ZEBULON, N.C. — Had he really wanted to, Dallas Buck could have thumped his chest after retreating to the clubhouse, perhaps let himself soak in the moment and beam about the night that was.

Instead, there he stood Friday night beyond the right field wall at the Double-A Carolina Mudcats’ Five County Stadium dressed in business attire that seemed suitable for his business-like expression.

The former Oregon State star battling back from Tommy John surgery could say he rummaged through a big league lineup, plus spring-boarded into a season that could truly shape the rest of his career.

Yet he tried to keep it in perspective.

“It was an exciting game, but I don’t take a whole lot from it,” a nonchalant, almost too modest Buck offered. “It just feels good to be throwing. I haven’t been healthy in three years.”

Nevertheless, on a night when an intriguing cast of Reds prospects upstaged their Cincinnati counterparts in a rare barnstorming exhibition format—scoring a 12-4 victory—Buck made a significant splash.

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SURPRISE, Ariz.—Just as it is during the regular season, judging a day’s work in spring training requires a magnifying glass.

Take these pitching lines from Tuesday, for example.

We’ll call them Player A and Player B.

Player A: 3 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 Ks

Player B: 4 IP, 2 hits, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 Ks

Had these been the lines of starting pitchers walking a tightrope as spring training inched closer to its breakaway day and teams head north, the performances might have been met with raised eyebrows back in the coaches’ offices.

There are several pitchers still trying to earn spots this week, guys that survived Cut 1 and then Cut 2 and suddenly find themselves within reach of an airline ticket out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, from which I am filing this report. [...] Continue Reading »

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Giants catcher Buster Posey, the organization’s top position player who was BA’s College Player of the Year in 2008, got his first taste of minor league camp on Monday and immediately began working out with high Class A San Jose.

Posey was reassigned on Sunday, ending a longer-than-expected stay in which he hit .300/.324/.533 (9-for-30) with two home runs, a double and seven RBIs.

“I felt like I learned a lot. It was good to get to learn a lot of the guys up there,” Posey said.

Posey, who received the largest up-front bonus in draft history ($6.2 million), has set his sights on learning the nuances of calling games, a task that was left to his Florida State coaches during his illustrious career there.

Working with veteran catcher Bengie Molina, a pending free agent who in essence could have been helping groom his future replacement, Posey said he picked up key pointers and also gained valuable knowledge from the pitchers. [...] Continue Reading »

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — This time last year, Giants outfielder Roger Kieschnick thought he had it pretty good, what with a plush spot in the Texas Tech lineup and fairly smooth, 12-hour course load.

Walking across the Lubbock, Texas, campus back then, he naturally had a bounce in his step. Except, that is, when it came time to head to the chemistry building for a Biology of Animals class.

“That was not a good one for me,” Kieschnick said Monday, sheepish grin and all. “I squeezed that one out. It was a long, long walk to that building.”

Life is much better these days for Kieschnick, the Giants 2008 third-round pick who hit well enough in Hawaii Winter Baseball last fall that he’s likely headed next to high Class A San Jose.

The only difference is that the lefthanded slugger will do so with a new stance and modified location when holding the bat. [...] Continue Reading »

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Ethan Martin, the Dodgers’ 2008 first-round pick who will make his pro debut in a few weeks, isn’t even trying to sugarcoat it.

“I’ve got a long way to go,” Martin said Sunday at the Dodgers’ plush new spread at Camelback Ranch. “I feel that I’ve progressed since I’ve been here but I have a long way to go.”

That’s not to say he is truly green.

His right knee fully healed, Martin is spending his first spring training not only readying for a likely assignment to low Class A Great Lakes but also keeping an eye on pitchers elsewhere in camp, particularly the Double-A staff.

And asking questions.

And taking mental notes. [...] Continue Reading »

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The long days at the ballpark on the backfields of Camelback Ranch actually are pretty nice, to Kyle Russell anyway.

The morning stretching, the fielding drills, batting practice are only half the day, with an hour break for lunch thrown in before a scheduled 1 p.m. exhibition. It’s usually 4 or 5 before he gets out of here.

Then again, he could do without that alarm clock that startles him from his sleep every morning.

“Yeah, you’re like, ‘Ahhhrg,” Russell was saying Sunday. “But once you get in that locker room, there are no worries in the world. As we say here, a bad day in baseball still beats a day sitting in a cubicle.” [...] Continue Reading »

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The traditional model of handling first-round picks entering their first full seasons typically begins with an assignment in Class A, a nice and necessary feeder before prospects get sent into the teeth of the high minors.

However, when it comes to shortstop Gordon Beckham, there is apparently no need to wait.

Confident that he can handle an advanced league, particularly after his impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League, the White Sox will not tug on Beckham’s reins and instead are targeting Double-A Birmingham as a 2009 starting point.

Which, as might be expected of someone with his pedigree, is hardly a worrisome assignment for last year’s eighth overall pick, a player who commanded a $2.6 million signing bonus and was among the most polished players in last June’s amateur entry.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a huge difference considering I played in the fall league and I played in the big league camp and did OK,” Beckham said Friday at the White Sox’s plush Camelback Ranch facility. “I think that experience is going to help me a lot in Birmingham.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Asked if spring training has been going well, White Sox outfielder and 2008 seventh-round pick Jordan Danks on Wednesday smiled and nodded his head.

Yes, it’s been pretty nice. Well, sort of.

“I’ve been getting called ‘John’ a lot,” Danks said, referring of course to his brother, a lefthander on the big league staff. “People will see ‘Danks’ on the back of my jersey and assume I’m John. Then they come up to me and I have to tell them.

“Then,” Danks added, “they don’t seem to be so interested anymore.”

Danks should get plenty of autograph requests later this season, however, if he consistently hits the way he did at the tail end of last season, which included a surprise trip to the Arizona Fall League.

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GOODYEAR, Ariz. — He’s been fielding grounders left and right at the hot corner this spring, dirtying his uniform when he has to, asking plenty of questions but also listening and, well, enjoying it all the way.

Best of all, Indians 2008 first-round pick Lonnie Chisenhall appreciates that his conversion to third base is happening full bore, well before his first full season in pro ball gets under way.

That’s because the guy that is hitting those grounders at him and offering a trunk load of advice was steered away from shortstop to third base on, let’s see, the second day he reached the major leagues.

“Travis Fryman has pretty much worked with me on everything, and he’s been great. He’s made this transition a lot easier. He also was my manager last year, so we’ve already built a relationship,” Chisenhall said Saturday. “But I’m glad I’m not waiting until that day (like Fryman) to do it because this makes it a lot easier for me.”

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GOODYEAR, Ariz. — At a time when the nation’s midsection is digging out from snow and ice, you would assume that Indians righthander Frank Herrmann would be happy to be among palm trees, sunshine and 85-degree weather.

Instead, the guy is talking crazy. He can’t wait to head north and pitch in football-like weather, if it’s that nice.

“I’m not sure if I’ll go to Akron or Columbus … but it’s going to be cold wherever I am,” Herrmann said of Cleveland’s Double-A and Triple-A clubs, sounding an upbeat tone. “But I’m from New Jersey and played in Massachusetts in college. So I try to use it as an advantage.”

Some might say he pitches well regardless.

Nevertheless, an Ivy League grad who earned an economics degree from Harvard, Herrmann is eager to do as much damage this season as he did a year ago when the 6-foot-4, 200-pound righthander dominated at Akron.

[...] Continue Reading »