Whenever I hear about a team trying to move a natural center fielder over to right field, I think about the horrific collision in 2005 between the Mets' Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron. It was a case of two aggressive outfielders, both accustomed to playing center, who didn't communicate as effectively as they should've.Well, the Phillies will have two natural center fielders in their outfield this season. Aaron Rowand, shown here goofing around during a recent workout at the Complex, is back in center field after an injury-filled 2006, while Shane Victorino moves over to right. I asked Rowand if he and Victorino will need to take care to avoid a Beltran-Cameron situation.
"It's easy. It's just communicating in the outfield," Rowand said. "He knows what I can cover. I know what he can cover. I make it real plain out there. I'm loud in the outfield. He knows when I'm coming. Trust me, he doesn't want to run into me, and I don't want to run into him. All it is, is communication in the outfield.
"Having him out there makes my job easier going that way. I know I can shade more towards left-center field and cover more ground out there knowing he can cover parts of right-center field. We're not going to have any problems communicating out there. He played out there next to me for a month last year and didn't have any problems."
You can read more from Rowand in tomorrow's News Journal and at www.delawareonline.com, assuming I ever finish writing it.
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