When I asked the San Francisco Giants beat writer Chris Haft (via email) if the thinks the Giants are getting serious about trying to trade for Corey Hart, Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun. He told me it will take a lot to get one of those guys. The Brewers would want Matt Cain and somebody else decent, though the Giants might be able to sell them on Jonathan Sanchez.
Anthony Witrado of the Journal Sentinel said rumors have been flying regarding Hart for the last couple of weeks, and with the pitching-heavy but offense-starved Giants in town, the mill really got going with Hart-to-Giants talk.
I asked Witrado (via email) if he thinks the Giants will be able to land Hart, Fielder or Braun, and if so what does he think it would take to land one of them?
Witrado said Fielder and Braun are out of the question, most likely. Fielder would mean the Giants giving up Cain for sure. Hart is possibly, probably for Madison Bumgarner, but I don’t think that’ll happen over the next week. It will likely come after the break if it happens.
When it rains it pours, and it’s definitely pouring in Giantsland. The San Francisco Giants have lost six straight games, and are looking for a heartbeat to show they are still alive in this NL West.
Tom Verducci of SI.com lists his “All-Overlooked All-Star Team”. The only Giants player to make this list is Shortstop Juan Uribe. Verducci says no other shortstop has more than Uribe’s 12 homers and 45 RBI’s.
Damon Bruce of KNBR 1050 told me (via email) it’s going to be hard to deal for a significant player without moving a pitcher (Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner or Brian Wilson). Bruce doesn’t believe the Giants would ever move one of them. He also says it’s hard to think of a big name coming in to save the season.
Giants beat writer Chris Haft also mention to me that the outfield definitely is an area where they could obtain somebody.
Last night didn’t start that way I had hoped it would. Barry Zito just didn’t look like he did in his previous 6 starts. Zito went 5 innings allowing 6 hits, 3 runs and 7 walks. The San Diego Padres had runners all over the place. I’m just shocked that the score was only 3-2 Padres. It’s nice to know there is another team out there that has trouble hitting with runers on base.
Aubrey Huff had a 2-4 night driving in a run and scoring a run. He did however show his frustration in the 7th inning after fouling out. He snapped his bat in half over his leg. Bringing back a memory of when Bo Jackson would break a bat over his knee (Bo Knows Baseball).
Shotgun Cain (Matt Cain) takes the hill tonight to try to even the series. Cain is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA. He’s looking to end this winless streak against the Padres so far this season. The Padres are 4-0 against the Giants thus far in 2010.
Side Notes
Mark DeRosa received some bad news on Tuesday. DeRosa said his wrist is completely ruptured again. He’s currently pondering playing with bum wrist and having surgery during the offseason, or having it now. He’s going to have a few days off before having to make that decision.
Freddy Sanchez looked good in his first rehab game with the San Jose Giants. He went 2-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s at Visalia. I’m really excited to see Sanchez join the San Francisco Giants soon. Giants fans still don’t know what a healthy Sanchez can do for this lineup.
Bruce Bochy said “It is encouraging, it looks like he’s on his way. Hopefully we’ll have him up here pretty soon.”
Todd Wellemeyer may get his next start pushed back a day. He’s listed to star Friday night against the Houston Astros, but the Giants are considering moving Tim Lincecum up a day. Lincecum would still have his usual 4 days rest. Wellemeyer isn’t holding down the fifth spot in the rotation. He’s currently 1-3 with a 5.97 ERA, but would pitch Saturday so the remaining starters can still get their 4 days rest between starts.
If Wellemeyer doesn’t get things turned around fast. We may see the Wellemeyer project end soon. Which means we can possibly be getting closer to seeing Madison Bumgarner sooner rather than later.
I have been asked what’s my thoughts on Sergio Romo. I really do like Romo and think he’s a great arm in our bullpen. Yes, he’s given up two big homers early in this season. The first to the Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez and then Tuesday night to the Marlins slugger Dan Uggla. I guess I have a bias opinion towards Romo because my girlfriends dad was born and raised in Brawley California (same as Romo).
Romo got his chance for redemption in last nights ball game, and he didn’t disappoint! Barry Zito pitched a stellar game and it started to slowly slip away in the bottom of the 8th inning. Romo came in to face the most feared hitter in the Marlins lineup Hanley Ramirez. Did I forget to mention the bases were juiced and nobody out? Ramirez who’s the hottest hitter in the Marlins lineup looked foolish against Romo. Romo had his nasty slider (Frisbee like). He got Hanley to strike out on 3 pitches and then got Jorge Cantu to ground into an inning ending double play. That kept the score 3-1 Giants going into the 9th inning.
It’s nice to see Bruce Bochy throw Romo back into the fire the next day. He got a chance to redeem himself and didn’t have to dwell on the Uggla homer for too long. Romo wears his emotions on his sleeves when he’s out there on the mound. You know when he’s really pumped and you have to love a player for showing they care by wearing their heart on their sleeve.
