Martinez calls in camels to get over hump
February 28, 2018
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Hump day had a more tangible meaning for the Washington Nationals.
New manager Dave Martinez had a trio of camels brought to spring training camp Wednesday, four-legged visual aids to help players launch a journey aimed at getting over the franchise's playoff hump.
''I don't know if it's so much as embrace it, but just not worry about it because so much as been made about it,'' first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. ''It's fair for people to write about it, but making the playoffs every year, winning divisions every year to me is already over the hump. We used to lose 90 games every year. People forget that.''
The Nationals have reached the playoffs in four of the last six seasons but have not won a postseason series since relocating to Washington ahead of the 2005 season.
Martinez joined players for the team's daily ''Circle of Trust'' meeting on the turf infield outside the clubhouse at 9:30 a.m. Not long into the meeting, first base coach Tim Bogar and third base coach Bob Henley rode camels onto the field.
''I thought it was a great idea,'' said Bogar, who's first foray into camel riding came on a cow named Blondie. ''I thought it was something just to make sure they cleared their minds and they had fun with it. We embraced it. I thought the guys reacted to it real well. From what I could see everybody was having a good time with it.''
Wearing a Washington Nationals floppy hat with a red and white checkered towel flowing from underneath, Henley repeatedly yelled ''Hump Day!'' - a reference both to a famous television commercial and a common nickname for Wednesday - while atop a camel named Lawrence. Bogar and Henley parked their camels on each side of the walkway that leads from the meeting area to the practice fields, and players walked between.
''It was fun,'' reliever Ryan Madsen said. ''It's fun. It's nice to have a camp loose. It's nice to have the courtesy to have a loose camp when you have a good team.''
Unlike many of his teammates, Madsen has some familiarity with camels. A camel named Hoover lives near his Arizona home, and Madsen frequently takes his daughters on bike rides to visit the camel.
''He got a little overweight, so he just lays down a lot now,'' Madsen said. ''They've got him on a diet.''
There was some concern that the Florida camels might have smelled Hoover on Madsen.
''The one was looking at me funny,'' Madsen said, sticking out his lower jaw for emphasis. ''It was showing its tooth at me and he had that kind of crazy look in his eye, so maybe it was his long lost cousin.''
After the players walked the camel gauntlet, Bogar and Henley rode Blondie and Lawrence to the practice field. No one rode the third camel, named Brown. He only made the trip, according to Bogar, because Blondie refuses to go anywhere without Brown.
When not motivating professional baseball team, the camels reside at a petting zoo in nearby Jupiter.
In his first season as the Nationals manager, Martinez spent 10 years as Joe Maddon's bench coach with the Chicago Cubs and Tampa. Maddon is well known for his spring training stunts designed to keep players loose.
The camels exited the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches well before the Nationals returned to the clubhouse following the workout. Washington played Miami in Jupiter later Wednesday.
''All I've got to ask you guys is, Can you still smell me?'' said Bogar before boarding the bus.
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Napoli's Tribe stint may be short-lived
February 28, 2018
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) Mike Napoli felt back home on Wednesday, walking around a clubhouse he knew and catching up with teammates he enjoys.
Everyone involved knows this reunion between Napoli and the Cleveland Indians most likely is just temporary and will end up with Napoli playing elsewhere.
''It came together pretty quick,'' Napoli said Wednesday after signing a minor league deal. ''Talking with my agent and he said there would be an opportunity to come in here to camp. Obviously we had conversations about the roster and what is going on. I'm very fortunate this organization has given me the opportunity to come here and get into shape and kind of showcase a little bit. I'm very fortunate to have them have me in camp.
Napoli is at spring training largely because manager Terry Francona wanted to give the 36-year-old slugger an opportunity to showcase what he still has, but with the clear knowledge there isn't a spot on the Indians roster for Napoli. Edwin Encarnacion is Cleveland's designated hitter; Yonder Alonso is Cleveland's first baseman. Only an injury would change those plans at this time.
Napoli is with Cleveland to audition for others, making it unlikely he would get the $1.75 million salary that would be triggered if he is added to the 40-man roster.
