White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was talking Sunday about Shingo Takatsu and how his fastball seemed improved when he uttered the dreaded “J” word.
“He has more juice on it–oh, I said the wrong word,” Guillen said. “He has better pop on the ball. Sorry.”
“Juice” has become a code word around baseball for steroids, and Guillen didn’t want to imply that his closer spent the winter in Japan taking steroids.
One look at the slight veteran would remove all suspicions anyway, but Guillen wanted to clarify just in case. Guillen did say Takatsu looked heavier this year.
“Shingo is coming on real strong,” Guillen said. “His fastball is a lot better. He gained some weight, and I think that will help him in the long run.”
Even with a fastball in the mid- to upper-80s last season, Takatsu was devastating because of his changeup, which he can throw in the low 60s, an almost unheard of variance in speeds.
If Takatsu can add a few more miles per hour to his fastball, it should make his change even more effective.
Listen up
Monday will be the first day the entire team will be present, and Guillen said his players better have breakfast and be ready for a long meeting.
“Make sure your seat is comfortable because we’re going to go through almost everything,” Guillen said. “We’ll go over spring training and what the organization is looking for, what type of players I want on my team. It’s going to be fun.”
Campos moves on
Having had him in camp a year ago, the Sox were not excited by Francisco Campos’ potential, even though he dominated winter ball.
The New York Mets appear more open-minded.
When Sox general manager Ken Williams declined to bring Campos to big-league camp, his agent asked for his release. Williams granted it, and Campos has since signed a minor-league deal with the Mets that included an invitation to camp.
Like the Sox, the Mets do not appear to have any openings in a veteran rotation. But they view Campos as insurance. The 32-year-old was the best pitcher in the Mexican League last summer, then helped lead the Mazatlan Deer to a Caribbean Series title. He dominated teams from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, giving up two runs and seven hits in 16 innings, striking out 21.
Extra innings
Monday will be the first look at Tadahito Iguchi, who was to arrive Sunday night. Guillen has only seen Iguchi on tape. “He’s a great player on tape,” Guillen said. … The clubhouse emptied out before noon Sunday for an afternoon golf outing. … Among the projected starters, only Iguchi and Paul Konerko have yet to report.
