Schuster: Quentin A New Man?
By David Schuster--
There were noticeable changes upon seeing Carlos Quentin for the first time here at Spring Training. Physically he has lost about 10 pounds and says he did so to be quicker in the outfield, but Quentin has also worked in the offseason to improve mentally and emotionally. There has been no secret that the power hitting outfielder has at times been very moody and extremely hard on himself and his team mates and Ozzie Guillen have tried to help him in that area. Quentin wouldn't reveal who he has talked to but he likely sought out professionals to help him deal with the pressures of a long baseball season. Time will tell if the help he has received will translate to a calmer player but when Quentin is healthy (in all aspects) he is a major asset to this ball club.
Paul Konerko showed up for the first time also and said he is glad to be back in familiar surroundings. Konerko signed a new multi-year deal in the off season and had thoughts on numerous subjects. As for his teammate Alex Rios saying that the Sox are the team to beat in the division, Konerko loved Rios' confidence, but he felt that Minnesota is the favorite because they won the division last year. He also said that Adam Dunn should have a huge year, especially playing at U.S. Cellular and hopes Mark Buehrle stays his teammate for a long time, but no one can predict what will happen. Buehrle, like Konerko last season, is in the final year of his contract.
And, once again, Adam Dunn reiterated that he doesn't care where he hits in the lineup. Dunn kidded that anywhere but 10th would suffice but we all know that he likely will hit 4th between Alex Rios and Paul Konerko to keep the right, left, right balance intact in the order.
