Splendor is grass seating at a spring training game
Editor’s note: This story is a scaled-down version of the Giants HQ email newsletter sent out by beat writer Kerry Crowley on Tuesday and Friday mornings. SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> After watching the first week of Giants spring training games from press boxes at Cactus League stadiums, I did what any normal beat writer would do with my day off on Sunday.
I bought tickets to see the Giants play the Reds.
Under normal circumstances, the ballpark is the last place I’d spend the day off, but like most people who enjoy baseball, I missed what I consider the “authentic” experience last year.
Yes, I covered almost all of the Giants’ home games from the Oracle Park press box, but the atmosphere was stale without fans. I missed the energy, the enthusiasm and the roar of the crowd, and I can’t tell you how exciting it’s been to see fans back inside the ballpark during spring training.
So on Sunday, I joined the socially-distanced fans out in Goodyear and bought tickets with a friend to sit on the left field berm. (Hot take: All major league stadiums should have lawn seating).
Simply put, the experience was awesome.
From purchasing mobile tickets and scanning our way into the ballpark to ordering hot dogs and beers using a QR code with a menu link, attending a game again was practically seamless and felt relatively normal. Most people around us were respectful about wearing face coverings, our spray-painted square had plenty of distance from the next closest groups of fans and because we ordered food to be picked up, we never waited in a line.
My favorite part of sitting on the berm was listening to fans interact with the outfielders, which is an element that was obviously missing during the 2020 season. Reds left fielder Jesse Winker had plenty of hecklers in the early innings while Giants left fielder Joe McCarthy faked out a group of fans by pretending as if he was going to throw a warm-up ball in their direction before ultimately tossing a souvenir into the crowd.
The back and forth was fun, particularly when the outfielders acknowledged that they were hearing what the fans were yelling. And yes, even when shouted from behind a mask, some of the funnier commentary would draw a player’s reaction.
Taking in a spring training game from the outfield lawn isn’t how I would have spent an off day in the past, but after missing out on what baseball is supposed to feel like for so long, I’m grateful fans are back and it was a treat to join them.
I know not everyone is ready to take the step of going back to the ballpark, but when you eventually reach that point, you’ll remember why you love the game.
Down on the farm
After a slow start to the spring for many Giants prospects, several have turned in their best at-bats in recent days.
Hunter Bishop, Marco Luciano and Patrick Bailey all recorded their first hits, but two upper-level Giants position player prospects, Heliot Ramos and Joey Bart, produced the most dramatic highlights.
When the Giants traveled to Goodyear to play the Reds on Sunday, Ramos clubbed two home runs, while Bart slugged a pitch over the left-center field fence for his first homer of the spring.
Bart didn’t homer in 104 at-bats as a rookie, but there’s still a belief he has 20- to 30-homer power potential. And his shot on Sunday was an encouraging sign for the Giants as they’re hoping to see the young catcher hit the ball in the air more this spring.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler has warned not to read too much into the small sample sizes of spring training at-bats, but it’s obvious when a player has made an adjustment and it appears Bart is lifting the ball more often and isn’t chasing as many pitches out of the strike zone.
He’ll still have to show he’s improved his plate discipline at Triple-A this year before returning to the big leagues, but the Giants know Bart is a future starting catcher and they’re optimistic he’ll be one who can hit in the middle of the order.
Statcast study
The Giants don’t want to give away too much of their pitching strategy, but since the beginning of camp, the changeup has been a point of emphasis for nearly all of their starting pitchers.
Alex Wood has a new one, Johnny Cueto has an elite one and right-handers Logan Webb and Anthony DeSclafani are both working on making their changeups better this spring.
On back-to-back days, Webb and DeSclafani showed the hard work is paying off as both pitchers fared well in their starts and racked up a few swings and misses with the offspeed offering. After fooling Dodgers sluggers Mookie Betts and Corey Seager with his changeup in his Cactus League debut, Webb said all three of his strikeouts against the Diamondbacks on Monday at Scottsdale Stadium came with his changeup.
The pitch wasn’t quite as effective as his slider last season, but after Webb picked up 17 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .230 batting average on his changeup in 2020, the Giants think it can be even better this year.
As for DeSclafani, he said he wants his changeup to be an effective weapon against left-handed hitters, against who he has struggled mightily at times during his career. He worked quickly and efficiently against his former club, Cincinnati, on Sunday and said he thinks changeups can be “a real weapon.”
There’s hard data suggesting Webb’s changeup can make him a quality starting pitcher, but that’s not the case for DeSclafani, a six-year veteran who has rarely thrown the pitch in the majors. According to Statcast, DeSclafani has thrown only 519 changeups, an average of fewer than 100 per year since becoming a big leaguer.
Opponents went 1 for 6 against the pitch last year and 4 for 25 against DeSclafani’s changeups in 2019. So while it appears to be a good option for him, hitters have seen the changeup so rarely that it’s difficult to know what to expect if he uses it more often in 2021.
To submit questions for future mailbags, send them on Twitter (@wcgoldberg) or email (wgoldberg@bayareanewsgroup.com.).
What is the plan behind their interest in Victor Oladipo? Are they planning to have him as a rental for this year? — Arsh.
Let’s start here: Trading for Oladipo would not be a one-year rental. Warriors GM Bob Myers has been open about the fact that a deal made before the March 25 deadline would be for the benefit of next season. Any trade for Oladipo would likely involve Kelly Oubre Jr. and other rotation players to get up to Oladipo’s $21 million salary. If anything, that hurts Golden State in the short term.
