Spring Training 2019

[LHG]

Apparently, that is HENRY Ramos, not HELIOT Ramos...

Oh, I just learned, are brothers - Ramos brothers reunited on Giants

 

[stanford the manford]

Oh, I just learned, are brothers - Ramos brothers reunited on Giants

Shades of the Alous'..... need a third

 

[Stokes1931]

From today's game against the Dogs.

https://www.mlb.com/video/ferguson-lays-out-for-the-grab-c2523549483?t=spring-training

 

[tzill]

From today's game against the Dogs.

https://www.mlb.com/video/ferguson-lays-out-for-the-grab-c2523549483?t=spring-training

Playoffs, regular season, spring training.

Don't care...love to see us beat the doyers.

 

[1phlapdown]

Beat LA

Damn, I'm starting to get the itch, which means driving out to AZ.

 

[LHG]

Beat LA

Damn, I'm starting to get the itch, which means driving out to AZ.

You'll need to take out a small loan for hotel and tickets.

 

[1phlapdown]

You'll need to take out a small loan for hotel and tickets.

I'm sure they still have the infamous spring training tax for tourist involved expenditures.

Fuck, it's going to be in the 80's too. I need shaded seats. Oh well, "ya can't take it you". Two games in Scottsdale and one in Glendale.

 

[LHG]

I'm sure they still have the infamous spring training tax for tourist involved expenditures.

Fuck, it's going to be in the 80's too. I need shaded seats. Oh well, "ya can't take it you". Two games in Scottsdale and one in Glendale.

Have fun.

 

[1phlapdown]

For nice seats at Scottsdale stadium 120 bucks. For White Sox nice seats in Glendale 32.

 

[LHG]

With only 16 days left in spring training, the Giants still have 45 players still in camp (they've optioned or reassigned 22 players already, plus another 11 that got a chance to appear in a big league spring game). Here's the breakdown of who's left:
Starting rotation: Tyler Beede, Madison Bumgarner, Derek Holland, Drew Pomeranz, Dereck Rodriguez, Jeff Samardzija, Christ Stratton and Andrew Suarez. Locks: Bumgarner, Holland, Pomeranz, Rodriguez & Samardzija. Competing for open spots: None. Beede, Stratton and Suarez can only hope to stick with the club in the bullpen.

Bullpen: Beede, Travis Bergen, Ty Blach, Ray Black, Sam Dyson, Trevor Gott, Derek Law, Mark Melancon, Reyes Moronta, Steven Okert, Will Smith, Stratton, Suarez, Pat Venditte, Nick Vincent, Tony Watson. Locks: Dyson, Melancon, Moronta, Smith, Watson. Competing for open spots: Beede, Bergen, Blach, Black, Gott, Law, Okert, Stratton, Suarez, Venditte for 2 to 3 spots. Who's hot: Beede, Bergen, Gott. Who's in trouble: Law, Okert, Venditte, Black, Suarez. Analysis: Law, Venditte and Black are fairly easy decisions to send down at this point. Law is not on the 40 man roster while both Black and Venditte have options. Okert, however, is out of options and is looking like he may be a casualty at this point. One of the spots is the long man and none of Blach, Stratton and Suarez have really stood out. Suarez will most likely head to Sacramento to start anyway. Blach may have an option left, which gives Stratton the leg up on the long man spot. I do think the Giants go with an 8 man bullpen, which means that most likely Gott and Bergen have the inside edge on the final two spots, since Gott has no options (while Beede does) and Bergen is a Rule 5. I liked Nick Vincent as a strong contender but he hasn't looked great (but hasn't looked awful either). He could edge back in with a strong finish and one of Gott or Bergen faltering.

Catchers: Joey Bart, Aramis Garcia, Buster Posey, Rene Rivera, Stephen Vogt. Lock: Posey. Competing for open spot: Bart, Garcia, Rivera, Vogt. Who's hot: Bart, Vogt, Rivera and Garcia all have spring OPS north of .860. Analysis: We all know that Bart isn't really in the running but he's putting up the best numbers and is still in camp (side note, I wonder if his amazing spring will get him jumped from San Jose to Richmond to open the season). Vogt is probably out too because he just caught his first game of the spring yesterday. That leaves Rivera and Garcia. I'd say the edge belongs to Rivera right now.

Infielders: Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Zach Green, Alen Hanson, Even Longoria, Levi Michael, Joe Panik, Pablo Sandoval, Donovan Solano, Yangervis Solarte. Locks: Belt, Crawford, Longoria, Panik, Sandoval. Competing for open spot: Green, Hanson, Michael, Solano, Solarte for the final infield spot. Who's hot: The only ones hitting well are the two guys with the most unrealistic chances of making the team - Green and Michael. Who's in trouble: Hanson. Analysis: The competition is really down to three players (although, I'd like to think that Green or Michael would get an opportunity. Green, however, only plays the corners) - Hanson, Solano and Solarte. Hanson is looking awful offensively. He's also the only one on the 40 man roster but is out of options. The Giants seem high on Solarte but his bat has gone stone cold of late. Solano, meanwhile, has posted almost identical numbers to Solarte, with his bat trending upward. I'd still give Solarte the edge on this one.

