Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
It’s the home opener at AT&T Park for the Giants as they face the Diamondbacks. Today’s guests are SF RHP Jeff Samardzija and former Giants player now coach Shawon Dunston.
Photos courtesy of Jon Wells
Samardzija talked to The Sports Virus about his first start in Arizona: “…Obviously it didn’t end the way I wanted it to. It was a really a tough pill to swallow. Those starts are real tough when you have good stuff, you get a bunch of strikeouts (9), you’re not walking guys (2) and getting one, two, three innings. Then you have a long inning on offense and go out and it bites you in the butt…Things like that you learn from and why that happened and how can you prevent it next time.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Giants 1B Brandon Belt and RHP Hunter Strickland join us for opening day as the Giants start the season on the road in Phoenix and San Diego.
Belt photo courtesy of KNBR.com
Belt talked to The Sports Virus about batting 2nd in the batting order: …“I do like being in the 2-hole and at the top of the lineup. I don’t know what it is about it, maybe just knowing what you’re going to be doing in that first inning and just kind of get prepared right off the bat…Overall I do like being in that position, but I’m going to try keep the objective the same no matter where I am.”
Strickland told The Sports Virus the key to his off speed pitches: …“It’s got to be deceptive. It’s got to look like your fastball out of hand. If they see it out of your hand they’re going to lay off of it and put you in a fastball count. So, it’s definitely key to have it deceptive.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
From Chase Field in Phoenix we have our first KONTOS IN THE PEN feature of the season with Giants RHP George Kontos. We also caught up with new SF 1B coach Jose Alguacil.
Kontos talked to The Sports Virus about the composition of the 2017 Giants bullpen: …“We’ve got some guys who can get both lefties and righties out. We have guys who have been there before, who have pitched late in the game before. So, I see a lot of what we’ve come to expect from the bullpen…It’s more of an old-school bullpen, just guys who can get both (lefties and righties) out, not as specialized.”
Alguacil told The Sports Virus about getting hit in the face with a foul ball during spring training: …“It was a scary moment…I had a broken nose, had to get surgery on my eye, but I’m fine right now. I have just a scar. I’m happy to be here…Everybody was very supportive. That day I had like 400 texts. Everybody was worried about it.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
It’s opening day at Chase Field in Phoenix for the Giants and The Sports Virus is there chatting with new Giants Aaron Hill, Chris Marrero and Amy Gutierrez from NBC Sports Bay Area.
Marrero told The Sports Virus why making the Giants roster is special: “…I’m just honored to be here and part of this organization. I want to enjoy my time and do whatever it is I can do to help this team win because this is a great team and we’ve got a lot of expectations.”
Hill told The Sports Virus about reducing the pressure in his battle to win a job in spring: “….You just have to take a step back and tell yourself I can’t force hits, just take a deep breath and relax.”
Amy G talk to The Sports Virus about the new Giants closer: “….If you spend two seconds with Mark Melancon you realize they got a good add in him. He’s just a very composed, very nice, gentle Giant literally and figuratively. When he gets on the mound he kind of turns into a beast.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Giants RHP Jeff Samardzija and C Trevor Brown are our guests as we conclude our spring training podcasts.
Photos courtesy of William Yee and Jon Wells
Samardzija told The Sports Virus about working with Buster Posey behind the plate: …“Having conversations with Buster early in the year (2016) really made me realize that he wants us to do what we’re comfortable with. He’s throwing some suggestions down back there, but he’s very open to going to your strengths…To have both of those options is great, what you’re thinking and what he’s thinking.”
Brown told The Sports Virus his reaction to the Giants signing catcher Nick Hundley during the off season: …“It’s kind of a tough deal when they go out and sign (Hundley). It kind of makes you think was it I wasn’t playing good enough? But, then you reflect on it. I was happy with what I did last year. They’re going to go out and they’re going to get guys to put the best team out on the field.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Giants Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Brian Sabean and LHP Josh Osich join us as the Giants get ready for the season opener Sunday in Arizona.
Photo courtesy of Mercury News
Sabean talked to The Sports Virus about expectations for LF Jarrett Parker: “…He needs consistency…Really just putting the ball in play with authority. Home runs are fine and extra base hits are fine but what makes the world go-round is what you can do with two strikes and what you do in RBI situations. He’s still learning with that.”
