Dawson on Hall ballot for ninth time

Andre Dawson is a candidate on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the ninth year. The Class of 2010, which includes manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey from the Veterans' Committee ballot, will be announced Jan. 6. You can watch the announcement live at 2 p.m. ET on an MLB Network simulcast on MLB.com.

On Jan. 6, Andre Dawson will go to the gym in the morning as usual. He'll be home shortly after noon, and then wait to see if this is the year he gets the phone call.

This is the ninth year the outfielder known as "The Hawk" will be on the Hall of Fame ballot and he's hoping this time, the Baseball Writers' Association of America casts enough votes to send him to Cooperstown.

"I've talked to a lot of Hall of Famers and they've echoed the same sentiments," Dawson said in a recent interview from his Miami area home. "They say, 'You've just got to be patient. It's eventually going to happen.'"

He's a little more optimistic this year. The other players who finished ahead of Dawson in the voting are already enshrined.

"There's no one to hurdle," he said. "Unless something drastic happens where someone makes a big jump, hopefully, this is the year."

He's got plenty of supporters. Ryne Sandberg lobbied for Dawson in his Hall of Fame induction speech. Tony Perez, another member of Cooperstown's elite, made a plea.

Any BBWAA members who aren't convinced should have talked to Dawson's teammates. Shortstop Shawon Dunston, who played with Dawson on the Chicago Cubs, remembers a game when they were leading the Astros, 10-0, in the fifth inning. Someone hit a ball to right and Dawson dove for it.

"[Cubs manager Don Zimmer] nearly lost his mind," Dunston said, relaying the story. "Andre comes in and Zim says, 'Andre, please don't do that. Let the ball drop.' And Andre says, 'That's the only way I know how to play.'"

Last year, Dawson received 361 votes, or 67 percent, in the balloting. Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were the only players elected for induction, receiving 511 votes, or 94.8 percent, and 412 votes, or 76.4 percent, respectively.

A candidate must get 75 percent of the vote to gain election, with Dawson, former Twins ace Bert Blyleven (62.7 percent), and closer Lee Smith (44.5 percent) standing as the top three returning vote-getters. They're joined on the ballot this year by a group of newcomers that includes All-Star second baseman Roberto Alomar, Reds shortstop Barry Larkin and Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez.

The results will be announced on Jan. 6.

Perez, inducted into Cooperstown in 2000, is hoping Dawson can join him among the game's elite.

"We all respect the way he played and the way he played even when he wasn't 100 percent," Perez said of Dawson. "Talk to any player who saw him play or played with him or against him, and they don't understand why he isn't in the Hall of Fame."

During Sandberg's induction speech at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, he mentioned former teammates he respected because they played the game right. The slender slugger with the cannon arm was high on that list.

"No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson," Sandberg said. "He's the best I've ever seen.

"I watched him win an MVP for a last-place team in 1987 [with the Cubs], and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball," Sandberg said. "He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday."

Maybe 2010 will be Dawson's year.

There are players who are under suspicion for having used performance-enhancing drugs. Dawson has never been caught under that cloud of doubt. Maybe that gives him an edge?

"I think a lot of it has to do with what is the real criteria when you place your vote," Dawson said. "Is it based on numbers, solely numbers, or whatever their thinking is? Writers can build you up and in the same breath, they can knock you down and destroy you with their opinion of what you do both on and off the field.

"If they're going to make a case and stand by that, then, yes, [being clean] makes a lot of things stand out a little more," he said. "Not that it's necessary. I still feel I've garnished enough to get in based on some of the numbers of the other Hall of Famers. I'm never one to bicker about players and their numbers and how they got those numbers. It all boils down to each individual and each individual is a different case."

In 21 big league seasons, beginning in 1976 with the Montreal Expos, Dawson batted .279 with 438 home runs, 1,591 RBIs and stole 314 bases. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1977 and won the NL MVP Award in 1987, his first season with the Cubs, when he hit .287 and led the league with 49 home runs and 137 RBIs.

One argument against Dawson getting into Cooperstown has been his career on-base percentage of .323.

"It seems like they're trying to pick one statistic instead of looking at the overall picture," Dawson said. "If I would've known that, I would've asked to be a leadoff hitter and would've walked a little more. ... [It sounds like] you're trying to find a reason why not to vote."

