2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training – Grapefruit League Update – Part 3
The Grapefruit League table is showing some interesting trends this year. Some of the top tier teams seem to be struggling as the other teams are looking quite competitive. This is usual irony of Spring Training as most of the teams use the opportunity to
get some good playing time for some of their younger players.
Baltimore Orioles are having a decent Spring Training as they quite competitive. It looks like the Orioles are getting things right as they are turning some heads in the League. The Orioles are desperate for a successful regular season as they are looking
to work very hard to achieve some winning results. Players like Nick Markakis, Mark Reynolds, Chris Davis and Jason Hammel are looking to put in a good performance for the Orioles before the regular season begins.
A surprise in the Grapefruit League this year is the performance of the Philadelphia Phillies. The team is struggling to maintain some consistency in their game play. Most experts and critics feel that the Phillies are top team capable of taking on the best
from the rest of the League. The Phillies are extremely talented with players like Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Hunter Pence. Not to mention the real strength of the Phillies which sits in their magnificent pitching rotation as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee
and Cole Hamels are looking very strong this year. The Phillies are hoping to put in a decent performance in the remainder of Spring Training to build some much needed confidence in the team.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are having their usual lukewarm Spring Training. Although they are not doing that bad, the team is not exactly turning heads in the media. Jose Tabata, Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones and Clint Barmes are looking to put in a strong
competitive performance during Spring Training. The Pirates are looking for some success this year and are hoping that their players remain healthy and fit for the regular season. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates can improve their strategy and
get back their winning ways.
The Washington Nationals have found themselves on the lower end of the Grapefruit League table for Spring Training. The team is very talented and just cannot seem to get into their groove to become more competitive. Players like Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman,
Danny Espinosa and Rick Ankiel are working very hard to achieve some positive results during Spring Training. Also, the Nationals’ pitching rotation has very good depth with the likes of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann. The Nationals
will be hoping that they can find the perfect balance between their pitching rotation and their batting line-up this year.
As the teams all battle it out for supremacy in Spring Training, the truly seasoned clubs understand the importance of using the time to their advantage and get their game play sound. Mixing and matching various players to different positions and trying
different combinations of in the pitching rotation are something that the teams use Spring Training. If a team loses a few games during the session, it is not considered that important as the match is just a practice for the real deal in the regular season.
The Grapefruit League is definitely panning out to provide the experts some interesting results as some teams gather steam for the upcoming regular season.
Continued in Part 4
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