Pablo Sandoval had successful surgery on his fractured hamate bone. The Giants say he should be out 4-6 weeks, but Sandoval said he hopes to be back in 7 weeks. Mark DeRosa is expected to come off of the DL on Tuesday. He would be a nice option at 3rd base while Miguel Tejada continues to struggle. Andres Torres is expected to be activated this Friday when the Giants come home to face the Colorado Rockies.
You’re Brian Sabean
The buzz that’s still going around is Jose Reyes would be a good fit for the Giants. No one is denying that, but the Giants will not part ways with a top prospect to land him. Reyes got on base all six times he came to bat against the Giants. He had two singles, a double and 3 walks.
If you were Brian Sabean. What would you be willing to give up for Jose Reyes? Keep in mind he is a rental player, and will be a free agent at the end of the season.
Juan C. Rodriguez of South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Marlins have begun weighing the merits of making a run at the Giants infielder (Mark DeRosa) to solidify their third base situation. DeRosa is making $6 million, so that’s a pretty penny for the Marlins if they decide to try to make a deal. The Giants might be willing to pay a portion if they like the player they are getting in reuturn, but they will not dump DeRosa for nothing.
DeRosa is in the second year of his two-year contract. He’s played in 37 games, and is hitting .216 with 1 HR, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored. Not exactly what the Giants thought they were getting at the time of the 2-year ($12 million) deal.
Andrew Baggarly says (via twitter) that DeRosa will be placed on the DL tomorrow. Emmanuel Burriss will be replacing DeRosa. His repaired tendon is fine, but the area around it is inflamed, says Baggarly.
Fun Fact
Giants ace Tim Lincecum has 28 games in which he has struck out 10-or-more batters. It’s the most by any player in Major League Baseball since 2007.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com says (via twitter) that the Giants are letting teams know that Nate Schierholtz is available. Crasnick also says Schierholtz may be the odd man out when Andres Torres returns from his injury. It may be true that the Giants are shopping Schierholtz, but let’s not forget that the Giants can send Darren Ford back to Triple-A Fresno when Torres comes off the DL.
Welcome Back (Again)
Jenifer Langosch (Pirates Beat Writer) of MLB.com tells SF Giants Rumors that Pirates fans loved Freddy Sanchez when he was in Pittsburgh, so he will be treated to a nice ovation.
Sanchez was a 3-time All Star, and won the NL Batting Title in 2006 (.344) while a member of the Pirates.
Trade Market
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says Mark DeRosa would be a perfect fit for the Florida Marlins as their biggest need is thrid base.
Rosenthal also chimes in on Miguel Tejada‘s struggles and says remember these names for the trade market Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro and J.J. Hardy.
Injury Update
Andrew Baggarly says (via twitter) Barry Zito will see a specialist in North Carolina to examine his sprained foot tomorrow.
Recently I sent an email to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com, and asked the following question. “When Cody Ross is ready to come back, and if Andres Torres doesn’t have to take a trip to the DL, do you see the Giants maybe releasing Mark DeRosa or putting him on the DL since his wrist is flaring up? Mike Fontenot can back up at shortstop, second and third base. Aaron Rowand is hot right now, and Nate Schierholtz still has value on the team.”
Urban used the question in his MLB Mailbag. You can check out Urban’s answer here.
A day later Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports had the same thoughts as I did. Rosenthal says the Giants are set in the infield and their outfield is getting rather crowded, so he believes DeRosa looks like a prime candidate to be traded.
John Shea says via twitter that Tim Lincecum gave 25 grand to Bryan Stow fund. Now that’s really cool to see him step up and donate. Let’s see if a any other Giants follow Lincecum’s lead.
Reactions To Bonds Verdict
“The court case today showed he didn’t do anything wrong.” – Matt Cain
“I don’t follow that stuff. When I played with Barry, he was a great guy. I had fun playing with him. He was one of the best left-handed hitters in the game and maybe the best.” – Livan Hernandez
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t really been thinking about it. We know what’s been going on but the focus has been on the field. Hopefully baseball and Barry can move forward and put this behind us.” – Bruce Bochy
Side Notes
Starting tomorrow the Giants will play 16 games on the road, over a 19 game stretch. Let’s hope they don’t miss home cooking or they can see themselves really looking up at the Colorado Rockies in the NL West race.
Cody Ross could be ready to go on April 22, when the Atlanta Braves come to town. The question will be who’s roster spot will he take?
Mark DeRosa was scratched from yesterday’s game right before game time. He has a sore left wrist, which is the wrist he had surgery on.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy thinks Barry Zito will be able to make his start on Sunday. If not, the Giants may place Zito on the DL and bring up Ryan Vogelsong from Fresno. It’s very doubtful that Madison Bumgarner would pitch on three days rest. Staying Around Another Year The Giants and infielder Freddy Sanchez agree on a one-year extension for $6 million. Which means Sanchez will be back in a Giants uniform in 2012. Sanchez has a lifetime .298 average in 9 Major League seasons.
