Notes: Tracy brings hands-on approach

02/19/2006
BRADENTON, Fla. -- During a routine throwing session on Sunday, Pirates manager Jim Tracy walked over from his spot behind one of the four bullpen mounds and offered young catcher Ryan Doumit a few tips on how to better receive balls in the dirt.
Tracy, who three days into his first camp with the Bucs has already established himself as a hands-on teacher, grabbed a catcher's mitt and got into a crouch behind the plate. He then showed Doumit how he'd been lifting his back side up on pitches that were in the dirt.
Doumit, in turn, made the proper adjustments. He then turned to Tracy and said, "I'm very coachable, skip."
It was, of course, music to Tracy's ears.
"I told him that's a wonderful quality to possess," Tracy recalled later.
"We're having fun. But when it's time to get busy and go to work, [the players] understand that, too. And they've shown it."
Such encounters have been common in the early days of camp as the Pirates players and members of the new coaching staff have begun to work through the feeling-out stage of their new relationship. The pitchers and catchers seem just as eager to take advice as the coaches are to dish it out.
"These guys have been in the playoffs," said catcher Humberto Cota. "They have been playing in October for a couple of years, and they know what they are doing. As players, we're just trying to follow them."
"They have stressed that we are going to do the little things to make us a winning baseball team," said reliever Salomon Torres. "I am eager to see that happen. There is more than hitting and pitching to playing good baseball. When you are not hitting or pitching well, you can still do things to help your team."
As Tracy is quick to note, those little things that the team works on time and again in February can often make the difference between winning and losing during the season.
Case in point: Tracy had also noticed that Doumit wasn't keeping his eyes on the ball as it crossed the hitting zone.
"If those last two feet [the ball] decides to do something different, it ends up hitting off of the outside of the glove," said Tracy. "If I take my head to ball [approach] and follow it to the catcher's mitt, it's much easier to center the ball and catch it in the pocket.
"It doesn't show up in the box score, but it can make a big, big difference in a baseball game, especially a one-run game."
Bay, Castillo arrive: Pirates left fielder Jason Bay and Jose Castillo made their first appearances at camp on Sunday, two days prior to the official reporting date for position players.
Bay, who had been in Pittsburgh with his wife earlier in the week to close the deal on a new home, decided to come in ahead of schedule so that he'd have extra time to get his legs under him. He'll be leaving the Pirates for at least a week in early March to represent Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
"I wanted to get a little jump on things," said Bay. "It's not like I am here a week early or anything, but it's a few days to get the soreness and all of that stuff out before the actual workouts start."
Castillo, who finished last season on the disabled list because of a knee injury, wanted to have his knee examined before he took the field with the rest of the position players.
"The doctors checked on my knee, and they said it's good," said Castillo. "I feel pretty good right now. I'm ready to play."
Tracy was pleased to see that Bay, Castillo and fellow early arrival Jack Wilson took the initiative to join the team before the reporting date.
"It's a tremendous statement," said Tracy. "One thing that certainly jumps out to me is the character of the people that are a part of this organization."
On the hill again: Thirteen of the 14 pitchers who had thrown bullpen sessions on Friday took the mound again on Sunday, including Kip Wells, Oliver Perez, Zach Duke, Mike Gonzalez and Sean Burnett.
The lone exception was reliever Damaso Marte, who had thrown on back-to-back days Friday and Saturday at the pitcher's request.
"Colby [pitching coach Jim Colborn] checks with them each and every day as far as what their preference is," said Tracy. "You have a bullpen guy who wants to do a little bit a second day in a row. There's no problem with that.
"There are guys that I consider to be resilient pitchers that like to get into the flow of things a bit quicker than the others. That's a personal preference, and I think you accommodate a personal preference for something like that."
Coming soon: Veteran relievers Roberto Hernandez and Giovanna Carrara were absent from camp once again Sunday.
Carrara (visa problems) is expected to join the team on Monday. Hernandez (personal issues) will likely be in camp a day later.
Tracy said that the pitchers' tardiness would not be held against them.
"I understand completely both cases, and I understand both people. There are absolutely no issues whatsoever with regards to either one of them."

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/