A trio of strong pitching performances overcame tepid hitting as the San Francisco Giants took two out of three games at home over the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. 

In the opener, Jonathan Sanchez threw 6 2/3 shutout innings, surrendering two hits as the Giants stopped a six game skid with a 2-0 victory. 

In the middle game, Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum corrected his mechanics and struck out 13 over 8 shutout innings, surrendering a mere five hits and walking none.  Unfortunately, counterpart Doug Davis was equally as stingy, scattering 8 hits over 8 shutout innings, as the floor fell through for the combination of Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson in the ninth, each giving up a run, as Arizona prevailed 2-0. 

In the rubber match, Randy Johnson carried a no-hitter into the seventh, striking out 7.  The complete gem was foiled by a leadoff double by Augie Ojeda in that frame.  However, Johnson worked around the jam and teamed with Bob Howry and Brian Wilson to complete the one-hit, 2-0 victory. 

The good news from the series:  1)  the starting pitching was awesome.  21 2/3 shutout innings is nothing to sneeze at.  This is what was expected of the staff this year.  Brian Wilson had two saves in the series.  Excellent.  2) Pablo Sandoval seems to be snapping out of his slump.  He went 3-4 in the final game with a triple.  Maybe that can end up being contagious. 

The bad news from the series:  1)  the lineup was atrocious.  For the series, they scored a whopping 4 runs.  If the starting pitching wasn’t insanely awesome, we’re looking at a nine game skid.  Travis Ishikawa had an RBI via sacrifice fly on Sunday.  That was nice.  However, he’s been on a horrible stretch for the last nine games.  I love him as a starter, but he needs to start taking first pitches.  They’re tossing him breaking balls at the ankles and he ends up down 0-1 right off the bat (this comes from scouting reports).  If he took the first pitch on five straight at bats, he’d notice improved results at the plate.  Almost guaranteed.  2)  Brian Wilson gave more evidence that that, if it’s not a save situation, he probably shouldn’t be out there.   He got beat up in those situations last season and did on Saturday.  However, a job of a closer is to strand inherited runners.  Perhaps he just needs a little more work in non-save situations.   Dunno.

All in all, good results this weekend.  Just would like to see the bats come alive.  The flip-flopping of Emmanuel Burriss and Edgar Renteria in the lineup is a great idea.  I think that Ishikawa should be dropped in the lineup.  Leave him at seven until he learns how to hit again.  Aaron Rowand’s earned moving up to six.  I didn’t like seeing Fred Lewis lead off on Sunday.  Hopefully this is only a one game thing.  Sandoval flashed some nice leather this weekend.  He’s picking up the position quite well.

Giants off on Monday.  Resume play on Tuesday as they send sizzling Matt Cain against Jake Peavey and the likewise hot San Diego Padres.  Let’s remember to bring some bats this time around, guys.  See you there.

Chris Young limited the Giants to four hits over seven innings, Chase Headley hit a two run homerun, and Nick Hundley had four hits as the San Diego Padres completed the three game weekend sweep with a 6-1 victory on Sunday.  Defending Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum picked up his first loss of the year, giving up 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings in his second straight rough outing.    

In the opener, the Padres battered Barry Zito for seven hits and four runs in four innings, riding a Sean Hairston homerun and a three run first inning to a 7-3 victory. 

In the middle game, Jonathan Sanchez dueled expertly with Jake Peavy for four innings until inexplicably losing his control and giving up two home runs to journeyman Henry Blanco, eventually losing 6-3.  

All in all, this was a depressing series.  First, the offense didn’t seem to have bothered showing up.  Travis Ishikawa and Pablo Sandoval were horrible overall.  The starting staff was equally bad, with all three starters looking incredibly outclassed.  The first time around the rotation, with the exception of Matt Cain’s seven inning performance, was frown inducing.  Fred Lewis and Randy Winn were bright spots, offensively.  However, two bats doesn’t an offensive explosion make.  Three games, seven runs scored.  Those are  the numbers that count here.  Lincecum’s second outing was better than his first, but that’s not saying much. 

The Giants owned the Padres last year, both at home and on the road.  If this is what we have to look forward to this season, my optimism might have been wrongly founded.  True, it’s only three games in April.  However, up next is the buzzsaw known as the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Hopefully the bats and the combination of Randy Johnson and Matt Cain will show up en force.  If not, 2-7 is an awfully lonely place. 

The San Francisco Giants, led by a strong outing by starter Matt Cain, took the rubber match of their opening series with the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1.  

Cain went seven innings and gave up one run on five hits, striking out five and only walking two.  He was backed by a 3-3 performance by Fred Lewis and four RBI from catcher Benjie Molina.  Aaron Rowand continued his torid start with a pair of hits.   The only down note on the day was rookie reliever Joseph Martinez being struck in the head with a line drive off the bat of Brewer centerfielder Mike Cameron. 

