JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Florida Marlins second baseman Pokey Reese left spring training for personal reasons to return home, and it's unclear whether he'll return.

 

Reese, who grew up in Columbia, S.C., departed after Wednesday's workout without telling the team. Officials worried about his safety until Reese had contact with his agent Friday.

 

"Sometimes people assume because we're major league baseball players and we make a lot of money, there aren't issues in your life,'' manager Joe Girardi said Saturday. "Sometimes there are issues you have to handle. I'm respectful of that.''

 

Team officials didn't say what prompted the departure. Reese has dealt with a succession of personal tragedies, beginning with the death of his fiancee in a car crash 13 years ago. His agent, Mike Nicotera, didn't return calls.

 

Reese, a two-time Gold Glove winner acquired by Florida in December, spent all of last season on the disabled list with the Seattle Mariners following shoulder surgery. But there was no indication his shoulder bothered him in camp, Girardi said.

 

The 32-year-old infielder missed a workout Thursday and a game Friday. Girardi declined to fault the veteran for failing to let the team know he was leaving.

 

"If you're trying to decide if you want to keep playing, if that's what the issue is, maybe he doesn't want any outside influences to make up his mind,'' Girardi said. "When you have things that are going on in your head, a lot of times people don't think rationally.''

 

Girardi spoke from experience. A former catcher and the winner of three World Series rings, he briefly left his Class A team in the middle of his first full professional season in 1987, even though he was hitting more than .300.

 

"I went home in the minor leagues for a week to do some soul-searching,'' he said. "They thought I was nuts.''

 

With an $800,000 contract, Reese was to be one of the Marlins' best-paid, most experienced players. If he doesn't return, the front-runner for the second base job will be Dan Uggla, selected in the Rule 5 draft from the Arizona organization.

 

Uggla hit .297 with 21 home runs for Double-A Tennessee last year, then batted .304 in the Arizona Fall League. He could be one of six rookies in Florida's lineup on opening day.

 

"This is the opportunity I've been waiting on my whole life - to be the starter and be a part of a big league ballclub,'' Uggla said.

 

Still, Uggla said, he hopes Reese rejoins the team.

 

"He's a great guy,'' Uggla said. "I love learning from him and watching him. He brings a lot of intensity and experience to the clubhouse. I'd like to be a part of his enthusiasm.''

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/base...ins.reese.0476/

*Kills self*

Whateva, see ya later, man.

no big loss if it happens. Amezaga will match his defense and poor offensive skills if need be. This could open a spot for somelike like Mikey Lopez.

Amazega!....Mikey Lopez?.....oy vay..........We'll miss you Luis.

ESPN says he left camp for safety reasons.

ESPN says he left camp for safety reasons.

 

Whoa. This is heavy stuff.

Ugga Bugga!!! Ugga Bugga!!!!

 

He's the right man for the job if Pokey can'tt come back

A slightly modified story...

 

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/14018623.htm

 

JUPITER, Fla. - The unexcused absence of Florida Marlins second baseman Pokey Reese remained mostly a mystery Saturday, with the team relieved he's safe but wondering if he's gone for good.

 

Last seen Wednesday, Reese left spring training to return home, manager Joe Girardi said. The Marlins had no contact Saturday with Reese or his agent, general manager Admin Beinfest said.

 

"We're waiting to hear from him," Beinfest said. "As an employer, we'd like to know what's going on with our employee. We're all professionals here. We would expect to hear from him in a reasonable amount of time."

 

Beinfest said Marlins officials had not tried to reach Reese. The only contact from his agent was a brief phone call Friday to allay concerns about Reese's safety, Beinfest said.

 

The agent, Mike Nicotera, didn't return calls from The Associated Press.

 

Reese, who grew up in Columbia, S.C., has dealt with a succession of personal tragedies, beginning with the death of his fiancee in a car crash 13 years ago.

 

"Sometimes people assume because we're major league baseball players and we make a lot of money, there aren't issues in your life," Girardi said. "Sometimes there are issues you have to handle. I'm respectful of that."

