Sandberg sees good days ahead for Beckham, Castro

Ryne Sandberg knows a little bit about Gordon Beckham's conversion from shortstop to second base, with a brief stop in between at third.

Since that's exactly what Sandberg did en route to the Hall of Fame.

"Beckham impressed me as a shortstop last year when I saw him at Birmingham (AA)," said Sandberg, who has since moved up to manage Triple-A Iowa. "He fits the mold as a middle infielder, as far as offensive and defensive ability.

"Good gap-to-gap type hitter with some power, but maybe not third base power. I think the move suits him well.

"It's not easy going from third to second, but easier for him because he played short. The responsibilities are similar, as far as bunts and cutoffs and generally being more involved on every play.

"You have to get used to seeing the ball off the bat from the other side of the infield, which is a big adjustment, but the biggest thing is double plays."

Sandberg said it took him seven months of working on it every day for him to be ready for his first season at second.

"There's nothing that really prepares you for going from the side where you can see the runner coming, to the side where the runner is coming right up your back," Sandberg said. "First, you have to learn the footwork for all the different throws.

"Good throws are easy, but bad throws put you in danger and you have to get the timing right or you can get seriously hurt. It's not a small thing.

"And there's nothing like the real games because that's how you get a feel for where the runner is and when he's on top of you. If you don't do it right, if you don't figure out the footwork, there's going to be guys looking to put you in the hospital.

"(Beckham) looks to me like a guy who isn't going to have trouble with that because he's a good athlete with good instincts."

Castro timeThe biggest story in Cubs camp will be whether Starlin Castro heads to Iowa with Sandberg, or to Chicago for Opening Day, a possibility the Cubs will try to downplay, but a topic they won't be able to avoid if Castro catches fire."The thing about Chicago is it's about winning and playoffs," Sandberg said. "It's not Pittsburgh where a young player has time to break in."Is it too big a jump at his age? It's all up to the individual. But I've never seen a guy start at low A, go to high A, then Double-A and the Arizona Fall League all in one year and dominate like Castro did."Sandberg said Castro, who will be 20 in a month, has yet to encounter difficulty, which is when you find out about a young player."We don't know how he handles adversity because he hasn't had any," Sandberg said. "But when he was with us at Double-A, I saw a lot of good things. He was disappointed if we lost, or if he didn't advance a runner, or didn't feel like he had a quality at-bat."The guy I saw was a team guy who can do a lot of different things on the field to help you win. He was a big part of our club down the stretch when we won our division and won in the playoffs."Last year he earned his challenges and he met every one of them. He seems to like a challenge and he liked to rise and meet it, and that's a good sign."He could be slated for Triple-A, but if he has a big camp, he might give them no choice."Ivan Boldirev-ingFor three years, the question has been continually asked here about when the Blackhawks would get someone in the lineup to serve as a deterrent to headhunters.And after vicious (but clean) hits to Duncan Keith, Martin Havlat, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane in the last 12 months, the question remains unanswered, and the threat only grows.This is a fact of hockey life that goes back 50 years and hasn't changed simply because some rules have been altered and the game sped up, or because some want to pretend it's ice dancing, not hockey.It is hockey, so whether you like it or not, whether you accept it or not, whether you understand it or not, the Hawks at some point need to add some toughness.The lineOdds to win the NHL's Western Conference: San Jose (2-1), Hawks (3-1), Vancouver (5-1), Detroit (10-1), L.A. (14-1), Calgary (20-1), Colorado (20-1) and Nashville (25-1).The line IIOdds to win the Stanley Cup: Washington (3-1), San Jose (4-1), Hawks (5-1), Pittsburgh (7-1), New Jersey (8-1), Vancouver (10-1), Buffalo (18-1), Ottawa (16-1) and Detroit (20-1).Drive byeOrlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi: "The Daytona 500 turned into a bunch of puttering, powerless cars lollygagging around the track single file, afraid to get out of line for fear they would get shuffled to the rear of the pack. There was so little passing NASCAR might as well have painted double-yellow lines down the middle."Best headlineSportspickle.com: "Daytona 500 downgraded to AFC championship of NASCAR."And finally -Comedian Alex Kaseberg: "The biathlon was close right up until the Frenchman heard gunshots, and then there was no catching him."brozner@dailyherald.com