The Giants new hitting coach, Carney Lansford. And that's Pablo Sandoval in the photo again. He seems to always be around where I am taking the photographs.

Daniel Ortmeier.......hopefully the Giants new firstbaseman.

Bengie Molina chats it up with fellow catcher Stephen Holm. Holm is a 28 year old catcher who is in his 9th year in the Giants' organization. He was in AA Connecticut last year, where he hit .272/.387/.433/.820 in 84 games. The Giants seem to like older Minor League catchers.

Noah Lowry and Tim Lincecum return to the clubhouse after a very short workout.

Fred Lewis in an extreme closeup. Fred is out of options so chances are pretty good he will be on the 25-man roster at the end of the spring (or be traded). If he makes the club, will he get a chance to play? If he plays, will he have a double digit error total by the end of June?

Well, apparently it is a friendly competition. Here Ray Durham and Kevin Frandsen yuk it up about something. Sorry about the focus.....I am still having trouble holding my new little camera still when I have it in zoom mode.

I meant to post this with the other photos of the day. In case you are wondering why I haven't gotten any closeups of some of the pitchers. I get most of my closeups while they are warming up their arms, playing soft toss. Baseball players are creatures of habit and, for the most part, the same pitchers warm up on the same side of the field every day. Since the Giants only allow us on the 1B side of the stadium I am unable to get any really good photos of the pitchers you see here, who warm up on the 3B side of the field. Hopefully, by the end of the spring I will get everyone.

Good weather finally returned to Scottsdale today. It was still about 5 degrees below normal at 67 and 15 degrees less than last years 82 on this date. But since it was 12 degrees warmer than yesterday, I will take it. This is an overall shot of the main field with Camelback Mountain in the background.

As I said in the photo captions.....there were just a ton of position players in camp today. 17 by my count. Who knows maybe they have been here all along. I only went over and checked out the practice field while the pitchers were warming up because I heard the sound of balls being batted. There must be a "secret" route (like a tunnel) to get from the practice field/batting cage area to the clubhouse. Out of the 17 players that were on the practice field, I only saw 4 or 5 come back to the clubhouse via the main field dugout. There is another gate at the end of the 1B concourse that would take the players directly through a public area.....but I didn't see anyone head out that way either. The press has written that several position players have been here all week. Assuming there is a tunnel for player access....that would explain why I haven't seen any of those players up until now.

I covered pretty much everything in the photo captions. The catchers took live batting practice again after the pitchers were finished today. None of the other position players participated. The first group of catchers (Molina, Alfonzo and Rodriguez) appeared to be having a competition to see who could hit the most HRs. After only 1 HR total yesterday........all 3 catchers had 2 or 3 each today. The farthest of the day was a shot by Guillermo Rodriguez that went way up the grass berm in LF under the scoreboard. It was a pretty good poke. The ball was jumping off of the bats a lot better than yesterday.

The pitchers were done by 11:30 and practice was completely over by 12:15. The position players officially report tomorrow. Usually, the day is tied up with physicals and other check-in procedure. Some of the position players may make a cameo appearance.....but the first official full-team workout will be Tuesday.

That's it for today. Back at it tomorrow.

This is the infield area of the practice field, taken from the same vantage point as the prior photo, up high in the bleachers. Here a group of pitchers are practicing coming off the mound, fielding bunts and throwing to the proper base as yelled out by the catcher (in this case a coach). A little piece of history.....the building across the street from the 1B line (now Scottsdale Plumbing and a Dental Office), used to be the business offices and team store for the Phoenix Firebirds. The Firebirds were the Giants AAA team before the Phoenix Diamondbacks came along and ruined everything.

This logo used to be on the corner of that building.

I was so bored by the lecture Flannery was giving the pitchers that I went for a little walk. I found a vantage point I hadn't known about before. This is from the top corner of the 1B bleachers as far away from home plate as you can get. To the left is the gang pitching mounds I talked about a couple of days ago (in the far left is the rear corner of the elevated patio area). In the middle is the practice infield. The grass you see in the foreground is left field of the practice field. It is still hard to see details and take decent photos from up there.....but at least I can see what is going on. I hate to make a full-time job out of this....but maybe I should take binoculars when I go to the practices.

