Why the lack of coverage is the biggest disappointment from the SF Giants this spring

The baseball offseason is long and, at times, uneventful. However, fans are rejoiced when spring training rolls around. While the Cactus League coverage for some teams has improved, it remains lacking for the SF Giants.

Why the lack of coverage is the biggest disappointment from the SF Giants this spring

Going four straight months without a game is no fun. Once games start up again, fans are excited for the optimism that tends to come with a new year as well as the season changing from winter to spring. The fact that the baseball offseason occurs during the winter months does add a sense of dread, especially when it moves at a snail's pace like it did this year.

Despite the slow offseason, the Giants have been one of the more aggressive teams. They have added Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman, Robbie Ray, and Jordan Hicks. On paper, the lineup and defense should be much improved. On the other hand, the pitching staff is a huge question mark as the Giants are betting on youth and inexperience.

Giants fans are eager to see what the new team looks like. The good news is that there will be plenty of options to follow the team during the regular season. However, the coverage during spring training leaves a lot to be desired.

Few games are televised. During the weekend, the Giants have radio broadcasts of the games on KNBR. For the remainder of the games, fans tend to follow the play-by-play on the Gameday app on MLB.Com or another alternative. Some teams even track Statcast data, so it is easier to quantify what is happening on the field.

Devoid of any type of live coverage, the Statcast info would be a useful tool for those who follow the game. Unfortunately, that option is only available when the Giants play at parks that publish live Statcast data. The Giants' home Cactus League ballpark, Scottsdale Stadium, is not one of those parks

The Giants do show brief highlights from most games, but the image quality and angle look like it is taken from a camera phone. Unfortunately, that is not enough in today's game, especially when a division rival like the Los Angeles Dodgers cover every aspect of their star players.

This is not meant to compare the Giants to the Dodgers. That said, it is hard to ignore the fact that pretty much every person knows what Shohei Ohtani ate for breakfast or what Mookie Betts' favorite color is.

The Giants brought in an international talent in Lee. By itself, that should result in much more coverage. Every at-bat should be carried on more than just a smartphone. However, that is just not the case.

On the radio and TV broadcasts, you get to hear the voices of Jon Miller, Dave Flemming, Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, and Joe Ritzo. It would be great if there was an opportunity for them to do, at the very least, a radio broadcast of each game.

However, that just may not be realistic and that is okay. Giants fans idolize those five and nothing is better than listening to them describe what is taking place on the field as well as the witty banter between them. There is no denying that.

However, logistics come into play. Giants fans are spoiled in listening to the crew every game during the regular season. Spring training is a different animal and one that does not require as much overhead. Could the Giants simply provide a stream of the game without any audio? Or, have someone who is trying to gain experience do the play-by-play broadcast?

This is one area where the Giants are woefully lagging. There are so many solutions to this problem, but they just do not offer enough coverage in spring training. Many other teams do and it is time for the Giants to get on board.