Dusty on Sparky, Bruce

Dusty Baker would like to see Sparky Anderson in camp with the Reds.

"I'd really like to see that," he said. "He gave me a lot of advice. I'd like to bring him for a couple of days. . . I called it going to library when talked to guys like him, Bill Walsh, Al Attles."

Baker got his first look at Jay Bruce hitting yesterday.

“He’s got a very good stroke,” Baker said. “It’s just BP. But you can still see places where a person might have flaws, you need to correct this and that. But he has a very good stroke. He come through the zone with balance. He keeps his head still and down.

“Just from talking to him, he’s very confident that he can hit without being arrogant about it, which is the first thing you want to be in a young hitter. The confidence part is something you can’t give them. You’d rather not see them arrogant because they won listen.”

And the difference between confidence and arrogance?

"I can tell the difference because I had some of both myself."

Baker and Bruce were together on the Winter Caravan.

“I spent three or four days with him on the caravan. It was a very productive days as far as getting to know him – to get away from the stadium, the people, the crowd. People tend to be more relaxed. I was very impressed.”

“He’s a very mature young man. It sounds like he’s had a lot of responsibility in his life at a young age. It makes you grow up rather quickly.”