Spring Training News

[Islandboagie]

• Shortstop Brandon Crawford, whose reputed offensive shortcomings concerned the Giants hierarchy as Spring Training began, lifted his Cactus League batting average to .400 (8-for-20) with his sixth-inning, two-run homer off Hong-Chih Kuo. Significantly, the left-handed-batting Crawford, who has struggled against lefty pitchers, was able to connect off Kuo, a southpaw.

"He has worked on shortening up his swing and he's getting results," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Crawford. "We know it's Spring Training, but it's nice to see him swing the bat."

• Bochy said that Ryan Vogelsong emerged healthy from his 50-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and will indeed throw batting practice to teammates Saturday. Bochy said that Vogelsong probably will throw one more BP session after that before appearing in his first Cactus League game. Back spasms have sidelined Vogelsong since the start of Spring Training.

• Infielder Charlie Culberson and outfielder Roger Kieschnick were optioned to Triple-A Fresno. Kieschnick's move was announced after Thursday's game.

[donk]

where was Culberson hiding? With so many non roster guys playing, I didn't see Culberson in any box score....he has come a long way from his rookie year when he was in a race to see if he would make more errors than hits......I would have liked to see Bochy's son pitch....he had one of the best K's per inning of anyone in the Giants' system..in low A ball, though...

[klaiggeb]

I watched some clips of Brandon, and holy cow! What a difference in his swing! Last year, he had a long, slow swing, with a loop in it; which made it difficult to square up the balll.

This year, by starting with the bat FLAT, and on his shoulder, the long, slow stroke is gone. Now it's shorter and quicker.

at least as important is the angle of the bat through the hitting zone; now, it's mostly flat; which means more hitting surface with which to strike the ball.

Not saying he's suddenly going to be a great hitter, but now, he has a decent chance to hit .250 or better.

Remember, when Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel came to the bigs, they were TERRIBLE hitters. I remember reading, on many occasions, how pitchers could knock the bats out of their hands.

And look how they progressed.

Same for Crawford? Who knows. but now, he's got a better shot at hitting than he had before.

boly

[sharksrog]

Brandon has made significant adjustments and certainly looks a lot better this spring. He has actually been VERY good with the bat. Let's hope it does continue. If Brandon can hit even a little he suddenly becomes at least an average shortstop.

We criticized him a lot last season, but can you think of any Giant whose bat stays in the zone longer than Aubrey Huff? Sometimes his swing looks like the top of a table.

[sharksrog]

The Giants haven't been shy about adding players to their everyday positions. Nor have they been afraid to move away from the status quo. If we look at the position players one by one, we see most haven't been around long.

Buster Posey -- called up a little less than two years ago and due to injury has only about one full season's experience.

Hector Sanchez -- Had a cup of coffee late last season. Has played very little above A ball. Still qualifies as a rookie.

Brandon Belt -- Less than one full season of experience. Not all that much experience above AA.

Brett Pill -- September callup who is still a rookie. Was actually outrighted a year ago and could have been picked up by any team.

Ryan Theriot -- A veteran who was picked up as a minor league free agent this past winter.

Emmanuel Burriss -- This is his fifth season with the Giants, but only in 2008 and 2009 did he get much playing time.

Brandon Crawford -- Hadn't played above A ball until less than a year ago.

Pablo Sandoval -- A late-season callup in 2008, Pablo has more tenure with the Giants than any other position player.

Aubrey Huff -- Starting his third year with the Giants after being a late free agent sign before the 2010 season.

Angel Pagan -- A trade acquisition over the winter.

Melky Cabrera -- Ditto Pagan.

Nate Schierholtz -- Actually the position player who first played with the Giants (June 11, 2007), but has barely exceeded 1000 at bats. Given the right field job entering spring training two out of the past three springs, Nate hasn't yet taken full advantage of the situation and is still a bench player.

Gregor Blanco -- A little major league experience, but a surprising free agent pickup over the winter.

The only two guys who have a truly significant number of plate appearances as a Giant are Nate and Aubrey. And the only guys who are very old are Aubrey and Ryan Theriot. The Giants are actually a fairly young team now.

With guys such as Gary Brown, Joe Panik, Danny Otero, Steve Edlefson and Heath Hembree on the horizon, they could get even younger.