azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Jack Magruder, Tribune
TUCSON - There are a lot of things Shawn Green is not this year.
He is not home, as he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he hit 162 home runs the last five seasons.
He is not particularly well received, at least by The Sporting News, which called him the most overrated player in baseball.
Most relevant, Green is not still forced to compensate for a shoulder injury that he has played through for most of the last two seasons.
He is not tinkering with his swing, a prerequisite for playing with a torn labrum.
He is not playing out of position at first base, another acquiescence.
And he is not at all displeased.
"This is real comfortable for me,’’ Green said.
The Diamondbacks obtained Green from Los Angeles in the de facto three-way deal that sent Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees for Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey and Dioner Navarro, with the express purpose of adding a home run-hitting, middle-ofthe-order right fielder to the group.
With a strong 2004 second half behind him, Green believes he can be that man again, or at least one who is closer to the player who hit 49 homers in 2001 and 42 in 2002 than the one who combined for 47 the last two seasons.
"I can go out there and take the swings I want to take, and that’s the key,’’ Green said.
"What his numbers will be, who knows?’’ D-Backs general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said.
"But players like routine, like all of us, and I think he will be back in his comfort level this year.’’
While Green hit .266 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs in helping Los Angeles to the NL West title last season, he said he did not feel like his old self until the second half of the season, and the numbers bear him out — .286 with 18 homers after the All-Star break.
Part of the recovery process included unlearning some protective patterns that worked their way into his hitting approach in 2003 while he played with the labrum injury, which forced him to take antiinflammatories all season and was arthroscopically repaired when the year ended.
"It took me awhile to work through the bad habits that I developed,’’ Green said. "I’m constantly having to monitor and make sure I am out of those bad habits.’’
Green told a few members of the Dodgers’ front office about the shoulder trouble that he first noticed in the spring of 2003, but it was not public knowledge until late in September.
"There was nothing you could do, so I just played the season and dealt with it,’’ Green said. "It was more the type of thing that hindered me from taking my natural swings. It was really hard to drive through the ball.’’
And since Green was expected to provide a power bat in the middle of the order, when his shoulder blocked his normal approach, he experimented.
"You try to use your body too much to generate the power you need, because you are up there trying to hit home runs, not singles,’’ Green said. "Your power has to come from somewhere, and if it can’t come from the arm extension you have to figure out other ways, more instinctively than anything.’’
Green’s form returned most noticeably in September, when he hit six homers and hit safely in 17 of 19 games in one stretch. His two-strike, twoout, two-run homer in the ninth on Sept. 19 beat Colorado 7-6 and kept the Dodgers rolling.
A Gold Glove right fielder in Toronto in 1999, Green will be used strictly in right this season, another return to normalcy after playing two-thirds of 2004 at first base.
"I can come in every day and not think about defense. It’s more second nature,’’ Green said. "Last year, there was a lot more learning and mental energy going into the defense. First base is a real tough position.’’
Green admits his shoulder may never be back to presurgery levels but said with stretching and specialized exercises it is not a hindrance.
"It’s good enough. When you have injuries, it doesn’t necessarily get back to what it was before,’’ he said. "I think it is more that you get to a point where it is good enough to perform at your best, and you learn how to work with it and keep it stronger and keep it from going bad like it was.’’
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38036
TUCSON - There are a lot of things Shawn Green is not this year.
He is not home, as he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he hit 162 home runs the last five seasons.
He is not particularly well received, at least by The Sporting News, which called him the most overrated player in baseball.
Most relevant, Green is not still forced to compensate for a shoulder injury that he has played through for most of the last two seasons.
He is not tinkering with his swing, a prerequisite for playing with a torn labrum.
He is not playing out of position at first base, another acquiescence.
And he is not at all displeased.
"This is real comfortable for me,’’ Green said.
The Diamondbacks obtained Green from Los Angeles in the de facto three-way deal that sent Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees for Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey and Dioner Navarro, with the express purpose of adding a home run-hitting, middle-ofthe-order right fielder to the group.
With a strong 2004 second half behind him, Green believes he can be that man again, or at least one who is closer to the player who hit 49 homers in 2001 and 42 in 2002 than the one who combined for 47 the last two seasons.
"I can go out there and take the swings I want to take, and that’s the key,’’ Green said.
"What his numbers will be, who knows?’’ D-Backs general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said.
"But players like routine, like all of us, and I think he will be back in his comfort level this year.’’
While Green hit .266 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs in helping Los Angeles to the NL West title last season, he said he did not feel like his old self until the second half of the season, and the numbers bear him out — .286 with 18 homers after the All-Star break.
Part of the recovery process included unlearning some protective patterns that worked their way into his hitting approach in 2003 while he played with the labrum injury, which forced him to take antiinflammatories all season and was arthroscopically repaired when the year ended.
"It took me awhile to work through the bad habits that I developed,’’ Green said. "I’m constantly having to monitor and make sure I am out of those bad habits.’’
Green told a few members of the Dodgers’ front office about the shoulder trouble that he first noticed in the spring of 2003, but it was not public knowledge until late in September.
"There was nothing you could do, so I just played the season and dealt with it,’’ Green said. "It was more the type of thing that hindered me from taking my natural swings. It was really hard to drive through the ball.’’
And since Green was expected to provide a power bat in the middle of the order, when his shoulder blocked his normal approach, he experimented.
"You try to use your body too much to generate the power you need, because you are up there trying to hit home runs, not singles,’’ Green said. "Your power has to come from somewhere, and if it can’t come from the arm extension you have to figure out other ways, more instinctively than anything.’’
Green’s form returned most noticeably in September, when he hit six homers and hit safely in 17 of 19 games in one stretch. His two-strike, twoout, two-run homer in the ninth on Sept. 19 beat Colorado 7-6 and kept the Dodgers rolling.
A Gold Glove right fielder in Toronto in 1999, Green will be used strictly in right this season, another return to normalcy after playing two-thirds of 2004 at first base.
"I can come in every day and not think about defense. It’s more second nature,’’ Green said. "Last year, there was a lot more learning and mental energy going into the defense. First base is a real tough position.’’
Green admits his shoulder may never be back to presurgery levels but said with stretching and specialized exercises it is not a hindrance.
"It’s good enough. When you have injuries, it doesn’t necessarily get back to what it was before,’’ he said. "I think it is more that you get to a point where it is good enough to perform at your best, and you learn how to work with it and keep it stronger and keep it from going bad like it was.’’
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38036
