DeRosa relishing everyday role
From atlantabraves.com
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It's not like Mark DeRosa has never played third base before. He's simply never done it as an everyday player for a team in search of its 13th consecutive division title.
But now that DeRosa has had a few weeks to fully acclimate himself to his now permanent surroundings, he feels confident that the Braves won't be disappointed with him as their starting third baseman this year.
DeRosa came up through the minor league system as a shortstop and then occasionally spelled Vinny Castilla at third base while serving as Atlanta's utility infielder the past two years.
But having to prepare to play third base, shortstop and second base, he never became comfortable at any one position.
Over the past few weeks, the 29-year-old DeRosa has taken countless ground balls at the hot corner and willingly accepted advice from Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton, who won three Gold Gloves during his successful big-league career as a third baseman.
"It's definitely a different feeling this year because the last couple of years I knew I was only going to be (at third base) sporadically," DeRosa said. "So, I really never got a chance to learn all the little nuances. All those things are starting to come and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable over there."
Pendleton was a collegiate All-American outfielder before being converted into a second baseman during his early years in St. Louis' minor league system. Just before they promoted him to the Majors in 1984, the Cardinals made him a third baseman and he remembers feeling somewhat reluctant before making the move.
"I just knew it was a position where you could get knocked down real quick," Pendleton said. "The ball gets on you so much faster."
DeRosa played 25 games at third base last year and quickly learned what Pendleton went through many years before him. That false motion that didn't hurt him as a shortstop was now a fatal one at the hot corner.
"It's a reaction position," DeRosa said. "That's why I think footwork is the biggest key for me."
Nobody has ever questioned DeRosa's athletic ability. While he was a three-year starting quarterback at the University of Pennsylvania, the Quakers won two Ivy League titles and compiled a 26-3 record.
Thus it seems logical that he'll quickly develop the footwork necessary to play third base. But to be a successful third baseman, he too must learn such things as where to position himself against certain opponents and the tendencies of his own pitchers.
"To me, we can all be good off the fungo bat," Pendleton said. "That's not a knock against (DeRosa). But I just haven't seen enough balls hit at him in games to know if he's where he needs to be right now."
DeRosa admits he wasn't feeling comfortable during the early portion of this year's Grapefruit League schedule. But after grabbing a couple of hot shots hit at him earlier this week in Jupiter, Fla., he's becoming more confident in his abilities.
"I can actually feel myself getting more comfortable," DeRosa said.
If the Braves had come to DeRosa and told him the only way to crack the starting lineup was as a catcher, he'd have immediately donned the equipment, gotten behind the plate and found a way to be comfortable.
From the earliest days of his youth, he's always dreamed of being an everyday player in the Majors. Some doubt crept in when the Braves removed him from their 40-man roster in 1999.
But he persevered, and after proving to be so valuable over the past two years, the Braves rewarded him with this opportunity, which he isn't taking for granted.
"This is it," DeRosa said. "This is everything I've always wanted."
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da2kokib & sg12sg!
~~~jules~~~