruz is a little banged up," Green said. "I'm not quite sure what's going on there. I don't think it's horrible, but it's something that's kept him out of activity for a day or two now." Richard hit hard in spring debut; Margot exits with sore knee BY: DENNIS LIN San Diego Union Tribune Padres starter Clayton Richard was hit hard Sunday in his spring debut, an outing that ended before he could record a fourth out. The veteran left-hander allowed five hits in the first and three more to open the second before manager Andy Green went to the mound. My delivery was less than ideal, Richard said. At times, I tried to overpower it as opposed to just trusting the stuff. I think that s really only the negative takeaway. Clearly, the results weren t great, but fortunately, I m more focused on the process right now. I think I let the energy of the at-bat take me away from my delivery at times. Richard, who pitched well in his return to San Diego last summer and is expected to be in this year s rotation, yielded six runs on eight hits and a walk. The Padres went on to lose, 8-2, to the Cleveland Indians at Goodyear Ballpark. 10

11 He was just out there trying to execute pitches and kind of got away from competing, getting the batter out, Green said. First (start) of spring, some guys do that. I think he ll move to a more competitive mode here pretty quickly. Richard s plan, the pitcher said, was to execute fastballs. I didn t want to get away from that even though it clearly wasn t working, Richard said. It wasn t terrible, but clearly it wasn t great. Before the bottom of the second, Padres center fielder Manuel Margot exited the game with left knee soreness, a move Green called precautionary. In the afternoon s first at-bat, Margot slipped coming out of the batter s box on a fly out. As Margot played the field in the bottom of the first, Green said, he felt some soreness around his knee. Nothing major from what we see, Green said. We ll let him get back at it in the next day or so. Doctor took a look at him. Structurally, everything seems perfectly fine. Just sore. Jhoulys Chacin eager to prove himself as a starter BY: DENNIS LIN San Diego Union Tribune In 2013, Jhoulys Chacin punched up a 3.47 ERA, won 14 games and compiled 197 1/3 innings of largely quality work. Those numbers look even more impressive in light of where he made 18 of 31 starts: Coors Field, a bane to even the most resolute pitchers. In Colorado, you have to keep the ball down and you have to throw inside and just throw strikes, Chacin said. If you throw strikes, you have a chance. Then 25, Chacin executed that blueprint more often than most, leading some to believe he was establishing himself as one of the league s better young starters. The right-hander s trajectory soon stalled in the thin Denver air. Chacin opened the next season on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. In the spring of 2015, as shoulder problems continued to dog him, he was released by the Rockies. That year, he made five big-league appearances, for Arizona, late in the season. Last year was the year that I finally got back to being healthy, Chacin said. My velocity came back, and all the stuff that I was missing, I think I got it back. It was up and down, but I finished off strong. 11

12 Chacin pitched in 34 games for the Braves and the Angels, starting 22. While he finished with a 4.81 ERA, he allowed just two earned runs over his last 24 innings. According to brooksbaseball.net, he averaged a career-high 92.5 mph with his four-seam fastball. Less than three months ago, Chacin signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Padres. He had turned down significantly more money elsewhere for a number of reasons, among them a ballpark that plays far differently than Coors, a clubhouse already containing several of his countrymen and a chance to, perhaps, turn back the clock. I just want to prove to people that I can be a starter for a long time, the Venezuela native said. I know I can be a starter, and San Diego, they gave me the opportunity to start here. Chacin, 29, is one of three veterans with spots in the opening-day rotation secured; left-hander Clayton Richard and righty Jered Weaver also signed one-year deals before arriving in Peoria. He was what we expected him to be early on, manager Andy Green said Sunday before Chacin made his second Cactus League appearance. The former Diamondbacks third base coach added: I had him in Arizona the last month of I loved the way he was wired and competed. After his shoulder held up over 144 innings last season, Chacin would like to take his workload to a new level in Hopefully I can be consistent all year, and hopefully I can throw 200 innings, he said. That s always a goal for a starting pitcher. The Padres, Green said, intend to tweak Chacin s pitch selection. While the manager declined to go into much detail, he did allow that Chacin s slider against which opponents batted.171 in 2016 could be utilized more often. I think, as the year goes on, he ll be a true (four-pitch-)mix guy at all times, kind of a guy that you never know what s going to come next, Green said. When he does that, I think he s going to be very, very effective. Sunday afternoon at Goodyear Ballpark, Chacin entered in the bottom of the third and retired seven consecutive Indians batters before surrendering back-to-back home runs. Chacin s next outing will come on a grander stage: in the World Baseball Classic, with Team Venezuela. It s really an honor for me to represent my country, Chacin said. Especially in Venezuela, it s a huge thing. We live for baseball. Hopefully this year we can give them a title and do better than the last time, because the last WBC was tough. (Chacin also pitched in the tournament in 2013, when Venezuela was eliminated in the first round.) Pitching in the WBC is not expected to disrupt Chacin s preparation for the season; he s scheduled to continue his normal progression with Venezuela. 12