Sloppy Defense
The Giants looked like they had their World Series hangover last night. It wasn’t the same focused Giants that we seen in last year’s Playoffs/World Series. Don’t get me wrong Clayton Kershaw was dealing last night, but when it came to the bottom of the 6th inning. They looked like the “Bad News Bears”. Miguel Tejada throws a ball away, and Buster Posey also does the same. It’s just pretty amazing after how bad the Giants played that they only gave up 2 runs, and lost 2-1.
One more thing that really stood out to me was when Mark DeRosa walked on four straight pitches to start the top of the 8th inning, and the next two pitches were also balls to Andres Torres. In my head I’m thinking okay this is definitely a red light. Let’s make Hong-Chih Kuo throw a strike. Sure enough on a pitch that was up and in, Torres was taking a hack. It just seemed like that helped Kuo find his rhythm, and maybe things would have turned out differently if Torres took the pitch. Oh well, it’s only one game. I guess we will just have to settle for a 161-1 record this season.
Mark DeRosa is not in today’s lineup, but is listed as a bench player in today’s game against the Angels. Okay scratch that. Let’s start over again. DeRosa has been taken off the list of bench players today and now is penciled in to start tomorrow. DeRosa has missed a few games to rest his surgically repaired wrist. Some Giants fans are now getting a little concerned that DeRosa might actually be injured. I did see DeRosa walking around the clubhouse this past weekend with ice wrapped around his wrist. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm. Wilson To Start The Season On The DL? Brian Wilson‘s oblique is still an issue. Wilson tried to play catch today, but he still didn’t feel 100%. The Giants had him stop throwing, and it’s likely Wilson will start the season on the DL. If Wilson starts the season on the DL. Then who do you want to be the closer while he’s on the shelf?
Giants beat writer Chris Haft said (via twitter) that Wilson won’t argue with management/staff if he has to start season on the disabled list with his oblique injury.
If Tejada Doesn’t Pull His Weight
ESPN’s Buster Olney says if Miguel Tejada struggles. The Giants may turn to Mike Fontenot to be his replacement. However, if they start to look outside of the organization. Olney says Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro and Jack Wilson could be players that the Giants may look to pursue.
Cody Ross Injured
Cody Ross leaves today’s game with an injury. He took a very long time to walk off the field, and it doesn’t appear to look good. More updates on Ross to follow
Little Nuggets
8 Days till Opening Day!
Greg Anderson refuses to testify at Bonds trial, and is sent back to jail for a 3rd time!
MLB Most Popular Jerseys for the 2010 calendar year – Tim Lincecum (10) and Buster Posey (19) made the top 20 list.
The San Francisco Giants have made more roster cuts. The following seven players have been given red tags in their lockers. Not really, but they have been sent down to the minor league training camp. Emmanuel Burriss Darren Ford Felix Romero Casey Daigle Shane Loux Jackson Williams Brad Eldred
Wilson On The DL For Opening Day?
No way Jose! At least that’s not the plan as of right now. Brian Wilson has been cleared to start throwing tomorrow. Wilson says he will be ready by Opening Day. Let’s hope he is, or someone else will have to step up to close some games!
Is DeRosa Injured?
Over the weekend I was in Arizona and was able to see the Giants up close and personal. In the clubhouse area I did see Mark DeRosa, and he had his surgically repaired wrist wrapped with ice bags as he was walking around the clubhouse. Only time will tell if that’s a real injury or just a precaution.
The San Francisco Giants beat writer Chris Haft chimes in on the Mark DeRosa rumor. Haft says, he doesn’t think the Giants would trade DeRosa. He does however think Aaron Rowand is someone they would be looking to move. The outfield is crowded and Rowand became the odd man out last year. When the Giants signed Rowand to a 5-year contract worth $60 million. They were getting a player coming off a season where he hit .309, with 27 homers, 89 RBI, and 105 runs scored. Aaron Rowand Stats as a Giant (3-Years, 08-10)
Matt Cain pitched a simulated game today. Cain has had some right elbow inflammation. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle said Cain tossed 47 pitches in three innings. Cain faced Travis Ishikawa, Nate Schierholtz, Aaron Rowand and prospect Brandon Crawford.
“I’m not very good at holding back,” Cain said. “Usually if I throw, I’m letting it go pretty much the whole time.”
I recently heard the Phillies have had a scout following Rangers infielder Michael Young, so what does that have to do with the San Francisco Giants?
The Delco Times is saying the Phillies are likely going to pass on Young, and might be interested in Giants utility man Mark DeRosaas a replacement for injured Chase Utley.
I just don’t see the Giants pulling the trigger on a DeRosa deal. DeRosa will be a big factor and get a lot of playtime for the Giants. If guys go down or just flat out not pulling their weight. You can bet a pretty penny that DeRosa will start to eat up their AB’s. He’s likely going to get over 400 AB’s, and playing multiple positions this year.
Ross Wants To Say A Giant
Jon Heyman says via twitter that Cody Ross reiterated to him that he wants to stay with the Giants. “Can’t blame him”, Heyman says.
Pablo Sandoval had successful surgery on his fractured hamate bone. The Giants say he should be out 4-6 weeks, but Sandoval said he hopes to be back in 7 weeks.
