We talk about the Giants bullpen and the return of Hunter Pence as our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea joins us in part 2 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus talked to Shea about Jake Peavy moving to the bullpen:
… “You have to acknowledge he did it without a fight. On the other hand, is he suitable for that? I don’t know. (Barry) Zito wasn’t. (Tim) Hudson wasn’t. A lot of these guys at the end of the line are moved to the bullpen and everyone expects them to be in their prime again, like (Tim) Lincecum in 2012, just a super-duper reliever. It’s not that easy. It’s a whole different rhythm, a whole different timetable. You never know when you’re going to get called to pitch in a game…It’s a completely different lifestyle.”
San Francisco Chronicle Columnist John Shea joined us for our on site podcast from Keeble and Shuchat Photography in Palo Alto in Part 1 of our conversation.
Shea talked to The Sports Virus about the Giants superb infield defense: “… You talk about gold glovers. The only one with one is (Brandon) Crawford, but there’s gonna be more. I put down the computer (on a) ground ball. It’s a must watch because they’re turning double plays, it’s so swift, it’s clean and the essence of defense and glove work. It’s beautiful to watch right now.”
Papa talked to The Sports Virus about the early woes for Jake Peavy and Matt Cain: “… the bottom line, they make a lot of money. You’re talking $33 million. They’re not going to eat that on Cinco de Mayo or Mays’ birthday. They may entertain it on Memorial Day, but even then there’s DLs, you can do things. They have enough of a track record. I think overall they’ll be fine, you’ve just got to give them a little more time.”
During the last home stand at AT&T Park in San Francisco we talked to Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija and Senior Vice President and General Manager Bobby Evans.
Samardzija tells The Sports Virus about his “twist” delivery: … “you’ve got to use your whole body, your legs and your core. For me it’s just a way of generating a little bit more velocity with a little less exertion. It feels comfortable for me. As long as I’m nice and slow and calm in my lift and my turn and not ahead of myself it usually works out alright.”
Evans tells The Sports Virus about the chances of Tim Lincecum being back in a Giants uniform: … “We’ve kept an open door. For him, he’s got to really evaluate opportunities and situations out there that are afforded to him in terms of a role. He’s particularly interested in starting. For us, we really see it more in the bullpen. That said, we understand what his options will be and he’ll have to make a decision here soon I think.”
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.”