No recap today, just a gallery. I’m so tired… Check out Jason Stoffel’s new “cookie duster” though.

CLICK PHOTO for full gallery

You gotta love these kids! Remember that slogan from the 80’s. Well, it was the kids that got it done today. Nothing like an extra inning walk off against the hated Dodgers by, the King of Clutch, Ryan Rohlinger.

I totally dug this game. Perfect weather, perfect lighting for photography, great baseball, and of course the Giants come out on top.

Diamond Notes:

- I’m going to keep the notes short today because I have another entry from this morning’s MiLB workout to do.

- No doubt Ryan Rohlinger is the hero of the game, but to me the player of the game is “Big Tex” himself, Roger Kieschnick. I have been wondering what the heck was going on with his playing time the past week. He only had 2 PA  and hadn’t got a whole lot of work in during games. Today, he got subbed late in the game, I believe it was either the 8th or even the 9th inning when he ran out to RF. It was a great decision to put him in though, as his arm and his bat were the turning points of this game.

Ultimately, he gunned down Ronnie Belliard at the plate by about 4 feet after a single to RF. The throw was on the money and Buster handled that bad boy with ease. That not only saved a run but also recorded a much needed out in the top of the 10th. It’s plays like that that squash rallies, as the Dodgers had some serious momentum against Denny Bautista. Giants then head to the bottom on the 10th unscathed.

Roger leads off the inning with a single, which ultimately turns in to the winning run after Torres bunted pinch runner Francisco Peguero to 2nd. Rohlinger came in to battle and laced a double down the RF line to send the Dodgers, and their fans, home with a loss.

- Speaking of Ryan, I don’t know what’s going on but the past couple of years in March the stars have aligned for him to come through with the big hit. It was great to see the team run out of the dugout and give him some love.

- I think this was Guillermo Mota’s first outing this Spring…dude, he was lights out. He made the first 2 hitters look plain silly. 1IP, 2K’s and the last out was a little foul nubber caught on the fly on a great sliding play by Buster Posey at 1B.

- Lastly, we still won the game but I believe we could have won it sooner. In the bottom of the ninth, Darren Ford came in to pinch run at 1B with 1 out. No doubt the green light was given to Darren. One thing I noticed is he is a very smart baserunner. Testing the pitcher, making sure the time is right. In fact on the second pitch, he started to jump but saw it was going to be a semi-pitchout and got back safely without a throw. He then saw his opportunity and let ‘er loose.

The ump said he was out… I believe the ump was wrong. I got pictures of the slide and tag, and you can see Darren is clearly there way ahead of time. Unless the ump said he came off the bag, which it didn’t look like to me, we should have had a runner at 2B and 1 out instead of nobody on and 2 outs. I’ll let you be the judge from the photos.

In the end, a CS for Ford turns in to a GW RBI for Rohlinger, not a bad trade. In the end, it doesn’t matter how we win, it’s just that we do win when we are playing the Dodgers.

CLICK HERE for full gallery.

Who said there isn’t any Giants Baseball today? Just because the MLB game got rained out, doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you hanging on a Sunday.

I had the opportunity to snap some shots during the beginning of Day 1 of MiLB work outs.

The plan from here on out is I will mostly be at ISP (Indian School Park) in the mornings of home games, and then head to Scottsdale Stadium to cover the MLB game. I will try to catch some MiLB games as well, schedule permitting.

I didn’t realize it at first but Baggs said something to me that I thought was a great quote. He said, “Right now, you can get the whole Giants system in one photo.” Thinking on that a little more, it made me realize that after this month, this group of 164 guys gets shipped out all over the country for the opportunity to wear the colors they wear in Arizona, in San Francisco. I think that’s why I love covering MiLB so much. The talent is raw, the desire is strong, and for the most part anything’s possible as long as they keep working hard and get promoted. It’s baseball.

Diamond Notes:

- As you can imagine, not a whole lot was done yesterday. A majority of my time there was a full squad meeting talking about logistics, times, what to do, what not to do, etc.

