BASEBALL ROUNDUP News and notes
Pirates: Second baseman Jose Castillo brushed off the criticism leveled at him by shortstop Jack Wilson, saying he's focused on regaining his starting job. The two met Tuesday morning to talk about Wilson's public lashing of Castillo last month. Neither discussed the meeting afterward, but Wilson said beforehand, "I'm sure everything's going to be fine." It was their first conversation since a Jan. 26 TV interview in which Wilson described Castillo as having been "lazy" last season and added biting assessments of Castillo's conditioning and mental preparation. "I don't care what guys say," Castillo said when asked about Wilson's comments. "I'm coming here ready to play, with my bat, my glove, everything." Despite natural power and an ability to hit to all fields, the 26-year-old Castillo has yet to top 14 home runs or a .268 average in three seasons. He also made 18 errors last season. He lost his starting job late in the season, and early in the offseason was told by Pittsburgh management that he would have to win it back this spring. He is in competition with Jose Bautista for the only available starting job on the Pirates' infield. Perhaps fueled by that, Castillo played 49 games of winter ball in his native Venezuela and undertook a training regimen that helped him lose 10 pounds. His fitness and quickness were evident in a sharp fielding workout. "I feel good right now, different than last year," Castillo said. Manager Jim Tracy smiled when asked about Castillo after the Pirates' two-hour workout. "If you look at our team and the success we had in the second half, there's a feeling here that this is real," Tracy said. "And, as a result, there's an expectation that your 'A' game has to show up. The approach to the game has to be consistent every day."
Giants: Barry Bonds had a pointed message for the grand jury: Go ahead, investigate me. After arriving at spring training, more fit than in recent years following a productive winter of conditioning, the slugger insisted he's unfazed by all his off-the-field issues and is ready to resume his pursuit of the home run record. "Let them investigate. Let them, they've been doing it this long," Bonds said after his first workout this year with the San Francisco Giants. "It doesn't weigh on me at all -- at all. It's just you guys talking. It's just media conversation." When Bonds showed up, he waved twice to the swarm of people waiting to see him make his entrance, then quickly headed into Scottsdale Stadium to get to work. Noticeably absent were his two personal trainers, Greg Oliver and Harvey Shields, who no longer can be with the slugger at the ballpark. Bonds, who spent the weekend in Las Vegas for the NBA All-Star game, was flanked by his two publicists and a Major League Baseball security guard assigned to him. Bonds took part in a team meeting before walking to the field for the Giants' first full-squad workout -- and he took a big bow for the horde of cameras. He re-emerged later in the morning to start his routine and waved his batting helmet to fans in the bleachers, carrying two bats in his right hand.
Yankees: Bernie Williams rejected the Yankees' offer of a minor league contract and will wait to see if a guaranteed job opens up for him on the team. Yankees manager Joe Torre spoke with Williams last week and tried to reach him, without success, on Sunday. "Bernie told me he had talked with Joe. Other than the invite, there wasn't any information that led him to believe he would be a member of the team," Williams' agent, Scott Boras, said. "He's continuing to work out, will wait to see if their position changes." Williams signed with the Yankees in 1985 and came up to the major league team in 1991. Torre had hoped the outfielder would be on the field as position players started workouts Tuesday and that Williams would compete for a spot on the roster. "Evidently, what I've said to him hasn't been enough for him," Torre said. "I know he was down when I talked to him."
Reds: Adam Dunn is still trying to forget about his late-season fade that was a big factor in the Cincinnati Reds' drop from playoff contention. In the last two months of the season, the burly outfielder hit .174. He didn't hit a homer in his last 21 games, and drove in only five runs in the final 36 games. The Reds finished in third place in the NL Central at 80-82, only 3 1/2 games behind the champion St. Louis Cardinals. Although Dunn isn't the only one who slumped in September -- just about everyone in the lineup struggled except Rich Aurilia -- the power hitter's decline was tough to accept. "I'm trying to get all that out of my head, first of all," Dunn said. "I spent all offseason thinking about how hard the last two months of the season were for me. I was terrible. I don't want that to happen to me again."
Associated Press
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