Spring training is almost at a close and it hasn't been one to remember. Both Noah Lowry and Omar Vizquel have collapsed under injury, although both will return close to the seasons start. Giants management hasn't made any moves to acquire a third or first baseman. Dan Ortmeier certainly hasn't fit the bill at first, getting 14 hits in 60 at bats for a .233 batting average. He isn't the only one. The Giants hitting has been atrocious. They are hitting .260 as a team and have only hit 15 homeruns, which is tied for fourth or fifth worst during spring training. The only bright spot, as expected, has been the pitching. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum have both looked pretty sharp throughout the spring and Zito is coming off his best start of training camp, going 5 2/3 shut out innings.
Are they just looking bad but still winning their fair share of games. I haved only one answer. 8-16. They have looked even worse than last year. Hopefully it is just because they are "taking a look at players" and that this won't roll over into the season. This is not the kind of production I wanted to see at the start of this season. Not that I didn't expect it. I was just hoping that it wouldn't be this bad.
One good thing to look forward to is the first game of the season. The Giants will be letting fans into AT&T park to watch the opener in L.A. for free on the HDTV screen. Hopefully Zito doesn't repeat what he did last year.
Here is a link to Spring Training scores:
http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/spring_training/schedule.jsp?c_id=sf
