Chris Haft - MLB.com
An unsuspecting visitor to Scottsdale Stadium on Tuesday morning might have thought Dave Righetti was launching a comeback.
There was the Giants pitching coach, looking half his age (49) as he blew fastballs past hitters. Granted, Righetti threw from behind a screen about 40 feet from home plate, but the sight still conjured memories of his Major League career in which he amassed 252 saves and fired a no-hitter.
"I was trying to make it more realistic than a workout," said Righetti, who made Aaron Rowand his prize victim. Rowand struck out swinging and was one strike away from fanning again when he lifted a fly to shallow right field.
"I hope guys don't throw like that during the season. I'll hit a buck-20," Rowand said.
Righetti enlivened an activity known as the 27-out drill, which tests the abilities of players to respond to game situations. Two squads of Giants earned points for each fundamental executed properly, such as hitting the cutoff man, throwing to the correct base or advancing a runner.
Manager Bruce Bochy said that this drill shattered the monotony of Spring Training, which will end with Thursday's Cactus League opener against the Chicago Cubs.
"Things get a little routine and mundane to them," Bochy said. "It makes them concentrate and raises the intensity."
That's for sure. Right-hander Tyler Walker stood in front of the third-base dugout and greeted members of his squad with fist-bumps as they entered the dugout. Randy Winn slammed down his bat after lifting a foul fly to left field instead of putting the ball in play. Left fielder John Bowker, striving to raise his profile, made a neat sliding catch.
Special instructor Shawon Dunston shared the pitching duties with Righetti and threw straighter but just as hard.
"He was bringing some cheese," Bochy said.
The Giants looked good but not great at performing the fundamentals. Catcher Guillermo Rodriguez drew raves for hitting a grounder to the right side with runners on second and third and nobody out. Barry Zito deftly poked a bunt past charging third baseman Scott McClain. But fellow pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Noah Lowry blew chances to bunt or advance runners.
"I was pleased with the effort," Bochy said. "There are some things we'll have to work on, but overall, the guys did a good job."
As for Righetti, Bochy jokingly said, "He definitely helped his chances [to make the team] with the stuff he was throwing."
Short hops: If a poignant moment were possible during the 27-out drill, it occurred when Righetti faced Kevin Frandsen, his fellow San Jose native. Their families have been close since Righetti was a youth. When Frandsen reached the Majors in 2006, Righetti gave the rookie his jersey No. 19 in honor of Frandsen's deceased brother. Frandsen emerged with an edge in this confrontation: Righetti got two strikes on him before he lifted a sacrifice fly to right field. ...
Bengie Molina (strained left quadriceps) wants to resume catching by early next week, but Bochy is already anxious about the health of his projected cleanup hitter, whose activity has been limited since last Thursday. "I actually hoped he'd be ready a little sooner," Bochy said.
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