The USA Today Power rankings are out, and the San Francisco Giants have moved up 3 spots. They were previously number 11. The are now number 8, and that’s ahead of the San Diego Padres who fell to number 9.  

Pitching Matchups vs. Padres   

Thursday – Matt Cain (10-10, 3.18) vs. Jon Garland (13-10, 3.31)  

Friday – Jonathan Sanchez (10-8, 3.39) vs. Clayton Richard (12-6, 3.43)  

Saturday – Madison Bumgarner (5-4, 3.44) vs. Tim Stauffer (3-3, 1.72)  

Sunday – Tim Lincecum (13-9, 3.69) vs. Mat Latos (14-5, 2.21)

Pat The Bat

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Pat Burrell is open to returning as a free agent next season even if he would not play every day.

“I cam here from being on the couch doing nothing. It wasn’t like my phone was ringing off the hook,” said Burrell, who turns 34 next month. “For me, I got a lot of appreciation for this club giving me a chance. I’d be thrilled if they wanted to have me back.”

~ King of Cali

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The folks at Grimy Ink that brought us the Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey shirts are having a tailgate party! It will be on Friday September 17th at 5pm as the Giants take on the Brewers.  

Early Bird special $30 if paid by September 12th. After September 12th the price will be $40.  

Included In The Price   

Each person will receive a ticket to the game (Bleacher Seats $24 Value), open bar, food (cooked by their executive chef) and the Grimy Ink exclusive Buster Posey shirt (if you don’t already have one).  

There is only 200 tickets available and it will sell out! 

Any questions about the event can be directed to customerservice@grimyink.com. Get a group of friends together and have a great time out at the Grimy Ink event! Go to GrimyInk.com to purchase your tickets to the event. I look forward to seeing you there!

~King of Cali

Technorati Tags: Buster Posey, Giants, Giants Baseball Rumors, King of Cali, San Francisco Giants Baseball, SF Giants, SF Giants Rumors, Tim Lincecum

The San Francisco Giants have called up Emmanuel Burriss, Eugenio Velez, and removed Guillermo Mota from the 15-day disabled list.  

If the Giants do start the 2011 season off in Taiwan against the Arizona Diamondbacks. They will not lose any home games, and will still have their 81 games in San Francisco.  

It’s very unlikely that Brandon Belt or Eric Hacker will join the Giants, as both players are not on the 40 man roster. Which means to add them to the roster the Giants would have to sacrifice a player on the 40 man roster.  

Scoreboard Watch   

NL West – 1 GB of Padres  

Wild Card – 1.5 GB of Phillies

~King of Cali

Technorati Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Brandon Belt, Emmanuel Burriss, Eric Hacker, Eugenio Velez, Giants Baseball, Guillermo Mota, King of Cali, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants, SF Giants Rumors

Check out this must see interview that everyone is talking about! It’s the San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson being interviewed by Jim Rome. Warning this video may have too much awesome for you!

 
Brian Wilson Season Stats 
 
G 60
W 3
L 2
ERA 1.84
WHIP 1.24
K 80
BB 23
SV 41
BS 4
 
Wilson Stats ( Last 21 Days)

G 10
W 0
L 1
ERA 0.81
WHIP 1.18
K 7
BB 3
SV 8
BS 1

~King of Cali

Technorati Tags: Brian Wilson, Giants Baseball, Giants Baseball Trade Rumors, Jim Rome, King of Cali, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants, SF Giants Rumors

Just wanted to get a quick post out there for you HARDCORE Giants fans. The San Francisco Giants start a 10 game road trip tomorrow against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres will be home for 10 games starting tomorrow, so we should see where the Giants stand after this road trip..

Scoreboard Watch

Giants are 3 GB of the Padres in the NL West

Giants are 1.5 GB of the Phillies right now in the NL Wildcard

Side Notes

Tim Lincecum went 0-for-August, and got his first win last night since July 30th.

Darren Ford made his major league debut as a pinch runner. He scored the winning run, and it was also his first time ever in a major league park. Oh and did I forget to mention he also didn’t arrive to the game till the 2nd inning. Talk about a crazy day for Ford.

Ford was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 in the Ray Durham trade.

~King of Cali  

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The San Francisco Giants have activated Edgar Renteria and Dan Runzler from the DL. They have also called up the speedy outfielder Darren Ford. It’s not likely that Ford will get much playing time in the outfield but will be a speedy pinch runner when needed.  

Eric Hacker of the Fresno Grizzlies has been named to the All-PCL team as the top right-handed starter in the entire league. Hacker has set a new franchise record with 16 wins this season.  

Side Notes   

The next 14 games are all against the NL West.   There is only 29 games left in the season, and 23 of them are against the NL West.   The Giants played 28 games in August and went 13-15.

~King of Cali

Technorati Tags: Dan Runzler, Darren Ford, Edgar Renteria, Eric Hacker, Fresno Grizzlies, Giants Baseball, Giants Trade Rumors, King of Cali, NL West, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants, SF Giants Rumors

The San Francisco Giants need to find a way to start winning some ball games. They should be picking up games right now while the San Diego Padres are on a 5 game losing streak. The Giants are 4-6 in their last 10 games.  

Ace Tim Lincecum is in a tailspin in the month of August. He’s had 5 starts and is 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA. We all knew going into this year that our pitching was going to be our strong point, and this 2nd half has been the complete opposite. We need these guys to try to step it up for the remainder of the season for the Giants to have a shot at the playoffs.  

Chris Haft the Giants beat writer tells me (via email) that he thinks the team still definitely has a shot!  

~King of Cali  

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SF Giants Rumors is looking for all the HARDCORE Giants fans! Do you always want to be one of the first to know about any Giants Rumors/News etc.? If so then stay connected with SF Giants Rumors by adding the SF Giants Rumors Facebook fan page, and follow the SF Giants Rumors on Twitter.
 
~King of Cali

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It’s been reported that the Houston Astros have claimed Matt Downs from the San Francisco Giants. The Giants DFA Downs to make room for Cody Ross, who they claimed on waivers from the Florida Marlins.  

Brandon Belt has been promoted to the Fresno Grizzlies. Belt started the season in San Jose and then went to Richmond. His combined stats are .363 AVG with 19 HR’s and 102 RBI’s. Let’s hope he can keep the hot bat going in Fresno.  

~King of Cali  

Technorati Tags: Brandon Belt, Brian Sabean, Cody Ross, Florida Marlins, Fresno Grizzlies, Giants, Giants Baseball, Giants Trade Rumors, Houston Astros, King of Cali, Matt Downs, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants Rumors

Since Pat (The Bat) Burrell has joined the San Francisco Giants. He’s done nothing but show he’s a professional hitter. Burrell was the first of six player added to the team since the season began. Below are his stats, and I would love to hear your thoughts on if the Giants should or shouldn’t bring him back next year?  

Pat Burrell Stats as a Giant   

G 63

AB 190

R 28

H 53

HR 12

RBI 33

AVG .279  

Past 20 Games   

G 20

AB 69

R 10

H 20

RBI 17

HR 6

AVG .289

~King of Cali

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