Padres Spring Training Day 2 updates

There was a lot of talk about baseball's mind-numbingly slow pace this morning.  Buddy Black in a press conference said he  thinks it's a good thing to remove some dead time in the game.  His one caveat is that he doesn't want it to affect communication between pitchers and catchers.  SP Ian Kennedy brags that it won't affect the way he pitches since he's been using his biological clock, he also thinks he wants more children before it's too late.

Meanwhile there was a bit of action on the back fields.  Black says they're trying out some new things in an attempt to get better.

Buddy’s Bullets: Pitching Staff, Kotsay and Pace of Play " Friar Wire

We’re going to do a couple things different. More stuff on the field, less stuff in the cage. There might be more machine work. It’s part of growing and trying to keep being creative and moving forward.

The newest Padres acquisition James Shields made his first appearance in full uniform.  He looks exactly like you might have imagined he would.

James Shields #Padres pic.twitter.com/A1lRqyeTTw

— Sam Ryan (@SamRyanMLB) February 20, 2015

His battery mate Derek Norris has been scoping out his pitchers, creeper style, on his iPad all winter with the lights dimmed and a glass of red wine by his side.  Been there dude.

Catcher Norris getting ahead of the curve | padres.com

"The great thing about modern technology is I've got all of these guys on my iPad already," Norris said.

You know sometimes you'll see an elite athlete in training and you watch in awe knowing that you could never keep up with them?  Every time I've been to Spring Training I get the exact opposite feeling.  There's a lot of standing around, like that's practically all they do.  I know I couldn't baseball as good or as fast or as hard as them, but I could keep up with the drills, I'm pretty sure.  At least I could before I hurt my back.  Look at this:

First workout of the season is underway! #PadresST pic.twitter.com/aufsZ2jctt

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 20, 2015

I say all that because the Padres released a video of the Padres in action and I can only imagine the amount of footage they had to cut out of guys doing absolutely nothing to make this look exciting.

Black has noticed a different vibe in the clubhouse.  The Padres don't give off the familiar stench of miserable losers anymore.

Revitalized Padres have throwback appeal | padres.com

"As an organization we're excited," Black said. "From the top on down there's a different vibe, so we're excited about that. The players are excited. That's the thing I'm pumped about. The guys are excited about each other, getting to know each other and about getting this thing going on the field."

That settles it then.  I'm excited, you're excited, they're excited, we're all excited.  Day three recap tomorrow... not it!