OK, deep breath. /inhales Brett Pill. Chances are that Brett Pill isn’t, or will he ever be, a good major league baseball player. I’m using good somewhat subjectively here, but I think it’s a fine word for what Pill won’t be; good. However, that doesn’t mean that Brett Pill doesn’t necessarily have some sort of utility for the Giants. First,… Read more →
Greatness, I think, most would agree is easy to spot. It’s not hard to see what makes players like Pablo Sandoval or Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain great. That’s not just in sports, or baseball, but life in general. We always notice the talented people. We always notice those who are in the spotlight. But, I’ve also got a soft… Read more →
Well, despite the obvious thing: baseball 1. It’s working! 2. FFFFFFFFF 3. Not the bees! — 1. The general rule of thumb with Spring Training: it’s totally useless unless it confirms your deepest and darkest fears. (Can’t sleep. Belt stopped walking. Oh jeez.) 2. Madison Bumgarner is awesome. More to come as I crunch the statistics. 3. Bees. Really, that… Read more →
Grant, at McCovey Chronicles, has a neat little post on the Giants and one of their newfound strategies for success this year: running. We’ve been force-fed some variation of this for the past five springs. The hitting isn’t expected to be stellar, so there’s some mention of the dedication to the little things. Baserunning is always one of those little… Read more →
We’re only a few days away from the first game of Spring Training – the Giants play the Diamondbacks on March 3, 2012 – and there is, quite understandably, a lot of baseball excitement in the air. After watching the Giants televise their batting practice last week, I was already quaking at the prospect of live baseball. Yet, while Spring… Read more →
Pitchers and catchers are just a mere 11 days away from reporting to Spring Training. That means winter is winding down and baseball, glorious baseball, is just around the corner. Soon we’ll be hearing all the familiar baseball sounds – mitts popping, bats cracking, and all the other terrific accompaniments that come with baseball. Unfortunately, other than waiting for Spring… Read more →
Spring training is a good time to put away the statbook and pick up the camera. Azgiants.com always has great pictures this time of year. Mat Latos hates SF . . . and with good reason. Baggs covers Brain Wilson’s latest piece of performance art. Did Wilson luck out when he got drafted by San Francisco or what? He’s a good… Read more →
It’s become common spring baseball jargon to say that Player X is ‘in the best shape of his life’, but how often does it turn out to be true? And how often does it really improve that player’s performance in the upcoming season? I thought it would be a fun and interesting exercise to track all of the Giants’ players… Read more →
‘Pitchers and Catchers Report’ is a phrase that will never get old. This is one of the best times of the year. I hope it’s no coincidence that, in my area, the forecast for the next week has several sunny days in the 60s. The sun is coming back, it’s no longer dark at 5:00 PM, and Giants’ pitchers and… Read more →
As usual, this post is a little bit late, but I wanted to briefly touch upon the Giants’ 22 non-roster invitees for the 2011 Spring Training Camp. From the press release via SFGiants.com: SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Giants have extended non-roster invitations for Major League Spring Training to the following 22 players, club Senior Vice President and… Read more →