Carlos' Corner:'It's good to clear your head'
By Carlos Peņa
Special to MLB.com
Carlos Peņa, a 23-year-old rookie, was acquired by Oakland during
the offseason in a six-player trade with Texas. Expected to replace
Jason Giambi as the A's starting first baseman, perhaps as soon as
Opening Day, Peņa is considered one of the top prospects in the game
and is providing for MLB.com an exclusive daily diary for the 2002
season.
Thursday was an off day for the A's.
PHOENIX -- A day off is good every once in a while because it's good
to rest your mind and body, but I always try to get a little bit of a
workout in on my own every day, anyway.
Even on the days that we play, I'll go to the gym at night and do my
lifting. I like to go at night because the gym I go to here is open
24 hours, and I can go when not too many people are there.
I also like to go at night because I know that if I try to do my
lifting in the clubhouse weight room after the game, I probably won't
get the kind of intense workout in that I need.
I like to go home after the game, get a bite to eat and relax a
little before I go to work out. I think I get more out of it that way
because my mind has been away from baseball for a little while. By
the time I get to the gym, I'm re-energized and ready to get after
it, to go hard again.
Some of the players like to work out right after the game. A lot of
them, actually, and obviously that works for them or they wouldn't do
it. But everyone has their own personal routines, and this is mine.
Maybe it will change over time, but for now, taking a little break
before the gym works for me. I just think it's good to clear your
head sometimes.
Carlos Peņa's diary appears as told to Mychael Urban of OaklandAthletics.com.
