Notes: Durham planning his return
03/31/2006 12:10 AM ET
Notes: Durham planning his return
By Tony Kuttner / Special to MLB.com
Last year, Ray Durham hit .290 with 12 homers and 62 RBIs, mostly out of the
leadoff spot.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Inflammation in his left heel has kept second baseman Ray
Durham off the diamond since March 25, but that should change on Friday, or
maybe on Saturday.
"I'll try to get a game in this weekend," said Durham. "It's something that
I'll just have to deal with until it wants to leave.
"We've thrown everything at it, done all the treatments, been doing all the
exercises every day. We'll see what happens."
In truth, the Giants haven't thrown everything at the injury -- there's been
no cortisone shot yet.
"We've talked about it, but I'll let them decide," said Durham. "I'd be all
for it, that's for sure."
One reason the 34-year-old may be so willing to accept cortisone treatment is
his history of injuries since signing with San Francisco before the 2003
season. In his first year as a Giant, Durham was limited -- first by an ankle
sprain, later by a pulled hamstring -- to just 110 games.
He then missed much of the early part of 2004, first with a strained tendon in
his knee and later with another pulled hamstring, and wound up playing in
just 120 games.
Last year, when he hit .290 with 12 homers and 62 RBIs, mostly out of the
leadoff spot, he made it into the lineup 142 times.
When healthy, Durham has been extremely productive at the plate, and that's
held true through this spring. In 15 Cactus League games, Durham hit .375,
with seven RBIs and six runs scored. In addition, he's collected two steals in
three attempts.
"I'm being realistic, and whether it hurts or not, I'm going to do the best I
can," he said. "I've played with it in Spring Training, and I seemed to do
pretty well."
Digs at the new digs: Seven million-plus people in the Bay Area are happy that
they never have to go to Candlestick Park for a baseball game ever again. But
one -- a newcomer to San Francisco -- wouldn't mind being back in the old
wind tunnel.
"I liked to hit at the old Candlestick," said Steve Finley, an outfielder whom
general manager Brian Sabean had coveted since the last century and who
finally landed in San Francisco thanks to a trade with the Dodgers this past
offseason.
"When I stood in the batter's box there, it felt like I was going to kill the
ball."
That he did. In 209 at-bats over 54 games at Candlestick, Finley batted .330,
with a dozen homers and 30 RBIs.
And what does Finley think of the Giants' current home, where he has gone
homerless in 147 at-bats, compiling a .252 average while driving in 11 runs?
"I don't like this place as much, but I'll learn to like it," he said. "It
seems like every time I came here, I wasn't hitting that well at the time, but
I still had a couple of good games here."
But unlike some other outfielders when they first put on a Giants jersey,
Finley won't have to learn any new defensive tricks patrolling the lawn in
front of the irregular walls at AT&T Park.
"Defensively, it's easier here," said Finley, who mostly has played center.
"They pull the right fielder over to cover the gap, and it makes the field
smaller."
Greene good to go: Only formalities keep Todd Greene off the Opening Day
roster, formalities that are expected to take place no later than Saturday.
The Giants have already told the veteran catcher that they plan to keep him
around to serve as backup to Mike Matheny.
"I wouldn't say that's a surprise," said Greene. "You have to believe in your
abilities.
"The bottom line is performing, and they gave me an opportunity to prove to
them that I'm a quality catcher."
Greene, 34, has already proved that through 10 seasons -- mostly as a backup
-- with five teams, including Colorado for the past two.
Still, he knows that his time on the diamond will be limited. Matheny's 1,122
innings behind the plate last year were the fourth-most by a Giant since the
club moved west.
"It's an honor to have a guy who's got [four] Gold Gloves on his shelf, and I
look forward to learning everything I can from him," said Greene.
One thing that Greene and Matheny have already discussed is calling a game in
pitcher-friendly AT&T Park, compared with doing so in death-to-pitchers Coors
Field.
"It mentally fries you, trying to call a game [in Coors]," said Greene. "In
Denver you can do the right thing sometimes, but because the ballpark is so
big and so many hits fall in, it's still going to end up being a two-, three-,
four-run inning.
"What I learned there is that I don't care about the single runs. I'll give up
a single run to save a three- or four-run inning."
Welcome back: The Angels -- the half that wasn't losing to Milwaukee in Tempe
-- made their first visit to San Francisco since Game 5 of the 2002 World
Series, a 16-4 Giants win.
Spring Training for everyone: The reserve catcher was identified as both "Todd
Greene" and "Todd Green" on the scorecard, and the center-field scoreboard
welcomed the "Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem," which must by somewhere near
Anaheim.
Up next: The Giants begin their traditional Bay Bridge Series against the A's
at home on Friday at 7:15 p.m. PT, followed by a game in Oakland on Saturday
and one more at home on Sunday. Left-hander Noah Lowry (1-2, 5.00 ERA) will
make his final spring start on Friday.
Tony Kuttner is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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