Dawson joined the Cubs in an unusual way. After nine years in Montreal, he wanted to find a team that played on grass, unlike the artificial turf at Olympic Stadium. He approached the Cubs and general manager Dallas Green with a fill-in-the-blank contract. On March 9, 1987, Dawson signed for a base salary of $500,000 with $250,000 in incentives if he made the All-Star team, started in the All-Star Game and won the NL MVP. He did all three. It was one of the best bargains in baseball.

On April 29, 1987, Dawson hit for the cycle for the first time in his career, going 5-for-5 against San Francisco, and also threw out a runner at first on what seemed a sure single. In that game, he homered in the first inning, hit an RBI double in the third, singled in the fourth and tripled in the sixth.

Not even a fastball to his face could stop Dawson. On July 7, 1987, he was hit on the left cheek by an Eric Show pitch after hitting three homers in his previous five at-bats. Dawson received 24 stitches, missed two games and pinch-hit in a third before returning full-time. What was most impressive about the incident is that Dawson's teammates charged Show and challenged him in defense of the Hawk.

The only things that could slow the quiet, soft-spoken outfielder were his knees, damaged by years on the unforgiving turf in Montreal. He had at least 12 surgeries, and had his knees drained at least three times a year, every year. These days, he's had knee replacement surgery on one.

"He never complained about nothing," Dunston said in an interview in September. "He would come in early to get in the hot tub, he'd loosen up, do his exercises. The trainers would tape his knees and he'd go out and take batting practice even though he was hurting. He'd go play and never say nothing."

Fans in the right-field bleachers at Wrigley Field would bow to Dawson as he took the field. And rightfully so. Dawson also hit three homers in consecutive at-bats on Aug. 1, 1987, against Philadelphia.

Dawson is one of six players to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases. He's the only eligible player with more than 1,000 career extra-base hits who is not in the Hall of Fame.

An eight-time Gold Glove winner and eight-time All-Star, Dawson totaled 100 RBIs four times, 20-plus homers 13 times, and 30-plus doubles five times. How feared of a hitter was he? On May 22, 1990, the Cincinnati Reds intentionally walked Dawson five times in a 16-inning game. The Cubs won, 2-1.

Mel Didier, the scout who first spotted Dawson, recalls a skinny center fielder for Florida A&M. Didier's report stated: "This young man has as quick of a bat as Hank Aaron, who I had known with the Milwaukee Braves when he came up. Aaron had the quickest bat I've ever seen. Andre Dawson has a bat like that, and he can run and he can throw. He's going to be an outstanding player."

Dawson played for the Expos, the Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins, with whom he is still associated as a special assistant to the president.

Dunston has another story about Dawson he likes to share:

"When you hit a home run off Nolan Ryan, he meets you at third base," Dunston said of the Hall of Fame pitcher who intimidated hitters. "But when Andre hit one [off Ryan], he stayed near the mound and waited for the ball. That impressed me a lot. That's respect."

That's Andre Dawson.

Bay makes expected exit from Boston

BOSTON -- Jason Bay's entrance to Boston -- made possible by a blockbuster trade for Manny Ramirez -- was far more dramatic than his all but inevitable exit, which unofficially occurred on Tuesday amid reports he has reached a four-year deal with the Mets, contingent on a physical.

In truth, the Red Sox had all but moved on from Bay two weeks ago when they signed free agents John Lackey (five years, $82.5 million) and Mike Cameron (two years, $15.5 million).

Lackey gives the Red Sox another front-line starter, while Cameron provides some of the punch that Bay takes with him to New York. Cameron will take Bay's starting outfield slot, though it is possible he will play center with Jacoby Ellsbury moving to left.

The Red Sox will take a hit offensively with Bay's departure, but they are planning on making up for it from a run-prevention standpoint. Lackey's arm should help greatly in that regard. And so does the defense of not just Cameron, but also shortstop Marco Scutaro, who signed in early December.

Though things are still in limbo with Mike Lowell -- a trade to the Rangers fell through for medical reasons -- chances are that Casey Kotchman, a superb defender, will spend a lot of time at first for the Red Sox, with Kevin Youkilis moving across the diamond to third.

One of general manager Theo Epstein's main objectives heading into the offseason was to improve his defense, which was regarded as one of the worst in the Major Leagues in 2009, according to formulas used by the club.

A solution could come in free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, who the Sox are pursuing, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. But signing Beltre would put the Red Sox over the luxury tax threshold.

The Red Sox, however, reportedly intend to remain in contact with Scott Boras, Beltre's agent, after the first of the year.

