|
EVENTS
Sportsman of the Year
Heisman Trophy
Swimsuit 2001
CENTERS
Fantasy Central
Inside Game
Video Plus
Statitudes
Your Turn
Message Boards
Email Newsletters
Golf Guide
Cities
CNNSI.com GROUP
Sports Illustrated
Life of Reilly
SI Women
SI for Kids
Press Room
TBS/TNT Sports
CNN Languages
COMMERCE
SI Customer Service
SI Media Kits
Get into College
Sports Memorabilia
TeamStore
|  |
Pirates' treasure
Maz's election to Hall energizes Bucs' camp
Posted: Wednesday March 07, 2001 3:41 PM
Throughout spring training, CNNSI.com will feature regular dispatches from
Sports Illustrated staffers assigned to scout camps in the Grapefruit and Cactus
Leagues.
By Jeff Pearlman, Sports Illustrated
TEAM: Pittsburgh
Pirates
SITE: Bradenton,
Fla.
WEATHER: Sunny, brisk and windy, low
60s
PLAYER I SAW WHOM I REALLY LIKED: J.R. House. The Pirates' top
prospect won't arrive in Pittsburgh until next season, but House is one THICK
fella. He's 6-foot-1, 202 pounds, with Dave Kingman power, Wade
Boggs bat speed and -- sigh -- Bobby Bonds fannability (91 Ks in 110
games with Class A Hickory). House is hugely important to Pirates fans because
he is the first legit Grade-A position prospect to come along since Jason
Kendall. In fact, because of Kendall the Bucs will move House, a catcher, to
first
base.
AROUND THE
HORN
It was fun being here Wednesday morning, watching Bill Mazeroski float
through the clubhouse on his private Cloud Nine one day after being elected to
the Hall of Fame. "It's finally sunk in," he said, smiling. "But
I still can't believe it." Mazeroski, a spring instructor with the Pirates
-- the club with which he won eight Gold Gloves as a second baseman and clinched
the 1960 World Series with his ninth-inning home run in Game 7 against the
Yankees -- received handshake after handshake after handshake. He grinned like
the class geek who gets to escort Carmen Electra to Prom Night '01. Mazeroski is
one of the game's all-time superb guys; a warm-hearted, open-minded sweetie who
treats people with kindness and respect. Before Wednesday's game at McKechnie
Field, Maz was introduced to a standing ovation. The Pirates named one of their
spring practice sites "Mazeroski Field," and Pittsburgh's The Avenue
of the Pirates was renamed Mazeroski Way (R.J. Reynolds Blvd. should be next).
On Aug. 10, Bill Mazeroski Day will be celebrated at the brand new PNC
Park.
Reggie Jefferson, the one-time Cincinnati super-prospect, sat
quietly alone in the Pirates' clubhouse Wednesday morning, reading the
newspaper, wearing uniform No. 74. Five seasons ago, Jefferson had 19 homers and
74 RBIs for the Red Sox. Last year, unwanted in the U.S., he spent a loooooong
couple of months in Japan, where he was a first baseman for the Seibu Lions.
"It was difficult," says Jefferson, who hit .260 with 10 homers and 48
RBIs. "When I left for Japan, I thought of the things I would have to
struggle with. The one thing I forgot was television -- that there'd be nothing
to watch." Jefferson spent his non-baseball hours watching video after
video after video. His wife, Kay, and three children came for half the season,
and helped ease the strain of living far from home. "The adjustment was
unbelievable," he says. "The food, the lifestyle. I'm a 6-4 black man
standing in a market. People look." The odds of Jefferson making the Bucs
as a backup first baseman/pinch hitter are about 50-50. But if he's cut, and the
Lions come calling? "No way," he says. "Japan is a good country.
But it's not for
me."
Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon has been encouraged by the
progress made by right-handed starters Francisco Cordova and Jason
Schmidt, both of whom missed much of last season with serious injuries.
Cordova, limited to 17 starts by tendinitis in his elbow, threw on the side a
few days ago. Schmidt, who made only 11 starts because of shoulder inflammation,
will pitch on
Thursday.
Has there ever been a stranger spring for obscure comebacks? Big
Sid Fernandez? Japan Mike Greenwell? Deion (Past Time)
Sanders? Ruben (In 1987 They Compared Me To Clemente)
Sierra? Pittsburgh is featuring its own rejuvenation clinic with the
comeback of Mark (You've Probably Never Heard of Me) Dewey, who
was 3-3 with eight saves for the Pirates from 1993-94. Dewey is in minor league
camp with the Bucs, trying to win a free trip to Nashville, the team's Class AAA
city. Rumor: Doug Flynn is
next.
While with the Mets last season Derek Bell opened the year
wearing a XXXXL jersey, his personal tribute to the world of hip-hop. Notorious
BAS (Bud Allen Selig) wasn't playin' that. This spring, Bell, the
Pirates' new right fielder, has been roaming around in Big Pun-sized uniform
pants. Again, it's his own (really weird) tribute to hip-hop. No word (word)
from
Notorious.
In the first inning of the Reds-Pirates game, Sanders bunted for a
single, reached first base and pointed skyward. What happens if he accidentally
bloops a ball into the
outfield?
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman will check in periodically
with reports from his tour of spring camps.
|
Copyright © 2001
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
|
