‘Tis as good a time as any, I suppose:
Top 30 Prospects, Wild Overreaction to Early Samples Edition:
I had an early list here, but why go on that when we have 60 at-bats and 20 innings pitched on which to make a value judgment?
1. Buster Posey
This was where I had him at the start of the season, and his crazy .361/.452/.625 start isn’t going to change my mind.
2. Madison Bumgarner
This was where I had him at the start of the season, and he’s given up one earned run in three starts. I think that means his career ERA went up.
3. Angel Villalona
Four walks! By Jove, I’ll take that. The strikeout rate is still a little high, but the dude’s a zygote.
4. Tim Alderson
Rough outing last time, but his control has been good at the start of the year.
5. Nick Noonan
I’ve seen him play a couple of times now, and he always impresses. The strikeout rate is high, but his splits make me think that Municipal Stadium is part of the problem for a lot of these young hitters.
6. Conor Gillaspie
I hope he starts hitting for any sort of power, as his eye is nice (14 walks, 67 at-bats). I’m a little discouraged by the total lack of power, though, even if it’s still early.
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
San Francisco Giants Top 30 Prospects
Is Barry Bonds Going To Play For The Giants Again?
Last night's Giants game had one pretty prominent visitor that I'm sure you all know (or are trying hard to forget): Barry Bonds.
Interestingly, Bonds was in town to meet with the Dalai Lama as a guest of Christopher Laub, a young boy he befriended several years ago. Laub, who has battled cancer, was one of 49 recipients of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion award that the Dalai Lama bestowed on people from 13 different countries Sunday. Bonds then decided to stick around for Monday's Giants/Dodgers game.
Naturally, he was peppered with questions by a few reporters on Monday night. One of the questions was pretty direct: Still thinking of playing? What’s your status?
Interestingly, Bonds was in town to meet with the Dalai Lama as a guest of Christopher Laub, a young boy he befriended several years ago. Laub, who has battled cancer, was one of 49 recipients of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion award that the Dalai Lama bestowed on people from 13 different countries Sunday. Bonds then decided to stick around for Monday's Giants/Dodgers game.
Naturally, he was peppered with questions by a few reporters on Monday night. One of the questions was pretty direct: Still thinking of playing? What’s your status?
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Loss is just a matter
By Tony Jackson
SAN FRANCISCO - During a casual moment about an hour before game time, just after explaining why his own starting pitcher was batting eighth, Dodgers manager Joe Torre started to sound like a man walking past a graveyard at midnight.
Asked about Tim Lincecum, the baby-faced assassin and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner who was about to take the mound for the San Francisco Giants, Torre said he hoped his hitters would exhibit their usual degree of patience and drive up his pitch count early, a clear acknowledgment that such a strategy was really the Dodgers' only hope of beating him.
By the end of the top of the first inning, a point at which Lincecum had thrown a grand total of five pitches, it was pretty clear where this one was headed.
Asked about Tim Lincecum, the baby-faced assassin and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner who was about to take the mound for the San Francisco Giants, Torre said he hoped his hitters would exhibit their usual degree of patience and drive up his pitch count early, a clear acknowledgment that such a strategy was really the Dodgers' only hope of beating him.
By the end of the top of the first inning, a point at which Lincecum had thrown a grand total of five pitches, it was pretty clear where this one was headed.
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Lincecum shuts down Dodgers in Giants win
April 29 (Reuters) - Tim Lincecum struck out eight batters to carry the San Francisco Giants to a 9-4 win over West Coast rival the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old right-hander took a shutout into the eighth inning before running into trouble, but threw 103 pitches and allowed three runs in his second straight win.
"Everything felt fine," the National League Cy Young recipient told reporters. "Pitches were moving the way they were supposed to. You always want to try to do the same things."
Bengie Molina led the offense with four RBIs and Edgar Renteria finished 4-for-5 for the Giants (10-10), who scratched out 15 hits in winning the series rubber match.
The NL West leading Dodgers (14-8) lost for the third time in four games.
Starting pitcher Eric Stults had a poor outing and lasted just 2 2/3 innings after previously pitching well in place of Hiroki Kuroda, who was injured on opening day.
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The 24-year-old right-hander took a shutout into the eighth inning before running into trouble, but threw 103 pitches and allowed three runs in his second straight win.
"Everything felt fine," the National League Cy Young recipient told reporters. "Pitches were moving the way they were supposed to. You always want to try to do the same things."
Bengie Molina led the offense with four RBIs and Edgar Renteria finished 4-for-5 for the Giants (10-10), who scratched out 15 hits in winning the series rubber match.
The NL West leading Dodgers (14-8) lost for the third time in four games.
Starting pitcher Eric Stults had a poor outing and lasted just 2 2/3 innings after previously pitching well in place of Hiroki Kuroda, who was injured on opening day.
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Monday, April 27, 2009
Loney held out against Giants nemesis
Loretta starts at first base for Dodgers
By Ken Gurnick
Manny Ramirez returned to the lineup Monday night after a day off, but the hottest of the Dodgers hitters currently, James Loney, was on the bench to open the series with the Giants.
Manager Joe Torre went with the percentage matchups and sat down Loney, who against San Francisco left-handed starter Barry Zito is an amazing 1-for-20 (.050) with six strikeouts.
Manager Joe Torre went with the percentage matchups and sat down Loney, who against San Francisco left-handed starter Barry Zito is an amazing 1-for-20 (.050) with six strikeouts.
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Dodgers hope for more success versus Giants
The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to continue their early success against the NL West-rival San Francisco Giants on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at AT&T Park.
Los Angeles swept the Giants in three games at Chavez Ravine from April 13-16 and has won four of the last five meetings. The Dodgers fell to 3-3 on their nine-game road trip with Sunday's 10-4 setback at Colorado, as James Loney went 3-for-5 with three RBI in a losing cause.
Clayton Kershaw started for LA and was tagged with the loss after giving up eight hits and nine runs over 4 2/3 innings of work for the Dodgers, who had a three-game winning streak come to an end. Los Angeles will hand the ball to Randy Wolf on Monday and he is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts.
