Shortstop Alex Gonzalez played his first two games in the field on back-to-back days, took a day off and then resumed playing every day to see if his surgically repaired knee could take it.
The fact he was smiling after five innings of activity March 10 in his first game said it all. "I'm excited," he said at least three times. "I'm right at the point where I want to be -- no pain and able to play."
Gonzalez covered second base on three throws from the outfield, made a spectacular short-hop backhanded stop to start a 6-4-3 double play and made one other routine play.
And his knee did not collapse. Most important, he felt fine the next morning.
"Finally, I got to play on defense and it was exciting," he said. "Now I feel good, feel real good. I look better running and I feel comfortable in the field.
"I felt much better running to first and I haven't felt pain the last couple of games, and I think I have my speed back. Not tired. A lot looser the last couple of games. I'm where I want to be."
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