13 The last WBC, Chacin said, that was my best year. Craig Stammen hopeful for 'new lease' on career BY: DENNIS LIN San Diego Union Tribune Nearly two years after Craig Stammen last pitched in the majors, the veteran reliever could be in the final stages of a comeback. I feel like I have a new lease on my baseball career, Stammen said Sunday. Once a stalwart in the Washington Nationals bullpen, the right-hander underwent surgery in April 2015 to repair a torn flexor tendon. He joined the Cleveland Indians as a non-roster invitee last spring, then re-injured himself and spent an abbreviated season pitching in the minors. The current outlook, especially compared to the last two years, is far brighter. Back in the offseason, I felt like I was going to be healthy for the first time in a while, Stammen said. The Padres were one of the first to call even last (offseason) when I was injured, and one of the first to call this (offseason), too. Stammen signed a minor league deal with San Diego in December, and so far, the 32-year-old seems to have recaptured some of his previous form. Through three Cactus League innings, he has struck out three batters while yielding only one hit. Early in camp, everything s down in the zone, every miss is down in the zone, he s missing where he wants to miss, manager Andy Green said. There s bite to the slider and the sinker s down. Should he make the team, Stammen would be one of the Padres most experienced players. In parts of seven major league seasons, all with the Nationals, Stammen posted a 3.91 ERA, including a 3.02 ERA as a reliever. The Ohio native, Green said, has brought a noticeable presence to a young clubhouse. You talk to people who ve been in Washington with him, and they ll say that his rookie season he was a leader, which is crazy to throw out, especially with the veteran-laden bullpen they had, Green said. He s a guy that does everything right. He s very professional on the mound and a guy that it s easy to have a lot of confidence in really quickly. After Stammen pitched through pain at times in 2016, everything started clicking in a lateseason Triple-A game, he said. The bite on his slider returned, as did the life on his fastball. 13

14 Stammen signed with the Padres on Dec. 21. On Jan. 31, he was on a golf course in Hawaii when his wife, Audrey, teed off on a par 3. The ball traveled 153 yards before dropping into the cup for a hole-in-one. Video of the shot, captured by Stammen, went viral. The newlywed couple were on their honeymoon. The Stammens are hoping for more celebrations in That, said a smiling Stammen, was a good start. Notable Reliever Jon Edwards (forearm tightness) felt some soreness Sunday. Green said the team likely will order tests on Edwards forearm. Left fielder Alex Dickerson (lower back stiffness) progressed to hitting in the batting cage Sunday. Catcher Tony Cruz s intercostal area is banged up, Green said. Cruz is temporarily out of action. Padres Manager Is Also A Book Worm BY: DEREK TOGERSON San Diego Union Tribune Padres Manager Andy Green is one of the most progressive-thinking skippers in Major League Baseball. There are very few ideas or quirks or tweaks that he will not at least entertain a conversation on because he wants to find ways to win baseball games. Green s mind is always churning on something and he is more than happy to share it with pretty much anyone who takes the time to ask. Yeah he s got a ton of good advice, said outfielder Travis Jankowski. He s got a ton of books to read. Just talking to him; that guy is as mentally tough as they come. The books mention is interesting because it brings to mind former NBA coach Phil Jackson who famously gave his players books to read. But unlike Jackson, who chose the tomes that fueled the titles, Green finds out what the players are interested in and makes suggestions from there. I kind of try to meet a guy where he is and what I think he can digest, said Green. There s a wide range of things I think are impactful to guys, different authors for different guys. 14

15 Green is so encouraged to see his players asking about books that they don t have to buy a single one of them. He says they re on him, said Jankowski. He doesn t have a whole stash of them but he says whatever you guys want, if it s going to strengthen your mind and get you right for the season he ll buy it for us. I tell them I ll buy them any book they want at any time, said Green. It s not class in there but it s, let s activate the minds and figure out how to handle adversity and what s expected of a professional baseball player. You ll hear Green talk a lot about activating the mind. While many people today bemoan the slow pace of play in baseball (and rightfully so, they need to speed it up) they often misinterpret that as a lack of excitement. Before any pitch there are countless calculations that must be made by every player on the field. What pitch is coming? What s the count? Who s on base? How many outs are there? What inning are we in? Where does the manager have me positioned? Where are my teammates positioned? Who s pitching? Who s hitting? What s the scouting report on the opponent? That s not even all of it and it changes pitch-to-pitch throughout the course of a game. Green believes an engaged mind, especially in the times between the ball being put in play, is absolutely critical to avoiding mental errors. If they re learning, if their minds are active, they re going to learn on the baseball field. If their minds are shut off and it s Twitter and video games all day their minds are going to be shut off on the baseball field. It s really simple. It s the same way with my kids. If they watch TV all day they re not going to make smart decisions. With these guys out here, if you turn their minds on you open them up to new ideas and new theories, new ways to handle adversity, new ways to respond to difficult circumstances, they do better on the baseball field. There is no go-to author or subject matter. Heck there s not even a favorite genre. Green can dip in to pretty much any kind of writing to find something that fits what his players are looking for. I recommend a few fiction things. Guys who want to communicate better, I ve got a couple of books up that lane, too, for guys that want to be more impactful leaders. And in case you re curious, yes when it comes to keeping the mind engaged through reading Green practices what he preaches. I m always reading. Actually Spring Training is the one time I m not reading because the days are so extraordinarily wrong but outside of spring I ll read all year long. He s not just talking about scouting reports, either. 15