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Nats' Dukes Talks About Changes
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Asked whether he has been tested this winter by the same tempting situations that might have caused trouble in the past, he said: "I have tests in my life every day, trying to raise my son and stuff like that. I have my issues. But I overcame them, and I'm here without being on the front page [or] behind bars or something."
Dukes, whom the Nationals currently envision as their fourth outfielder, described himself as "an easygoing guy, a fun-loving guy." When Washington fans get a chance to know him, he said, "it'll definitely put a smile on their face."
"It might seem I live in a cage," he said. "But I don't. I get out and meet people all the time."
Last spring, when the Nationals signed Young, himself a player loaded with off-field baggage, Bowden made it clear a "zero tolerance" policy applied to him -- one misstep, and he would be gone. Asked Wednesday whether the same applied to Dukes, Bowden deflected the question.
"Elijah's situation is completely different than Dmitri's, and completely different than . . . everybody else," Bowden said. "So we have a specific plan in place and we're going to do everything to help Elijah on and off the field."
Dukes arrived in Viera shortly after 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, accompanied by his 3-year-old son, Elijah Jr. He was immediately met by a handful of front-office personnel and shuttled to a meeting at the team's minor league complex with Kasten, Bowden, Acta, Williams and assistant general manager Bob Boone -- a meeting that lasted 50 minutes.
Asked later whether he hoped to reach a point where the intense support is no longer necessary, Dukes said: "I will get to that point in my life where I don't need it, whether it's [when I'm] out of baseball or whatever. I will find it. It's gonna happen, sooner rather than later, where you're going to wake up and say, 'I finally found it.'
"[But] right now, I think I need it. [After] the things I've been through . . . I wouldn't want to take it away from me. I wouldn't want to sell myself short like that."
