I’m going to have a little fun with this blog post today. =) I attended the San Francisco Giants vs. Boston Red Sox game on Friday night with my girlfriend. We went with a group, so we sat in the upper deck and I was thinking we might have a better view of the A’s game than the Giants. We weren’t too excited to be sitting up there, cause we love being in the bleachers, however it wasn’t as bad as we had anticipated. We were surrounded by Red Sox fans which made it a unique experience and the view wasn’t bad at all. It was like having a birds-eye view of the game, and it was very cool to see the fog roll in. The only bad thing was we couldn’t see the scoreboard very well.
The Red Sox fans were very friendly and just loved talking baseball. It was just really cool to hear them talk with their Boston accents. We did however have one thing in common, we both didn’t like the New York Yankees. I met some Red Sox fans that moved to the Bay Area a while back, and there were others that flew here from Boston to follow their team and vacation in San Francisco. The energy out there was very electric! It felt like a playoff game and the Giants haven’t made the playoffs since 2003. The game was super exciting and had both Giants and Red Sox fans on the edge of their seats.
I have been to a ton of games, but this one will definitely stand out when I look back at games I have attended. The Red Sox jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. I knew if I didn’t do something fast this game would get out of hand. My girlfriend and I knew we had to pull out the big guns if we were going to get luck back on our side. No lucky penny was going to work. We went straight to the Garlic Fries! Once we started munching on them we knew it would be a matter of time before the Giants would make it a game again. The Giants did come back and then took the lead on a Juan Uribe homer. I don’t think the Garlic Fries are really lucky at all, we just love them, so we had to have them right away.
It was a scary ending as the Red Sox loaded the bases, but closer Brian Wilson was able to prevail! I do have a video that I recorded at the game. I will upload it to the site in the next few days. It’s the Red Sox fans doing their chant (Lets Go Red Sox). The Giants took game one of the three game series. I had high hopes with Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum pitching games two and three, but the evil Red Sox showed their lineup was far superior.
~King of Cali
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Steve Phillips of Fanhouse tells us who he thinks the buyers, sellers and teams holding are at this years trading deadline. He has the San Francisco Giants listed as buyers, and I would have to agree with him. The Giants are half a game out of the NL West behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
The starting pitching has been there all year for the Giants. It’s been their inability to score runs that has cost them games. This team does seem to have more of a thump in their lineup lately. Freddy Sanchez has returned from his injury and the call up of Buster Posey has really helped ignite the offense. They have Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff both playing some outstanding ball right now. The addition of Pat Burrell also has them producing more runs per game. He brought that right-handed power that the team needed. Plus he seems to have found his stroke. You know what the saying is… “Home Sweet Home”
With that said the Giants can still always upgrade their offense. When you’re not putting out an everyday lineup like the New York Yankees. Then there is always room for and upgraded offense. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star has said in an article that teams may have interest in David DeJesus and Jose Guillen. Bob told me via email that he hasn’t heard any rumors linking the Giants and any Royals players at this time.
The Giants beat writer Chris Haft told me via email that he thinks the Giants may need another reliever more than they need a hitter. The Giants do have the flexibility to move players around to acquire a bat, but the question is who are they willing to part with?
~King of Cali
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Going into the offseason the San Francisco Giants knew they had to upgrade their offense. Which means everyone knew Brian Sabean would have his work cut out. We know that he has tried in the past to bring in a big bat, but some players refuse to come San Francisco. Sabean offered power hitting Carlos Lee a six year $112 million contract in 2006. Lee declined the offer and signed with the Houston Astros (11-24-06) for a six year $100 million deal. I’m sure that short porch in left field (Crawford Boxes) at Minute Maid Park had him excited to play in Houston.
It’s known that the Giants will have to overpay to land free agents in San Francisco. Sabean did however happen to pull off a couple of steal deals. He brought in Juan Uribe a year ago, and he’s done nothing but produce for the Giants. They even brought him back again this year for a 1 year deal worth $3.25 million. His been a very valuable piece to this team. He’s moved all around the infield, and has been doing yard-work (raking) all season! Uribe has a .289 AVG with 10 homers, 41 RBI’s and 31 runs scored.
Another player that Sabean has brought in this year is the left-handed swinging Aubrey Huff. The Giants were the only team to offer Huff a contract. Which is probably the reason he jumped on the offer ($3 million 1-year). Barry Bonds made it look easy to hit homers at AT&T Park, but all the left handed hitters know that’s not the case at all. Huff has been known to hit monster homers when he hits them, so I’m sure that right field wall didn’t really scare him too much. Eight of his ten homers this year have been hit at home.
