Rich Aurilia and Dave Roberts chat while Barry Bonds is in the batting cage.

Sorry

Sorry folks...I just had too much to do today. I thought I would be able to go late to the workout for at least an hour or so, but it didn't work out. I hate it when life gets in the way of baseball.

I'll be back on it tomorrow.

Full-Squad Workout - 2nd Day

Just another gorgeous day at the park. Low 70's and not a cloud in the sky. The Giants pretty much followed the same routine as yesterday. Running/stretching; followed by ground balls to the secondbasemen and shortstops working on turning the DP; followed by pickoff moves involving the entire infield and pitchers; followed again by not one, but two rounds of batting practice. The first round was with "live" pitching and the second with BP pitchers.

The live BP involved Lowry, Benitez, Hennessey, Misch and Munter throwing to 3 groups of batters. Group one was; Bonds, Roberts, Winn and Aurilia. Group two was; Molina, Vizquel, Durham, Feliz and Klesko. Group three was: Linden, Frandsen, Alfonzo and Sweeney. Everyone else must have hit on the practice field. Pretty much gives you an idea of who the starters, 4th outfielder, utility infielder, backup catcher and primary pinch hitters (firstbasemen) are going to be.

Live BP was pretty much the same as yesterday. A little more contact but still no solid contact. Lowry and Benitez were pretty much untouched. Hennessey and Misch gave up a lot more contact than the others and Munter was somewhere in the middle. Still, no one, not even Bonds came close to hitting the warning track. Most of the contact involved weak groundballs or popups. After his first time in the cage I heard Bonds say "Man, I'm tight from yesterday". Bochy continues to work 'em.

Standard BP was a little more exciting. All of the hitters were making better contact than yesterday and there were more HRs. Bonds led all hitters with 6 HRs although his longest drive of the day did not make it out of the park. At Scottsdale Stadium you have to hit it OVER the batters eye in CF to get a HR. I have only seen Bonds (twice) and Kent do that in a game since the stadium was rebuilt in 1992. Today Bonds hit a line drive that bounced off the batters eye about 15 feet up above the 430 foot sign. A hellofa poke. Todd Linden was second with 3 HRs, Ray Durham had 2 and Kevin Frandsen had 1. Bonds had both the most frequent and the loudest contact, while Frandsen probably made solid contact second most frequently and Ray Durham had the second loudest contact. While Linden had the second most HRs, he also mishit the ball a lot more than Durham and Frandsen who were both lining the ball all over the field with Durhams hits carrying farther. I know it's too early to be detailing how hard balls are hit........but I am just trying to describe the action for you.

The number of fans was about half what it was yesterday. That's still a higher number than I am used to seeing. This is only the second year of practicing at the stadium. I think as word gets out about how comfortable it is to actually sit in stadium seating and watch the workouts (at Indian School Park you pretty much had to stand if you wanted to see anything) more and more fans are coming out. The press corp was virtually nonexistent today. Two camera crews from Japan, a couple of photographers and the beat writers from the Bay Area papers were about it. I guess only Barry's FIRST day is important.

Well, I am going to keep it short today. The workout went until 1PM again today and I had some errands to run before returning to the condo. That's why I had a late start with the posting. I tried to post a combination of action and portrait type photos. Since the players are divided between the two fields, I still can't get any good shots of the young players. I will keep trying though.

Leadoff pitcher for todays "live" batting practice, Noah Lowry. Not throwing as hard as Benitez, but no one was making contact either. Every time I see his delivery I wince. I swear it looks like his shoulder is just going to come right out of the socket.

2nd pitcher of the day, Armando Benitez. Benitez seemed to be throwing nice and loose and was getting pretty good velocity for this time of year. I saw no sign of him favoring a knee, a leg or any other body part........but it's early.

Brad Hennessey, 3rd pitcher of the day.

4th pitcher of the day, Pat Misch. Look at the effort on his face.

