7/1/08-Augusta @ Hickory

This was my second time back to Hickory. There were more people there at this game than the first one. I would guess there were 300 people at the first game, this time there might have been a thousand. Madison Bumgarner grew up 10 miles up the road. I talked to some of the guys who work at the stadium and they said when he pitches the stadium sells out. My schedule didn't work out to see Bumgarner pitch in Hickory, but I saw him pitch in Greensboro if you check that post.

Angel Villalona and Thomas Neal look a lot alike. Maybe the Giants have a thing for big, strong kids who can hit the ball a long way. They both have that big through the hips build. They both still run very well, though. As they age I would guess there running speed will suffer because of thier build, we will see how that plays out....To be honest, the first time I saw Thomas Neal I thought it was Angel....


The pitcher for the Hickory Crawdads was Brad Lincoln. He was the Pirates first round pick in the 2006 draft, ahead of Tim Lincecum. He started off the game really strong, but faded fast.