"Is Tsuyoshi Nishioka a diva, is he superstitious, or is he simply getting ready for the season as best he can? In any case, his decision to work alone with personal trainers has been a conspicuous one during the first few days of Twins spring training. Nishioka, signed in December as a free agent, was taking grounders and batting practice with teammates earlier in the week, but he was sequestered with his entourage on the minor league side of the Lee County Sports Complex on Saturday. "He's comfortable doing what he's doing," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You've got to understand, one thing that I know about Japan and Japanese baseball over there is if they do something and they have a really good year, they like to do the very same thing. I've heard this over and over again." Nishioka won a Pacific League batting title (.345 batting average, 206 hits) and Most Valuable Player Award for the Pacific League champion Chiba Lotte Marines last season. The Twins paid the team $5 million to negotiate exclusively with the infielder and signed him to a three-year, $9 million deal in December. Though fitted for Twins gear Thursday, he has yet to wear any in camp, but Gardenhire said Nishioka isn't even required to officially report until Tuesday with the rest of the team's position players. " Read more: http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_17433177?nclick_check=1
