Pitchers and Catchers Report

After not-so-patiently waiting for what has seemed like forever, baseball fans can rejoice because the American Pastime is finally back. While fans across the country have had their fair share of Hot Stove buzz, nothing could replace the sights and sounds that come from being on a baseball diamond.

Today, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and, of course, the San Francisco Giants, had pitchers and catchers report to their respective facilities.

For the Giants, there’s one storyline that trumps all: it’s an even year.

While the notion of Even Year Magic has seemingly been regurgitated millions of times, Giants fans, including myself, cannot help but be excited about the following season, especially considering who is going to be representing the orange and black.

Today, the Giants will be expecting Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto, the two big fish that the Giants were able to reel in during the offseason. Going into 2016, these two will have to bear the load of massive expectations set by the fans and ownership, and will be quintessential pieces to the Giants’ success in 2016. They will be under the tutelage of Dave Righetti, one of the best in the business, who will have his fingerprints all over the two by the time Spring Training is done.

Two other pitchers to make a note of are veteran starters Jake Peavy and Matt Cain. While the Giants possibly have one of the best three-headed monsters in Bumgarner, Cueto, and Samardzija, the question of what they will be getting out of Peavy and Cain still looms. Cain is especially coming off of a season to forget, in which he had a 5.79 ERA over the course of 11 starts. If Cain and Peavy can find the fountain of youth or consistently provide the Giants with five to six innings and only a couple of runs, then the Giants, now with one of the best offenses in baseball (how weird does it feel to say that?) will be in great shape to win and close out ball games.

Pitchers and Catchers are expected to have their first workout on Thursday, February 18th, and Infielders and Outfielders are expected to report on Monday, February 22nd.

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