March 14, 2004
The Return of J.D. Drew
By Brian Walton
Sunday, March 14 marked the first time the Atlanta Braves have traveled to Jupiter this season. J.D. Drew had permission to travel on his own and as a result, was in the visitor’s locker room waiting for the late-arriving Braves team bus to arrive from Orlando. Drew was most agreeable, spending 15 minutes answering questions about the past, present and future.
On the move from St.Louis to Atlanta:
“It is been good. The transition time has come and gone. I am enjoying playing with these guys. I am having a lot of fun. You have to come in and feel your way around a little bit. Meet the guys. There’s a bunch of rednecks on this team, so I’ll be alright. (laughs) I know a few of them from playing against them and things like that.”
On his fast start (Drew leads the majors with five spring home runs and had a sixth in their first game against Georgia.):
“I had a lot of time to hit in the off-season. I am just working to get my legs strong and being healthy coming in. Who knows? I am just seeing it well and trying to put a good swing on it.”
On his surgically-repaired knee:
“It’s good; it’s good. I still have a little soreness in there, but it is something that will have to play with, for I don’t know, maybe the duration of my career. It’s something that I can manage now. I had a full off-season to recover. You know last season after the surgery, I came back so early. I hadn’t fully regenerated all my strength yet. I did a lot of work in the off-season, trying to stabilize my knee and do things like that.”
On whether he regretted coming back so soon last year:
“No, I would have had trouble if I had come back two months later. I kind of had a rough year, in and out of the lineup. Because the fact is that it takes a full year to regenerate that tendon. I knew that. I knew I could play while I was still rehabbing. I knew it was going to be tough and it was. I had a full, long off-season to recover from it. I think that’s been my key.”
On whether he has to have regular rest this season:
“No. I‘ll play everyday as long as I am healthy. If I can be on the field, I am going to be out there. I don’t think there is any routine as far as it was last year, because I was coming back from it last year. I have a full year for it to regenerate. As long as I can keep the soreness out of there and keep my quad strengthened up, I should have a long and successful season.”
On whether he is under a microscope more of less playing in Atlanta instead of St. Louis:
“I don’t know if it does or not. You definitely want to impress your peers and play well for your team. But, it’s been reiterated to me from Bobby to the training staff and everybody to be careful in the spring and make sure we get you some good quality at bats and get you feeling comfortable. If you need a day or two to catch back up, then do it, because we want you to be ready to play opening day. That’s a good feeling. That’s a good feeling going into the season. The big key is opening day and playing a long year and not really having to come out here and killing yourself in the spring.”
On his reaction to the trade:
“It was kind of a breath of fresh air because of the simple fact that all the trade talks the year before at the trade deadline. I didn’t want to have to go through it again. It worked out well because if I did get traded, I didn’t know where I was going to end up. Walt called me up and said, “Hey, we’ve got some bad news for you. We had to trade you. We hate to let you go, but the good news is that you are going closer to home. You’re going to Atlanta.”, which I was excited about. I was looking forward to it. It could have been any number of different places, but it worked out well for me.”
On whether he is out of bad luck and ready for a good run:
“I’ve got the bad luck out of the way. It can’t be anything but good luck, I guess. Nah, I don’t look at it. It’s one of those things with collisions here and there and different injuries that keep you off the field. If I can just keep myself strong and just maintain my knee... Maintenance is not near as bad as having to get here and treat it. If I can just maintain it, I should be alright.”
On whether the trade gives him extra incentive:
“No, no. I loved playing in St. Louis. The fans were great and the city was always good to me. Always were behind me and supported me. It was just unfortunate that I dealt with the knee injury the last couple of years that really kept me out of the lineup. I always had high expectations for myself and I still do. I want to go out there and perform and help my team win ballgames. It just happens to be in Atlanta this year.”
On batting cleanup:
“I hadn’t thought much about it. Playing for Tony, I batted just about everywhere, I think. I take it as it comes. It’s still at-bats. See it, hit it and hopefully, good things happen.”
On Bobby Cox versus Tony La Russa:
“They’re a little different. Bobby is a lot more laid back. They definitely have two different styles.”
On playing the Cardinals:
“It’ll be good to see everybody again. It’ll be a little different competing against them instead of playing with them. It’s pretty neat. I was close to all these guys. We had such a close-knit clubhouse over there. It will be good to see everybody. I was really close to Matheny and those guys. I will be good to see those guys again and hang out with them. And they come to our place next weekend.”
On the 2005 season: (Drew is in the final year of his current contract.)
“I am really anxious to get to the city and start playing and see how things go. I like the coaching staff. I like the team. I’ll be anxious to see how I fit in and how we start playing. I’ve definitely enjoyed myself so far this spring.”
On whether his agent (Scott Boras) will be talking with the Braves during the season or wait until the off-season:
“You know what? I haven’t thought anything about it. I’ve been here for about three weeks and that’s been the last thing on my mind. There’s a little white ball that I’ve got to go out and chase every day. That’s what I worry about. We’ll see how everything plays out. Like I said, I’ve enjoyed my time here so far. It’s always a lot easier when you come in and you start getting some hits. It’s kind of a freak thing. You come in here and you start hitting home runs right off the bat. That’s not something that I anticipate doing, but it’s something that makes the transition that much easier. It’s been a lot of fun.”
On how his winter was different this year:
“I didn’t do a whole of running this off-season. I didn’t hit at all last year before spring training. This year, I probably hit five or six weeks before spring training started. I was going in the cage three or four times a week. It probably has a lot to do with it.”
On his health this year compared to last:
“Last year was just rehab. I never even had any impact on it until right at the end of spring training. This year in the off-season, I could do virtually everything as far as strengthening exercises, squats and all that stuff. Coming into spring, it was, “How do you feel? Can you go and run?” I said, “You know what? I hadn’t done any impact running, just trying to let it heal up fully. I’ll test it out in drills and do all the stuff I need to do and if I have any bad reaction to it, I’ll let you know. And, we’ll go from there.” I just hadn’t had really any setbacks with it. So, it’s been nice. It’s gotten sore, but the thing is, it’s a different kind of soreness. It doesn’t really affect me to run as much as it did. That’s a good sign, I guess.”
On whether he had said in the past that he prefers to play centerfield over right:
“No, I never said that. Centerfield is a little bit easier. Just for the simple fact that I don’t have to worry about the foul line and the wall being right there when I am going down the line or make a play to my left. Other than that, it’s all the same. No, that wasn’t my quote. But, from my knee’s standpoint, going left to right in center, you don’t have to worry about slamming on the brakes. So far this spring, I hadn’t had any ill reaction from stopping or anything like that. That’s great. It’s been good.”
On how ex-Cardinal Eli Marrero is doing:
“Good, I think. He’s been playing here and I’ve been playing there. I’ve seen a couple of his at-bats; he’s had a couple of hits. But for the most part, he’s playing a day that I am not or he’s pinch-hitting later on. I think he’s liking it.”
On if he’s been asked to work on any part of his game:
“A couple of things fell in my lap here in BP in the off-season and I am in a good rhythm. I brought that into camp and it’s worked out well.”
Drew then asked about how several of the Cardinals are doing – Pujols, Matheny, Eldred, Carpenter (“Good to see him back on the mound for a change.”). Drew expressed a bit of surprise when told that Wainwright was unlikely to make the roster but once we went through the rotation, Drew noted they had been “looking for guys like that” at Memphis.
Drew accepted our thanks for the time with a “Good to see you’all.” It was good to see him, too.
