J.P. Howell is known to his USA teammates as "Dude." It seems that team USA is getting a glimpse of the Howell we've all grown to love. Here are some quotes from an article published the St. Petersburg Times:
So in front of teammates, Howell did his "five-second" imitation. Were his moves better than the former 'N Sync star? "No way dude," Howell said. "Not even close."
"I try to lay low, and they make me dance the first day," he said, laughing. "Now I got labeled that I dance like Timberlake."
I'll wait for the youtube video of that. As for what J.P. has been sipping on?
"Grey Goose (vodka) and cranny, that's what I do."
See, that's what he does. J.P. on bonding with division rivals...
"I like the Red Sox boys a little more now that I met them," Howell said. "I think that will go away once the season starts, but I definitely didn't know they were pretty cool guys. When they're on your team, you like them. When you're not, you can't stand them."
Teammates/Coaches comments on the dude...
"He's funny — he says anything," Pedroia said. "I think guys appreciate that. He's honest, and he says what's on his mind. And you never really see that."
Said Granderson: "He likes to blend in, he's a chameleon. Whatever the situation is, he can adapt to it."
"Oh yeah," Lachemann said. "I call him 'dude,' too."
I have a feeling that when J.P. walked in the clubhouse on Day 1, his introduction when a little like this: "I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing."
However, It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Howell was hit by a foulball during batting practice and suffered some sort of bruise. This is why team USA has been cautious with using him and they want to make sure he is fully healed before returning to the mound.