Spring Training's Season Outlook

After last season when the Giants won the World Series (yes, it's still fun to type that out), we were left with a handful of important questions that will determine if winning the winter classic was a fluke or not.

Will Aubrey Huff repeat his comeback numbers of last season? Will Buster Posey sink into the notorious "sophomore slump"? Can Pablo Sandoval's weight loss transfer into his 2009 numbers? Will Pat Burrell hit like he did in the Playoffs last season?

All of these questions may not be able to be answered right now, but spring training numbers can shed some light  on the regular season.

So far, the Giants have played a total of 32 Spring training games in Arizona in 2011, so consider this a small sample size.

Aubrey Huff is currently hitting .350 in 19 games, with five home runs and 15 RBIs to lead the team. What is more impressive is that he only has five strikeouts and a .650 slugging %. Although he may not hit this well in the regular season, he does seem to be seeing the ball well and is hitting everything with authority. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic here.

The next question is if Posey's rookie season was a fluke. I'm happy to say it most certainly wasn't.

Posey is currently leading the team with a .405/.537/.714 stat line in 17 games as catcher this spring. Just the other day he had most of his at-bats result in a walk (so far, 11 walks, one strikeout) while hitting 3 home runs and driving in 11. It's another safe assumption that Posey is bound for another prosperous year, perhaps MVP worthy.

One of the biggest topics thrown around this spring is the resurgence of Pablo Sandoval. After a mediocre season in 2010, he trained hard and found himself almost 40 pounds lighter. So far, its paying off. He is second on the team in hits this spring and he has also crushed 3 home runs with 12 RBIs while maintaining a .290 average.

Sandoval's 14 strikeouts (tied second on the team) are a concern about his plate discipline (only three walks) but he continues to find himself much more productive than last season.

Finally, Burrell's spring has been unlike the ones listed above. He has been struggling at the plate with a .235 average, but he still continues to get on base with a .350 OBP. He has only 2 home runs with 8 RBIs but a good indicator is his 1.11 K/BB rate (9 walks, 10 strikeouts in 19 games), certainly an improvement from last years playoffs' 3.14 K/BB rate.

So all of these questions are far from answered, but I hope the numbers provided will put an optimistic outlook on the 2011 season.

UPDATE: as I wrote this, Huff hit a home run and Burrell hit a 2-RBI double...

Awesome Brian Wilson Montage

Saw this video and decided that, much like Brian Wilson, it is awesome. Get well soon Wilson, we need you more than you know.



Brian Wilson - Fear by kmarciel

Rusty's Player Projections: The Bullpen

With less than a week left until opening day, it's time to take a look at the last uncovered projection for the 2011 Giants: the Bullpen.

In 2010, the bullpen held a reputation for having unique, wild and passionate personalities pitch the late innings.

We first saw Sergio Romo grow out his pirate beard in late August, and with every end of an inning he would skip off the mound yelling and pounding his glove. Exciting.

Then Jeremy Affeldt would step in with his grown facial hair, sometimes talking to himself when he ended his outings in triumph. Electric.

Then they call out the wildest and craziest guy we have ever seen on a baseball field: Brian Wilson. With his dark beard, tattoos, and cold blue eyes staring at the batter, whatever pitch he threw looked as deadly as the last.

Then you have the quiet, reserved pitchers in the 'pen like Javier Lopez, Dan Runzler, Santiago Castilla, and Ramon Ramirez who pitched diligently.

As a group, these men made up one of, if not the best, bullpens in the league. Here are the ERA totals for each of them in 2010:

Jeremy Affeldt 4.14
Denny Bautista 3.74
Santiago Castilla 1.95
Javier Lopez 1.42
Guillermo Mota 4.33
Ramon Ramirez 0.67!
Chris Ray 4.13
Sergio Romo 2.18
Dan Runzler 3.03
Brian Wilson 1.81

Thats an average ERA of 2.74 in the bullpen, need I say more?

We saw them dominate in the playoffs and World Series to prove that the Giants have the deepest bullpen in the league.

But can they repeat their success?

I believe so. Some of the Giants best relief pitchers (Ramon Ramirez and Javier Lopez) last year joined the team halfway through the season, who knows how well they would have done if they played from the beginning.

I think Affeldt will have a rebound season from his mediocre 4+ ERA of 2010, but I don't think he will be as good as his 2009 ERA of 1.73 with 33(!) holds.

Because there are too many of these guys, I'm going to predict if each member will improve from last season, stay the same or become worse:

Jeremy Affeldt- Improve, sub 3 ERA
Santiago Castilla- about the same, or a little worse.
Javier Lopez- Same, sup 2 ERA
Guillermo Mota- Same
Ramon Ramirez-Worse, impossible to maintain an ERA so low
Sergio Romo- Improve, sub 2 ERA
Dan Runzler- Improve, sub 3 ERA
Brian Wilson- See projection here, but in a nutshell, improve.

Feel free to comment below, I enjoy any feedback I can get.

What is Right with This World

I remember when I first picked up a baseball.

The stitches intrigued me, red thread woven over and under the soft white cow hide. It smelled like nothing else, felt like nothing else and I immediately knew that this baseball symbolized much more than just one of the millions of baseballs identical to it.

The baseball was a beacon, a home and an asylum from chores, homework and stress as a kid. Paired with the glove, the ball became complete. Being reuniting with each other with a satisfying pop, playing catch became more than an exercise and more of a drug. A drug in which the only thing I needed was to hear that sweet sound in the warm summer air.

I can still taste the dry air, sunflower seeds and Big League Chew on the tip of my tongue. I can still hear the ping of a bat and the roar of the crowd, and I feel at home. Growing up I could sense that the simple game of baseball meant much more to me than a game, it was a past time. 

All of these sensations I experienced is something every American kid shares with each other since this great game was created over a century ago. I once read a children's book on Babe Ruth and his career. He too was a kid like me. So was Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and every other great ball player. I instantly became connected and engaged with the past and present love for the game.

I started collecting cards, keeping the pieces of cardboard safe and sound in an old shoe box as they were the rich currency on the playground at school. I still have them to this day, and often look back and remember how much I cherished the Topps in plastic sleeves. 

Today, I realize baseball has become a part of who I am. I played it until I was 13, but a Giant-faithful I continued to be. My lack of skill may have made me lose interest in playing the game competitively, but I still yearn to play the game I grew up with.

 I miss the leather on my left hand because it just belongs there. It feels right. I miss the pop of the glove, the smooth, ruff texture of a baseball, and I miss playing catch with the one who taught it all to me: my dad. 

My coach, my father and my friend was there when I picked up a baseball for the first time, and this weekend he will accompany me to Scottsdale, AZ for our first Spring training. Together we have been dreaming of going since I could remember. 

We both want to feel the same sensations we felt as kids, we want to feel the newborn optimism of the spring time, and we want to feel like we are still a part of the game. We want to spit seeds in the hot desert sun, eat a few hot dogs and watch the players that brought us our first World Series ever. 

I have a feeling that once I'm there, everything will  feel right. The way it used to be, and the way it shall always be. 

Go Giants.

*I will be doing game coverages this weekend so stay tuned*