Barton returns to A's lineup with a three-run homer

TEMPE, Ariz. -- For all the hype about Daric Barton, much remained unknown about the A's rookie first baseman as he made his return to the lineup on Monday.

Barton answered one question by getting through four plate appearances without any discomfort in his left hand, which had been sore for much of the past week.

He gave a hint at the answer to a second question by clubbing a three-run homer in the A's 5-4 Cactus League loss.

Barton's climb through the minor leagues was built on a steady stream of base hits to all fields, but not the home runs normally expected out of a corner infielder.

As Barton prepares to play his first full season in the majors, he said he does not plan to do anything to try to hit more homers.

"You always have to stay within yourself and know what you can do and what you can't do," he said. "If you over-try things, things don't happen the way they should. If I start trying to hit for more power, I'd probably hit .220. I'm a line-drive guy. I like to hit the gaps. I don't put pressure on myself. If they need something else, they'll go another way."

The A's company line is that they are content with Barton just the way he is. In the same breath, though, they often suggest that the power will develop naturally.

"It will come with him," said A's hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo. "He showed it last year at the end of his Triple-A season and when he came up to us. He's got bad speed. And he started figuring out how to take that ball on the inside third and pull it with some power."

Barton hit only nine homers in the regular season last year, giving him 41 homers in five minor league seasons. But he hit four in 10 games in the Triple-A playoffs and then he hit four more in 18 games in a September call-up.

"I played with Garret Anderson and Jimmy Edmonds and those guys never hit home runs in the minor leagues, but they got to the big leagues and that power developed," Van Burkleo said. "They were always good hitters."

Barton got a hanging sinker from Lackey in the second inning and he yanked it over the right-field fence. It was his first hit of the spring. He had been hitless in seven at-bats before the sore hand sidelined him for a week. He had one at-bat as a pinch hitter on Sunday.

Although Barton still has just 12 plate appearances and the A's opener is two weeks away, he said he feels like he can get in enough work to be ready. Now that his hand feels good, he expects to play just about every day in spring training. He could also hit in minor-league games, in which he could lead off every inning and even bounce between games on different fields.

"I missed some important at-bats, but I'm going to get as many as I can now and get ready for the season," he said.

BRIEFLY

Keith Foulke was scheduled to pitch in a game for the first time in 18 months, but he ended up throwing 32 pitches in a simulated game instead. Foulke's wife, who delivered a baby last week, was hospitalized and Foulke wanted to finish his work early to be with her, assistant general manager David Forst said. Manager Bob Geren said Foulke was "excellent. His control was perfect." The A's are hoping to get Foulke into a Cactus League game within the next few days.

The A's sent down pitcher Chris Gissell, catcher Anthony Recker and outfielder Aaron Cunningham. Cunningham will be out eight weeks with a broken wrist suffered on a head-first slide on Saturday.

Eric Chavez took batting practice for the fourth consecutive day and ran. Trainer Steve Sayles said Chavez is at least a week away from being able to take ground balls.

The A's aggressive baserunning helped generate a run. Donnie Murphy took off from second on a 3-2 pitch. Brooks Conrad drew a walk on the pitch, but then catcher Mike Napoli's throw to third sailed high, allowing Murphy to score.

Dallas Braden gave up a run in two innings in his first start of the spring. Braden said he's been incorporating a new sinker this year that he hopes will help him be more effective.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeff Fletcher at 521-5489 or jeff.fletcher@pressdemocrat.com.