The DH is horrible, Brian Sabean is superstitious, and other highlights and notes from Giants FanFest

• Brian Sabean mentioned that last year was different than every other year he's had with the Giants. First, he went to a more games on the road than ones at home, and second, he got to see the AAA team twice, which he had never done since becoming GM. Those were both firsts for him.
  
  
• Matt Cain was asked how it'll feel facing the Red Sox and their third baseman this year, and he said it'll definitely be different, but they know Pablo pretty well and hopefully that'll help them in getting him out.
  
  
• Growing up, Chris Heston was a Braves fan. Matt Cain was kinda a Braves fan but also kinda a Cubs fan. As a kid, he mostly just liked watching the game.
  
  
• A woman about to ask a question said she'd been to every no-hitter since 2009, and Heston asked how to put her on the travel schedule.
  
  
• Cain's goal every year is to stay healthy. If he can throw 200 innings and take pressure off of the bullpen, he's done his job.
  
  
• Sabean wasn't surprised that a third team jumped in on the Greinke negotiations, but he was surprised it was Arizona. Still, he said it might have been fortuitous, since the team was able to sign two pitchers instead of just one. He said Bobby Evans did a really good job keeping a lot of balls in the air with free agents.
  
  
• Asked about ads, Cain said Buster has a good one this year, and then added "He's cute."
  
  
• Someone asked about each person's favorite restaurant. Heston said House of Prime Rib, and was really excited about it. Cain loves going to Ozuna, and Sabean passed on that question.
  
  
• Sabean was asked about Lincecum (him again!) and said that he expects that Timmy wants a starting spot so the Giants are probably more of a fallback option for him.
  
  
• Heston said that if the possibility of playing in Havana came up, he'd be excited to do it, and Cain agreed.
  
  
• Looking back on his career, Sabean said that the longer he's in this business the more he appreciates effort and competition. Now that he can separate himself from the past a little better, he can look back on the team's success and be proud that he and the front office created a culture where everyone worked hard. The most important thing he's learned about on-field performance is the importance of health.
  
  
• Cain praised the fans for being so good outside the ballpark. He said that fans are good about saying hi but also being respectful of his personal time, which makes it really easy to be a normalish person. Heston isn't quite as recognizable, but he said he does his best for the fans because he remembers being a kid waiting for autographs, and he wants to make it fun.
  
  
• Sabean's job is different than it used to be because now he's trying to be more of a guiding hand instead of making all the moves himself. He said the front office is one of the leaner ones in baseball, because they value continuity and they retain so many people. They're a tight knit group, the most important thing is to be in sync with ownership, and he was happy to pass the GM baton to Bobby Evans.
  
  
• Grant just wrote about previous comments on Cuban players, so go read that, because Sabean basically just reiterated that point.
  
  
• The three of them were all asked about whether when they watched games on TV, they did so as fans or as baseball professionals. Sabean said he does both; with the Giants he doesn't get caught up in the results of one game, but when watching some other teams he absolutely does. When Cain's injured, he watches the game on TV and it looks so easy that he forgets how hard it is. Heston mostly removes the player side of things watching TV games, but there's that little player bit that comes through because he knows "I'll have to face him someday."
  
  
• Heston didn't watch the playoffs because he was bitter the Giants weren't in them. Cain was bitter too, but he watched some because he wanted to make sure the Dodgers didn't do too well. He's done well here.
  
  
• Sabean said that Casilla is the closer, and that Santiago doesn't get nearly enough credit for what he's done as a Giant. He called Casilla an unsung hero.
  
  
• Cain likes the NL style of play because he likes the strategy of the game, and he also likes that if you start throwing at people, the other team can come right back and throw at you. Heston likes to swing the bat, and definitely wants to keep the DH out of the NL.
  
  
• Last year, Heston learned that it's a long season, and this year he just wants to build on that. He said he's excited for any opportunity he gets so he's not worried about being a starter. There are two kinds of baseball players: humble and gonna be humbled.
  
  
• Someone asked Sabean about Barry Bonds's personal services contract and he said that it's in abeyance since Barry signed a contract to be hitting coach with the Marlins.
  
  
• Other than AT&T Park, Cain's favorite place to pitch was Boston, where he started a game in 2007 and lost 1-0 to Daisuke Matsuzaka. Still, it was a great experience for him. Cain doesn't like throwing in Milwaukee. Heston really enjoyed pitching at Wrigley Field this year (and Citi Field, obviously), and does not care for Coors. "You can keep it," he said.
  
  
• The most openly superstitious of the three was Sabean, who will never wear a blue shirt when the Giants are playing the Dodgers, and during the division series against the Reds in 2012 had to change jackets because the one he wanted to wear had a red pocket liner. Heston said he doesn't have any crazy superstitions but follows a routine and does the same stuff every day, and Cain's habit is to eat breakfast at around noon or 1 PM on days he pitches.

The trainers

Between player sessions, members of the training staff talked a little bit. You're not reading this, right? Like, there's no way. This post is insanely long. I would say you have better things to do with your time, but I wrote all these words and I think there are some answers in here that you might find interesting. Anyway, there were four trainers who were on stage at various points, and I'm not going to say who said what because it doesn't really matter, right? Does it? I dunno. We're close to 4,000 words. That's a lot.

• Concussions: Probably no helmet will ever be able to prevent concussions. When you get hit, your brain's gonna rattle around in there no matter what. We're better at diagnosing concussions now. The signs you can look for are an inability to maintain eye contact and not knowing what's going on, but those are just the serious, call-an-ambulance concussions. If those signs aren't there, the person might still have a concussion, but there isn't an immediate danger.
  
  
• Marco Scutaro: Someone asked about whether Joe Panik's injury was similar to Scutaro's, and the answer was an unequivocal no. "I love Marco, but he's old," said one doctor, saying his body was incredibly banged up when he was with the Giants, he'd already played through tons of injuries, and comparing him and Panik is "apples and oranges."
  
  
• How to play sports in a healthy way: Don't play baseball year round. No professional athlete does that. It's very bad for you. Playing multiple sports is good, and you should do that instead. Throwing year round is contributing to the Tommy John epidemic.
  
  
• Pablo Sandoval: Pablo Sandoval used to lie during the offseason and tell the trainers he was in great shape when that wasn't remotely true.