Twins SS Polanco suspended 80 games
March 18, 2018
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, a big blow to a team that has made a series of roster-enhancing moves throughout the offseason and into spring training.
The commissioner's office announced Sunday that Polanco tested positive for Stanozolol, becoming the sixth player to be banned this year under the major league drug program. That's already one more than last season.
Polanco started 127 games at shortstop last year for the Twins, finishing with a .256 batting average, 13 home runs, 13 stolen bases and 74 RBIs in his first full season as a regular in the lineup. His grandfather died in June, and the switch-hitting 24-year-old struggled through the early part of the summer until being benched temporarily in late June.
From Aug. 1 through the rest of the season, though, he hit .316 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs over his last 55 games while taking over the No. 3 spot in the batting order and helping the Twins reach the AL wild-card game.
Without Polanco, the Twins will turn to Eduardo Escobar, who has played more shortstop for the team than anyone since 2014. Their signing of 12-year veteran Erick Aybar to a minor league contract last month could also pay off, with another experienced option for the middle infield while Polanco is out.
The Twins issued a statement expressing disappointment with the news and support of Major League Baseball's drug prevention and treatment program. They said the organization would have no further comment.
Polanco, in a statement released by the players' union, said he didn't realize he'd taken a banned substance.
''I now know, however, that my intention alone is not a good enough excuse and I will pay the price for my error in judgment,'' Polanco said. ''The substance that I requested from my athletic trainer in the Dominican Republic and consented to take was a combination of vitamin B12 and an iron supplement, something that is not unusual or illegal for professional athletes to take. Unfortunately, what I was given was not that supplement and I take full responsibility for what is in my body.''
Polanco said ''every bone in my body wants to appeal this suspension,'' but out of respect for Twins officials, coaches and teammates he decided to withdraw his request for an appeal and begin serving the suspension from the start of the regular season.
''My hope is that through this extremely disappointing situation other players will learn from my mistake,'' Polanco said. ''I hope that those who have believed in me, those within the Twins organization, my teammates, and the fans in Minnesota and in the Dominican Republic will accept my sincere apology. I will continue to train hard every day in the hopes of being able to contribute to winning baseball games with the Twins later this year.''
Twins starting pitcher Ervin Santana, also a native of the Dominican Republic, received an 80-game suspension for Stanozolol in 2015.
*********************
Fowler's back at leadoff for Cardinals
March 18, 2018
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) When considering where to slot Dexter Fowler in the batting order, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny isn't concerned about last year.
There's additional data to consider.
''He's got a pretty good track record of being successful at the top of the order,'' Matheny said. ''You don't take any small sample and put that in concrete. He's done a nice job over the course of his career of getting on base and making things happen at the top.''
A career .268 hitter, Fowler batted just .205 in 51 games last season as the Cardinals' leadoff man. That came after hitting .277 from the leadoff spot for the World Series-winning Chicago Cubs the previous year.
That performance, the allure of a disruptive force on the basepaths and a good glove in center field prompted the Cardinals to sign Fowler to a five-year, $82.5 million contract prior to the 2017 season.
With Fowler and the offense struggling as a whole last season, Matheny juggled the lineup. Not primarily known as a run producer, Fowler hit .333 and had 15 RBIs in 18 games as the Cardinals' cleanup hitter. In 22 games at the third spot, Fowler hit .271.
Last year Fowler hit from every slot in the lineup except seventh and eighth - he had five hits in nine at-bats hitting ninth spot. At every slot other than leadoff, his average exceeded his career batting average.
''I felt like I was hitting leadoff even when I was hitting third or fourth,'' Fowler said. ''I took ABs like I was hitting leadoff.''
Including Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong, the St. Louis lineup will feature three experienced leadoff hitters. Matheny, however, believes putting Fowler and his career .366 on-base percentage in the top spot gives the Cardinals the best chance to produce early runs.
Tommy Pham, who hit .306 with a .411 on-base percentage during last year's breakout season, will follow Fowler, with Carpenter, an on-base machine, hitting third.
''Our potential one through three, you're talking about three guys that could go over .370 or more in on-base percentage,'' Carpenter said. ''There's going to be a lot of guys on base.''
