I got a chance to check out the latest installment of the San Francisco Giants a few hours before it airs on CSN Bay Area on Tuesday night (Jan. 17) at 9 pm. The episode will be available on SFGiants.com after Wednesday, Jan. 18.
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT (DO NOT READ FURTHER IF DON’T WANT TO FIND OUT HAPPENED)
Andrew Susac
The first part of the show focuses on the Giants’ annual conditioning camp held at AT&T Park, with most of the focus on No. 49 overall pick Kyle Crick (who’ll almost surely become a fan favorite), 2nd round selection Andrew Susac (picture Brandon Crawford mixed with Kevin Frandsen, only a catcher) and 3rd-rounder Ricky Oropesa (who has confidence to spare).
The show features the prospects and others at camp running drills on the field (which has football yard lines) and running stairs in the upper deck. One of the scenes includes Strength and Conditioning Coach Carl Kocham banishing Crick from the field for not wearing spikes, something that all the prospects were instructed to do in an email.
“That’s why you always read your emails,” Susac said. “Not in high school anymore.”
Crick followed his 7-mile ride on the exercise bike (his punishment) by leading the prospects on a run down the Embarcadero. Later in the day they do some work in the “classroom,” focusing on the mental side and listening to Shawon Dunston and Barry Bonds (yes, THAT Barry Bonds) give advice before getting autographs from Willie Mays in the clubhouse.
Afterward the cameras follow Crick, Susac and Oropesa on a MUNI ride (poor guys) to Fisherman’s Wharf.
The Giants have really been pushing the three prospects since drafting them; before a Sept. 13 game against the Padres the team brought all three to the dugout to meet with the media (which included me, strangely enough).
Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez
The rest of the show takes place in Arizona, following Posey and Sanchez as they go through rehab. There’s some good footage of Posey running (he can’t run the bases yet) and blocking tennis balls thrown by Steve Decker. Sanchez has a huge wrap on his shoulder for much of the segment, except when they show him coaching his 3-year-old’s flag football team — which provides some comic relief.
The show ends on a somewhat ominous note, however. After the narrator mentions how Posey’s hitting some milestones in rehab, the show ends with Posey talking about how he’s going to feel in Spring Training and beyond.
A lot of it’s going to depend on what kind of progress I make the rest of the off-season. I mean, ideally I would love for it to be just a normal Spring Training but I don’t think that’s going to be the case. There’s going to have to be some extra work put in. There’s probably going to have to be extra work put in for a long time, if not the rest of my career.
Overall, an interesting look at the parts of the Giants’ off-season that have nothing to do with free agents, trades, contracts and rainy-day funds. It also looks like Posey and Sanchez are going to need all the time they can get between now and Opening Day to rehab.
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If you want to check out some videos I took when Crick, Susac and Oropesa came down to the dugout, here they are…
