Last week Bob told us all about “Camp Panda,” the intensive conditioning regimen for the Giants’ portly slugger Pablo Sandoval. Fresh details today from the San Francisco Chronicle:
With a host of others, including Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner and strength and conditioning coordinator Ben Potenziano, infielder Pablo Sandoval climbed Phoenix’s Camelback Mountain on Thursday, 54 minutes up, 38 minutes down, and thought he was done for the day.
Then, Potenziano gave him the bad news: another weightlifting circuit and 30 more minutes of cardio.
“He was a little poopy-pants the rest of the afternoon,” Potenziano said. “He wasn’t his happy self.”
Beyond that, however, it’s a fascinating read. The extent to which the Sandoval and the Giants are working on his diet and putting his body through the wringer is impressive. How many times have you wondered what would have happened if a guy like Mo Vaughn or Kevin Mitchell or Dimitri Young had taken care of themselves? With Sandoval, we’re going to get to see it.
That is, if he can keep up the discipline as he heads down to his native Venezuela for winter ball. His trainer is a bit worried:
As Potenziano said, Sandoval is an “icon” in his home country, where people will tackle each other to provide him food and drink.
That includes Sandoval’s family. Potenziano has urged [Sandoval’s brother] Michael to “attack their mom” to make sure she prepares healthy and prudently sized meals.
Moms are rough when it comes to portion control. But can I make one request? Given what’s been happening with ballplayers’ families in Venezuela lately, do you suppose we could use a phrase other than “attack” when it comes to talking about a VZ player’s mom?