David Wright’s
fast start follows offseason work with Virginia Wesleyan coach
Nick Boothe,
who started working with him when he was 7-years-old at a baseball camp. They worked three days a week, and the Mets’ third baseman is looking like the guy who arrived in the big leagues, not the one who hit .254 with 14 homers last season. …
The great
Matt Kemp
— it’s time to call him that — entered the weekend with more homers (seven) than four teams. …
The Braves’
Jason
Heyward
is hitting left-handers again, a sign that
Greg Walker
has helped him get back to the form that made him so dangerous in 2010. … Gold Glove shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki
made six errors in the Rockies’ first 11 games, matching his total from 2011. …
Part-time duty isn’t working out for
Jim Thome,
who struck out six times in his first 12 at-bats with the Phillies. Scouts are saying his bat has slowed, just as they did before he revitalized his career when he got a chance to play regularly for the Twins in 2010. …
Adam Wainwright,
who will start Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, insists his surgically repaired arm feels fine, even though he has a 9.88 ERA after three starts. …
In the final year you can manipulate the compensation system, the rampaging Rangers hold five of the first 93 picks in this year’s draft, two as compensation for
C.J. Wilson
(who they replaced with
Yu Darvish)
and one for 41-year-old lefty
Darren Oliver.
…
Peter O’Malley
is among the prospective bidders for the Padres. His group didn’t have the backing to make the final round in bidding for the Dodgers. … It took
Aramis Ramirez
42 at-bats to hit his first homer with the Brewers, and
Albert Pujols
was homerless in 57 at-bats for the Angels entering the weekend. …
Watching the Red Sox bring all their old players back for Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary points out how the Cubs have two years to restore their relationship with
Sammy Sosa.
…
Dylan Bundy,
the Orioles’ first-round pick in last year’s draft, retired 27 of the first 28 hitters he faced as a pro, 15 on strikeouts. Don’t be surprised if he pitches at Camden Yards in 2013.