With Bay gone, the Red Sox aren't likely to replace his production this winter. Matt Holliday is still out there on the market, but after the signings of Lackey and Cameron, the Red Sox don't have that type of flexibility left in their payroll to make another impact signing.

When Epstein ultimately went for Lackey and Cameron instead of Bay or Holliday, the biggest deciding factor was that he felt it would be more realistic to acquire a big bat at the Trade Deadline than an upper-echelon arm.

On July 31, 2009, Epstein was able to get Victor Martinez from the Indians. The year before that, he got Bay, albeit at the expense of Ramirez.

"I think our run prevention overall is going to be really solid. We like our lineup, and this puts us in a position to have some flexibility if we need to make a move down the road to have some offense," Epstein said on the day the club unveiled Lackey and Cameron.

"If you're bold in free agency and there's mutual interest, maybe you can add somebody like John Lackey to your club. It's certainly not something you can necessarily count on doing in the middle of the season. We like the position we're in right now. We have some depth, some options and some flexibility going forward."

So with a loaded rotation, a solid bullpen and a lineup that still includes the likes of Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz, the Red Sox think they can hit enough to stay right in the thick of the race through the first four months. And if a move needs to be made in July, Epstein will try to make it.

The Padres are a team all Red Sox fans should pay attention to in the first half, because if they fall out of the race, perhaps Adrian Gonzalez will be made available.

As for Bay, he made a memorable impact for a player who only played a season and a half at Fenway.

In large part because of Ramirez's unceremonious exit from Boston, the home crowd instantly treated Bay like a hero. And he lived up to it, fueling the Red Sox's 2008 stretch run by hitting .293 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 49 games. Bay stepped his game up even more in that year's American League Division Series against the Angels, hitting a pair of pivotal homers.

But 2009 was Bay's first full season in Boston, and he made the most of it, clubbing 36 homers and driving in 119 runs, both career highs.

Epstein and Joe Urbon, Bay's representative, tried working on an extension as early as last March, but common ground could not be reached. They got closer at the All-Star break, with the Red Sox reportedly extending their offer to four years at $60 million at that time. Again, no agreement was reached.

The club made little to no headway with Bay once free agency started this winter. In the end, his deal with the Mets -- reported to be four years at $66 million -- was roughly $1.5 million a year more than Boston's best offer. What probably put it over the top was the chance for a vested fifth-year option, something the Red Sox apparently weren't comfortable with.

Some reports have suggested that Boston had some concerns about how Bay would hold up physically over the next few seasons, but it should be noted that the left fielder has been a durable workhorse the last five seasons.

In the end, both sides decided to move on after a successful year and a half together.

Two surgeries down, one to go for Moyer

PHILADELPHIA -- Jamie Moyer has had a long and trying offseason, and he still has another surgery to go before Spring Training.

Moyer, 47, has been in the hospital three times since he suffered a sports hernia injury in September, and he has a fourth trip coming up. He had an initial surgery Oct. 2, but returned to the hospital Oct. 7 with a blood infection. He seemed to be making progress until he had to go back to the hospital Nov. 24 after complaining of recurring symptoms. During that stay, he had a second surgery, on Nov. 27, after tests showed a small collection of infected blood.

"I've been feeling pretty good as of late," Moyer said recently in a telephone interview. "I feel like I'm coming along quite well."

Moyer, who went 12-10 with a 4.94 ERA last season, still has a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) and said he is taking medication for a couple more weeks.

"Once I get the PICC line out I'm looking forward to moving on," he said. "I'm looking forward to the season."

But Moyer is scheduled to have surgery on his right knee next month. He said it should be minor meniscus repair.

"I don't figure that should take long to get over," he said.

Moyer said doctors have told him that he should be ready to compete at the beginning of Spring Training, which begins in mid-February.

"I was telling my wife Karen that I've been playing 20-plus years and never had a surgery," he said. "So I guess I'm making up for it this offseason. I've been pretty blessed to stay away from that kind of stuff. I guess it was my time.

"It was a little frustrating that this thing wasn't reacting correctly. We wanted to get it taken care of, so we decided to go back in there and clean it out [in November] and go through the trials and tribulations of a PICC line again and medication. Not that it wasn't done right the first time, but I had an infection and for some crazy reason I had another infection. When you have a surgery these things can happen."

Mets bear the Brunt of unassisted triple play

NEW YORK -- Those Major League treasure seekers, looking to unearth the game's rarities, knew they were onto something when play began at Citi Field on Aug. 23.

