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.
Former Giants pitcher Kirk Rueter did a phone interview with the Razor and Mr. T (Ralph & Tom on KNBR). Rueter says pitching in the Majors is all about making adjustments and trying to keep the hitter off balance. If I was a young pitcher. I would take his advice. He has a career record of 130 wins and 92 losses with a 4.27 ERA. He also retired as the winningest left-handed pitcher in San Francisco Giants history, with 105 of his 130 career wins in a Giants uniform.
He thinks Tim Lincecum is amazing and looks like an athlete. He has a ripped body. People don’t know that cause they don’t see him with his shirt off said Rueter. Lincecum has a competitive attitude. He goes out there on the mound and thinks he’s better than you.
Rueter said he pitched to contact. He wasn’t a strike out guy, but he tried to pitch away from the sweet spot of the bat.
Rueter always has the Giants over to his “Shed” when the Giants make trips to St. Louis. He has a 160 inch TV in it, so he can watch all of his sports. He said his TV can split into 4 different screens. He’s a big sports fan, and he has his shed filled with games and sports memorabilia. It’s the ultimate man cave.
Chris Haft of MLB.com told me via email. That roster spots are to close to call right now for the Giants. Guys that have impressed him are Henry Sosa, Buster Posey, and even guys like Todd Wellemeyer and Andres Torres, who have to make the team all over again. It’s going to be interesting to see how they (Giants) handle the bench spots.
King of Cali thoughts: Sosa is off to a very nice start this spring. He’s pitched in 4 games and has pitched in 4.2 innings. He has a 0.00 ERA. At the start of spring it was highly unlikely that he would make the Opening Day roster. It’s still a long shot, but if he continues to pitch the way he has. It might be hard to deny him.
Posey has a nice stroke going in Arizona. He’s hitting .429 with a homer and 7 RBI’s. That’s not what’s keeping him from being the man behind the mask this year. It’s getting him more familiar with catching and his work behind the plate. Oh and also the Giants bringing back Bengie Molina. Posey may start in triple A, but he might not stay down there long.
Wellemeyer is showing why he should be the number 5 starter. The Giants pretty much said the fifth spot in the rotation was Madison Bumgarner’s spot to lose. Bumgarner is only 20 years old, and can start in triple A. Then if starter goes down. Bumgarner is a phone call away. Wellemeyer has pitched in 3 games and has a 2.00 ERA in 9 innings pitched. The fifth spot is still up in the air. Kevin Pucetas has also thrown himself in the mix. He’s pitched in 3 games and has a 0.00 ERA in 7 innings pitched.
Torres is trying to earn himself a bench role. The Giants have a some outfielders that are trying to make the team as backups. Torres is a spark plug when he’s in the game and has some speed that the Giants need. He would be a good defense replacement in later innings. He’s played in 7 games this spring and is hitting .318 with one homer.
These are the stats that were listed for each player at the time of this post was created.
Chris Haft of MLB.com published his inbox post with fans questions. Below is a couple of the questions with his answers summed up by me.
Do you think Aubrey Huff will provide the Giants with a 30 homer/100 RBI season?
Haft said Aubrey Huff certainly has a chance to reach triple digit RBI’s. He has accomplished that feat three times in his career, so you know that he possesses a run-producer’s mindset. Haft also believes that if the trio in-front of him (Rowand, Sanchez and Sandoval) has decent years. Huff should have plenty of chances. He doesn’t think it’s likely that Huff will pass the 30 homers mark as long as he’s playing home games at AT&T Park.
I am a huge Bengie Molina fan, but if Buster Posey proves he’s ready for the Majors with a strong spring, would the Giants consider trading Bengie? I’m sure we could get one or two decent prospects for him, and I know many clubs, particularly the Mets, could use a catcher.
Haft says “Spring Training performance is illusory.” Tossing aside Bengie Molina would be highly premature. Though the Giants want Buster Posey to be their catcher, they must be sure that his talents are properly developed for the Majors before he receives the chance to entrench himself at AT&T Park. Molina is a proven hitter who the pitchers trust. It’d be foolish to squander a rare asset like him.
