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Good morning, McCoven!
I saw something interesting yesterday. Though I’d seen plenty of people talking about the bullpen mounds being moved, I hadn’t yet seen any confirmation that they were, in fact, moving in the fences as had been...hinted about? Joked about? I was never really sure how serious the rumors about that were. Until now. (Or, you know, on Saturday when this actually came out. I haven’t been as on top of things as I would like lately.)
Apparently, per Alex Pavlovich of NBC Sports Bay Area, they are indeed planning to move the outfield walls in. Per his report:
The Giants are still figuring out some of the exact details, but they know the bullpens will be side-by-side in center and right center. The kale garden will remain, although it sounds like there will be some changes to the dimensions out there because the center-field wall is coming in about six feet, which should please hitters.
The deepest part of the park -- the nemesis for Brandon Belt and other left-handed hitters -- is 421 feet and will ultimately be closer to 410 feet when the construction is done, the Giants think. The Giants put a bar underneath the new scoreboard last season and plan to have additional changes, including a terrace, out there this year, continuing a trend around the game -- seen across the bridge in Oakland -- of having more gathering spots for fans.
Kind of sounds like Brandon Belt might not actually be going anywhere, despite what the trade-mongers want you to think. Anyway, the Giants may start to catch up with the rest of the league in terms of home runs. Just in time for them to un-juice the baseballs. Sounds about right.