Position one in today's drills consisted of moving from one base to the next while Tim Flannery and Roberto Kelly gave a non-participatory lecture on everything from bunting to baserunning to the rule that you must run inside the marked lane when running to 1B on a bunt. I was bored to tears......the players didn't look too excited either. Look at Steve Kline (far left). His body language says it all.

Richie Aurilia. Although I would rather have his position on the team taken by a youngster.......he is in pretty darn good shape for an old guy.

After taking batting practice on the practice field, Randy Winn, Omar Vizquel and Rich Aurilia came out to the main field to lossen up their arms.

OK ....I love baseball as much as anybody......but I don't love THE baseball. What is up with Pablo Sandoval kissing the baseball before he throws it during warmups??

Matt Cain practicing to take over Pedro Feliz' old role as emergency catcher. Actually he is catching Zito here. It was obviously off of flat ground.......but Zito threw some pretty good curveballs.

Matt Cain in his normal role as pitcher. This shot gives you a good look at the "new" stirrup look. In my day ALL players wore them.......but now they are considered new again.

Someone yesterday said that the photo of Jose Capellan reminded them of Erick Threets. That got me thinking that I didn't remember seeing Threets. Turns out I had seen him.......I just didn't recognize him. This is Erick........he went from pretty huge 2 years ago, to not nearly so heavy last year to downright svelte this year. If it weren't for all the tattoos on his right arm (and his #60), I wouldn't have recognized him.

While the pitchers were doing their stretching and playing soft toss, I heard the unmistakable "crack" of bat on ball coming from the "practice" field. I walked over to the fence and peered through the screen to find that many position players, who aren't even supposed to report until tomorrow (first actual workout Tuesday), were taking live batting practice. I counted 17 position players on the practice field. In all the years I have been coming to Spring Training, I have never heard of so many players arriving so early. I attempted to take about 8 photos through the screen, this one was the only one that was worth a darn (and it's not too good). The position players had to vacate the field when the pitchers broke into their groups for their practice stations.

First Complete Practice

Although it wasn't under typical Scottsdale weather, the Giants pitchers and catchers were still able to get in a full practice today. It rained some more last night and the sky was cloudy (no sun at all) this morning. The sun finally broke through for about an hour in the middle of the practice and it was comfortable. But by the time practice ended, the sky was cloudy again and my car thermometer said the outside temperature was only 52 degrees. Once again, I believe it was warmer in San Francisco today.

It was a typical practice for pitchers and catchers today. Practice starts at about 9am with agility drills, followed by running, followed by more drills. Then they stretch. After that, the pitchers broke into groups with 1 group throwing their bullpen sessions and the other 2 taking bunting practice off of a pitching machine. Then the catchers did a drill where the coaches hit balls to them at home while the catchers field the balls and simulate blocking the plate and tagging an imaginary runner. While the catchers did this the pitchers disappeared into the other practice locations. Once the catchers finished this drill, they took live batting practice with the coaches throwing and the pitchers were done.

As is always the case, the catchers did not hit the ball with much authority this early in the spring. Only Guillermo Rodriguez had consistently good contact. After 2 groups of catchers (plus Eugenio Velez) hit, practice was over. The pitchers were done by noon......the catchers by 12:30.

That's about it for today. I think the photo captions contain enough detailed information, so that I can use the narrative post as just a summary. I am not sure I trust the weatherman......but the forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 71 degrees. I think today's photos were better than yesterday.......but they always seem to be of a higher quality when the sun is shinning.

So far this spring, Matt Cain and Barry Zito have been attached at the hip. With the year Zito had last year....I'm not sure that is a good thing.

Tyler Walker is still a big boy......but, in following the theme for this year, he also reported to camp as light as I can remember seeing him.

By far the skinniest guy on the team......Eugenio Velez. I watched him steal 14 bases in 15 tries (in only 17 games) in the Arizona Fall League. He is as fast as Fred Lewis but his baserunning instincts are FAR superior. He really wants a job. He did all of the agility drills, stretching and running with the pitchers. I have never seen that. Usually, early arriving position players head out to the batting cages for a few minutes and that's it. The coaches rewarded Velez by allowing him to take live batting practice with the catchers.

