Thursday BP, 2/14/19

Joey Bart caught Madison Bumgarner’s bullpen session yesterday, on the same day that I realized this will be Buster Posey’s tenth full MLB season.

/”Sound of Silence” plays in the distance

I don’t freak out about birthdays, even when they are milestones. No, I freak out about baseball players aging. I freak out about there being a new face of the franchise some day that isn’t Buster Posey. I look at the face of Joey Bart and see the hands of time coming for us all.

I see this:

I mean, the future is bright and all, and that is great. Also, Kerry Crowley’s piece about Bart’s first day with the camp was a fun read, especially with regards to his interactions with Bumgarner and Posey himself.

But nothing makes me feel my own mortality than the encroaching sense of nearness to the end of a player’s career.

Anyway, enough morbidity. It’s spring training! Lets talk about closers. Apparently there will be a spring training battle for the honor this year. Ostensibly, it will be between Will Smith (who did an admirable job taking over for Hunter Strickland last year) and Mark Melancon (who some writers at this very website insisted would never pitch again at the beginning of last season).

Obviously it’s way too soon to tell how they’ll be pitching when the season starts, but as of today, who would you rather be the closer for the 2019 season?