Oladipo will be a free agent this summer, but a team trading for him would have his rights and be able to re-sign him -- and after such a miserable statistical season, he could come cheaper than Oubre.
That, at least, would be the bet by the Warriors’ front office should they make that sort of move. I believe the Warriors are interested in Oladipo, and that’s because he (at least theoretically) fills a need.
Next season, Klay Thompson will be back at shooting guard, which would move a re-signed Oubre to the bench. But Oubre struggled coming off the bench this season in part because he’s not a playmaker and needs to play alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green to thrive. Golden State may not be inclined to pay him a large salary to play out of position next season.
Meanwhile, Oladipo, with his shot-creating, slashing and defensive ability, is a much better fit as a sixth man. It’s easy to imagine him playing the Andre Iguodala role. The questions are: Would he want to, and how much would it cost?
This is the sort of calculus the Warriors have to do when considering trade options. The Lonzo Ball opportunity may have slipped away. Oladipo could be too expensive in terms of assets and salary. Oubre himself may be destined for a payday too rich for the Warriors to match. But one thing they definitely can’t afford is to let Oubre’s salary cap slot — previously known as the Iguodala trade exception — expire after the summer.
How big of a risk is the front office taking on Steph Curry’s prime by banking on James Wiseman to ramp up his progress and Klay Thompson coming back to form next season? — Jake.
It’s a big risk. The Warriors can’t assume that with Thompson back they will immediately become title contenders again. It was one thing to assume that before the season, but it’s clear now that
was wrong. Thompson is a shot-maker, not a shot-creator. (Incidentally, Green is a shot-creator, not a shot-maker) and this team is in need of a player who can do both.
The talent drain over the past few years is starting to show. Depth pieces such as Iguodala, Livingston, David West, Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee became Kent Bazemore, Damion Lee, Brad Wanamaker and Eric Paschall. On the wing, Harrison Barnes turned into Kevin Durant who turned into D’Angelo Russell who turned into Andrew Wiggins. Now look at that list. Durant is clearly the best player, and Wiggins is better than Russell but — and stick with me here — is Wiggins better than Barnes?
Let’s check the stats from this season: Barnes: 16.7 points, 49.2% shooting, 39.2% from 3-point range, 82.6% on free throws, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 35.7 minutes per game
Wiggins: 17 points, 46.3% shooting, 35.1% from 3-point range, 67.2% on free throws, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32.2 minutes per game
Barnes is more efficient, productive and isn’t afraid to call his own number. The Warriors and their 22nd-ranked offense could use someone like that.
Potentially, Wiseman could fill this void. The 7-foot, second-overall pick has shown flashes of being able to get his own shot, and if his face-up jumper becomes consistent it will be impossible to defend. But how long can the Warriors wait on a 19-year-old who won’t hit his prime for another half-decade?
Over the final half of the season, the Warriors will need to determine not only if Wiseman can play helpful minutes, but also if he can become a go-to option on offense sooner rather than later.
If he can’t, and if Wiggins is content to take what the defense gives him, the Warriors are going to need to find a way to shake things up if they want to give Curry a chance to win another ring.
ACROSS
1 John follower 5 Whack, biblically 10 Behold, to Cicero 14 Young Adult novel by Carl Hiaasen about an owl habitat
15 Wore
16 Devise, with “up” 17 Blue-green 19 Garage occupant 20 Meeting of
powerful nations 22 One looking at a
lot of tickets 24 Berliner’s
“Blimey!” 25 School contest 26 “It’s __ good” 27 2016 US Open
champ Wawrinka 31 Possessive
pronoun 33 Landlocked Asian
country
35 Native
Nebraskan 37 Carpenter’s tool 40 Campbell’s
concoction 43 Spotted
44 Breeze (through) 45 Vegas rollers 47 Ping-Pong table
need
49 Messy one 51 Goat’s cry 52 Braying beast 55 Trig. function 57 “I can take __!” 59 Team at a drug
bust
64 Green on a
weather map 65 Largest portion 68 Miranda __ of
“Homeland” 69 “Solutions and Other Problems” writer Brosh 70 Wheelhouse 71 Retreat
72 Blind parts
73 Old autocrat
DOWN
1 “Got it!” 2 __ au vin 3 Compassionate but strict approach
4 Put on
5 Carpet type
6 “All Rise” actress
Helgenberger 7 “Got it”
8 Island kingdom whose capital is Nuku’alofa 9 “Romanian Rhapsodies” composer 10 Answer to the riddle “What cheese is made backward?” 11 Roomba pickup 12 Term of affection 13 Gush on stage 18 Diamond VIPs 21 Freedom, in
Swahili 22 Chi.-based flier 23 Some Balkans 28 “Mazel __!” 29 Quads on roads 30 Breakout stars? 32 Surprise attack 34 Cinematographer
Nykvist
36 Sermon subject 38 Curved sabers 39 Butter __ 41 Jersey type 42 “On the Floor”
singer
46 Put away 48 Stein’s partner 50 Makes illegal 52 LeBron’s
hometown 53 Do lutzes, say
54 Vaudeville fare 56 Ability 58 Percussion pair 60 One in a sailor’s
repertoire 61 Beverage nut 62 Make mittens, say 63 Exploits
66 Irish actor
Stephen
67 Mr. Potato Head
piece