Villalona, from tonight's Greenjackets broadcast

by da5id on Jun 4, 2008 3:10 AM PDT

After Angel Villalona made a diving catch of a line drive in tonight's game, Greenjackets play-by-play announcer Nick Barrale made a comment about how AV's defense is pretty amazing, and said that when the team takes infield practice, Villalona regularly plays third base, and "picks it clean out there." I don't know how much of this is just home announcer bias, but I found it of interest that the Giants haven't totally given up on him playing at third, even though *many* scouting reports say he can't stick there.

Also, Barrale explicitly welcomed listeners from the Bay Area tonight. I wonder if he gets any listeners from Georgia.

Anybody else on the McCoven listening to this guy? I think he's pretty good. Not Dave Flemming good, but since it's only a matter of time before some team steals Dave Flemming from us, I like Barrale as a back-up.

But hey, I only listen for the commercials. Life happens one dream at a time.

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Nick Barrale and AnVil

I emailed him a couple of times, and he seems like a good enough guy. He grew up in Saint Louis, and is a Cardinals fan. I plan to take a trip to Augusta in a couple of weeks to see the Greenjackets, and he said I should stop by the radio booth and say hello. I enjoy hearing him via the internet, and my first email to him was to tell him that.

I really want to get some idea of the infield conditions at Lake Olmstead Stadium, to get a better gauge of error totals among our prospects there. And I plan to keep a watchful eye out for Angel’s mobility, dexterity, etc. If he could somehow end up at 3B, that would be a HUGE plus for the organization.

Your 2011 SF Giants: the 2008 Augusta Greenjackets!

by Lyle on Jun 4, 2008 7:05 AM PDT reply actions

...he said I should stop by the radio booth and say hello.

And later, it’s up to his room or a nightcap.

2008 Giants: A steaming pile of scrap!

by Goofus on Jun 4, 2008 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Not really

He has only played 1B and DH this season. He’s only playing 3B in infield practice, I don’t think there is a lot of rules on what a player can and cannot do while that is happening, as long as he is fielding his position fine.

Now hopefully this means that Villalona hasn’t given up the idea of playing 3B and wants to convince the team to move him back there. Felipe has said that he will lose the baby fat, maybe that will return him back to 3B.

Or it could be a sinister plot by the Giants since the offseason to throw off all the other drafting teams by making them think that they are not going to draft a 1B with the #5 pick overall by moving Angel there. :^)

Adoptive parental unit of Kevin "Most Spectacular Pitcher" Pucetas.

"I'm a Giant now... I like watching the ball get up there" - Wendell Fairley
"I'm really proud to be on this team." - Nate Schierholtz

by obsessivegiantscompulsive on Jun 4, 2008 7:07 AM PDT reply actions

I like this sinister plot idea.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jun 4, 2008 7:13 AM PDT up reply actions

The espianoge continues…

Adopted father of the AnVil / GIANTSPACE™ returns!

by SoFa King Mike on Jun 4, 2008 7:47 AM PDT up reply actions

Me, too

I like all plots; sinister, burial, whatever.

by da5id on Jun 5, 2008 2:15 AM PDT up reply actions

Happy plots?

by tyrannoman on Jun 5, 2008 7:28 AM PDT up reply actions

The organization said they moved Big V off 3b to 1b because they did not want his fielding at this time to hold him back, wanted him to be versatile at another position and wanted his bat to continue to improve. The plan was to have Big V continue to take grounders at 3b during infield practice prior to games with the possiblity of a return to 3b in the future.

by wilriv21 on Jun 4, 2008 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions

Kinda funny

because we all know if he can hit, he’ll play bad D be dammed. If the Giants’ get Smoak, Homsner, or whoever and they both can hit a ton, they’ll play.

by tyrannoman on Jun 4, 2008 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions

I’ve actually see him as a shortstop and second baseman in infield practice as well.

