Bad Spring Training Twitpics

Why why why whyyyyyyyyyyyy, Rafer Weigel? Why?

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:18:05 -0500

Why why why whyyyyyyyyyyyy, Rafer Weigel? Why?

The Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro took a ride up to Dunedin and snapped a pic of a banner...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:00:51 -0500

The Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro took a ride up to Dunedin and snapped a pic of a banner hanging from the ballpark’s facade. I’m not here to tell anyone how to spend their time - I’m reposting Spring Training twitpics after all - but that’s what he did.

What’s Steve Gilbert’s threshold for sharing a twitpic? Honest question. Because...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:47:52 -0500

What’s Steve Gilbert’s threshold for sharing a twitpic? Honest question. Because I’ll tell you what it’s not. It’s not “my followers will be able to take away even one single thing from my Tweeting this.”

Had a bunch of people pass along this Anthony Andro mess and it’s just so brazen that if I...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:45:36 -0500

Had a bunch of people pass along this Anthony Andro mess and it’s just so brazen that if I didn’t know any better I’d think he was trying to score an entry on this here web site. And if you don’t think this happens, believe me, it does.

My suspicions of the Texas Rangers writer’s intentions aside, it’s almost unthinkable that a professional would share this with his audience. It’s Craig Gentry, barely visible through the dozens of layers of netting and fencing. It’s not Stan Musial reincarnate.

With the advent of the camera phone, come February and March, the enterprising beat writer can now...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:55:02 -0500

With the advent of the camera phone, come February and March, the enterprising beat writer can now depict the enthusiasm so many of us share for a new baseball season; what it signifies, a fresh start, warm weather, all that good stuff. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe had a nice pic of shiny white baseballs ready to be used this morning at the Boston Red Sox complex. Nice touch.

And then there’s this picture from Mark Gonzalez, White Sox reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Sun’s not up yet, depressing landscape in the background, power lines stretching across. It’s like the final minutes of his peyote come-down.

MLB Network Radio host Rich Herrera (@RBIrich SWHDT?) was fired up today. Spring Training,...

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:54:03 -0500

MLB Network Radio host Rich Herrera (@RBIrich SWHDT?) was fired up today. Spring Training, guys! Pitchers and catchers! It’s here. So he did what any baseball-loving Floridian with a camera phone and a soul would do. He got to taking pictures of inanimate things peripherally related to Spring Training baseball.

Extra props for (1) the economical “u in lieu of you” shorthand and typo in his tweets, and (2) putting his life in jeopardy to get a shot of that Blue Jays sign.

Back

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 11:37:42 -0500

I was only going to update the @STTwitpics handle occasionally in 2013. I wasn’t going to do the Tumblr this season. But then Gordon Edes took a picture of Dan Roche and Nick Cafardo, and now we’re off to the races again.

Aaron Boone tosses his hat in the ring with a picture so...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:20:05 -0400

Aaron Boone tosses his hat in the ring with a picture so thoroughly uninteresting, it boggles the mind. Boone’s on a bus, I guess, touring Cactus League parks for ESPN? And so he wants to include a little of it in the picture? From there, what does this picture tell us? They got a shitty parking spot? There is indeed a baseball park there? They arrived good and early?

Hate you so much, Aaron Boone.

A question like the following could be a useful litmus test when...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:20:59 -0500

A question like the following could be a useful litmus test when deciding whether or not to tweet that fresh new phone pic: “Is it conceivable that anyone anywhere could possibly find this interesting?” If the answer’s “no,” don’t hesitate to take a breather and sit out a round. Anyway, thanks Rhea Hughes.

The opportunity cost’s the thing here. “Oh,...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:43:00 -0500

The opportunity cost’s the thing here. “Oh, Cardinals legend and potential Hall of Famer Jim Edmonds is in Cardinals camp talking with the outfielders? Great! I’d love to see!”

And then, that.

