SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -If Michael Bourn were still in school, he’d be the star pupil.
Houston’s center fielder is using spring training as his personal classroom, asking questions, looking for pointers and intently studying the game.
Bourn came to spring training determined to improve in his second season playing for his hometown team and figured this was the best way to do it. The 26-year-old, who hit .229 in 2008 after joining the Astros from the Phillies, recently approached slugger Lance Berkman for his secrets to hitting a sinker.
ike to watch them.”
His plan for growth also involves extra practice after games, and manager Cecil Cooper has been impressed that he and fellow outfielder Reggie Abercrombie are always the last players to leave the complex.
“That’s a good thing,” Cooper said. “That tells me that he’s trying to get better.”
His work has already paid off. Cooper has changed his original plan for Bourn’s spot in the batting order and is set to have him hit second behind Kaz Matsui.
“When I came to camp initially I thought (Bourn) might be down in the order,” Cooper said. “But he’s shown some progress and willingness to bunt and hit the ball on the ground.”
The polish in his bunting skills hasn’t come easy. Cooper estimates that Bourn bunts about 100 times each day the Astros play at home.
“I don’t know how many it is exactly,” Bourn said. “I’m not going to say 100, but I do a pretty good amount when I’m out there working on it just to get a feel for it. I just want to get the feel of my angle and see if it can go both ways and that will definitely help me out.”
Cooper has noticed changes in Bourn, noting that they’ve seen many more dividends from their coaching and suggestions this spring than they did last season.
“He’s shown that he’s trying to do that right thing,” Cooper said.
comfortable with a season in Houston behind him, which makes it easier to work with the staff.
“You just have to get used to a program,” he said. “Last year was my first year here so it was kind of hard to get used to what they wanted me to do. They didn’t know me. I didn’t know them. I’m getting to learn them more and they’re getting to learn me more. It’s just a growing process.”
He’s working on becoming a more aggressive hitter this season after looking back on last year and realizing he didn’t attack at the plate as much as he would have liked.
Bourn, who led the Astros with 41 stolen bases last season, is looking forward to the one-two punch of speed he and Matsui will bring at the top of the order. That’s assuming Matsui can stay healthy this season after missing 65 games last season with various injuries.
“A spark can come from anywhere in our lineup,” Bourn said. “We’ve got a lot of people in the lineup who can do a lot of versatile things. That being said, if me and Kaz do what we do, I think we’re going to be pretty good. Be pretty tough to handle.”
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