King of Cali thoughts: It’s going to be hard for Huff to get back to his 2008 form. Hitting in AT&T park is not going to help his homers. Although he does have enough power to get homers in this park. He’s going to have some splash hits this season. I really think he’s got the power to take it out of any park. The only thing that’s going to hurt him is that death valley in right-center field. Which means some potential homers might turn into triples or very long doubles.
Huff knows he has to prove himself this year to everyone around baseball. This is a one year deal, so it’s a contract year for him. The numbers need to be there at the end of the year if he wants to be a big chip in the free agent market.
I know I was ready to let Posey start and get the Posey era going. I just looked at is as if it’s a job. Anyone that starts a new job gets some training, and then learns the rest on the job. That’s what I wanted to see done with Posey. That’s when I thought Molina was going elsewhere for a multi-year contract.
Now that Molina is back. I say lets start him and Posey can work himself into the mix later on in the season. If Molina goes down early with a flat tire. Then Posey can definitely take over and show us what he can do. This is a win-win situation for the Giants behind the plate.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner was on with the Murph and Mac Show this morning. He was talking about life in North Carolina and life in the City. Bumgarner is only 20 years old and is fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation. He had his locker next to Randy Johnson last year (when he got called up), and met Muhammad Ali in camp this year. Murph tells him that’s not bad for a 20 year old. He will turn 21 August 1st.
Sorry ladies but Bumgarner got married this offseason.
When asked about the velocity being down from last year. Bumgarner said he doesn’t think the fans have anything to worry about. Said it could be because he threw a lot last year. He still felt good, but was throwing way to much(even between starts). Bumgarner is feeling good now, and thinks his arm strength will be coming along soon. He believes everything will be fine this year. Below is Bumgarner’s spring stats.
Pablo Sandoval has dropped 10 pounds since the start of Spring Training.
Right-hander Joe Martinez downplayed his inflamed right elbow. He hopes to get back on a mound within a day or two.
Travis Ishikawa (sprained toe) plans to play in a minor league game early next week. He’ll probably lead off every inning.
Ryan Garko knew he wouldn’t play first base for the Giants this season, but it surprised him to see Aubrey Huff there Thursday. Garko said the Giants told him they were going to sign Nick Johnson. Johnson decided to sign with the New York Yankees.
King of Cali thoughts: I know what you’re thinking. What’s up with that face before you hit play? I know, it’s pretty crazy looking. I guess when I shot the quick video that’s how my face looked when I first hit record. I will be sure to not let that happen again.
These are just my thoughts on Lewis and Posey. I look forward to reading your comments on these two players.
Chris Haft of MLB.com reports that Muhammad Ali visited the Giants Camp yesterday. Ali appeared to help promote Athletes for Hope, an organization created to educate athletes about the importance of community service and connect them to the charity of their choice.
After the 40-minute presentation, nearly every Giant took turns sitting next to Ali and posing for photos with him.
Haft gives some insights on yesterdays game in another article. The Giants were victorious in another Cactus League game today (Giants 6, White Sox 2).
Matt Cain pitched three innings and allowing one run.
The big noise came in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Giants were down 2-1, and then they had a break out inning. It was capped off with back-to-back homers by Fred Lewis and Buster Posey.
King of Cali thoughts: I must say I’m impressed with the Giants. Everyone seems to be stepping it up. I think it’s the battle for the few spots on the roster that are still available. I have received emails from fans saying I hope the Giants aren’t peaking too soon. I know those are just jokes, but it’s nice to see what some of these players are capable of doing.
I know I have said before that I’m done with the Lewis experiment, and it’s time for the Giants to move on. Are you done with it, or do you think their might be something there? He has the potential, but I feel like I’m always left disappointed. The Giants may just be putting him on display, so they can move him in a trade. Things that make you go hmmmmm.
It’s nice to see Posey play yard ball yesterday. This guy may start down in Fresno, but it won’t be long before he gets the call. All it takes is for a slumping Bengie Molina, or a hurt Molina. Then the Posey era will start to creep it’s way with a little bit of playing time here and there.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Bobby Evans told him that he and Pablo Sandoval’s agent are negotiating only a one-year deal for the Panda. The Giants are not ready to buy out any of Sandoval’s future arbitration years.
