It Is What It Is: 2012 Giants Spring Training

It's about time for break-down of the Giants recent spring training action and related developments. As much as I like to keep up with all baseball action, the Giants are my team. And I find myself with plenty to say, despite them just having started their spring training season.

I don't want to overemphasize Buster Posey's spring training debut yesterday; I really don't. Despite what expectations most everyone might have had, I agree with those who say they were just happy that it was uneventful. That mostly sums it up for me too. Let's keep in mind that Posey has never even played a full season of MLB yet. In fact, if you combine his 2010 season and what little he played in 2011, it barely encompassed an entire season. I think chances are good that he will be just fine as time goes on and that he has all the makings of an excellent catcher. But do I think that right now? No, not really.

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't excited to see the pictures from his debut - I posted one on Facebook recently with the caption "LIKE A BOSS!!" (in reference to The Lonely Island song from an SNL sketch). However, as I've mentioned before, I'm being cautiously optimistic. I think that's the only way to be at this point. None of us know how things will change (or maybe not change) once opening day comes. And it seems like Posey has plenty of back-ups around for however this all turns out. But I admit, the other day was fun!

Most everyone knows by now that I adore Madison Bumgarner. And yes, I know he's young and still inexperienced, but when I heard about the one-year deal he signed with the Giants recently, I was pretty disturbed by it. A pitcher, who at 21, threw six scoreless innings in the World Series deserves a bit more than $750,000, at least in my book. But that's all he got. Is that really all he got? His spring training debut, however irrelevant it might be in the scheme of things, was brilliant. Tim Lincecum's, on the other hand, was the opposite. His first two starts were pretty bad, actually. Again, spring training starts aren't super important, I admit that - but Bumgarner's was really impressive, enough so that most of the sportscasters on KNBR said he could very well be this year's ace for the Giants. And I definitely trust those guys.

Let's face it, Lincecum is due for a mediocre year at some point. Maybe 2012 is it, maybe it's not. But either way, I think Bumgarner has more than enough great stuff to make this year a top one for himself. Say what you will about his record in 2011, but his low ERA coupled with a less-than-stellar win/loss record was quite unusual. He had one of the lowest ERAs in the National League, even by comparison with pitchers who had better win/loss records. I guess my long-winded point is that Bumgarner is really a pitcher to watch this year and maybe sooner rather than later the Giants will realize he's worth a bit more than $750,000. This fan can only hope so!

And we get to my current favorite, Matt Cain. The guy that everyone else in baseball is finally taking note of, after how many stellar seasons? I guess pitching over 20 scoreless innings in the postseason is something to talk about, right? In a way, as much as his under-the-radar-ness bothered me, it was also something that I liked about him. He was the strong and silent type on the Giants starting rotation. I still consider him that way, regardless of what he ends up doing in the future; I just hope he plans to stay with the Giants for the long-term. We need him a lot more than most people with the Giants think we do.

Speaking of the Giants starting rotation, Barry Zito still has time to prove that his very expensive contract wasn't a total fluke. He has a lot of people to convince, however. I was rooting for him when he came to the Giants. Despite the contract being quite large, my hopes were pretty high that he would succeed. Most of us know how that turned out, which was of course, not very well. It has been reported that Zito spent a lot of time this past off-season tweaking his delivery, changing his routine, and the like. And so far, he's 2-0 in spring training. But that's just spring training and it doesn't really mean much. Just like the Giants have the second best record in the Cactus League right now. Remember last year? Yeah, they had a great spring training record then, too. Ironically, the Giants didn't have such a great spring training season in 2010 and went onto win the World Series. Coincidence? I certainly hope so.

I have my own concerns about the pitching rotation beyond Zito being the fifth starter: Ryan Vogelsong is being conservative with his throwing because of a recent injury; Erik Surkamp is vying for the sixth spot in the rotation and has little to no experience; and Brian Wilson has had elbow problems lately. I don't mean to be so negative, necessarily, but if they all stay healthy, the Giants have a golden pitching rotation; it's their crown jewel. Also, the Giants have been incredibly lucky in recent years with the health of their pitchers, with virtually no problems until recently. Giants fans are allowed a certain level of paranoia at this point.

Being that I gravitate mostly towards pitchers in this game, I haven't touched on the Giants' offense at all. But I'm not worried about that, because as was said on KNBR recently, they couldn't really be worse this year than last year. The Giants can only go up with their hitting. Opening day seems to be both coming up too quickly and also taking forever to arrive. Such is the sport.

The final moments before Spring Training begins...

