Drinking The Grapefruit And Cactus Kool-Aid, Day 11

We begin today in Mesa, Arizona at Brewer camp with a man who may be out of place in a town with as German a history as Milwaukee. The name may be Algonquin for "the good land" (thanks, Alice Cooper!) but it's made it's bones on the back of beer and brats, two staples of the German lifestyle. Vinny Rottino, on the other hand, has a name that would be a better fit on Staten Island or on a character from The Sopranos. That disconnect isn't stopping him from taking his best shot at making the Brewers out of camp. With Corey Koskie and Prince Fielder ailing, Rottino has played in every spring game and leads the team with 20 at-bats. "Vinny's going to be the first player in the history of the game to get 500 spring training at-bats," manager Ned Yost said Tuesday. Sadly, Rottino has just four hits in his 20 ABs although one of them was a home run. Rottino can also catch in addition to his work in the infield and if the 27-year old is going to make more than the six-game cameo he made last year it will be because of his versatility.

• Brad Penny isn't winning too many friends or influencing too many people in Dodger camp. Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle says the team should deal their winningest starter of 2006 because "according to sources around the club, Penny tends to be at his finest when it doesn't really matter. He tends to question and berate teammates in full view of the public."
• Pat Burrell failed the eye test administered by doctors at Phillie camp but he disputes their belief that he has problems with his vision. "I told them I didn't," Burrell said. "They said that I might not realize it. They said I might need contacts." Pat the Bat has led the league in called third strikes two years running.
• The Pioneer Press isn't believing the bullish words Ron Gardenhire's been spouting about Sidney Ponson. "It will be a shock if pitcher Sidney Ponson isn't released by the Twins," they report.
• Chris Shelton's put last year's demotion behind him and is being aggressive in camp. "I wasn't hesitant, I felt good," Shelton said. "But there's no reason I shouldn't feel good. I'm not worried about anything." And why should he be, it's not like the Tigers can trade for Sean Casey again this season.
• David Wells is living in the past. “There's no reason we should have lost to St. Louis,” he said. “I felt that we had a better team than theirs.”

Comments

[Larry]

What happened to days 12 and 13? I was looking fwd to reading these today and yesterday!