Group shot showing a number of pitchers and coaches.

Dan Giese. A soon to be 30 year old Minor League free agent who been a pro for 8 years....all of it in the Minors with the Red Sox, Padres and Phillies organizations. He has had some decent seasons in the minors as a reliever. Likely AAA fodder.

Cal-Poly alumnus Kevin Correia. What's up with the hair cut?

Armando Benitez stretching with the team.

Kelyn Acosta, a 21 year old Dominican who has never progressed past A ball (San Jose) in four seasons as a pro. I believe he has had injury problems the last couple of years.

For Dr. B.....here is another photo I have of Benitez that shows his right leg totally straight with all of his considerable weight on it. For what it is worth.....I have seen no signs of him favoring either his hamstring or his knees. He moves VERY slowly every where he goes.......but he has always done that. Quick he is not.

Third Day

Future closer (?) Brian Wilson and a host of others.






More of the same today. I came a little later and missed the running and stretching, but more pickoff drills and some batting practice. The pitchers were again pretty much done by 11:15 am.

Several more of the position players made an appearance today, even though their reporting day isn't until Monday and the first full squad workout is not scheduled until Tuesday. I am already getting a little bored (if it is possible to get bored with baseball) with the pitching drills, so I am looking forward to next week. Making their appearance today were Pedro Feliz, Mark Sweeney, Nate Shierholtz, Todd Linden and old fan favorite Rich Aurilia.

Once again the catchers took some live batting practice after the pitchers' workouts were fininshed. Benjie Molina, Eliezer Alfonzo and Guillermo Rodriguez hit a few more line drives than yesterday.....but again not much pop. I don't think any of them came close to the warning track. After the catchers finished; Kevin Frandsen, Jason Ellison and Mark Sweeney took a more informal turn in the cage. Again not much pop out of these three guys this early in the process. I am sure the BP pitcher (I think it was hitting coach Joe Lefebvre) was glad he had a screen in front of him as Frandsen hit line drive after line drive right back to the mound. He must have clanged 30 balls off of the protective screen. It was good to see those guys swinging a bat again.

That's it for today. Every day is pretty similar except for wondering which position players will show up that day. OH.......the weather......perfectly clear sunshine.......75 degrees.

Eric Threets throws home under the watchful eye of Mark Gardner. Will this be the year he finally contributes with his once clocked at 102 MPH fastball?

Mark Sweeney makes his first appearance of the spring and plays a little catch. He and Steve Kline have already reestablished themselves as the two "class clowns". Always talking.......always joking.

Noah Lowry finishes his day.

Todd Linden and (I believe) Nate Schierholtz.

Lefty reliever Steve Kline. The oldest pitcher on the 40-man roster at 34 (2 months older than Armando Benitez).

The young catchers; Todd Jennings (San Jose A & Connecticut AA last year), Justin Knoedler (Connecticut AA, Fresno AAA & San Francisco last year), and Stephen Holm (San Jose A last year).

Brad Hennessey practices his pickoff throw to firstbase.

Typical Kevin Frandsen swing. Short, level with his head right on the ball. I posted two Frandsen photos for two reasons. ONE.......I had a request....and TWO.....He is my favorite young position player. I was hoping he would have a full-time position this year, but signing Feliz, Aurilia and Durham pretty much made that out of the question.....damnit.

Kevin Frandsen took about a hundred ground balls at shortstop. I think he wants Omar's job.........actually.......I think he wants ANYONES job.

Pedro Feliz has arrived...........Now can he lay off the curveball away in the dirt?

Jason Elison takes his hacks in the batting cage.

Kevin Correia throws home during a drill while others ;including Jonathan Sanchez, Ron Wotus and Mark Gardner look on.

Anyone recognize this guy? Seems like I have seen him before.

Second Day of Pitchers & Catchers

Another beautiful day at the ballpark. About 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. More of the same today; running, stretching and pickoff drills. Bochy continues to be very hands on and once again ran the pickoff drills today.

The team is running MUCH more than they have in past years. I arrived at about 9 am and they were already running. They ran an additional half hour to 45 minutes before stretching out and beginning drills. They are also not stopping between the different running/agility drills so they are huffing and puffing pretty good by the time they finish. Maybe that's why they look like they are in such good shape this year. Maybe they got advance word that Bochy's Spring Training would involve more endurance work than they are used to.

The pitchers were finished even earlier than they were yesterday. By 11:10 am, most of the pitchers were headed to the dugout and were done for the day.

I saw a few position players for the first time today. Dan Ortmeier, Kevin Frandsen and Jason Ellison were there today along with 2 other players I could not identify. Early arriving position players wear workout clothes and won't wear uniforms until Monday when they are actually supposed to report. They worked out in the batting cages (which I can't see) and played catch in the outfield. I tried to take photos of them using a combination of both my 12X optical zoom and my 3X digital zoom, but the photos came out blurry. It's hard to get a decent photo at 30X zoom without a tripod.

