The Giants are playing the Dodgers this afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium, sort of. It’s a Dodgers split-squad, so we’re only seeing a portion of their team. Anyway, I took the opportunity to chat with my old pal Josh Suchon, who is the Dodgers pre- and post-game radio host, for a little analysis of what we can expect from Los Angeles this year.
Personally I think the Dodgers will be better, still a notch below the Giants and Rockies, but close enough that they could win the division if they get some breaks or add someone at the deadline. You’ll see that’s pretty much what Soosh thinks.
Here’s a little video I took in the clubhouse of Tim Lincecum talking about his spring debut. Lincecum gave up three runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks. The line was ugly, as happens often in spring training, but Lincecum wasn’t too concerned. Pitchers never are.
On my fourth day in Arizona, I have finally made it to the camp of the defending world champs. They don’t seem to have missed me.
The big news today is that Bruce Bochy announced the order of the rotation for the start of the regular season: Lincecum, Sanchez, Cain, Zito, Bumgarner. Bochy said he wanted to split up the righties. Personally, I’m not a big fan of that. I don’t really think that Lincecum and Cain are that similar, nor are Sanchez, Bumgarner and Zito, so I wouldn’t think that it would matter.
Bochy actually pooh-poohed a suggestion that colleague Henry Schulman made. Henry asked if one of the reasons was to split up the most durable pitchers so the bullpen wouldn’t get taxed as it might if Sanchez, Zito and Bumgarner pitched on consecutive days. That I believe, but Bochy wasn’t buying.
I’m at Salt River Fields (picture here), the new spring home of the Rockies and DBacks, and it’s pretty darn awesome. The Rockies’ clubhouse is palacial. Tons of room for everything (except a media work room). It’s also right next door to the casino, which is a definite plus. Anyway, you don’t care about that. What you care about is whether the Rockies will be better than the Giants this year.
It’s going to be close, for sure. I think the Rockies definitely had more go wrong for them last year, so I think they are more likely to go up than down.
We all assume that the Giants have better pitching, and they do, but it’s not as dramatic as you’d think.
A few of you asked me to find out about the A’s backup shortstop situation. With Cliff Pennington still working back slowly from left shoulder surgery over the winter, and with Adam Rosales dealing with rehab from foot surgery, the A’s have a problem.
Even Billy Beane admitted as much.
“If you ask me my biggest concern from an individual player standpoint, it’s who will be the backup shortstop,” Beane during Monday’s first full-squad workout in Phoenix. “That could be our Achilles Heel.”
I’m sitting at the Oakland airport waiting to board my flight to Phoenix for spring training. I’m having a bit of an abbreviated trip (more on that later), but I will still be down there for nine days. I’ll spend at least two days each in the A’s and Giants camps, starting with the A’s on Monday.
I’ll be writing for FanHouse, and working on some magazine stuff, but I’ll also be posting here. If there are any really pressing questions you have about the A’s, let me know. I’ll do my best to get the answers.
I’m planning to be at Giants camp on Thursday and Friday, at least, so feel free to send me questions on them too. I’ll be on Chronicle Live on Comast Sports Net Bay Area on Thursday night.
I don’t need to do this blog just to amuse myself. This is for you guys. Let me know what you want to know. Write your questions into the comment box below, or email me at jfletcher@pacbell.net.
If any of my loyal readers out there attended any part of the Giants’ World Series trophy tour, I want to hear about it. The farther from San Francisco, the better. The longer you waited in line, the better. I’m looking for the extremes, but I’ll take anything. I just want to know what it was like for fans to get an up-close look at the trophy and have your picture taken.
I’m writing a magazine story about the tour, so I’d like to talk to just a few fans about their side of the experience.
So if you’ve got a story, or if you know anyone else who has a good one, email me at jfletcher@pacbell.net.