- After the meeting, they do the necessary stretching and conditioning exercises just like the big league club. It involves a lot of running in lines, skipping, kneeling, hopping, etc. Quite honestly, it’s rough to get good pictures because they are in lines and most of the movements don’t frame well. That’s how the day always starts out though.

- Next they play some catch and then are broken up in to 4 groups that will rotate throughout the day at different stations. Lastly, BP and bullpens. I only got to stay until they were done throwing because of the DBacks game that day.

- Right now it’s just photos but I’ve already got a couple more interview’s scheduled and hopefully can give you some insight once I see some actual baseball drills/gameplay in the next month. Keep checking the site for updates!

CLICK HERE for full gallery.

I don’t mean to pat myself on the back, but if you stayed for the whole game today you would have seen the best double play of spring, Crawford going yard, Buster at 1B, Neal’s diving catch, and oh yeah, Bumgarner taking some hacks. I’ll explain all this and more in the notes…

Diamond Notes:

- Today’s game was a split squad with the other team getting schooled by the Brewers 12-1. After 4, this game wasn’t looking so good either, down by 4 and our offense wasn’t doing a whole lot. That is until we came back with a 9 run 5th, lead by a blast from John Bowker and a slicing double down the line by the Panda. I gotta say I’m liking the offense so far. Granted, a lot of runs have been scored on relief borderline MLB pitchers but hey, watching blasts and doubles from this team is much more exciting than the usual “ground attack.”

- Pitching: Jonathan Sanchez started this game and was a little rusty just like the other starters. He did have 3K’s, but also 3BB and 3H, all in all as long as a zero is put on the board it’s fine by me. Affeldt came in for an inning and allowed 2 walks. I saw him talking to the ump after the inning was over, maybe his strike zone had a lot to do with the free passes from my angle I can’t really tell ball location left to right so I wasn’t able to gauge it. Joe Martinez had a rough outing today, but in reality most of it was because of the count. He would work batters to hitter’s counts, have to come in with something and then give up the big hit. Surprisingly, no walks were issued but he gave up 4 in 1IP. Matos looked studly today. I keep forgetting we still have him. I liked him when he got called up 2 years ago when our bullpen was sparse.

The reliever of the day, and all of last year, was Dan Runzler. Dude is filthy. Plus I love being able to say we gave the DBacks “the Runz.” Medders and Romo were their usual selves but Waldis Jaoquin came in to pitch the 9th and didn’t look good today as well. I know his fastball is pretty impressive, but he can’t locate that bad boy. Very reminiscent of Merkin Valdez to me. If you remember, he was the one that blew the save Wednesday in Peoria as well. He ended up getting out of the jam but I think he needs to change his name to “Wall This” because that’s what hitters do with his pitches. They hit them off the walls in the gaps.

- Aubrey Huff had an interesting play at the plate today. Basically he got burned on a relay that beat him by a good 4 feet. However, he decided to go OVER instead of under to try and tag home. I didn’t get the best pictures of it because, you guessed it, the ump’s butt was in my way. It was a funny play because he plowed through the DBacks catcher and fell on the ground only to realize he wasn’t tagged, but also didn’t touch home. When he finally realized it, he got tagged. I’m beginning to like this guy alot though. Definitely a character and very funny.

- Like I said, very cool things happen late in Spring Training games, like seeing pitchers pinch hitting in order to get some PA’s. Today Steve Johnson and Madison Bumgarner both got the call to hit for the relievers in the game. Madison definitely has some pop. It’s known he’s hit grand slams before but this was my first time seeing him hit live. He’s got good swing, good eye, and isn’t shy at the plate. He FO to RF but he did put a charge in it, and worked the count to his favor. It was caught right in front of the warning track.

- Brandon “The Professor” Crawford took Blaine Boyer to school with a blast to left center. He had a great game today, scoring as a pinch runner, hitting the bomb, and also completing the game ending double play to our first baseman Aubr…Buster Posey?

