Saturday, December 21 Drew leads group of potential '03 breakouts By Phil Rogers Special to ESPN.com |
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Maybe J.D. Drew angered the baseball gods. After all, the sport is not meant to look as easy as Drew made it seem when he joined the St. Louis Cardinals. He has since learned that it can be maddening. Just getting on the field has been a chore for Drew, who is once again spending his winter rehabilitating in the hope that the breaks will even out.
"This game isn't meant to be played hurt,'' Drew said. That's about the only way Drew has played it since 1998, when he served as a pretty good sideshow during Mark McGwire's run to 70 homers. Promoted to the big leagues in September, the former Florida State All-American hit .417 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 14 games. His combination of power and speed reminded some of a young Mickey Mantle. Who would have thought that four seasons later his career high in RBI would be 73? The Cardinals hope that Drew can have a breakout season in 2003. If he doesn't crank it up soon, he could become a forgotten man in a lineup built around Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen. The first step is to get healthy. A few days after St. Louis lost to San Francisco in the National League Championship Series, Drew had arthroscopic surgery to repair patella tendinitis in his right knee. Drew had played in constant pain throughout a disappointing season in which he hit .252 with 18 homers and 56 RBI. He had 104 strikeouts in 135 games. "The knee was hurting me all the time and really altered my swing,'' he said. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says Drew is recovering on schedule. He is expected to be ready for spring training. "When they did the surgery, they went (into his knee) and it was clean,'' La Russa said. "He's coming along great. He's working really hard. I know he goes to the ballpark at 10 o'clock every morning, works till one. Everybody is real happy. We're real positive about him being a part of the '03 season, but we're going to be very careful.'' Even if the 27-year-old Drew seems near full strength in spring training, La Russa might not play him every day in the first half of the season. "It's a six-month season, not a three-month season,'' he said. You can't blame La Russa for wanting to play it safe with Drew. He had the highest hopes for him when Drew reported to camp last March. He had spent the winter doing conditioning work after a series of injuries limited him to 109 games in 2001. Within the first hour Drew was on the field, he stepped in a hole and hurt his ankle. It was a sign of the pain to come. In 2003, Drew will be looking to break the cycle and live up to his advance billing. Here are a handful of others who are looking to justify the billing they received by flashing some serious skills upon their arrival in the big leagues:
Preston Wilson Wilson hit 103 homers in his four full seasons with the Marlins, but only 23 last season. He was overweight and underproductive, batting .243 with 140 strikeouts. Coors Field beckons. "He's at a point in his career where he can explode if he learns the strike zone,'' one NL executive said. "He strikes out too much, but it's not that he is overpowered. He swings at too many bad pitches, like Sammy (Sosa) did when he was younger. Sosa finally mastered the strike zone and look at him. Wilson hasn't shown he can master it yet.''
Adrian Beltre Beltre hasn't yet proved himself worthy of such trouble. He hit .257 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI as an everyday third baseman last season, missing only three games. His name has come up in some trade talks, most notably with the Cubs, but Dodgers GM Dan Evans isn't likely to let him go just yet. He'll have to put up big production next season or it could be his last in Los Angeles.
Carlos Lee
During his impressive rookie season, Lee had a 6-1 ratio of strikeouts to walk. He'd cut that to only about 3-1 by 2001 but was a different animal last season, especially in the second half. He ended the year batting only .264, but had a .359 on-base percentage. He was one of only 13 major-leaguers to drive in 80-plus runs while having more walks than strikeouts. Long-term commitments to Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas make it questionable whether the White Sox can keep Lee beyond 2003. If he picks up where he left off, it could be quite a showcase season.
Aramis Ramirez Ramirez is crucial in the Pirates' pop-gun lineup. It shouldn't be a surprise if he improved to 30-plus homers and 100 RBI.
Adam Dunn Pitchers made adjustments to Dunn and his average just kept dropping. He hit .190 with nine homers and 17 RBI after the All-Star break, finishing the season at .249-26-71. Strikeouts are the biggest concern. While Dunn has an excellent idea of the strike zone -- he finished only four walks shy (128) of Joe Morgan's club record -- the holes in his swing led to a club record 170 strikeouts. If new Reds hitting coach Tom Robson can help him tighten up his swing, he could have an absolutely monstrous 2003. Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com. |
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