MESA, Ariz. – Optimism and spring training go hand-in-hand.
Exhibit A is Oakland catcher Josh Phegley. He is a new man, or at least a new catcher.
After missing the last three months of the season after what was supposed to be minor surgery, he learned that not only did he needed to have a cyst removed from his left knee, but that his very style of catching was part of the reason for the injury.
After coming to the A’s from the White Sox, he went from having his shoulders and legs squared with the plate to a staggered stance, the better to handle A’s pitchers who like to throw pitches in the dirt.