TUCSON — It is the mother of all father-and-son statistics.
Rockies reliever Alan Embree is so old that he has played against three father-son combos — Cecil and Prince Fielder, Tim Raines and Tim Jr., Tony Peña and Tony Jr. And, as of Monday, he can call both Eric Young and his son E.Y. Jr. teammates.
“I take it as a compliment that I have been able to hang around for so long,” said Embree, 39, who broke into the major leagues in 1992, the same year Jesse Barfield and Floyd Bannister retired. Embree was Josh Barfield’s teammate in San Diego, and Brian Bannister faced Embree’s Athletics in recent seasons.
Embree went out of his way Monday to talk to Eric Young Jr., telling the Rockies prospect he enjoyed playing with his father in San Diego in 2006. Junior, a 188-pound brick house of muscle, smiled as he walked into the clubhouse.
“The only problem is that I have trouble making friends,” Embree said. “I usually end up hanging out with the coaches because they are either my age or former teammates.”
Embree considered retiring before the Rockies signed him to a one-year contract worth $2.25 million to serve as the late-inning left-hander in the bullpen. That’s the only guaranteed money they gave a free agent this winter.
“It had to be the right situation. I wanted to be on a team that could contend, and I wanted to be back in the National League,” Embree said. “That’s where I belong. Every time I go to the AL, my ERA is a run higher.”
Helton likely to hit third.
The Rockies aren’t going to ease Todd Helton back into the lineup. Manager Clint Hurdle strongly suggested that the first baseman would hit third if his back is healthy.
“We talked over the winter about him being the toughest out in the National League, and you’d like your toughest out to hit third,” Hurdle said. “And I think that’s a really good possibility.”
Asked about it, Helton said he didn’t care where he hits.
Dex knows weights.
Top prospect Dexter Fowler made a big impression at Rockies camp Monday. So thin last September he could have been faxed to road games, Fowler has bulked up from 175 pounds to 193.
“I wanted to get stronger and eat right,” said Fowler, who will compete for the center field job, though likely will start in Triple-A. “When I took BP (recently), I was driving the ball better.”
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
