Camping out with Scott Miller

After winning 10 of his first 12 decisions last season, Dontrelle Willis faded like the music on an old 45 rpm record in August. He went 1-3 with a 6.92 ERA during that sweltering month before disappearing altogether in the postseason (0-1, 8.53 ERA in seven playoff and World Series appearances). Thanks to Willis' hot start, youthfulness (he'll be 22 on opening day) and, especially, his contagious enthusiasm, anybody even remotely associated with baseball is pulling for Willis to pick up where he left off ... in July last season. The early word from Willis is cautionary. He disagrees that he wore down last season. He thinks that teams simply did a better job of scouting him. "I think they just did a good job of making adjustments and exploiting my mistakes," Willis said. "I wasn't throwing as many strikes. Now I'm working smarter, and I'll pace myself for the long season." To that degree, Willis says he is making adjustments on his own -- the Marlins haven't suggested anything to him. Though his running program is similar to what it has been in the past, Willis says he is lifting fewer weights. "A lot more reps," he said. "I might have lifted a little more last year." Maybe what Willis learned last season -- his longest professional summer -- will make him tougher mentally, too. It's a long season, and it probably will be in everybody's best interest if Willis doesn't sprint out of the gate too quickly again.

Of the many, uh, interesting aspects of having a 40-year-old shortstop - which Barry Larkin will be on April 28 -- setting a proper roster is one of them. And in that regard, yes, Cincinnati manager Dave Miley said, he may take an extra infielder north with him in deference to Larkin's age. "That's something that, as the spring goes on, we'll discuss more," Miley said. "A guy like Ryan Freel, who can do some things in the infield and in the outfield, that obviously is a plus." It's the same reason manager Jack McKeon is trying Damion Easley in the outfield in Florida: Versatility can be huge for a fringe player. Freel can play all three outfield positions as well as second base, third base and shortstop. Juan Castro also is versatile -- he can play all four infield positions. "We're just waiting it out," Miley said. Because of injuries, Larkin has failed to play more than 102 games in three of the past four seasons. He hasn't batted over .300 since 2000, and he hasn't hit more than 17 homers since 1998. Unlike the rest of the Reds, Larkin is not getting any younger. "He's in great shape," Miley said. But holding it together for an extended period of time, that's another story.

Yeah, Cleveland lost 94 games last season. But the reason the Indians could turn it around sooner rather than later is that despite the misery of last season, the Cleveland pitching staff ranked fifth in the AL with a 4.21 ERA. In C.C. Sabathia, the Indians have a reasonably established foundation around which to build their rotation. In Cliff Lee, Jason Davis and Jake Westbrook, they should have a chance to win on any given night -- especially in the AL Central. "We have some pretty good arms," shortstop Omar Vizquel said. "We have some guys this spring who are throwing hard. We know it takes mistakes to lose ballgames, and we're probably going to make a few of those. Experience plays a big role. If we can learn from experience, if we can decrease the mental errors we make, we'll have the best chance to win." Vizquel is one of the last remaining links to the good old days in Cleveland, and sometimes he feels it. "It's weird to see Jacobs Field with 10,000 people instead of 40,000 every night," he said. "It's easy to lose your focus. I try to stay away from that. It can be easy to fall into that frame of mind."

Fernando Vina is gone and Bo Hart hasn't won anything at second base yet, so who will become the St. Louis leadoff hitter this summer? Here's one tip: Don't expect it to be shortstop Edgar Renteria, who knocked in 100 runs last season while batting .330 with 13 homers. "That's the No. 1 discussion (in coaches' meetings)," manager Tony La Russa said. "One guy said he should be leadoff. I wouldn't come close to agreeing with that." Neither would Renteria. "I like to hit sixth or seventh, that's my first choice," he said. Why? "Sixth or seventh, with the great hitting in front of me -- Albert Pujols is always on base -- that's what I like," Renteria said. "I like some action." Most likely, he'll get it. "To me, the first and second hitters should be guys who, more than anything else, get on base," La Russa said. "That's how you score. I would rather have a guy who gets on base 40 percent of the time and can't steal a base than a guy who's always a threat to steal and gets on 30 percent." In 1980s St. Louis, with fliers like Vince Coleman and Willie McGee, that might be heresy. Today, it's simply a more analytical way of looking at the modern game. Renteria, by the way, does qualify to hit first or second under La Russa's philosophy -- his on-base percentage last season was .394. But there's this other thing about Renteria that argues he should be lower in the lineup. "He loves to drive in a run," La Russa said. "That's hard to ignore."

