A few notes before I leave the ballpark for the night: Ryan Howard's news conference lasted about 28 minutes and was, I thought, rather revealing. Mr. MVP talked about baseball's steroids epidemic, his ongoing contract situation, running lines with Martha Stewart for the Super Bowl commercial they filmed for The NFL Network and other varied topics. But you can read all about that in Monday's News Journal and at www.delawareonline.com.To me, one of the most interesting parts of Howard's day happened away from the TV cameras. This morning, Howard, 2B Chase Utley and 3B Wes Helms participated in a unique defensive drill, conducted by new third-base coach Steve Smith. With Smith standing about 40 feet away, the infielders gloved one- and two-hoppers from their knees. Then, they turned sideways and fielded the balls backhanded. The drill is aimed at improving their hands and quickening their reflexes. Smith's primary job, in addition to waving home runners, is to turn Howard and Utley into better defensive players. Exercises like this are designed to help.
Temperature on the Bright House Networks Field scoreboard during the drill: 49 degrees. Brrrr!
Helms and RF Shane Victorino arrived in camp today, but there was still no sign of SS Jimmy Rollins, IF Abraham Nunez, OF Jayson Werth or OF Karim Garcia. Charlie Manuel said he's not upset they aren't in camp, as long as they arrive by tomorrow when the position players will take physicals. Personally, I'm interested in seeing Werth and finding out about the health of his left wrist. Two surgeries prevented him from playing last season for the Dodgers.
Dinner time. See ya later.
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