A Brand New Fred Lewis (and other notes)

By mlblogssfgiants1

I attended Wednesday night’s “Chalk Talk’’ for season-ticket holders in the Giants clubhouse, where the featured guests were Fred Lewis, Kevin Frandsen and Bruce Bochy with their genial host Jon Miller. I’ll get to the odds and ends in a second, but this was the headline for me:

Fred Lewis has blossomed. I have never seen this kind of dramatic transformation in such a short time.

Those of you followed Lewis last season know he was just about the quietest guy on the team. He rarely made eye contact with reporters or staff, though he had begun to loosen up with his teammates by season’s end. He spoke in a low monotone and kept his answer short.

Wednesday night, he walked into the pressroom like a movie star — in a cream-colored suede sport coat, a Burberry scarf, jeans and Gucci athletic shoes. He talked with three beat writers before the Chalk Talk, and instead of appearing as if enduring an inquisition, he joked and laughed and spoke with a confidence and ease that had me exchanging glances with Kevin Frandsen as we both listened with surprise bordering on astonishment.

In answering a question about the possibility of Ramirez coming to the Giants (and taking his LF position), Lewis said, “I just have to worry about Fred.’’ Chron writer Henry Schulman teased him about sounding like Rickey Henderson, famous for talking about himself in the third person.

Lewis lowered his head and laughed, saying he had hoped nobody noticed, that he knew as soon as the words left his mouth, that he sounded like Rickey. (“Can you even imagine that Hall of Fame speech?’’ Frandsen said. Surely Vegas odds-makers will post an over-under on the number of times Rickey says Rickey.)

When a season-ticket holder asked him the same question during the Q&A, Lewis said, “Whatever it takes to help the team, I’m down for it,’’ prompting a round of applause.

Pretty polished. Could be a future for him in politics back home in Mississippi.

I chatted with Lewis in a small office after he spoke with the beat writers.

“Do you mind me telling you that you’re like a different guy?’’ I said. “What happened?’’

Lewis said this version of himself is the real Fred Lewis. This is who he has always been around his family — easy to laugh, engaging, confident — and now, he said, the Giants are family.

Great answer.

He said he spoke recently with both Jonathan Sanchez and Alex Hinshaw in Arizona, where they were working out together, saying that he and the team needed them to have big years, that he expected them to have big years because the team couldn’t win if they didn’t. I have no idea how Sanchez and Hinshaw reacted to the comments — was Lewis overstepping his bounds? — but I can tell you that the Giants’ leftfielder is feeling a sense of ownership and responsibility for the team’s success. It will be interesting to see how his newfound confidence and leadership play out this season.

As for his rehab from foot surgery, he’s back almost to full speed. You can get the relevant details from Henry at sfgate.com, Chris Haft at mlb.com or Laurence Miedema at the Merc.

Kevin Frandsen, as you know, had a great few weeks in the Arizona League and is ready to challenge Velez and Burriss for the second-base job after missing last season with an Achilles injury. Asked if he felt extra pressure this spring to prove himself, Frandsen said he felt pressure every season to prove himself. Athletes in any sport at the professional level know that what matters is today, today, today, what can you do for us today?

“I spent all last season watching major-league players,’’ Frandsen said. “I took that into the fall league. It was like a master’s program and I was working on my thesis. I had gathered all the information I could and I was finally able to put it into practice (in the fall league).’’

Other notes from Wednesday night:

· Bochy said the order of his starting rotation right now is Lincecum, Johnson, Cain, Zito and either Sanchez or Lowry.

· Bochy recently returned from a cruise that included stops in Mexico and Belize. “The plan was to go into the ship’s casino and pay for it all,’’ he said of the trip. “It didn’t work out so well.’’

· Jon Miller just got back from a 16-day cruise that started in England and ended in Dubai, with stops in Nice, Gibraltar, Rome, Malta and a trip through the Suez Canal.

· Bochy said he expects the “break-out’’ minor-leaguers to be Baumgartner, Alderson, Noonan and Posey. “They’re all on the fast track,’’ he said. “Brian (Sabean) isn’t afraid to bring young guys up quickly.’’

· Lewis said he doesn’t believe in slumps. “I believe in bad games,’’ he said. When Miller asked Bochy if he ever had slump as a player, the manager smiled. “Oh, yeah. Ever see my baseball card?’’

· Bochy said he and batting coach Carney Lansford would be focusing on improving the team’s abysmal on-base percentage. “It’s an area we’re going to stress this spring, to be a little more patient at the plate. If you have a good on-base percentage, you’re going to create more opportunities.’’ But he also cautioned one questioner about criticizing strikeouts too harshly. “Strikeouts are not as bad as you think,’’ Bochy said. “It gets the pitcher’s pitch count up. You’re working the pitcher.’’

· Lewis said that among his 2009 season goals, which he writes down and keeps with him, are a .315 average, 20 homers and 20 triples.

I end this post with a happy reminder: One month until pitchers and catchers report!