SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- You have to take spring training performances with a large grain or salt, good or bad. No one is going to be too concerned with an ace pitcher who struggles in mid-March. However, for many young players the spring is far more important. It is a proving ground for them.
For young pitchers like Madison Bumgarner, who is looking to nail down the fifth spot in the Giants rotation, there are a number of questions to be answered. By the end of the 2009 season, many fans began to wonder what had happened to the powerful, front-of-the-rotation-starter type of stuff Bumgarner was said to have. His decreased velocity in his brief big-league stint was attributed to a long season, but now, early in the spring, the questions still linger.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- This really is stealing money. As I walk through the cacti sprinkled among the palm, ash and eucalyptus trees outside of Scottsdale Stadium, it is the prettiest Thursday ever in the Valley of the Sun.
Now I'm moving downstairs to the clubhouse of the San Francisco Giants, masters at combining their past with their present. This is more so than usual for the Giants. This actually is unbelievable. That's because, after I enter the doors ahead, I'm face to face with Hall of Fame history around a table.
Gaylord Perry. Orlando Cepeda. Willie McCovey.
Then Perry rises, wobbles in my direction (since he is rather large these days at 71) and sticks out his hand. It isn't for me. It's for the slow-moving guy behind me in a spiffy gray suit, custom-made white shirt and red tie.
"Hi, my name is Gaylord Perry," he says, shaking hands with the other guy, whose name is Willie Mays, otherwise known as baseball royalty.
Spring training is different for every player. For some it takes the entire time to get into peak form, but for others they are set to go right out of the gate. While he of course needs time to build his arm strength, Clayton Kershaw had his best stuff in what was his Cactus League debut on Monday.
His final line may not do it justice, but as far as the Dodgers are concerned their young lefty ace opened the spring on a very high note. For two other hurlers, there was definitely more work to be done in terms of building up their stuff for the regular season.
But with the surprise re-signing of Bengie Molina over the winter, Posey doesn't have a clear path to a big-league job on Opening Day.
FanHouse's national baseball analyst Frankie Piliere looks at Posey's predicament and wonders if switching positions could get the backstop regular playing time in the major leagues sooner.
Twenty-year-old lefthanded pitcher Madison Bumgarner was 12-2 with a 1.85 ERA in the Giants minor league system last season.
His ERA was 1.80 in a four-game stint in the majors, but his lack of velocity has some questioning his status as an elite prospect. Now, it looks like Bumgarner is on track for the fifth spot in the Giants rotation.
FanHouse pro baseball scout Frankie Piliere is getting a good look at Bumgarner in Arizona and reports on why he is an important prospect to watch going into the season. .
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- You have to take spring training performances with a large grain or salt, good or bad. No one is going to be too concerned with an ace pitcher who struggles in mid-March. However, for many young players the spring is far more important. It is a proving ground for them. 
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- This really is stealing money. As I walk through the cacti sprinkled among the palm, ash and eucalyptus trees outside of Scottsdale Stadium, it is the prettiest Thursday ever in the Valley of the Sun.
Spring training is different for every player. For some it takes the entire time to get into peak form, but for others they are set to go right out of the gate. While he of course needs time to build his arm strength, 
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- 