Wolf has recorded consecutive no-decisions and is coming off a 6-5 loss at Houston on April 22. He was reached for four runs and eight hits in seven innings against the Astros. The left-hander has faced the Giants 13 times in his career and owns a 6-4 record with a 3.70 earned run average.
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Los Angeles swept the Giants in three games at Chavez Ravine from April 13-16 and has won four of the last five meetings. The Dodgers fell to 3-3 on their nine-game road trip with Sunday's 10-4 setback at Colorado, as James Loney went 3-for-5 with three RBI in a losing cause.
Clayton Kershaw started for LA and was tagged with the loss after giving up eight hits and nine runs over 4 2/3 innings of work for the Dodgers, who had a three-game winning streak come to an end. Los Angeles will hand the ball to Randy Wolf on Monday and he is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts.
Wolf has recorded consecutive no-decisions and is coming off a 6-5 loss at Houston on April 22. He was reached for four runs and eight hits in seven innings against the Astros. The left-hander has faced the Giants 13 times in his career and owns a 6-4 record with a 3.70 earned run average.
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San Francisco Giants win streak ends, Matt Cain's luck doesn't
It was a typical Matt Cain start Sunday against the Diamondbacks. He pitched seven strong innings, struck out five, only allowed one earned run and was in line for his third win of the season, then the bullpen blew a three run lead.
Really, it wasn't the bullpen; it was the closer, Brian Wilson. Wilson was summoned in the ninth with the Giants enjoying a 4-1 lead. The first batter, Chad Tracy, doubled to right-center off of Wilson. Later in the inning with Tracy already having scored, another runner aboard and only one out Justin Upton homered just over the wall in left field to tie the game, and turn Cain's third win into another no decision.
Wilson blew his first save of the season, and showed a lack of command with his fastball while throwing thirty two pitches in the ninth, only 19 of them for strikes .
In the bottom of the 12th Connor Jackson hit a bases loaded single with one out off of Justin Miller to win the game for Arizona.
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Really, it wasn't the bullpen; it was the closer, Brian Wilson. Wilson was summoned in the ninth with the Giants enjoying a 4-1 lead. The first batter, Chad Tracy, doubled to right-center off of Wilson. Later in the inning with Tracy already having scored, another runner aboard and only one out Justin Upton homered just over the wall in left field to tie the game, and turn Cain's third win into another no decision.
Wilson blew his first save of the season, and showed a lack of command with his fastball while throwing thirty two pitches in the ninth, only 19 of them for strikes .
In the bottom of the 12th Connor Jackson hit a bases loaded single with one out off of Justin Miller to win the game for Arizona.
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Recap: Arizona vs. San Francisco
Conor Jackson belted the game-winning single into left field with the bases loaded in the 12th inning and Justin Upton sent the game to extras with a two-run homer in the ninth, as Arizona avoided a three-game sweep at home with a 5-4 triumph over San Francisco at Chase Field.
Upton had two hits and walked twice while Mark Reynolds also homered and drove in two with a pair of hits for the Diamondbacks, who had lost three of four coming in.
Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer and ended 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored for the Giants, who had a five-game win streak snapped but have still won their last three series. Aaron Rowand collected two hits and an RBI in the loss.
Juan Gutierrez (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Juan Uribe to start the 12th, but the Giants stranded him and went down in order from there.
Brandon Medders (0-1), who took over to start the 10th and allowed only a pinch-hit single to Tony Clark in two prior frames, came back out for the 12th and walked the bases full. Justin Miller entered with one out to face Jackson, who smoked a 3-2 fastball into left field to plate the winning run.
"You keep fighting, things look like they're going against you, the other team has a bit of a rabbit's foot and you don't and then all of a sudden something like that happens...one big inning and we get a big win," D'Backs manager Bob Melvin said.
Jon Garland pitched well in his start for Arizona and was cruising until the eighth where the veteran righty allowed three of his four earned runs. He was charged with 10 total hits and walked two with a pair of strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings.
San Francisco starter Matt Cain tossed seve
n strong innings of one-run ball, yielding just four hits, and was in line for the victory until Giants' closer Brian Wilson served up the game-tying homer to Upton in the ninth. Cain fanned five and walked four in the no-decision.
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Upton had two hits and walked twice while Mark Reynolds also homered and drove in two with a pair of hits for the Diamondbacks, who had lost three of four coming in.
Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run homer and ended 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored for the Giants, who had a five-game win streak snapped but have still won their last three series. Aaron Rowand collected two hits and an RBI in the loss.
Juan Gutierrez (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Juan Uribe to start the 12th, but the Giants stranded him and went down in order from there.
Brandon Medders (0-1), who took over to start the 10th and allowed only a pinch-hit single to Tony Clark in two prior frames, came back out for the 12th and walked the bases full. Justin Miller entered with one out to face Jackson, who smoked a 3-2 fastball into left field to plate the winning run.
"You keep fighting, things look like they're going against you, the other team has a bit of a rabbit's foot and you don't and then all of a sudden something like that happens...one big inning and we get a big win," D'Backs manager Bob Melvin said.
Jon Garland pitched well in his start for Arizona and was cruising until the eighth where the veteran righty allowed three of his four earned runs. He was charged with 10 total hits and walked two with a pair of strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings.
San Francisco starter Matt Cain tossed seve
n strong innings of one-run ball, yielding just four hits, and was in line for the victory until Giants' closer Brian Wilson served up the game-tying homer to Upton in the ninth. Cain fanned five and walked four in the no-decision.Read Full Stoty
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Having catcher Holm let Bochy make move
San Francisco -- Manager Bruce Bochy would have had an interesting decision Wednesday if it hadn't been for the previous night's move to recall catcher Steve Holm from Triple-A Fresno.
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Giants make adjustments to rotation
To prevent Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson from receiving too much rest, manager Bruce Bochy shuffled the starting rotation to keep the Giants pitchers on a more regular schedule.
Lincecum, Johnson and Matt Cain will receive the starting assignments, in that order, for this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Originally, Jonathan Sanchez was to pitch Friday, followed by Lincecum and Johnson.
