Pitchers and Catchers Start Workouts

The tittle defense is officially underway for the San Francisco Giants, as Spring Training workouts started Tuesday, with the rest of the bunch reporting arriving in a few days to start full-squad workouts.

Because it's just the first day of spring, workouts were very light, and nothing really newsworthy happened in the light morning session, but it certainly appears like these guys are loose and confident coming in. Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson led the laughs on the field during stretching and long-toss, as the beards were in full force. There really isn't a whole lot to determine with the pitching staff this spring, as most of the roster spots regarding the pitching staff are pretty much sealed up. Their starting rotation remains fully in-tact, so unless there's an injury, nothing has to be determined there. However, there are still a few question marks in the bullpen that need to be answered. Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Santiago Cassilla, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez all have roster spots locked up, but Bochy will likely carry 6-7 relievers to start the year, leaving room for 1-2 other people to emerge. One of those spots will likely go to Ramon Ramirez, unless he absolutely tanks this spring. Besides Ramirez, Jeff Suppan was added last week to provide rotation depth, but could make the team out of spring as a mid/long-reliever. I'd pick both Ramirez and Suppan as the favorites for the remaining openings, but they will face some competition from the likes of Brian Lawrence, Henry Sosa, Alex Hinshaw and Dan Runzler.

There are a few non-pitchers who are in camp working out with the pitchers and have been in Arizona for a few weeks now. It's been no secret this winter that Pablo Sandoval has been in Arizona working on his weight, and everyone who saw him Monday and Tuesday say he's considerably lighter than the 260 he was listed at last year. Now, Sandoval has lost weight before, only to regain it during the early part of the season, so this time around will be a test for him. He has to keep the weight down, and I think whatever happens over the next 6 weeks will be telling on what kind of season Sandoval will have. If he can stay in shape for the Cactus League, than that should be sign on whats to come in the 2011 season. If he can't keep the weight off, than it's going to get inside his head, much like it did in 2010... Also in camp early with Sandoval is the recovering Freddy Sanchez, who is working his tail off to try and be ready by opening day after shoulder surgery in December. Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Pat Burrell and Mark DeRosa are some of the veteran position players who are in camp working early. Giants top rated prospect for 2011, Brandon Belt, is also in camp early as he prepares to take his cracks at making the opening day roster.