Merkin Valdez on the right.......Victor Santos on the left. I remember when I first saw Merkin he looked like a taller Eugenio Velez. He has sure filled out. Hope he can make it back from the Tommy John surgery.

Jack Taschner signing autographs. Jack not only signed autographs for everyone who wanted one.....he stood there and talked with the fans for another 10 minutes after he had signed everything they had.

Guillermo Rodriguez in the cage. Rodriguez got the first (and so far only) HR of the Spring....a shot to straight away LF. Rodriguez was hitting line drives all over the field. Everyone else who batted....not so much. Alfonzo spent the entire batting session on the left side of the cage while Molina and Rodriguez never left the right side. Not much interaction between Alfonzo and the other players.

Have you EVER seen more catchers in one place at the same time? L-R; Jackson Williams, Stephen Holm, Guillermo Rodriguez, Pablo Sandoval and Eliezer Alfonzo. Bengie Molina was just out of the photo to the left. That's Randy Messenger that looks like he is eating his hat.

This was pretty funny. The pitchers took bunting practice today in groups of 5 or 6. This group was playing hockey with the bunted balls. Jack Taschner and Noah Lowry (facing camera) were pretty darn good, even completing passes to each other before taking their "slap shots". Randy Messenger and Osiris Matos were terrible. Brian Wilson and Brad Hennessey were also in this group and they were just fair.

Team stretching. If you look at last year's photos you will see there are A LOT less players than last year. I only count 55 on the Spring Training roster this year. I believe there were well over 70 last year. And last year several of the lower Minor League players, especially pitchers, worked out with the team early on. So far I have seen NO ONE who is not on the roster or list of non-roster invitees.

This is an example of one of the agility drills that the pitchers have to run through. They look more like something we had to do for football than for baseball. Lots of pitchers in this photo...see how many you can name.

Bengie Molina and Guillermo Rodriguez. Is it my imagination or are they both thinner than last year? As a note.....Molina and Rodriguez seem to hang together.......Eliezer Alfonzo seems to be on his own.

The franchise, Tim Lincecum making friends and signing autographs. Too bad the guys finger was over Timmy's face on the baseball card. That would have made a VERY good photo. One 14 year old kid got Barry Zito's signature on a #75 jersey and Lincecum's signature on a bat. He was one happy camper. And the 14 year old kid looked older than Timmy.

I saw this guy stretching with the team and had no idea who he was. Later when they put their uniform shirts on, I saw he was non-roster invitee Bartolome Fortunato. That didn't help much. I still have no idea who he is. Anybody have any information on him?

If you have been following the news reports.....looks like Zito and the other starting pitchers won him over. Kevin Correia was sporting the high socks today.

There was some discussion yesterday about player's weights differing from what the roster says. This might be the worst example yet. This is non-roster invitee Jose Capellan. The roster says he is 6'2" 170 lbs. He does look 6'2"....but I think he is closer to 270 than 170 (I would say 230 maybe). The Latin players in particular seem to be WAY off from what the roster claims.

Bruce Bochy signing a ball for a fan. That's everyone's favorite GM in the foreground.

For Phil. Here is Matos from last year. I could be wrong but he sure looks like the same guy to me. Although, I looked up some photos of Pichardo on the net and he certainly is no where NEAR 160 pounds.

A Rainy Day in Scottsdale

Well, the Baseball Gods continue to conspire against me. When I woke up this morning it was raining……not hard….but rain just the same. Last night we actually had a pretty good hail shower. I believe the predicted high temperature in Scottsdale today is lower than the predicted high in San Francisco. Two days ago it was bright sunshine and 76 degrees. Today on my first chance to attend a practice……the weather is poor. It figures.

I really didn't believe the Giants would have any real activity today, for risk of injury, but I went down to Scottsdale Stadium anyway. When I got there the Security guy told me that the tarp was on the field and the players were not coming out today. When I told him that I had seen the players warming up as I walked over from the parking lot, he was surprised and let me in the gate. Unfortunately, however, I was right about the lack of activity.

