CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Mark DeRosa always had the aspiration to be an everyday player in the big leagues. After eight years in the Atlanta Braves organization, the opportunity has finally presented itself in the hot corner of the Braves infield.
With the departure of the incumbent Vinny Castilla to the Colorado Rockies, the chance to crack the starting lineup for the 12-time defending National League East champions is finally there for the former Penn standout.
"It's huge, it's everything I've worked for," DeRosa said. "It's not something I take lightly.
"I've come to spring training for the last four or five years and I've tried hard to win a starting job and some years I thought I might have done enough to do it, but I was never given the opportunity."
A shortstop at heart, DeRosa has been relegated to coming off the bench and spot starts for the past few seasons as All-Star Rafael Furcal had nailed down his natural position.
Braves manager Bobby Cox is one of DeRosa's biggest advocates, but was unable to give him a starting role with the likes of Castilla, Furcal and Chipper Jones manning the left side of the infield in recent years.
"He's ready to go and he has been for two years now," Cox said. "He looks good at third and he's swinging the bat good and he's a great athlete. He should really be an outstanding player. He's earned it. If anybody's earned it, it's been Mark."
Ever since his initial call-up to the majors in 1998, DeRosa's playing time has progressively increased. Last season, the Passaic, N.J., native played in a career-high 103 games and tallied 70 hits.
However, DeRosa's biggest contribution to the Braves came in last year's playoff series against the Cubs. With second baseman Marcus Giles out with an injury, Cox called on DeRosa to start game two. He did not disappoint.
DeRosa hit the game-winning double in the bottom of the eighth inning after closer John Smoltz had given up the Braves' one-run lead.
"You always want to be up in those situations," DeRosa said. "I had a chance earlier in the game to do something, but I struck out with the bases loaded, so I felt I had to redeem myself.
"Any time you can get a big hit like that, it brings you back. You're just happy for everyone who's helped you get you to that point and for your teammates and for your buddies watching at home."
DeRosa's teammates believe that the infielder has earned his stripes and that his opportunity to start is well deserved.
"He's been on the bench for a couple of years now and has really flourished in that role," Jones said. "He was probably our hottest hitter at the end of last year and really proved to everybody that he deserves a serious look at an everyday job."
"Personally, I think it's a little overdue," Giles said. "I think he's deserved a chance to get the starting role before this, but we all know how this game works and it's a business.
"The good think about Mark is he hasn't hung his head and he hasn't given up. All it's done is make him work harder and not give up for his lifetime goal."
After finding out that he would be the frontrunner for the third base job in the winter, DeRosa tried to approach the upcoming season in his normal manner.
"I've always been a hard worker in the offseason," he said. "Guys who live in Atlanta, we get a chance to go down and they open up the stadium for us after the new year, so a lot of us were down there about four or five times a week working out. I tried to come in as prepared as possible."
DeRosa is still acclimating himself to the move from shortstop to third base -- the position which he started his Penn career playing before moving to shortstop.
"For third base, I don't think the adjustment is going to be that great except for the fact that it's definitely more of a reaction position," he said. "You don't have the extra five or 10 steps back like you do at shortstop. It's the hot corner, so you have to make a move and stick with it."
Jones, who played third base from 1995 to 2001, knows that there will be growing pains as DeRosa adjusts to the position.
"He's going to have some hot smashes hit at him," he said. "He can't get his confidence down when he makes some errors over there because it's going to happen, trust me I know, it's going to happen."
DeRosa's move to the third base slot is one of many new looks for the Braves this season. This winter has seen the departure of veterans such as Castilla, right fielder Gary Sheffield, catcher Javy Lopez, pitcher Greg Maddux and first baseman Robert Fick. But there is a silver lining in the opportunities created for Atlanta's new lineup.
"It's going to be exciting," DeRosa said. "We've got a lot of young guys that are stepping in, but we've got a lot of guys like Marcus Giles and Rafael Furcal, who were All-Stars last year at a very young age and with the acquisition of J.D. Drew, he's been ripping the cover off the ball for us down here so far."
So far this spring, DeRosa is batting .229 with 14 hits in 35 at bats, and admittedly has not found his stroke yet.
Braves hitting coach and former National League MVP Terry Pendleton isn't concerned, though.
"He hasn't swung the bat the way he's capable of swinging the bat, but that's what spring training is for," he said. "He's going to hit in the big leagues, we don't have any doubts whether he can hit it or not. He's proven that over the last couple of years that he can hit big league pitches, so the offense is not a concern at all."
The opportunity for DeRosa to play everyday has been a long time in the making. He is certainly looking to make the most of it.
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