Closing in on the dream

Adam Candee

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

PHOENIX -- Before the betting, before the lying or any other smudges appeared on Pete Rose's record, some of the stains he wore were admirable.

Growing up as a Cincinnati Reds fan in Dayton, Ohio, Dave Krynzel noticed marks on his favorite player that came from dirt caked onto a jersey by a manic headfirst slide, an inscription of intensity that Krynzel wanted to copy right off Rose's jersey to put onto his own.

Twenty years after Krynzel's father, Dan, took his 4-year-old son to Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium to watch Rose break Ty Cobb's all-time hits record, Dave is closer than ever to earning a chance to dive into the same clay that Rose once wore.

A former Green Valley High standout, Krynzel is in his third consecutive spring training camp with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he is battling to be the starting center fielder just a few months after being called up to the major leagues for the first time in September.

Krynzel's chances of sticking with the big club as a starter in April are slimming by the day as veterans in front of him perform well, and manager Ned Yost does not want Krynzel sitting on the bench as a fourth outfielder and losing the chance to play every day.

But Milwaukee's first-round pick from the 2000 draft could be one of the team's first call-ups after impressing the right guy with his outstanding defense, improving hitting and all-out effort.

"He's really made a huge improvement," Yost said. "He's getting very, very close to being a major league ballplayer. He's so much more comfortable."

Sitting in the dugout at Maryvale Baseball Park on a perfect desert morning, Krynzel already wears the tag of someone who belongs among the men: His jersey number is 10. In the past two camps, he wore 87 and 66, numbers of fringe players a few errors away from moving to minor league camp.

It is tangible evidence of the confidence Krynzel feels. He is not the preternatural hitter that his boyhood idol was, but Krynzel is determined to become the top-flight leadoff man that his speed and 6-foot-1, 180-pound size dictate.

"My main game plan is just to get on base any way I can," Krynzel said.

Three and out

Instilled by his father with an even-keel attitude from a young age, Krynzel is only concerned about developing his approach at the plate and on the bases, and not about whether he does that in Milwaukee or at Triple-A Indianapolis for a second season.

"You've got to be confident, but you've got to be grounded," Krynzel said. "My time's going to come and I'm going to rely on that."

The outfield is crowded for Milwaukee, and not just because there are a dozen Brewers shagging fly balls during morning batting practice before a game across town in Scottsdale against the Giants.

Longtime Brewer Geoff Jenkins patrols right field and Milwaukee acquired slugger Carlos Lee from the White Sox to play left field. The Brewers dealt speedster Scott Podsednik to Chicago in the Lee deal, opening center field for a battle that includes Krynzel, even as a long shot.

In addition to inexperience, it is his bat that will likely keep Krynzel from overtaking Brady Clark as the Brewers center fielder this spring. Though he has hit .278 in parts of five minor league seasons, Krynzel has totaled 478 strikeouts (one every 3.8 at-bats) and 200 walks -- a ratio that does not yet translate to leadoff success.

Becoming a better player, especially at the top of the order, is a mental exercise for Krynzel. From working pitchers into the right counts to studying how to read a pick-off move, Krynzel embraces how much he still needs to learn.

"There's so much to do before you get up to the plate, so much to do mentally," Krynzel said. "You have to be great at the mental game to have success in the big leagues."

Krynzel has been working on the mental side of baseball since Little League, when Dan had an important talk with him that still applies to his situation now.

"The idea behind it was, you can't worry about who's in front of you or who's behind you," Dan said. "You just worry about being the best baseball player you can be. You can't try to beat these guys out. Then, you stop growing."

Determined to succeed

Dan moved both his boys from Ohio to Henderson to grow in high school baseball, targeting the Green Valley program and coach Rodger Fairless. He made countless 5 a.m. weekend drives to southern California to get Dave better experience in scout ball. Krynzel became an All-State performer for the Gators, a sure-fire prospect.

The determination paid off when the Brewers selected Krynzel with the 11th pick in 2000 and quickly signed him to a contract with a $1.95 million signing bonus. Krynzel's determination, however, has been continually tested through the minors.

Less than two months into the rookie ball season in Ogden, Utah, Krynzel ruptured a ligament in his left thumb -- how else? -- on a head-first slide, ending his season. He came back well, though, and moved up to Double-A Huntsville during the 2002 season before spending all of 2003 there.

In 124 games, Krynzel swiped 43 bases and scored 72 runs. He moved up to Indianapolis last year and after yet another winter in the Arizona Fall League, appeared ready to continue his growth when he fouled a ball off his foot and broke it in late April.

Krynzel said the experience of the thumb injury helped him from getting down about the broken foot, and he certainly didn't pout upon his return in July. He batted .276 in 69 games, stealing 10 bases and scoring 36 runs.

The Brewers rewarded Krynzel's effort on Sept. 1 by calling him up to Milwaukee for the final month of the year.

"If you asked a high school kid (how he'd react) if he got called up to a big league team, it's the same thing," Krynzel said.

Dan, who followed Dave to Ogden, Beloit, High Desert and every other field of dreams in the minors, owns part of a travel agency and arranged last-minute plane tickets for the family to see the debut -- a pinch-hit strikeout in Pittsburgh.

Catch this

Krynzel recovered from a 1-for-14 start in Milwaukee to hit .296 in his final nine games, but he provided a true flash of the future on Sept. 21 against St. Louis. Krynzel went 3-for-5 with three runs and provided a SportsCenter moment by leaping up to take a homer away from the Cardinals' Hector Luna at the center field wall.

It was the catch that Krynzel filed away from that night.

"Let's put a number on that (play)," Krynzel said. "That's one out of every 40 or one out of every 50 to have a chance like that."

Krynzel sees his odds of making more plays like it as significantly better, as does Yost. If the Brewers lose any outfielders to injuries or trades, Krynzel could be the first one up from Indianapolis to take a roster spot if he continues his upward trend.

"He's really worked on pitch selection, getting on base, putting it in play and he's worked on stealing bases," Yost said. "You can see improvement in every phase of his game.

"He needs to keep doing what he's doing right now. It would be hard to ask more out of him because he's doing that well right now."

Yet there is still plenty to pick up. Yost inserted Krynzel as a pinch runner this weekend, only to watch his base-stealing threat get picked off on the first play. Instead of wondering if it's his ticket out of town, however, a more seasoned Krynzel can take it as another learning experience.

"The first couple of years, he was a little wide-eyed," Yost said. "Now, he fits right in. He knows he can compete here and he feels comfortable here."

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