The main field was indeed covered, but the pitchers were out on the outfield grass warming up. The practice field did not have a tarp on it. I overheard Bruce Bochy telling a press guy that they were not going to use the main field, except to warm-up. After warming up……the pitchers who did not throw bullpens yesterday went to throw on the gang pitching mounds and the others left for the practice field. There was also some activity going on in the hitting cages. I will post a second post later on, detailing the layout of the facility for those of you who didn't read my first posts last year and have never been to the park……but the bottom line is that spectators to not have access to any area that allows for viewing of the practice field or the gang mounds. The hitting cages likewise are not accessible to fans. After I was there for about 10 minutes…..…all players had left the viewable field so I went home.

I took a very view photos. The lighting was bad and I didn't put a lot of care into taking them……but I will post a few anyway. It was good to see a baseball field again, even if it was wet and covered with a tarp. Sorry about the poor photo quality today....it will get better.

Tomorrow the forecast is for 66 degrees and "plenty of sunshine". Hopefully, the Baseball Gods will cooperate and I will be able to post more and better info.

Clockwise from the bottom: Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Steve Kline and I am not sure of the 4th......Billy Sadler maybe? Kline really is a lot thinner.....and that's with a sweatshirt on. Hopefully, he can get back to getting LHB out.

Another new addition, Scott Williamson. That's Jonathan Sanchez in the crouch and I believe that is Osiris Matos in the background.

Same old Kevin Correia........still no haircut. Go Mustangs!!

Here is one of our latest non-roster additions, Keiichi Yabu. Was he always this big? When I first saw him, I thought Benjie Molina had changed uniform numbers. If you look in the background, you will see Eugenio Velez (#57) is already in camp.

Barry Zito and Matt Cain playing catch. That's an awful lot of money out there cavorting around on the slippery wet grass.

OK, Try Again Tomorrow

Before I made this post, I sent off a nasty e-mail to my ticket representatives with a copy to everyone else I know in the organization. In a surprisingly quick response, I just got an e-mail back saying the gates would be open within a few minutes and that the closing of practice was just a "simple miscommunication" with the security staff. Yeah...they just happened to close the gates on their own and even set an arbitrary date when fans would be let in. Not to mention that I personally saw Mike Murphy take a couple of low Minor Leaguers who just wanted to sit in the stands and watch up to the office to get a "one day pass". Apparently, it was a "simple miscommunication" with Murph too.....and he knows EVERYTHING That goes on around the park.

At any rate......I will try again tomorrow.

Maybe the moral of this story is "The squeaky wheel always gets the grease".

Giants Do It Again

Well, I just got back from Scottsdale Stadium. When I got there, I found out that the Giants, in yet another big FU to their fans, will not be letting the public attend practices until February 25th........3 days before the first game. The security guy, who I know from past years, said he had no idea why and said they were just told this morning when they reported to work. I am NOT a happy camper.

As a dual season ticket holder......I get e-mails from the Giants (sometimes almost daily) trying to sell me something or the other. You would think they could a least give the fans the courtesy of a short e-mail when they make these kinds of changes.

Sorry folks......Spring Training coverage has been unavoidably delayed for a couple of weeks.......due to the inability of the Giants organization to think about what's best for the fans.

Welcome to Spring Training 2008

Well, it's about that time of year again. Pitchers and catchers report the day after tomorrow, and hold their first workout on Thursday. I am torn between thinking that this year flew by and thinking the off-season was just too damn long. Even though I spent October and November in Arizona going to 25 or so Arizona Fall League games and only had to go through December and January without baseball…….it still seems like a long time.

I came to Scottsdale a little early this year. I have been here since January 26^th. It has been exceptionally cold here (for Phoenix). Yesterday was the first day to hit 75 degrees since Thanksgiving. There have been more days in the 50's than in the 60's and 70's since I have been here. I know that doesn't sound bad to those of you in cold weather locales…….but it is very cold for Phoenix. They have been running 10 degrees or so under average since I have been here. Apparently, Arizona didn't get the memo about Global Warming. Looks like it is warming up for Spring Training though as there are several days in a row forecast to be in the 70's. Of course it is predicted to drop down to 63 for the first workout on the 14^th.

