Bay Area News Group Columnist Mark Purdy is our guest.
In the wake of the opening home stand against the Dodgers, Purdy tells The Sports Virus: “…I can’t think of a 4-game series in the first two weeks of the season almost as compelling as that. We had a little bit of everything. The home opening game kind of showed why this Giants team may be a little different than others.”
Our first chat of the season with regular guest John Shea from the San Francisco Chronicle as part of an on-site “Live” podcast from Toscalito Tire and Automotive in San Francisco, our season long sponsor. Thanks to everyone for hosting us!
Shea tells The Sports Virus: “…I think Chris Heston is going to start some games this year. At the back end (of the rotation) you have (Jake) Peavy and you have (Matt) Cain and those are the question marks. Until further notice all eyes are going to be on them and they’ve gotta succeed because they have Chris Heston waiting on deck maybe at some time in May if they’re not effective.”
We continue our home opener coverage from AT&T Park in San Francisco chatting with Giants C Trevor Brown and Dodgers OF Scott Van Slyke.
Brown tells The Sports Virus what he learns from watching Buster Posey… “I watch a lot of his pitch calling. I try to sit there on the side and call pitches while I’m not playing to see how on the same page I would be with Buster. I try to watch his strategy.”
We conclude our spring training coverage from Scottsdale, AZ chatting with Yahoo! national baseball writer Tim Brown.
Brown tells The Sports Virus that Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are the key for the Giants … “If those two guys are 190 to 210 innings and pitch the way you assume they are going to pitch, this is a really good team because they did score runs last year.”
Lopez chatted with The Sports Virus about the power arms in the Giants pen: “For me it’s enjoyable to watch because I’ve always wondered what it’s like to throw 98 (mph) and 100 and I’ll never know, but I love to see it and I love to listen to it at least. It’s a source of pride for them and it’s a source of pride for me (not throwing as hard) that I can still go out there and get people out.”
Wotus tells The Sports Virus that Gold Glove winning SS Brandon Crawford is “kind of like Omar Vizquel, JT Snow and these guys that love playing defense. I don’t have to worry about him. I think he’ll work smarter. He’ll take care of his body and not overdo it. You just expect him to keep getting better.”
We continue our spring training coverage from Scottsdale, AZ chatting with a pair of Giants prospects, OF Mac Williamson and C Trevor Brown, who both made their Major League debuts in September.
Williamson tells The Sports Virus what he learned in September with the Giants… “The winning attitude, the selflessness, the hunger to win, the preparation. It’s really something to behold and something that I’ll try to emulate from here forward.”
Peavy tells The Sports Virus that the team contending despite injuries last year… “says a lot about who we are and the type of guys we have in the clubhouse.”
We continue our spring training coverage chatting with two players who were an important part of the last two championship teams for the Giants, pitcher George Kontos and outfielder Gregor Blanco.
Kontos tells The Sports Virus that “you’re not going to be able to replace a Jeremy Affeldt. My locker was next to his every day I ever spent in the Major Leagues with Giants. I’m going to miss him. I know the team is going to miss him. His experiences and his knowledge about the game really helped me and molded me into the pitcher that I’ve become in the Major Leagues now.”
We continue our spring training coverage from Scottsdale, AZ chatting with a pair of Giants prospects, SS Christian Arroyo and 3B Ryder Jones, who played together in San Jose last season.
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We continue our spring training coverage chatting with two players who were an important part of the last two championship teams for the Giants,
