Laze's Spring Training Journal: Familiar Faces

Tuesday

Greetings once again Squirrels fans. Welcome to the lightest day of my spring trip. You have to ease yourself into the grind of the season (yes, even broadcasters). The Giants' big club was on the road on Tuesday afternoon, taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won the game 8-4 including a big day for Melky Cabrera who homered from both sides of the plate. Former Squirrels' closer Heath Hembree looked sharp in the 9th inning, working a perfect frame and opening some eyes in the process.

I was not there to see it, as instead I went over to the minor league complex and grabbed former Squirrels' manager Andy Skeels and Squirrels' Clubhouse Manager Joe Tarnowski for an afternoon round of golf. Skeels and I played a ton of golf together while he was guiding the Squirrels in 2010. It's always good to catch up with him. While at the complex I had some interesting conversations with Giants' Director of Player Development Fred "Chicken" Stanley and Coordinator of Minor League Pitching Instruction Bert Bradley. I have gotten to know them both pretty well over the last two years. Chicken and I mainly focused on what brand of golf clubs he was going to order for the upcoming season, but I was on hand while Bradley had a conversation with Hector Correa. Correa had thrown in the big league game the night prior and lost his command for a couple of hitters. Fun to be a fly on the wall as Bradley took him through getting his arm slot back on plain, and what he wanted to work on the next day. Correa as he always seems to do, took it in stride.

Not much more than that to report from a quick day at camp. They wrapped up activities at about 11:30 am, and the guys were free to do whatever they pleased in the afternoon. Skeels, Tarnowski and I set out for the golf course. It was a memorable return to the Arizona Golf Resort, where I worked for a number of years while attending Arizona State University. It was a treat to take those guys out there, and also cool to still have the connection to play for FREE after 12 years! Despite a stiff-wind kicking up as we made the turn, we managed to keep the ball in play for the most part. Skeels and I play to about the same handicap, and on my former home track I used that advantage to take this round in a close one. Laaser - 77, Skeels - 81. Tarnowski - no score reported.

After golf I met up with Doug Greenwald (Fresno Broadcaster), Mick Gillespie (Radio Voice of the Tennessee Smokies) and Donny Barnes (Radio Voice of the Visalia Rawhide) for dinner at Houston's in North Scottsdale. Scottsdale is such a condensed area that you'll generally run into a few people you recognize, and this was no exception as we happened by Charlie Culberson and Brandon Belt having dinner with their wives. It was good to see Charlie, who I hadn't had a chance to catch up with. He injured his finger right before camp, but reports that he is just about ready to get going full-steam. That was about it on a rather slow Tuesday, but I'll make up for that on Wednesday.

Wednesday

This will be my last day in Scottsdale, and that is tough to swallow, because I have recaptured my love of this area. However, the weather has taken a minor turn, and it's actually a relatively chilly 60 degrees. The sun is still shining though.

Lane Casadonte from CBS 6 arrived in town to chronicle some future and former Squirrels and I have made plans to meet up with him over at Scottsdale Stadium where the Giants are taking on the Colorado Rockies in the afternoon.

But before I make that trip, I wanted to swing back by the minor league complex and say some goodbyes. Many of the players there I will see during the course of the upcoming season, but many others I won't. It's always good to make the rounds and wish all the guys well. I did chat briefly with Chris Heston, who should be at or near the top of the Squirrels' starting rotation at the beginning of the season. Richmond has gotten a great reputation over the first two seasons in the Giants' system and most of the guys who are thought to be going there are pretty excited about it.

It was a quick visit there and a rushed trip over to the stadium. I wanted to be sure to get there in time to take in batting practice again, and make sure I met up with Gary Brown and Tommy Joseph, who should be the top two prospects with the Squirrels at the beginning of the year. I was in luck as I met up with Lane and we made our way back to the back field. On the way I moseyed past Culberson hitting soft-toss in the batting cage (a welcome sight). The first person I ran into was Chris Dominguez, who is about as amiable a guy as you'll find. I wanted to get his thoughts on coming in and playing first base which he did against the Brewers on Saturday night.

