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Sports TwitterReds catcher Ross playing catch-up
Thursday, March 27, 2008
SARASOTA, Fla. — David Ross is a catcher trying to play catch-up.
And while it is admirable that he wants a crash course — trying to stuff into one week what the rest of the Cincinnati Reds have done in six — it leaves the team in limbo.
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Ross spent the first five weeks administering to a bad back while Javier Valentin and Paul Bako did the catching. Now that Ross is nearly recovered, he wants to catch the new guys in the rotation who he hasn't caught — Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Josh Fogg.
Manager Dusty Baker is doing just that, permitting Ross to catch Wednesday, March 26, in Dunedin and Thursday in Sarasota, with plans to catch him in today's game and Saturday's final exhibition game.
Ross caught a familiar figure Thursday, catching Bronson Arroyo's seven innings of no-run, three-hit pitching. Ross got no hits in three at-bats, but Ken Griffey Jr. ripped a two-run homer and the Reds beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1.
"I'm on Dusty's speed-up program and I'm cramming for that test he is giving me," said Ross. "It is going good, really good. I feel great and I just need to control the adrenaline and emotions and get that first hit."
But what about Valentin and Bako? What happens if Ross can't do it? One method is for Baker to schedule Valentin and Bako for minor-league games, to keep them sharp.
"I'm trying to give Ross a chance, a chance big-time to catch those guys," said Baker. "That's all I can do, what's on the schedule. At the same time, I can't send Valentin and Bako backwards getting ready. If Ross isn't ready, I've created a situation where everybody is backwards.
"It's a long year, an awfully long year, and we're going to need everybody," Baker added. "This is more of an evaluation to see if Ross is ready — not physically ready, but baseball ready. There's a difference. I know he is chomping at the bit and I'm giving him the opportunity and we have to evaluate if he's ready in five days to a week.
"In most cases," Baker added, "if you could evaluate a player in five days to a week, you wouldn't need six weeks of spring training."
Thus the dilemma. Do they hold Ross back? Do they keep three catchers? Baker prefers not to keep three, "Three catchers limits what you can do. I've had three catchers, but generally one of them can play another position. Valentin can play first base, but it's a little crowded over there (Joey Votto, Scott Hatteberg).
"I have to catch Ross seven to nine innings to see if he can do it," Baker added. "After Saturday, it isn't spring training any more."