In the first game, the Giants survived a shaky start by Tim Lincecum by putting up a ten spot, highlighted by three home runs by Molina, Rowand, and Randy Winn and an energizing, bases clearing triple by rookie Travis Ishikawa.  Despite Lincecum, the defending Cy Young winner, only lasting three innings, the Giants prevailed 10-6. 

In game two, newcomer Randy Johnson dominated, but fell victim to two untimely homeruns, the second a three run variety off the bat of Brewer counterpart Yovani Gallardo, that gave Milwaukee a lead that they never relinqueshed in beating the Orange and Black, 4-2.  Johnson looked great in five innings, only giving up four hits while striking out seven.  However, Gallardo looked better, pitching into the seventh inning, allowing only two runs. 

Thoughts from the series:  The only thing that brings any concern to me is Lincecum getting hit around a little.  However, he admitted that he didn’t have great stuff.  He should be back to throwing laser guided BB’s on his next go around the rotation.  No cause for concern there yet.  It was nice to see the offense show up as they did in games one and three.  As yet, the kids are doing great.  They seem to be answering their critics rather loudly.  Very nice.  Keep it up.  Also, it was nice to see Rowand hitting well.  He started like this last season and tailed off.  Here’s to him doing this for a complete season. 

Overall, this was a great series to kick off 2009 for the Giants.  They will next host the San Diego Padres on Friday night, with Barry Zito starting against Shawn Hill.  First pitch at 9:05, central. 

The San Francisco Giants made their final roster moves, with some surprises, heading in to Tuesday’s opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. 

In trimming back to the final 25, the team decided to go with a 12 man pitching staff, designating Luis Perdomo for assignment while purchasing the contract of Brandon Medders from AAA Fresno.  As Perdomo is a Rule 5 pickup, they will have to offer him back to the St. Louis Cardinals since he’s not remaining on the 25 man roster.  More on that as it develops. 

In other moves, the Giants optioned catcher Steve Holm to Fresno, leaving them with just one full time catcher in Benjie Molina.  Third baseman Pablo Sandoval will moonlight as a backup backstop until later in the season (probably right after the first month, which is laden with off days, and at which time the Giants will have a little better idea of the type of team that they are fielding), when Holm is expected to be recalled.  Relief pitcher Justin Miller was reassigned to minor league camp.  Expect him back some time this season.  Also, the contracts of Juan Uribe and Rich Aurilia were purchased from Fresno.  Both veterans will start the season on the Giants roster.  Finally, pitcher Noah Lowry and reliever Sergio Romo will both open the season on the 15 day disabled list. 

The 2009 San Francisco Giants opening day roster is as follows:

Starting Rotation: Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Randy Johnson, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito.

Bullpen: Alex Hinshaw, Bob Howry,  Joseph Martinez, Brandon Medders,  Merkin Valdez, Brian Wilson, Jeremy Affeldt,

Starters:

C: Benjie Molina.

1B:  Travis Ishikawa

2B:  Emmanuel Burriss

SS:  Edgar Renteria

3B:  Pablo Sandoval

RF:  Randy Winn

CF:  Aaron Rowand

LF:  Fred Lewis

Bench: Rich Aurilia (IF), Juan Uribe (IF), Eugenio Velez (UT), Nate Schierholtz (OF), Andres Torres (OF)

With the release of Dave Roberts (coupled with the team not signing Manny Ramirez in the off-season), the log jam in the outfield has been cleared up a bit.  However, aside from some spells of Eugenio Velez on the lawn, there are still four potential starters for three spots. 

In left field roams Fred Lewis.  I love this guy.  His bunion concerns seem to be cleared up and he’ll should be close to 100% for the season.  Also, it looks like he’ll be batting 3, which can only serve to help his numbers.  Leading off for the majority of last season stifled him a bit (though the 21 steals, 11 triples, and 81 runs scored were very nice).  While he’s a ravenous first pitch hitter, leading off requires taking pitches.   However, let’s not forget that the Pirates used to hit the Giants previous left fielder in the leadoff spot in 1986 and he did quite well when dropped down in the order.  Just sayin’.  Hitting 3 should help Lewis in 2009.

In center is the $12 million dollar man, Aaron Rowand.  2008 wasn’t exactly a great season for Rowand.  He got off to a fast start and then tailed off appreciably as the summer wore on.  Also, his defense wasn’t as incredible as the Giants were counting on.  If I sound like I’m not a huge fan hey, $12 million SHOULD buy .300, 25, 120.  The Giants didn’t get an wonderful return on investment last season.  I can’t claim that 2009 will be better, but it couldn’t hurt.

Right field is the the territory of Randy Winn.  He’s hit .300 each of the last two seasons and is a solid player and team leader.  In 2008, he helped with speed, too (25 steals with only twice being caught and 84 runs scored).   So far this spring, he’s been leading off consistently (and performing poorly in doing so).  If he can get his game together, he’ll be a good, if not spectacular, contributer in 2009.  If not, then perhaps it’s time for a changing of the guard.