The last "live" pitcher of the day, Scott Munter. These guys really make some great faces as the accelerate the arm through the throwing motion.

Todd Linden had a good day at batting practice. His 3 HRs were second only to Bonds on the day. By the way.......he had 2 lefthanded and 1 righthanded.

Closeup shot of Ray Durham as he leaves the batting cage. Ray had a couple of HRs and was spraying line drives all over the field.

Here I snapped a photo of a photographer taking a photo of Barry Bonds. Talk about duplication of effort.

Rich Aurilia was all over the field today. Just before this he was taking groundballs at 3B. Here he is working on picking the ball out of the dirt. I was surprised JT Snow was not working with him on this drill. I didn't see JT all day....maybe he was on the other field.

I was able to catch the ball just as it came off of Rich Aurilia's bat.

A different photo. Yep...that's JT.

I was looking at my photos and I kept seeing this young coach and I couldn't figure out who it was. I read this evening that JT Snow was in camp today to help the firstbasemen. So I assume this is JT Snow standing next to Rich Aurilia. For some reason this just doesn't look right without him wearing #6.

Barry Lamar Bonds arrives at camp in better shape than I have seen for about 3 years.

Barry Bonds, Dave Roberts and several other outfielders and coaches participating in the "grind" of a Major League camp. Looks like they are having a terrible time. It's a tough job....but somebody has to do it.

A lot happening in this photo. Barry Bonds is making a knee high catch of a fly hit by Willie Upshaw while Randy Winn looks on. Meanwhile, Bruce Bochy looks like he is giving some instruction to Omar Vizquel in the infield. UH....Boch....I don't think Omar needs your help on infield play.

Ray Durham in the cage. I wanted Kevin Frandsen to be given a shot at 2B......but I must admit, Ray looks good swinging the bat in a Giants uniform. Now if he can stay healthy......

A rough idea of how many players are in camp. The roster lists 67.

Todd Linden bats from the right side. Our #4 outfielder?

Noah Lowry stretches with the other pitchers.

Several of the pitchers about 3/4 of the way through the running drills. Russ Ortiz and Matt Cain look like they are doing OK......but look at Matt Morris all bent over and Tyler Walker with his hands on his waist. Not as easy at it used to be.

Our new centerfielder, Dave Roberts along with Mark Sweeney and coach Tim Flannery. What's with the beard Dave? With all of that gray it makes you look 60.

Eric Threets follows through. He has a pretty violent delivery. Probably why he is injured so often.

Omar turns two. Feliz (not in the photo) to Vizquel to Klesko.

Omar Vizquel......looks like he is politicking with the coaches to help him get that contract extension.

Barry Zito, this is NOT from the stretch, this is in the middle of his windup. Looks like he has scratched the "new" delivery completely.

Our new firstbaseman/outfielder/pinch hitter, Ryan Klesko. Didn't he used to be heavier than this?

Richie Aurilia......Back in black (and Orange) where he belongs.

After Jonathan Sanchez finishes his throwing, Benjie Molina stops him to give him advice based on the duel prospectives of his regular catcher AND a batter who just faced him. Great stuff. I think I am going to like Molina.

Jonathan Sanchez pitches live BP to Giants hitters, including Benjie Molina.

It appears I was wrong. I did get a photo of the "Don't ask me, ask Barry" t-shirts. I thought it would be out of focus. Funny stuff.

Bonds Watch - Day Two - The Feeding Frenzy

As expected, the rain went away.....but the press sure didn't. Also as expected, Bonds was at practice on time, as he always is. The media followed Bonds' every move. It was pretty funny. The pitchers continued to do running and stretching on the main field, while the position players did so on the practice field. At one point, before the full squad was on the main field, the media must have heard that Bonds was coming over to the main field because they all scampered down the right field line, towards the practice field like a bunch of little rats. Apparently it was a false alarm because a minute or two later they all came back to the dugout area with their tails tucked between their legs grumbling "he wasn't there". Sorry....I just couldn't do that for a living.

