Youngster phenom Madison Bumgarner will start the middle game of the Padres series tonight, bumping an ‘injured’ Tim Lincecum, and making his major league debut.   Lincecum will be rested for two days and then re-evaluated.  No long term outage is expected. 

First of all, Timmy’s back seems to have flared up with spasms.  If this is true, I, along with the entire Giants fan base, pray it flares down.  However, more on that later.

Second, it’s awesome that Bumgarner will get a start.  I’m excited too see him pitch. 

The Giants will need to keep close tabs on Lincecum.  This guy’s the franchise.  No need to overpitch him (even if he can do it).  However, there was no warning of this injury.  Could it be a smokescreen?  Pushing the kid back to face the Dodgers?  I don’t know.  This is the pennant race.  It’s imperative that the team is clicking on all cylinders and, to be honest, the starting pitching is doing just that.  The inclusion of a rookie (no matter how good) into the mix might be a bit risky.  However, assuming that this is legit, then this is the biggest hammer the Giants can bring down in this situation.  It definitely looks better than either Ryan Sadowski, Joseph Martines, Justin Miller, or Kevin Pucetas.  The kid’s getting baptized by fire tonight.  We’ll see if he remembers his asbestos underwear. 

After a wildly swung at-bat sent Randy Johnson to an early shower against Houston on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants placed the future hall of famer on the 15 day disabled list with a strained shoulder.  Manager Bruce Bochy gave a two to three week estimate for a time of recovery with former starter Jonathan Sanchez taking his rotation spot and infielder Kevin Frandsen being recalled from Fresno to take fill his roster spot. 

Now, what does that mean for us? 

1.  A solid #2 on the year (and southpaw, too) is gone for several turns in the rotation.  Other than this last start (where he was injured), he’s pitched good on the season.  He will be missed in this capacity.

2.  Sanchez is back in the rotation.  He’s pitched well in the bullpen but poorly in the rotation.  We’ll see if he’s learned anything in the time away from starting.

3.  The role of rookie Ryan Sadowski is now more important.  Without Johnson, he’s now a #4.  Not meaning to pressure him, but it’s very important now that the first two starts weren’t flukes.

How Sanchez responds to this is very important.  If he flops, then perhaps they’ll need to go to AAA and grab Kevin Pucetas.  If he does well enough, then this bad news will be minimized.  I guess it’s all up to Sanchez (and his mental toughness) at this time.  Of course, Joe Martinez also might be back soon.  After all is said and done, if this is just a tweak and Johnson can come back 100%, then that will bode best for the Giants.   

Pinch hitter Rich Aurilia singled home catcher Steve Holm in the bottom of the tenth, giving the Giants a 1-0 extra innings victory over the Colorado Rockies.  The win showcased another outstanding effort by starter Barry Zito who, in spite of another no-decision, turned in his third consecutive quality appearance, throwing seven shutout innings while surrendering only two hits.  With the outcome, the Giants won their fifth consecutive series, taking two of three at home against the division rivals. 

In the opener, Randy Johnson struck out nine in seven shutout innings, stingily allowing only four hits and walking none as the Giants rode and RBI double by Travis Ishikawa and sacrifice flies by Randy Winn and Bengie Molina to a 3-2 victory.  Brian Wilson tallied his sixth save of the season, closing out the Rockies in the ninth after quelling an eighth inning uprising against Bob Howry and Jeremy Affeldt with a bases loaded strikeout of Ryan Spilborghs.  

In the middle game, Spilborghs got a measure of revenge, homering twice off Matt Cain, as the Rockies topped the tally, 5-1.  Starter Jason Marquis threw a complete game five-hitter, surrendering only a ninth inning homerun to Pablo Sandoval.  Brad Hawpe also homered to back Marquis. 

I was impressed by the Giants starting pitching (again) this series.  Zito and Johnson were dominant.  For Zito, he did it with Steve Holm behind the dish, showing that perhaps his recent success was more than just Sandoval catching.  Hopefully he can continue it with Molina as his backstop.  Also, though it was the first time in five starts this season that Cain wasn’t dominant, aside from the homers, he only allowed four other hits and four walks.  An off day, but for a three, such an off day is acceptable every now and again.  Finally, it’s nice to see Fred Lewis and Ishikawa making some solid contact.  Ditto Nate Schierholtz.  On an injury note, Winn sat out the final game of the series with a sore side.   We’ll watch that one and keep you posted. 

The Giants will next travel to Chicago for a two game set against the Cubs.   The Rockies will go down the shore to San Diego for a two game series against the Padres. 

The San Francisco Giants placed rookie relief pitcher Joseph Martinez on the 15 day disabled list Friday, one day after he was struck by a batted ball.  After being diagnosed with a concussion and three hairline fractures on the right side of his head, Martinez remains in the hospital, where he is expected to spend the next three to four days under observation.

The Giants purchased the contract of veteran reliever Justin Miller to fill Martinez’s spot.  Miller pitched well in the spring training and was one of the last players to be cut from the roster.  

In the ninth inning of the Giant’s 7-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco rookie relief pitcher Joseph Martinez was struck in the head by a line drive off of the bat of Milwaukee center fielder Mike Cameron.  Martinez got to his feet before collapsing as Giant trainers and medical personnel came to his aid.  He walked off the field under his own strength and was taken to a hospital for a CT scan.  Test results are pending.   He might have to do some time on the 15 day DL with this one. 

With the recent death of actress Natasha Richardson from head trauma following extended moments of apparent lucidity, the team can’t be too careful with this incident.  Let’s hope they err on the side of caution. 

The San Francisco Giants got hammered by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday afternoon by the score of 8-2.  The Giants pitchers did not have their good stuff today, as every pitcher that pitched gave up atleast one earned run.

Starting pitcher Kevin Correia took the loss after pitching six innings and giving up five hits and five earned runs.  Correia’s record is now 1-2 on the season.  Brad Hennessey pitched two innings in relief of Correia and gave up three hits and two earned runs.  Erick Threets pitched one inning and gave up one earned run.

Aaron Roward and Jose Castillo had one RBI each for the offense.  That was all the offense the Giants could get off the Diamondbacks pitchers.

Giants Blog

There is a new San Francisco Giants Baseball Blog on the Internet! SfGiantsHomePlate.Com has been created to blog about the Giants Baseball team.  From game reviews to tickts, all the way to Giants merchandise we will be blogging about it all!

The Giants have a long road ahead of them coming into the 2008 season.  They will go on without Barry Bonds more then likely.  Management is looking to possibly trade Matt Cain or Tim Linecum for Alex Rios of the Blue Jays.  I don’t see why they would want to do that however.  You have to build your team around those two stud pitchers.

What do you think?  Is trading Cain or Linecum a good idea at this point?  Leave us a comment and let us know!