A brief interruption as I write this during the game in the press box. Joseph just continued his impressive Cactus League debut with an RBI single in the 7th inning.

Alright, back to Dominguez. He, as always, said that he was willing to play wherever the Giants might need him, and thought that the plan would be to play him at both third and first base in Richmond at the beginning of the season. He also mentioned he might get some time in right field. It will be interesting to see how that breaks down. He also did a quick interview with Lane, and talked about how eager he is to get back to the Eastern League and post a strong showing.

As they were talking, Roger Kieschnick and Dan Otero came by. Otero gave me some good-natured ribbing for not having called him to let him know that I was in town. He will get an inning on the mound in the game today, but that hasn't happened just yet. The big thing with Kieschnick is his back, and he says it feels better than it has in the last two years. He is one of my favorite guys to be around, and I sincerely hope that he stays healthy. If he does, I believe his future is as bright as just about any Giants' prospect. I closed out that conversation with the knowledge that I won't be seeing Otero out of spring training. In the game there is a saying we use a lot in the minors and I used it here with Kieschnick.

"Hope I don't See You."

As in, I hope you advance to the next level. He smiled and said he hopes to not see me either. My thinking at the moment is that we more than likely won't see him at the beginning of the season, which would be great for him.

Mitch Lively and David Quinowski also swung by and I caught up with them for a minute. Both have thrown the ball fairly well in camp so far, but there is a chance the Squirrels could have one or both of them on their opening day roster.

BP was about to wrap up when Joseph came by. Lane wanted to get a few words with him for the Squirrels' preview show on CBS 6, and he obliged him. He is only 20-years old, but is remarkably well-polished with the media. I have been told by a few of the Giants' instructors that he will assume a leadership role with Richmond at the beginning of the year. When he was finished with Lane, I introduced myself, and he talked about hopefully having the chance to come to Richmond. He seems like a great young guy, and barring the unforeseen, he should be behind the plate for the Squirrels on opening day.

Brown had to get in some extra BP, but promised he would be back to chat afterward. When he did return, he was also as gracious as could be. The top-prospect in the system, he has the polish you would expect. He said some great things about handling the transition to higher-level pitching. I am greatly anticipating getting a glimpse of him in center field this season.

BP was just about finished up, but Lane had gotten what he had come for, and I as well. I walked through the outfield fence back into the stadium with Justin Christian or "JC" as he is generally known. I gained a ton of respect for him while he was with the Squirrels last year, and it was cool to hear him talk about getting back to the big leagues last September. He also mentioned he's fighting his swing a little bit, but he always says that, even when he is raking.

I was excited for the game today because I knew that Eric Surkamp was going to throw behind Giants' ace Tim Lincecum. Lincecum struggled and allowed five runs in his two innings, but in the Cactus League that isn't cause for a ton of concern. I got a pleasant surprise after his departure as Austin Fleet came on in relief. Fleet is really opening some eyes down here, and he was more than impressive in a brief inning. He worked an eight-pitch inning in which he struck out two, including Michael Cuddyer, whom he climbed the ladder on with an impressive fastball. I am now of the belief that he is going to force his way back to Richmond to open the year.

Surkamp followed him, and had a much better outing than his first one earlier in the week. He actually stayed on for three innings, and got stronger as he went. He allowed a run on three hits, but struck out four including freezing a couple of hitters like we became accustomed to last year.

There are guys that you root for, and most of the guys that I have mentioned in this journal fall into that category. Surkamp is definitely one of those guys, and it was good to see him have solid outing.

Well, I want to get back to the last couple of innings of this game before I have to head to the airport to return to Richmond. I was able to pack a lot into this trip despite the travel delays in getting out here. I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into spring training. I can't wait to get the season started in about a month and bring it to you on Sports Radio 910!

Continue to follow me on twitter @JonLaaser for more updates leading up to the season. As things continue to shake out in the Cactus League, I will keep you updated on who you will most likely see in Richmond.