So it looks like Twins first baseman Justin Morneau could find himself in a Mike Matheny-type situation. He recently acknowledged that concussion symptoms could threaten his career. The circumstances might be different, but it's still a shame. When Morneau is healthy he is really excellent (he won the AL MVP award in 2006) and he has been the face of the Twins franchise for almost a decade now. To me what makes this situation the worst is that he's only 30. And like Joe Mauer (another face of the franchise the last few years), he's never played for anyone other than the Twins. I hope he can figure out a way to continue to play in the future. The Twins already lost Torii Hunter, Joe Nathan and Johan Santana to other teams in recent years (though Santana has also been injury-plagued) so they need this to work out more than just about anyone. I'm definitely rooting for them!

Speaking of Torii Hunter, it seems he has changed his mind on retirement, and wants to play two or three more seasons. He is currently heading into the final year of his contract with the Angels (the only other team he's played for besides the Twins) and wants to continue playing for them. Hunter has always been one of my favorite players, though more so when he was with the Twins. 


Besides being an excellent outfielder, I've always liked his attitude and the energy he brings to the game. I had the good fortune of seeing him play with the Angels in a few games when I lived in LA back in 2008 and I'm really glad I finally got to see him play in person. Despite his age, I think he has at least one or two more seasons in him beyond 2012. I also think the Angels would be foolish to let him go after this season (though that depends on how well he does). I consider Hunter to be one of the more quiet, under-the-radar-yet-excellent players around. 

It appears like the Cardinals were smart in agreeing to sign Yadier Molina to a contract extension of 5 years/$75 million. Much like Justin Morneau for the Twins, Yadier Molina has been the face of the Cardinals franchise for the past eight seasons. I had to remind myself that Yadier is only 29 because he's been with the Cardinals for so long (and now has 2 World Series rings, like both his brothers). Having Albert Pujols on your team for so long makes it easy for everyone else to get overshadowed, which was the case with Yadier. 


This extension means that he will be with the Cardinals for the long-term, which is important, given Pujols' recent departure. And while Yadier hasn't always been an offensive "powerhouse", his defensive abilities behind the plate have made him something of a Cardinals institution. I hope he can stay with the Cardinals for a long time. I might not be a huge Cardinals fan (though Mike Matheny being the new manager will help) but I've always admired Yadier as a catcher. 

I'm not sure exactly why so many players have recently retired, but one of the most recent ones to announce it was Bengie Molina. As a Giants fan, I naturally adore this guy. His coming to the Giants came at a time when Brian Sabean was in the midst of some bad decisions, player-wise, and signing Bengie was the first sign that he was headed in the right direction. These were the pre-Buster Posey days, after all. And it just so happened that Bengie was my favorite Molina brother (Yadier being second). When my dad and I went to an A's/Blue Jays game a few years ago during Bengie's brief time with the Blue Jays, I had no idea then that he would eventually be a Giant, or that his presence would mean so much to me as a fan. But it really did. 


Part of me feels like I should be conflicted, since his only World Series ring was with the Angels in the 2002 championship, and despite the Giants finally winning in 2010, the scars are still there from that fateful season. But it's Bengie, so I can't hold that against him. One of the many reasons I loved him was because he didn't look like any other catcher; he didn't run like any other catcher either, which I always found so charming. He reminded me of another of my all-time favorite Giants, J.T. Snow, who was also famous for being a slow baserunner but an amazing defensive player. 


Regardless of Bengie's slowness around the bases, no one ever questioned his abilities as a catcher. And he certainly deserved an honorary World Series ring in 2010 even though he went on to play for the Rangers later that year. That was really the only downside of the Giants winning it all in 2010; we were competing against Bengie. I never wanted the Giants to be in that position, and when Bengie would get hits against Giants pitchers in those final few games, I couldn't help but smile. Would I have preferred him to have retired as a Giant? Of course. Yet I don't think Bengie could have possibly done better as a Giant, and for the Giants, than he did in those few seasons he had. He was the best possible catcher for then-newbies Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain to have pitched with to start their careers. I will really miss him and always be thankful for his many contributions to the team. 

So the announcement has not been official yet, but reports seem to indicate that Edgar Renteria is indeed retiring this year. Obviously no Giants fan will forget what he did in the 2010 World Series, but what I find more amazing than anything, is how Renteria got there. As cheesy as it might sound, him being World Series MVP that year was a real redemption story and a real comeback story in baseball. And it was truly special in that no one really saw it coming. I'm happy for Renteria that he was able to go so above and beyond what anyone expected and part of me wishes he had retired after that. I'm sure I wasn't the only one asking why he didn't. I mean, what could be a better time to retire than after winning World Series MVP for a team that wasn't supposed to win the World Series? 


It was definitely a "lightning in a bottle" type situation; Renteria was there when his team needed him the most (much like Cody Ross in the NLCS) and he gave the Giants something they had never had before - a World Series title in San Francisco. He's a permanent hero in the eyes of Giants fans and I will always love him for that. Renteria came and went rather quickly, but he made a major impact; he made THE impact for the team.