SF Giants Press Clips Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Transcription

1 SF Giants Press Clips Tuesday, February 27, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Bruce Bochy rejoins Giants after eulogizing former GM Kevin Towers Henry Schulman SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Manager Bruce Bochy returned to spring training after one of the harder days of his life. He was in San Diego on Sunday, delivering one of more than 20 eulogies at a public memorial for Kevin Towers, who died of cancer Jan. 30 at age 56. At the end of their professional relationship, Towers was the Padres general manager when Bochy left for the Giants after the 2006 season. The beginning happened three decades ago, when they were teammates in the San Diego farm system. Towers was a pitcher forced out of uniform by a bad arm. In 1988, Bochy caught Towers final pitch for Triple-A Las Vegas. The next year, they were in Spokane, Wash. Bochy was managing the Padres entry in the Northwest League. Towers was his pitching coach. They were tight until Towers died. Bochy, who spends winters in San Diego, even kept Towers company at a chemotherapy treatment. You learn from your friends, Bochy said. I learned a lot from Kevin. He taught me how to live in different ways. He taught me how to live when all odds are against you, when you ve been dealt a horrible hand. How he dealt with it, I ll never forget it. Towers told Bochy he planned to beat his rare form of thyroid cancer, and even if he didn t, Towers told him, I m a winner either way. He kept teaching until the end, Bochy said. It was a lot of heavy hearts (at the memorial), but it was a celebration, too. There were a lot of great stories and memories of Kevin. It was a nice send-off he had, a great turnout. Same ol Cueto: Special assistant Felipe Alou went to the back field Sunday to see Johnny Cueto face hitters for the first time and said he threw all of his pitches and used all of his tricks. Infield candidate Andres Blanco was not prepared for that. When Cueto pulled a statue-cum-shimmy move, Blanco backed out of the box.

2 Cueto is expected to throw one more live batting practice, then start a game. The only other starter who has not pitched, Jeff Samardzija, is scheduled to face the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Briefly: Reliever Julian Fernandez, a Rule 5 selection from the Rockies, sat at 98 mph and touched 100 mph in his debut Monday, but he did not retire a hitter and allowed four runs. Sam Dyson makes his first appearance Tuesday. Mark Melancon, coming off surgery, has not thrown live batting practice, but will soon. San Francisco Chronicle Giants Derek Holland: a World Series vet and a ham Henry Schulman SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Left-hander Derek Holland has not had a normal career arc. Once a 16-game winner for a World Series team (2011 Rangers), Holland is trying to re-establish his career after an injury spree that began when he hurt his knee while playing with his dog. If Holland succeeds, either wresting a rotation spot from one of the contending prospects, or getting a long-relief spot, he will make his Giants teammates laugh. The 32-year-old Ohio native is known for impersonations. He can do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Farrell s version of Harry Caray and Kermit the Frog. He s working on Cleveland from Family Guy and is still trying to hone his craft. You re just trying to keep the clubhouse loose, Holland said Monday before he allowed a Whit Merrifield homer but struck out four in two innings against the Royals at Scottsdale Stadium. You just want to make sure everybody s having a good time when they re out there, on and off the field. It s supposed to be a loose environment. Chris Stratton and Ty Blach are the front-runners for the final two rotation spots, with Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez in the mix. To add experience to the competition, the Giants signed Holland to a minorleague deal just before spring training. Holland and the Giants have met before. He had a forgettable inning for Texas in the 2010 World Series against the Giants but started for the 2011 team that twice came within a strike of beating the Cardinals in the 2011 World Series. He pitched a career-high 213 innings in 2013 before his career took a strange turn. Holland was running up the stairs of his house in the offseason while goofing with his dog when the animal clipped his leg and he fell awkwardly. He needed microfracture surgery on his left knee, and he missed most of Shoulder injuries that did not require surgery limited him to 33 starts over the seasons. The White Sox signed Holland for 2017 and he struggled, particularly in the second half, but he believes he took a big step by proving his health. The Giants will extend him as a starter this spring, mindful that he could help them in relief.

