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)