But this week's pair of scheduled off-days Monday and Thursday would have forced Lincecum and Johnson to get six days' rest apiece had the Giants stuck to their prescribed pitching sequence. That's two days' rest more than usual, enough to throw a starter off his routine.
Lincecum, Johnson and Matt Cain will receive the starting assignments, in that order, for this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Originally, Jonathan Sanchez was to pitch Friday, followed by Lincecum and Johnson.
But this week's pair of scheduled off-days Monday and Thursday would have forced Lincecum and Johnson to get six days' rest apiece had the Giants stuck to their prescribed pitching sequence. That's two days' rest more than usual, enough to throw a starter off his routine.
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Molina's pinch-hit double lifts Giants over Padres
Bengie Molina's pinch-hit double with two outs in the 10th inning drove in Andres Torres to give the San Francisco Giants a 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.
The attendance of 26,593 was San Francisco's smallest crowd since moving into AT&T Park in 2000.
Torres hit a one-out single off Edwin Moreno (0-2) and stole second. After Eugenio Velez struck out, Moreno intentionally walked Fred Lewis before Molina hit a ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in left-center.
The attendance of 26,593 was San Francisco's smallest crowd since moving into AT&T Park in 2000.
Torres hit a one-out single off Edwin Moreno (0-2) and stole second. After Eugenio Velez struck out, Moreno intentionally walked Fred Lewis before Molina hit a ground-rule double that bounced over the wall in left-center.
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Renteria's grand slam powers Giants past Padres
Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam off Jake Peavy and matched his career high with five RBIs, leading the San Francisco Giants to an 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
Renteria connected in the fourth for his first homer with the Giants, who have won three of four. It was his seventh career grand slam and the first allowed by Peavy in his seven-year career.
Renteria connected in the fourth for his first homer with the Giants, who have won three of four. It was his seventh career grand slam and the first allowed by Peavy in his seven-year career.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain receives support on Filipino Heritage Night
by Claire Reclosado
SAN FRANCISCO---The San Francisco Giants hosted the San Diego Padres on April 21, but it was not just a regular day at the AT&T Park. It was Filipino Heritage Night, the best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao threw out the first pitch, and the normally cool San Francisco night was instead a rare hot night—77 degrees at game time.
That wasn’t the end of the rarities that night. Giants’ shortstop Edgar Renteria hit his seventh career grand slam off of Jake Peavy—the first one given up in the Padres’ pitcher’s career. Most importantly, that homer by Renteria was half of the run-support that the Giants provided starting pitcher Matt Cain in the Giants 8-3 victory over the Padres.
Finally.
Cain has been known as the San Francisco pitcher with the curse of no offensive backing. Today was a different.
“It really is [good],” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said in regards to how good if was to see Cain had run support. “Matt has had a couple years of some tough luck. We went against a touch pitcher, had some good at-bats—the guys battled well tonight.”
First baseman Travis Ishikawa contributed to the effort, going 2-for-3 with one walk, two runs, and two RBI.
“Any pitcher out there, we want to try to get him the win,” Ishikawa said when asked about the offense’s performance with Cain on the mound. “We struggled last year giving him run support.”
The struggle was momentarily forgotten with Renteria’s fourth inning grand slam to left-center.
That wasn’t the end of the rarities that night. Giants’ shortstop Edgar Renteria hit his seventh career grand slam off of Jake Peavy—the first one given up in the Padres’ pitcher’s career. Most importantly, that homer by Renteria was half of the run-support that the Giants provided starting pitcher Matt Cain in the Giants 8-3 victory over the Padres.
Finally.
Cain has been known as the San Francisco pitcher with the curse of no offensive backing. Today was a different.
“It really is [good],” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said in regards to how good if was to see Cain had run support. “Matt has had a couple years of some tough luck. We went against a touch pitcher, had some good at-bats—the guys battled well tonight.”
First baseman Travis Ishikawa contributed to the effort, going 2-for-3 with one walk, two runs, and two RBI.
“Any pitcher out there, we want to try to get him the win,” Ishikawa said when asked about the offense’s performance with Cain on the mound. “We struggled last year giving him run support.”
The struggle was momentarily forgotten with Renteria’s fourth inning grand slam to left-center.
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Les Keiter dies at 89
Les Keiter dies at 89
sportscaster known for radio re-creations of games
He was a sports announcer for the Giants and the New York Knicks and called championship heavyweight fights with Howard Cosell. Later, he became the sports anchor for Honolulu television station KHON.
Les Keiter, a longtime sportscaster who was known for his radio re-creations of San Francisco Giants games for New York listeners in the first few years after the baseball team moved to California, died Tuesday at Castle Medical Center near Honolulu. He was 89.
Honolulu television station KHON, where he had been a sports anchor for many years, reported that Keiter died of natural causes and had dementia.
Les Keiter, a longtime sportscaster who was known for his radio re-creations of San Francisco Giants games for New York listeners in the first few years after the baseball team moved to California, died Tuesday at Castle Medical Center near Honolulu. He was 89.
Honolulu television station KHON, where he had been a sports anchor for many years, reported that Keiter died of natural causes and had dementia.
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San Francisco Giants: Off To a Slower Start Than Even Expected
by carlos guerrero
When you're a team that finds it very hard to get hits and score runs you have to rely on other parts of the game. The Giants (other than the first and third games) have had a horrible time scoring runs, not going over three in their losses.
Now I expected them to be a little better scoring runs but still to have a difficultly getting across home plate. But more alarming to me is that in the four games in a row they have lost, they have allowed six or more runs, and not making defensive plays in crucial spots.
Now I know its early but pitching and defense were going to be the Giants' identity and they are not doing it well.
Here are some of the reasons they are of to this slow start.
Hitting
We all knew going in it was going to be a struggle to score runs this year but we hoped there would be some improvement. So far there is none. The Giants are hitting .250 as a team right now, ranking them 21st in the majors. They are 29th in home runs and 28th in runs scored with 3.9 per game as of April 14.