3 My No. 1 goal is obviously being in the rotation, he said. I ve been a starter. I d like to be a starter at least once in the National League to see how I can do. The Giants already know Holland is a ham. Even as a toddler, he and his older brother Greg (not that Greg Holland) would mimic batting stances they saw on TV. Years later, Holland developed a Schwarzenegger imitation after he and a buddy heard the Arnold s Pizza Shop gag (it s on YouTube). Holland has learned there is a time and place for doing voices. It can be awkward in the clubhouse when teammates are getting their game faces on, but entirely welcome amid the drudgery of the weight room. He has found his new Giants teammates a receptive audience. Being in the clubhouse so far, I ve gotten to see a lot of chemistry these guys have, Holland said. They all have the same personality. They re all goofballs just trying to have fun and enjoy every bit of what s going on here and have that same mentality of, We want to win, but at the same time, keeping it loose and having fun. San Francisco Chronicle Giants Tyler Beede deftly handles interview with Australian broadcaster Bruce Jenkins SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The day had not gone well. Tyler Beede got cuffed around in his first spring training start for the Giants on Monday, giving up four hits and three runs in two innings, featuring some hard-hit balls by the Royals. But he wasn t the slightest bit concerned and, wow, did he prove that in the clubhouse after he left the mound. First, he conducted a smiling, civil interview with the Bay Area media, exuding a breezy confidence. Then came an invasion from Down Under. Brad Blanks, an especially earnest fellow representing ESPN Australia, approached Beede with a series of hilariously naive questions, showing that he didn t know much about baseball, but sure wanted to learn. Beede could not have been more cooperative, giving cheerful, expansive answers to help the poor guy. All right, said Blanks, really getting excited now. Tell me, what is a locker? Talk me through it. This is the magic stuff. Well, said Beede, pointing out the details by hand, We have hats, sliders (sliding pants), boxers, shirts, long sleeves, we got the pants, the uniforms, peanut-butter sandwiches, for sure, shoes, cleats, everything you may need. Sweaty hats basically that s about it. And those boots! Blanks marveled. Turning to the camera, The man s got it all worked out, Blanks said. Great boots, and smells good. Australians, this could be the first guy you cheer for when you follow the San Francisco Giants.

4 There will be more starts for Beede, the Vanderbilt alum trying to work his way into the Giants rotation. Now he has had a postgame interview against which all others will be measured. Notes from the Cactus League: The Angels are planning a six-man rotation to accommodate Shohei Ohtani, who started just once a week in Japan. Imagine running that plan past a workhorse like Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner, who sounds as if he s up for making three starts over a nine-game stretch for the Giants (thanks to off-days) when the regular season begins. Do what you want, one imagines Bumgarner saying, but I m pitching every fifth day. In his Sunday Boston Globe column, Nick Cafardo listed ex-giants infielder Christian Arroyo in a group of future stars alongside Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna (Baseball America s No. 1 prospect), Boston third baseman Rafael Devers and Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres. The Rays depth chart lists Arroyo as the No. 1 backup to another familiar face, Matt Duffy, at third base. Arroyo is unlikely to play shortstop with Adeiny Hechavarria and the team s top position-player prospect, Willy Adames, on the scene. Let s get one thing straight about tanking, a popular subject these days with a number of clubs cutting back on salary, fielding younger players and basically casting aside the current season. Whatever happens with management, the players aren t tanking. Everybody s out there trying to keep a job or make an impression; they wouldn t dream of intentionally screwing up. Truthfully, it s not so bad watching a team s younger prospects develop. Worked pretty well for the Cubs and Astros. The A s aren t tanking, because that s not Billy Beane s way. Their regrettable policy is to unload attractive players around the trade deadline, and that has to stop. This year s Oakland crop looks especially good. Skeptical A s fans won t believe the reported shift in philosophy, though, until the proof comes forth. Once again, personable ex-giants pitchers Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez will split the assignments on NBC Sports Bay Area when Mike Krukow is at home (missing 40 games). And for those wondering about spring training telecasts, they re scheduled for Sunday against the Dodgers, March 22 against the Cubs and March against the A s. The case of the Invisible Dodger Telecast continues. For the fifth season, SportsNet LA will not be linked with DirecTV, shutting out a majority of fans in that market. The Dodgers have arranged for five free telecasts in the first month of the season on KTLA (Channel 5), but that hardly rectifies the situation. What a disgrace. Maybe it s nothing, maybe it s a thing: Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, who couldn t throw without pain down the stretch last year, opted against offseason elbow surgery but still isn t right; he s not scheduled to play in the field until the end of March. Annoying and unnecessary: Batters calling time and stepping out of the box just as the pitcher has started his windup or come to a set position. Too often this is a shoddy bit of gamesmanship, and there s an existing rule stating that umpires can deny that request. Why isn t it enforced? Perhaps because umpires seldom enforce any pace-of-play directives. They ve just never done it very often,

