Sweeny Blog: An Inside Look

Tampa Bay, FL (WFAN)  -- Every day reporters are allowed inside the clubhouse for an hour in the morning. This time is used to talk to players and coaches about specific stories or issues, but is also used to chat with players in an informal atmosphere, the objective being to get to know the players a little better as people. The personal touch adds to the flavor of the reporting done by people who are with the team every day. This is also an opportunity to watch the players interact with each other and see how they bond with one another. Here’s a sample of what’s been going on inside the clubhouse at Legends Field over the last few weeks:

• Mike Mussina occupies the corner locker, inside to the left as soon you walk in. You can generally find a reporter or two or nine hanging out in that corner for some wisdom. Mussina didn’t start out as the friendliest player when he arrived in 2001, but has evolved into a go-to-guy on many subjects.
  
  About two weeks ago, Mussina decided to dress up his drab little corner with a poster of an open window, decorated with drapes and a windowsill, on which sits a family photo and a baseball autographed to Mussina by Jorge Posada. These guys will do anything to get through seven weeks. There have since been added many corporate logos around the “window” which makes it look like the hood of a NASCAR vehicle.
  
  A few days into camp Mussina rearranged his next-door neighbors. With Ian Kennedy already next to him, Mussina requested Phil Hughes be moved a few spaces down to sit on the other side of him, the easier to share common thoughts with both of the young phenoms. Joba, by the way, is near the other end of the left side, right next to another veteran, Mariano Rivera.


• Hughes gets his share of visitors too. At 21, he’s already a media fave. Hughes chats with us about his grueling early morning workouts with Andy Pettitte or shares laughs about his favorite TV show, The Office. He’s even become one of us, starting a blog (http://philhughes.wordpress.com/) several weeks ago that’s become quite popular. It features a few thoughts from Hughes, plus contests to win cool stuff. He may put the rest of us out business.


• Kei Igawa is along the left side, in the middle. A few of his well-meaning, fun-loving teammates are helping Igawa learn English with a new word or phrase every day. I doubt any of them will come in handy, unless he really wants to be ejected by an umpire one day.


• Mariano Rivera is the last locker on the left side before the lounge and food room, off-limits to the media. Rivera has always been good-natured about all our annoying questions about how he feels and when he will pitch. When he passes me in the clubhouse I take the opportunity to practice a little 10th grade Spanish on him. “Senor, Como esta?” “Bien, y tu?” That’s about as far as I can go. I think I need to take some lessons from Bumblebee Man on The Simpsons.
  
  Most days when I walk by Rivera’s locker there is a group of younger Latin players huddled around as if Rivera is a scoutmaster telling ghost stories. Rivera is one of the most important influences on every young Spanish-speaking ballplayer that comes through big-league camp. Any that choose not to soak in a little of his wisdom is a fool.


• As I mentioned, Joba Chamberlain is right next to Rivera. He’s in his first ever major league spring training, but doesn’t appear to be in awe. While most rookies only talk to the stars in order to get a baseball autographed, Joba is busy barking at just about everybody that walks by. He’s an outgoing guy who gets friendly with everybody. That personality will be fun to watch throughout the year.


• Along the back wall, just before the showers, Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi have lockers right next to each other. This is usually Comedy Central. Both guys are very approachable. Giambi loves when a group of reporters is crowded around one particular player. He’ll see us crowded around Jorge Posada (whose locker is in the corner on the same row) and yell out “What happened, Jorgie quit?”
  
  As many times as we’ve crowded around Giambi’s locker to talk to him about the latest steroid-related controversy, he seems to “get it.” He knows we aren’t tearing him down personally. Its just part of the job, and he never takes it personally.