- Buster finally got in to a game at 1B, which had been talked about ad nauseam leading up to Spring Training. He held his own perfectly there as he started the 3-6-3 DP to get Jaoquin off the mound and end the game. It was a great play as the ball was hit down the line, Buster fielded it cleanly and Brandon stood in there long enough while leaping over the runner to get it back to Buster in time. That play was an absolute beauty. Did I get a photo of it? Of course not…sigh.

No doubt it is a position he hasn’t perfected. Steve Decker was instructing him from the dugout as to where he should be positioned.

- Uematsu came in to catch in between innings so Holm could get his gear on. He has the most awesome looking catcher’s mask. It makes him look like a reptile or something.

- I really hope they play tomorrow and the rain stays away. The game is scheduled to be in Surprise, which by happenstance is where I live. In fact I live right across the street from Surprise Stadium. Also Lincecum and Bumgarner are scheduled to pitch again.

If it does get rained out I will still have Giants baseball for you tomorrow as today was the first day of camp for all the MiLB players. I got a chance to snap some photos and will post them tomorrow as well.

CLICK HERE for full gallery.

I told you he’s the man…

Some days you got it, some days you don’t. Today was one of those days. I’m talking about being focused at the right place, at the right time. There were some very cool plays today, but I was either focused on something else or I was in the wrong position to get the shot. None the less, another Giants victory in the books, err, imaginary books.

Diamond Notes:

- Today I am going to talk a lot about the Giants farm system. To begin, Cal Ripken Jr. was at the game today to throw out the first pitch. How are these two related? Well, for the past five years the Augusta Greenjackets have been the A affiliate of your San Francisco Giants. Cal Ripken Jr. has owned the team ever since the Giants started their affiliation in 2005. It’s no surprise that many of our players have played for the Iron Man while going through the ranks. Most notably Pablo Sandoval, Brian Wilson, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner.

I actually got to talk with him for a minute as he was signing autographs and just thanked him for taking on the club and totally redesigning the look and future of Augusta baseball. Their old logo was hideous, and their current one is actually one of the best in MiLB ball. He is also in the process of trying to get a brand new facility built in Augusta since the current one is dated, although recently renovated. I’ve never been to Lake Olmstead Stadium, but the plans for the new one just look awesome. Granted it isn’t solid that the Greenjackets will always be a Giants affiliate, but with what Ripken has done for our players, I have to support him.

- I’ll get back to talking about our farm in a second, but first I have to mention the contributions of the two guys who came back to the club this off season, Juan Uribe and Bengie Molina.

Both of them went yard today. Juan’s was an absolute monster to LF that I think went beyond the trees on the berm. If for nothing else, I love Juan Uribe’s stance, swing, and the way he drops the bat after he hits a bomb. He just busts me up, it’s like a complete package of hilarity. I’ll explain…First he has a kind of leaned over stance and wiggles the bat a little but it’s always pointing directly straight up. Putting out the vibe as it were. When he gets what he’s looking he gets his whole body in to the swing and if it goes….jazz hands. I can’t think of a better term to describe what he does with his hands after a bomb. He drops the bat like its burning his hands and then sort of “high tens” the sky for a second. You guys know what I’m talking about, it’s awesome. See photo below.

Bengie is looking great the plate. 3-3 today with a shot of his own to LF. Also did a great job behind the dish catching Cain.

- Speaking of Cain, he has had the best outing of the starters so far. They actually let him throw 3 innings today and for the most part was his usual self. Even though he allowed 5 hits, and gave up a run, he worked himself out of jams and got the job done. Johnson looked pretty good as well, no hits but 2BBs.

- Eugenio Velez will not be playing in AA Richmond this year, but he made a play today that is worthy of the name “Flying Squirrel.” There was a shot to the RF gap late in the game today that looked like it was going to be certain trouble. However, Velez got on his horse and made a diving/leaping catch right by the wall. Of course, as was the theme today, I didn’t get any shots of it.

