Back strain slows Vogelsongs spring

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Ryan Vogelsongs 2012 season isnt off to a dream start. The right-hander wont pick up a baseball for the first 7-10 days of the spring after straining his lower back in the weight room a week ago.

I got a little frisky one day, said Vogelsong, who sustained the injury the day after the Feb. 6 FanFest. I was doing some squats and feeling good, so I put a little more weight on and I tweaked it. It was nothing I hadnt done all winter.

Vogelsong is not listed with either group of pitchers to throw off a mound. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are in Sundays group. Brian Wilson and Madison Bumgarner headline Mondays group.

Vogelsong was more irritated than concerned about the setback.

Im not in pain. I dont really feel it, he said. We just want to make sure its really, really strong before we start pushing forward. This is the conservative time of the year.

It just stinks that it happened. You work all offseason to be ready the first day of camp, and so to have this happen is a little damper. But its better than the middle of June.

Vogelsong won his first big league game in six years last season after the Giants signed him as a minor league free agentthen went on to make the NL All-Star team, lead the staff in ERA and pick up a Cy Young vote.

The Giants cant bank on finding another Vogelsong. Those kinds of stories happen once every few decades, not every year. With a lack of rotation depth, its vital that Giants startersincluding Vogelsong -- remain healthy this spring.

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