Once again I plan on attending most if not all of the Giants' practices and have tickets to every Giants Spring Training game (excluding away split squad games when the Giants are playing at home at the same time). I bought a new ultra-thin camera, so that should make it a little easier to haul the camera around and take photos. It only has a 7X optical zoom, whereas my other camera had a 12X zoom….but it is also a 7.1 megapixel camera whereas the other was only 4. I used the new camera on my Mediterranean trip during the off-season and it seemed to take really good photos……as long as I managed to hold the thing steady. I won't be able to get the close-ups that I could with the other camera, so I may end up alternating between the two. Although, I said the same thing on my vacation and after two days ended up using the ultra thin almost exclusively. It is just so darn easy to carry around.

I am going to try to provide as much "coverage" as I did last year. We have visitors due to stay with us for a little over half of the games in March, so I can't guarantee it. It depends on how things work out, how time consuming entertaining becomes and how drunk I get during the games in the days and restaurants/bars at night.

Throughout the Spring, feel free to comment by clicking on the "comments" link directly under each blog entry. I put the blog on "monitored comments" during the offseason so that I could try and avoid all the spammers that showed up. That means that right now if you leave a comment, I will have to approve it before it is actually published. I plan to take it off "monitored comments" once I am posting everyday and hope to leave it that way through Spring Training unless someone causes problems. The purpose of this blog is mostly to let Giants fans know what and how the team is doing. Not to mention that I will probably post more photos in one day than you will see in the press for the entirety of Spring Training. While I encourage you to comment on that day's activities and that day's player performance, I would appreciate it if this blog does not become yet another "the Giants suck" site. There are message boards and blogs galore devoted almost exclusively to bashing Brian Sabean, Peter Magowan and the 2005 through 2007 Giants teams. I would appreciate it if this blog did not go down that road. That doesn't mean you can't comment negatively about a specific player's spring performance…..….I know I will.

As in past years, if you would like to see a specific photo or subject addressed….just ask in the comments section. I will do my best to post photos of whoever you want to see. This site downsizes the photos for display in the blog……but if you click on the photo you will get a larger version. Feel free to save the photos and use them however you wish. I only ask that if you post it on another internet site, that you give me or this blog credit.

Well that's about it for introductions and ground rules. Welcome to Giants' Spring Training 2008.

GF9

I was there too. Man does not live by baseball alone.

Test #2

Test #2 - Some photos of my off-season vacation. It has been since March of 2007 since I have posted on this blog. Just trying to remember how things work.

Spring Summary

It's hard to believe......but spring has sprung and here we are....just about 24 hours away from the home opener at AT&T Park. After attending 12 practices, 26 ST games in Arizona, another 3 exhibition games here in San Francisco and taking roughly 2,750 photographs........I am about to see some REAL baseball. Games that count......in the best ballpark in the world. It doesn't get any better than that. Tomorrow it will be Giants vs Padres......Zito vs Peavy....the 2007 pennant race will be underway.

The Spring workouts and games held a few surprises........but really not THAT many. We pretty much knew in February the rotation would be Zito, Cain, Morris, Lowry and Ortiz. And if we weren't quite sure about Ortiz........his first game against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa pretty much removed all doubt. Pretty much everyone in the rotation looks to be ready to go......with the possible exception of Noah Lowry. He looked better against the A's on Sunday. 2 runs in 3 innings are WAY too many....but at least he didn't walk anyone. Lowry just doesn't have the stuff to compensate for too many walks or for pitching from behind in the count. I like the look of the rotation.......plus....if Morris, Lowry or Ortiz falter....the Giants have options in the Minors (Lincecum anyone?).

