Some observations from spring training (long)…

[garyd4sf]

 SFG at Texas.. 5-12: 0--2, 2-2, 2-5, 4-5 then 5-12. I left after 6 at 4-8. 2 Hits for Duggar, Belt, Panda and Vogt. Panda had a very long distance HR (the longest I saw in 4 games) and played 3rd. Venditte had a all eyes on him as he threw both left and right handed .He threw mostly at one speed (87-91 mph) As a lefty he had a Strike out, liner to 2nd and ground ball out--but as a RH he gave up a 2b, BB and 3 run HR as Texas pulled away. Pence was the DH for Texas and drew great applause from SF fans (and even more I hear from a later Scottsdale game). He can play at DH and hits (or misses) everything with a violent swing. That may be a good home for him.

SFG at Oakland….4-5: 1-0, 1-4, 2-4, 4-4. 4-5 (9th). It was a Garcia day for the Giants. Aramis went 2 -4 including a HR in the 6th, and DH Anthony Garcia went 2-3 with a 2 run single. Suarez went 4 innings with a tough 2nd inning but pitched well overall. He threw between 78-92 MPH range. Ray Black followed and hit mid to upper 90's (95-96) with a off speed of 83 but he was whacked for 3 hits with 2 of those being hard hit doubles. Tough, wild (HP, BB) outing.

SFG at LAD.4-1: 0-1, 1-1, 4-1 (9th). It rained in the 5th inning but cleared quickly. Stratton pitched well after a leadoff double to Petersen, but retired the next 9 of 10 batters. He threw at 85-92 MPH range and gave up 2 hits. Panik and Solarte hit singles for the first run.. The Dodgers had 7 of their 9 starting players while SFG had but 2 of 9 (Panik and Longoria). After walking the bases loaded with 2 outs Bart cleared them with a long double to win in the 9th. Sandoval played first and saved a run by doing the splits and stretching as far as a guy can go and holding the bag. I told my wife he is now a gelding. He seems more disciplined at bat.

I also saw the LAD-Anaheim Angels game…The Dodgers aren't hitting HRs -just 15 in 17 games. The Giants are better with 20 HR in 18 games. Seager has not been seen (replaced by Castro) , nor has Kershaw in Spring Training. In pitching LA has a 3.96 average versus SFG 4.64.

As to fitness….Evan Longoria looks slimmer and it shows in his improved bat speed. ditto Williamson. Panda is heavy but he always has, and even in pre-game calisthenics, he does a semi- hopping around.

In the utility role I like Allen Houston's bat and speed, but Solarte is by far the better fielsing backuop and likely wins the job. To me a real battle is at catcher backup, with Aramis Garcia and Joey Bart. The latter goes down only because of his youth. Mike Gerber has played well...who he? and Maybin has started poorly, driven poorer (DUI) and now is showing some comeback..start in minors?

In the pitching department, the Giants have shown pretty good velocity and control for the most part in the real contenders for starting pitching. Samardjia looks great. Pomerarnz looks to have his control back (after early struggles), Blach was in control, and Suarez has had good outings. That’s good news from a 17 game winner two years ago. 'Kermie' D Holland also looks good. The Giants have potentiality 6-7 starters. Bumgarner has shown good stuff and lots of bad stuff to date. In relief pitching mostly all is well except for Melancon who is constantly hammered.

Visiting the A's Hohokam park and Angels Tempe Diablo Park I've finally touched them all in Phoenix area after a near decade of attending spring training. There were good words from fans about Parra and the clubhouse and on the field. The 2 minute clock between innings is as was in the majors last year. But in ST they have a 20 second clock from time of receiving the ball until the stretch position is taken (as a tryout) . I liked it and it moved the game along. I do believe it would affect (and does) guys like Melancon. Is that his problem in ST?

[rog]

Nice report, Gary, and I liked the analysis of the effect of the clock on Mark Melancon. Apparently he hasn't had time to throw any pitches except his gopher ball.

What was your take on Mac Williamson, who may be the most important position player for the Giants in terms of potential breakout?

Pat Venditte has been a disappointment this spring as you mentioned. I noted when they got him that he looked to me like a LOOGY, and I noticed that he did OK pitching left-handed but was killed when he switched to his right hand. Surprisingly, Pat has even pitched better to RIGHT-HANDED hitters from the left side, although he hasn't faced them often from that posture.

Regarding the backup catcher, Aramis Garcia has begun to hit. Do you think he needs more work in the minors, or do you think he's ready? Rene Rivera isn't much of a hitter, but he has a lot of experience behind the plate, and he's thrown out an impressive 37% of opposing base stealers.

Stephen Voigt hasn't been healthy enough to play in the field yet, but he's hitting a neat .500. He has experience behind the plate, at first base, and in the outfield, and is the only left-handed bat among the catchers.

