San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson will start the 2011 season on the disabled list. Wilson is still recovering from an oblique injury. The Giants are hoping he will be ready by the home opener on April 8th vs. the Cardinals. The Giants have some pretty good arms in the bullpen, so I don’t see Wilson being out as a cause of concern. John Shea tweeted “Heard management wants to keep Brandon Belt, leaning towards making him their starting first baseman. Announcement Wednesday.”
The Giants did release Jeff Suppan yesterday. More roster announcements are going to come after today’s game against the A’s… Stay tuned!
You may want to add the SF Giants Rumors Facebook page if you’re not already following it. Sometimes it’s quicker to get updates, as I can update that directly from my phone.
Simone Wilson of LA Weekly says the Giants banner (Giants 2010 Champs: BEAT LA) is still scheduled to fly over Chavez Ravine Thursday, Saturday and Sunday as the Giants face the Dodgers. SF Giants Rumors heard about this in early February, and decided to help get the word out to Giants fans who wanted to contribute. The title of that post was “Giants 2010 Champs: BEAT LA Banner”. Back then the goal was to raise $8,000 to make this happen and they were at 64% of their goal. We are less than a few days away from Opening Day in Los Angeles and the goal has been reached! If you still want to donate, you can! The extra donations will go towards the Junior Giants Fund per their website. It’s going to be a beautiful sight to see “Giants 2010 Champs: BEAT LA” flying over Dodgers stadium. ~King of Cali
The Cactus League is finally over and the Giants are back in San Francisco. I can picture the flight back, players were probably singing “I’m going, going, back, back to Cali, Cali” (Notorious B.I.G.). Okay maybe they weren’t, but I do know they were all ready to finally get out of Arizona and start their title defense! After a while these Spring Training games just seem like groundhogs day. The roster still is not finalized at this time. The Giants are still tight lipped about their plans with Brandon Belt. The closer situation is still up in the air at this time as well. Brian Wilson is likely to start on the DL. Which means another arm has a chance of cracking the Opening Day Roster. If Wilson starts on the DL. He will likely be ready for the Giants Home Opener on April 8th. Who’s In Right?
Fan favorite Cody Ross is starting the season on the DL, so who’s in right field seems to be the question? The Giants have a number of options they can go with. Maybe they can go with Aubrey Huff in right, which I don’t see happening much. AT&T Park has a spacious right-center field, and you need someone that can cover a lot of ground out there. We have heard of maybe the Giants putting Aaron Rowand in the lineup, and if he plays center, Andres Torres can slide over to right field. Opening Day is Thursday night, so the answer to who’s in right should be answered soon.
Side Notes
Two ex-Giants have been released from their teams, or should I say Ex-teams? Randy Winn (Orioles) and Pedro Feliz (Royals) are currently looking for new teams. If I have to take a wild guess. I would say Winn might be calling it a career and Feliz might be able to get one more team to give him a shot.
Cody Ross has a strained right calf muscle and will likely be out for a few weeks. Which means he’s going to start the season on the DL. Some fans are speculating that this can open up the door for Brandon Belt to make the Opening Day Roster. The season starts in 7 days, so stay tuned! Here’s a little recap on Cody Ross. Ross was claimed off waivers from Florida on August 22, 2010. It was a move to block the San Diego Padres from acquiring him. Who would have guessed in a little over 2 months that Ross would become a fan favorite. We have seen the “Ross is Boss” shirts, and fans going nuts when they see him. Ross etched his name in Giants history by entering himself in the top 3 slot of the Most HR’s in a Single Postseason in Giants History!
1 – Barry Bonds, 8 HR’s in 2002. 2 – Rich Aurilia, 6 HR’s in 2002. 3 – Cody Ross, 5 HR’s in 2010.
Who would you like to see on Opening Day as the starting Right Fielder now that Ross is on the DL?
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.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants prospect Brandon Belt raised the heat on management by having a big day against the White Sox. “Were staying open-minded,” Bruce Bochy said. “We’re not looking at rosters. We’re looking at what’s best for the club. He’s playing great.”
Schulman also says in the same article that Aubrey Huff hasn’t played a single inning in LF this spring, so that might be a hint that Brian Sabean is likely to send Belt to Fresno to start the season.
I believe Belt will have to catch fire for the remainder of Spring to really force the issue. If he has another skid then they will use that as confirmation that he still needs some seasoning in Fresno before he’s ready.
The Giants don’t need him to be ready and start for them at 1B. If Belt stays hot and forces the issue. He will also be forcing the Giants to move Aubrey Huff to LF and Pat Burrell to the bench. My prediction is Huff will be at 1B, Burrell will be in LF and Belt will be in Fresno getting AB’s on a daily basis. The Giants are not adding him to the 25 man roster unless he’s going to be a starter.
Ever Wonder What Lincecum Orders at In-N-Out?
Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News says Tim Lincecum chimed in on his weight with the media. Lincecum is 168 pounds, and that’s probably after a good meal. Lincecum shared with the media what he orders from In-N-Out. Keep in mind that this guy is only 168 pounds.
“Lately it’s been three double-doubles, two fries and a half strawberry/half chocolate milkshake. That’s just one meal. No animal style. I get plain cheeseburgers with some ketchup and that’s about it, maybe that’s why they go down easier.”
Little Nuggets
Jeff Suppan to start Friday against the hated Dodgers, and Matt Cain will be pitching at Minor League Camp.
Jim Bowden of Fox Sports tweets that Bruce Bochy told him that the last spot on his pitching staff will come down to Dan Runzler or Guillermo Mota. Runzler doesn’t seem to have his best stuff this spring, so I would have to predict Mota will win that lost spot in the bullpen.
Opening Weekend Events
4/8 – World Series Championship Flag Is Raised 4/9 – Players Receive World Series Championship Rings 4/10 – Posey Receives Rookie Of The Year Award
Matt Cain made his first start since Feb. 27th, and tossed 3 shutout innings. Cain threw 43 pitches, 3 hits, no walks and 1 strikeout. Cain has been sidelined with right elbow inflammation. Now it’s a waiting game. Everyone has to wait and see how Cain’s elbow feels tomorrow. Let’s hope it’s fine and he’s back on track to be ready by the start of the season. Shotgun Cain is a workhorse, and it would be a huge blow to the Giants if Cain ever goes down for any portion of the season.
Torres Taking Cuts From The Right Side
Andres Torres has had an injured left oblique, so he hasn’t’ been getting his swings in from the right side. He was in the lineup today to get some AB’s against the Brewers LHP Randy Wolf. Torres had a 1-for-3 day, and his one hit was a triple.
Zito Feels Good
Barry Zito took his game to the Minor League field today, pitched against the Minor League Camp. Zito threw 82 pitches and said after that he was feeling good about his pitches. Maybe all this trade/release talk about Zito will help fuel a comeback player of the year type season for Zito.
