By HAL McCOY
FOXSportsOhio.com
March 13, 2011
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- There are few vacant seats in Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker's version of musical chairs for an extra outfield spot.
The music hasn't stopped, but Baker all but put a name tag on one chair Sunday: "Chris Heisey."
Heisey, 26, was a 17th-round draft pick out of something called Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. in 2006.
Seventeenth-round draft picks are rare commodities in the major leagues, and players who attended Messiah and made the majors are unique. Heisey is the only one.
When the Reds played the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, Heisey was batting leadoff and playing center field.
Heisey is hitting .370 with two homers for his first 12 games this spring, and that's no surprise to Baker.
"He started off slow, but he is very confident," Baker said. "If anybody remembers, Heisey was our first call-up (from Class AAA Louisville) last year."
He made a niche by hitting four pinch-hit home runs, tying veteran Matt Stairs for most in the majors and falling one short of Jerry Lynch's five in 1961 for the club record.
"He did a good job, and I'm not surprised he is doing so well this spring," Baker said. "I'd be surprised if he wasn't. He has the ability."
When it was mentioned that Heisey is making it tough for the club to make a decision in his competition with Freddie Lewis, Jeremy Hermida and Dave Sappelt, a rookie hitting .520 this spring, Baker quickly said, "Not really."
In quick explanation, Baker added: "He was here before, and I know what Chris Heisey can do. I try to use their past and their present to guess what the other guys can do. The fact that Heisey pinch-hit good last year and hits right-handed is a plus. We can't be all left-handed off the bench like we were a few years ago.
"Heisey can run, and I can put him in games late for defense because he is a good outfielder."
And there is a major point: "Of all the guys returning from last year," Baker added, "the only guy who can play center field when Drew Stubbs isn't playing is Heisey."
Baker's only concern is that Heisey might overwork himself this spring to prove he belongs, "because he might fret or worry that he won't make the team."
Sappelt?
"His future is behind Heisey right now," said Baker, who has indicated that the 24-year-old Sappelt will start this season in Class AAA, where he finished last season (25 games). "How much did Sappelt play at Triple-A last year? Not much. Heisey is more fundamentally sound right now."
If Heisey senses he has the team made, he isn't showing it. He came out of the 6-3 loss to the Angels on Sunday after five innings and didn't budge from the dugout.
Usually, when the starters are removed from a spring exhibition game, they pack their gear and head for the clubhouse. Not Heisey. When the game ended, he was still in the dugout.
"I stay until the end of every one," he said. "I watched last year to see who would leave early and, for one, I always try to err on the side of being too cautious. I have less than one year in the big leagues. So for me to leave in the middle of a game, I don't feel right doing it."
And there is another motive.
"I want to watch and observe," he said. "You never know. Some pitcher comes in late you've never seen might be facing you during the season. Then you have a little bit of an idea of what he is trying to do to you."
It was the same with Heisey during his down time in the dugout during last season.
"I learned everything last year," he said. "It was my first experience coming off the bench. I'd been a starter my entire career in the minors, so I learned a lot from Miguel Cairo and Laynce Nix, guys have who have done it a long time. I just watched them prepare, and the biggest thing was learning the situations -- when you may be called upon and not being surprised by it. You sit there dead cold, not doing anything since batting practice three hours ago, all of a sudden you're in. Cairo told me to try to get a sweat going before you're called upon to get your blood flowing."
Willis' ankle aching
Pitcher Dontrelle Willis was sitting in front of his locker Sunday morning, his right ankle tightly taped after he sprained it Saturday tripping over a bat.
"I knew right away what it was," Willis said. "I rolled it once like that playing basketball. Felt the same way. I know it as soon as I did it."
Willis blamed himself for not being aware of his surroundings.
"I never expected to have a bat so close to where I was running, but it was my fault," he said. "I have to be more aware of my surroundings, the land mines. I'll be all right. I should be fine. It could have been a lot worse, but, thank God, it wasn't."
Asked about how much time he might miss, Willis acted as if he wanted to sprint to the mound at that moment.
"You see it," he said. "I've taped it, and I'm doing range-of-motion stuff. I don't want to miss time. I'm at that hero aspect, where I want to get back on the mound. I didn't play (pitch) very well yesterday, so I want to get back on the mound. That happens in short relief. You have to have a short mind. I'm learning about that."
Baker, thought, says caution will not be thrown to the wind on Willis.
"He's limping around a little bit," he said. "He said he has hurt it before. You don't want him to try to compensate and change his delivery because his ankle is sore. You want it to be right before you send him back out there.
"We'll see how he moves and (pitching coach) Bryan Price will see how he's throwing off the mound, if he can throw."
