SARASOTA, Fla. -- New Orioles manager Phil Regan said he was looking for more team speed. Well, he may have found it -- from within the organization.
Regan acknowledged yesterday that minor-leaguers Curtis Goodwin and Manny Alexander markedly improved their organizational standing with their strong play in winter ball, and will be considered for the Opening Day lineup.
Of course, that is if there is an Opening Day lineup. As members of the Orioles' 40-man roster, neither Goodwin nor Alexander will be in training camp unless the 6-month-old labor stalemate is resolved.
But they've made strides despite the strike.
Goodwin, a strong defensive outfielder, stole 25 bases in 39 games for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League, after hitting .286 for Double-A Bowie last summer. Goodwin, who has stolen 198 bases in his 3 1/2 summer seasons as a professional, will get a shot to win the center-field job.
"He's been outstanding this winter," Regan said. "I think he's really improved his hitting. Plus the fact that he really is a true leadoff hitter, something we'll try to find."
Brady Anderson hit leadoff for the Orioles last year, batting .263 with 31 stolen bases. If Goodwin does the job, Regan could bat Anderson second or even farther down in the lineup to take advantage of his extra-base power.
Goodwin has earned much respect in the eyes of general manager Roland Hemond as well, because the outfielder has taken advantage of every chance to get better and play more.
"He went from rookie ball to the instructional league to winter ball," Hemond said, "Then he went to Bowie and the Arizona Fall League and to winter ball again in Venezuela. The more players play, the more likely it is that they'll beat out the opposition."
After a disappointing season at Triple-A Rochester, Alexander hit .297 with 16 stolen bases in 16 attempts for Estrellas in the Dominican Republic this winter. A meeting with Regan in November may have helped.
Regan had heard that Alexander wanted to play shortstop. So he pulled Alexander aside and was blunt: You're not going to play shortstop for the Orioles. Not now, anyway, not as long as Cal Ripken is around.
But Regan continued: "I told him he had a great chance to play second base for us. He'll compete with Bret Barberie for that job. And I told him we're looking for a utility-type player. He can play short, he can play second, he can play third. He can run, which is a big plus.
"I think most people want to be dealt with in a truthful way. He wanted to know what our plans were for him, and he understood that."
Some scouts like Alexander's talent, but say his work ethic is wanting, that he doesn't always run out ground balls. Regan had heard the same thing from a friend (who added, Regan said, that in one game in which Alexander played, the runners failed to run out 21 of 27 grounders).
"When I saw him, I told him that," Regan said. "I told him that I didn't have a lot of rules, but in my program, one [rule] is that everyone runs hard, and that I really wanted to see him do that. In the three or four games I saw him play after that, he ran to first base in 3.9 or 4.0 seconds. Every time -- which is super."