The Giants did secure the series win yesterday. Matt Cain will lead the Giants tonight as they go for the sweep. It’s a very nice start to their East Coast road trip. Next stop will be New York to face the Mets.
The San Francisco Giants 2010 Opening Day payroll is up 19% from the 2009 Opening Day payroll. The Giants have had some pay raises and added two bats (DeRosa and Huff) to the everyday lineup.
The 2009 Opening Day payroll was $82,616,450. Some tweaks to the lineup have been made since then. One player gone from that Opening Day Lineup is Randy Winn. That did free up $9.6 million, but that money was spent on raises. You didn’t think Lincecum and company would remain cheap did you?
Tim Lincecum was making $650,000 last year, and is now making $9 million this year. There goes the money that was free when Winn wasn’t re-signed. Randy Johnson (retired) was paid $8 million last year, so that money went to Matt Cain who’s salary went up this year by $2 million (2010 salary $4,583,333). Then the other $6 million went to Giants closer Brian Wilson. Wilson made $480,000 in 2009, and his salary has skyrocketed in 2010. He’s now making $6.5 million.
The two bats that were brought in to help the Giants score more runs on a consistent basis, so far seem to be doing the job. Mark DeRosa is making $6 million this year, and Aubrey Huff is making $3 million. Huff may turn into the big steal of the winter if he can drive in 100 runs. He’s already learned that his homers may take a hit at AT&T Park, but he’s still trying to get them any way he can. He did get his first homer as a Giant. It was an inside the park home-run!
With all of these pay raises and roster changes. The Giants Opening Day payroll is $98,641,333 in 2010. It’s nice to know that the team is willing to spend money to try to put out a team that has a chance to win. Our payroll is way below the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, but at least were in the upper half in the league in payroll. Just be happy you’re not a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. They have the lowest payroll ($34,943,000).
NL West 2010 Payrolls and Top Player Salary
Arizona Diamondbacks – $60,718,166 – Brandon Webb $8.5 million
Colorado Rockies – $84,227,000 – Todd Helton $17,775,000 million
Los Angeles Dodgers – $95,358,016 – Manny Ramirez $18,695,006 million
San Diego Padres – $37,799,300 – Chris Young $6,375,000
San Francisco Giants – $98,641,333 – Barry Zito $18.5 million
Aaron 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.
The end of the first series of the season ends today. The Giants are sending Matt Cain to the mound to try to get the sweep over the Houston Astros. Barry Zito pitched 6 shutout innings, and only allowing 3 hits. The Astros lineup isn’t anything great, but at least the Giants are doing what they should against a sub-par team.
Zito and Tim Lincecum have combined for 13 shutout innings, 7 hits, 12 strikeouts and 1 walk. The Giants seem to have a little swagger right now. Everyone seems pretty confident except for Aaron Rowand. He couldn’t make an out in Spring Training, and now is struggling to get his first hit of the 2010 season.
Bengie Molina has been given today off. He’s usually given the day game off following a night game.
Wednesday’s Giants Lineup
CF Rowand
SS Renteria
3B Sandoval
1B Huff
LF DeRosa
RF Bowker
2B Uribe
C Whiteside
P Cain
This Date In SF Giants History
April 7, 2002 – Livan Hernandez tossed a complete game, giving up only 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 5 while going 3-for-3 with 2 runs, 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s in SF’s 10-1 victory over the Padres.
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.
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.
Chris Haft of MLB.com reports that Jonathan Sanchez has gained 12 pounds to boost his weight to 200 pounds. “Slender” still best describes the 6-foot-2 Sanchez’s physique says Haft.
Sanchez’s weight gain should help him impart more force on his pitches, particularly his already lively fastball. “it’ll have more velocity and it’s going to rise more,” and upbeat Sanchez said recently.
Imagine how formidable the Giants rotation, led by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, would be with Sanchez, the projected fourth starter, winning 12-15 games. The Giants haven’t had four double-digit winners in one season since ‘02, when all five primary starters (Livan Hernandez, Russ Ortiz, Kirk Rueter, Jason Schmidt and Ryan Jensen) exceeded 12 victories apiece for the National League champions.
King of Cali thoughts: I believe Sanchez’s confidence is exactly where it needs to be going into this 2010 season. He’s always showed some dominate stuff, but once someone got a big hit off him. You knew it was all down hill from there. He just seems to have taken a big stride ever since he tossed that no-hitter. He may end up having a pretty good year in the 4th spot of the rotation this year.
Sanchez career numbers are 21-30 with a 4.81 ERA. It’s nothing to write home about, but I think he’s going to turn a corner this year. I’m hoping he’s going to hit the gas and not stop till he’s headed towards an elite pitching status. What are your thoughts on the kind of year you think Sanchez will have?
I have been asked what’s my thoughts on 
The San Francisco Giants 2010 Opening Day payroll is up 19% from the 2009 Opening Day payroll. The Giants have had some pay raises and added two bats (DeRosa and Huff) to the everyday lineup.
The end of the first series of the season ends today. The Giants are sending 