- Back to the farm. Here’s a word of advice, don’t be “that guy” that leaves a Spring Training game after the 5th because a lot of the starters have been taken out. One of the best things about the games this year is that the second half showcases the talent in the system. Most of these guys were on last year’s San Jose roster, which honestly, was the best team in all the levels of the MiLB. If you left early, you’d miss double plays scored Crawford-Noonan-Pill. You’d miss out on seeing guys like Edlefsen, Turpen, Tanner, Whitaker, and Clark throwing gas and shutting down the other team. You wouldn’t be able to watch some AB’s from Neal, Ford, Roger “Big Tex” Kieschnick, and Gillaspie. All these guys and the rest of the invites this year are class acts by the way.

- I was having some problems today with the camera, so these pictures aren’t great. I had to try to shoot between heads and forgot my lens hood which made tweaking settings on the fly a real pain. Hopefully you can get a good glimpse of the game though.

CLICK HERE for full gallery.

You know you want some… (You will understand who this is if you have been to ST before)

A player to watch this spring is shortstop phenom Ehire Adrianza. I got the chance to see him live during instructs this year and his defense is really impressive. Quick on his feet, very accurate arm, and a great range has helped boost his visibility in the Giants system and the league as a whole. A friend of mine, who writes for Baseball America, personally likes him as one of the top 2 SS prospects in baseball along with Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs.

This quick interview was done in Spanish and has since been translated to English. It’s not a long Q & A but you can see Ehire’s thankfulness for the opportunity to play for the Giants and his desire to continue to grow.

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AZG: Thank you for taking the time to answer some quick questions for us Ehire. You have been playing professional baseball in the Giants organization since you were 16. How has your time with the Giants been the last 4 years?

Adrianza: I am truly thankful to the SF Giants for giving me the opportunity to be part of the team. In this organization I have learned to become a better ball player every day and it has been an incredible 4 years.

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AZG: In 2008, you played most of your games in the Arizona Rookie league, but also had a 1 game appearance in Salem Keizer and a 2 game appearances all the way up at AAA Fresno. Why did they move you around the West Coast for 3 games? It must have felt good to go 3 for 6 with a double against AAA pitching?

Adrianza: I definitely was not expecting it. In Salem, I remember not playing well that day but the AAA call caught me completely by surprise. As far as hitting at the AAA level, you can really tell the difference on the strike zone, ironically, it was easier to hit to me.

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AZG: Last year was your first full year with the same Minor League team in Augusta. Was it a big adjustment to play a full season of 117 games, then play Instructional league, and Winter league in Venezuela?

Adrianza: It was hard, but I thank God everything turned out fine. (without injuries or set backs) Because of playing so much last year, I know that this year, I am better prepared, physically and mentally for Spring Training and wherever I get the opportunity to play next.

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AZG: You ended the season with exactly 100 hits, where do you envision yourself this season?

Adrianza: I want to get at least 120-125 hit this season, really as many as I need to help the team win.

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AZG: You were just selected as the #8 top prospect in the Giants system by Baseball America, congratulations! Do you keep track of honors like this and does it motivate you at all?

Adrianza: It certainly motivates me. It makes you realize that you have to keep working hard every day to become a better ball player.

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AZG: Are there any players you looked up to as a kid, that you wanted to be like?

Adrianza: (laughs) Yeah, my Godfather, Ozzie Guillen.

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AZG: Wow, he’s really your Godfather? Have you seen him in Spring yet?

Adrianza: Yeah he is. No, unfortunately I haven’t seen him yet, but I know the Giants will play the Sox pretty soon, so I’m looking forward to it.

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AZG: You have been scouted as an great defender and have a good range to your left or right. You remind me of another Giants Shortstop with a great glove from Venezuela, Omar Vizquel. Have you heard of this comparison before and do you think it is a good one?

