It was a beautiful day in Florida and this afternoon I caught the Orioles (on the road) against the Pirates in Bradenton, Florida.
It’s wonderful to see live baseball again and despite watching exhibition games this week, it’s good to be out of the Mid-Atlantic and not having to endure some terrible weather at the moment.
Here are some brief impressions that I got from Monday afternoon.
It will take me a while to get used to seeing Vladmir Guerrero wearing an Orioles uniform. Despite Guerrero’s age and some fans not liking the fact the team signed him, he can hit the ball very, very hard. I think he’ll be fine for the Orioles as-is. The slugger looked good in the time I saw him during BP before the game and hit well against the Pirates. And yes, he is a big, big man.- Spring Training is supposed to be a very relaxed atmosphere; however, Buck Showalter is all business — all the time. Watching his demeanor throughout the afternoon, the man is completely focused on the job and isn’t one to really mingle at all. I noticed that fact even moreso today. Also, Ryan Drese — who pitched two innings and didn’t even know was still in the majors — looked very good.
- Nolan Reimold. Real good to see him back in the fold with the Orioles. He had a solid day at the plate (including a homer) and seemed to be over his injuries, plus played the entire game. There’s only so much you can tell from one contest, but Nolan seems to move a lot better in the outfield and his workouts with Brady Anderson in the off-season has obviously paid off.
- Brad Bergesen looked very good in his two innings off work – striking out two, while issuing a walk. The duo of Jeremy Accardo and Kevin Gregg looked good in their outings; meanwhile, Koji Uehara got hit around pretty good (he would yield a run) and Clay Rapada in his inning of work gave up a home run to Lyle Overbay.
- The left side of the infield in the ninth inning – not good. Two huge errors by Nick Green, plus one from Robert Andino nearly helped the Pirates come back.
- J.J. Hardy looked very slick in the field and made some impressive plays.
- Adam Jones has a nice Mohawk going. Also, I really like prospect Matt Angle (small guy, but I like his hustle and he made an incredible catch in center field during the game’s mid-point).
- Finally, good to see Josh Bell much slimmer. I’m sure he’ll end up in Triple-A to start off with, but I’ll be keeping an eye on him.
I’ll be at Tuesday’s game – the first of the Grapefruit League season – against the Rays, and also Wednesday’s game in Clearwater against the Phillies.
Well, I will also be at the game on Thursday against the Twins at Ed Smith and more than likely on Saturday against the Red Sox (who I am intrigued to see with their high priced additions – assuming they make the trip).
I might also see the Red Sox-Yankees game in Tampa on Friday night; however, I did want to head to the other side of the state and catch the Nationals/Braves that day.