5 Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper said. And after a while, they re just tired of tickin off people. Like parents. Are we gonna yell at our kids over everything? Can t we just let some stuff slide? The wit and wisdom of Tim Flannery: Being an MLB man and a musician, if you want to speed games up, cut the walk-up songs down to 10 seconds. Have the boys get right to the hook of the song. It s a ballgame, not a musical. San Jose Mercury News Why hard-luck debuts won t sway Giants pitching competitions Kerry Crowley SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. If there s one trait baseball teams need more than talent, it s luck. On Monday, the Giants tested theirs, premiering a pair of pitchers who haven t exactly been blessed with good fortune of late. The franchise s top pitching prospect, Tyler Beede, took the mound for his spring debut in a 10-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Beede was in line for a Major League call-up last summer, but suffered a freak injury while warming up for a mid-morning contest on July 24 that sidelined him for the rest of the year. The groin strain that robbed Beede of an opportunity to advance past Triple-A initially crushed his spirits, but this spring, it inspired him to overhaul a warmup routine that now emphasizes lower body movements. I kind of allowed myself 24-to-48 hours to be frustrated about that, but after that it was get back here to Arizona and start working and preparing for the next opportunity, whenever it will come, Beede said. Beede surrendered four hits and three runs in two innings against Kansas City and both the starter and his manager thought Beede struggled with command too often in two-strike situations. A lot of strikes, a lot of first-pitch strikes, Bruce Bochy said. If anything, probably a little wild in the strike zone. He didn t execute some pitches when he was ahead in the count. Though Beede has an uphill climb if he wants to beat out Chris Stratton or Ty Blach for a spot in the Giants rotation, his path to a Major League job might be easier to ascend than the one reliever Julian Fernandez is facing. Fernandez pitched the eighth inning of Monday s contest and immediately showcased the terrible misfortune that s plaguing him this spring. In the first week of camp, the 22-year-old right-hander cut the index finger on his pitching hand, an ominous start for a reliever the Giants expect to factor into the battle for a bullpen job. After taking a few days off, Fernandez resumed regular activities and made his Cactus League debut against the Royals. Fernandez s first pitch in a Giants uniform was hooked about a yard inside the first base line for a triple, and the next batter that came to the plate reached on a 3-2 offering that slipped out of Fernandez s hand.

6 When a groundball barely snuck past the glove of third baseman Jonah Arenado for a single, Fernandez didn t any need luck against the fourth hitter of the inning. He was all out of it, anyway. Fernandez s second walk in four batters ended a disastrous outing, but after the game, Bochy said he expects the Rule-5 draft pick to improve with experience. Probably the worst thing that could have happened happened, Bochy said. A broken bat triple. I m sure the nerves were going pretty good, but he ll get better each time out I think. After San Francisco signed left-handed reliever Tony Watson, Watson s arrival limited the number of open jobs in a bullpen Bochy needs more production from this year. The Giants selected Fernandez in the Rule-5 draft this winter, which means he must spend the entire year on the 25-man roster or the club must offer him back to his original franchise, the Colorado Rockies. Of course, when you ve got a Rule-5 kid, we re going to try to get as good of a look as we can to make our decision, Bochy said. You know, (Fernandez) had a little setback with the finger, but he ll be back out there. Bullpen candidates Derek Law and Josh Osich also made their first appearances of the spring Monday, as each pitcher completed a perfect inning of work. Because several relievers, including Law and Osich, still have Minor League options, the Giants have the luxury of stashing Major League-caliber pitchers in Triple-A. In the case of Fernandez, who has never pitched above Single-A, it s the 25-man roster or bust. Of course there is a big difference between A-class and facing Major League hitters, but I m not afraid, Fernandez said. I m not afraid of throwing my pitch, I m aware also that the guys up here have more experience, but I m ready and I m confident that I can do the job. Gomez off to hot start Kelby Tomlinson and Pablo Sandoval are the front-runners to win backup infielder jobs, but second baseman Miguel Gomez is making noise with his bat. The switch-hitter went 1-for-2 on Monday, and is 4-for-7 this spring. The bat plays, doesn t it? Bochy said. You have to love the way (Gomez) finds a way to get the barrel of the bat on the ball consistently. He really does a good job of adjusting and he s one of those guys that can adjust on the fly too. He can get off balance and still find a way to make good hard contact. He s a hitter.

7 San Jose Mercury News Tyler Beede details what he s changed after first spring start Kerry Crowley SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The location of the Giants spring training complex is unbeatable. Set just outside of Old Town Scottsdale, the stadium is a five-minute walk from some of the best nightlife the state of Arizona has to offer. And after his spring training debut against the Kansas City Royals, Giants right-hander Tyler Beede answered questions about all that Scottsdale has to offer. Those inquiries came courtesy of an ESPN Australia crew that wanted to know about spring break in the states and how players find time for baseball when they spend February and March next to a party district. Beede laughed and played along during the interview, but it came moments after he struck a much more serious tone following a tough two-inning stint. The Giants top pitching prospect was in line for a late-season call-up last year, but suffered an ill-timed injury when he strained his groin warming up for a start on July 24. I kind of allowed myself 24-to-48 hours to be frustrated about that, but after that it was get back here to Arizona and start working and preparing for the next opportunity, whenever it will come, Beede said. Beede s injury prevented him from donning a Giants uniform during the month of September, but he said the opportunity to return to action in the Arizona Fall League served as an important milestone in his development. Though the Royals tagged Beede for four hits and three runs in Monday s outing, he was in great spirits in the Giants clubhouse after his start. Beede admitted he wasn t as focused on his stat line as he was about finding his command, and though he left a few two-strike pitches over the plate, he was encouraged with his feel for his changeup. Before Monday s start, Beede ran through an overhauled warmup routine that was built to ensure an injury like the one he suffered in July doesn t happen again. Big time, so when I got hurt, I realized I needed to do a little bit more activation with my lower body just to make sure I was prepared and ready to go, Beede said. It was an early game so I was more focused on preparing my arm for the game as opposed to my lower body so knowing that I needed to give myself maybe an extra 30 minutes to an hour to get my legs going, things like that. After Chris Stratton and Ty Blach each tossed two innings of scoreless ball in their first spring training starts, they ll maintain an advantage over Beede in the competition the Giants are holding for the final two spots in their starting rotation. It will likely take much stronger performances for the prospect to overcome the gap by the end of spring, but at this point, Beede is happy to be healthy again, and smiling like the fans in Scottsdale do when they hit Old Town after the game.