There were also more fans than I have EVER seen at a workout. 40-50 is usually the maximum.....but at the height today I would say there were 200 fans in the park. At one point a whole bus load of High School players, coaches and parents showed up. One group of 40 or so....all coming into the stadium at once.........another Spring Training first.

As I have observed before......Bruce Bochy is making the guys work quite a bit harder than they are used to, and the first day of full squad workouts was no different. They started late (physicals & team meeting) but they still had a long period of running and stretching. They have been doing a lot of agility drills, much like the old football "run through the tires" drill but a little different. Drills like that really tire out your legs, but after that they do sprints, after which they run the entire outfield, after which they finish with shuttle runs. Not easy.....not easy at all. The practice continued on very late. I left at 1:00 PM and practice was still going strong. That is pretty much unheard of for a Giants practice.......especially on the first day.

Kind of a funny incident. Benitez does not run with the other pitchers. After the pitchers ran the outfield, Benitez came out of the dugout thinking he would stretch with the other pitchers. When the other pitchers had to go run shuttle runs instead of stretching, Benitez left the field and went back into the dugout. He came back out when the pitchers finished the shuttle runs and started stretching. I guess running is too tiring for Mando.

When Bochy said (I read it in the press) he wanted to get the guys started on facing live pitching "as soon as possible" he sure wasn't lying. You can't get much sooner than the first full squad workout.......and that's what he did. The players jumped right into live batting practice......not with BP pitchers......but with REAL Major League pitchers doing the throwing. And the first matchup of the year was worth the price of admission. Barry vs Barry.....That's right Barry Zito facing Barry Bonds, right off the bat (pun intended). Boy did that have the crowd and the press buzzing.

As is always the case in early live BP.....there wasn't much contact made. I don't mean not much good contact......I mean no contact at all. In the first group of Bonds, Roberts, Winn and Aurilia......only Bonds made any contact against Zito. Mostly they just watched the ball go by, without even swinging. Part of it was getting the timing down and part of it was I don't think Zito was in the strike zone much. Bonds hit one weak grounder and a couple of fouls.......but he is the only batter that made contact with the ball at all. As a note.........Zito has completely abandoned the "new" delivery". He was pitching as straight up and down as any pitcher I have ever seen, without so much of a hint of a back step as he began his windup. Apparently much ado about nothing.

The same group then faced Matt Cain. Cain was throwing harder and it seemed more accurately, but there still wasn't any contact being made. Until Bonds' last turn in the cage. On his second to last swing, Bonds took the hardest cut I will probably see all spring and Cain blew a high fastball by him. On the next pitch Bonds cut his swing down slightly and took Cain deep to straightaway RF with the ball landing about half way up grass seating berm. As Bonds left the cage you could hear him say "I'm ready". That remark got a huge laugh from the fans and players.

Cain was followed by Jonathan Sanchez, David Cortes, Brian Wilson and Eric Threets on the mound. There was still not much contact by the batters for the rest of the live pitching. Cortes was allowing more batters to make contact than anyone else. Sanchez and Threets were throwing pretty hard for the 20th of February. Throughout the entire live pitching session, no one other than Bonds came close to hitting it out. Omar Vizquel made the most contact, but only Ryan Klesko and Kevin Frandsen even hit the warning track. It had to be very frustrating as a batter to face live pitching so early. I have never seen live BP so early. As an aside.....Klesko is wearing number 21, I guess he never heard of Candy Maldonado.......please don't slide Ryan. Klesko is in good shape......he doesn't have that belly that I seem to remember last time I saw him play.

After the live BP session, all of the players took a second round of BP, this time facing the coaches as they normally would at this time during camp. The batters fared much better against BP pitchers than they did against the real thing. I left at 1:00 PM when the second group of batters were about half way through their round. Again, it is pretty rare that the players take two full rounds of BP.......especially on the first day of full squad workouts. Bochy at work again.

