Music: {allcanada} BLUE JAYS' LIND WORKING HARD ON DEFENCE AT FIRST BASE

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Adam Lind isn't a big fan of the trapper.

He looks down at his new mitt, the one he hopes to wear in the majority of games he plays for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011, and laments how it signifies that he's different from the other infielders.

"I always wanted to be a shortstop," he said yearningly Tuesday. "Unfortunately I'm left-handed. I don't like the first baseman's glove. I wish we could use a small glove, but that's not standard."

No, it certainly isn't, and the same can be said about this spring for the 27-year-old.

Lind has a lot going on at training camp, with his conversion from designated hitter and part-time outfielder to first baseman front and centre. But then there's also the business of straightening out his swing so he doesn't repeat the offensive struggles of 2010, when his batting average collapsed from .305 to .237 and he struck out a career-high 144 times.

He's being closely watched on both fronts by everyone in the organization, as his ability to settle in at first will affect the way several other dominos fall in the months and years ahead.

There's also a sense that playing more in the field will allow Lind to regain his Silver Slugger form of 2009 at the plate.

"I know when he had his good year, he played the outfield a lot," said hitting coach Dwayne Murphy. "When you sit on the bench, it's tougher to stay in the game day in and day out. When you're on the field, you're more mentally in the game.

"I just think that will help."

Of course it will only help if Lind takes to first base, and so far, there is reason for optimism there.

He looks far smoother and more comfortable around first base than he ever did in the outfield, and he routinely flashed his soft hands during Tuesday's workouts by scooping balls on the dirt.

After digging out one errant throw from Jose Bautista, the third baseman praised him by yelling, "Thanks for saving that, Sleepy!"

"One thing that you didn't get to see when I was in the outfield was how my hands were, you just saw how I run and how I throw, which wasn't that graceful," said Lind. "I take a lot of pride in (being able to scoop balls) ... They want to be able to enjoy throwing the ball over to first base, and if you can (picks throws from the dirt), they'll definitely have more confidence in me."

That will certainly be important, as departed first baseman Lyle Overbay was a whiz with the glove, but the bigger challenges remain ahead of Lind.

Manager John Farrell points out that the real tests come with learning how to read balls off the bat, knowing when to charge in and when to step back, and in making difficult throws across the infield.

On top of all that, there will be the grind of doing it every day.

"For me," he said. "I think the hardest thing is going to be locked in 150 times a game every pitch. That will be kind of hard."

Still, he's very much looking forward to it, especially after serving as the DH in 122 of the 150 games he appeared in last season. In 2009, he played 55 games in the outfield and 95 as the DH, and the numbers that year backed Murphy's theory.

As the DH, his batting average was .299 with an on-base percentage of .362 and a slugging percentage of .539. While playing left field, the numbers were .316/.386/.605.

The numbers in 2010 were miserable no matter where he was, and Lind feels that he figured out the problem at home in Anderson, Ind., over the winter with help from childhood hitting instructor Mike Shirley.

A scout for the Chicago White Sox, Shirley remains Lind's mentor and one of his most trusted sources of advice. His take was that Lind's swing had gradually changed as his chest broadened, lengthening his path to the ball and affecting his sense of the strike zone.

Lind agreed -- he came into the league at 190 pounds and is now 220 -- and feels that led him to pull his front shoulder in as his swing began, causing his head to move, hampering his vision.

His focus now is on loading up for his swing by sliding his upper body back and forth, without twisting his shoulder and chest first.

"We tried so many different things last year, you'd think we've covered all the different things you could try," said Lind. "(Shirley) was at home watching all the games, he had a different perspective.

"I really worked on freeing my hands up and trying to stay perpendicular with the pitcher, as weird as that may sound. Last year it was hard for me to see the pitcher, again as weird as that sounds, so I'm really trying to stay upright, keep both eyes on the pitcher, because you need both eyes to hit."

With two sessions against live pitching under his belt, Lind's already noticed some improvement. He stood in against Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero on Monday and took some rips at Jesse Litsch and Scott Richmond on Tuesday.

"I feel good, especially with my takes," said Lind. "I felt under control, last year I felt all over the place at times, but I feel under control in the cage. And if I can spit on some of the things that Morrow and Romero were throwing, I think I can take a lot of other pitches."

A rebound year at the plate from Lind is crucial for a Blue Jays team seeking to diversify its offence. He believes he's on the right track, and is excited to contribute with the first baseman's mitt he doesn't really like.

"I definitely feel like I'm a bigger part of this team already just because of all the communication we have in the infield and things like that," he said. "It was hard last year because I practised a lot but never really got to play (first base).

"This year I finally get to play."