March 23rd Game - The Day Off Must Have Done Everyone Good

We were firing on all cylinders tonight.  It was a beautiful sight.  We showed all our might.  I was filled with delight.

PITCHING

Yeah, I know it is spring training but to see Quantrill work his way throught the San Francisco lineup was very reassuring.  He looked in command the whole night and they definitely had trouble squaring up his pitches.  And it wasn't because the ball wasn't carrying (see below).

In the bullpen Stephan still looked a little all over the place for me.  On paper he had a scoreless inning but the eye chart test says that he made key pitches on 3-2 counts to get out of teetering at bats that could have easily ended up in walks.

De Los Santos looked solid.

Kelly came in to get an out on one pitch from an anxious prospect.

Clase closed out the 9th.

Summary: Francona, once again, used exhibition season to forward something that he plans to use this year: having relievers pitch in multiple innings.  Notice I didn't say PITCH multiple innings.  He was having guys get 3 outs, just not in the same inning.  If this will lead to him having his relievers get 4, 5 or even 6 outs remains to be seen.  But it he is clearly setting the stage for that to happen.

HITTING/FIELDING

Before I get to the hitting let me say that Andres Gimenez is already one of the best defensive second baseman that I have EVER seen.  Hey, I am an old guy and have seen a lot of good second basemen play, but watching Gimenez last night reminded me of how he makes everything look so easy, similar to the way Vizqual and Ozzie Smith made the game look.  

OK, let's talk about the hitters:  

• Good to see Bell jack one in the first with two guys on.  A wild pitch took grounding into a double play out as a possibility but he still got the ball airborne.  Ditto for his sacrifice fly later, albeit it really wasn't that deep.  At least he got it in the air twice with guys in scoring position.
• Kwan being Kwan.  We should jsut put him in suspended animation for a week so that he is just this locked in when the season starts.
• Naylor looks locked in.  If his performance just improves because he is one year further remvoed from his injury, he looks like he could have a monster year.  So, while it is just spring training, it is trending in a very good direction.
• Rosario avoiding grounding into a double play in the first because he struck out.  As I have said many times now, a key for this offense is to get Bell and Rosario to not hit into double plays.  He had a HR and a hard-hit single so he is looking good as we get closer to the opener.  
• Brennan singled in his only AB, a position he may find himself in during the season.
• In the battle for the last outfield spot, Quinn, while playing LF, made a nice running catch in the gap but he also stumbled on two other balls, looking very unsure of himself, especially on a high drive to the warning track.  In his only AB he K'd on 3 pitches.   Palacios, on the other hand, really didn't have a tough play in RF and had his bat sawed off on a dribbler in front of the plate in his only AB.  
• Collins also had a hit.  I expected to see Zunino catch this game as he didn't catch Tuesday's game, either.   Maybe Zunino caught Civale in the minor league game on Wednesday that Civale was supposed to pitch in.  Still, to not see Zunino for 3 days is a little concerning given his injury history.  Maybe he catches on Friday but there is no lineup yet so, still nervous.