The obvious problem with Hummers is that inside the obscene amounts of metal and poor gas mileage, they don't come equipped with bathrooms. Karim Garcia knows -- he's the one who allegedly couldn't haul himself back inside of a sports bar to use the restroom here Friday night, so he took a leak outside of a Hummer he and Shane Spencer were riding in, right near the front door of a pizzeria. The result is, the season hasn't even started yet, and already, the Mets outfielder/rockhead leads the league in lawsuits against. As if the suit resulting from the Yankees' fight with the Red Sox groundskeepers in Fenway Park last October wasn't enough, now Garcia has a guy here who says he's going to sue Garcia and Spencer following Friday night's altercation (which allegedly started when some employees of the pizzeria began yelling at the players following the public urination). Poor general manager Jim Duquette -- between having to fire former assistant Bill Singer for making racist comments to Los Angeles exec Kim Ng at the GM meetings last November and now this, he's going to have to forgo the free agents next winter and spring for extra lawyers. Embarrassing? "I'd rather not be addressing the issue," Duquette said. "I'll tell you this: I wasn't happy about it and I let both of them know it." The way things are going, Garcia has better odds of turning up in the middle of another lawsuit than of becoming a major-league regular.

The BALCO/Steroids issue apparently won't be the only burr in Barry Bonds' saddle this summer. Bob Watson, baseball's discipline czar, is making his annual tour of camps and, among the many issues he's addressing is uniforms. Such as: They must be uniform. Cut-off sleeves, excessive bagginess in the pant or jersey and stirrups not showing are among the issues Watson says baseball plans to enforce this season. The last one affects Bonds, who favors wearing his pant legs all the way down to his shoes. "He will be disciplined," Watson said. "It starts with him. If you do him, the rest of them will fall in line." Among the other issues Watson is addressing with the players is the ongoing issue of beanballs and umpires' warnings and QuesTec, the computer system that grades umpires' balls and strikes accuracy. QuesTec again will be used in selected ballparks this summer, though baseball isn't quite ready to say how many because of an ongoing grievance against QuesTec. Watson did promise one thing, however: If baseball wins the grievance, QuesTec eventually will be installed in every ballpark in the majors. "It's not going away," Watson promised.

Baseball has a way of reminding you that things such as positional battles and closer controversies have a way of sorting themselves out. No sooner was speculation in high gear regarding Baltimore's second base position -- who would win the job? Who would be traded? How long would the drama last? -- than Jerry Hairston suffered a broken finger while sliding into third base in the very first inning of the Orioles' Grapefruit League season. He's out four to six weeks, leaving Brian Roberts as the likely opening day starter for Baltimore. The two live near each other in Arizona, and they worked out together for nearly four months over the winter, making the drama even deeper. And making the feelings even stronger. Roberts, though part of him has to be relieved that some of the pressure is gone, nevertheless isn't jumping with outward excitement. "I guess it's good they didn't do anything this winter, huh?" Roberts said. "I just feel bad. I mean, the first game of the year, and all of those questions ..." All of those questions now answered, at least until April. "I just feel for him," Roberts said the other day. "I mean, shoot, everybody makes a big deal out of the competition. We were both trying to succeed. Now, this happens."

