Story Published:
May 26, 2008 at 9:09 AM PST
Story Updated:
May 26, 2008 at 9:09 AM PST
Had to double check that indeed it is Thursday, and by gosh, yes it is! Had a little bit of Groundhog Day going on the past two weeks but now we have games. The good news is we have games. The bad news? The days just got longer for us.
Before the games start a typical day runs from about 7:30-3:00 for the reporter. I know that doesn’t sound unreasonable but we don’t have days off and that 3:00 usually just means we leave the complex and do more work at home. As for the players, most get there earlier but leave a bit earlier too. What do they do? Well, a lot like to get their lifting done early. Most will have breakfast at the complex, maybe take some time to read a paper or do a puzzle. Quite often there are morning meetings or equipment reps may be there. Then there is early work. Stretch is at 9:30 with drills to follow. The schedule is pretty much the same now, except there is a game at 1:05. Some involve travel, some are just a walk across the parking lot away.
The games themselves are very different from what you would see during the season. The starters are rarely in the game for more than 3 at bats. Anyone who is not scheduled to play in the game or is out of the game may leave after the 5th inning. Pitchers are on pitch counts and head back to the complex when they are done. Covering the game involves some running. When the starter leaves, we have to head back to the complex too if we want to catch him before he heads out for the day.
Today’s charity game was more insignificant than a Cactus League Game. It does not count in the standings. It did however, count in the impressions department. There are few spots open on the roster and every look will be important to the guys fighting for the final bench or bullpen spots. Mike Morse and Jeremy Reed got off to good starts with Morse hitting a two run double and Reed a three run home run. Reed may be in a tough spot as John McLaren said yesterday that he was looking for a right handed bat to round out the bench.
The pitching for the most part was good. Jarrod Washburn pitched two scoreless innings. After his outing Washburn told us that all he is concentrating on right now is building up arm strength. Nothing tricky, no breaking balls. He is just working on location.
Miguel Batista may have been caught off guard with one of new pitching coach Mel Stottlemeyre’s philosophies. Stottlemeyre tends to go more on pitch count rather than innings in the spring. Batista cruised through his first two innings then found himself out for a third where he struggled with control. Unlike Washburn, Batista was working on things. He is trying to add a 12-6 (or what he calls more of a 12-5:30) curve to his repertoire. He tried it as a first pitch for a couple of hitters and missed. He did get a couple over for strikes. He walked two and allowed two hits in the 5th and left with the bases loaded. We then saw something I can pretty much guarantee you will not see in the regular season. RA Dickey coming in with one out and the bases loaded.
Dickey traded an out for a run but then gave up a two run hit. The runs were charged to Batista. He pitched another inning and did not give up a hit. Jamie Burke handled him nicely although it looked like he may have thrown more fast balls than he normally would. I will have to ask him about that tomorrow.
On to other things…Richie was back today after missing most of yesterday with three sick kids. One had to be taken to the hospital with pneumonia, but all are said to be doing much better today. I was impressed to see Richie out early yesterday taking ground balls at first base. He then came in to find the strength and conditioning coach to get some work in before heading home to help with the kids. “Rocket (strength coach Alan Wirtala) I’ve got to do something” he said as he asked him to run him through some drills. I felt a sense of urgency on Richie’s part to get his work in. In the past he has been much more laid back about such things.
I had a neat exchange with one of the Japanese reporters today. He approached me during the game to ask for clarification of what Mac meant when he said that they were going to push the limits on the bases during the spring. I explained that they needed to find out just who could push it from first to third, who could steal bases. He wasn’t too clear on the first to third talk so I told him they wanted to look like Anaheim. This he understood. He also wanted to know how this was relevant to base stealing. I talked to him again about testing limits.
I think as kind of a thank you he told me that Ichiro had a conversation with the coaches about base stealing earlier that morning. I don’t know who initiated it, but I have no doubt that Ichiro appreciated the opportunity to express his thoughts on base stealing. According to the reporter, Ichiro told the coaches that when he is thinking of stealing he looks at the pitcher, but he does it differently than most. Most will focus on a pitcher’s foot or shoulder or some part of his body that might betray the fact that he is about to turn and fire to first. Ichiro does it differently looking at the whole pitcher, not just a part of him. It is not just a matter of looking for the movement. Ichiro apparently (and this so sounds like him) tries to get a feeling by looking at the pitcher as to if he is going to throw over. I am definitely going to have to talk to him about this.
On another front, I was disappointed when I looked at the upcoming pitching match ups. They are posted through Sunday and Philippe Aumont’s name is not on any list. I investigated a little and found out that he has been dealing with hip and back pain. I have been told that it is nothing serious, and I believe he is still throwing bullpens.
Finally, speaking of bullpens, three guys were happy not to throw one today. Chris Reitsma, Arthur Rhodes and Mark Lowe stepped from the bullpen to the mound today to throw live arm batting practice. This is significant because for all three of them it was the first time they faced live hitters since suffering elbow injuries.
That’s it for now!
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