After the pitchers were done, I stuck around and watched catchers Justin Knoedler, Eliezer Alfonzo and Benjie Molina take batting practice. Molina & Alfonzo did not have their timing down at all. Alfonzo hit the warning track a couple of times and the wall once. Molina never came close to the warning track. Both of them hit a lot of weak ground balls.......as you would expect at this point. Knoedler however, looked like he has been hitting a lot more before Spring Training started. He was hitting line shots all over the field including many to the warning track. He also took five out of the park including three that completely cleared the visitor's bullpen in LF and one that clanged off of the light standard in straight-away LF. I think Knoedler wants to make an impression after being removed from the 40-man roster when Zito was signed.

That's about it for today. I tried to be a little less verbose and let the photos do the talking for me.......but I don't think I succeeded. Oh well.......I get started talking baseball and it's hard to stop.

Here is something you won't see everyday. A $126 million pitcher playing catcher. Don't worry........it was just a drill.......no batter involved.

Barry Zito. This was during pickoff drills, so he was throwing from the stretch. I still haven't seen the new delivery......and probably won't until live batting practice begins. That's one of my favorite former players and current coach Mark Gardner looking on.

Russ Ortiz without the baggy uniform. He wasn't this skinny even in his rookie year. I believe that is the back of Noah Lowry also in the photo.

Closeup of Matt Morris. He looks a lot younger without the beard. What a great thing it would be for the Giants if he could return to winning form.

Noah Lowry and I am not sure who.

Giants #1 draft pick last year, Tim Lincecum. I know I am getting old......but he looks more like a Little League pitcher than a pitcher who will most likely be a starter in AAA this year. He looks about 12......hellofa pitcher though.

My first batting practice of the year. Catchers Eliezer Alfonzo, Benjie Molina and Justin Knoedler.

Justin Hedrick. One of my favorite young pitchers. I also followed him during the Arizona Fall League. He saw me snapping this picture and gave me a smile. He came over after stretching was finished, said HI and asked how the blog was going. Nice guy.

This photo is mostly for myself and GRMG. She will like it.

Matt Cain, Tyler Walker and Dave Righetti. Even Tyler is a little lighter than he was last year.

Someone requested a closer photo of Armando Benitez. This one compares him to several other players; Brad Hennessey, Scott Munter, Billy Sadler and Dan Giese. As you can see, while he is still heavier than he should be with two bad knees, Mando's size is not nearly as great as we were led to believe by the press coverage a couple of days ago.

By Request - Jonathan Sanchez

Jack Taschner - by request

The new skipper, Bruce Bochy. Look at the size of the melon on this guy.

Our new 126 million dollar man....the "other" Barry.......Barry Zito

Matt Morris the Giants need him to stay healthy AND productive.

Noah Lowry.......can he make it back to winning form?

The Giants' hope for the (near?) future. Will Tim Lincecum make it to the bigs in 2007? Does he look small to you or is it just me?

Ace in waiting.......Matt Cain. He looks to be in much better shape than last year.

First and second string catchers. Eliezer Alfonzo and Benjie Molina

Russ Ortiz....back again and looking good.

Bochy personally conducting pickoff drills with one group of pitchers.

Armando Benitez with a few other pitchers. He is not quite as heavy as I expected. Funny though.....he participated in stretching exercises and played catch....but he DID NOT run or take agility drills with the team nor did he participate in the pickoff drills.

Brian Wilson...the Giants insurance policy covering the possible (probable?) blow up of Benitez.

When last seen, Billy Sadler was tearing up the Arizona Fall League as a closer for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He would have to be a dark horse candidate for closer if Benitez and Wilson both fail.

First Spring Workout

It is finally upon us.......the first Giants workout, featuring pitchers and catchers only, of Spring Training 2007. I can't tell you how good it felt to be out in the sun, with the smell of freshly mowed grass watching baseball again. I arrived about 9:00 am as the team was doing agility and endurance drills, followed by stretching and followed by pickoff drills. The pitchers were pretty much done for the day at 11:30 am. I was told that the catchers were going to take batting practice at about 12:10, but I didn't want to stick around while doing nothing for 40 minutes, so I left at about 11:40 am.

The setup for fans was pretty much the same as last year. The Giants will allow fans to attend workouts at Scottsdale Stadium, but we are limited to the area on the firstbase side of the field. There is a great deck above the RF wall that affords a fabulous view of both practice fields and the pitching mounds, but the Giants won't let fans up there. So once again this year, I will only be able to take photos of and comment on what happens on the main field. Not a problem, but I sure wish I could watch some of the bullpen sessions. The bullpens are totally out of view from the area that we are limited to. The bullpens are where some of the best action happens in the early spring.