• Past the shower on the right, is Hideki Matsui, with space for his interpreter Roger Kahlon alongside. Matsui’s English has improved over the years, so much so that I joke with Roger that he’s on scholarship now, a free ride
  
  . A few years ago, during the annual rookie hazing day (where they steal the rookies’ clothes and make them wear silly outfits), Matsui walked past me and I made a remark about this year’s selection compared to the one that he wore the year before. As I said this, Ruben Sierra walked by in his typically outrageously colored suit that only he could look good in. Matsui looks at Sierra, then turns to me and says, “Is he rookie? Every day he’s rookie.” Maybe the funniest thing a player has ever said to me. On last year’s hazing day, when the rookies dressed as characters from The Wizard of Oz, Joba Chamberlain (the Cowardly Lion) called to Ian Kennedy (Dorothy), “Hey…can I get your number?” Hysterical.


• Bobby Abreu occupies the upper right corner. That used to be Gary Sheffield’s locker. He used to sit there and waggle a bat around, making you feel very uncomfortable walking up to him to talk about anything. No matter what he said though, Sheffield was always one of the most interesting people I spoke with.


• Making our way down the right side of the room now, we come to A-Rod’s locker. It stands right next to a side exit, which was quite symbolic a year ago (the opt-out scenario waiting to be played out). A-Rod is typically in motion on his way to somewhere other than his locker (the batting cage, a back field). No one ever said he didn’t work hard.
  
  Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera are both nearby. Now that Larry Bowa is not around to jab Cano and Cabrera every once in a while, it’s probably up to A-Rod to keep the two of them in line. He took special notice of those two early on, and his influence on them will be more valuable than ever now.


• Derek Jeter is a few lockers down on the right side. There is usually an empty locker next to him for all his mail and sneakers and stuff like that, but this early in camp there is still a player occupying that space. This year it’s Jose Tabata, one of the top Yankee prospects. He can do a lot worse than soak up some of that knowledge.
  
  I stroll by Jeter’s locker mostly to talk about Big Ten Football. I’m a Penn Stater and he’s a Michigan guy, and we are equally concerned that Terrell Pryor, the number one prep quarterback prospect in the country, will end up at Ohio State. The Wolverines badly need a quarterback after Ryan Mallett transferred. I checked their depth chart the other day and they have a sophomore quarterback named David Cone. No lie. A big game pitcher, but is he a Big Ten Quarterback?


• Shelley Duncan is actually just a few lockers up from Jeter on that right side. Shelley is a character that’s a lot of fun to talk to. I asked him a few days ago about a story online about his brother Chris once being recruited by Bobby Knight at Indiana. Shelley said he was the one who was actually recruited by Knight, but only as a prank. Shelley’s mom said she would give him $50 if he got a letter of recruitment for basketball, which was his mom’s favorite sport. With the help of his father Dave, who knew Knight personally, Shelley received an official-looking letter in the mail from Bobby Knight trying to recruit him to Indiana. Shelley showed the letter to his mom and collected his fifty bucks. “I’ll take How To Scam My Mom for $400, Alex.”


• Many of the younger pitchers occupy the lockers on the lower right side of the room. Chris Britton, Sean Henn, Chase Wright. I walked by Ross Ohlendorf’s locker the other day and he was engaged in a common sight during spring, going through mail and signing autographs, then sticking them back in their return envelopes. Many players take 10 or 15 minutes of their downtime every few days to do so. I looked at one of Ross’s baseball cards, a nice looking action photo with A-Rod in the background at third base. I joked that instead of signing his own card, maybe Ross wants to have A-Rod sign one for him.


• The minor league players occupy lockers in rows along the right side. The next great Yankee may be in this lost zone. Austin Jackson, Mark Melancon, Alan Horne, and Jeff Marquez are among those lockers.
  
  Andrew Brackman takes the first locker in this section. A large man, no doubt. Still recovering from Tommy John surgery, you’ll hear his name a lot more next spring training.

There’s a snapshot for you of the clubhouse at Legends Field. All this activity takes place in between trying to get interviews for the real stories. It’s an interesting part of the job. I try to talk to a number of guys each day...if there is no main story each day, the off-the-record chats help establish the relationships for down the road, a very important aspect of covering the beat.

Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to yankees@wfan.com.

Sweeny