By the time I left, only Barry Bonds had gone deep in the second round of BP. He hit one of off the light standard in straightaway LF and then bounced one way up off of the picnic area behind the RF bullpens. Bonds looks great, by the way. He appears to be in the best shape he has been in 2 or 3 years. The belly is pretty much gone and his legs and arms look solid. He walked without any sign of the limp he had early last year. I could close my eyes and tell you when Bonds was at the plate. The ball just has a different sound coming off his bat. Not the normal "crack"........more of a loud "crunch".

Another good Barry/Barry story that I must tell. After the first round of batting practice, both Barry Bonds and Barry Zito disappeared into the dugout/clubhouse. A few minutes later, they both came out, side-by-side, each wearing almost identical t-shirts. Both shirts were black with orange printing on them. Both said "Don't ask me, ask Barry". Under the printing there was an arrow......pointing to the right on Zito's shirt......and pointing to the left on Bonds' shirt.......so that the arrow was pointing to the "other Barry" who was not wearing that shirt. Funny stuff......very funny stuff. I was down the line and was unable to get a photo of the shirts.........I am sure it will be in the papers tomorrow (or on the internet tonight). Yep....that Giants clubhouse just has no fun at all.....always at each others' throats.

Anyway......lots of good stuff today. I could write much more.....but my fingers are cramping up and this post has been long enough anyway. Unlike in past years.....I did not see a single position player that looked like he was out of shape. They are all looking lean and mean......hopefully that can translate to good performance. I am hoping that the media/fan crunch will be less tomorrow. I know.....even I fell into the trap of discussing Bonds more than anything else........but tomorrow we go back to a more balanced coverage. This is about the GIANTS team......not about one man.

Because of the late practice and the fact that I took 162 photos today, it will take me some time to upload and catalog the photos I took today. I will post 10 or 12 of the photos later on. As always, if I didn't post one you would like to see, let me know and I will post it if I have it.

By request Sun-Woo Kim. Sorry I don't have an action photo of him. He has that Tsuyoshi Shinjo red/orange hair thing going. Kim has 337, mostly unimpressive, Major League innings. Another veteran Minor League free-agent signing. Lots of those this year.

Some one asked about Vinnie Chulk. I guess I hadn't posted a photo of him. Yep....he has been around......and here he is.

Bonds Watch - Day One

Well even though I heard from numerous media sources that Bonds would not be in the state until this afternoon or evening, that sure didn't keep the people from coming out. There were 5 times the number of newspeople and three times the number of fans at the workout today than there have been. I must have been asked 10 times if I had seen Barry Bonds. The answer is still "no". He will be here tomorrow for the first full-squad workout, like he always is.

Today's practice was very short. Mostly because the arriving players will be going through physicals this afternoon (and tomorrow morning), but also because the weather was cloudy, chilly and there were intermittent showers that actually were pretty constant for the last 20 minutes or so. It was dark enough so that my camera kept telling me it wanted to use the flash. I didn't use the flash so the photos aren't of great quality today. I started trying to get some action shots anyway....I like to try to catch the ball in midair, players in motion, that sort of thing.

Newly arriving players today (or at least the first time I have seen them) were Ray Durham, Randy Winn, Omar Vizquel and several others that I couldn't recognize without uniforms. Even though I do this every year......it takes me awhile to associate the faces with the players. I need the uniforms to help jog my memory the first couple of days. More players took infield today and most took some work, out of view, in the batting cages. Live batting practice was limited to just 1 group of three catchers. None of the early arriving position players were allowed to take BP.....although I saw several trying talk the coaches into it. Again.....the position players seem to be in very good shape as were the pitchers. So far it looks like they are all ready to play.