On top of them not scoring runs they young guys are struggling. Pablo Sandoval swings at every thing and any thing, as well as the whole team as they have struck out at least 11 times in back to back games, while hitting .192—fourth lowest on the team.
What happened to the guy that was hitting .400 during spring training?
Travis Ishikawa is still learning how to hit big league pitching, Edgar Renteria, who was supposed to be an offensive guy on the team, is also off to a slow start hitting .160. The only guys producing are Rowand, Winn, and Fred Lewis.
I know these guys are young, but they have to get better fast.
Now I expected them to be a little better scoring runs but still to have a difficultly getting across home plate. But more alarming to me is that in the four games in a row they have lost, they have allowed six or more runs, and not making defensive plays in crucial spots.
Now I know its early but pitching and defense were going to be the Giants' identity and they are not doing it well.
Here are some of the reasons they are of to this slow start.
Hitting
We all knew going in it was going to be a struggle to score runs this year but we hoped there would be some improvement. So far there is none. The Giants are hitting .250 as a team right now, ranking them 21st in the majors. They are 29th in home runs and 28th in runs scored with 3.9 per game as of April 14.
On top of them not scoring runs they young guys are struggling. Pablo Sandoval swings at every thing and any thing, as well as the whole team as they have struck out at least 11 times in back to back games, while hitting .192—fourth lowest on the team.
What happened to the guy that was hitting .400 during spring training?
Travis Ishikawa is still learning how to hit big league pitching, Edgar Renteria, who was supposed to be an offensive guy on the team, is also off to a slow start hitting .160. The only guys producing are Rowand, Winn, and Fred Lewis.
I know these guys are young, but they have to get better fast.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The San Francisco Giants- a wealth of team history
The Giants were originally known as the Gothams, and were entered in the National League in 1883, while their other club, the Metropolitans (the original Mets), played in the American Association. The Giants Team History is a long one, with over half of the original Gothams players coming to the team from the disbanded Troy Trojans.
The San- Francisco Giants Team- a new year, a new season
The San Francisco Giants team is an American baseball team, and one of the oldest teams in the MLB (Major League baseball). In addition, they are based in San Francisco, California. A Diehardfan will be aware that the team marked their 50th Anniversary last year, a land mark in terms of the San Francisco Giants team history.
The Giants were the second ever baseball team, founded by the millionaire tobacconist John.B Day, and amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie. In the wake of the new 2009 season, a San Francisco Giants team fan may look to display their support through any means possible, and what better way than through a host of official accessories and memorabilia like team flags, match day pennants and even replica and authentic jerseys
San Francisco Giants Merchandise
Furthermore, a hardcore fan, looking to browse any number of San Francisco Giants merchandsie, will be able to obtain these products from a number of reliable online retailers. Spoiled for choice, the range will include products like the Giants velvet bag, Giants team logo key ring, Giants paper clip holder, Giants pencil holder, Giants photo album, Giants memo pad holder, Giants bottle opener, Giants football key tag. Giants tie, and a host of additional items, guaranteed to add a sporting element to any mundane lifestyle.
Adorn any of our amazing San Francisco Giants Jerseys
If you are looking for a San Francisco Giants team’s official jersey, then look no further. With items such as the sought after Francisco Giants road grey replica jersey, home ivory replica jersey, San Francisco Giants away black replica jersey, grey replica jersey, or even black replica jersey, Giants fans are certainly not left wanting.
The colorful range of San Francisco jerseys and accessories are predominantly developed with the hardcore fan in mind. Moreover, top quality merchandise comprised of the logo of your favorite MLB team is perhaps the ideal way in which to indulge your passion for the best team around. Or perhaps you are looking to score some points with a loved one?, in which case, why not take a look at our gorgeous range of MLB Authentic Jerseys.
The San- Francisco Giants Team- a new year, a new season
The San Francisco Giants team is an American baseball team, and one of the oldest teams in the MLB (Major League baseball). In addition, they are based in San Francisco, California. A Diehardfan will be aware that the team marked their 50th Anniversary last year, a land mark in terms of the San Francisco Giants team history.
The Giants were the second ever baseball team, founded by the millionaire tobacconist John.B Day, and amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie. In the wake of the new 2009 season, a San Francisco Giants team fan may look to display their support through any means possible, and what better way than through a host of official accessories and memorabilia like team flags, match day pennants and even replica and authentic jerseys
San Francisco Giants MerchandiseFurthermore, a hardcore fan, looking to browse any number of San Francisco Giants merchandsie, will be able to obtain these products from a number of reliable online retailers. Spoiled for choice, the range will include products like the Giants velvet bag, Giants team logo key ring, Giants paper clip holder, Giants pencil holder, Giants photo album, Giants memo pad holder, Giants bottle opener, Giants football key tag. Giants tie, and a host of additional items, guaranteed to add a sporting element to any mundane lifestyle.
Adorn any of our amazing San Francisco Giants JerseysIf you are looking for a San Francisco Giants team’s official jersey, then look no further. With items such as the sought after Francisco Giants road grey replica jersey, home ivory replica jersey, San Francisco Giants away black replica jersey, grey replica jersey, or even black replica jersey, Giants fans are certainly not left wanting.
The colorful range of San Francisco jerseys and accessories are predominantly developed with the hardcore fan in mind. Moreover, top quality merchandise comprised of the logo of your favorite MLB team is perhaps the ideal way in which to indulge your passion for the best team around. Or perhaps you are looking to score some points with a loved one?, in which case, why not take a look at our gorgeous range of MLB Authentic Jerseys.
Monday, April 6, 2009
One Last Look at the San Francisco Giants Before the Majesty of Opening Day
by Andrew Nuschler
It's official—Opening Day for the 2009 Major League Baseball season has finally arrived.
The first pitch of the game tonight between the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves will herald the opening of another 162-game sprint. The rest of baseball opens tomorrow or on Tuesday.
Our beloved San Francisco Giants are among that latter group of teams whose fans must endure not one, but two barrages of opening days before seeing their favorite set of nine take the diamond.
Hopefully, the '09 season will be worth the wait.
