March 09, 2003|By Peter Schmuck
"That was the laziest kid I've seen in 10 years at the big-league level," Klesko said. "He didn't seem to care about anything. ... When I say this was the laziest guy I've seen ... you can go through this clubhouse right now and ask every player that was here with him about his work ethic and they'll all tell you the same thing. He was lazy in every sense of the word.
"He had altercations with a lot of the veterans here who tried to help him, and that's why he was sent out of here. He was in the manager's office more than once."
So far, there have been no such complaints at the White Sox spring training facility in Tucson, Ariz. Jimenez apparently has been one of the most diligent workers in camp.
"Maybe he's learned something," Klesko said. "Maybe he's changed. I don't know that. But if I kept getting traded, I'd change, too."
Stretching out
Reds pitcher Danny Graves would like to follow in the footsteps of Red Sox starter Derek Lowe, who made the very successful transition from closer to premier starting pitcher.
Graves didn't look all that impressive in his first exhibition start last week, which came against the Red Sox in Fort Myers, but Lowe was encouraging.
"He'll be able to do it easily," Lowe said. "He pitched similar to me. He threw a lot of innings as a closer. He wasn't one of those guys who threw 50 or 60 innings. He'll actually find that it's easier. You can make mistakes and win the game. When you're a closer, it seems like there's no margin for error, every single game."
Off the rack
Indians pitcher Brian Anderson is a typical left-hander, so he's always finding himself in unusual situations.
He arrived in Vero Beach, Fla., for his scheduled appearance against the Dodgers on Wednesday before he realized that he had not put his spikes or his glove in his travel bag.
Anderson found his way to the local Wal-Mart and bought a $24 softball glove, then picked up a pair of baseball shoes at a sporting goods store. He returned to Holman Stadium, pitched three innings and even handled three defensive chances flawlessly with a glove that hadn't been broken in.
Compiled from interviews, wire services and reports from other newspapers.
