If there is one thing I learned from spending the week talking to media members at Spring Training, it’s that Buster Posey hates answering questions about his ankle.
Tag Archives: Buster Posey
With a Grain of Salt: Reacting to Spring Training, Part 2
Greetings from Scottsdale! Thomas and I are out here for Spring Training, and we’ve had a very interesting time so far. We’ve seen two games, one loss and one tie, and done our best not to melt in the desert sun.
Some highlights:
– We talked to Willie McCovey. He’s very impressed by the new outfielders, but especially Melky Cabrera. We saw him call Melky over and introduce himself and shake his hand. Melky went 0-3, but I’ll give McCovey’s judgement the benefit of the doubt. Also, we talked to Willie McCovey.
"Hi Melky, my name is Willie McCovey."
– Today’s game was pretty slow offensively, if you can believe it, with good pitching. Matt Cain gave up two runs and gave up some solid contact, but threw 48 strikes on 71 pitches. At this point it’s more about getting his pitches across the plate than avoiding bats. After that, Mitch “who?” Lively, Brian Wilson, Javier Lopez, Clay Hensley, Brian Burres, Dan Otero and Jean Machi combined for 6.1 shutout innings.
– I wish I had predicted more loudly two weeks ago that Gregor Blanco would make the team, because it seems more and more likely now. He walked in the first inning, then motored from first to third on a Melky groundout, then scored. Dude’s fast, takes initiative, and can fill several roles. When asked about Blanco as a fourth outfielder, Bochy said “Great starter too.” He made no promises, but likes what Blanco can bring to the club with his speed and defense.
– For some reason, our video camera recorded Bochy sideways, so sorry about that.
– Buster Posey is tired of answering questions about his health.
– Matt Cain is tired of answering questions about his contract.
– We watched Freddy Sanchez take grounders. He was able to make the throw to first, but it seemed a little below top speed. Bochy said he may take infield practice tomorrow or the next day, but they’re taking it really slow with him.
– Cubs fans really seem to care about Spring Training. They showed up in force at Giants stadium on Tuesday, and even threw back a home run that Anthony Rizzo hit, despite the fact that Rizzo is on the Cubs. Moral of this story: Cubs fans are both passionate, and can’t tell the difference between black and blue.
– Randy Winn
#Winning
Buster Posey: Seven Reasons the Giants Superstar Should Never Catch Again
The San Francisco Giants were two separate teams last year. Before Buster Posey joined the team on May 29, they were 25-22, in third place in the NL West, and 2.5 games back of first place.Â
With the offense struggling, Posey carried the team to a playoff berth and, eventually, a World Series win. With Posey, the Giants went 67-48, finishing the year 92-70.
Posey was more than a spark for the Giants offense; he helped maintain the quality of their biggest strength: pitching. The Giants pitching staff finished the year with a 3.36 ERA, the best in the majors.
The staff shut out opposing teams 17 times, led the majors in strikeouts, and held opposing batters to just a .236 batting average.
In 2011, tragedy struck. With Giants fans looking forward to a full year of their young, baby-faced savior, Posey was cut down in a collision at the plate when Marlins pinch hitter Scott Cousins crashed shoulder-first into Posey, knocking him back and out of the game.
Later, X-rays showed that Posey suffered a broken fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle, and that he would require season-ending surgery. Posey has announced his intention to return to the catcher position after he recovers.
However, with the talent and value that he has as a hitter and team leader, here are seven reasons why Buster Posey should never play catcher again. Continue reading