The Surprise, Surprise: Cole Hamels & The Cactus League, Ian Desmond & His Mentality
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The Leadoff
*ICYMI: Check out this great interview by Ben & Skin with Michael Young, covering a number of topics including unique insight into Ian Desmond as well as Young's thoughts on some of the organization's prized prospects.
*Martin Perez is scheduled to throw three innings in tomorrow's B game versus the White Sox. Why the B game? I don't know definitively, but I wonder if it is to keep him on schedule while not exposing him to division foe, Seattle, who plays the Rangers in tomorrow's "A" game.
Game Notes RANGERS 7 Giants 5
Pitchers
*Cole Hamels threw 32 pitches in his Cactus League debut. He went just 1.1 innings, surrendering a solo home run but, again, it doesn't mean much. He came out healthy and, as he put it, with feedback on what to work on.
*Nick Martinez got through 2 innings, allowing just one hit and inducing four groundouts. He's one of many competing for the final spot in the rotation, though he's certainly in the lead group with Chi Chi Gonzalez and, possibly, A.J. Griffin. Martinez has experience competing for a role in March having won a spot in the rotation in each of the last two Spring Trainings.
*Speaking of competing for a job, Andrew Faulkner delivered his second perfect inning of camp. Faulkner's perhaps battling with Sam Freeman for a role as a left-handed reliever in the bullpen.
Position Players
*Of the big prospects who started the game (Profar, Mazara, Gallo, Brinson), each got one hit except for Gallo, who struck out in each at bat. He's now 1-for-6 with 5 strikeouts this month.
*Lewis Brinson reached on an infield single when Kelby Tomlinson was forced to a dive on a hard-hit grounder to short. Beating out a ground ball that was received by a diving player isn't what impressed me. What impressed me was that Brinson left the box as if it was a single through the infield, taking a rounded exit. He then adjusted and accelerated like a cheetah, legging out the eventual hit.
Housekeeping
*A.J. Griffin is scheduled to pitch one inning in tomorrow's Cactus League game versus the Mariners. Griffin hasn't pitched in a regular season game in two years and is fighting for a rotation spot.
*Justin Ruggiano is scheduled to play first base in tomorrow's B game versus the White Sox in Surprise. Ruggiano is competing for a roster spot and his ability to grasp first base, a new position for him, is paramount to his chances.
*Jeff Banister suggested that he isn't worried at all about Shawn Tolleson taking time to get his back in better shape and that the time off was merely precautionary. While he conceded that it would be ideal for Tolleson to have a more complete Spring, Banister cited Tolleson's 2015 Spring, which included a whopping two appearances before an ankle injury kept him off the field, as reason not to worry.
The Walkoff
Ian Desmond didn't get a chance in his LF debut yesterday, but shared some interesting insight with me this morning about his first taste of the grass and not the dirt. Despite not getting a ball, which he joked "irritated" him, he said that he made a lot of progress with the mental transition.
We've spent so much time discussing the physical adjustments, but he talked about learning a whole different train of thought in the outfield. Instead of anticipating and reacting and reading as he would from shortstop, Desmond explained that he now has to see the game through a different sphere. The way he reads bats and recognizes tendencies and adjusts to the count — all that stuff is different for an outfielder than a shortstop, so whether he got tested physically or not, every inning he logs makes a difference with the mental transition, too.
Desmond talks like a guy who wants to win a Gold Glove and, maybe, even expects to be in the conversation eventually. He's backed up his words with his preparation. Desmond has undergone three-a-day training with various instructors in an effort to expedite his transition.
Until tomorrow, Peace Be the Journey
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