Joel Goldberg’s back. The twitpic is good, the...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:05:00 -0500

Joel Goldberg’s back. The twitpic is good, the tweet’s even better. Bruce Chen’s just chilling out for a photo shoot and Joel’s hashtagging like you wouldn’t believe. #BelieveIt

Everybody’s tweeting out lineup cards now and you know...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:27:03 -0500

Everybody’s tweeting out lineup cards now and you know what? I’m fine with it. There’s something romantic and beautifully dated in this digital age about the lineup card. It strikes me as worth preserving for whatever reason. And better yet, it offers information during Spring Training when a writer decides to share it. With 314-player rosters, knowing which 9 will start that day is interesting.

But this is unacceptable. Can’t make out some of the names, it’s not framed well and Todd Rosiak couldn’t be bothered to take another stab. The lineup card twitpic has become a genre unto itself, and this was the worst I could find of it.

Memo to Dan Kolko of MASN: You might have more professional...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 10:24:47 -0500

Memo to Dan Kolko of MASN: You might have more professional goals to cross off that list but you already crossed one major threshold. You’re a Major League beat writer. So get up out of the dugout, walk up to the batting cage where freaking Georgetown is taking rips, and snap a decent picture. And if some eager-beaver Sports Information Director or someone tries to tell you to get back in the dugout, remind him you’re in the Big Leagues. Lanyard-whip that SID if you must.

Can’t thank Jim Salisbury enough for capturing the Bad...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 10:07:14 -0500

Can’t thank Jim Salisbury enough for capturing the Bad Spring Training Twitpic essence here. “Very cool” indeed, Jim.

Not pictured: nobody taking a picture of Adam Rubin taking a...

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:51:58 -0500

Not pictured: nobody taking a picture of Adam Rubin taking a picture of a guy taking a picture.

Plainly evident Roch Kubatko took the batting cage for granted....

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:31:13 -0500

Plainly evident Roch Kubatko took the batting cage for granted. Quick zoom and bam, snapped his twitpic. Problem is, you have to respect the batting cage. You have to. Kubatko didn’t and now the bar’s cutting Nick Markakis’s neck off, it’s blurry, and the netting’s really not helping either.

Kevin McAlpin of Atlanta sports radio station 680 The Fan...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:06:24 -0500

Kevin McAlpin of Atlanta sports radio station 680 The Fan contributed this shot. I’m not even really sure what to say about it. He says it’s Chipper and Uggla, and he suggests it’s Jair Jurrjens on the hill but we don’t even have a positive ID on the team that’s pictured here. Impressive stuff.

Sorry for consecutive Red Sox posts but I really liked this one...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:56:04 -0500

Sorry for consecutive Red Sox posts but I really liked this one as another example of why I just don’t have much sympathy for the “beat guys are busting their ass and doing a second job” crowd. Take another pic, and post the one with Bobby V’s eyes open. It’s just not that tough.

Pete Abe is well-known for rolling with the punches, so I’m sure he’ll take this in stride and do better next time!

Can’t make out one player, can barely tell they have red on and...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:05:49 -0500

Can’t make out one player, can barely tell they have red on and there are no identifiable characteristics of Jet Blue Park in the shot. We’re taking Joey Mac’s word here.

You have to understand, too, that I’ve heard complaints about how this site is insulting to writers going “above and beyond” and doing “2^nd jobs” when taking these photos. In this case, if Joey Mac walks down closer to field level on the first base side, we get the replica Monster in the background and likely some specific players we can see in the foreground.

BUT NO JOKES ABOUT BEAT WRITERS AND TWITPICS DURING THEIR 6-WEEK ASSIGNMENT IN PERFECT WEATHER COVERING MEANINGLESS BASEBALL! IT’S SERIOUS BUSINESS.

If you look at all of the pictures posted to date, the ones...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:39:20 -0500

If you look at all of the pictures posted to date, the ones where you can’t make out anyone tend to be snapped too far away and/or are inadequately zoomed.

The neat part about this Alden Gonzalez work is that you can’t make out any of the folks in the picture, and yet he couldn’t have been more than 20 feet away from anyone. Proximity is there, but the photo’s just not. It’s good stuff.