Quick hits
Brandon Snyder has reported to camp.
Nick Markakis is taking batting practice with Adam Jones and Felix Pie. I almost didn't recognize him without the thick beard and hair.
Jones looks good in the cage. He's ripping line drives all over the field.
Will Ohman was bringing some serious heat in his bullpen session.
Mike Gonzalez was the opposite. He threw free and easy, but he wasn't popping the mitt.
Chad Moeller caught Chris Tillman during the right-hander's session, and they had a long chat afterward in front of the mound. Moeller, as you would imagine, did most of the talking.
Reliever Josh Perrault bears an uncanny resemblance to Brad Bergesen. I did a double-take as Perrault began warming up, thinking at first that Bergesen had moved ahead of schedule and was throwing off a mound.
Matt Albers said his arm feels better this spring than it did a year ago. He also said that he lost about eight pounds over the winter.
"I still want to improve, so I've got some work to do," he said.
"I put in a lot of hard work this off-season and I feel like I'm probably in the best shape that I've been in, so I feel good about that. I've just got to continue to build on that in spring training before the season starts. We've got six weeks here, so I think I'll be real ready to go."
Steve Johnson is wearing No. 85 in Giants camp. Players have given him the nickname "Ocho Cinco."
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
You are full of info this morning...nice to see the early arrivals getting to practice and take batting sessions and not just running and working out..Ohman sounds like he is back and ready to go after his bad injury filled 09...sounds like for the most part that everyone there to this point is in decent shape and ready to go...Albers needs to really pitch well.Moeller keeping Tillman on target...have you talkd to Weiters much?
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Just small talk at his locker. - Roch
Any news on how Johnson is doing?
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Just heard that he's expected to get a lot of innings so the Giants can evaluate him. - Roch
Roch, just love knowing that baseball is around the corner and thank you for the continuous updates and coverage.
Is the atmosphere around camp different than last year with more competitiveness and what sounds like a higher quality of players?
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Different because we're in Sarasota and everyone seems much happier. But there's always a lot of optimism in camp this time of the year. - Roch
Thank you for the Gonzalez info. Very very concerning, especially since Trembley handed him the Closers job on day 2 of ST.
I guess he won't be getting a Gold Star from Kranny today :)
I hope Tillman keeps trying to work on that cutter. Did you get a chance to see how he looked this morning? I am pretty confident that we will see a pretty decent improvement in his command this season. His delivery is so smooth and easy, if he keeps working at it, his smooth delivery should help him to improve his overall command.
Glad to hear Snyder reported, I am also glad to hear that Jonesy was ripping liners all over the field. Keep it up Roch, we love hearing about it!
CBS SPORTS PROJECTED LINEUP AND NUMBERS
BRIAN ROBERTS .302 11 55
MIGUEL TEJADA .300 14 82
NICK MARKAKIS .296 23 106
ADAM JONES .287 27 93
MATT WIETERS .295 24 88
NOLAN REIMOLD .277 25 85
LUKE SCOTT .270 21 68
GARRETT ATKINS .242 18 67
CESAR IZTURIS .275 4 33
While hope springs eternal, and baseball spring trainings launch hope, it does seem there's a bit more optimism this year.
Pushing aside the normal spin you referred to previously, is there something different about this group, this year beyond Sarasota?
It just seems like this is a good young club that can really, truly make a turn.
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I think it's pretty much the same every spring at this time, though the move to Sarasota seems to have energized some people. - Roch
How's the weather?
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I don't think we hit 70 today. And it started to drizzle toward the end of the workout. But nothing I need to shovel. - Roch
Thanks Roch,
You had to remind us about the "Johnson" mistake.
We all know he should be in an Oriole affiliate this year.
Just rubbing salt into the wound
Roch , is there any chance Adam Jones can develope into a 'four spot' hitter and who is the leading candidate to fill that spot at the start of the season ?
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He could mature into that role. No leading candidate at the moment. - Roch
Roch -
I remember Markakis' beard from Fan Fest, and was wondering if you could pass along a few questions:
Most interesting living animal or food item found inside it when he shaved it off?
Number of times he had to sharpen his machete to do the job?
Keep up the good work, incredibly informative as always!
Yet another thank you Roch. It is simply incredible to be back talking about the guys on the field!!
I'm mad at the Giants for messing with Johnson's growth. He should not be in a position right now to have to make the team. He needs more time in the minors. They better not mess up our guy.
How is Chorye Spoone looking?
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Haven't watched him throw. - Roch
Hey Roch. You got me thinking about Steve Johnson and I found this fansite discussing the Giants bullpen. Though I wish Steve the best, I also want him back so his best can be here. Anyway, this link demonstrates there is not much room for him in SF, so hopefully my selfish wish to have him back comes true.
http://giantsbaseballblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/giants-add-relievers.html
Well, 85 should be available in Norfolk when the Giants decide to send Johnson back.
Hmm, after writing that I went to check out a few Giants blogs to see what Johnson's chances of making the team are. Appears he is in the running for the 5th starter spot, which is kind of weird when you think that this team has Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, and they play in a fairly weak division. Why wouldn't they have signed someone with experience above AA for that spot? O's fans may have some legit complaints about how the front office approached the offseason, but wow, it must be frustrating to be a Giants fan right now. You have the two time defending Cy Young winner, and their big offseason move was resigning Bengie Molina to block their top prospect, Buster Posey, who is Weiter's-esque. Complain all you want about Tejada and Atkins, but the Giants think Aubrey Huff is the answer to a team that should seriously be making a strong playoff run. Brummie would love SF, they are practicing Budget Baseball at it's best.
I wonder if every major league closer is ready to pitch right now. It seems that yet again Brummie holds the Orioles front office and their players to a different standard than the rest of major league baseball. Go figure. Melewski already put him in his place.
Roch, was the ball coming out of Ohman's hand good?
Sorry, Roch. Actually meant...any news on how Jim Johnson is doing?
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He's fine. - Roch
Just eight pounds for Albers?
I've lost ten this winter and I'm not a professional athlete...
Hey Roch,
Maybe I missed something, but why is Steve Johnson in Sarasota with the Orioles and not in AZ with the Giants' camp? As a Rule V pick, he'd have to make the Giants' roster or be offered back to the O's. As such, I'd think the guys who'd most want to see him throw are going to be an awful long ways away. I'm sure every team has evaluators everywhere, but the proximity seems odd. Anything to be read into this?
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He isn't in Sarasota. - Roch
Ah...I see I DID miss something...like the part that read "in Giants camp". Sorry 'bout that. Thanks for the polite knuckle-rapping. I'll pay better attention in class sir!
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No problem. I'm glad to have you here. - Roch
Joe in the Dena--After hearing that promising report on your weight loss, any chance that you could become Baltimore's Joe in the Penna?