Sizemore A Known Threat - indians.com

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Most of the hair is gone. But the quiet, businesslike demeanor remains in Grady Sizemore.
When he reported to Spring Training camp Monday morning, Sizemore began receiving plenty of comments about his recently buzzed 'do.

"It's just a haircut," Sizemore said with a shrug.

The man who established himself as one of baseball's rising stars last season is just as quick to shrug off any talk of projections or pressure or hype about his talents.

Coming off a year in which he hit .289 with 22 homers and 81 RBIs and became a fixture at the top of the Tribe's lineup, Sizemore is no longer a promising prospect looking to make his name known. He's an established player expected to make improvements on his already sizable contributions to his club.

It's a leap in responsibility that many young players struggle with, but Sizemore isn't worried.

"I don't try to live up to anything," he said. "There's pressure I put on myself every day to get the job done. Whatever happens that's out of my control, I don't worry about. I put pressure on myself every day to be a better hitter, and that's enough."

The Indians don't want to put any undo pressure on Sizemore, either.

"We just want Grady to go out there and continue his progression at the big league level," manager Eric Wedge said. "We don't ask guys to do more than they're capable of. He's done everything he needs to do to continue to be successful and continue to improve."

That being said, Sizemore is now anchoring a lineup that lost a great deal of speed when Coco Crisp was traded to the Red Sox and Jason Michaels was brought in as his replacement in the No. 2 hole.

Though the 23-year-old Sizemore, who swiped 22 bags in '05, is now the only consistent stolen base threat at the top of the order, Wedge doesn't want to press him too much.

"We don't want Grady to try to do anything more than he's done," Wedge said. "We just want things to come to him, and he'll continue to improve. He's going to do more from his natural progression and the experience he's gained."

Sizemore is counting on the same thing. Having gone through the roller coaster that was the last month of the '05 season, he's seen big league baseball at its most gratifying and its most cruel. He feels he's learned from it all.

"Hopefully we know what to do next time we're in the same situation," Sizemore said. "You learn from your mistakes. Year to year, game to game and day to day, we'll work on it."

And this year, he's working on it with a lot less hair.