raptorsfan29
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« on: February 16, 2006, 01:10:00 pm » |
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another article to pass the time
Wells believes Blue Jays have it
Excited about team belonging with elite
Feb. 16, 2006. 05:49 AM
RICHARD GRIFFIN
DUNEDIN, Fla.—The sights and sounds of the Bobby Mattick Training Center yesterday were far removed from events taking place in Turin. This was all about the spring.
For Jays centre fielder Vernon Wells and the dozen or so teammates who have already reported to camp, their minds were only on baseball and the coming season. At spring training, there are no lugers.
Following a winter of spending furiously, there is more of a buzz than for any edition of the Jays since 1994. For the 27-year-old Wells, it's the feeling of belonging with the elite that's so new.
"It's different this year," Wells admitted on his first day in camp. "We're being talked about from coast to coast and from country to country. It's fun to sit back and watch. It doesn't matter what's on paper, you have to prove yourself day in and day out, especially in our division."
The Blue Jays, if healthy, can possibly contend for a wild card. When asked which teams could also be there come September, Wells thought long and hard then listed the Yankees, Red Sox, A's, Angels, Rangers, White Sox, Twins and Indians. Jays included, that's nine of the 14 teams in the AL. Obviously, a couple are going to be disappointed.
"There's a lot more talking (about the Jays)," an enthused Wells said. "You just talk to random people and, when they figure out who you play for, they say, `Man, you guys did a lot this off-season.' It's fun to talk about possibly winning this year."
For that to happen, Wells has to be more consistent than last year when, given the loss of Carlos Delgado, Jays needed him to be a leader out of the gate.
Instead, he struggled the first two months but bounced back as the season wore on, finishing with a .269 average, 28 homers and 97 RBIs — plus a second Gold Glove for his defence.
"Struggling for two months is tough," Wells said. "You've got to try to separate the good from the bad, even though there's not that much good. You struggle, you get dropped in the lineup and get even more frustrated.
"Instead of trying to make the situation as positive as possible and (work) out of it, you go even further down. Going through it, you don't even notice how you're feeling and how you're acting until you look back. Then you go, `Man, it really wasn't that bad.' It was a month of my season. You learn from it."
It was bad. Wells has been working out at home since November. He bought a tire sled online that he has been dragging around a track to improve power and explosiveness. He dropped out of last year's sprint school (or was drummed out).
Part of the reason for his early arrival at camp is the World Baseball Classic, for which, with three centre fielders on the U.S. roster, Wells is willing to move to right for Ken Griffey Jr.
"I'm expecting (Junior) to play centre," Wells said of his respect for the future hall-of-famer. "I figured I'd mix in some right and some centre on his days off. I know we have the DH, but we have so many bats in our lineup. I'll be glad to play right, left, rover. I don't care.
"(Manager Buck Martinez) said I'm going to get a fair amount of playing time. Just to get some meaningful at-bats is the biggest thing. To get some competition, where you get the blood flowing and you get your adrenaline going."
That game pressure, in fact, may be his key to a faster start. And while he's concerned the three weeks of the WBC will cost him bonding time with new teammates, he'll still be expected to lead even more than he did in '05 on his return.
"Leadership can be defined in so many different ways," a cautious Wells said. "Whether you're a rah-rah guy or a quiet leader. It took a little to learn just how different it would be without Carlos in the clubhouse and behind me in the lineup. But it was a learning experience and part of the growing pains of major-league baseball."
Wells weighed in at 230 pounds, seven lighter than his top weight over the past two seasons. That, too, will help.
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