8 I wished it would have been a different wakeup call, Beede said. Maybe a more subtle one that took a couple of weeks as opposed to a couple of months, but it was the reality of the situation and I learned a lot from it for sure. San Jose Mercury News Giants Mailbag: Answering your spring training questions Kerry Crowley SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Cactus League games started on Friday, but the Giants have already held practices for two weeks at Scottsdale Stadium. After a 98-loss season, the Giants front office made several high-profile moves to increase their firepower in the lineup and in the bullpen, but it s increasingly clear the franchise should also have more depth this season. Throughout the spring, I ll do regular mailbag pieces to provide you, the reader, with an opportunity to ask questions about a variety of Giants-related topics. This week, we received a long list of great questions, so I ve decided to split the mailbag into two parts. If you don t see your question answered below, hang on for Part II, which will be released later this week. To ask a question in the future, reach out on Question: Will it be Duggar, Jackson, Blanco or Gorkys? similar question Crowley: In many ways, this is the most important question the Giants must answer this spring. The club has an established Major League starter ready to handle every other position, but manager Bruce Bochy will spend a significant chunk of the spring evaluating which player(s) is best suited to start in center field. In an ideal world for the Giants, prospect Steven Duggar would perform at such a high level that the franchise couldn t afford to send him back to Triple-A to begin the season. Duggar has range in the outfield, the speed to steal bases and an approach at the plate that makes him the organization s best candidate to lead off. However, injuries limited Duggar s playing time last year, and he s taken just 46 atbats above Double-A. Even if Duggar exceeds expectations this season, the Giants will likely have him begin the year with the Sacramento River Cats and hope he forces his way up to the Major Leagues at some point before the All-Star break. As spring training rolls along, I think we ll see Austin Jackson take the majority of his reps in center field and I would rank him as the favorite to start on Opening Day. Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean believe veteran experience will serve this club well, and Jackson proved last season he can still do damage at the plate. Is it realistic to expect Jackson to start more than 130 games in center? No, and that s why Gregor Blanco and Gorkys Hernandez enter the equation. Even at 34, Blanco is still one of the fastest players in Giants camp and would be an asset as an extra outfielder. He could spell Jackson early in the year, and provide depth behind Hunter Pence and Andrew McCutchen as well.

9 The Giants don t view Hernandez as a candidate to start, but he s also capable of providing depth behind Jackson or even Duggar. If Duggar flops and Jackson is really only a part-time player, perhaps Evans will explore a trade with the Brewers for Keon Broxton or Brett Phillips, but it certainly sounds like the Giants believe they have enough options to fill their void in center field internally. So to make a long answer short, I think Jackson will start at the beginning of the year, with Blanco and or Hernandez providing depth. I m not ready to rule out Duggar, but let s see how he fares in his first 10-to- 15 Cactus League games. Q: Can you speak to any chemistry going on between new guys and the rest of the team? Or is it too early to tell? Seems like Posey and Longoria might gel. Crowley: It s early to talk about chemistry, and quite honestly, it s impossible to tell how this group will gel with each other until they face adversity together. Last year, the Giants didn t handle adversity well, but that s one of the reasons I wanted to answer this question. I think the additions of McCutchen, Jackson and Longoria help stabilize the Giants lineup, but they re also all influential players in the clubhouse and that s important when you consider how quickly things went south last year. Several Giants players have said this team doesn t need to start the season on a tear, but what happens if the club finishes April at.500 or a few games below that mark? How will they respond? Based on the way the players are interacting and the conversations I ve had with a number of veterans, I think this year s group is much more likely to handle adversity well. Buster Posey is the Giants leader and he spoke after Sunday s game about the way McCutchen and Longoria are handling themselves in a new clubhouse. Posey is clearly impressed by their character, and when you consider their career arcs and the roles they played for their previous teams, it s hard not to be. I ll confess that I didn t know much about Jackson as a clubhouse fit when the Giants acquired him, but he has one of those magnetic personalities and players are drawn to him. It s an older group and the Giants front office has taken its fair share of criticism for the way the club was constructed. Last year, all nine Opening Day starters spent time on the disabled list and the team didn t make it out of the month of May before it was out of a playoff race. This year, I think the added depth makes the Giants better suited to embrace a next man up mentality, which is an encouraging sign. Q: Is Melancon healthy? Is he the projected closer? Crowley: Mark Melancon underwent surgery to fix a pronator injury in September so that he would have ample time to recover before spring training, but the Giants are still being cautious with their closer. Melancon has yet to make his spring debut, and he s not slated to do so on Monday or Tuesday.