Osich discussed his changeup with The Sports Virus: “….It’s one of those pitches that it’s all feel. It has to come off your hand right. If it’s not, then it’s not going to be what you want it to be. Last year I was just fighting it so much that it almost came down to that I almost gave up on it because I was wasting too much time trying to fix that and not working on anything else and it was just hurting how I was throwing. It didn’t turn out like I wanted it to. I feel like this year is going to be different.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Giants RHP Tyler Beede joins us as spring training continues in Scottsdale Arizona.
Photos courtesy of 2080 Baseball
Beede tells The Sports Virus that his success is predicated on more than just keeping the ball down: “I thinking changing eye levels, making sure you’re throwing to all four quadrants. It’s something I learned from (Madison) Bumgarner and it’s something that I’ve tried to implement into my games and to bullpens and understanding when you’re changing eye levels as well as changing speeds it’s just as effective. So, sometimes being up in the zone can be effective. But, for the most part you want to be down in the zone, making sure you’re getting ground balls and going deep in the ballgame.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
New Giants closer Mark Melancon is our guest. He signed with San Francisco as a free agent after combining for 47 saves last season with Pittsburgh and Washington. In 2015 he led the National League in saves with 51 for the Pirates.
Photo courtesy of William Yee
Melancon told The Sports Virus how he developed his cutter: …“I learned lot from Mariano (Rivera), being in the bullpen with him. Billy Conners was a pitching coach over there (Yankees). He put it in my head it might be a good pitch for me. Then I continued to watch Mo. When I got to Houston, Brandon Lyon was throwing the cutter on a regular basis so I would pick his brain. He would teach me what to look for, what the feel is supposed to be like. Over that season I would sprinkle in a few cutters and it just got better and better. When Russell Martin got to Pittsburgh, he caught Mo before so he really instilled that pitch into me and said ‘hey this is a great pitch, I know how to use it, let’s use it.’ That gave me a lot of confidence because he knew what he was looking for and he helped me along the way.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Giants OF Gorkys Hernandez joins us from Scottsdale, Arizona and Dodgers beat reporter Doug Padilla from ESPN.com joins us from Camelback Ranch in Arizona.
Hernandez talked to The Sports Virus about the optimism surrounding the 2017 Giants: “…We have the talent. We have everything. Young guys that are hungry to play. Last year we almost beat the Cubs. This year we have a great team. Pitching, defense, everything to get to another post season and another World Series.”
Padilla talked to The Sports Virus about Yasiel Puig: “…It’s going to be an interesting year for him. It seems like we say that every year that this is kind of the year for Yasiel Puig that he can show what he can do. He’s come in fit, he’s a little thinner and he has this desire. He told me guys had given him advice. Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano said this is how you need to handle yourself from here on out. There’s no more of this stuff that you’re doing, distractions that you’re causing. Yasiel said ‘I want to play now not just for me, it’s not about my numbers. I want to play because I realize those guys are watching, they care and I respect those guys and I need to show my respect by the way I play this season’. So, that’s a good sign, but Yasiel Puig has said the right things before and turned around and did the wrong things.”
Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Giants RF Hunter Pence and 1B/OF Michael Morse join us as spring training continues in Scottsdale Arizona.
Pence photo courtesy of Jon Wells. Morse photo courtesy of The Washington Times
Pence tells The Sports Virus about his friend and new Giants closer Mark Melancon: “It’s a tremendous addition to the club. I got to play with him in Houston so I know that he’s just a confident, powerful presence, a guy that’s dialed into his body, dialed into his work and just a mental beast. So, I was really excited when I found out we added him to the club.”
Morse talked to The Sports Virus about getting signed after seeing GM Bobby Evans at Hunter Pence’s wedding: “I told him I could have the greatest spring training ever and if they don’t have room for me on this team I’m probably just going to take it home. I love baseball, it’s been great to me and I know I could still play the game, but all the other stuff (politics) I don’t have time for it anymore. I just told him to write up a cracker jack contract and let’s do it.”
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