Who says Carl Everett's bite is worse than his bark? Here he is, still on Page 1 of the latest chapter in his stormy career, and it might be early yet, but he and the Expos seem to be a good match. "He's been happy every day he's been here, talking to the young players, working hard," one Expos official observed. Had I doubted that statement, a few moments with Everett the other day would have changed my mind in a heartbeat. It started when I was talking with second baseman Jose Vidro. I had set a couple of notebooks down on the chair in the next locker over, not realizing who's it was until a voice said, "Here, I'm going to move these over here." Doggone if it wasn't Everett, who wanted to sit down in his chair. I told him I'd be happy to move them out of his way, but he insisted on carefully setting them inside of his locker for me. No problem, he said. Awhile later, before he headed to his Orlando home for the night, we compared Florida driving routes, with Everett happily offering tips on a couple of short cuts. He appears to have lost a few pounds, and who knows? Maybe the .287 batting average, 28 homers and 92 RBIs in 147 games for Texas last season was only the beginning. "I know Carl Everett is a great addition to this ballclub," Montreal manager Frank Robinson said. "Tony Batista, Nick Johnson ... we feel we're going to be a better balanced team this year. Hopefully, that will translate into a few more wins."

Scouts who were working the Atlanta-Chicago Cubs matchup in the first round of the playoffs last October will never forget it: The sound of Braves' closer John Smoltz, screaming in pain as he delivered his pitch, still rings in their ears. It's enough to make them seriously wonder about Smoltz, his condition and his prospects for the season. For their part, the Braves appreciate the concern, but not to worry, they say. Smoltz had some scar tissue removed from his surgically repaired elbow over the winter, and early indications are that the procedure worked beautifully. "Where he is now is where he should be (early) in camp, and that's light years ahead of where he was last fall," Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz said. "He pitched through a lot of pain. When they went in this winter, they found a lot of scar tissue around where his previous surgery was, and it worked wonders." Schuerholz said that, so far this spring, Smoltz has had pain neither on the baseball field nor on the golf course. "He feels better than he has in years," Schuerholz said. The Atlanta closer racked up 45 saves last season and 55 the year before, so if the GM is correct, the outlook could be scary. On the other hand, the Braves' offense isn't as powerful as it was in 2003, so we'll have to wait and see how many save situations the club hands Smoltz. Ultimately, there's only one sure thing: The six months from April-September, and possibly beyond, will be the final arbiter of how well Smoltz's elbow is doing.

Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, the longest-running double-play combination in major-league history, are back together again. Granted, it's only for a few weeks this spring as Whitaker, who lives in Lakeland, suits up as a special instructor for manager Trammell. Still, it's sort of like old times. "He's one of the reasons I'm here," Whitaker said. "I've never been here with anybody else, right?" Nope. After retiring following the 1995 season, Whitaker pretty much went into seclusion at home. Most of his time went to his family -- he has a wife and two daughters -- and to his faith. As a Jehovah's Witness, Whitaker said he spends 840 hours a year "teaching people who are interested in learning what the Bible has to say and do." I can certainly vouch for that -- we spoke for 10 minutes, and awhile later Whitaker walked up and handed me a paperback (Daniel's Prophecy). I wasn't sure whether to kneel on the spot and pray or ask Sweet Lou another question about the Tigers' lineup. Until now, what Whitaker hasn't done is stay involved with baseball. But Trammell has gone out of his way to bring back old Tigers as he attempts to restore pride to a dilapidated organization, and Whitaker accepted an invitation last spring to dress out in uniform during one Grapefruit League game when former manager Sparky Anderson was in the dugout. He enjoyed the visit enough to accept Trammell's invitation to devote a full spring this year to coaching. "I have no complaints," Whitaker said. "I'm looking to help rebuild, and to share what I know." The young Tigers can use the knowledge, and quick. Not only have they not had a winning season since 1993, they haven't even had a winning April since 1993.

Part of the fun of spring training is the wizened old characters who dot the landscape throughout the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues. And on a cool, cloudy day at Pirate City, Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon was having a whole lot of fun with one of them, the Pirates' long-time Florida groundskeeper, Manny Lopez. The club had been forced inside to the batting cages a day earlier because of wet fields, and McClendon wasn't going to let Lopez forget it. So as they stretched under a steel gray sky on the impeccable fields at the club's minor-league training facility here, McClendon kept up a running monologue directed at Lopez. "All I know is, the Yankees and Phillies were able to get on the field, and we were stuck in the cages," McClendon hollered, referring to a couple of clubs within an hour or so drive of the Pirates' facility here on the west coast of Florida. Lopez smiled and answered back, and the jawing was on. "I'll tell you what," McClendon said a few minutes later. "He's got the best fields in this league. He was here when I was a player. He's been here for close to 15 years." Even when it's 50-some degrees, cloudy and no sunblock is called for, you never know what you'll see and hear at spring camp.

