Garner likes club's condition

The Journal Sentinel staff

Chandler, Ariz. Considering that a good portion of the nucleus of his team is coming off major surgery, Phil Garner was pleasantly surprised with the condition of his players Friday after the first workout of Spring Training II.

"Nobody's having any problems," Garner said after the 2 1/2- hour session at Compadre Stadium. "I was very pleased. The guys look to be in good shape."

That included Darryl Hamilton (elbow), Greg Vaughn (shoulder) and Pat Listach (knee), all coming off surgical procedures that required extensive rehabilitation.

"Hamilton is really throwing well," Garner said. "His arm strength is good and his carry is good."

There had been talk of moving Hamilton from center field to left field this year because of the elbow surgery, but Garner said that might not be necessary now.

"I had my doubts, but I didn't have my mind made up," Gar Leg 1 ends here ner said. "Now, I'd say (playing center) is a possibility."

Garner said Vaughn's throwing would be restricted during camp. The former leftfielder has no pain swinging a bat, and thus is ticketed for designated hitter duty well into the season.

Listach, who still is on a rehabilitation program, had a good day after suffering some stiffness during informal workouts before Friday.

"The first day I saw him, he was stiff and upright," Garner said. "Now he looks comfortable and is bending his knees. We'll be careful not to overload him."

Garner said the key in the shortened camp would be getting the pitching in some semblance of order. But he doesn't expect the three-week training period to be onerous on position players.

"Everybody's talking about a shortened spring training, but three weeks is enough for position players," he said. "I think the guys are going to like this. You don't have to do everything in one week. There's enough time."

Addressing the troops: Garner met with his players before they took the field but said it was not a clear-the-air session Leg 2 ends here held in light of the bitter labor dispute and replacement camp.

"I made a brief reference to the labor situation, that's all," Garner said. "I didn't ask if there were any hard feelings. I told them the bottom line is what they do best is play ball, so let's play ball."

As one might expect, the first workout was a lively session in which it was obvious players were happy to be back in uniform.

"I don't sense any foreboding or drag on players' emotions at all," Garner said. "There's no indication that anyone's carrying anything into the clubhouse that's preventing them from doing what they can do."

Foreign travelers: Only four of the 40 players expected to be in camp Friday were absent: catcher Dave Nilsson and pitchers Graeme Lloyd, Al Reyes and Jose Mercedes.

The absences were excused because all four players were experiencing difficulty obtaining work visas, Nilsson and Lloyd in Australia and Reyes and Mercedes in the Dominican Republic.

Steve Ethier, the Brewers' traveling secretary, said Nilsson was expected to arrive in Arizona Friday evening and be ready Leg 3 ends here to practice Saturday. The others were to arrive before the weekend was over.

"We had all of our paperwork ready at the U.S. consulates," Ethier said. "They're doing everything they can to expedite their visas."

No complaints: Some of the players were grousing about the warm temperatures, but Turner Ward didn't let it last too long.

"I don't want to hear anybody complain about anything," he said. "We're back here playing again. No complaints for at least a month."

Notebook: In addition to appearing on the cover of the Brewers' media guide, radio announcer Bob Uecker will appear in a television advertising campaign for the club. Uecker put some finishing touches on the spots Friday. . . . The Brewers are considering hiring replacement star Rich Aldrete as a scout. "We talked to Rich about doing some scouting for us in the next fiscal year," general manager Sal Bando said. "We couldn't promise him he'd make the big-league club and we didn't want to waste his time going to Triple-A. He understood."

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