Huff is currently hitting .300 AVG with 10 homers, 34 RBI’s and 34 runs scored. Huff and Uribe are a big reason the Giants are playing so well right now. We knew their pitching would keep them in games, and it was up to their offense to score enough runs. Guys like Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez are getting on base while Uribe and Huff continue to drive them in.
Uribe and Huff are hitting a combined .294 (AVG) for the season with 20 homers, 75 RBI’s and 65 runs scored. That’s some pretty nice production from the middle of the lineup.
~King of Cali
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The Giants had a great home-stand against some very “Built Ford Tough” (hope Ford send me a check for that plug) teams. It was a 6-3 record against the ST. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies. The Giants had a chance to sweep each team, but dropped the finale in each series.
Now it’s back on the road for the hot Giants. It’s a mystery to see which Giants team will make the trip. Will it be the hot team coming straight from San Francisco, or the cold team that went 1-5 on the Los Angeles/San Diego road trip. It’s like night and day…
Tim Lincecum gets the start tonight against the Florida Marlins. Let’s hope he can get this road trip started off on the right foot. Timmy has been taking a lot of heat for not being able to pitch in the heat. I’m not sure how hot it will be in Florida at game time, but I’m sure it will be very humid. Timmy has been labeled as a cold weather pitcher. Let’s hope he can show he’s dominate in any type of weather.
This is a two city stop for the Giants on this road trip. They will be in Florida for 3 games, and then New York for 3 more. The Giants need to prove to themselves and their fans that they can win on the road. The Giants have proven that they can hang with anyone at AT&T Park. Let’s just hope Bruce Bochy figures out a way to jump start this offense in other places than San Francisco.
Tonight’s Giants Lineup
CF Aaron Rowand AVG .300 – Home AVG .344 – Away AVG .222
LF Mark DeRosa AVG .214 – Home AVG .160 – Away AVG .350
3B Pablo Sandoval AVG .337 – Home AVG .361 – Away AVG .294
C Bengie Molina AVG .343 – Home AVG .439 – Away AVG .192
1B Aubrey Huff AVG .271 – Home AVG .271 – Away AVG .270
SS Juan Uribe AVG .292 – Home AVG .256 – Away AVG .333
RF Nate Schierholtz AVG .345 – Home AVG .351 – Away AVG .333
2B Matt Downs AVG .375 – Home AVG .333 – Away AVG 1.000
P Tim Lincecum
~King of Cali
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The Giants could use Sanchez as soon as possible, Baggarly says. Juan Uribe is listed as day-to-day, Edgar Renteria is playing through bursitis in his right shoulder, and Mark DeRosa has a bad hamstring too.
SIDE NOTES
Todd Wellemeyer’s start Tuesday probably will be his last until May 8th. The Giants have two days off and are likely to skip his next start.
King of Cali thoughts: The 2010 Giants look like the 2009 Giants right now. They can’t seem to get any clutch hits. I was hoping Aubrey Huff would turn into the offseason steal like Uribe was a year ago. It’s still very early in the season, so a lot can change. I just wouldn’t be buying your “Vote For Huff” All Star shirts this year.
Huff still has that power that the Giants need. Even though he has yet to show it this season. It may take a while for him to get in his comfort zone since he’s coming from the American League. Just an FYI to Huff. Buster Posey is swinging a very hot bat in Fresno. He may force the issue and take over at first sooner or later if Huff isn’t producing! Things that make you go hmmm…
If F-Sanchez joins the team within 2 weeks. That’s going to be a big spark that the Giants desperately need. This guy can flat out hit and get on base. I know that doesn’t solve the problem of guys driving in runs, but it does bring an above average bat to the everyday lineup. This will also give the Giants more options as far as who’s hot to stay in the lineup. If Renteria isn’t pulling his weight. Then he can sit the bench and keep Bruce Bochy company.
~King of Cali
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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
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1st and 2nd InningAaron Rowand starts the game off by getting his first hit of the season. Edgar Renteria continues with his hot start by getting another hit. Pablo Sandoval hit into a double play and then Aubrey Huff flied out. The Giants got two hits in the inning but ended up with 0 runs. Matt Cain gets his first start of the season and has a very nice 1,2,3 inning. Getting the Giants back to the plate, so they can try to get on the scoreboard early. Mark DeRosa gets the Astros staring pitcher Brett Myers back in the stretch right away, by getting a lead-off single. Then John Bowker shows why he won the right field job. He hit a 2-run homer to right center field to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. That’s all the Giants would get in the 2nd inning.
Huff made a nice play on a hard smashed ball by Geoff Blum. Jon Miller said on the radio that it was a lucky play, but shows how quick Huff’s hands are. Huff might be trying to show that he doesn’t need a defensive replacement late in games. Pedro Feliz gets the Astros first hit off of Cain by hitting a 2 out double. After 2 innings it’s the Giants 2 and the Astros 0.
