Well, what looked like a temporary set-back for the Giants right-hander has turned into an injury that's nagged him all spring long and kept him out of Cactus League play.
Vogelsong threw a 45-pitch bullpen session Wednesday though, and all reports were positive coming out of it. Vogey apparently threw two sets of about 20 pitches and really impressed Giants brass that were looking on during the workout. It looks like he's close to making his return to rotation, and could start as early as this weekend or early next week, baring any set
-backs. That's some positive news for the Giants, who just gave Vogey a two-year contract extension before spring. It looks like he's right back on track to be ready by opening day, I just hope this isn't an injury that becomes a season-long issue. Backs, especially for starting pitchers, can be tricky, and Vogey, while he hasn't accumulated a lot of innings at the big league level, is 34 years old and doesn't have the recovery ability he did 8-10 years ago, so again, there will be plenty of eyes watching the 2011 success story very closely. As far as another Giant making his comeback from injury, Freddy Sanchez, he still hasn't played out in the field in a spring game yet, but he has started at DH, which is a move in the right direction. Sanchez has DH'd in 3 games and accumulated 10 at-bats. I was hoping he'd be able to get in around 50 by opening day, just because he hasn't played in so long, and it looks like that very well may happen. I expect his rehab to intensify in this second half of the Cactus League schedule and I expect to see him out at 2nd base any day now!
Other than that, it has been extremely smooth sailing in Giants camp thus far. Perhaps the two most impressive springs thus far have come from the new outfield additions. Melky Cabrera has looked like a monster at the plate, hitting .481 with 3 HR and 9 RBI in 8 games and 27 at-bats. That's good for a 1.444 OPS as over half of his 13 hits have been for extra-bases. The only area
of Cabrera's plate approach that needs a little work is his seductiveness. He's hitting .481 and has a .481 OBP, which means he hasn't taken a single walk this spring yet. One problem with the Giants offense last season was their lack of selectivity and their knack for making quick outs. Now, I've only seen some spring action, so I can't judge whether or not Melky's working counts and just keeps getting good pitches to hit or what, but I'd like to see him take some more pitches! The Giants center fielder, Angel Pagan, while just now getting it going at the plate has looked much better than his reputation as a center fielder coming in. The knock on him was that he didn't get good first steps on balls, but I saw him run down a ball in yesterdays game that even Andres Torres would have had trouble with, so as I suspected, Pagan's defensive "fall-out" rumors appear to be off base. I know he didn't have the best year with New York at the plate or in the field last season, but I think that was an exception, not the norm (he did have injury issues too he was battling through in 2011).
Other than that, Buster Posey's comeback has been slowed a bit, but he's still right on track according to Giants personnel. He's only had 5 at-bats this spring, which is a little surprising as I thought he'd be DH'ing nearly every game he could handle, but that hasn't been the case. Posey's the one guy I haven't yet seen
take a live swing in a game yet this spring, so I'm hoping to get that chance at some point this weekend. With Posey still coming along, it's allowed time for other young Giants catchers to burst onto the scene and that they've done! Hector Sanchez and Tommy Joseph, two of the Giants top prospects, have had tremendous springs, combining to go 11-25 with 5 homers and 14 RBI. I know it's just spring, but these are young, 21 and 22 year-old catchers making a large impact. Joseph, who's never played above A-ball, has been especially impressive as he's playing against big league level talent without batting an eye. Sanchez is further proving my suggestion that he be the Giants backup catcher, or needs a spot on the 25-man roster if they carry three catchers. The dude's ridiculous spring, potential bat off the bench and ability to play 1B, should bode well for that.
Vogelsong threw a 45-pitch bullpen session Wednesday though, and all reports were positive coming out of it. Vogey apparently threw two sets of about 20 pitches and really impressed Giants brass that were looking on during the workout. It looks like he's close to making his return to rotation, and could start as early as this weekend or early next week, baring any set
-backs. That's some positive news for the Giants, who just gave Vogey a two-year contract extension before spring. It looks like he's right back on track to be ready by opening day, I just hope this isn't an injury that becomes a season-long issue. Backs, especially for starting pitchers, can be tricky, and Vogey, while he hasn't accumulated a lot of innings at the big league level, is 34 years old and doesn't have the recovery ability he did 8-10 years ago, so again, there will be plenty of eyes watching the 2011 success story very closely. As far as another Giant making his comeback from injury, Freddy Sanchez, he still hasn't played out in the field in a spring game yet, but he has started at DH, which is a move in the right direction. Sanchez has DH'd in 3 games and accumulated 10 at-bats. I was hoping he'd be able to get in around 50 by opening day, just because he hasn't played in so long, and it looks like that very well may happen. I expect his rehab to intensify in this second half of the Cactus League schedule and I expect to see him out at 2nd base any day now!Other than that, it has been extremely smooth sailing in Giants camp thus far. Perhaps the two most impressive springs thus far have come from the new outfield additions. Melky Cabrera has looked like a monster at the plate, hitting .481 with 3 HR and 9 RBI in 8 games and 27 at-bats. That's good for a 1.444 OPS as over half of his 13 hits have been for extra-bases. The only area
of Cabrera's plate approach that needs a little work is his seductiveness. He's hitting .481 and has a .481 OBP, which means he hasn't taken a single walk this spring yet. One problem with the Giants offense last season was their lack of selectivity and their knack for making quick outs. Now, I've only seen some spring action, so I can't judge whether or not Melky's working counts and just keeps getting good pitches to hit or what, but I'd like to see him take some more pitches! The Giants center fielder, Angel Pagan, while just now getting it going at the plate has looked much better than his reputation as a center fielder coming in. The knock on him was that he didn't get good first steps on balls, but I saw him run down a ball in yesterdays game that even Andres Torres would have had trouble with, so as I suspected, Pagan's defensive "fall-out" rumors appear to be off base. I know he didn't have the best year with New York at the plate or in the field last season, but I think that was an exception, not the norm (he did have injury issues too he was battling through in 2011).Other than that, Buster Posey's comeback has been slowed a bit, but he's still right on track according to Giants personnel. He's only had 5 at-bats this spring, which is a little surprising as I thought he'd be DH'ing nearly every game he could handle, but that hasn't been the case. Posey's the one guy I haven't yet seen
take a live swing in a game yet this spring, so I'm hoping to get that chance at some point this weekend. With Posey still coming along, it's allowed time for other young Giants catchers to burst onto the scene and that they've done! Hector Sanchez and Tommy Joseph, two of the Giants top prospects, have had tremendous springs, combining to go 11-25 with 5 homers and 14 RBI. I know it's just spring, but these are young, 21 and 22 year-old catchers making a large impact. Joseph, who's never played above A-ball, has been especially impressive as he's playing against big league level talent without batting an eye. Sanchez is further proving my suggestion that he be the Giants backup catcher, or needs a spot on the 25-man roster if they carry three catchers. The dude's ridiculous spring, potential bat off the bench and ability to play 1B, should bode well for that.
Comments
Seems like the only guy not having a successful spring, one way or another, has been Freddy Sanchez. I was worried about this injury lingering with this guy, and 10 months after the injury, he's still go a ways to go.