And ready to clean up those base runners waits new acquisition Marcell Ozuna, fresh off a 37-homer, 124-RBI season.
''Having people on base, it just changes things for you as a hitter,'' Carpenter said. ''When you're struggling or you're not getting off to a great start I know when you have somebody standing out there there's something it just does for you.''
Fowler's spring isn't as productive as he'd hoped. His double in the sixth inning of Sunday's 10-0 victory over Washington, the highlight of a 1-for-3 day, raised Fowler's Grapefruit League average to .235.
While Fowler is returning to a familiar spot in the batting order, he's moving to a new one defensively.
Pham's emergence as an every day player last season prompted Fowler's move from center to right field this year. With Ozuna in left, the Cardinals will start three outfielders with center field experience.
Fowler doesn't see much difference between center field and right, except maybe less potential for chaos on any given play.
''You don't have to worry about the guys on each side of you,'' Fowler said. ''There's only a guy on one side, so it's less to worry about.''
*************************
Lucroy getting to know new A's teammates
March 18, 2018
MESA, Ariz. (AP) Jonathan Lucroy's first spring training game in an Oakland Athletics' uniform didn't stand out in the box score. He went 0 for 2 on two groundouts against a Seattle Mariners split squad.
Being on a new team, there also was the occasional confusion with a different set of signs. But a closer look at Lucroy's six innings behind the plate Saturday revealed something the A's will be counting on this season - the veteran catcher's presence.
''It's awesome. He's very well prepared and he definitely takes charge,'' said Sean Manaea, who started for the A's. ''He definitely controls the entire diamond. Having a guy like that, especially with the amount of time and the amount of knowledge that he has is huge.''
Lucroy, signed to a one-year, $6.5 million contract on Monday, is set to take over as the starting catcher for Oakland despite not signing until well into spring training. If his past is any indication, the offensive numbers will also be there.
The 31-year-old two-time All-Star batted .265 with six home runs and 40 RBIs in 123 games last season for Texas and Colorado. He hit .310 in 46 with the Rockies as they made a run to the National League wild-card game.
Lucroy was among the late free-agent signees in baseball this year, and it might seems like a crash course to be ready to guide the A's young pitching staff into the fast-approaching season while individually getting at-bats. But Lucroy says he will be ready.
''I've been traded twice in the middle of a season, I'm not worried about that,'' he said. ''I've got way more time than I had then. I need to see more at-bats out here. I'll be ready when the time comes.''
Lucroy hit .292 in what was an All-Star campaign for him in 2016, with 24 home runs and 81 runs batted in. His numbers dipped last season, but the cost-effective A's seized the chance to add Lucroy when the opportunity arose.
''We fully expect that this will be a bounce back year for him,'' A's general manager David Forst said. ''I didn't think that a catcher of Jonathan's caliber would be available at a cost that would work for us. When there is a guy like that out there than you have to try to jump on it if you can.''
On the day he arrived at A's spring training, Lucroy made several references to the team's potential as a darkhorse in the AL West.
''I'm looking forward to working with these guys and helping them get better,'' Lucroy said. ''Obviously no one's giving us credit around here . but I think that we're going to be sneaky. I really do.''
Lucroy spent his first few days with the A's getting at-bats on the minor league side and catching bullpen sessions to better get to know the pitchers.
''The physical part is the easy part. The hard part is the signs and getting to know the pitchers, communicating with those guys, making sure I'm comfortable with them,'' Lucroy said. ''I've always said I try to be a well-rounded catcher. I don't want to be an offensive-minded guy, I don't want to be strictly defensive guy. I want to be both. The great ones are.''
Not long after exiting Saturday's game, Lucroy sat alone in a room full of computers, watching video.
''Just familiarizing yourself, being on top of things,'' he said. ''That way when we go into opening day, I can be as prepared as I possibly can be to help this team win.''
Lucroy was scheduled to get Sunday off and won't play two games in a row until a later time. Manager Bob Melvin said he will catch in Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
''As far as the at-bats go, we're OK there. It's just incrementally getting him into the catching process,'' Melvin said. ''Some of these guys that signed late end up getting hurt pretty quickly. We don't want that.''
