Barfield busier than ever this spring

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A typical day for Josh Barfield begins right about the time the sun rises over the Indians' Player Development Complex. Before 8 a.m., Barfield has already worked out and spent some time in the batting cages.

"I'm learning like 40 positions, too," Barfield said with a smile. "This has been the busiest Spring Training of my career, for sure."

Busy, sure. But there's a reward possibly waiting for Barfield at the end of camp.

The Indians are dangling a 25-man roster spot in front of Barfield, encouraging him to learn multiple positions and improve his plate discipline in order to earn it. Odds are Barfield will claim that spot and serve as the last man on the Tribe's bench, and therefore his primary goal in camp is to prove to manager Eric Wedge that he can contribute not just at his native second base, but also at third base and in the outfield spots.

"I think it's been a pretty smooth transition," Barfield said. "I feel comfortable at all of them. I get a lot of early work in, and getting some reps in the game only helps with the comfort level."

There have been, and will be, hiccups along the way, like when Barfield bobbled a ball hit to him at third and made an off-target throw to first when fielding a grounder against the Brewers on Thursday. It was his second error at third base this spring.

The throw from third is longer and more mechanical than what the 26-year-old Barfield is accustomed to.

"It's a different arm angle," Barfield said. "From second, you're [arm is] more down low. At third, you've got to be more over the top. That's been the biggest adjustment ... just learning new arm angles. I was a little sore the first couple weeks from using muscles I'm not used to using. But it gets a little easier and easier every day."

Barfield makes the transition to the outfield sound -- and look -- easy. Wedge has said Barfield has already proven he can be counted upon as a backup to Grady Sizemore in center. It helps that Barfield was mentored by his father, Jesse, a two-time Gold Glove winner in the Blue Jays' outfield in the 1980s.

"It's just running down fly balls, finding the cutoff man and hitting him," the younger Barfield said. "It's actually a little less stressful than the infield, where you've got rockets coming at you."

The Indians needed Barfield to become a more versatile player because his former standing as the club's top second-base option has long since been swiped by Asdrubal Cabrera. Toss in the offseason acquisition of Luis Valbuena -- a player the Tribe is high on -- and it's clear Barfield's state in the organization is a precarious one.

But Barfield's future will look much brighter if he can ably adapt to this difficult bench role. He could provide the Indians with speed and defense off the bench.

Of course, Barfield's stock -- and his hope of becoming an everyday position player again -- is ultimately dependent on how he performs at the plate. The bad habits he got into, with regard to pitch selection and overswinging, after joining the Indians in 2007 were what opened the door for Cabrera's promotion in August '07 and Barfield's demotion to Triple-A Columbus at the outset of '08.

This spring, the Indians have made what hitting coach Derek Shelton calls some fundamental changes in Barfield's approach. Barfield has been asked to shorten his swing and improve his selectivity. His discipline is obviously a concern after he drew just 14 walks against 90 strikeouts in 420 at-bats with Cleveland in '07, and 15 walks against 58 strikeouts in 299 at-bats in the Minors in '08.

The extra work hasn't produced many results in Cactus League play thus far. In 16 games, entering Sunday, Barfield had hit .205 (9-for-44) with two walks and six strikeouts. Yet Shelton said Barfield is progressing well.

"One thing we have to realize is you can't look at the results in terms of hits and things like that," Shelton said. "We look at the results in terms of how his at-bats are looking, how he's taking pitches and the pitches he's swinging at. We're asking him to do some things that have taken him out of his comfort zone, and he's been very open to it. He's the first guy in the cage every morning, doing his work."

Barfield, who trained at the Goodyear, Ariz., complex all winter while living in nearby Scottsdale, said this spring has made him a more complete ballplayer.

"I understand the game more," Barfield said, "because now you really have to pay attention to the game and digest it. I'm more valuable to my team."