Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle gave some insights on the game today. Schulman said first baseman Aubrey Huff summed up his entire reputation by hitting a monster homer to right-center on his first pitch as a Giant. Then, in the bottom of the first, he dropped his first throw from an infielder, allowing Ichiro Suzuki to reach on an error.
Tim Lincecum threw 33 pitches in his lone inning and said he is having the same balance issues he has every spring.
“First game, excuses aside, I felt a little more amped up,” he said. “My arm was ahead of my body, I wasn’t using my legs and my front side was leaking out, and the ball was riding into the right-handed box.”
As Lincecum was talking to reporters, Ken Griffey Jr walked in, introduced himself and shook hands with Lincecum, who rooted for Griffey as a kid.
King of Cali thoughts: I know this is just Spring Training, so you can take the games as just practice. It seems like anything a player does in spring is just taken in a positive way. Like if Lincecum doesn’t have a good outing. People may say it’s because he’s working on something. If someone has a good game it’s because they are hot and ready for the season.
In all honesty no one knows what each player is working on when they are playing these games. I know some guys pretend their is a runner on first and try to hit to the right side, so I hope no one takes their favorite players performances to seriously in these games. The players that are trying to win spots on the team are a different story. I’m sure Madison Bumgarner isn’t going to go out there and try to look bad. He’s going to try to dominate and show he should be the 5th man in the rotation.
King of Cali thoughts: Well I’m just glad that didn’t come from Bay’s agent or Bay himself. I’m sure there is truth to that statement. Giants fans would love to see Bay sign with the Giants. The only way he would come to San Francisco is if the Giants way overpaid more than anyone else. Bay can get what the Giants would offer him in Boston. He would want to go where he can get his money and win. Not to a team where he can get his money and lose and see his batting stats drop cause it’s a pitchers park. With that said… Let’s sign him! =)
Michael Silverman of Boston Herald says the Red Sox are believed to have discussed only a three-year deal for Jason Bay. The word is that Bay is looking for at least a four, or preferably five year contract. The length of the contract is expected to be a bigger issue for the Sox than the price-tag, which likely will fall between $16-18 million per season.
Other teams expected to pursue Bay include the Mets, Mariners and Giants.
Side Notes- It was reported yesterday that Tim Lincecum was busted for speeding and he also had marijuana on him. Lincecum is facing a misdemeanor possession charge.
Chris Haft of MLB.com saysBrian Sabean might chart a new course by taking a “wait-and-see” approach toward players on the market.
Today began the 15-day period during which eligible players can file for free agency. Haft believes Bengie Molina, Brad Penny and Juan Uribe could be among the most highly sought performers at their respective positions once bidding expands to all Major League teams on Nov. 20th.
Molina is believed to be seeking another multi-year deal. The Giants appreciate Molina’s contributions but are unlikely to offer him that kind of contract. Top prospect Buster Posey could be ready for everyday duty behind the plate by 2011 at the latest.
Haft says Penny probably pitched his way into a handsome contract by posting a 4-1 record with a 2.59 ERA in six starts after the Red Sox released him.
Uribe carried San Francisco’s offense in the season’s second half, heightening his value as a utillity man. He hit .289 with 16 homers and 55 RBI’s, garnished by a .347 September batting average as the Giants attempted to stay in the postseason contention.
It’s not likely the Giants will sign all three. And they’ll need to reinforce their roster if any of them depart.
Losing Penny probably would eliminate any chance that the Giants would trade one of their prized starting pitchers for hitting help.
Buster Posey is on the 2009 AFL Rising Stars roster. He is on the East Division team representing the San Francisco Giants as the only Giants player in the AFL All-Star game. The AFL Rising Stars game will be on 11/07/2009. You can view the East and West rosters by clicking the link below.
Theo Fightmaster of the San Francisco Examiner answers some Giants fans questions. Theo thinks Aaron Rowand might have the worst contract on the Giants. And the simple fact that this is even debatable says something when your on the same teams as Barry Zito.
Theo also thinks Matt Holliday, Jason Bay or Adrian Gonzalez elk is a must. Unfortunately the Giants are happy enough ‘competing’ and as long as 30,000 come out every night the payroll isn’t going over $90 million.
When asked if a Buster Posey for BJ Upton trade will happen this off-season. Theo said the Giants will not trade Posey unless Albert Pujols or Joe Mauer is involved.
The Giants offense was not a result of Carney Lansford. Believe it or not, Lansford wasn’t encouraging Renteria, Rowand and Molina to swing at every pitch and he didn’t tell Fred Lewis and Travis Ishikawa to take as many called third strikes as possible.
When asked about Jonathan Sanchez. Theo thinks he did turn a corner. Says he does have sports of brilliance that remind you of Tim Lincecum, but he’s not sure he’ll ever have the steady consistency of Matt Cain.
Theo doesn’t believe Posey didn’t look ready when he was called up, but also said that Posey had to wait 9 games just for his first at bat. Posey had very limited playing time. He would be willing to bring back Bengie with these circumstances:
One-year deal, or a two year deal with the explicit understanding that Molina’s not the everyday catcher. (I agree)
The Giants sign a clean up hitter that allows Bengie to bat fifth or lower (he can’t be the clean up hitter, there’s no other team in baseball where Big Money hits fourth).
Chris Haft of MLB.com answers some fans questions. When asked if he see’s the Giants going after Chone Figgins. Haft said if they’re not considering Figgins, they should. Figgins, whose 101 walks and .395 on-base percentage this year for the Angels were career highs, would complement the free swingers in the Giants lineup. He’ll be 32 next Opening Day, so he conceivably has a few years left at peak effectiveness. And he earned “only” $5.78 million this season, suggesting that he’ll be affordable even with a pay increase.
Haft was also asked if it boild down to it, who would be a better fit for the Giants, Matt Holliday or Jason Bay? Haft said Bay’s defense gives him a slight edge. He’s considered only average with the glove, but that’s better than Holliday. At the plate, Holliday’s more productive, but not by much. His 162-game average is .318, with a .387 on-base percentage, a .545 slugging percentage, 29 home runs and 112 RBI’s. Bay’s corresponding numbers are .280, .376, .519, 33 and 107.
ESPN’s Jorge Arangure @jorgearangure reports that the Giants might sign highly regarded 16-year-old Wagner Mateo from the Dominican Republic via Twitter.
This is the San Francisco Giants roster. I will try to keep this updated as much as possible. I know a lot of hardcore Giants fans want to see who’s coming off the books and who’s signed till when. I figured why not add that information right here. Feel free to send me an email with any updates that I have missed or corrections you think should be made.
I have gathered this information from multiple websites. A very good site to look up baseball contract information for any MLB team is Cot’s Baseball Contracts. I did use that site and a few others, so you may see information vary because I did use multiple sources. Please click the link below to view the San Francisco Giants Roster and Contract information.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle gave some insights on the game today. Schulman said first baseman Aubrey Huff summed up his entire reputation by hitting a monster homer to right-center on his first pitch as a Giant. Then, in the bottom of the first, he dropped his first throw from an infielder, allowing Ichiro Suzuki to reach on an error.