10 Bochy said that by the end of spring, Melancon will have thrown on back-to-back days and be prepared to pitch without restrictions at the beginning of the season. Still, I think there s a bit of healthy skepticism regarding Melancon, simply because there s not exactly a slew of examples of other baseball players (or athletes) coming back from surgery that alleviates pronator syndrome. I think the Giants decision to slow-play Melancon is a smart one because there s no reason to rush a pitcher returning from injury, especially at the beginning of spring training. Nevertheless, until we see Melancon in action and pitching on a consistent basis, it s hard to know if he s still capable of serving as the lockdown closer the Giants expect him to be. Q: Who do you see as the most likely utility infielder, especially considering that he will back up Crawford? Is it Tomlinson s to lose or is he seen as on the same page with Calixte and the NRIs? similar question Crowley: Because the Giants expect to keep 12 pitchers and 13 position players, they ll likely break camp with a pair of utility infielders on the 25-man roster. I think Pablo Sandoval, as long as he stays healthy, will lock down one of those spots, but beyond Sandoval, the Giants have done a nice job signing players who should compete to make their bench deeper this year. Kelby Tomlinson entered the spring as a front-runner for a utility infield job, but according to Evans, he still has a Minor League option which could allow the team to stash him in Triple- A and see if they can catch lighting in a bottle with a non-roster invitee. Alen Hanson has great speed, Josh Rutledge can play a few different positions, Chase d Arnaud is swinging a consistent bat at the beginning of spring and Orlando Calixte can play every position on the diamond except catcher. All of those players will push Tomlinson, but the player I ll have my eye on is Andres Blanco, who has 10 seasons of Major League experience and can hit from both sides of the plate. I haven t even mentioned Miguel Gomez yet, who made his Giants debut last season and might be the best pure hitter of all the players Bochy will consider as bench options. If the season started tomorrow, I think Tomlinson and Sandoval are the players who would start the season on the Giants bench, but the competition among infielders will be one of the more intriguing battles to watch this spring. MLB.com Beede feeling good despite rough outing Chris Haft SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The joy of participation illuminated Tyler Beede's smile on Monday. As for the thrill of competition, that'll have to wait a little longer. Beede, ranked No. 4 among Giants prospects by MLB Pipeline, felt understandably happy just to stand on a pitcher's mound and stare down opposing hitters again. His 2017 season ended last July with an odd groin injury that he sustained while warming up for a game. Now healed, Beede joins the field of contenders for the pair of vacancies in the Giants' starting rotation. Chris Stratton and Ty Blach are the favorites to secure those roles. However, injuries or ineffectiveness,

11 coupled with a successful Spring Training from Beede, Derek Holland or Andrew Suarez, could change matters drastically. Beede, 24, knows what's at stake with virtually every outing. He also knows that his health comes first. In fact, Beede might have received a late-season promotion to San Francisco last year after building a 6-7 record with a 4.79 ERA for Triple-A Sacramento. "I think at this point, you have to be more realistic with where you're at," Beede said after yielding three runs in two innings as the Giants dropped a 10-6 Cactus League decision to Kansas City. "Would I like to go out there and throw zeros? Yeah, absolutely," Beede said. "But it's more realistic to know that I'm feeling great and my stuff's in a good position going forward. "There are definitely things I need to work on. I'm not saying that things are perfect. But I like where my stuff's at and I like how I'm feeling. I think it's just a couple of clicks away and then statistically it'll kind of take care of itself from there." Giants manager Bruce Bochy thought that Beede was "wild in the strike zone" -- that is, prone to throwing too many hittable pitches. Overall, Bochy said, Beede did a "decent job." Five of 11 batters reached base safely against Beede, who fully realized that this would be unacceptable under almost any other circumstance. "The results weren't what I would like to see," said Beede, San Francisco's No. 1 selection in the 2014 Draft. "But it's Spring Training, so I'm not going to put everything into the statistics. I want to know that I'm feeling great, feeling healthy, and that my stuff's coming out good. It's sharp for where I am right now." Beede lasted long enough to gain a sense of what needs improvement, including his sequences of pitches. "My changeup was my best pitch," he said. "I threw some good curveballs. My fastball command was all right. I think I didn't get [pitches] inside enough in certain situations, and my two-strike pitches probably weren't the best that they could have been." Everything could have been worse for Beede. But he kept his arm limber and his pitching memory sharp by making four Arizona Fall League starts last autumn for Scottsdale. He totaled only 16 innings, but the stint sharpened his technique and whetted his desire to pitch. "Mechanically, things are a little bit different -- much better rhythm and tempo for me," Beede said. "I'm confident with where I am because of the innings I got to throw in the Fall League."