Outfielders: Steven Duggar, Drew Ferguson, Anthony Garcia, Mike Gerber, Cameron Maybin, Gerardo Parra, Henry Ramos, Austin Slater, Mac Williamson. Locks: Williamson, maybe? Maybe Parra? Competing for open spots: Basically, everyone on this list is competing for, essentially, 4 roster spots. Who's hot: Gerber, Parra. Who's in trouble: Ramos, Ferugson, Slater, Maybin, Garcia, Duggar. Analysis: I will start with this. This competition is the most frustrating part of spring training for me. The fact that they decided to send down Shaw, who's numbers are better than everyone on this list except for Gerber and Parra, is ridiculous. In an "open competition" like this, numbers should be huge in determining who makes it. Yet they've decided to keep Maybin in camp this long, despite his brush with the law and his awful numbers (which are not getting any better as spring moves along). Yet, I have a bad feeling that Maybin has a serious chance to break camp because Duggar and Ferguson are both struggling as well. I think the 4 spots are far from settled, except for Parra and maybe Williamson (who'd doing okay but not great).

 

[LHG]

Whaa????????
"Bochy said outfielder Chris Shaw, who was optioned to Minor League camp on Tuesday, could get some reps at first base this spring. Shaw, 25, has not played first base since 2017, when he made 18 appearances at the position for Double-A Richmond."

 

[LHG]

With only 16 days left in spring training, the Giants still have 45 players still in camp (they've optioned or reassigned 22 players already, plus another 11 that got a chance to appear in a big league spring game). Here's the breakdown of who's left:
Starting rotation: Tyler Beede, Madison Bumgarner, Derek Holland, Drew Pomeranz, Dereck Rodriguez, Jeff Samardzija, Christ Stratton and Andrew Suarez. Locks: Bumgarner, Holland, Pomeranz, Rodriguez & Samardzija. Competing for open spots: None. Beede, Stratton and Suarez can only hope to stick with the club in the bullpen.

Bullpen: Beede, Travis Bergen, Ty Blach, Ray Black, Sam Dyson, Trevor Gott, Derek Law, Mark Melancon, Reyes Moronta, Steven Okert, Will Smith, Stratton, Suarez, Pat Venditte, Nick Vincent, Tony Watson. Locks: Dyson, Melancon, Moronta, Smith, Watson. Competing for open spots: Beede, Bergen, Blach, Black, Gott, Law, Okert, Stratton, Suarez, Venditte for 2 to 3 spots. Who's hot: Beede, Bergen, Gott. Who's in trouble: Law, Okert, Venditte, Black, Suarez. Analysis: Law, Venditte and Black are fairly easy decisions to send down at this point. Law is not on the 40 man roster while both Black and Venditte have options. Okert, however, is out of options and is looking like he may be a casualty at this point. One of the spots is the long man and none of Blach, Stratton and Suarez have really stood out. Suarez will most likely head to Sacramento to start anyway. Blach may have an option left, which gives Stratton the leg up on the long man spot. I do think the Giants go with an 8 man bullpen, which means that most likely Gott and Bergen have the inside edge on the final two spots, since Gott has no options (while Beede does) and Bergen is a Rule 5. I liked Nick Vincent as a strong contender but he hasn't looked great (but hasn't looked awful either). He could edge back in with a strong finish and one of Gott or Bergen faltering.

Catchers: Joey Bart, Aramis Garcia, Buster Posey, Rene Rivera, Stephen Vogt. Lock: Posey. Competing for open spot: Bart, Garcia, Rivera, Vogt. Who's hot: Bart, Vogt, Rivera and Garcia all have spring OPS north of .860. Analysis: We all know that Bart isn't really in the running but he's putting up the best numbers and is still in camp (side note, I wonder if his amazing spring will get him jumped from San Jose to Richmond to open the season). Vogt is probably out too because he just caught his first game of the spring yesterday. That leaves Rivera and Garcia. I'd say the edge belongs to Rivera right now.

Infielders: Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Zach Green, Alen Hanson, Even Longoria, Levi Michael, Joe Panik, Pablo Sandoval, Donovan Solano, Yangervis Solarte. Locks: Belt, Crawford, Longoria, Panik, Sandoval. Competing for open spot: Green, Hanson, Michael, Solano, Solarte for the final infield spot. Who's hot: The only ones hitting well are the two guys with the most unrealistic chances of making the team - Green and Michael. Who's in trouble: Hanson. Analysis: The competition is really down to three players (although, I'd like to think that Green or Michael would get an opportunity. Green, however, only plays the corners) - Hanson, Solano and Solarte. Hanson is looking awful offensively. He's also the only one on the 40 man roster but is out of options. The Giants seem high on Solarte but his bat has gone stone cold of late. Solano, meanwhile, has posted almost identical numbers to Solarte, with his bat trending upward. I'd still give Solarte the edge on this one.