And, if you like the optimistic interpretation of the Orange and Black's spring session, there is very good reason for hope.
By now, the secret (if you could ever really call it that) is out regarding San Francisco's pitching staff. Even the cooler heads around MLB expect the Giants to sniff around the edges of the National League West race based on the arms alone.
Having done so a number of times, there's no reason to further extol the virtues of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, Brian Wilson, and the rest of the bullpen.
Nothing has changed except for the usual minor bumps and bruises of the preseason.
Who knows whether those are genuine or just possum sightings in an extended Spring Training and who cares? The Big Unit's sore, Sanchez burned his finger, and Wilson has some sort of infection in one of his digits—none of that sounds terribly serious even if legit.
Nah, the developing story as SF romps into the regular season is the offense:
1. Pablo Sandoval hit .442 with three home runs in 77 spring at-bats.
2. Freddie Lewis hit .366 in 71 ABs.
3. Emanuel Burriss hit .341 in 85 ABs.
4. Eugenio Velez hit .324 in 68 ABs.
5. Travis Ishikawa hit .316 with seven home runs in 79 ABs.
It's true veterans like Edgar Renteria, Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, and Bengie Molina all struggled. But this was a brutally long and alien preseason because of the World Baseball Classic.
If veterans tend to coast through a normal Spring Training, it would stand to reason 2009's was even less enthusiastically received. This is why it's important to pump the breaks as the boys break camp (I'll get to that later).
Barring substantial injury, Winn is gonna hit around .300 with 10-15 HRs, 30-40 doubles, and he'll steal you around 20 bags. Forget about his spring and write it down—not only are those essentially his career averages over 162 games, they're basically the numbers Randy's tallied every year since 2002.
Rowand and Molina should put up a very similar year compared to the production the two players combined for in 2008.
By that, I mean Molina will probably regress a little because his '08 body of work was a masterpiece of clutch hitting and carrying an offense using sheer power of will. His year doesn't look too unusual compared to the rest on his resume, but he was playing the role of Barry Bonds last year and not doing a poor job considering the amount of pressure such entails.
It's unfair to expect Big Money to do that again—the man is mortal like all others (except for the chemically enhanced Super Bonds).
On the other hand, Rowand had the year most people expected after leaving the potent lineup and small yard in Philly. He lost almost half his '07 runs, over half of his bombs, almost 20 runs batted in, and he dropped 30 points off his average.
While Bengie will probably come down to Earth a tad, Rowand should be able compensate by having a better year, the one he's capable of having—it won't look like his breakout season in 2007, but somewhere in between should do nicely.
Who knows what the Giants will get from Renteria? I doubt it will be as profound an upgrade as the brass is trying to spin it, but the dude HAS to be an upgrade.
Even if the new shortstop returns to his most glorious of glory days, this was never a splinter that was going to power the offense. At his pinnacle, Edgar was a very nice piece to move runners around and score runs himself.
But his OPS maxed out at .874 in 2003 and has broken the .800 barrier precisely three times in a 13-year career. In other words, all versions of Renteria will need help from the rest of the bats—a rejuvenated one included.
Which is why the springs put together by some of the younger guys are so encouraging.
Unfortunately, it is my duty to remind you, fair reader, Spring Training must be taken with a grain of salt.
It is not usually representative of the regular season for many, many reasons. Perhaps the most significant is the different approaches different players take.
Unproven commodities trying to make the team or win a starting spot tend to attack the preseason with a midseason ferocity. Established players tend to coast or focus on weaknesses.
Pitchers usually work on their arsenals in a piecemeal fashion—that greatly skews the hitting sample because a power pitcher may be working on his dookie or a crafty vet may be working one approach with predictable and hittable repetition.
Mix it all together and you'll see some highly misleading results.
This is the other way to interpret the spring session—the pessimist's perspective. And there's more to it.
If SF's glass is half-empty, you must also include the rising expectations and the solidifying NL West picture.
A young ballclub like the Giants needs to sneak up on people to maximized its potential. Our guys can no longer do that—MLB has circled Sandoval as a guy to watch and treat gently.
The impressive production from the other youngsters will certainly raise a few eyebrows, skeptical brows though they may be.
I implied the cover had recently been blown off the pitching staff, but—in truth—the Freak's Cy Young probably did that a while ago and the Big Unit's arrival only drew more attention. It's a safe bet even casual observers knew this would be the strength of the team and one of the better collections in all of baseball.
The San Francisco Giants are no longer flying under anyone's radar—they're a big, loud blip on the screen. That doesn't necessarily mean they won't play loose and free to potential, I'm just saying it's gotten more difficult since February.
Furthermore, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks are looking stronger and stronger.
LA obviously gets a boost from Manny Ramirez, but Matt Kemp sounds like he's maturing mentally as well as physically and that could mean trouble for the rest of MLB. The rotation still looks borderline dreadful to these eyes, but James McDonald could turn that ship right around if he can tread Big League water.
In Arizona, you're starting to see stirrings from Eric Byrnes and Felipe Lopez is beginning to worry me. If Byrnes can return to a shadow of his top gear and Lopez becomes the player experts once thought he was destined to become, the Snakes' O gets a dramatic boost.
Throw in a resurgent Chad Tracy, a core of young-but-experienced uber-talents (Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, Connor Jackson, Justin Upton, etc.), that ridiculous staff with Max Scherzer progressing at the back end, and the Diamondbacks look more like the team to beat with each sweep of the clock.
If you've got your rose-colored specs on, the young maple and ash has you feeling pretty good about the boys. The pitching should be able to compete with any team's stable so it won't take too much offense to hang with the other contenders.
The seeds of that offense seem to be blooming so indulge those dreams of an NL West flag.
If you've draped yourself in a wet blanket, Spring Training is meaningless and popping up on the radar screen turns the San Francisco Giants from dark horse to overrated in the wink of an ESPN column.
The beautiful thing about Opening Day is that we get to start stripping away the ifs and see who's right.
It's time for some real baseball.
Today, life is very good.
Source: bleacherreport.com
The first pitch of the game tonight between the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves will herald the opening of another 162-game sprint. The rest of baseball opens tomorrow or on Tuesday.