It started when Angel Pagan, manning the leadoff spot in the absence of the injured Jose Reyes, led off the bottom of the first inning with an inside-the-park home run. That does not happen often. But what really prompted head-scratching from the 39,038 in attendance -- and what solidified the game as perhaps the league's quirkiest of the season -- was what took place in the ninth.

On the verge of righting all their wrongs from the previous eight innings, the Mets, trailing by two runs, brought the potential winning run to the plate with no outs in the ninth. Daniel Murphy led off first base and Luis Castillo off second, before Jeff Francoeur smashed a line drive directly at Phillies second baseman Eric Bruntlett.

The rest is baseball history. Bruntlett snared the liner, stomped on second base to double off Castillo and then tagged Murphy, who was running on the play. Comeback over, just like that.

"The most unbelievable play I've ever been involved in," Francoeur said after the game. "And the sickest ... to end the way it did was a little disheartening."

It was the most unbelievable play Francoeur could remember for a reason. Only once before in Major League history, way back in 1927, had a game ended with an unassisted triple play. And only 14 other times had anyone recorded an unassisted triple play -- the feat remains rarer than a perfect game.

For it to take place eight innings after an inside-the-park home run was incredible. For it to take place smack in the middle of one of baseball's best rivalries was downright astonishing.

"It really is true," Bruntlett said that day. "When you think you've seen it all, you'll have something you've never seen before happen."

Compared to an unassisted triple play, what Pagan did wound up seeming ordinary. Driving Pedro Martinez's second pitch into the left-center-field gap, Pagan raced around second while Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino signaled that the ball was stuck between the ground and the base of the wall.

Umpires did not see it that way, however, and by the time Victorino retrieved the ball and heaved it to the infield, Pagan was already on his way home.

"Some of the stuff that happened today -- I'm just speechless," Victorino said. "I don't know what to say about today's game."

And to think, prior to the game, everyone was focused simply on Martinez's first start back in New York after signing with the Phillies. Martinez wound up being a non-factor, even more so than Pagan.

The day, instead, belonged to Bruntlett, a utility infielder who was in position to make history only because the Mets attempted a double steal with two men on base and no outs in the ninth. Had Castillo and Murphy stayed put, Bruntlett would not have been running toward the second-base bag, which wound have rendered him unable to snare Francoeur's liner. Most likely, the Mets would have had the bases loaded with no outs, rather than the game over with three of them.

Murphy, for his part, reached base only because Bruntlett couldn't glove his ball up the middle moments earlier.

But such is the fickle game of baseball, which Pagan, Victorino, Bruntlett and Francoeur came to know all too well.

"It was a crucial situation," Bruntlett said of the triple play. "It was huge, especially when I was part of the reason that we got into a bad spot there in the ninth. It feels extra special to have that happen there to finish off the game."

Holliday's big bat remains on market

With Jason Bay off the big free-agent board, Matt Holliday is all alone as the star in bold type.

Agent Scott Boras has been doubling back to prospective buyers for Holliday, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, but the slugging left fielder's most recent club -- the Cardinals -- remains the most logical fit.

The Orioles, looking to make an impact in the loaded American League East, surfaced recently as a possible destination for Holliday.

Boras' asking price in at least one conversation, Olney reports, was $18 million annually.

The Yankees and Giants have given every indication they're not in a Holliday frame of mind, joining the Angels in that regard.

Holliday batted .353 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs in the final 63 games of the 2009 regular season after being traded from the Athletics.

His situation is almost identical to that of Mark Teixeira -- another Boras client -- last winter, when the first baseman was coming off a similar performance for the Angels after getting dealt by the Braves. But the field was more crowded, and the Yankees were in it all the way with Teixeira, landing him for eight years and $180 million.

D-backs near one-year deal with Johnson

PHOENIX -- There are still some final details to be worked out, and a physical to be taken, but the D-backs are on the verge of signing free agent Kelly Johnson.

The deal would be for one year at a little more than $2 million.

Johnson is a guy that the D-backs have discussed off and on with the Braves since Josh Byrnes became GM in the fall of 2005.

Johnson hit .224 with eight homers and 29 RBIs last season for Atlanta and was not offered arbitration earlier this month, making him a free agent.

A left-handed hitter, Johnson has actually hit better against lefties than he has against righties in his career. Based on advanced metrics like batting average on balls put in play, there is some reason to believe that he is an excellent candidate for a rebound season after struggling last year.

