It's always something
Eric Byrnes thinks he's major-league material, but the A's still aren't certain.
By Jim Van Vliet -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Wednesday, March 26, 2003
From the day the A's drafted him in 1998, Eric Byrnes never considered anything but a career in Oakland.
Unlike Tommy Lasorda, he never actually bled the team colors. But who else but Eric Byrnes, on learning he was being demoted, would jump on a plane in Toronto at 6 a.m. so he could get to Sacramento in time for the River Cats' team picture that afternoon?
Who else but Eric Byrnes, while on the big-league roster, would drive up to Sacramento on an A's day off and beg then-Cats manager Bob Geren to put him in that night's Pacific Coast League game?
The answer: Nobody.
And nobody ever thought they'd ever see him frustrated, either.
But that's what baseball can do to you. Even for a guy who attacks life with the enthusiasm of a youngster on a sugar high.
Despite enjoying his second consecutive outstanding spring, Byrnes still doesn't know his fate just five days before Opening Night. When A's manager Ken Macha makes his final roster decisions after Sunday's exhibition game at Raley Field, Byrnes knows that he might be left behind -- again.
"In my mind, I've done everything they've asked," Byrnes said. "Before, I've never even thought about playing anywhere else. ... But now I realize there are 29 other opportunities out there. Now, when I go out there, I go about it like I'm auditioning for a job."
Last spring he led the A's in RBIs, but he was then-manager Art Howe's final cut. This spring, his numbers have been solid across the board. He's batting .380, leads the A's in total bases and is tied for the team lead in doubles, home runs and RBIs.
Yet all signs point to him opening the season in Sacramento -- again.
On paper, Byrnes is one of eight guys still competing for five spots on the A's revamped bench. But in reality he's among a group of four players vying for one spot.
Frank Menechino was the pre-camp lock for the utility infield job. And catcher Mark Johnson, despite hitting an anemic .100 this spring, is in stone as Ramon Hernández's backup.
Veteran Ron Gant is a lock. He was signed early this spring, and the A's covet his experience and late-inning bat.
And Adam Piatt will likely make it if only because he's out of options and the A's would risk losing him on waivers if they tried to send him to the River Cats.
That leaves Byrnes, Billy McMillon, Jason Grabowski and Adam Melhuse competing for the remaining spot.
And though Byrnes doesn't think it should even be a close call, he's not at all sure what his ZIP code will be come Monday.
Byrnes has two forces working against him.
Unlike Piatt, he has an option left and could be sent to Sacramento without risk to the team. And, Macha isn't crazy about entering the season without the flexibility of having at least one left-handed bat on his bench.
McMillon is a fleet, left-handed outfielder. He admits he hasn't taken advantage of the opportunity, getting hot lately to raise his average to .214.
But the A's liked what they saw when he hit .293 during a brief injury-shortened stop in Oakland two years ago.
The A's love Grabowski's sweet left-handed swing and his versatility. But he may have done himself in by going 2 for 19 this spring.
Melhuse is also versatile. Like Grabowski, he can catch, and he's a switch hitter. At 30, he's had three brief looks at the majors. And though he hit only .179 in stops with the Dodgers and Rockies, he has responded to the challenge this spring by hitting .297 and driving in nine runs.
Still, at this point, Byrnes wants to know what else he has to do.
The A's wanted him to improve as an outfielder. And he's done that, considering he's gone from being a full-time designated hitter at UCLA, where teammates swear he didn't even own a glove, to the A's late-inning defensive replacement last season.
With Chris Singleton missing so much time this spring and facing the possibility of starting the season on the disabled list, Byrnes has even spent extended time in center field during Cactus League games.
A decision on Singleton will be made Sunday after the A's play the River Cats in their exhibition finale.
Offensively, Macha told Byrnes to be more patient and stop swinging for the fences. Brynes walked just four times in 98 major-league at-bats last year and compiled a .302 on-base percentage with the River Cats.
To the A's, those numbers are not acceptable.
And that was the hard part.
"When you only get as (few) at-bats as I've gotten, you want to make something happen (during each at-bat)," Byrnes said. "It's hard to be patient when you don't know when you're going to get up again."
But he's worked at it. He's already walked six times this spring and is waving a .456 on-base percentage.
"I'll give him credit," Macha said. "He's worked hard at becoming a major-league outfielder. He's improved immensely. He's had a very strong spring."
Will it be enough?
Macha's not saying. His only advice to Byrnes is the same he gives every young player.
"I tell players every time they go out there, 'You don't know who's watching,' " Macha said. "Every time a player takes the field, they're being scouted or judged by somebody."
Byrnes has taken that uncertainty with him every time he's made the drive up and down Interstate 80 over the past three seasons. It has forced him to see the business side of the game.
He still has the enthusiasm. He'll still dive face-first after a ball in a springtime game before 2,000 vacationers because that's the way the game is supposed to be played.
But then there is the reality.
He turned 27 at the start of spring training. He's beginning to hear the ticking of his athletic biological clock.
"I'm at the point in my career where I don't just want to make a big-league team, I want to play, too," Byrnes said.
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