Rodriguez, King Of Swing, Practices To Beat The Band
Five and a half hours before the game was supposed to start Wednesday, Alex Rodriguez was in a batting cage with coach Lee Elia - looking for the sweetest swing anyone ever lost.
On April 27, Rodriguez was batting .353 and looking every bit like the man who won a batting title in his first full season.
When he woke up Wednesday, ate a late breakfast and headed for Comiskey Park, he brought a .309 batting average with him.
What did it mean?
“It means I have to work harder,” Rodriguez said. And then he did. Long before the White Sox-Mariners game was postponed by rain, Rodriguez had spent time in the batting cages beneath the stadium. First, he hit balls off a tee, then balls tossed softly to him by Elia.
By the time he faced the batting practice pitches of coach Matt Sinatro, it was nearly 3 p.m. and the drizzle had just begun. Rodriguez didn’t mind. “I know my swing well enough to know what I’ve been doing, so it’s not hard to correct,” he said. “I’m not staying back on pitches, I’m overanxious, I’m going out to get the ball instead of waiting on it.”
End result?
“It’s like I’m ready for every pitcher to throw me a 100-mph fastball - and I’m getting nothing but 75 mph fastballs,” he said. “I’m way out in front.”
So Rodriguez and Elia went back to the basics. Putting balls on a tee, Elia slid the tee back in Rodriguez’s stance, so the 21-year-old was hitting them about even with his back leg. With soft toss, Elia threw the balls to about the same place.
“What that makes you remember is that you can hit the ball back there,” Rodriguez said. “When you’re feeling real good, you’re almost too quick. It’s like the ball can’t get there and your swing is fast. So you slow everything down, go back to your earliest mechanics.
“I hate struggling, especially when I’m feeling good. What you have to do is trust your talent, trust your hands, trust your approach.”
By the time he’d finished four rounds of extra batting practice, it was nearly 3:30 p.m. Elia had to chase him out of the batting cages - “We’ve got a game tonight!” Elia kept yelling.
But there was no game.
“I was thinking three hits tonight, too,” Rodriguez said.
Asked about his shortstop as he waited to see whether the game would be called, manager Lou Piniella rolled his eyes.
“I worry about rain and pitching and getting guys enough work or overworking this pitcher or that one,” Piniella said. “I worry about matchups and double plays. When I start worrying about whether Alex Rodriguez can hit, I’m going to go home to Florida and play golf.”
Johnson changes venue
Randy Johnson’s bid for an American League record-tying 17th consecutive victory was postponed for a day, but he lost more than 24 hours when the rain washed out Seattle’s 32nd game of the year.
Johnson was 6-0 in Chicago in his career. Now he must face a tougher Baltimore lineup in Camden Yards - where his record is 1-3 and his earned-run average is 5.01. He has won fewer games against the Orioles (three) than against any A.L. team in his career.
Notes
Through April, KIRO television said ratings of Mariners game telecasts were up 23.4 percent over games televised a year ago… . The M’s and White Sox will make up the rainout during a three-game series that begins Aug. 16. Exactly when remains in question… . Right-hander Bob Wolcott gets bumped from his scheduled start tonight and won’t pitch until Monday in Milwaukee. For the four-game series in Baltimore, Seattle will start Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Jeff Fassero and Dennis Martinez. The matchup tonight pits Johnson against Mike Mussina (3-1, 3.99)… . After the game was called, Ken Griffey Jr. spent about 20 minutes talking quietly with injured Sox third baseman Robin Ventura, encouraging Ventura in his comeback from a badly broken ankle… . Josias Manzanillo is back on the Mariners’ active roster and wearing a protective cup for the first time in his baseball career. “I wear it to bed,” he said, laughing. Yes, he was kidding.