If Johnson gets the starting nod at second, which seems likely, the D-backs could shift Tony Abreu into a utility infield role. That would make infielder Augie Ojeda expendable. The team learned during the Winter Meetings that there is interest in Ojeda, so moving him would probably not be a problem.

The D-backs could also elect to keep Ojeda initially and give Abreu more seasoning at the Triple-A level.

Mets, Bay hammer out four-year deal

NEW YORK -- Shea Stadium became Carter Country in 1985 when Gary Carter brought his All-Star career to Queens and connected it to a contemporary sitcom. And of course, with the arrival of Darryl Strawberry, right field at Shea was Strawberry Field for the better part of eight seasons; Strawberry Field forever when the man assigned to play there declined to alter his defensive position, creating the Strawberry Patch. And lest we forget, there were Piggy's Pen where Joe Pignatano raised tomatoes and The K Corner where Dwight Gooden raised expectations.

And now another player's identity and the Mets' home park are about to be linked in a special way. If Jason Bay, the slugging free-agent outfielder the Mets have coveted, passes a pending physical, left field at Citi Field is likely to become Bayside, Queens.

Clever, perhaps. More to the point, it's good for the Mets -- good for their business, good for their baseball and their batting order. After a 2009 season during which the Mets hit fewer home runs than any team in the big leagues, they made acquisition of a power hitter the primary entry on their lengthy to-do list. Soon they hope to be in position to replace a "to-do" with a "ta-dah."

Sometime next week, they hope, the Mets will present Bay to their starved public, assuming he passes his physical, easing the fan base's restlessness that had developed while other clubs, notably the Mets' neighbors in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Boston and the Bronx -- had made significant personnel improvements. The Amazin's No. 1 priority will morph into No. 38, the number Bay wore in the equivalent of five seasons with the Pirates, or No. 44, his number during his 200-game tenure with the Red Sox or some numeral exclusively Mets. The club has no number that traditionally has been worn by sluggers, because it has little tradition of slugging. Bay is a legitimate slugger though, one not likely to be deterred by the size of the Citi Field.

The pinpointed upgrade won't come cheaply. The four-year deal is to cost the Mets at least $66 million, according to a person familiar with the negotiations that began in earnest on the final day of Winter Meetings, Dec. 11. Then again, the Mets have addressed their greatest need -- albeit for four years -- for less than they paid Mike Piazza ($93 million for seven seasons), Carlos Beltran ($119 million for seven) and Johan Santana ($137.5 million for seven).

No Mets officials were willing to discuss the deal Tuesday. But reports of it were numerous.

In Bay, the Mets are set to add 31-year-old right-handed-hitting slugger of Canadian origin who has averaged 30 home runs per season, beginning in 2004 -- the year he was voted the National League Rookie of the Year. Bay has driven in at least 101 runs four times, reaching his home run and run production peaks last season -- 36 and 119, while batting .267 in 531 at-bats.

Moreover, Bay has played in at least 150 games in four seasons -- he played in 145 in 2007, no small consideration for a club that led the hemisphere in X-rays, MRIs and disabled list days in 2009.

At the same time, though, Bay is said to have some shoulders issues that developed while he was playing in 151 games (one as a designated hitter) with the Red Sox last season. The other potential negatives are that he isn't defensively gifted -- the Mets had hoped to bring in a skilled left field defender -- and he routinely accumulates more than 140 strikeouts.

Such is the price of power in the free-agent market of 2009. Bay and Matt Holliday, neither a complete player, were the two most appealing power sources on the shelves. Holliday was seen as the more expensive by all clubs, mostly because his agent is Scott Boras. The Mets considered Bay a more balanced performer, but were poised to pursue Holliday -- it would have been a "Bay and switch" -- if Bay had declined their offer.

If the Bay signing happens, the Mets -- their power needs met -- will be less likely to re-sign Carlos Delgado. Beyond that, Bay's presence made diminish the burden on David Wright to provide right-handed slugging. That may facilitate Wright's renaissance and perhaps a return to more home run producton.

DeRosa signs with Giants for two years

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mark DeRosa can do a lot of things. Thus, so can the Giants as they continue efforts to improve their offense.

Conventional wisdom indicates that DeRosa, whose two-year, $12 million agreement with the Giants was officially announced Tuesday, will occupy third base while Pablo Sandoval moves to first. DeRosa appeared at third base in 105 of his 139 games last season with Cleveland and St. Louis.

