Our special guests from AT&T Park in San Francisco are Giants Vice President and Assistant General Manager Jeremy Shelley and Giants Head Athletic Trainer Dave Groeschner.
Shelley talked to The Sports Virus about 2015 1st round draft pick RHP Phil Bickford:
… “He did a great job in Augusta. He’s a guy who’s got a swing and miss fastball. I think of those 13 strikeouts (in his recent Cal League debut), 12 were swinging. Hitters don’t seem to pick him up. He’s got good size, I think he’ll continue to add strength as he goes through our system and we think he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Groeschner talked to The Sports Virus about working with an anxious-to-return Hunter Pence:
… his enthusiasm to get back “is good and bad. It’s good because he wants to get back to help the team so badly and he’s going to do everything he can, but it’s our job to pull the reins in once in awhile so he doesn’t overdo it. We’ve been compromising here and there, but he’s getting a lot of work in. We’ve been able to temper him on certain days to let him recover as well.”
Giants outfielder Mac Williamson and Phillies Bench Coach Larry Bowa joined us Friday before the game against Philadelphia.
Williamson was asked by The Sports Virus about outfield competition with Jarrett Parker:
“We’re good friends. I don’t think we look at it like that. We’re not day in and day out trying to spite each other and stab each other in the back to earn a spot. We’re both going out there trying to do our best. If you’re good enough to play at this level you’re going to play. That goes for both of us. If we’re both good enough to play there will be a spot for us somewhere whether it’s now or later. If you add value to the team they’re going to want that.”
Bowa talked about the Giants double play combination, Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik:
“When that ball is hit to them with the bases loaded you can almost put your head down and say there’s a double play. It’s fun to watch guys like this because I saw Crawford when he first came up, he made a lot of errors. Now I’m looking at the finished product and he’s if not the best, he’s at the top as a shortstop. Panik is what you call a blue collar player and I love watching him.”
We talk about Tim Lincecum, Ichiro Suzuki and Will Clark’s issue with new rules as our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea joins us in part 2 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus asked Shea if Tim Lincecum would have been a good reliever for the Giants: … “I kinda doubt it. (Starters) love their routines. Lincecum was a great reliever in the post season in ’12, but that was kind of a short term basis. He didn’t do it all year. He had the pitch count up to where he could throw one inning or five innings, it didn’t matter. The situation called for him to be a reliever at that time. He was dynamite. From there though, his career slipped quite a bit and now we’re at the point where his hip is not an issue anymore and his confidence is soaring.”
We talk about Giants recent winning ways with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 1 of our conversation.
Shea talked to The Sports Virus about the possibility of Madison Bumgarner competing in the All Star home run derby: … “he hasn’t gotten hurt. He hasn’t had arm problems. He’s a big durable guy and if he wants to hit in the home run derby I think you just let him do it because he pretty much does that every day. He takes regular batting practice and it’s a show. He hits balls farther than anybody on that team except for maybe (Hunter) Pence and maybe (Brandon) Belt here and there. He’s a big, strong man and he hits the ball a long way and that’s a perfect addition to the home run derby.”
Today we hear from “Will The Thrill,” former Giants 1B Will Clark, who was a 6-time All Star while playing in the Major Leagues from 1986-2000, the first 8 of those seasons in San Francisco.
Clark talked to The Sports Virus about new rules protecting players at second base and home plate: … “They’re taking all of the contact out of the sport. They’re baby-fying the sport. It’s really bad to see. I understand with the salaries these guys are making they have to protect the players, but they’ve really baby-fied the sport and I don’t think it’s good for the sport at all….if you’re not allowed to at least make a little contact and disrupt the double play what’s the reason in me running down there to second base then.”
Giants bullpen coach Mark Gardner joined us before Tuesday’s game against the Brewers.
Gardner talked to The Sports Virus about Santiago Casilla getting over blown saves: “… It’s not a very good feeling. He feels terrible. The whole team is kind of let down. That’s the way they (closers) feel, they let their team down. They had a lead and they lost it. It’s very trying on them, but all the good closers that I’ve known from Robb Nen to many more guys, they have the knack to forget and move on. If you dwell on yesterday’s blown save it’s probably going to leak into today’s blown save. He does a good job of putting that aside and learning by his mistake and trying to right the ship the next day.”
Our special guest from AT&T Park in San Francisco is Brewers manager Craig Counsell.
Counsell talked to The Sports Virus about Ryan Braun since the PED suspension in 2013: … “he’s the same guy. He’s a really smart baseball player, he’s a smart guy just in general. He’s seen this organization go through a lot. The thing I’m most thankful for is that he’s really embraced what we went through this winter especially and kind of last season. We traded a lot of talent for some unknown talent and he’s really been behind that and understood that’s what we have to do to get to a level that we want to get to again.”
Giants reliever George Kontos joined us Wednesday before the game against the Red Sox.
Kontos took The Sports Virus inside the Giants bullpen: “We trust in one another like we have in the past, although guys are being used a little bit differently, a little bit more match-up style I would say this year. When one guy comes out with his runs on base you trust that the next guy is going to come in and do his job to pick each other up as well. That’s what I think has made us so successful over the past 5 or 6 years. Everyone goes out there and you pitch for one another, you do your job and that’s how we’ve come on top in those close games that we’ve become so accustomed to being on top of.”
Kelby Tomlinson of the Giants joined us before Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox.
Tomlinson talked to The Sports Virus about his approach at the plate: “… If you can swing at the right pitches and lay off the pitches you can’t hit and you can do that during the course of every at bat the whole season, you’re still going to have little ups and downs but they’re going to be little and you will avoid big slumps.”
Our special guests tonight from AT&T Park in San Francisco are Giants broadcaster Jon Miller and former SF CF Chili Davis who is currently the hitting coach for the visiting Boston Red Sox.
Miller talked to The Sports Virus about injuries hurting the San Francisco lineup: … “the Giants are looking for somebody to step up and do something big. Otherwise, the lineup looks pretty thin right now and if you’re Madison Bumgarner you’re going to have to pitch a tremendous game to have a chance to win.”
Davis talked to The Sports Virus about the 1987 Giants: … “great memories all year. Very sad memory in the way we ended the year losing game 7 (NLCS) in St. Louis. I thought we had a better team than the Cardinals did. Definitely a better offensive team. That year was special because I was here when we lost 100 games in ’85. Being able to get to the playoffs in ’87 after we came real close in ’86 and watched Houston clinch it with a no-hitter against us just made us more determined to get back there…..I’ve got three (World Series rings), but I always wanted one with the Giants.”
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