A FAN’S VIEW (Day 9)

We started the day up on the stadium’s ticket booth level which allows us to peer down on the half field. It is the closest we get to the action.

By Steve Potter

New reliever Tony Watson was throwing on the mound by Bowa Field (ballpark half field). The veteran left hander drew a large crowd of coaches and front office folks including GM Dave Dombrowski. Dombrowski was kind enough to stop and say hello on his way back into the building … social distant style. Very nice of him to acknowledge us.

I left the Ballpark for a bit but returned to Carpenter Complex just before noon to watch live bullpen sessions on Roberts and Carlton Fields. Seven pitchers threw. The first four hurlers (Aaron Nola, Ivan Nova, David Hale and Bryan Mitchell) threw a simulated game where they took turns on the hill and sat between innings. Each went two innings … Nola/Nova on Roberts and Hale/Mitchell on Carlton.

Hector Rondon followed on Carlton Field with Matt Moore and Vince Velasquez throwing on Roberts. They did not throw simulated games where they sat and returned to the bump but they did face hitters. From my vantage point beyond the outfield fences of Roberts Field, Velasquez seemed sharp, he produced a lot of swing and misses with the fastball … the secondary pitch he seemed focused on was a slow hook. A lot of eyes on him as well today.

The hitters we saw on Roberts were Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak, Travis Jankowski, CJ Chatham, Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura and Ronald Torreyes.

Hoskins had a couple hard line drive hits, Haseley and Moniak also had knocks. Jankowski hit a long fly down the right field line against Nova but I couldn’t see where it landed from my vantage point 🤷‍♂️.

By the way the City of Clearwater waste treatment plant behind the Complex which we walk by on the Rheam Wilson Trail was especially smelly with the wind blowing toward the fields. The things a fan “Reporter” has to endure 🤓

Missing Player Status

Didi Gregorius will have his intake test tomorrow. Christian Bethancourt had his today.

Ranger Suarez and Francisco Morales are scheduled to take their intake tests on Sunday. No word yet on when Simon Muzziotti and Neftali Feliz get their tests. All six have had visa issues in getting to camp.

Bryce Harper was the player today that met with the media via Zoom. He said that young shortstop Bryson Stott was staying with him this spring. They are good friends. Both are from the Las Vegas area. Bryce said a good comparable for Stott as a hitter is Garret Anderson and that he definitely sees him as a future big leaguer, just needs to get his work in to get there.

News Of The Day

The stadium has a new name, BayCare Ballpark. When it opened in 2004 it was Bright House Network Field. Later became Spectrum Field after Bright House was purchased by Charter Communications in 2017.

That’s it for the day ….

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️