The Giants use precedent as a guideline for negotiating and setting salaries with their younger players, but there is no recent precedent for the Giants position player hitting .330 with 25 homers and 90 RBI’s in his first full season.
Tim Lincecum (last spring) and the Giants agreed to a $650,000 deal, but he had a few more months of service time than Sandoval. Schulman thinks Sandoval might get less than that for 2010.
King of Cali thoughts: Giants fans have nothing to worry about. Sandoval is in the same boat as Lincecum. Which means he’s not going anywhere for a while. He’s still under the Giants control, and I’m sure the Giants will definitely try to lock him up long term as he gets closer to becoming a free agent.
I did some due diligence of my own today. I wanted to check his (Sandoval) value for his last season’s performance. Sandoval was worth $23.3 million, better than I even expected. I’m sure the Giants are happy to get that kind of production from someone that made less than a million.
Okay since I did the research on Sandoval to see how much his numbers actually should have paid him. I figured I would have to do the same for Barry Zito. Everyone know’s he’s overpaid for the production he’s giving the Giants at this point of his contract. Well with that said. He should have made $10 million last year by going 10-13 wit ha 4.03 ERA. All of his numbers factor in to this, but those are the main stats I wanted to add in this post.
B.J. Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat chimes in with some Brad Penny insights. Rains says Penny choose the Cardinals over the San Francisco Giants, wanting to fulfill a life-long goal of playing in St. Louis.
He also picked the Cardinals for another reason.
“I think St. Louis has a better chance of winning to be honest with you,” Penny said. “It should be a lot of fun. That’s the reason I signed here, the reason you put the uniform on – to play in October.”
Emmanuel Burriss X-rays did not reveal a fracture to his foot.
Travis Ishikawa is no longer wearing a walking boot and has started to take batting practice.
Mark DeRosa said his wrist becomes fatigued, but if the season opener were today, he’d be able to play
King of Cali thoughts: It was obvious why Penny didn’t re-sign with the Giants, and opted for St. Louis. They are a team that is on the brink of something great. I would be willing to wager the farm (I do not have a farm) that his numbers will not be as good as when he was in San Francisco. AT&T Park is a pitcher’s park. There is so much space to track down balls that would be homers in other parks.
I never was a Penny fan, and when he came to San Francisco I loved him! He’s a player that you only root for when he’s on your team. At least that’s just my opinion on him.
I’m not sure if anyone cares, but the Giants are looking like they could be the Spring Training Champions, and might not lose a came in Arizona. I’m only kidding, so please save the hate emails.
Chris Haft of MLB.com reports that the Giants finally get revenge on Milwaukee slugger Prince Fielder. He was plunked in the back by left-hander Barry Zito. This is the first time the Giants have seen the Brewers since Sept. 6, when Fielder upset the Giants with a choreographed home-plate celebration after homering to end a 12-inning, 2-1 Brewers victory at Milwaukee. His teammates fell as if they were bowling pins, as Fielder reached home plate.
King of Cali thoughts: Justice is finally served! I must say, I have a little more respect for Zito now. I honestly didn’t see it coming from him. I’m sure it’s best that it was him, since there was not guarantee that Fielder would still be in the game later when a new Giants pitcher took the mound.
I have been going back and forth on this stunt since it happened in September. I didn’t like it cause it was done to the Giants. I’m sure I would have loved it if the Giants did it to them. I would have probably justified it and said they are just a team that is having fun out there!
I have received emails from Giants fans saying how happy they are that Zito plunked Fielder, and he got what he deserved. Yes, Fielder did get what he deserved. Any guy that pulls a stunt like that is going to get payback sooner or later. I just don’t know if I’m set on saying it should have never happened. These guys are entertainers/athletes and they do whatever is going to keep the money flowing in their pockets. Do you think this stunt was something that should have no place in baseball?
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.
Former Giants pitcher 
Chris Haft of MLB.com told me via email. That roster spots are to close to call right now for the Giants. Guys that have impressed him are 
San Francisco Giants pitcher 