Adrianza: Actually I haven’t really heard of the comparison before. It’s just nice to be mentioned  and know that I’m being associated with a great player like Omar.

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AZG: What did the Giants have you working on in Instructional league?

Adrianza: A little of everything really. Hitting, defense, bunting, and base running. It was time to really focus on elements of the game and work on skills.

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AZG: Is there anything you’d like to tell the fans?

Adrianza: Yeah of course, a big thank you to all the fans and thanks to everyone who has help me with my career in baseball.

——

For more photos of Ehire, check out the shots from this year’s instructional league and stay here daily for more 2010 Spring Training coverage.

2-0 in the Cactus league feels real good, even if the games don’t mean anything.

Yesterday we had a lead and lost it. Today, we rallied back from being down 3 runs to win it. These kind of games are so much better than 11-1 beat downs during Spring, you actually get to pay close attention for a full 9.

Diamond Notes:

- Well, we knew it was going to happen sometime and Barry Zito got the call today. On the very first pitch to Fielder, Zito drilled him between the numbers. Everyone in the house probably knew why, and cheering was abundant. The one classless thing that I want to tell you about is Fielder’s walk to 1B. On his way out of the box, he actually grabbed the ball that hit him and flung it over the mound by Zito. He also started clapping at 1B. Nothing happened beyond that, but come on, just shut up, wear it, and take your base. It’s not like he didn’t know why he was hit or anything. Honestly I’m surprised the umps didn’t do anything. Maybe it’s not a big deal in the baseball code book, but I thought it was kind of bush.

- Pitching: Honestly, I didn’t think today’s pitchers were that off. Definitely had their struggles, but managed to keep the damage to a minimum which allowed us to come back and win. Zito wasn’t the best location and control wise. Affeldt also had struggles, and didn’t seem to be his usual shut down self. That said, he did induce another one of his many double plays, albeit from a runner he put on 1B instead of inherited. Wellemeyer, Sosa, Turpen, Hinshaw, Medders, and Romo all had pretty good outings. Kind of surprised Hinshaw got in the game since he pitched yesterday. I guess one batter wasn’t enough of a workout. Romo got the save and looked really good, striking out 2.

I also just realized who Todd Wellemeyer reminds me of, Kevin Correia.

- Thomas Neal didn’t get in the game today, but he was suited up and watched from the dugout. Quite frankly you wouldn’t know he was thumped yesterday. Glad that he is doing well.

- There were a ton of cool plays today. The first being a throw to to get Rickie Weeks trying to advance to 3B. The throw was there in plenty of time, but the best part is that Rickie began his slide at like the half way point on the base path. That would prove important because Pablo was essentially waiting for him and tagged him on the butt right when his face met the dirt. It was pretty classic. I provided “widescreen versions” in flickr to show just how far away he was from the base.

Another play that was awesome was a relay late in the game from Velez-Noonan-Holm to save a run at the plate. The relay was just on the money and Steve did a great job putting the tag on. The photo I took is unfortunately out of focus because my camera jumped to make sure the umps butt was crystal clear in the photo, but you can see the tag between his legs.

- There is really nothing like watching a game at Scottsdale Stadium. The food, atmosphere, people, and of course the team, beat out every other venue bar none.

It might be the homer in me, but seriously the food here is awesome. The fried Wok Noodles are bomb. The bar b que is bomb. The garlic fries are bomb. Now if they could only lower their prices…

- Will Clark is, and will always be, the Giant of my childhood. There are really none that can compare to him as a player I looked up to when I was a kid. I even used to have one of those t-shirts that had a cartoon of him with the really oversized head like standing over the Golden Gate. You know what I’m talking about. Even my logo is based off of his Giant Attitude signature logo from the 80’s.

