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.”
Jim Kelch talked to The Sports Virus about Johnny Cueto’s creative deliveries: “… that evolution started back in 2012 in Los Angeles. Johnny had a problem falling off to the first base side. He came up with this to keep his shoulder closed to get a better part of the plate. He started improvising from there. No matter what he does, he is still always around the plate.”
Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area Giants Reporter Amy Gutierrez, is our guest to talk about how newcomers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are fitting in with the team as well as what Buster Posey does as leader of the team.
Amy G talked to The Sports Virus about Buster Posey’s leadership ability: “…I think Buster Posey has a demeanor in a game and with the fan base and then I think he has a different demeanor in the clubhouse. Posey is probably one of the most approachable teammates that you’re going to come across in the game.”
We talk about Giants RHP Johnny Cueto with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part two of our conversation.
Shea tells The Sports Virus that Johnny Cueto: … “is a guy you just don’t want to take your eye off of. There are movements in his delivery that you don’t see. He might quick pitch you, he might delay in his delivery, he might look to centerfield with his back to home plate, a la Luis Tiant. He’s got some (Juan) Marichal in him. Very creative. I think Buster Posey had to take little time to figure it out.”
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.”