 

Reese, a two-time Gold Glove winner acquired by Florida in December, spent all of last season on the disabled list with the Seattle Mariners following shoulder surgery. But there was no indication his shoulder bothered him in camp, Girardi said.

 

The 32-year-old infielder missed a workout Thursday and a game Friday. Girardi declined to fault the veteran for failing to let the team know he was leaving.

 

"If you're trying to decide if you want to keep playing, if that's what the issue is, maybe he doesn't want any outside influences to make up his mind," Girardi said. "When you have things that are going on in your head, a lot of times people don't think rationally."

 

Girardi spoke from experience. A former catcher and the winner of three World Series rings, he briefly left his Class A team in the middle of his first full professional season in 1987, even though he was hitting more than .300.

 

"I went home in the minor leagues for a week to do some soul-searching," he said. "They thought I was nuts."

 

With an $800,000 contract, Reese was to be one of the Marlins' best-paid, most experienced players. If he doesn't return, the front-runner for the second base job will be Dan Uggla, selected in the Rule 5 draft from the Arizona organization.

 

Uggla hit .297 with 21 home runs for Double-A Tennessee last year, then batted .304 in the Arizona Fall League. He could be one of six rookies in Florida's lineup on opening day.

 

"This is the opportunity I've been waiting on my whole life - to be the starter and be a part of a big league ballclub," Uggla said.

 

Still, Uggla said he hopes Reese rejoins the team.

 

"He's a great guy," Uggla said. "I love learning from him and watching him. He brings a lot of intensity and experience to the clubhouse. I'd like to be a part of his enthusiasm."

ESPN says he left camp for safety reasons.

 

The ESPN story does not say that. It says the Marlins were concerned about his safety. Geez. Take a reading comprehension test.

Amezaga? Andino? Uggla? Please come back Pokey.

ESPN says he left camp for safety reasons.

 

The ESPN story does not say that. It says the Marlins were concerned about his safety. Geez. Take a reading comprehension test.

 

that's what they said on tv, genius

ESPN says he left camp for safety reasons.

 

The ESPN story does not say that. It says the Marlins were concerned about his safety. Geez. Take a reading comprehension test.

 

Karl Ravich on SportsCenter, asshat.

ESPN says he left camp for safety reasons.

 

The ESPN story does not say that. It says the Marlins were concerned about his safety. Geez. Take a reading comprehension test.

 

Karl Ravich on SportsCenter, asshat.

ESPN.com has a TV show now?

 

:plain

Amezaga? Andino? Uggla? Please come back Pokey.

 

 

I agree.

The Marlins were concerned about him. We were concerned about him. The Marlins first of all just wanted to make sure he was ok and alive. We also wanted to make sure of this. This is what is meant by concerned about his safety. Festa interprets this to say that he left camp for safety reasons, implying that somebody is gunning for him, or something like this. That's not what ESPN, the Marlins, his agent, or anyone else has said. I got a 760 on my reading SAT. What did you get?

That's the thing, I didn't read the article. Karl Ravich on SC said "..left camp due to safety reasons". Don't shoot the messenger. :thumbup

This sounds like an Uggla situation.

 

 

:lol :lol :lol

I hope he's ok, but I didn't want Pokey as a starter. We are going to have a nice offense real soon, with sparks of it maybe even this year, might as well let the youngen's get playing time together as much as possible.

 

And Perry Hill can probably turn Uggla into something special defensively at 2B...maybe not GG, but really...there aren't that many spectacular 2B in the game to start with. If he's serviceable, and can get to the point with HanRam that Seabass and Luiy were...complementing eachother so well that they made eachother better...I can live with that.

 

I'll take decent glove+good bat over above average glove+no bat everyday at the 2B position. We were just spoiled by having excellent glove+above average bat with Luiy...we might have to learn to change our perspective somewhat.

That's the thing, I didn't read the article. Karl Ravich on SC said "..left camp due to safety reasons". Don't shoot the messenger. :thumbup

 

All right Festa......I understand now. It's Ravich that's needs a reading comprehension lesson, unless he knows something else that hasn't been reported yet. :thumbup