February 20, 200521 yr JUPITER, Fla. - Florida Marlins right-hander A.J. Burnett was about to begin his first bullpen session of spring training when he shouted a friendly warning to fans standing behind the 8-foot-high backstop. "Heads up," he said. "Last year I nearly crushed somebody. You guys look out." Unlike a year ago, when Burnett hit a female spectator on the shoulder with an errant practice pitch, he threw for 10 minutes Saturday without sailing a single fastball over the fence. It was a modest achievement on a day of modest goals for pitchers and catchers, who began shaking off the offseason rust. Taking the field were six catchers and 35 pitchers, with right-hander Ismael Valdez absent until Sunday because of a family issue. Outfielders Juan Pierre and Jeff Conine were among the first position players to report, and the first full-squad workout will be Tuesday. Manager Jack McKeon emerged from the clubhouse in the morning to begin his 57th year in professional baseball and was greeted by a phalanx of photographers. "Get my good side, please," he said. McKeon spoke briefly at a team meeting but said he spared players his "Win one for the Gipper" speech. "I save that for later," he said, "when I need it." Hopes are high for Florida coming off the first back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history, including the run to the 2003 World Series title. The Marlins added slugger Carlos Delgado, left-hander Al Leiter and several experienced relievers, but they lost 18-game winner Carl Pavano and closer Armando Benitez. McKeon shrugged off any expectations, noting that spring training is always the time to be optimistic. "Management went out and tried to improve our ballclub," he said. "But getting one or two players doesn't make your ballclub. You've got to have a combination of everybody having good years and the breaks coming your way. That's pretty tough to figure out on Feb. 19." Camp began with most players just trying to throw strikes, which wasn't easy thanks to the contraption new pitching coach Mark Wiley rigged up. Crisscrossing wire and string hanging above home plate created a square target framing the lower half of the strike zone. "That was Branch Rickey's invention about a hundred years ago," Wiley said. Only perhaps one in 10 pitches sailed through the box, but the target nonetheless received favorable reviews. "It's kind of distracting at first, but then you get used to it," right-hander Josh Beckett said. "I like it because it gets you throwing down. "That's where you've got to keep the ball with these big strong people. This is the show. This isn't Single-A anymore." The first workout also included a session on baserunning for the pitchers led by third-base coach Jeff Cox. "We've got to be the best baserunning team in the game," Cox told them. "Why not? We should be, so we will be." There's six weeks of such optimism to come before the season starts April 5.
February 20, 200521 yr Source? 690196[/snapback] :plain .... 690201[/snapback] Better known as the Miami Herald Sorry, I don't want to get sued. If you don't credit them and they notice, they can take action against me.
February 20, 200521 yr Very nice article. That's a very nice machine that Wiley thought up, or borrowed anyways.
February 20, 200521 yr Very Nice Article That invention that Mark Wiley used on the pitchers sounds very interesting.... I wonder how well it is going to work
February 20, 200521 yr I was out there this morning with my kids and my daughter immediately noticed Wiley's contraption. It definitely looked interesting. As usual we had a great time, Josh Beckett gave my one year old son a high-five on his way to a drill. Jack McKeon walked over to us unannounced and started talking to my four year old daughter. Paul LoDuca and A.J. Burnett also walked over to my daughter and talked to her briefly as well. Here are my pics from this morning: Dontrelle Willis during pitching drills. Fielding drills with Al Leiter, Josh Beckett, and Antonio Alfonseca Little SoFlaFish trying to get Dontrelle Willis's attention before drills.
February 20, 200521 yr Love seeing all these spring training pics....I can't wait for the games to begin!!!
February 20, 200521 yr SoFLAFish, Did you have any kind of special passes to get that close to them or can anybody go out there and watch them?