Our beloved San Francisco Giants are among that latter group of teams whose fans must endure not one, but two barrages of opening days before seeing their favorite set of nine take the diamond.
Hopefully, the '09 season will be worth the wait.
And, if you like the optimistic interpretation of the Orange and Black's spring session, there is very good reason for hope.
By now, the secret (if you could ever really call it that) is out regarding San Francisco's pitching staff. Even the cooler heads around MLB expect the Giants to sniff around the edges of the National League West race based on the arms alone.
Having done so a number of times, there's no reason to further extol the virtues of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, Brian Wilson, and the rest of the bullpen.
Nothing has changed except for the usual minor bumps and bruises of the preseason.
Who knows whether those are genuine or just possum sightings in an extended Spring Training and who cares? The Big Unit's sore, Sanchez burned his finger, and Wilson has some sort of infection in one of his digits—none of that sounds terribly serious even if legit.
Nah, the developing story as SF romps into the regular season is the offense:
1. Pablo Sandoval hit .442 with three home runs in 77 spring at-bats.
2. Freddie Lewis hit .366 in 71 ABs.
3. Emanuel Burriss hit .341 in 85 ABs.
4. Eugenio Velez hit .324 in 68 ABs.
5. Travis Ishikawa hit .316 with seven home runs in 79 ABs.
It's true veterans like Edgar Renteria, Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, and Bengie Molina all struggled. But this was a brutally long and alien preseason because of the World Baseball Classic.
If veterans tend to coast through a normal Spring Training, it would stand to reason 2009's was even less enthusiastically received. This is why it's important to pump the breaks as the boys break camp (I'll get to that later).
Barring substantial injury, Winn is gonna hit around .300 with 10-15 HRs, 30-40 doubles, and he'll steal you around 20 bags. Forget about his spring and write it down—not only are those essentially his career averages over 162 games, they're basically the numbers Randy's tallied every year since 2002.
Rowand and Molina should put up a very similar year compared to the production the two players combined for in 2008.
By that, I mean Molina will probably regress a little because his '08 body of work was a masterpiece of clutch hitting and carrying an offense using sheer power of will. His year doesn't look too unusual compared to the rest on his resume, but he was playing the role of Barry Bonds last year and not doing a poor job considering the amount of pressure such entails.
It's unfair to expect Big Money to do that again—the man is mortal like all others (except for the chemically enhanced Super Bonds).
On the other hand, Rowand had the year most people expected after leaving the potent lineup and small yard in Philly. He lost almost half his '07 runs, over half of his bombs, almost 20 runs batted in, and he dropped 30 points off his average.
While Bengie will probably come down to Earth a tad, Rowand should be able compensate by having a better year, the one he's capable of having—it won't look like his breakout season in 2007, but somewhere in between should do nicely.
Who knows what the Giants will get from Renteria? I doubt it will be as profound an upgrade as the brass is trying to spin it, but the dude HAS to be an upgrade.
Even if the new shortstop returns to his most glorious of glory days, this was never a splinter that was going to power the offense. At his pinnacle, Edgar was a very nice piece to move runners around and score runs himself.
But his OPS maxed out at .874 in 2003 and has broken the .800 barrier precisely three times in a 13-year career. In other words, all versions of Renteria will need help from the rest of the bats—a rejuvenated one included.
Which is why the springs put together by some of the younger guys are so encouraging.
Unfortunately, it is my duty to remind you, fair reader, Spring Training must be taken with a grain of salt.
It is not usually representative of the regular season for many, many reasons. Perhaps the most significant is the different approaches different players take.
Unproven commodities trying to make the team or win a starting spot tend to attack the preseason with a midseason ferocity. Established players tend to coast or focus on weaknesses.
Pitchers usually work on their arsenals in a piecemeal fashion—that greatly skews the hitting sample because a power pitcher may be working on his dookie or a crafty vet may be working one approach with predictable and hittable repetition.
Mix it all together and you'll see some highly misleading results.
This is the other way to interpret the spring session—the pessimist's perspective. And there's more to it.
If SF's glass is half-empty, you must also include the rising expectations and the solidifying NL West picture.
A young ballclub like the Giants needs to sneak up on people to maximized its potential. Our guys can no longer do that—MLB has circled Sandoval as a guy to watch and treat gently.
The impressive production from the other youngsters will certainly raise a few eyebrows, skeptical brows though they may be.
I implied the cover had recently been blown off the pitching staff, but—in truth—the Freak's Cy Young probably did that a while ago and the Big Unit's arrival only drew more attention. It's a safe bet even casual observers knew this would be the strength of the team and one of the better collections in all of baseball.
The San Francisco Giants are no longer flying under anyone's radar—they're a big, loud blip on the screen. That doesn't necessarily mean they won't play loose and free to potential, I'm just saying it's gotten more difficult since February.
Furthermore, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks are looking stronger and stronger.
LA obviously gets a boost from Manny Ramirez, but Matt Kemp sounds like he's maturing mentally as well as physically and that could mean trouble for the rest of MLB. The rotation still looks borderline dreadful to these eyes, but James McDonald could turn that ship right around if he can tread Big League water.
In Arizona, you're starting to see stirrings from Eric Byrnes and Felipe Lopez is beginning to worry me. If Byrnes can return to a shadow of his top gear and Lopez becomes the player experts once thought he was destined to become, the Snakes' O gets a dramatic boost.
Throw in a resurgent Chad Tracy, a core of young-but-experienced uber-talents (Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, Connor Jackson, Justin Upton, etc.), that ridiculous staff with Max Scherzer progressing at the back end, and the Diamondbacks look more like the team to beat with each sweep of the clock.
If you've got your rose-colored specs on, the young maple and ash has you feeling pretty good about the boys. The pitching should be able to compete with any team's stable so it won't take too much offense to hang with the other contenders.
The seeds of that offense seem to be blooming so indulge those dreams of an NL West flag.
If you've draped yourself in a wet blanket, Spring Training is meaningless and popping up on the radar screen turns the San Francisco Giants from dark horse to overrated in the wink of an ESPN column.
The beautiful thing about Opening Day is that we get to start stripping away the ifs and see who's right.
It's time for some real baseball.
Today, life is very good.
Source: bleacherreport.com
MLB preview: Who will be the next Tampa Bay?
By Martin Renzhofer
The Tampa Bay Rays and their puny $43 million payroll made it all the way to the World Series last year, becoming just the fourth team in Major League Baseball history to make it to the sport's pinnacle after losing 90 games the year before.
Shocking? Yes. Until one considers that the Detroit Tigers did the same thing in 2006.
Cinderella is making waves in the major leagues like never before. A sport that has long been castigated for its lack of parity now has dark horses and underdogs rising up all over the place, be it the Rays, the Tigers or the Colorado Rockies, who got to the World Series in 2007.
Revenue sharing has certainly played a role -- how significant is debatable -- giving traditional no-hopers like Tampa Bay and Milwaukee a financial boost. But MLB's better small-market teams have also figured out that developing a quality farm system and finding the right veterans at the right price can help close the gap with the big market behemoths -- at least up to a point.Which team will wear the glass slipper in 2009?
Four clubs, whether due to trades, free agency or the maturation of youth, stick out this season as having a chance to beat the odds: Kansas City, Cincinnati, San Francisco and Oakland.
The perpetually rebuilding A's, 75-86 last season, are drastically improved from a year ago and probably have the most expectations among the four teams. Newcomers Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera may give the defending division champion Los Angeles Angels a run for the A.L. West.
San Francisco's cause would have been greatly enhanced had Manny Ramirez taken the Giants seriously.
As 2008 was winding down and the Royals were headed for yet another 100-loss season, a strange thing happened. Kansas City went 17-8 in September and its young roster took a ton of confidence into the offseason. This season could resemble 2003, when K.C. remained in the race through August.
Like the Royals, Cincinnati is young and hungry. The Reds finished fifth in the N.L. Central last year and look like a prime Wild Card candidate.Cincinnati is loaded with young hitters. Remember the names Joey Votto, Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce. Cinderella will smile upon the Reds should starter Aaron Harang rebound from 17 losses and Edinson Volquez continue to improve.
There is no set formula for Cinderella-type magic. In 2006, Detroit won big early, then survived a September swoon that saw the Tigers barely clinch the Wild Card. Yet, they caught fire in the playoffs.
Colorado was just the opposite, sort of treading water for much of the season until entering September and winning 20 of 21 games. The Rockies needed a memorable 13-inning tiebreaker victory against San Diego just to make the playoffs.
Tampa Bay didn't have a blistering start or hot finish. The Rays did start slowly in April, but from Memorial Day on just played great baseball all season.
Midnight never came.
Source:sltrib.com
Recap: San Francisco vs. Los Angeles
Bengie Molina collected a pair of hits including an RBI double, as San Francisco topped Los Angeles, 3-1, in an exhibition contest from AT&T Park.
Fred Lewis and Aaron Rowand also knocked in runs for the Giants, who start their 2009 regular-season slate on Tuesday hosting Milwaukee.
Jonathan Sanchez got the win by allowing six hits and a run over 4 2/3 innings. He fanned six and walked three.
James Loney drove in the only run with a 2-for-2 effort for the Dodgers, who begin the regular season on Monday at San Diego.
James McDonald was charged with six hits and three runs over four frames in the loss. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out five, walking two and will open the season as LA's No. 5 starter with just four prior career MLB appearances to his resume.
Hiroki Kuroda will oppose Padres ace Jake Peavy in LA's opener while Tim Lincecum will take the ball for San Francisco against the Brewers' Jeff Suppan.
Fred Lewis and Aaron Rowand also knocked in runs for the Giants, who start their 2009 regular-season slate on Tuesday hosting Milwaukee.
Jonathan Sanchez got the win by allowing six hits and a run over 4 2/3 innings. He fanned six and walked three.
James Loney drove in the only run with a 2-for-2 effort for the Dodgers, who begin the regular season on Monday at San Diego.
James McDonald was charged with six hits and three runs over four frames in the loss. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out five, walking two and will open the season as LA's No. 5 starter with just four prior career MLB appearances to his resume.
Hiroki Kuroda will oppose Padres ace Jake Peavy in LA's opener while Tim Lincecum will take the ball for San Francisco against the Brewers' Jeff Suppan.
2009 Preview: Giants relying more on farm system
The Giants' farm system used to inspire "Grapes of Wrath" references. Now there's fruit clustered on the vine, and some of it will be sampled at AT&T Park this season.
Five homegrown players are expected to be in the opening day lineup Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers at AT&T Park — by far the most in 13 seasons under General Manager Brian Sabean.
Young infielders Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and Emmanuel Burriss made solid contact in the Cactus League and played with moxie to lock down starting jobs. Fred Lewis is the everyday left fielder. And you might be familiar with the skinny kid on the mound — reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.
It's the biggest bumper crop since the 1995 opener also featured five homegrown Giants — a group that included Matt Williams, Robby Thompson and Royce Clayton.
And it's an unprecedented shift for Sabean, who typically has built teams by patching complementary veterans around Barry Bonds. In 12 previous opening-day lineups during the Sabean era, only seven homegrown Giants had their names on the card: Bill Mueller, Shawn Estes, Marvin Benard, Armando Rios, Pedro Feliz, Lance Niekro and Brian Bocock.
With most of the Bonds-era veterans finally off the roster, youth will be served this season. And hitters such as Sandoval and Ishikawa must be poised and productive over 162 games if the Giants hope to contend behind their Cy Young-studded rotation in the National League West.
Five homegrown players are expected to be in the opening day lineup Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers at AT&T Park — by far the most in 13 seasons under General Manager Brian Sabean.
Young infielders Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and Emmanuel Burriss made solid contact in the Cactus League and played with moxie to lock down starting jobs. Fred Lewis is the everyday left fielder. And you might be familiar with the skinny kid on the mound — reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.
It's the biggest bumper crop since the 1995 opener also featured five homegrown Giants — a group that included Matt Williams, Robby Thompson and Royce Clayton.
And it's an unprecedented shift for Sabean, who typically has built teams by patching complementary veterans around Barry Bonds. In 12 previous opening-day lineups during the Sabean era, only seven homegrown Giants had their names on the card: Bill Mueller, Shawn Estes, Marvin Benard, Armando Rios, Pedro Feliz, Lance Niekro and Brian Bocock.
With most of the Bonds-era veterans finally off the roster, youth will be served this season. And hitters such as Sandoval and Ishikawa must be poised and productive over 162 games if the Giants hope to contend behind their Cy Young-studded rotation in the National League West.
Read Full Article
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Seton Hall Prep grad Porcello nails down spot in Tiger rotation
by Bob Behre
Rick Porcello knew he couldn't get his dad on the phone, so he called home to New Jersey to his mother, Pat.
Pat Porcello did what any mother would do when her son, Rick, told her he had earned a spot in the Detroit Tigers rotation. She broke into tears.
"I couldn't make out anything she was saying," said Porcello, who will start the Tigers fourth game of the season, against the Toronto Blue Jays. "She was crying the whole time. I had to hang up the phone."
Rick's dad, Fred Porcello, was enroute by plane from Florida to the family's home in Chester when his son was informed by Tigers' manager Jim Leyland that he had earned the No. 4 spot in the rotation.
Leyland, in his understated way, simply directed Porcello to his next assignment. "He called me into his office and said, you're on the team and your pitching the fourth game in Toronto," Porcello said.
"My dad was flying back home from the game I pitched against the Nationals on Tuesday," Rick Porcello said. "I caught up with him later. It was definitely a nice moment to share with my family."
Phones have been ringing about the 6-5, 200-pound right-hander since his remarkable junior and senior seasons (2006-'07) at Seton Hall Prep and an equally scintillating first year in Minor League ball, last year. His impact at the Tigers' Class A level and in Major League camp in Florida this spring was felt immediately.
Pat Porcello did what any mother would do when her son, Rick, told her he had earned a spot in the Detroit Tigers rotation. She broke into tears.
"I couldn't make out anything she was saying," said Porcello, who will start the Tigers fourth game of the season, against the Toronto Blue Jays. "She was crying the whole time. I had to hang up the phone."
Rick's dad, Fred Porcello, was enroute by plane from Florida to the family's home in Chester when his son was informed by Tigers' manager Jim Leyland that he had earned the No. 4 spot in the rotation.
Leyland, in his understated way, simply directed Porcello to his next assignment. "He called me into his office and said, you're on the team and your pitching the fourth game in Toronto," Porcello said.
"My dad was flying back home from the game I pitched against the Nationals on Tuesday," Rick Porcello said. "I caught up with him later. It was definitely a nice moment to share with my family."
Phones have been ringing about the 6-5, 200-pound right-hander since his remarkable junior and senior seasons (2006-'07) at Seton Hall Prep and an equally scintillating first year in Minor League ball, last year. His impact at the Tigers' Class A level and in Major League camp in Florida this spring was felt immediately.
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SF Giants to take 25% stake in San Jose Giants
The San Francisco Giants plan to buy an immediate 25 percent ownership stake in the San Jose Giants, a member of the Class A Advanced California League and part of the San Francisco team’s minor league farm system since 1988.
The agreement, which will be announced Thursday, allows the San Francisco Giants the option of buying further 30 percent of the San Jose Giants by the end of 2010.
Officials of the two teams would not divulge the size of the San Francisco Giants’ investment in the minor league team.
Jim Weyermann, president and CEO of the San Jose Giants, said his team initially approached the San Francisco Giants four years ago to discuss the possibility of the latter organization buying an interest in his team. Talks have continued off and on since 2005, he said.
The San Francisco Giants’ move comes at the same time owners of their cross-bay rival, the Oakland Athletics, have expressed a strong interest in moving to San Jose, especially after the Athletics’ plans to build a new 32,000-seat ballpark in nearby Fremont fell through in February. Any move by the A’s to San Jose is complicated by Major League Baseball having designated Santa Clara County as part of the Giants’ territory.
The agreement, which will be announced Thursday, allows the San Francisco Giants the option of buying further 30 percent of the San Jose Giants by the end of 2010.
Officials of the two teams would not divulge the size of the San Francisco Giants’ investment in the minor league team.
Jim Weyermann, president and CEO of the San Jose Giants, said his team initially approached the San Francisco Giants four years ago to discuss the possibility of the latter organization buying an interest in his team. Talks have continued off and on since 2005, he said.
The San Francisco Giants’ move comes at the same time owners of their cross-bay rival, the Oakland Athletics, have expressed a strong interest in moving to San Jose, especially after the Athletics’ plans to build a new 32,000-seat ballpark in nearby Fremont fell through in February. Any move by the A’s to San Jose is complicated by Major League Baseball having designated Santa Clara County as part of the Giants’ territory.
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San Francisco vs. Los Angeles : Recap
Matt Downs doubled and knocked in four runs to help the Giants down the Dodgers, 10-8, in spring training play.
Travis Ishikawa and Andres Torres each added a solo home run for San Francisco, while Madison Bumgarner allowed just one hit with four strikeouts in a three-inning start.
The Giants will break camp and head to AT&T Park for another exhibition game against Oakland on Thursday.
Juan Castro and Doug Mientkiewicz each smacked a two-run homer and Jason Repko added two RBI for Los Angeles, which will play the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Thursday in another tuneup for the upcoming season.
Hiroki Kuroda gave up just one run on four hits in his three-inning start for LA.
Travis Ishikawa and Andres Torres each added a solo home run for San Francisco, while Madison Bumgarner allowed just one hit with four strikeouts in a three-inning start.
The Giants will break camp and head to AT&T Park for another exhibition game against Oakland on Thursday.
Juan Castro and Doug Mientkiewicz each smacked a two-run homer and Jason Repko added two RBI for Los Angeles, which will play the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Thursday in another tuneup for the upcoming season.
Hiroki Kuroda gave up just one run on four hits in his three-inning start for LA.
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