Dear Giants fans, Spring Training edition

Dear SF Giants Fans,

Welcome to baseball pre-season exhibition season! And a very happy Spring to you all!

Hopefully you are all fully out of hibernation and ready for ballpark dogs, dollar beers and Scottsdale sunshine.

As we clear off the winter cobwebs and look to a highly-anticipated new season, it’s time to take note of some things we should be looking for from our boys in orange and black.

And for any of you that are also 49er football fans, you already know the drill: There is nothing more annoying than a bum at the bar pretending to be full of sports knowledge.

And if you guys think I can’t stand fair weather football fans, you do not want to see me around poser Giants fans.

So if you are a die-hard Gigantes supporter, and you’re looking for someone to share an Anchor Steam Spring Bock with during Cactus League play, here are some topics that we can most certainly discuss:

Buster, duh. Buster Posey is back in a Giants’ uni and hitting live pitches and running bases, and damn it’s a sight to see.

Big man Bruce Bochy might be sitting SF’s beloved catcher for this Saturday’s spring opener, and telling him that he can’t be blocking the plate like he did when a broken leg and torn ligaments ended his season.

But this cautious approach might be exactly what Posey needs to be a healthy force in the regular season. And I’m sure we all want to see him catching Tim Lincecum the full season opener against the D-Backs.

And speaking of Timmy…

The Pitchin’ Sitch Let’s take a look at that pitching staff, shall we?

The Freaky Franchise is laying off the fast food, signed to a deal for some killer dough, and is slated to pitch Opening Day in Arizona.

The Chron reports that Mad Bum might be pitching second in the rotation between Timmy and Matt Cain. (Which will be fabulous as long as Bumgarner pitches like he did in the 2012 post season.)

And Ryan Vogelsong is comin’ ‘round from a strained back muscle. Bochy says he won’t solidify a starting rotation until Vogey is 100 percent ready to pitch.

Sounds like a plan.

Now we just need to make sure that His Royal Beardedness Brian Wilson can stay healthy. (He’s currently day-to-day with an elbow injury.)

And while we’re talking about coming back from injury…

Freddy’s Back Freddy Sanchez is still on the mend, and itching to get back in the game. Although he won’t be starting this weekend in Spring Training—Mike Fontenot will be at second base instead—Sanchez is participating in training camp drills and throwing to first base for the first time since shoulder surgery this past August.

The “New” Outfield Yes, I was crying over how a chunk of my World Series outfield left SF this past off-season. (And no, I still can’t talk about Ross the Boss without getting sad.)

But Nate “The Great” Schierholtz is returning to right field, along with Melky Cabrera—whom we all got acquainted with at the end of last season—and new guy Angel Pagan. I’m stoked to see what kind of work they’ll do this season.

And last but not least…

The Newbies Spring Training is the real first look at the young blood looking to make the jump to The Big Show. Let’s be on the look-out for this year’s Brandon Crawford.

That should get us off to a good start. Look forward to seeing all of you in-front of the tube for all the Cactus League coverage that CSN can bring to us.

Here’s to a very fruitful pre-season exhibition season. Cheers.