Spring Training, Day 1: Let the New Guys Play

We arrived at the park at 12:30 - perfect! -- and there was still ample parking left. We ambled across the bridge to the opening of Phoenix Muni, and were about to walk in, when Evan spotted us. His girlfriend, a real A's fan, was with him as well, and we took pictures with each other before we separated and headed in. Ruth and I went for the dogs -- the hot dogs -- while several greyhounds were gathered around. I have no idea why they were there, but spring training parks have all kinds of events that "normal" parks don't bother trying.

Our seats were perfect (lower box 11), the best I've ever had there. The weather was cloudy and cool. It was great.

We watched Gio Gonzalez pitch. Gio was picked up in the Nick Swisher trade in the off season, and is highly touted. He seemed to have pop, as we could hear the ball land in the glove of catcher Rob Bowen, but his command was lacking. He walked several.

The Baseball Prospect Book (BPB) 2008 rates him as a B+. Comments: "he could use 15 starts in Triple-A before being pushed into major league action...one of the best southpaw prospects in the game." He's 22.

I enjoyed seeing Daric Barton, who had a nice hit today. He seems to have recovered from his injury.

We had a chance to see rookie Brooks Conrad today, at 2nd base. Conrad had a nice hit, but he had two chances for defensive plays, and missed both. One was an error. I've never even heard of this kid, except to see his name in the spring training box scores. He's in the BPB as still with the Astros, so obviously his trade was effected after publication, and after January 2008. He's 27, and spent most of the last 3 years on the Astros' Triple-A team. The BPB says, "He has unusual power for a second baseman, draws walks, can steal a base, and strikes out a lot." Except for that last part, you can see why the A's would want a look at him. Sounds like he's going to the A's AAA team after March.

No real veterans played today. We did see Jack Cust. His first inning up, he had a nice knock and an RBI. We also watched him fan later, however.

We left after an hour of action, unfortunately. We were both tired. It's been a long day.

We missed seeing Todd Linden get a triple in the 8th to win it, and Emil Brown go 3-for-4. It's good to see what Emil looks like -- I'll be surprised if he doesn't make the team -- and see Todd Linden again after I saw him play briefly for the Giants.

The A's ended up winning over the Texas Rangers, 9-7, but only after Greg Smith came in and pitched four innings, giving up only 1 run. Gio Gonzalez was lit up for 6 runs (4 earned) in two innings. Oh, and it was nice seeing Ron ("Wash") Washington and Art Howe over on the sidelines; it's just difficult seeing them in blue.