Outfielders: Steven Duggar, Drew Ferguson, Anthony Garcia, Mike Gerber, Cameron Maybin, Gerardo Parra, Henry Ramos, Austin Slater, Mac Williamson. Locks: Williamson, maybe? Maybe Parra? Competing for open spots: Basically, everyone on this list is competing for, essentially, 4 roster spots. Who's hot: Gerber, Parra. Who's in trouble: Ramos, Ferugson, Slater, Maybin, Garcia, Duggar. Analysis: I will start with this. This competition is the most frustrating part of spring training for me. The fact that they decided to send down Shaw, who's numbers are better than everyone on this list except for Gerber and Parra, is ridiculous. In an "open competition" like this, numbers should be huge in determining who makes it. Yet they've decided to keep Maybin in camp this long, despite his brush with the law and his awful numbers (which are not getting any better as spring moves along). Yet, I have a bad feeling that Maybin has a serious chance to break camp because Duggar and Ferguson are both struggling as well. I think the 4 spots are far from settled, except for Parra and maybe Williamson (who'd doing okay but not great).

Not surprising to see who is in the current round of cuts. Law and Venditte looked bad on the bound and Slater wasn't hitting well at all. Green was doing well, but there is just no room for another corner infielder on the roster. No way they cut Sandoval for him, no matter how poor Sandoval looks and how good Green looks.

 

[1phlapdown]

Nice game today in Scottsdale with lots of his and runs for the good guys. A few of the Gs hits were gifts with both outfields looking like Larry Moe and Curly at times. Pitching looked good aside from Okert giving up a towering dinger. Stratton and Suarez two thumbs up.

Very few empty seats

 

[1phlapdown]

Base running no Bueno. 3 Gs thrown out in 2 games. Parra picked off 2nd, Belt too slow on what he thought was a 2b, and Wotus green lighted a player rounding 3rd who decided to halt. Gaah!

Bum went 6+ with several hits and 1 run. Some nice Ks. Yay.

Melancon: meh.

1-1 into the 8 when Royals pitcher imploded with several gaffes, and a couple of position players also screwed the pooch. Again with Larry Moe and Curly Joe. Gs win.

 

[tzill]

Opening Day OF I see today.

Mac with a clean single in the first...

 

[tzill]

aaaannnnd. Beede craps the mound.

 

[tzill]

boys playing small ball in the fifth...generated four runs so; far 4-2 good guys.

 

[LHG]

The more I think about it, the less I understand this "love" for Cameron Maybin. He has an awful bat (revamped swing or no revamped swing) and his numbers glaringly say he does NOT give a platoon advantage to Duggar (an FO with just basic understanding of stats could clearly see that). The fact that he is still in camp, while Shaw and Gerber, with much better offensive springs, feels like the old Sabean regime is back in charge. It just looks like a blatant love of mediocre veterans over the younger guys with at least some potential. Gerber plays center fielder too, so he makes good sense to be carried as the 4th outfielder. I really hope Maybin doesn't make the team but considering he's hitting better than Ferguson (which isn't saying much, Ferguson has been the 2nd worst hitter in camp, behind Avelino. Heliot Ramos' 3 at-bats not counted).

 

[tzill]

The more I think about it, the less I understand this "love" for Cameron Maybin. He has an awful bat (revamped swing or no revamped swing) and his numbers glaringly say he does NOT give a platoon advantage to Duggar (an FO with just basic understanding of stats could clearly see that). The fact that he is still in camp, while Shaw and Gerber, with much better offensive springs, feels like the old Sabean regime is back in charge. It just looks like a blatant love of mediocre veterans over the younger guys with at least some potential. Gerber plays center fielder too, so he makes good sense to be carried as the 4th outfielder. I really hope Maybin doesn't make the team but considering he's hitting better than Ferguson (which isn't saying much, Ferguson has been the 2nd worst hitter in camp, behind Avelino. Heliot Ramos' 3 at-bats not counted).

I think they have to make a decision on him by Thursday, per his contract. I wouldn't be surprised if he agrees to report to Sac.

 

[1phlapdown]

boys playing small ball in the fifth...generated four runs so; far 4-2 good guys.

I tried to go to that game, and even had a ticket, but they wouldn't let me through security. My camera lens was too big. The security supervisor suggested that I try to get media credentials, or walk the 20min (round trip) back to my car and put the camera in it, after waiting 15min under the blazing midday sun in the security line and missing the first inning (that wasn't happening). I got a ticket refund after waiting another 20min in the sun for a ticket booth supervisor. I needed, and they gave me, a ride to my car.

None of the other security folks at scores of other minor league or ST games have ever took exception to my gear. You would think Spring Training AZ would have uniform rules throughout their ballparks. Arrgh.