February 20, 200521 yr Great article. Hopefully Wiley can light a fire under the butts of Beckett, Burnett and Willis and get them to dominating form in '05 :thumbup
February 20, 200521 yr SoFLAFish, Did you have any kind of special passes to get that close to them or can anybody go out there and watch them? 690535[/snapback] No, I don't have any passes, the Marlins facility is very open and fan friendly. I usually just wander up to the entrance of the practice fields and stand on the warning track chatting with the photographers and security. I don't ask anything from the players and the staff is usually very cool with that. I also think the players sense that, too. I just stand there with my kids and they observe everything without bugging anybody. That's when players just walk up to my daughter and talk to her. They also see that she doesn't ask them for anything, so I don't waste their time. You wouldn't believe how friendly a reception I've gotten from the likes of Beckett, Alfonseca, Burnett, LoDuca, McKeon, and other players in the past as well. The older players are especially friendly to my daughter since they have kids of their own. Here are some more of my pictures from Saturday. I'm going back tomorrow with my kids (my daughter really wants autographs this time): My daughter standing on the edge of the warning track during baserunning drills (taught by McKeon and Cox) Paul LoDuca talking to David Samson during pitching drills. My son doing his best Tony Pena impression during pitching/fielding drills.
February 21, 200521 yr Man, that's awesome. If your kids don't grow up Marlins fans there is no justice
February 21, 200521 yr Is there a time that's best to go out there? Also, are they out there in weekends?
February 21, 200521 yr Is there a time that's best to go out there? Also, are they out there in weekends? 691520[/snapback] The drills usually start between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and go through 'til 12:00 or 1:00 p.m. If you want to see the drills, it's best to get there at around 10:00 a.m. If you want autographs, then come later because they WILL NOT sign during drills. Usually you can get them to sign as they finish and head back to the clubhouse, or when they leave the clubhouse and head to their cars in the Marlins parking lot (that's usually around 2:00 to 3:30).
February 21, 200521 yr Do you think it will be better to go on a weekday rather than a weekend? Are there alot of people watching? Also where are they practicing? I really want to go on Friday... But my mom said Sunday but I was thinking it wil be kinda crowded.. dont you think?
February 21, 200521 yr I was thinking the same HollyBerry. If it got too crowded, I wondered if they were going to send everyone home? Also SoFlaFish, Thank you so much for the info! All this goes on in the backfields right? Do you just walk on through? Thanks!!!
February 22, 200521 yr I was thinking the same HollyBerry. If it got too crowded, I wondered if they were going to send everyone home? Also SoFlaFish, Thank you so much for the info! All this goes on in the backfields right? Do you just walk on through? Thanks!!! 691778[/snapback] Again, here's the primer on going to the workouts: NOBODY GETS SENT HOME! It is open to the public and they are encouraged to be there. There are plenty of Roger Dean Stadium security staff and City of Jupiter Police around that order can be maintained and nobody will be sent home. The entrance to the practice area is on Stadium Drive, just south of Frederick Small Road. It is a sidewalk that leads from the road down to the fields. Just park on Stadium Drive and walk right in. YES, you are not sneaking in, you are INVITED!!! (I've been doing this for four years!). Then you can walk between the four fields (they are all around a "clubhouse" where the bathrooms are). There is a cart selling food and drink for everyone. Between fields 1 and 3 there is a long path that leads to the Marlins Clubhouse, and that's where you'll get most autographs AFTER THE WORKOUTS ARE OVER!!! The players all rotate between the four fields. When they go from field to field they need to walk with all the public. Here you can briefly talk to them but DO NOT ASK FOR AUTOGRAPHS. Trust me, it's all open to the public. There is an Abacoa trolley that takes you between the Marlins practice fields and the Cardinals practice fields, so trust me you are allowed to be there. Weekdays are less crowded than weekends (since you'll get a lot of kids there on weekends). I was there today and there was at least 75% less people there today than on Saturday. My daughter got autographs of all the pitchers (Willis, Burnett, Valdez, Leiter, Mecir, Spooney, Mota, Alfonseca, Jones, Perisho, and Riedling) both catchers (LoDuca and DiFelice), and McKeon. It'll probably be a madhouse on Saturday with all position players in town, but still not too crowded. More people go to the Cardinals side than go to the Marlins side. Remember, most of the folks there are retired snowbirds from the Northeast and Midwest, so the Cardinals are more popular than the Marlins.
February 22, 200521 yr I was actually up there today and boy did I love it...I got about 10 autographs! Barely anyone there though..I'd say about 20 people...
February 22, 200521 yr It's going to be one fun day Friday Who cares about autographs.. I want pictures with them :lol
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