He was at the game today and I’ll tell you what. If you are a fan, he is the most approachable player I have ever met. He treats you like your his long lost friend from high school or a relative or something. He probably signed over 300 autographs today and is always making the game fun for kids. Another taste of this is him peeking out of the dugout between innings and chucking bubble gum to kids in the stands. Basically giving them a moment, even as little as pointing to them and chucking a piece of gum, that they can look back on. So glad he’s back in a Giants uniform where he should be.

CLICK HERE for full gallery

Baseball came back in a big way, an extra inning marathon in Peoria.

Diamond Notes:

- Our Franchise, Tim Lincecum, took the hill in the Cactus League opener today. He only went 1IP as you will see in the box score. The command wasn’t there today for Tim, as he was leaving balls up and not hitting the strike zone. You could tell something may have been a little off even from his warm up throws in the outfield before the game. He threw two baseballs in the driveway that players come out of because they soared over Bengie’s head when playing catch. No worries though, He said he felt good, and the delivery was just a little off today. 2 consecutive CY Young’s tells you he knows what he needs to adjust to get things right.

- Lincecum also faced Griffey, who ended up with a loud Sac Fly to RF. I could have sworn that ball was out of the yard but it ended up being caught right in front of the visitor’s bullpen by Nate Schierholtz.

- The beginning to the game couldn’t have gone any better, highlighted by Aubrey Huff’s first homerun as a Giant. A great way to get himself acquainted with the fans. and it wasn’t a cheapy either. Drove to Right Center it woke up the people sunbathing on the berm.

- Pitching: As I said, Lincecum had his struggles, but so did a couple other pitchers that came in. Osiris Matos pitched the second and escaped unscathed despite 3 BB’s. Denny Bautista and Waldis Jaoquin both gave up 2 runs, and were all over the place location wise. They would get behind in the count and have to come in and get burned. Bumgarner, Hinshaw, Wilson, Edlefsen, and Romero had great outings as short as they were. Edlefsen would probably be the highlight as his stuff is pretty electric. He’s got a sidearm delivery that looks like he’s slinging the ball at you but the velocity is pretty awesome. As a statement to that, one Mariner swung so hard at a breaking pitch that his bat went flying in to the stands, the next pitch he proceeded to strike out swinging.

- Alot of the prospects got to play the second half of this game, which is always welcome. I can’t watch these kids play enough. So much heart, so much talent.

Darren Ford continued being a speed demon as he beat out an almost routine ground ball to short by about a step. I’m telling you he’s one of the fastest players I have ever seen. Phoenix needs to set up one of those speed limit cameras on the first base line.

Thomas Neal also got in to the game in LF, but only had one AB due to getting drilled in the side of the head by Ricky Orta. He didn’t collapse at the plate but was definitely shaken up. He was able to walk off the field and seemed to be laughing a bit, so I hope he is doing well and wasn’t injured. Nothing is as scary as seeing someone get drilled in the dome. There is a photo of the ball ricocheting off of Neal’s helmet, I wasn’t focused when it happened but it can give you a glimpse of the hit.

- I also sat next to Bill Neukom the whole game, which was pretty cool. I didn’t want to bother him, so I just minded my own business. However, I got to tell you, he really is a fan of the game. He was sitting right behind the net and next to the Giants Dugout, conversing with Will Clark every now and again. The best part though, is he was cheering for the Giants, and specifically our players by name. I don’t know why that spoke to me, but it just shows that sometimes, executives can take off the bow tie, and be fans of the game just like us. It’s good to know we have person that actually enjoys baseball and isn’t ashamed to sit down in the seats, wear orange and black, and cheer on the guys.

- There’s plenty of game notes elsewhere so I’m going to try to keep these recaps short and only provide some info  that you probably won’t read about in official articles.

Also, since the coverage is primarily games now, most of the photos will be from the same vantage point. I don’t have a lot of freedom to move around the stadium since they fill up. This is the main reason today’s game has a lot of shots of players backs, because I  was sitting behind the backstop. Tomorrow will have photos from a different POV.