12 MLB.com Gomez impressing with bat early Chris Haft SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Typically, a reserve infielder is on the team for his defensive prowess. But don't be surprised if Miguel Gomez, who rarely gets cheated in the batter's box, swings his way into contention for a role on the season-opening roster. Gomez lifted his batting average to.571 (4-for-7) with a double that launched a five-run, ninth-inning outburst in the Giants' 10-6 Cactus League loss Monday to Kansas City. Giants manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that the switch-hitting Gomez could intensify the competition for a backup middle infielder spot. Kelby Tomlinson and non-roster invitees Chase d'arnaud, Orlando Calixte and Josh Rutledge are among others being considered for this role. As Bochy repeated, referring to Gomez, "The bat plays." Gomez, 25, hit.242 in 22 games last year with the Giants before a right knee injury ended his season prematurely. Praise for Hundley Giants left-hander Derek Holland was struck by the ease with which he and backup catcher Nick Hundley forged their collaboration in Monday's game. "I'm not taking anything away from [Buster] Posey's game. I haven't thrown to him," Holland said after his two-inning stint. Nevertheless, Holland said, "Hundley and I were on the same page. For never having thrown to him, to be able to just look at him and [for him to] know what I want just shows how much of a leader he is behind the plate." Bochy honors Towers Bochy returned to Scottsdale shortly before game time, having traveled to San Diego to speak Sunday at the celebration of the life of Kevin Towers, who died of thyroid cancer on Jan. 30. Towers was Bochy's first pitching coach in his professional managerial career; Bochy managed the Padres when Towers was their general manager; and they were Minor League teammates in the San Diego organization. Naturally, they were the closest of friends. "You learn from your friends, and I learned a lot through Kevin," Bochy said. "He taught me how to live in different ways, when all odds are against you. "He said, 'I'm going to beat this thing. If I don't, I'm a winner either way.'" Worth noting Julian Fernandez, the Rule 5 draftee from the Rockies organization, allowed four eighth-inning runs in a rough Giants debut. That won't stop the Giants from using Fernandez, since they must decide whether

13 to keep him or offer him back to Colorado. "We're going to try to get as good a look at him as we can," Bochy said. Up next: Right-hander Jeff Samardzija makes his Cactus League debut for the Giants on Tuesday when they confront the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning at 12:05 p.m. PT at Scottsdale. Right-handers Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland are also expected to pitch for San Francisco. NBCSportsBayArea.com Beede, Holland jump into race for rotation spots with spring debuts Alex Pavlovic SCOTTSDALE There are all sorts of weird things that minor leaguers go through. One of them might have cost Tyler Beede a shot at a September call-up last season. Beede was warming up for a start in late July when he suffered a groin injury that knocked him out until the Arizona Fall League. The game was a 10 a.m. start because of an event at the ballpark, and Beede said it taught him a thing or two about extending his pre-game warmup routine. I had never been hurt before, Beede said. When I got hurt I realized I needed to do a little more to activate my body. I need to give myself an extra 30 minutes to an hour. I wish it would have been a different wake-up call, a more subtle one. Monday s wake-up call was a normal one. Beede took the ball at 1:05 p.m., but it didn t go quite as planned. The Royals got four hits and three runs in Beede s two innings of work. Still, the young righthander was happy with the way his arm felt, and Bruce Bochy said Beede threw better than the numbers indicated. He threw a lot of strikes, Bochy said. Especially a lot of first-pitch strikes. The next pitcher up, Derek Holland, also gave up multiple runs. Both are vying for a rotation spot, and Chris Stratton, Ty Blach and Andrew Suarez were sharper the first time out. But Bochy was happy with what he saw from Holland, too. I thought Holland looked really good, he said of the lefty. He looked really sharp, hitting his spots, freezing some hitters. He had a good, quick arm going. For the first time out, that was pretty impressive. --- Julian Fernandez, a Rule 5 pick from the Rockies, struggled in his Giants debut. Fernandez didn t record an out and was charged with four earned runs on two hits and two walks. He appeared to be overthrowing, which makes sense. I m sure the nerves were going pretty good, Bochy said. Fernandez has never pitched above A-ball, but he has to make the opening day roster for the Giants to keep his rights. Bochy said he ll throw the 22-year-old right back out there this week.

14 --- Josh Osich struck out two in a perfect inning. There s still a chance for him to snag a bullpen spot with Will Smith out until May Ryder Jones said his MRI revealed a Grade 1 hamstring strain. He ll miss at least another week of camp. --- The main story today is Chris Shaw, who dropped 15 pounds this offseason to improve his defense. --- Over on Instagram stories, a spring day in the life of Brandon Crawford. The Instagram handle is: pavlovicnbcs. NBCBayArea.com Shaw makes offseason changes to clear final hurdle to big leagues Alex Pavlovic SCOTTSDALE Like every player at Triple-A, Chris Shaw hoped to be greeted by the general manager when his minor league season was over. But he was hoping that meeting would take place in San Francisco, not Sacramento. Shaw led the organization in home runs last season with 24 across two levels, but he wasn t on the list for a September call-up, even though the big league team was finishing off a disappointing season that lacked any semblance of buzz down the stretch. The front office was hesitant to promote Shaw, one of the system s top prospects, because he doesn t have to be placed on the 40-man roster until after this season and team officials knew roster spots would be valuable as they tried to reshape the big league team. But there was an on-field reason, too, and Bobby Evans always pointed to Shaw s lack of experience in left field when asked about roster moves. It was a message that Evans gave Shaw in person when they met after a season in which the lefty slugger had a.871 OPS, with 35 doubles to go with those homers. He told me, I think you could help the lineup this year, but we don t want to rush you defensively. I understand that, Shaw said. Obviously it s a little tough to hear when you put yourself in a spot to be up there, but I don t want to be a guy who goes up and comes right down because my defense is not up to snuff. To quiet any doubts the big league staff might have, Shaw has done more than just work on the fundamentals of left field. He lost 15 pounds in the offseason to try and become lighter on his feet in left field. The transformation was not something that the front office or training staff told Shaw to do. It was something he felt was necessary, though. In my mind, it was how can I stay lighter on my feet and be quicker. I talked to the Giants (coaches and front office people) and they said I get good reads out there, but it s just that first step that s lacking a little quickness, he said. I thought that if I get leaner that the first step quickness would come on its own. To drop the weight, Shaw who was listed at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds last season tried a modified paleo diet. It wasn t as strict as the one Hunter Pence famously embraced in past years, but Shaw still stuck to healthier food for most of an offseason spent training in Boston.