But because DeRosa can play every infield position as well as the outfield corners, his arrival doesn't limit the Giants' options in free agency. They still can consider first baseman Adam LaRoche or third baseman Adrian Beltre, both of whom have met resistance in their demands for a $10 million annual salary. Or the Giants could grab an outfielder. Marlon Byrd, Ryan Church and Xavier Nady have been linked to the Giants at various times this offseason.

Giants general manager Brian Sabean, whose club ranked 13th in runs and last in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) among National League teams last season, likened San Francisco's next move to a "chess game." Said Sabean in a conference call, "We're concentrating on the offense," suggesting that DeRosa won't be the last free agent the Giants sign.

Sabean said that the Giants haven't concentrated much on trade discussions recently, dampening lingering speculation about a deal involving Florida second baseman Dan Uggla.

Nevertheless, Sabean said, "We're engaged in a lot of different possibilities."

One of them is re-signing utility infielder Juan Uribe, who stimulated the offense during last season's second half.

"We are making a concerted effort to get Uribe back," Sabean said. "We're gaining ground there."

With the similarly versatile DeRosa aboard, Uribe probably will occupy a "super-utility" role if he returns, providing rest for every infielder except first base.

DeRosa will join the everyday lineup. Nothing's certain aside from that. Once the Giants finish their offseason personnel moves, manager Bruce Bochy will decide where DeRosa best fits in the field and in the batting order. DeRosa, who has played for Atlanta, Texas, the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland and St. Louis, has appeared in 23 games at first base, 304 at second, 139 at shortstop, 311 at third, 59 in left field and 160 in right field during his career. Offensively, DeRosa has started in every spot in the batting order, receiving most of his experience batting second (124 starts), fifth (114), sixth (226), seventh (151) and eighth (13).

"He seems to thrive on moving around," Bochy said, acknowledging that DeRosa possibly could fill the gaping vacancy in the fifth spot in the Giants' batting order.

DeRosa and his representatives reportedly fielded inquiries from 12 teams when free agency began. He ultimately trimmed his list of finalists to about six teams, including both New York clubs -- he's a New Jersey native -- and the Cardinals, with whom he finished last season. But the Mets neared an agreement with Jason Bay and St. Louis has focused on retaining Matt Holliday, taxing DeRosa's patience.

"I just was tired of being a lot of teams' Plan B," said DeRosa, who hit .250 with a career-high 23 home runs and 78 RBIs last season with Cleveland and St. Louis. "I understand I'm not hitting third or fourth in the lineup and knocking 40 balls out of the yard. But I wanted to go to a place where I felt comfortable and the team wanted me and needed me."

That would be San Francisco, which DeRosa enjoyed as a visiting player.

"I always got a nice vibe playing there," he said. "I felt like it would be a cool place to play and an interesting place to bring my family."

DeRosa's ardor was reciprocated by the Giants, who pursued him when he was a free agent in the 2006-07 offseason.

"He's a winning player," Sabean said of DeRosa, whose teams have reached the postseason in each of the last three years. "An organization wants as many players like Mark on the ballclub."

Said one National League scout, "To me, his game has evolved a little bit. When he was with the Braves [1998-2004], he was a dead-red pull hitter. He chases pitches some, but he shoots the gaps and uses the park a little better."

DeRosa, who turns 35 on Feb. 26, doesn't score highly on the defensive "zone ratings" which have grown in popularity. And though he owns a .275 lifetime batting average with 69 homers in the last four seasons, he struck out a career-high 121 times last season -- most likely due to a left wrist injury he sustained when he flailed at a Randy Johnson changeup in a June 30 game against the Giants at St. Louis.

"It definitely affected the way I played," said DeRosa, acknowledging that he felt pressure to perform after the Cardinals acquired him from Cleveland to assist their postseason drive. DeRosa passed a physical examination Monday and expects to be 100 percent recovered by the beginning of Spring Training.

When talk turns to intangibles, DeRosa's an All-Star. His willingness to play through discomfort enhanced his widespread reputation as a classy, team-oriented performer.

"Their clubhouse just improved 100 percent," said one Major League scout, referring to DeRosa's potential effect on the Giants. "He's an off-the-charts person. He's as good a teammate as anybody ever had."

As DeRosa said, "I've always believed in chemistry and having 25 guys pulling in the same direction."