Because of time constraints, I will throw up selected shots here and then possibly add more later in Flickr. I took over 750 shots today, definitely not enough time to go through them all ;) Always remember to check both the site and Flickr daily!

CLICK HERE for full gallery

This entry is for those visiting Scottsdale for Spring Training next week and are looking for something do that will both benefit some great charities and allow you to hang with a lot of Giants players outside the Stadium.

Woodjock 2010 is the brain child of Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy. It is a night of music located at The Venue in Old Town Scottsdale. I linked to their website earlier, but wanted to let you know tickets are still available here. I’m sure alot of you are familiar with Barry Zito’s Strikeout for Troops foundation, and much of the proceeds from this concert will go to help the wounded from battle. Along with Barry’s charity, Team Focus, Autism Speaks, and White Sox Charities will also be benefited from the funds raised under the Jake Peavy Foundation.

I am planning on going to catch Tim Flannery. Yes, we all know him as the best 3rd base coach in the game, but he’s a really great singer/songwriter as well. If you haven’t heard any of his stuff, check it out on itunes. Folk/Country-esque sound. I really like “Alone In the Makers Hands” and “When the RIghteous Shall Come.” To me, he’s the headliner of the players performing.

If you are going to be in the area, go buy a ticket and support these great causes all while listening to some great music.

Happy last day without Giants baseball everyone. I’d say “enjoy it,” but unsure if that’s the right encouragement ;) I’m certain we’ll all be happier tomorrow at 1:05pm MST.

- We will actually have a couple posts later today, including a quick write up on an upcoming benefit concert in Scottsdale showcasing Tim Flannery, Barry Zito, Aubrey Huff, and Brandon Medders. I’m not totally convinced with the name yet… Also a quick interview with star shortstop prospect Ehire Adrianza that I promised before. I just have to translate it and I’ll post it.

- I wanted to get some photo information out there before I continue with game coverage.

Unfortunately, I have been coming across several instances of my photos in various places that did not have my permission for use. Ultimately, this site is for the fans and I am thrilled that many of you like the photos enough to promote them. The problem arises when a photo is being used as part of a write-up or article and there is no mention/credit to myself or the site for actually creating the visual content. (Please feel free to use them in message boards, forums, or on twitter. You do not need prior permission as long as my name and site have not been removed from the photo.)

Most users have been very gracious and have asked if it would be okay to use photos, or at least notify me of where/when they are being used, and include my name and site as a proper citation. However, others have actually screen grabbed and cropped photos purposely in order to remove my name and site burn in the image. In several instances, these images have been saved as a downloadable file that now has my name cropped out of it. Hopefully you can see where this is going…

I would just hope there would be some integrity amongst fellow fans. I gladly go to every workout and game obviously for my enjoyment, but also to provide some high quality images to those of you back home. This is done on my own time/without pay and is, to be quite honest, a lot of work. Hopefully you can understand how burned I feel when my photos get used and my credit is purposely removed.

That said, all you have to do is contact me and it should not be a problem to use some shots.

I know this post is not applicable to most of you, but just had to get it out there.

Thanks for following, and Go Giants!

This is the last day of practice before the 2010 Cactus League season officially begins on Wednesday against the Mariners. I didn’t take a lot of pictures today, was more interested in watching the game than anything. Even though the game was for “fun,” it was great to see baseball without a cage, screens, tarps, fungos, and a thousand balls being thrown around at the same time.

Diamond Notes:

- I don’t know if you remember John Bowker’s debut at AT&T Park a couple years ago. My wife and I were at the yard that series and man did he make a first impression. 7RBI’s in his first 2 games, going 4-6 with 2HR’s. That was classic, we had so much fun ragging on the Cards fans those couple days.

Today made me flashback to that weekend, because John went yard in his first AB and it was huge. Crushed it to RF and no doubt if you didn’t see it, you heard it. Looking forward to see how he does this Spring, we definitely need his pop as long as he can be consistent.