15 But obviously there were days I would go crush a pizza, he said, laughing. Shaw s physique has never been an issue for the Giants. He was physically imposing the day he visited AT&T Park after being drafted 31st overall in He likes what he s seen from the offseason changes, though. My swing feels the same and the power is the same, but the outfield stuff is where I feel different this spring, he said. I feel lighter on my feet and I have more energy in games. In his second big league camp, Shaw has been working with the big league outfielders in the morning and soaking in advice from a group of veterans. He already has implemented one tip from Hunter Pence about pre-pitch preparation, and the work both on the field and in the offseason has been noticed. Bench coach Hensley Meulens now works with the outfielders, and he said Triple-A manager Dave Brundage and hitting coach Damon Minor have already mentioned that they ve seen a difference in Shaw s defensive ability. They said he s definitely improved the way he s moving in the outfield, Meulens said. He sees the writing on the wall." NBCBayArea.com Orlando Cepeda shows 'major signs of improvement' Alex Pavlovic SCOTTSDALE -- A few days after a cardiac incident put Orlando Cepeda in the hospital, the Giants released a statement with the first bit of positive news. The Giants said Cepeda has shown "major signs of improvement." "The Cepeda Family would like to thank the baseball family for its concern and well wishes for Orlando," the statement said. "We are pleased to report that Orlando continues to make significant progress every day and is showing major signs of improvement. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers." Cepeda was hospitalized last Monday after an incident at a golf course in Fairfield. There was significant concern within the organization last week, but team officials have been slightly more optimistic in recent days. Cepeda, 80, spent nine seasons of his career with the Giants and made six All-Star teams. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in The Athletic The hidden cost of Brandon Belt's latest concussion: 'Depression is a good word for it' Andrew Baggarly SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A curveball to the helmet on Aug. 4 did more than end Brandon Belt s season last summer. It did more than prevent him from setting a career high in home runs. It did more than deprive the Giants of their most productive left-handed hitter for the final eight weeks of a dismal year.

16 The Giants lost their first baseman for two months, but box scores couldn t show the rest. Haylee Belt lost a piece of her husband. Little 3-year-old Grayson lost a piece of his father. That s what it felt like at times, anyway. Small things would make me angry, and that s not me, Belt told The Athletic on Sunday. And my family, they took the brunt of it. I ve always tried my best not to take the game home with me. But that was something I couldn t do anything about. Belt s fourth documented concussion left him lethargic, frustrated and irritable. It dulled his playful, selfdeprecating sense of humor. It turned him into an antisocial recluse who wanted nothing more than to spend all day in a darkened room with the door closed. His concussion had robbed him of so much more than his ability to barrel up a 95 mph fastball. It turned him into a person he didn t recognize. He d just get into a funk, Haylee Belt told The Athletic. Doesn t want to come out of his room, doesn t want to be around people. He d be a lot more impatient about certain things, I guess you could say, like a child would be. It s hard for me to understand it, and I ve lived with somebody who has it. If you re not experiencing it yourself, you really have no idea what you re dealing with. And Grayson, he just wants to play and roughhouse and he doesn t know. How do you tell your 3-yearold, 'No, I don t want to go play with you? It is an exercise in frustration: shutting the door to all light while hoping one will appear at the end of a very long tunnel. Belt eventually came out of it and now, free of concussion symptoms, he speaks in a resolute voice about having a career season. He is the only player on the Giants infield who doesn t own a Gold Glove, and it s not a stretch (or a scoop) to believe that one could be within his reach. Last year s concussion came one day after he matched his career high with his team-leading 18th home run. He is aiming to surpass that by plenty this season. He could become the first Giants first baseman to hit 30 in a season since Will Clark in Best of all, Belt is back to chattering with teammates around the cage and in the lunchroom. He s smiling and interacting and being occasionally goofy. When he waved through a couple of breaking pitches on the first day of live batting practice, he exited the cage with a gee-whiz look on his face. Well, that was great, he said with a laugh. It s OK, Brandon, Giants manager Bruce Bochy replied, leaning against the netting. We don t make cuts for three more weeks. It s great to have him back out here and back to his normal well, I mean, his regular self, shortstop Brandon Crawford said, grinning. He s my locker buddy. He s my commercial buddy. I mean, he s Brandon.