SFDugout.com is BACK! See the Top 50 Giants Prospects!

by BruteSentiment on Jun 5, 2008 2:53 AM PDT up reply actions

I’d love to see him play SS. Talk about redefining a position.

by tyrannoman on Jun 5, 2008 7:28 AM PDT up reply actions

Angel and Pablo

I don’t know how much I buy into the idea that Angel’s move to 1st is only temporary, but the Giants did do something similar with Sandoval last year by putting him at 1b. The argument was that they wanted Pablo to focus primarily on his hitting, but I’d imagine a lot of it also had to do with preserving his knees. I can’t imagine the physical demands of 3b to be anywhere close to the physical demands of catcher.
Personally if the long-term plan is for Angel to stay at third, then I would much rather have him play third now. But then again I’ve never developed a multi-million dollar man-child hitting machine before, so…

http://minorgiants.wordpress.com/
Where the relative merits of Joe Paterson and Daniel Otero are hashed out over knife fights and tea.

by RougeGorrila on Jun 4, 2008 7:55 AM PDT reply actions

No inside knowledge, but it seems to me as though the Giants’ were reluctant to move Angel to 1B, but felt they had to. Perhaps, with a little work and some better conditioning, he can move back across the diamond. I’ve read more than once that he has an absoulte cannon for an arm, and it would be a shame to waste that at 1B.

by tyrannoman on Jun 4, 2008 7:59 AM PDT up reply actions

To follow up on what tyrannoman said, I traded an email with Henry Schulman last week about Villalona and the draft. He said that although they are playing him this year away from 3B, they have not closed the door to him returning there, and would lunge for a star at 1B if one were there tomorrow.

And then I read today that the Giants are willing to walk away from taking Smoak and instead grab either Posey or Gordon Beckham tomorrow if they are there. I just think that grabbing a power-hitting 1B who could start in 2010 is the way to go, but then we’re talking about the Giants here.

Lincecum's pitching - Grab some pine, meat!

by Buck Henry on Jun 4, 2008 10:04 AM PDT up reply actions

Seriously...

Eugeniooooooo!!!!

by FairweatherFan on Jun 4, 2008 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions

It depends on if they are walking away over talent or money issues, to me. If they really don’t think Smoak is the real deal, I don’t have a problem with them taking Posey. I don’t know jack about G-Beck, and haven’t seen any clips of him at all so I can’t say anything there. On the other hand, I love the idea of a baby Mark Texeria griding away in San Jose…

by tyrannoman on Jun 4, 2008 10:37 AM PDT up reply actions

Here’s Gordon Beckham for you.

Proud adoptive parent of Tim Alderson.

by JT Jordan on Jun 4, 2008 10:53 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks

Boy, he can catch the hell out of a popup, eh?

Looks fairly smooth on D, but that swing seems pretty long to me. He’d have to take a lot out to hit MLB pitching.

by tyrannoman on Jun 4, 2008 11:06 AM PDT up reply actions

Looks fairly smooth on D

That grounder he fielded near the end of the video was really ugly. He fielded it to the side of him.

Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Jun 4, 2008 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions

I wrote my post before seeing the last two grounders he fielded. Those were both ugly. I’m gonna chalk it up to small sample size (not me being lazy).

Love the guy who chucks the HR back onto the field. Classic Mississippi boy, right there.

by tyrannoman on Jun 4, 2008 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions

It seems like he’s always flat-footed when he’s fielding, too.

Proud adoptive parent of Tim Alderson.

by JT Jordan on Jun 4, 2008 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions

he might still be taking practice at third in case the Giants draft Justin Smoak, cause then smoak and anvil would come up to the bigs around the same time, I would like the idea of smoak and anvil, we would have some damn good power in the line up

"But if he's swinging at real flies, well, in that case there are two definite solutions: 1) Fresno 2) Ritalin." - howtheyscored

by CPGiant756 on Jun 4, 2008 8:33 PM PDT reply actions

I would expect Smoak to be up as early as 2010, and more likely 2011, but I don’t expect Angel until 2011 at the earliest, and more likely 2012 or 2013.

Your 2011 SF Giants: the 2008 Augusta Greenjackets!

by Lyle on Jun 5, 2008 6:46 AM PDT up reply actions

Anvil and Smoak?

Sounds like an awesome tag team on American Gladiators.

LinceCain and pray for rain .... or for someone to take Zito off our hands.

by Lincecain on Jun 4, 2008 9:40 PM PDT reply actions

Or....

The Home Run Foundation

Still can’t think of an appropriate manager for the Jimmy Hart w/ megaphone role.

it's always noonan somewhere

by sectionop92 on Jun 4, 2008 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions

Jimmy Hart

..was surprisingly similar in person as he was on air. Maybe a bit less over-the-top, but still definitely an extrovert. I worked with him some in the 90’s.

Your 2011 SF Giants: the 2008 Augusta Greenjackets!

by Lyle on Jun 5, 2008 6:49 AM PDT up reply actions