At 500 home runs, it's impossible to remain anonymous. Five hundred home runs says "Hall of Fame." But with a count of 491? The Los Angeles Dodgers found it pretty easy to say goodbye to Fred McGriff after last season. A total of 28 other teams found it pretty easy to ignore him over the winter. Only the Tampa Bay Devil Rays extended him an invitation to camp, and that was more out of obligation than anything else. McGriff is a Tampa native, he once played for the Devil Rays, and they felt like they owed him at least a chance to prove to someone that he can still play. "I'm just hanging out," McGriff said the other day here. He badly wants to hit those nine home runs to put him in the exclusive 500 club, but Tino Martinez will be Tampa Bay's first baseman this year. "Right now, (500) is far away," McGriff said. "I'm just trying to get one." He ranks 21st on baseball's all-time homer list, he had his right knee surgically repaired over the winter and he says he feels good. He'll get some at-bats for Tampa Bay this spring in what essentially will be a glorified audition. He swears he still has some baseball left in him. As always, the game will be the final judge.

Pat Hentgen isn't the only noticeable thing about Toronto's pitching staff this spring. So, too, is Miguel Batista ... and Ted Lilly ... and reliever Terry Adams ... and reliever Justin Speier ... and.... In what is the farthest-reaching makeover of a staff in baseball, only three pitchers remain on the 40-man roster who had a significant impact on the Blue Jays' staff last summer: Roy Halladay and relievers Jason Kershner and Aquilino Lopez. "It's exciting to see them bring in guys with experience, guys who can throw the baseball," center fielder Vernon Wells said. "It's fun to see a GM go out and do what he can with the payroll we have. He made great decisions." General manager J.P. Ricciardi had $50 million to work with, a number that shrinks considerably when you subtract Carlos Delgado's $19.7 million salary in 2004. That doesn't leave nearly as much left over for the other 24 players that it would seem. A Blue Jays offense that ranked second in the AL in runs scored during an 86-win season did not suffer any impact losses. It's enough to hang with powerful Boston and New York in the AL East ... if they get some pitching.

A funny little thing happened to the Minnesota Twins on their way toward getting new turf in the Metrodome: The turf company filed for bankruptcy. So now, as the Metrodome looks to install FieldTurf -- a softer surface similar to what the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have used the past few years -- they'll have to go with another company. Still, despite the maneuvering, they promise it will be installed by the time the Twins open the season in early April. "I've been assured of that," general manager Terry Ryan said. "I've been told we'll be in good shape. We certainly need new turf up there." The GM is not the only one thrilled about the prospect of seeing the old turf -- which was at least five years past its expiration date -- replaced. Players with aches and pains are lined up to say good riddance. Among other things, outfielder Shannon Stewart took the fact that the old pool-table surface would be gone into consideration when he re-signed with the Twins. And third baseman Corey Koskie is looking forward to his chronic back pain lessening. "It can't be any worse," Koskie said of the new turf. "It can't be the same, either. Whatever it is, it's got to be better than what we had."

Thank goodness spring training is underway, because the medical profession was beginning to make a little too much money from baseball writers who have difficulty coping with anything below 30 degrees. In the "other news" category from Boston's camp Tuesday, aside from Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald reported to camp as well. Of course, Massarotti reported wearing a cast on his right hand, the result of a broken bone suffered while chipping ice from his driveway up north. Meanwhile, up in Detroit's camp in Lakeland, Tigers beat man Danny Knobler of Michigan's Booth News Service is recovering from a broken shoulder suffered last month when he slipped on the ice on his front porch. Knobler cannot drive until mid-March, though he's still managing to type his stories for a Michigan audience hoping Ivan Rodriguez can work some of his Florida magic in Detroit. As for Massarotti and Knobler, Florida itself is magic enough this spring. Fortunately, the poor guys don't have to cover winter sports full time.

