Tag Archives: Freddy Sanchez

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

Episode 40: There’s a Snake in My Boots!

First place is like garlic fries; once you have a taste, you don't want to give it up.

Episode 40: There’s a Snake in My Boots! is out!

In the fortieth episode, Thomas and Danny talk about the losses to the D-Backs, Carlos Beltran’s recent hitting, Barry Zito swapping again with Jonathan Sanchez, Freddy Sanchez’s surgery, and Ryan Vogelsong’s continued dominance.

Click on the image below to find it on iTunes:

You can also find it on the RSS feed, or by clicking on the play button below. We look forward to your feedback, either by commenting here on the blog, emailing us at giantspod@gmail.com, or our Twitter feed.

Go Giants!

Episode 29: A Tough One to Shoulder

I like to think that this is the monster running around, hurting our players.

Episode 29: A Tough One to Shoulder is out!

In the twenty-ninth episode, Thomas and Danny talk about Freddy Sanchez’s injury, the Giants’ bad luck, Bill Hall joining the team, possible solutions at first, Ryan Vogelsong’s Cy Young potential, and review some beer bets.

Check it out on iTunes, or on the RSS feed, or by clicking on the play button below. We look forward to your feedback, either by commenting here on the blog, emailing us at giantspod@gmail.com, or our Twitter feed.

Go Giants!