Williams pleased with Espinosa's approach

VIERA, Fla. -- Although infielder Danny Espinosa is 0-for-10 to start the spring, manager Matt Williams is satisfied with his approach at the plate.

Williams is not concerned that Espinosa is putting too much pressure on himself. In fact, he and his coaching staff have talked to Espinosa about what he has done.

"The at-bats he has taken so far are really good," Williams said. "He doesn't have any hits in 10 at-bats, but it really doesn't mean anything. He has pounded the ball pretty good left-handed. He has had a couple of balls taken from him in the infield. He hit a ball hard to center field. If those drop, now he is hitting .400.

"In those limited at-bats, you can't make a determination. What we see is him having good at-bats and putting the ball in play hard. It's exactly where he wants to be. I told him every day, 'Stay right there. That's exactly what you want.' The results aren't there, but they really don't mean [anything] right now anyway. The fact that he has taken good at-bats is important. That's all we look at."

Espinosa is coming off the worst season of his career, and he spent most of it at Triple-A Syracuse. He must cut down on his strikeouts, and entering Wednesday he had just one in those 10 at-bats, which a good sign.

Espinosa was not in Wednesday's lineup against the Mets.