We went into February 15th with the bullpen being the biggest question mark........and here we are in April with the questions looming just as large as they were a month and a half ago. Benitez has been a surprise.......his fastball is not topping out like it used to, but the slider has been great. Chulk and Kline made the opening day roster....pretty much as expected. After that it was a dog fight. The biggest surprises for me have to be that Hennessey made the roster and Wilson didn't. I thought Hennessey had the club made back in February........but he pitched VERY poorly all spring and I was sure he had coughed it up. I thought Wilson was a lock....until a certain pitching coach, who shall remain nameless, called him "inconsistent". In what has to be one of the worst self-fulfilling prophesies of all time......Wilson has been exactly that.....inconsistent......since that comment was made. I also thought that, despite his spotty performance, Munter was going to make the team. His sinker was back.....and a number of the basehits he gave up.......were groundballs that found a hole.

All in all I am VERY worried about the bullpen. I wasn't in February........but I am now. Although I wasn't sure which pitchers would make the team.......I was sure the Giants had enough good young arms to do the job. I am not so sure now. The bullpen performance has been pretty bad all spring. My only hope is that....it was JUST the spring.....it didn't count.......and they, hopefully, will pitch how I thought they would back in February. Any way you look at it.........if you are a Giants' fan........the bullpen HAS to be your biggest concern.

As far as the position players go.........those roster decisions were almost exactly as predicted in February. Molina, Aurilia, Durham, Vizquel, Feliz, Bonds, Roberts and Winn as the starters. Klesko as PH, 1B & LF sub. Alfonzo as backup C. Linden as the 4th OF and Frandsen as the utility IF. The only surprise ended up being the 25th man. I was sure it would be a battle between Sweeney & Ellison with Ellison being the odd man out. I was only partially correct. Ellison WAS the odd man......but Niekro made the opening day roster and Sweeney was placed on the 15-day DL, with yet another "phantom" injury. In a stroke of luck for Ellison.....he was traded to his boyhood team, the Mariners. A dream come true for him. I wish Ellison all the luck in the world......he is a great guy and is surely an overachiever........but I doubt he will ever hit more than .240-.250 in the Majors with little or no power.

Niekro was a surprise because he rarely even practiced on the main field with the regulars. When the games began.....he got little playing time at first. Minor injuries to Aurilia and Klesko, opened the door and Niekro burst through by batting .357 and smacking 3 HRs and 10 RBI in only 41 ABs. It will be interesting to see what happens when Sweeney is eligible to come off the DL and Niekro's 15 day audition is over. You have to root for a kid who came up through the Giants' organization........but I have ZERO faith in his ability to stay healthy and produce. Seems like all he needs is a hangnail.....and his average dips 80 points and all power mysteriously disappears. I will be rooting for him though.....I hope he proves me wrong.

In one of the most heartening developments of the spring.....Bonds is as healthy as he has been in years. He shows no signs of any lingering knee or elbow problems. Although he will never again be the Gold Glove 30 year old I remember running like a gazelle in LF.......he won't embarrass himself (as long as the ball stays out of the sun) and should make most of the plays. He still has a ton of power.......and I will bet you that once the season starts for real.......the tendency he had in the spring to strikeout will disappear. Although they had a few minor dings and dents.......the remainder of the team is healthy and should put a few runs on the scoreboard.

Health will remain the #1 concern for this roster all season long. Actually......I take that back. The bullpen will remain the #1 concern for the roster all season long. Health will be the #1 concern for the offense. Can the offense remain healthy and provide enough runs to carry the bullpen on it's off days? Can the bullpen keep those "off days" to a minimum and not blow every game after the starter is pulled? Is Benitez for real? Or is he just fooling us before he returns to his save-blowing former self? I have no idea.........you will have to stay tuned to the regular season to have those questions answered.

This is the end of my Spring Training Blog for this year. I may or may not write a few notes during the regular season. I do this in the spring because there is no place you can go to get a lot of info on what is happening in Arizona. It is kind of redundant to do this during the regular season. During the regular season.....there is more coverage than you know what top do with. With KNBR, KTVU, FOX, FSBA, MLBTV and internet radio..........you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about the team.

I am glad so many of you enjoyed the blog. We ran from a high of 1,995 visitors on the second day of the Giants' Idol event....to an average of 900 to 1,000 visitors a day in mid-March. That dropped off to about 600 a day in the last week and a half. I guess people got tired of Spring Training and were ready for the regular season to start. At any rate.......I enjoyed the Spring Training season very much......I always do.