European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 b the stars and stripes sunday March 8, 1992 it Cuau Zuj t Samuel asks for a Trade by John Nadel Vero Beach Fla. Apall Star second baseman Juan Samuel confused about his role with the los Angeles dodgers said Friday head like to be traded. A i think the Best thing for me is if they could work some kind of a Deal for something they need a Samuel said before the dodgers played the Cincinnati reds. Quot it would probably be Best. Being in the same situation the last two or three years is not  Samuel 31, had a sub Par second half last year but still hit .271 with 12 homers 58 Bis and 23 stolen bases in 153 games. He was hitting .313 at the All Star break and was selected to play in his third All Star game his first since 1987, of the eight National league second baseman who played Over 100 games Only Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago cubs had a higher batting average .292 and More Bis 100. After the season for the second straight year the dodgers declined to offer Samuel a Multi year contract offering arbitration instead. For the second straight year Samuel eventually accepted. A i am surprised in a Here a he said. A it seems like the last two years in a not supposed to be Back this year for sure. I thought i was going to work out a multiyear contract with someone. It did no to work out we re Back to Square one. Well see what happens next year. A a lot of teams backed out because they would have to give a first round draft pick that kind of blocked me out of a few opportunities. Making the Allstar team i thought i was going to be in a different situation. Lets put it this Way As Long As i have this uniform in a  dodger general manager Fred Claire seemed surprised at Samuel a Trade demand. A a in a not sure what that stems from a Claire said. A a he a had a Good attitude this Spring. He always plays Nard and he san important part of our  when asked if he Felt like he was the dodgers starting second baseman Samuel paused before shaking his head. A i done to think we be got a set infield a he said. A to be honest with you i am confused. Its weird. To be honest i done to know what a going to happen what their plans Are. I think its a Little game sometimes. Management sometimes says things and then turns around and says the opposite. Sometimes you feel like you done to understand the  its not a what me worry a but some stretching exercises Jose Canseco is doing with his Oakland teammates in Scottsdale Ariz. Older perhaps Wiser Canseco tiptoes through a silent Spring by Tim Liotta Phoenix apr Jose Canseco is troubled. His smile comes awkwardly. His laugh is a Little forced. He acts a Little preoccupied. Even the outrageous predictions Are missing. Canseco comes off a 44-Home-run, 122-Rbi season that received Little fanfare and an of season of marital problems that received a lot. He will not comment on the incident last month in which he smashed his wife a car but admits that life has been difficult of late. A a done to i look older i feel older a Canseco said. A i guess in be gained experience lets put it that  when asked about his of season in general Canseco used one word to describe it  that does not mean everything about Canseco has changed. He still takes those vicious swings in the batting Cage and he can be seen driving around Phoenix in a Bright red Lamborghini that looks More like a rocket ship than a car. Canseco stirred up his latest wave of attention by electing to arrive several Days late to the Oakland athletics Spring training Camp but before the mandatory reporting deadline. Because of his late arrival Canseco will be held out of Spring training games a a week to 10 Days a according to manager Tony la Russa. Since Canseco signed a five year $23.5 million contract that had All of baseball shaking its head in june 1990, salaries have spiralled upward so drastically that his Deal seems very reasonable. After a year of hearing about it from fans Canseco is wondering what kind of a reception hell get this Spring. A the fans Here Are not booing me yet so Well see what happens a Canseco said. A they can to complain about my salary. In a probably one of the poorest players Here and the Way salaries have been escalating 1 think in a definitely Worth my Money  asked what he thought his next contract could be Worth a he is in the second year of Deal that expires in 1995 a Canseco declined to speculate. Even he realizes an end to the escalation has to come someday. A by that time they might have a salary Cap a Canseco said. A who knows what will happen salaries can Only go up so High because the intake can Only go so  Canseco who restated his vow never to seek any contract renegotiation comes off a season in which he tied for american league Home run title. He led the majors by hitting one Home run per 13 at bats and tied with Cecil fielder of Detroit with one rib every 4.7 at bats. Over his final 100 games last year Canseco hit 34 Home runs and drove in 87 runs and came away feeling fans had a to hum reaction to what was an extraordinary year. A i think people Are always going to say a he should have done better a a Canseco said. A my shoes will always get bigger and ill never grow into them. No matter what i do. If i hit 60 Home run they want 70. So you have to do the Best you  that a what Canseco is doing balancing his personal life and his professional life. A a they re two totally different worlds my baseball is one and my private life a another a Canseco said. A i reel comfortable now because now my life will be consumed with  system adds byte to batting average Maple Glen a. A a Lap top computer system can detect the hitch in a batters swing As easily As a fan can spot a Batter hitch his pants at the plate. Bob Matcovich and his father Thomas a retired electrical engineering professor developed the Batronis computer system three years ago in Thomas basement lab while trying to determine bobs Correct softball Bat weight. The two say their patented system could become another Standard coaching tool. Using a modified computer wired to a regulation size Bat Batronis measures the Speed of the swing the Point the Batter Breaks his wrists whether solid Contact was made How far the Ball would have travelled and any hitches which coaches and video cameras can to detect. A there Are three things to do in baseball that can be measured a said Bob Matcovich who runs a sporting goods store. A you run you throw and you hit. Well you use a Stopwatch to measure running a radar gun for throwing and now Batronis which measures Bat Speed and  Batronis measures a batters deviations from the perfect hit. After testing thousands of swings the matco Viches found that All hitters Bat in roughly one of four categories quiet wave ramp or Fiat. The resulting graphs provide each Batter with a signature a Aba print a As unique As a fingerprint they said. Batronis works when the Ball strikes the Baths a Sweet spot a which covers a sensor placed inside the Bat. The attached wire running inside to the handle feeds the measurements to the computer. Eventually the matco Viches Hope to develop a wireless version. In just minutes a coach using Batronis can read and interpret the results and make adjustments in a batters swing a process that normally could take weeks. A we take 30 years of coaching experience and condense it into two seconds a Bob Matcovich said. At one local batting clinic a woman who attended College on a softball scholarship was Able within minutes to increase her batting Power by 46 percent after testing her swing on Batronis and switching to a new Bat weight he said. Batronis has been tested at local High schools and colleges and by coaches for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago cubs according to the matco Viches. Phillie third base coach Larry Bowa who watched Lenny Dykstra take a few swings on Batronis last season said he thought the system would be a Good teaching tool. A it has Good Merit. Its a great device for a College or High school program a Bowa said