Leap Day is done and gone and March is here. This Saturday is the first Spring Training game for our beloved Gigantes. I've no doubt that Joe Panik will hit .650 and Melky Cabrera .012, and that Brian Burres will strike out 22 in 9 innings and Matt Cain will have a 11.34 ERA. That's what March baseball is all about. Relax, mis amigos, and enjoy the show. I'm trying not to get caught up in pre-season hyperbole. I know that X, Y, and Z are in the best shape of their lives and that A, B, and C have something to prove, and that P, Q, and R can earn a spot with a good showing. We get plenty of that pablum from the usual sources. And we've had our talks and profiled our players and run down the roster choices and whatnot like good fans. I suppose we've avoided any serious rosterbation, you know, actually whittling it down to 25, but that's OK. We know what matters: that the talented core of the team is healthy and able to play come Opening Day and stays healthy and ready to play for the bulk of the 162. We also know that a lot of that comes down to random chance. The gods are cruel, this we know only too well. So make your sacrifices and say your prayers and dance your dances and perform your ablutions and propitiate your propitiations and all will be well.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
3 comments:
Since, as you've made a good case, it's all out of our hands, let's name our top Spring Training flashes-in-the-pan. I nominate 1977's Randy Elliott. I don't have the exact numbers, but he raked in Spring Training (hitting lots of HR's & other extra base hits), made the team, & even had a 'career year' (which, for him, was 7 HR's, 26 RBI's, & a .240 BA). He then disappeared again from MLB until a 1980 appearance with the A's.
That ol' Internet - here are the details on Randy Elliott's 1977 Spring Training:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/26/SP110160.DTL
How about Joe Strain?
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