Another slight change from last year is that the Minor League camp will open up at Indian School Park on Monday. Last year they didn't open the Minor League camp until March 2nd. So effective Monday, when the position players arrive, only the players on the 40-man roster or who are non-roster invitees will work out at Scottsdale Stadium. All early arriving Minor Leaguers will be sent to Indian School Park. Just to give you a rough idea....there are about 40-50 pitchers in camp right now and 7 or 8 catchers.

The first thing I noticed was that the players seem to be in exceptionally good shape this year. When they were running and doing agility drills, they were dressed in shorts and t-shirts and with a few exceptions.......there isn't much fat on these guys. They all wear very baggy uniforms and it is tough to tell what kind of shape they are in by looking at my photos. But trust me...there has been some serious working out going on over the off-season. New/old Giant Russ Ortiz is in better shape than I have ever seen him, including in his rookie year. Matt Cain has lost that soft midsection that he was sporting last year. Benjie Molina, although he isn't a Mr. America candidate, is noticeably lighter than he was last year with the Angels. Even Armando Benitez, though still way too heavy, was not as bad as the photos in yesterday's newspapers made him look.

Another early observation that stands out is that Bruce Bochy sure looks like he is going to be a lot more hands on than Felipe Alou or even Dusty Baker before him. Felipe was always around, kind of in the background, overseeing his coaches as they ran the workouts. Bochy is right there, right with the coaches and players all the time. He even ran all 4 groups of pitchers through a pickoff drill himself. Even Dusty wouldn't do that. Dusty would closely observe.....but not actually run a drill himself. Felipe would have been on the other side of the field watching. I also noticed that if a player made a mistake, Bochy would immediately comment on the mistake and make the player do it again. In past years, I was stuck by the fact that a player would do something wrong and the drill would just continue on without correction as the next player took his turn. I always thought that was a strange way to run drills. I know it's early.......but it looks like more actual "coaching" might occur this year under the new regime.

By way of a disclaimer, my photos usually get better as a couple of days go by and I reacquaint myself with my camera. I take a lot more photos than I post. For example, I took a total of over 130 photos today. So if anyone has a specific request to see a player, just ask by clicking on the "comment" link below and I will post the requested photo as time, space and circumstance allow.

That's about it for the first day. It's good to have baseball back!!

Beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona

This is the view from the deck of my Condo in Scottsdale at about 1PM today, February 9th. Another beautiful Arizona day.

I arrived in Arizona on Wednesday, February 7th, at about 4PM. The weather in San Francisco when I left was in the mid 50's and drizzling. The weather at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix when I arrived was full sunshine and 76 degrees. Quite a bit of difference. Baseball and great weather.....the 2 main reasons I fell in love with the Scottsdale/Phoenix area when I first started coming out here in 1987.

I am really looking forward to spring workouts starting next Thursday on the 15th. Not only has it been 4 1/2 long months since I have seen Major League Baseball, but there are also a lot of new Giants (and returning Giants) that I am very interested in getting a look at. Lots of questions with this year's team, starting with the return of two "old" Giants who were very popular in their first terms with the team.

What kind of shape is a 35 year old Rich Aurilia in? How about Russ Ortiz, is he really thinner with a re-vamped motion that will actually fuel his productive return to MLB? Ortiz was signed for the Major League minimum (raised to $380,000 for 2007), so any contribution he makes to the team will be gravy. Richie however, will need to have a productive year (at least as good as 2006) because he is slated to be a major piece of the 2007 puzzle. Does Richie have a productive year or two left in him? Lots of questions.

Another big acquisition was lead-off man and CF, Dave Roberts. The man has never played more than 129 games in his career. That is one game LESS than Barry Bonds played last year alone.....in a year where he could hardly run for the first half of the season. Can Roberts stay healthy and put up the same type of numbers that he did last year? If so....that is a great improvement at the lead-off position. If not, Randy Winn will have to continue playing out of position both in the field and at bat.

Then there is Ryan Klesko.......another relatively cheap addition that doesn't necessarily have to be relied on to return to his form from a few years back. If he can stay healthy he can be a valuable bat off the bench. If, by some miracle, he can recapture his old form....he can carry a team.

How about Benjie Molina? Were his defensive woes in 2006 just a one year aberration? Can he get back in shape and once again become a Gold Glove catcher.....or has he strictly become a hitter with no mobility on defense? And is his reputation regarding handling of pitchers really deserved? If so he can be a great asset to the Giants VERY young pitching staff.

And speaking of pitching, the addition of Barry Zito was one of the biggest signings in the league this year. Can Zito justify that huge contract and become the staff leader the Giants so desperately need? Can or will he help Noah Lowry to become more consistent and live up to his 2004 hype? How about the return of both Damien Moss and Tyler Walker? Are they done......or can the Giants catch lightning in a bottle with one of them?

Then there are all of the returning Giants. What is up with Matt Morris? Is he done, or was last year really a down year caused by the rib injury that only became public after the year was over? Can Matt Cain become the savior as everyone has been predicting? Can or will Jonathan Sanchez step up and make it very hard for Russ Ortiz to win that 5th spot in the rotation?

What about the bullpen? I read that Armando Benitez threw off the mound for the first time yesterday and that he actually GAINED a few pounds from last year. Gained weight? You gotta be kidding me. That's a great way to take the pressure off of two gimpy knees. Will he even break camp with the team? Other than Benitez and Steve Kline who are both 34.....Vinnie Chulk is the "veteran" of the bullpen at the ripe old age of 28. How will the kids react to a full year of the big leagues? Can Scott Munter get his "bowling ball" sinker back? Can Jack Tashner return to form as a lefty out of the pen? Can Brian Wilson or Billy Sadler step up and become the closer if/when Benitez blows up or is traded? And the big draft choice......will Tim Lincecum "announce his presence with authority" and force the powers that be to make some hard decisions about bringing him up to the bigs so early in his career?

Then we have the position players. Can Pedro Feliz EVER layoff the breaking pitch in the dirt or was the one year contract a mistake that only keeps Kevin Frandsen from playing? And what about Frandsen? Is he as good as I think he is? Or was his performance in the Arizona Fall League where he was 1st or 2nd in virtually every offensive category a fluke?

Can Durham repeat last year and stay relatively healthy now that he is no longer expected to contribute speed to the game? Can Randy Winn show the form that resulted in his getting his long-term contract or was 2005 a contract year fluke? How about that 5th outfielder? Will Linden get enough playing time to show his stuff? Or Ellison? Or will the presence of both Klesko and super-sub Pedro Feliz make a 5th outfielder unnecessary?

And the big question, Barry Bonds. Will he ever sign the amended contract? And when he does.....is he really in as good shape as we have been reading? Will his knees hold up for another full season? Will he come close to his prior production or even his production in the second half of 2006? Or will will get a record and not much else for our money?

Lots of questions. Even more than in a "normal" spring. Not so much as to WHO will be on the 25 man roster (except in 2 or 3 cases) but more a matter of WHAT can we expect from those who show up to Pac Bell Park (sorry...I don't like name changes) on April 3rd. If half of these questions are answered in a positive manner....I think the team will "compete". If none of them are......they will be horrid. If a high percentage are positive....the team could be very good. It's just too early to tell.

I know many fans are expecting crap this year. After living through being a Giants fan in the 70's and 80's.....I just can't go into a season expecting the worst. If I did, I would never have been able to stay a fan for all these years. Lots of questions.......lots of reason for optimism......and also lots of reason for pessimism. Both sides of the spectrum can be well justified. I am really looking forward to the questions to start being answered on Thursday.......and throughout the Spring.......and throughout the regular season for that matter.

Indian School Park- The Giants old training facility 02-23-05

It's Almost That Time Again

Scottsdale Stadium from the Press Box 2-19-06

Well boys and girls, Giants pitchers and catchers report on February 14th, with the first workout scheduled for the next day. Only 12 more days until baseball begins again......and not a moment too soon. I am looking forward to many afternoons in the sun (as well as chilly San Francisco evenings) watching my favorite team over the next 8 or 9 months.

I head down to Scottsdale on Wednesday (February 7th) and will be there until after the Giants last game in Arizona on March 28th. I finally decided to fire this blog up and detail my SpringTraining experiences again this year. I don't know how detailed my coverage will be, I will just have to play that by ear. I started this blog because the coverage of Giants Spring Training was pretty abysmal. I spent October and November 2006 in Scottsdale following the Arizona Fall League. I had intended to blog the AFL, but the coverage was so good this year, that I thought it would be a duplication of effort for me to cover the league. I don't know how good Spring Training coverage will be this year.......but that will determine how complete my blog will be. If the coverage is good........I might just post photos. I just don't know at this time.

There is another variable, in that Google took over this blogging site and the software system is different than I used last year. The new system makes it impossible for me to use the third party software I used for posting photos last year. With Google....it is their way or the highway.....and their system makes posting photos a little cumbersome. If anyone has any ideas for posting photos that bypasses Google's system, please let me know. The content of this blog, over the spring, will probably be in inverse proportion to the amount of time it takes me to do the posting. I am nowhere near a computer expert and I can barely type using the "two-fingered" method.

I will probably compose a few more posts before the first practice session on the 15th. I need to figure this sytem out and find the easiest/best method to post photos.

Welcome to Spring Training 2007!