Orioles: Miggi's first game at third
Miguel Tejada chatted briefly this morning as he prepared for his first exhibition game as the Orioles starting third baseman. He played third in the intrasquad game on Monday, of course, but did not get a ground ball.
"It's fun...It's kind of like my first day in the big leagues,'' Tejada said. "I get to prove that I can play another position in the big leagues. I'm going to play like it's short. I've never been afraid to make an error."
Tejada said he was not disappointed that he didn't get much action in the intrasquad game, because there is more to playing the position than reacting to ground balls.
"What I was looking for was getting used to the swing of the hitters,'' he said.
And, of course, he also got the same question that he's been getting about third base since his homecoming news conference at the Warehouse. Has he talked to Cal Ripken or Alex Rodriguez to ask about their experiences switching from short to third?
"No, I haven't talked to anybody,'' he said, "but I'll ask anybody. Whenever I see a third baseman, I'm going to ask a question. I not going to just ask the guys who are superstars."
Give Tejada credit for being a little more analytical than the media in this case. Though it might be nice to get some advice from the guys who switched to third base late in their careers, it might make more sense to talk to guys who have played the position all their lives.
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Comments
When did Miggi start getting spelled with an "i" at the end? I always thought is was Miggy? Have I been wrong all these years? (My wife would say of course I have been wrong all these, I have told you that).
Thanks for the updates from sunny FLA!
Posted by: Christian | March 3, 2010 9:56 AM
Play deep, Miggy, and wear a cup.
Posted by: Gil | March 3, 2010 11:34 AM
Miggy did not look good on his two chances today. He turned an average play into a difficult one by diving to his left when he didn't get a good read on 3 hopper, then pulled up on another one right at him that made it thru the wickets. To make things real interesting right out the shute, Josh Bell goes and homers from both sides of the plate. Controversy may start brewing if Miggy doesn't take to 3rd, yet hits (which he did today and will), as I would imagine not only I would wonder why Izturis would not move to the bench so that both Bell and Miggy could be in the lineup. One thing is for sure; it's about to get real interesting. Moreover, the 6 jacks by the O's today vs some of the best pitchers on the Rays (Garza, Cormier) much less, MLB, certainly shows that maybe a lineup w 7 or 8 guys that have pop, can be as deadly as one w the traditional 3-4-5 setup. Yup. Coolaide is most definitely ALL Orange today!
Posted by: Sizemo | March 3, 2010 6:59 PM
Miggy sucks at third.If he doesn't improve,it will be Bell in July.There's no way we can put up with that kind of defense during the season.He backed away from that ball like he was afraid of it.100 ground balls a day at least.
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Pete's reply: Jeez, nice leap after one exhibition game.
Posted by: fireladdie72 | March 3, 2010 7:55 PM
Christian -- I always thought it was Miggy, too, but it's Miggi. Who says so? How about Tejada?
http://fieldofcards.blogspot.com/2010/01/trade-with-cardboard-problem.html (Scroll down to section on Miggi. What seems to be an odd spelling may be because he's Hispanic.)
Posted by: Ken Francis | March 3, 2010 11:37 PM
213 days remaining
Posted by: Trembley Watch | March 4, 2010 12:13 AM