17 The Belt byplay wasn t the only spark missing in the Giants clubhouse last season. A record tends to tamp down any humor or good-natured repartees. But Belt, after getting hit by an errant pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Anthony Banda, found himself submerged somewhere much deeper than fifth place in the National League West. Even after the worst of his headaches and dizziness began to improve in early September, he was a ghost in the clubhouse the rest of the season. He didn t go on road trips. At home, he d arrive after the players had taken the field and leave before the game ended. Injured players often seek to receive their treatment in off hours so that trainers can use the time before games to assist the guys who will be on the mound or in the lineup that night. Belt s consideration went beyond courtesy. I just had to avoid a lot of the racket that goes on before and after games, he said. It was too much. On the rare occasions that his teammates saw him, he was distant and reserved almost as if he were in mourning. He looks back on that time and shakes his head. Depression is a good word for it, he said. It is the symptom that is the easiest to miss, the hardest to pin down and the most devastating to underestimate. It is undiagnosed far too often. And it is all too common with people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury. One study by researchers at the Seattle Children s Hospital and the University of Washington showed that a history of concussions is associated with more than a threefold increased risk of a depression diagnosis. Another study by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center showed that patients who were clinically depressed and patients who had sustained multiple concussions shared unique white matter injury patterns in the area strongly associated with the brain s reward circuit. It is hard to say how much of Belt s depression was due to possible physical changes in his brain structure, and how much was the understandable malaise and frustration at being unable to tolerate any kind of stimulation or social interaction. Going to the movies, a favorite pastime, was out of the question. Reading gave him eye strain. It was purgatory without the flames. Second baseman Joe Panik understood why Belt seemed a paler version of himself. Panik went through something similar after his concussion in You re not limping around on a bad ankle, so other people can t see it, Panik said. But there are definitely psychological effects, whether you re talking about irritability or mood swings. You almost become somebody you re not. It s only the people who are close to you and have to deal with you the most who see it. Panik couldn t even see it in himself. It was only after he felt symptom-free and back to normal that his then-fiancee, Brittany, mentioned to him that his personality had been affected.

18 Haylee acknowledged there were times with Brandon when she couldn t hold it in. I d get impatient with him, she said. I d be, 'Come out of the room, you ve been sleeping all day. But you also know that he s obviously not the only one who goes through this. The timing of Belt s fourth concussion was especially unfortunate because Haylee was in bad shape herself, incapacitated by a painful kidney stone. If not for extended family, as well as their house guest, Giants video replay review coach Chad Chop, they aren t sure how they would have managed those first few days. Chad is a hands-on dad, Haylee said. He d do anything for you. So luckily, we had a lot of help that weekend. Brandon and Haylee were all too familiar with what the next few weeks would bring. Belt missed 46 games in 2014 after Marco Scutaro s errant throw in batting practice struck him in the head. He sustained another concussion in September 2015 when his head collided with an infielder s knee while diving back to second base. The worst one came in 2009 while playing in an NCAA Regional game for the University of Texas against Army, when a fastball to the ear flap sent him to the hospital. The Belts knew that healing from a traumatic brain injury took time and patience. It involved more than icing a swollen ankle or getting a shoulder massage. Once Belt could tolerate a bit more stimulation, he began to drive to see a specialist at Stanford twice a week for vestibular therapy to improve his balance and visual acuity. He would do eye exercises daily. Even after the Giants fully cleared Belt at the end of September and he went home to Lufkin, Texas, he continued his vision therapy with a specialist in Houston. A two-hour drive each way, Haylee said. He didn t have to do it. But he wants to be the best he can be, and it can only help. Haylee would be lying if she said she didn t have concerns. Like everyone else, she has heard all about the very real problem of chronic brain injuries in the NFL. She takes solace in the fact that Brandon s concussions were the result of fluky plays and that he is not subjected to the daily occupational hazards that might confront a free safety or linebacker. And yet You definitely wonder, like, when are they going to say, 'If you get hit one more time, we ve got to stop, she said. I ve seen him come out of three before, so you always hope for the best. But you never know. There could be that one time But he s determined to get back out there. He feels really good. And I really think he s going to have a good year. Call it a gut feeling.

19 Grayson was born in 2014 when we won the World Series, and we re having another, she said. So maybe we ll have another World Series baby. They are expecting their second son in July. Whether Belt makes his second NL All-Star team or not, he won t have much of a break. As Belt spoke at his locker Sunday, a clubhouse attendant vacuumed the carpet nearby. A few months ago, the noise would have caused his head to pulse in pain. Now it doesn t even register as he raised his voice to speak over the din. I m just happy to be around everybody, he said, and feel like myself again.