The Giants came out on the short end of a ragged game in Scottsdale as Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey and Joe Panik made their 2018 spring debuts. Key Lines:
Joe Panik 2B- 1 for 1, HBP. BA= 1.000. Panik makes his spring debut and gets plunked in his first AB. He stayed around long enough to get his first spring hit in his second PA which drove in a run and he later scored one.
Andrew McCutchen RF- 1 for 1, BB. BA= .333.
Austin Slater PH/RF- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .400. Slater is off to a good start to the spring.
Buster Posey C- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .500. Apparently Buster has been slowed by a sore ankle, but had a successful spring debut today.
Chris Shaw PR/LF- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .143. Shaw scuffled at the plate in the first two games but got his first spring hit today.
Kelby Tomlinson SS- 1 for 3, 3B. BA= .167. Kelby's first hit of the spring was a 3-bagger.
Ryan Howard SS- 1 for 2. BA= .333. I did not recall that Howard was a ST invitee. Where's Crawford? It's too early to be playing games anyway.
Steven Duggar CF- 1 for 2, HR(1). BA= .400. It was mop up time and a nobody pitching, but yeah, Duggar is making his statement early.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 10.80. Bummy did not have to do anything but get his work in. He got hit a bit, but recording all 5 of his outs by K is great.
Pierce Johnson RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. This was Johnson's second appearance. He came in to get 1 out to get out of an inning the last time. Is he a dark horse to make the team?
Casey Kelly RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. I have a nagging feeling that Casey Kelly still has a MLB career in there somewhere.
Tyler Rogers- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 2/0. ERA= 0.00. This was Rogers' second scoreless inning of work this spring.
Pudge's kid gave up 6 runs in his 0.1 IP for half of the runs the Cubbies scored. Rough day.
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Baggs or Pavlovich noted that Crawford is being kept out of the lineup till after March 1, for fear of overworking his arm on long throws. Apparently he developed fatigue in his arm during ST in past years.
ReplyDeleteThat seems smart. Spring training is way too long anyway.
DeleteSchulman said Crawford it out just because there’s no reason for players to be in if they don’t feel ready for live pitching. As someone who loves going to spring training, it’s not too long.
ReplyDeleteThe only legitimate purpose to spring training is to prepare for the season which is 162 games long. Veteran players don't need a month and a half to get ready for the season and spring training performance is a terrible way to evaluate players for roster spots. Waaaay to long!
DeleteThe downside to extending ST beyond what is necessary to prepare for the season is 1. More opportunity for injury. 2. Fatigue.
DeleteMay it be better for the pitchers? And they need batters? And games situations?
DeleteYesterday was a game that might be called in the 5th.
I'm thinking years and years ago, players literally got in shape during spring training. With today's off season fitness regimens and the size of player contracts, players are in way better shape than "back in the day." In other words, ST just doesn't need to be this long as players are closer to being game ready once spring rolls around.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Because they worked jobs in the offseason because you couldn't afford to live any kind of life on what they made. My grandfather used to hire 49ers and 'professional' wrestlers in his business (which was seasonal) that allowed them to make money. Other guys sold cars or insurance or what-not during the offseason.
DeleteNow even the 'scrubs' at the MLB level make six figures and don't have to worry about paying the rent or the utility bills. So they can train all offseason and show up in great shape instead of having to work into shape.
Except, maybe, the pitchers.
DeleteYou can stay in shape but the "golden arm" needs TLC.
Unfortunately, spring training is big money these days. Check out Arizona. They used to play ST games on school ballfields, charging a nominal fee to whoever wanted to come. Now, they build bona-fide ballfields and charge $20-30 per ticket, drawing people from around the nation. All for exhibition games. They definitely could chop off 10-15 games, but then the communities would lose out on big $$.
ReplyDeleteI do not like professional sports enough to pay $20 + for a ticket. Yes I know it is no longer 1979 when a teenager living in San Mateo Co. could take a SamTrans bus to Candlestick and pay $2 for a bleacher seat....
DeleteIf you live close to a minor league stadium, you can get great seats at game time most games for under $10.
DeleteAgree with this. San Jose is a great experience even though the stadium is pretty old and out-of-date. They extremely hospitality-oriented and really deliver a nice game experience.
DeleteI was down there one week night, asked for the best seats available, and they gave us part VIP section all to ourselves. Picnic table right on the line just beyond the 3rd base dugout, basically our own bar. This section was for groups, but they hadn't sold it, so they gave an area that normally accomodates 40 or so people all to ourselves (Two of us). $20 each. $20 and you're a big spender in High A. Fun.