''I know the situation. I know that guys here have to get ready to play,'' Napoli said. ''I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to get ready to play to get some game time. The understanding of everything is plain and clear. We know what is going on. There's nothing that's going to ruin any relationship here with these guys. They're giving me an opportunity to get ready to play and it's probably going to be somewhere else. Things happen but I'm just going to play it out and see what happens.''
Francona noted the difficulty of the situation for Napoli and how invested he was in the success of the Indians in 2016 when they lost to the Cubs in the World Series. His message when Napoli arrived was simple: have fun.
''The one thing I was reminding him, I said `Nap of all the things you have done in this game, all the time you have put in, you deserve the right to enjoy when you play. I want you to enjoy.' I think he understood that,'' Francona said. ''I hope it helped. I think it did because when I was listening to him talk he can't be all in because he understands that he might; there are just a lot of variables. I get it. And the way Nap is built, he is built to be all in. So it's a little different. But he's earned the right to enjoy when he plays and I want him to do that.''
Napoli hoped never to leave Cleveland after helping the Indians within a game of the title in 2016. Napoli hit a career-high 34 home runs and 101 RBIs, but when Cleveland landed Encarnacion as a free agent before the 2017 season, Napoli was without a place in Cleveland's plans.
He slumped last season in Texas, hitting just .193 with 29 homers and 66 RBIs, and found himself among the large list of prominent free agents without a team when spring training started.
''It's pretty crazy the amount of free agents that are still out there. Can't really put my finger on it but it's what is going on right now,'' Napoli said. ''Like I said I'm fortunate to be able to get into camp here.
Napoli briefly joined the free agent camp arranged by the players' association in Florida because he didn't have the facilities he needed at home in the Dallas area. But he welcome the opportunity when Francona and the Indians called.
''We've obviously kept in touch and we're really close. He means a lot to me,'' Napoli said of Francona. ''For him to allow me to come here and be part of this camp and be myself and do what I do, help the guys out in any way and also get me into shape and ready to play baseball, it's just a great opportunity for me and I'm grateful for it.''
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Brewers' Stephen Vogt to miss 3 weeks
February 28, 2018
PHOENIX (AP) Milwaukee Brewers catcher Stephen Vogt is expected to miss two to three weeks because of a strained right shoulder.
The injury occured last week during a spring training workout. Vogt said he felt something awkward during a drill, but attributed it to getting back into game shape.
Vogt caught Milwaukee's spring training opener on Friday. He got an MRI after discomfort lingered through the weekend, and the test revealed a strain.
''The soreness kind of crept up and it got to a point where I had to stop throwing,'' Vogt said Wednesday. ''I'm thankful that it's not something more serious than just a strain.''
The 27-year-old hit .254 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs in 45 games after he was claimed off waivers from Oakland. He missed nearly a month during the season with a sprained left knee and had surgery in the offseason on his right elbow.
Vogt agreed to a $3,065,000, one-year contract that is not guaranteed and arrived at camp prepared to compete with Jett Bandy for a roster spot behind likely starter Manny Pina.
Baserunners were successful on 27 of 28 stolen base attempts against Vogt last season. Vogt focused much of his preparation during the offseason and spring training on adjusting his arm slot and used weighted balls to improve arm strength.
''He's frustrated but he knows what's in front of him so hopefully he can get back and still have time to get ready,'' manager Craig Counsell said.
NOTES: Ryan Braun made his first-ever start at first base and got tested early. He had to go full extension to haul in a wide throw from Jhoulys Chacin on Steven Duggar's leadoff single, then found himself involved in a rundown later in the inning. Braun played four innings of the game that ended with a 10-all tie with the Giants. ''He was able to get some action right off the bat,'' Counsell said. ''It was a real positive experience for his first day.'' ... RHP Jimmy Nelson (shoulder) has taken part in all workouts this spring and throwing off flat ground. Nelson, who is expected to miss at least the first couple months of the season, won't start working from a mound until late in spring training. ''He started the throwing program before we thought (he would) and he hasn't missed a day. He's doing great,'' Counsell said. Nelson had season-ending right shoulder surgery on Sept. 12, four days after he was hurt while diving back to first after rounding the base on a single.