Times wires
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
CLEARWATER — The Hall of Fame third baseman began with a compliment.
"Maybe the best ever," Mike Schmidt said of these Phillies.
For a few minutes, Schmidt considered whether he had seen a better starting rotation in baseball. He concluded he had not. Then he questioned the one unit that could ruin it.
"With the exception of a few guys, I think they underachieved as hitters last year," said Schmidt, who attends spring training annually as a guest instructor.
He called out SS Jimmy Rollins, saying he needs to be more "Pete Rose-like" and wondered why Shane Victorino was trying to be a power hitter. He said the lineup will dearly miss Jayson Werth. He called for an improvement in situational hitting and more "small ball."
"They need to get better offensively. There's no doubt about that," Schmidt said. "And I think they all know that."
Manager Charlie Manuel mostly agreed but said the key to small ball is getting Rollins and Victorino on base more.
Yanks: GM gets it
TAMPA — Yankees GM Brian Cashman understands why Hank Steinbrenner expressed frustration about last season.
Steinbrenner, the team's co-chairman, said this week that the Yankees lacked hunger last year and maybe "were riding the wave of '09 a little too much." New York came in second place to the Rays in the AL East then lost to Texas in the ALCS a year after winning the World Series.
"Why we fall short, how we fell short, the bottom line is we fell short," Cashman said. "It's our job to make sure that anything that prevents us from getting there gets eliminated."
CATCHER SORE: C Russell Martin won't play in Saturday's spring opener because of discomfort in his surgically repaired right knee, ESPN.com reported. Martin, 28, had offseason surgery to repair a small meniscus tear.
Jays: Frown on tweets
DUNEDIN — Blue Jays manager John Farrell would like his players to stay off Twitter.
He also knows there's little he can do about it.
"My own opinion is that for a player to get involved in that, they set themselves up for another distraction," Farrell told the National Post of Canada. "I can't mandate anything to them but (would) probably advise them to just let it be."
A handful of Toronto players have Twitter accounts, including RHP Jesse Litsch, the former Dixie Hollins High standout.
"We're not going to say they can't do it. But I think they've got to be careful," Farrell said. "If they're going to engage in it, then they really need to be able to follow through on some of the things that might be put out there."