By 10:45 am, the workout was over. When I left the only baseball work that was going on was Kevin Frandsen fielding groundballs. Every time I have seen Frandsen workout he is on the field before everyone else and is the last to leave. No one comes close to taking as many groundballs as him except for maybe Omar. Practice is usually very short on reporting day, but I think today's was even shorter than usual due to the rain.

One other thing I have noticed is that Barry Zito is going WAY out of his way to be very fan friendly. He won't come over during practice (as none of the players will) but at the end he will sign autographs as long as there are people there asking him. He must have signed for 10 minutes while I was still at the park and he was still signing when I left. I have also been told that he will sign in the morning when he arrives and also when he is on his way out of the stadium at the end of the day. Personally, I don't get autographs....I think they should be for kids only......but it's nice to see a player taking the time time to sign for all comers. Pretty rare these days.

That's about it for today. The rain is supposed to be gone by tomorrow......I wish the same could be said for the media. I am sure tomorrow will be a media circus. I sure wish they would just let the players play.

A Randy Winn sighting. Pedro Feliz is in the background. I have no idea who that is he is running with.

Tyler Walker, also coming off of Tommy John surgery is also throwing from a windup. I would put his effort at a little higher than Valdez.....maybe 75-80%? He was throwing the ball awful hard for having had TJ surgery just 5 months ago. Both Walker & Valdez were throwing to trainers not to catchers......but the trainers were in a squat and using catcher's mitts.

Merkin Valdez, coming off of Tommy John surgery is already throwing from a full wind up off of flat ground. I would say he was at about 50-60% effort.

Mark Sweeney fields a ground ball. Shouldn't he be catching the ball in front of his body AND shouldn't his eyes be on the ball?

Justin Hedrick, Tim Lincecum & Matt Palmer hang with Matt Morris. Another recurring theme from this spring. Matt Morris is constantly surrounded by the youngsters......soaking up all the pitching wisdom they can.

Kinda the theme of the day. Bonds fans and KGO Channel 7 sports guy Larry Beil wait around to see if Bonds shows up early. Later......Beil actually interviewed this lady and her son. There were a lot more media guys than it looks like here. Most of them were hiding in the dugout so they wouldn't get cold or wet.

A group of pitchers; including Zito, Correia, Sanchez, Wilson & Acosta; listen intently while new 3B coach Tim Flannery gives some base running instruction.

Another action shot of Kevin Frandsen. Notice the TWO hands......so few pros do this anymore. That's Mark Sweeney in the foreground.

Another attempt at an action shot. Here Ray Durham fields a ground ball.

Ray Durham made it to camp this morning. I found it interesting that one of the first things he did was to reacquaint himself with the trainers. Here he is talking to 2 trainers & Pedro Feliz.

Benitez and I am not sure who. I took this shot because it showed the difference in body types that are still able to excel in baseball. This is pretty much the large and the small of it.

Although it was probably a bad day for it, I started trying to get some action shots. Here I got caught the ball right before it hit Eliezer Alfonzo's bat. I have no idea what Molina and Wotus are looking at since the ball hasn't left the cage.

Accidental Day OFF

I accidentally took the day off today. I had to get up very early to take my wife to the airport. When I got back to the condo, I fell asleep in the recliner and did not wake up until the wife called from our home in San Francisco to say she got home alright. Whoops.

To make up for it.....I posted some additional photos from the past 3 days, including some lesser known names that many people may not have heard of. I will be there bright and early tomorrow when the full camp reports.

NOTE: Someone just told me yesterday that after reading this blog for 2 springs now, they just realized that if you click on the photos.....you will get a larger version of the photo. For anyone else who might not know......if you click on any of these photos, you will get a version that is the same size and resolution as my original.

Another shot of Barry Zito.......because you gotta get your money's worth out of that $126 million contract.

Pat Misch. A lefty who worked as a reliever in the Arizona Fall League this last Oct/Nov. His 2.79 ERA and .222 BAA was some of the better figures in a heavily hitters oriented league.

Noah Lowry........by request.