Huff settles in quickly with Giants

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- David Huff has been a Giant for less than a month and already feels at home.

The left-hander compared the Giants favorably to his previous organization, the New York Yankees, who sent Huff to San Francisco for cash considerations on Jan. 24.

"There are a lot of similarities between this club and that club. They know what it takes to win championships," Huff said. "[Another] similarity I saw when I first got here was, they welcomed you."

A resident of Huntington Beach, Calif., Huff relished his baseball relocation to the West Coast. "When I got picked up by the Giants, it was like, 'sweet,' " said the 29-year-old, who played at UCLA with Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford.

The Giants obtained Huff partly for his versatility. He has started 54 big league games but made 12 relief appearances for the Indians and Yankees last year.

Huff intends to implement the mechanical adjustments he made with Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who coaxed him into lowering his arm angle. This could help Huff end his struggles against left-handed batters, who have compiled a .311 average, .381 on-base percentage and .519 slugging percentage off him in his career.