The Phillies got the news late Sunday that Andy Seminick, the last living member of the 1950 Whiz Kids' starting lineup, died over the weekend. Which, unfortunately, has become more often than not the norm for the organization lately. In the last month-and-a-half, Seminick, seminal closer Tug McGraw and Paul Owens, the legendary general manager who put together those tough Philadelphia teams in the late 1970s and early 1980s, all have passed away. In a nice touch, the Phillies have reserved two empty lockers in the clubhouse at their new facility this spring. In one hangs a No. 45 McGraw jersey. In the other hangs a No. 5 Owens jersey. Now comes word that the Whiz Kids' lineup has suffered one final blow. "We're sort of getting bombed here," said another Phillies' legend, manager Larry Bowa, on Monday morning. "People that have had an impact on the Phillies organization are dropping by the wayside, quick." Bowa isn't old enough to have hung around the Whiz Kids, of course, but he did get to know Seminick at several spring training camps. "His tutelage of guys like Bull (Greg Luzinski), Booney (Bob Boone) and myself," Bowa said. "He didn't care who you were or where you were from. He was there to help you become a better baseball player." Sadly, in baseball and in life, those kind of people can't simply hang around in the sunshine forever.

OK, so who's next up to fall under the spell of 300-game winner Roger Clemens? Wade Miller? Tim Redding? Perhaps you, Roy Oswalt? Andy Pettitte was taken under Clemens' wing shortly after the Rocket was dealt to the Yankees before the 1999 season, the two became workout buddies and the rest is history. They won two World Series together (1999 and 2000), they played in four Fall Classics together (2001 and 2003 in addition to '99 and '00) and now they're riding in like the Lone Ranger and Tonto to inject some adrenalin into their hometown. So how about it? Anybody going to join Clemens -- and Pettitte now, too -- in their now legendary workout program? "I might -- after I get in shape more," Oswalt joked Sunday. He added, though, that he may watch one of their workouts before actually deciding whether to participate. As for Clemens, look out: One thing he noticed Sunday was a lot of junk food bags near some of the younger players' lockers. "There's nothing wrong with fast food, but I see all of these wrappers," Clemens said. "I remember I'd eat a cheeseburger on purpose in front of Dwight Evans (in Boston) in the locker room and then go out and pitch a shutout, and he's doing the ginseng. That's where I'm at now."

Only in baseball's wacky system at this time of year could you, with accuracy, say the New York Yankees are helping to hold down the game's salaries. I'm not kidding, and for this, you can thank arbitration. Los Angeles closer Eric Gagne lost his arbitration case this week and was awarded a mere $5 million rather than the $8 million he sought. The Dodgers' case was built in part around Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who won a $4.25 million salary in arbitration as a three-plus player (at least three years' of service time) before the 2000 season. But Rivera compiled "only" 45 saves in '99, while Gagne converted a perfect 55 saves in as many opportunities last season. So despite that, and despite Gagne compiling a major-league-record 63 consecutive saves going into the 2004 season, the three-person arbitration panel 86'd his case right back to the bullpen this week. So make a note of that. And next time anybody starts ripping the Yankees for having a payroll near $200 million, make sure to mention, yeah, maybe that's true, but they're helping to keep salaries stable for the other teams.

Pedro Martinez's arrival is still a few days away because of a family illness he must attend to, and he has got the Red Sox's blessing. "He's been very good about being in contact with me," manager Terry Francona said Friday. "He's been very respectful, and I appreciate that." As for the two sluggers who were nearly shipped out of town over the winter -- Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez -- neither is here yet, and Francona insists there will be no problems when they arrive. "I think it's a problem when you play bad," Francona said. "I also think if we play the way we're supposed to, those things will go away so fast. Sometimes one home run, and it's over. I think life in general could take some lessons from a baseball clubhouse."