First Full Squad Workout

The photo to the left is a graphic illustration why neither Sergio Romo nor Billy Sadler should stand anywhere near Randy Johnson.

Today was the much awaited first full squad workout. The practice got started late, about 10:00 am. I am told that the players all had to have their blood drawn. I guess this is what passes for random testing in MLB. Even with the late start the workout was only 2 hrs long (not including conditioning). The workout consisted of fielding practice with the infield and the outfield operating independently of each other. Then the pitchers were added to the infield for a pick off drill. Then a full BP session (with one group running the bases while another group hit). And that was it. As expected the main field BP included mostly veterans and the youngsters (like Buster Posey) were banished to the practice field.

I have to say that the team as a whole looked like they were in pretty darn good shape, with the exception of free agent non-roster invitee Juan Uribe who is getting to be almost as large as Pablo Sandoval. The players were positive and upbeat. There was a lot more chatter and joking around amongst the players than there has been with just the pitchers and catchers.

It was a nice crisp practice. For the most part the fielding was sharp and the hitting was good for a first day. I heard rumor they will face live pitching from the pitchers tomorrow. Usually, that is pretty ugly, with the pitchers being WAY ahead of the batters. I am interested to see how Pablo Sandoval fares against the real thing.