Manager Mike Hargrove says. He's not sullen. With David Justice on the sidelines nursing a strained calf muscle, Cordero has moved into left field for the Indians. When General Manager John Hart signed him as a free agent over the winter, he thought Cordero would come off the bench or possibly beat out Richie Sexson at the designated-hitter spot. It wasn't much of a contest.
Spring training bears little relationship to the regular season.
But so far, Cordero's production hasn't dropped off much from the March exhibition season. In the first seven regular games, Cordero is batting .387 with one homer, six RBI and a .457 on-base percentage. Cordero's five doubles rank second on the team to Kenny Lofton's six. The only negative is his strikeout total of nine, which puts him in a tie for third place in the American League. Not that Hargrove is worried about that.