3rd Inning
The Giants got right back to work in the top of the 3rd. Renteria continued his hot hitting by getting another hit. Sandoval and Huff also got singles. The bases were loaded for DeRosa. He hit into a double play, scoring on the play was Renteria. The Giants had the bases loaded and could have did some real damage, but just managed to get the one run. Cain gave up a hit in the bottom of the 3rd but that’s all they were able to get. After 3 innings the score is 3-0 Giants.
4th Inning
The Giants went very quietly in the top of the 4th inning. The Astros got a runner on 2nd base to start the bottom of the 4th inning. Sandoval got a two-base-error by making a wild throw to first base. Cain got his first strike out of the year by striking out Carlos Lee in a big RBI situation. Feliz gets the Astros on the board. He gets a 2-out RBI double. That’s all the Astros would get. Cain does end up getting two strike outs in the bottom of the 4th inning. After 4 innings the score is 3-1 Giants.
5th Inning
Renteria gets another hit in the top of the 5th inning. Making him 3-for-3 in the game and reaching base in 8 of his first 11 at bats of the season. Sandoval got a double off the left field wall, and Renteria moves to 3rd on the play. Huff was not able to get a ball to the outfield. He grounded out to 2nd base, and Renteria was not able to score on the play. DeRosa wasn’t able to get the clutch hit the Giants needed either. The Giants are leaving a lot of men on base, and they are letting the Astros hang around instead of blowing this game wide open. The Astros weren’t able to get anything going against Cain in the bottom of the 5th inning. Three Astros up, and three Astros down in order.
6th and 7th Inning
Nothing ever got started for the Giants in the top of the 6th inning, and also nothing for the Astros in the bottom half either. Rowand did get a lead-off triple to start the top of the 7th. Renteria followed that up with an RBI single and knocking Myers out of the game. The Giants end up leaving 2 runners on base. Nate Schierholtz comes into the game in the bottom of the 7th as a defensive replacement for Bowker. Blum gets a lead-off single off of Cain. Feliz flies out to right field for the first out of the inning. Jeff Keppinger gets a single off of Cain. Runners now at 1st and 2nd with one out. Cain was able to get the 2nd out by striking out J.R. Towles (fifth strike out for Cain). Cory Sullivan comes in to pinch hit. Sullivan makes it a one run game by getting 2-run triple. Bruce Bochy comes out to get Cain. Bochy brings in Eugenio Velez to play left field and Jeremy Affeldt in to pitch (double switch). Michael Bourn gets an infield hit scoring Sullivan to tie the game. After 7 innings the game as tied 4-4.
8th Inning
Juan Uribe gets his first hit of the game by getting a lead-off double (off Sammy Gervacio) to start the top of the 8th. Whiteside bunted to get Uribe to 3rd, but the ball was thrown away (by Gervacio). The Giants score on the play, and are now back in front. Rowand gets an RBI single to score Whiteside. Gervacio threw a wild pitch allowing Rowand to move up to 2nd base. Gervacio gets hurt on the wild pitch and Chris Sampson comes in to replace him. He walks the hot hitting Renteria. Runners now on 1st and 2nd for Sandoval. Sandoval and Huff both hit fly balls and were not able to come through in the clutch. Affeldt comes back out for the bottom of the 8th, and has a very nice three up, and 3 down inning.
9th Inning
Travis Ishikawa comes in to pinch hit in the top of the 9th, and gets a pinch hit homer. That’s the first time Ishikawa has hit a homerun as a pinch hitter. Schierholtz follows that up with a single. Uribe hits a shot that rolls all the way to the wall. It’s a RBI double that scores Schierholtz from 1st base. Whiteside has a nice situational at bat. Hitting a ball to the right side to get Uribe to 3rd base. Velez gets a walk to set up 1st and 3rd for Rowand. Rowand gets a RBI single that was high off the left field wall. Scoring on the play is Uribe and Velez goes to 3rd. Renteria gets another hit and scoring on the play in Velez. Renteria now has a 5 hit game (5-for-5). The Giants wouldn’t score again in the 9th. It’s now 10-4 Giants going into the bottom of the 9th. Guillermo Mota comes in to pitch the 9th inning for the Giants to try to get the sweep (no save situation) for the Giants. Mota gets the Astros three up and three down to end the game.
Final
Giants – 10 Runs, 19 Hits and 1 Error
Astros - 4 Runs, 7 Hits and 1 Error
Affeldt -W
Gervacio -L
Highlights
Rowand – 4 Hits, 6 AB, 1 Run and 2 RBI’s
Renteria – 5 Hits, 5 AB, 1 Run and 2 RBI’s
Home Run
Bowker hit a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning.
