maurice
03-08-2005, 04:12 PM
Some random observations from this past weekend in Tucson:
- Everett looks great, and he murdered that grand slam despite a two-strike count. Not too many players can duplicate the volume of the "crack of the bat" on that swing.
- Dye looked good also.
- Crede made a pretty nice leaping catch during the first inning on Saturday. OTOH, for all the press about his offseason progress in shortening his swing, it looked pretty much the same.
- Unfortunately, Uribe's swing looked the same too.
- Perez was very good defensively. It sure is fun to watch him throw. Too bad he can't get on base more often.
- Konerko and Garcia signed scores of authographs before the game on Saturday. Perez signed at least as many on Sunday. In general, the players were very accessible to the fans but, unfortunately, most of them stayed in the dugout (and off of the very wet field) before the game on Sunday.
- Rowand is a machine and a heck of a nice guy. He's always the first one out for pre-game warm ups. By the time the last few guys trickle out onto the field, Rowand has already finished his work and started signing autographs. He had a pretty bad cold on Saturday but played in the rain anyway, even after the long delay. It's nice to see a pro that doesn't take his job for granted.
- Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Gload. On Sunday, he failed to dive for two ground balls that were borderline catchable. It seemed like he didn't want to get mud on his nice white pants. For a borderline major leaguer who typically gets cut and plays only one position adequately, you'd expect a little more effort. IIRC, he dove for plenty of balls last year.
- Podsednik was on fire offensively but made a bone-headed defensive play on Sunday. (Leave him in LF, Ozzie.) If he carries some of his offense over into the regular season, he'll hit .280, steal 100 bases, and score 120 runs.
- After the early rain delay on Saturday, Politte, Hermanson, Vizcaino, and Marte pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with only 3 hits, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts. Hopefully, we'll see lots of that during the regular season.
:gulp:
- Everett looks great, and he murdered that grand slam despite a two-strike count. Not too many players can duplicate the volume of the "crack of the bat" on that swing.
- Dye looked good also.
- Crede made a pretty nice leaping catch during the first inning on Saturday. OTOH, for all the press about his offseason progress in shortening his swing, it looked pretty much the same.
- Unfortunately, Uribe's swing looked the same too.
- Perez was very good defensively. It sure is fun to watch him throw. Too bad he can't get on base more often.
- Konerko and Garcia signed scores of authographs before the game on Saturday. Perez signed at least as many on Sunday. In general, the players were very accessible to the fans but, unfortunately, most of them stayed in the dugout (and off of the very wet field) before the game on Sunday.
- Rowand is a machine and a heck of a nice guy. He's always the first one out for pre-game warm ups. By the time the last few guys trickle out onto the field, Rowand has already finished his work and started signing autographs. He had a pretty bad cold on Saturday but played in the rain anyway, even after the long delay. It's nice to see a pro that doesn't take his job for granted.
- Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Gload. On Sunday, he failed to dive for two ground balls that were borderline catchable. It seemed like he didn't want to get mud on his nice white pants. For a borderline major leaguer who typically gets cut and plays only one position adequately, you'd expect a little more effort. IIRC, he dove for plenty of balls last year.
- Podsednik was on fire offensively but made a bone-headed defensive play on Sunday. (Leave him in LF, Ozzie.) If he carries some of his offense over into the regular season, he'll hit .280, steal 100 bases, and score 120 runs.
- After the early rain delay on Saturday, Politte, Hermanson, Vizcaino, and Marte pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with only 3 hits, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts. Hopefully, we'll see lots of that during the regular season.
:gulp: