Schulman also says the Giants are not interested in patching their outfield with free agent Jermaine Dye. Dye’s asking price and defense are the chief considerations.
Side Notes
Aubrey Huff, Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe have started all 13 games.
King of Cali thoughts: The last couple of games the Giants haven’t looked like they did at the start of the season. Our offense is struggling to score runs. I have heard some fans say were back to the 2009 team. Where we can’t get enough runs across to win even low scoring games.
I think Bowker should be put in the everyday lineup for now. Torres isn’t obviously hitting anyone right now, so let Bowker show everyone he can be in there no matter who’s pitching. He has the bat that we need to drive in runs. With Mark DeRosa and Aaron Rowand out. It’s a no brainer in my mind. Get Bowker out there! Do you think Bowker should sit against left-handers or in the everyday lineup?
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: 2010 SF Giants Salaries, Aaron Rowand, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, Free Agents, Giants Rumors, Jermaine Dye, John Bowker, Juan Uribe, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, NL West, Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiants, sfgiantsbaseball.net
UPDATE – Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants made Lewis happy Thursday by trading him to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named or cash (Just like the Kevin Frandsen trade to the Red Sox).
Giants GM Brian Sabean was on the radio (KNBR Giants Flagship Station) with Ralph and Tom. Sabean said that outfielder Fred Lewis has proved that he’s healthy and doesn’t need anymore rehab games. Lewis will likely be traded within the next 24-48 hours, Sabean said. Sabean said Eugenio Velez has an option, but doesn’t want to send him down. He thinks Velez can help the team. Sabean thinks it’s time for a fresh start for Lewis and said he will be with another organization soon.
King of Cali thoughts: Well, I must say that I seen this coming. The only guy I can see losing a spot is Andres Torres, but then that would take away from him being our right handed hitter off the bench. The Giants have a lot of outfielders and it doesn’t make sense to add Lewis to that mix. He had his shot and didn’t run away with it. I’m with Sabean on this one. It’s time for a fresh start for Lewis. I wonder if Bruce Bochy is going to put a red tag in his locker, and say thanks for coming out!
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Andres Torres, Boston Red Sox, Brian Sabean, Eugenio Velez, Fred Lewis, Free Agents, Giants, Giants Hot Stove, Kevin Frandsen, King of Cali, KNBR, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiantsbaseball.net, Toronto Blue Jays
The 2010 season gets started with a weak grounder to the shortstop by Aaron Rowand. The first hit of the year for the Giants comes off the bat of Aubrey Huff. He lead off the 2nd inning with a single. Mark DeRosa followed that up by drawing a walk in his first Giants at bat. Bengie Molina follows up Huff’s single and DeRosa walk with an RBI single. Scoring on the play from second base was Huff. John Bowker follows up Molina’s single with a RBI single of his own off the left field wall. Juan Uribe does his job by getting a sacrifice fly to score Molina from 3rd base. The Giants scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning to give Tim Lincecum a lead to work with.
Lincecum went 7 innings strong. He didn’t allow any runs or walks. It was a very impressive start of the 2010 season for Lincecum.
The Giants said they gave Bowker the starting position in right field even though Nate Schierholtz is the superior defender. Bowker made a very nice grab in right field to end the bottom of the 2nd inning. Giants are hoping Bowker can at least be an average defender in right field.
The first homer of the season for the Giants came off of the bat of DeRosa. It was a solo shot that just cleared the right field wall. The Giants went on to win the game by a score of 5-2 over the Astros.
The two offseason bats the Giants acquired (Huff, DeRosa) this offseason went a combined 2 for 7 at the plate, scoring 3 runs and getting 1 RBI.
The Giants and Astros are back at it tonight in Houston at Minute Maid Park. It’s a 5:05 Pacific start time, so kick off your shoes after a long day of work. Barry Zito is on the mound tonight against Wandy Rodriguez. Let’s hope Zito can have a quality start and give us a chance to win.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Aaron Rowand, Aubrey Huff, Barry Zito, Bengie Molina, Free Agents, John Bowker, Juan Uribe, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, Nate Schierholtz, NL West, Opening Day 2010, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiantsbaseball.net, Tim Lincecum, Wandy Rodriguez
Bruce Bochy joined Murph and Mac this morning on KNBR the Giants flagship station. He said there is always some butterflies for coaches and players on Opening Day. The Giants ace Tim Lincecum will be a little amped up today, and Giants fans hope he’s a little more calm than last year’s opener. Let’s hope that Lincecum takes some deep breathes before getting on the mound tonight in Houston. He’s a great pitcher but sometimes seems to get a little out of sync in big games like last year’s opener and All Star Game.
Bochy said that Mark DeRosa jammed his shoulder in the last pre-season game. DeRosa told Bochy last night that he will be find for today’s opener. Bochy will check on DeRosa today, and if they need to give him the day off. They will make changes to the starting lineup. DeRosa doesn’t want to be out of the Opening Day Lineup.
John Bowker will be the starting right fielder. Bochy said Bowker is coming off a great season in Fresno, and tore the cover off the ball in Spring Training. He had a lot of quality at bats. He’s earned the start, Bochy said. Nate Schierholtz is the teams best defender and he will try to get him some at bats. Nasty Nate was penciled in at the start of spring training as the Giants right fielder, but was unable to get a consistent swing going this spring.
Bochy says Pablo Sandoval is ready to go. He hit a three run homer in his last pre-season at bat. He told Bochy since it was his last at bat that he would hit a homer.
The Opening Game is at Minute Maid Park at 4:05pm. Against the Houston Astros (Lincecum vs. Oswalt). I hope all you Giants fans will be off work by then. If not, then I hope you set your DVR to record. Let’s get the 2010 season started off with a Giants win.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Bruce Bochy, Free Agents, Giants Baseball, Houston Astros, John Bowker, King of Cali, KNBR, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, Nate Schierholtz, NL West, Opening Day, Opening Day 2010, Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiantsbaseball.net, Tim Lincecum
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Freddy Sanchez cannot wait until the day he can start proving to increasingly skeptical Giants fans that the team did not blow $12 million for two years on a player who is done physically.
There is not set day for Sanchez to return to the Giants. The most optimistic prognosis for his return is May 1, but even that seems a stretch now.
King of Cali thoughts: I know, I keep having to defend Brian Sabean on this trade (has since been re-signed) for Sanchez. He’s a well proven bat and can handle himself at second base. He hasn’t been healthy since his arrival in San Francisco. Let’s just hope when he does return to the team. He’s 100% healthy. A healthy Sanchez can really spark this offense. He would be a guy that’s on base for Pablo Sandoval and Aubrey Huff to drive him in.
Bill James Handbook has the following projections for Sanchez. It’s predicted that he will hit .288 this year with 8 homers, 56 RBI’s and 67 runs scored. Now these are just projected numbers, but I have done my research on his projections and they are pretty accurate for most players.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Aubrey Huff, Bill James Handbook, Brian Sabean, Cactus League, Freddy Sanchez, Free Agents, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors, sfgiants, sfgiantsbaseball.net
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says with a week remaining before the April 5th opener at Houston. The Giants still haven’t settled on an everyday man in right field. The Giants are likely to use the four games in a real stadium to decide whether John Bowker can handle the unexpected flight paths and pinball bounces. They also will Mark DeRosa, who would open up a spot in left field for Bowker if he moved to right.
King of Cali thoughts: The job was pretty much all but set in stone that Nate Schierholtz would be starting in right field. Nasty Nate who can hold down right field with the best of them, but was unable to stay consistent at the plate. The Giants need to decide now if they want to sacrifice some defense for a hotter bat in the lineup. It’s been noted that the Giants want to have the best defense possible to play good behind this pitching staff. With Aubrey Huff at first base. That’s already giving up some defense to help the lineup score some runs.
With less than a week left till the start of the 2010 season. Let’s see which man wins the right field job.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Cactus League, Free Agents, John Bowker, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, Nate Schierholtz, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors
Chris Haft of MLB.com gives some insight on the Giants and Prince Fielder saga. Pitching in relief last June 28th at Milwaukee, Sanchez opened up the ninth inning by plunking Fielder, who was seen loitering in the corridor near the Giants clubhouse after the game. Nothing came of that non-incident, though the Giants sought revenge for Fielder’s theatrical game-winning home run celebration last Sept. 6. Barry Zito hit Fielder with a pitch on March 4th, which settled matters according to baseball’s rough yet time-honored etiquette.
King of Cali thoughts: Jonathan Sanchez hit Fielder (yesterday’s game), and then both teams were immediately issued warnings. Umpires are aware of the feud going on between the Giants and Brewers since Fielders walk-off homer in September against the Giants. Zito was the first Giants pitcher to face Fielder since that homer/celebration. Zito plunked him on the first pitch. Fielder just picked up the ball and tossed it back to Zito. Fielder knew it was coming, and just took it. That should have ended that.
Now that Sanchez has hit Fielder again. I’m starting to have a feeling that this feud is far from over. Although Sanchez didn’t appear to hit Fielder on purpose. I’m sure there will be some retaliation coming when the Giants face the Brewers for the first time during the season on July 5th in Milwaukee. Let’s see how this turns out. That July 5th date may end up being a bench clearing brawl waiting to happen. Only time will tell…
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Barry Zito, Cactus League, Free Agents, Jonathan Sanchez, King of Cali, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, Prince Fielder, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors
The Associated Press reports that the Giants have agreed to a three year deal with starting pitcher Matt Cain. It’s a $27.25 million dollar deal. Cain will receive a $1 million signing bonus, and will be paid $4.5 million this year, $7 million next, and then $15 million in 2012.
Giants closer Brian Wilson signed in January a one year deal to avoid arbitration for $4,437,500. He has since signed an extension with the Giants. He will make $6.5 million in 2011 and then $8.5 million in 2012.
Relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt also received an extension. He will receive $4.5 million this season, $4.5 next year, and has a $5 million club option for 2012 with a $500,000 buyout.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News also says (via Extra Baggs Blog) the Giants will have roughly $35 million committed to Cain and Barry Zito for the 2012 season, and they’ll have Tim Lincecum eligible for arbitration again. It’s bound to be a very, very expensive starting five.
King of Cali thoughts: My thoughts always depend on which mood I’m in. Sorry, that’s just how I roll. Today I’m thinking positive, so I’m happy that these guys have all been rewarded for their great performances. Every team in baseball would love to have Cain, Affeldt or Wilson on their team. The Giants are smart and are taking care of these guys.
Now from a business standpoint. That’s a lot of money that is locked up between Cain and Zito in 2012. If I wasn’t in such a great mood today. I would say that would definitely jeopardize the Giants being big spenders around that time on any key free agents.
However, since I’m in a great mood. I’m looking at it like this. As fans you shouldn’t get to caught up in how much these guys are making. Just hope that the owners pay these guys what it takes to keep them happy to be in San Francisco. We just need them to be committed to putting out a team every year that has a chance to do something. Let’s just be thankful we aren’t a team that brings up good players then trades them away before it’s time to pay them what they deserve.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Barry Zito, Brian Wilson, Cactus League, Free Agents, Jeremy Affeldt, King of Cali, Matt Cain, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Blog, SF Giants Rumors, Tim Lincecum
Although the deals haven’t been officially announced by the San Francisco Giants. It’s been reported by multiple news outlets. That the Giants have reached an extension with two of their big arms in the bullpen. Wednesday USA Today reported that the Giants reached a two-year deal with Jeremy Affeldt. Thursday Comcast SportsNet Bay Area reported the Giants and Brian Wilson had agreed to a contract extension.
Side Note
Kevin Frandsen has been dealt to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash.
“I think Kevin is going to benefit from a change of scenery,” Sabean said.
King of Cali thoughts: This is good news for Giants fans. It’s nice to see that the Giants are trying to take care of their players that have performed well for them. Both of these guys has great season last year. Affeldt had a career year and was the show stopper in relief. He was able to keep the lead intact and pass the ball to Wilson in the ninth to close it out.
These extensions have not been made official yet, so more details on these signings will be coming once they’re available.
I’m sure most Giants fans knew the day was coming when the Giants would be parting ways with Frandsen. Sabean said they have other options internally that they have identified. Which is what makes Frandsen expendable.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Boston Red Sox, Brian Sabean, Brian Wilson, Cactus League, Free Agents, Giants, Jeremy Affeldt, Kevin Frandsen, King of Cali, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle lets us know two Giants that are currently on the trading block. Schulman says the Giants have been shopping infielder Kevin Frandsen and outfielder Fred Lewis, but have not gotten a nibble on either.
Matt Downs seems to have passed Frandsen in the backup middle-infield competition, and the team likes Eugenio Velez and Andres Torres as backup outfielders, says Schulman.
King of Cali thoughts: Frandsen is a guy that I seen expendable once Freddy Sanchez came to the Giants (via trade), and then again when they signed Sanchez to a two-year contract. Frandsen does have a lot fans in the Bay Area that would love to see him in a Giants uniform. Frandsen graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose and later attended San Jose State. Frandsen left San Jose State as the all-time leader in hits. His road to the Giants just took a few detours, and he may end up trying to make another big league club if he’s traded.
Lewis is someone that still shows some flashes of being a very good player, but when he got his chance last year. He didn’t do anything to win the fans and coaching staff over. I have heard fans call him stone-hands Lewis, and he seems to always strike out in clutch situations. The Giants gave him his fair shot, and he didn’t capitalize on it. Now a new start somewhere else may be what he needs to get back on track.
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Andres Torres, Cactus League, Eugenio Velez, Fred Lewis, Freddy Sanchez, Free Agents, Kevin Frandsen, King of Cali, Matt Downs, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Trade Rumors, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, San Jose State, SF Giants Rumors, SF Giants Trade Rumors
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says John Bowker is not starting very much for a guy that won the right field job. Andres Torres has been getting the starts against left-handed pitchers.