Ishikawa hit a solo pinch hit homer in the 9th inning.
~King of Cali
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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
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“Nah, I think I’ll just start swinging for the fences, hitting bombs.”
In reality Sanchez doesn’t anticipate picking up a bat for at least another week, perhaps two. A few days ago Sanchez status was changed to doubtful for opening day.
“I’d go with very doubtful,” Bochy said. “As much as he’s moving along, that would be rushing him. We’d have concerns about that. And besides, we’re covered. We have experienced guys to help out there.”
King of Cali thoughts: It would be nice if Sanchez was ready for opening day, but it’s not going to make or break the opening day lineup. The Giants have plenty of options. They can have Juan Uribe play second base, and that can add some pop to the lineup. They can also have Eugenio Velez start and second, and that would add some speed to the lineup.
They can really go with whoever is hot. Mark DeRosa is also capable of playing there as well. That would only happen if the Giants had some hot guys going into the start of the season to play in left and right field. I know, not very likely. Let’s just hope they give Sanchez all the time he needs to full recover, so this doesn’t turn into a nagging injury throughout the season.
~King of Cali
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Technorati Tags: Cactus League, Eugenio Velez, Freddy Sanchez, Free Agents, Giants, Juan Uribe, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors, Spring Training
Today was the day that the Giants and Tim Lincecum had their arbitration hearing. It’s been reported that they were outside and asked for a little time so they can work out a deal before going in the arbitration room. Well they got the time they needed, because they got a two-year deal worked out. Lincecum and the Giants agreed to two years at $23 million. Lincecum will get $8 million this year, and $13 million next year. Yes, I know that doesn’t add up to $23 million. The remaining $2 million is going to be paid as a signing bonus, which will be paid over the two years.
Now that Lincecum has been signed. The Giants are pretty much set to start spring training. I don’t see anymore signings happening before the season starts. There has been a lot of players that have been linked to the Giants this offseason. Below is a list that SF Giants Rumors put together of who’s in for 2010.
Key Additions
Aubrey Huff - 1B (free agent from Detroit Tigers)
The Giants are hoping Huff can return to his 2008 form with the Baltimore Orioles. Where he hit .304 with 32 homers and 108 RBI’s
2009 - Huff had a down year. He batted .253 with 13 homers in Baltimore in 110 games. He was then traded to the Detroit Tigers where he hit .189 with 2 homers in 40 games.
Contract – 1 Year, $3 Million (2010)
Career – .282 AVG 203 HR’s
Mark DeRosa - IF/OF (free agent from ST. Louis Cardinals)
DeRosa will likely play left field for the Giants. The Giants are penciling him in to the 5th spot of the order where they are hoping he can turn into a RBI machine.
2009 – DeRosa started the year out with the Cleveland Indians and then was later traded to the St Louis Cardinals. DeRosa played 71 games for the Indians and batted .270 with 13 homers.
For the Cardinals he hit .228 with 10 homers in 68 games.
Contract – 2 Years, $12 Million (10-11)
Career – .275 AVG with 92 HR’s
Bengie Molina - C (re-signed by the San Francisco Giants)
The Giants shocked me with the signing of Molina. I mean if you would have asked me before if I would love Molina back for 4.5 million for 1 year. I would have have said yes in a heartbeat. I am ready for the Posey era but it can wait a bit for Molina. Pitchers love to pitch to him. Now we don’t need to replace his production of 20 homers and 80 RBI’s. The best part of it is he’s going to hit 6th in the lineup. He’s out of the cleanup spot. Molina wanted a muliti-year deal so the Giants counted themselves out of the hunt. The Mets didn’t give him what he wanted, he decided to pass the Mets $5 million offer to sign with the Giants for $4.5 million for one year.
2009 – .265 AVG with 20 HR’s and 80 RBI’s
Contract – 1 Year, $4.5 Million (2010)
Career - .276 AVG with 139 HR’s
Juan Uribe - IF (re-signed by the San Francisco Giants)
Uribe was the hottest Giants hitter towards the end of the season. He was having big hits and big homers. This Guy was a true asset to bring back because he can play multiple positions and he has some pretty good pop too. If Renteria isn’t pulling his weight. Uribe can force himself into the starting role at SS when Sanchez is back and healthy.
2009 – .289 AVG with 16 homers and 55 RBI’s in 122 games
Contract – 1 Year, $3.25 Million (2010)
Career - .257 AVG with 127 HR’s
~King of Cali
Technorati Tags: Aubrey Huff, Bengie Molina, Free Agents, Giants, Juan Uribe, King of Cali, Mark DeRosa, MLB Hot Stove, NL West, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants Rumors, Tim Lincecum
