Spring Training 2011: Days 3 & 4

So, for the 3rd day of Spring Training, Dad and I headed of to Surprise, Arizona to watch the Giants take on the Texas Rangers in a world series rematch. It was a sweltering day and the stadium was packed with 12,000 plus people, but what a day it was.

The Giants had Ryan Vogelsong on the mound, looking to make his way onto the 25 man roster. Once thought to be a top prospect in the Giants organization around the turn of the century, Vogelsong meandered through the Bigs until taking a hiatus after the 2006 season. He ended up going to Japan in 2007 and did not return to the Majors until signing a minor league contract with the Angels. In this outing, he outpitched Tommy Hunter, by going 4 innings giving up a couple of runs, walking 1, allowing 4 hits and striking out 2. Not a stellar performance, but solid enough for spring.

The big story was Kung Fu Panda himself, Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval had a couple of hits including a stand up triple and a stolen base! A lot of people kind of wondered about Sandoval and his level of athleticism after he showed up overweight to camp last year and subsequently lost his starting job to Juan Uribe in the World Series following a meager regular season performance. Well, he sure seemed to be hustling along and looks ready to return to his rookie form.

Another note was that Gaylord Perry was signing baseballs for charity under a tent on the main concourse. I couldn't resist and got myself a ball. As he signed, I said, "Thank you for the year in Seattle and sorry about the tugboat." He chuckled a little and it was a great baseball moment that I'll always remember.

DAY 4:

Once again, we found ourselves in Peoria as the Mariners were to take on the Cubs. It started the same as our last Peoria endeavor: multiple first pitches and a national anthem singer that couldn't remember all the words.

Doug Fister had his longest start of spring, managing to go 4&1/3 innings, but it was sloppy, with 6 hits and 3 walks. Fister's control struggled and while this wasn't the worst an outing could go, it still leaves one hoping that Fister finds his control by April.

The one thing I really enjoyed about this particular game was watching the Mariner offense finally work how we had hoped it would work last year. Figgins got on a few base hits and beat out a force at second that kept an inning going. Figgins did get picked off in a run down, but he, Ichiro, and Josh Wilson all managed to steal a base. Justin Smoak had a few big hits and even Dustin Ackley managed one in his only at bat. Sure, no moonshot home runs, but production enough to get the M's out of a deficit.

Also, years after being duped at a baseball training camp, I finally got a legitimate Robby Thompson autograph!