- Darren Ford is a speed demon. He drove a line drive to the left center gap and the term “eat my dust” was applicable. It was almost like a cartoon where the legs just look like spinning wheels. He turned it into a triple, but he probably could have kept going and it would have been a close play at home.

- I haven’t payed as close attention to the infield drills as I should have, but I did see Freddy Sanchez taking some ground balls at 2B. Looked pretty decent to me, obviously not line drives to his right or anything, but the throwing motion was smooth and on target. Hopefully he’s ahead of schedule.

- Mark DeRosa also took some hacks during coaches BP. To me, it didn’t look like the wrist was bothering him too much. He got solid contact and drove balls to the gaps.

- I love watching Buster Posey take BP. As you have read from most of the beat writers, his swing is just fluid and effortless but he drives balls out of the yard. I like watching him for another reason though. I don’t know if it’s on purpose, but he hits to all fields almost in succession of every pitch. First he’ll pull a homer to LF, then he’ll get robbed by the stadium’s dimensions in CF getting caught at about 420ft, then he’ll hit one to the home bullpen in right. You have to respect that kind of control, it’s a beautiful thing.

- Most of today’s photos are of Madison Bumgarner. Madison has never pitched on the main field and always practices on field 2 which hasn’t allowed me to get any photos of him throwing. He had a bullpen session today to prep for Wednesday, but also did some warm up pitches on the grass in RF during the game. As you may have read, he had been away from the team to be with his family back home. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his loved ones.

Tomorrow’s an off day so I’ll see you on Wednesday for the first in game coverage!

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Tell it Goodbye…

Diamond Notes:

- I’m definitely ready for the games to start. Everyday of practice has been essentially the same.

Start out with some stretching, drills, and warm up tosses

Then on to some infield/outfield drills

Live BP followed by traditional BP

- Today they mixed in some pop up/flies situational drills which at least changed the flavor a bit. There was one collision by the plate between Brett Pill and Jackson Williams on a pop up that was a little thrilling. Wilson got some laughs on the drill as well, unfortunately I didn’t see what happened. I’m sure Baggs or Henry will fill you in.

- Live BP on the main field showcased Affeldt, Matos, Bautista, Pucetas, Hacker, Clark, and possibly a couple others.

- There was a funny moment during BP where Affeldt asked Pablo what he wanted pitch wise. Affeldt would give him the fastball only if he would pull it to LF (He was batting RH) and not drive it up the middle as there is no protective screen. Pablo gave him the head nod and took a healthy Panda swing at it… It did go to LF, it just hit off of his foot first. Looked to me that Pablo was okay but they had a good laugh about it. It’s great to see the chemistry and friendships on the team, if they are having fun it makes the fans have fun as well.

- Aubrey Huff can launch bombs… During coaches BP he hit 2 balls that cleared the stadium. The second ball was caught by Wendell Fairley in shallow left… of the practice field.

- Kevin Pucetas is legit. To me his pitching style seems effortless, but he gets great results. I hadn’t seen him pitch since he was at San Jose prior to today and hope he does well in the Spring get him a spot in the bigs.

- A big topic today apparently are Pablo’s new X-Ray specs. For some reason I thought he had used them before but I guess not. I think he should add a skull and crossbones between the 2 lenses…

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Diamond Notes:

- Matt Cain and Brian WIlson headlined the live BP session today on the main field followed by Hinshaw, Mota, Pena, and Turpen. Cain and Wilson looked really good to me. I can’t remember anything hit hard off of them, mostly ground balls if that.

- I was very glad to see Alex Hinshaw take the mound for a couple reasons. I loved it when he got called up a couple years ago and have followed him since. The other main reason is he’s a lefty and since we can only be on the 1B line, it finally gives me a chance to get the right angle for pitching.

- I’ve been having some problems with my AF for some reason. Thus the shots from the last couple days are going to be a little “Grainy/Noisy.” Trying to fix the problem, just a heads up.

- Not much else check out the gallery for some quick shots from today.

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