Joey Bart is expected to open the season at San Jose. The only way I can see his starting the season with the Giants is if he simply can't be stopped this spring, and the Giants think they can trade Brandon Belt. I still think Joey's arrival time will be soon after the start of the season -- in 2020.

Remember too that while Joey's game-winning double yesterday was impressive for his approach, it should have been caught and almost certainly would be in the regular season. I don't think at Oracle it would have even been a difficult play.

Glad you got to make it to Spring Training. I believe it's been 11 years for me. I've attended many times, but almost all of them were in the 60's and 70's. I don't remember for sure, but I may even have seen your uncle down there in those days.

[garyd4sf]

Mac Williamson looked better early in ST. In the games I saw he hit the ball squarely but right at someone. 4 of 6 ABs were on the ground in the infield. I read where the Giants might consider the Panda in LF. That's a scary thought. But Belt may spend some time there.

Aramis Garcia is a preferred backup IMO. But the team is giving Rivera a lot of game time. At a minimum Aramis has long distance power and would be of value even coming off the bench as a PH when a power situation is needed.

Your comment on Vogt is interesting and he really lit it up when I saw him as the DH. With Hundley gone I think the backup Catcher is a big concern.

Maybin looked a little hesitant in CF but made the plays. He struggles on balls hit in front of him, but looks relaxed in catching up to balls hit long and even close to the fence. He sometimes seems very tense as his career really is in the tenuous stage. Parra and Solarte seem secure and will help. Cameron is still a question mark IMO.

If you haven't been here in a while Spring training is a zoo now. Fairly large attendance. I don't even go to Scottsdale stadium (except on an off day to their store) but pick up the Giants in away games. Planning for that week needs to happens on the day of the released schedule. But this year we did fit in a trip to Sedona, a NBA and NHL game so it was busy. Getting back now I need a relaxing vacation.

[klaiggeb]

Pablo? In LF? Other than an emergency?

Yikes!

[rog]

I think it is a good idea to get Pablo some experience in left field, but I agree with Boly that he just doesn't have the speed to be much of an outfielder. He's not bad at first base, so if the Giants truly want to get that extra left-handed bat in the lineup, I think using Belt in left would be preferable. That Brandon can play at least a semi-acceptable left field is a plus.

[Islandboagie]

Belt is fine on routine plays in the outfield, anything beyond that he looks bad on.

[rog]

Thanks for the insight on Maybin, Gary. Not a valid excuse, but perhaps his emotional uncertainty led to his DUI.

And great stuff on Mac. His hitting has really fallen off, and he really needs to hit the ball in the air to be effective. He's hit only 27% fly balls over his career, and even with his new, elevated swing last season, it grew only to 28%.

While the Giants will no doubt miss Hundley in the clubhouse, at least they have depth behind the plate now. Both Garcia and Voigt can play first base, a la Buster, and Aramis actually looks pretty good there.

Sounds like an exciting trip, Gary. How about a quick thumbnail on Sedona for us who have never been there?

[garyd4sf]

Sedona is really for hikers and mountain watchers. The town is best described as a quiet hideaway surrounded by majestic scenery.

They have good food and lots of tourist stores..i.e. 'antiques for the antiques'. We like a restaurant called Rene's at the Tlaquepaque shops. Its a great place for lunch and the shops are upscale, including western art.

Other than the sights, there are about 7-8 wine tasting rooms west of Sedona, and many of them are in the town of Cottonwood, an old western tinged town. If you are into road curves there is elevated Jerome where you can buy a "I've survived 47 turns to get to Jerome" shirt. A true one horse town where you can also get wine or a tattoo. LOL.

Its a 1 1/2 hour ride out of Phoenix so we do a day tripper.

[sfgdood]

Thats today's MLB Boly...starters going only 4 or 5 innings, 13 man pitching staffs, reserves that can play 8 positions.

[rog]

Most starters average between five and six inning per start. I really see no reason a team can't get by with a dozen pitchers, aside possibly at the beginning of the season as the pitchers are still doing their final stretching out -- and only then if there aren't sufficient days off.

I would help solve the problem by giving relievers more responsibility. Instead of having just one closer, have two so that the relievers don't have to pitch two days in a row except in emergencies. Have five starters, two sets of three relievers, and a long/emergency man. That's 12 pitchers, and they should be able to get the job done well and with fewer injuries.

I think teams should be more open-minded in their use of pitchers. And each team should look at its staff and see what works best. That could easily vary from team to team.

If a team has a bunch of stud starters, it should be able to get by with even fewer than 12 pitchers. Because of injury, it didn't come close to working out, but I thought last season the Giants might have five starters might be able to eat up 1000 innings or very close to it. Bumgarner, Cueto and Samardzija had pitched 200 or more innings multiple times, and Derek Holland did so once (plus another season of 198 frames). Ty Blach had thrown 180 in 2016, and Chris Stratton hurled 162 that same season.

I think teams should customize their pitcher usage to the pitchers available.