Said change would be found in Nate Schierholtz.  This guy has murdered pitching wherever he’s wielded a bat (minor leagues, major leagues, and olympics).  He’s recorded back to back .300 seasons in limited major league action and is probably ready to be the starter in right.  However, right now he’ll have to bide his time.  As the fourth outfielder, he’ll get his share of at bats and a good chance to prove his worth.  He missed some time in the spring training with a tweaked back.  Hopefully, that’s behind him and exciting things are to come from Schierholtz.  Even as the fourth outfielder, he’s still incredibly more lethal than either Dave Roberts or Rajai Davis.  Something to look forward to. 

It’s also important to note that non-roster invitee veteran Andres Torres is making a push for a spot on the major league club.  He’s been playing well and leads the Cactus League in runs scored, thus far.  However, his age (31) might work against him.  Also, as a runner, the spot he’s gunning for might well be the one that appears to belong to Velez, who has proven himself to be a more adept hitter.  However, the Giant management seems to have a warm spot for veterans.  As a result, he might get to bring his cleats to AT&T park when the team opens the season.  If that happens, look for either Velez or Burriss to get a ticket to Fresno.  However, Torres will still have to prove himself, regardless.  It’s not his job to lose (or at least, shouldn’t be).   

So, the rumor wire has been burning up again about a meal that Manny Ramirez and his agent Scott Boras might or might not have shared with members of the Giants front office.  There are several things we might or might not know about this dinner.  Here are several (though not nearly all).  They might or might not have been discussing a contract.  Boras might or might not have been in town to show Man-Ram that there are people who will overpay for an aging slugger (or at least that have in the past).   They might or might not have gone with the bisque.  However, the meeting also might or might not have happened. 

Where I’m going is that this dinner and its tangibility aren’t at issue here.  In my opinion, there are one of two things that Manny’s going to do this offseason.  1) he’s going to sign with the Giants 2) he won’t.  Beyond that is not important.  There are reasons to sign him.  There are reasons not to.

The reasons to sign Manny Ramirez are rather obvious to anybody who knows his name.  No doubt, it’s agreed upon that he’s among the elite sluggers in the game today.  His entire presence in the lineup will sway how the opposition pitches to a team (not unlike Barry Bonds, once upon a time).  He carries a heavy piece of lumber that can send baseballs into orbit and is an RBI machine.  He puts butts in the seats and probably would deliver a divisional crown to the Bay in 2009.  When he came to LA at the trade deadline last season, they were 54-54 and in second place in the West.  He proceeded to hit .396 with 17 long balls and 53 RBI in 53 games and the Dodgers went on to win the division.  It’s not a reach to give him a lion’s share of the credit for this pennant. 

Now that we have discussed what everybody knows, let’s look at why the Orange and Black might be better suited to look the other way. 

First of all, the outfield isn’t a problem for the Giants.  They already have a log jam with Winn, Rowand, and Lewis starting and Schierholtz biding his time on the bench.  With Manny Ramirez on the team, go ahead and move everybody down one notch. The electric Fred Lewis takes the bench, along with his healthy foot.  Be prepared to see him leave once his contract is up.  Better hope that one won’t turn into the next Giant regret (though I feel it just might).  Schierholtz, with his sweet swing, +.300 MLB average, and no options would probably be shipped out via trade.  I wonder what we’d get for him?  Again, do we really want to see what he does when another team is willing to give him at bats.  What about the veteran Dave Roberts?  I couldn’t see that much changing for him as his contract and speed would probably keep him around for a year.  On defense, Manny Ramirez patrol left field with the grace of a battleship.  Couple this with a less than stellar track record of mental concentration and you get Barry Bonds circa 2007 with a bad case of ADD.  Better hope that Aaron gets some amazing jumps on fly balls in left center.  Also, Manny will probably get +$25 million per.   Rumor has it that Boras is looking for 3-4 years on a deal.   That’s potentially $100 million tied up for four years.  Couple that with the enormous contracts for Rowand and Zito that are also going to be sucking money from the team for the next four seasons.  Want to guess how many quality Giants will say their fair-the-wells to the team in that time?   Lincecum?  Cain?  Sanchez?  These guys are going to need money if the Giants want them to stick around.  Also, Ramirez isn’t exactly young.  At 36, a long term deal will carry him to the doorstep of forty, if not across the threshhold.  Are we to believe that he can still sustain this level of play at that age?  If not, the Giants front office will be mortgaging the future again. 

Again, the Giants will either sign Manny or not.  I just hope that the sayers for the Giants think long and hard before asking him if he wants to stick around for some baked alaska for dessert. 

The San Francisco Giants struggled a the plate against Jeff Francis as they lost to the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Monday night. The Giants scored two runs in the first inning but were then held scoreless the rest of the game as the dropped to 58-73 on the year.

Matt Cain pitched seven inning and gave up six hits and three runs. Without any run support, Cain took the loss and is now 8-10. He did walk four batters and gave up one home run but I think he pitched good enough to get the win had there been any offense. Alex Hinshaw gave up a big run in the eighth inning on a sac fly that put the Rockies up two and created an even bigger hole for the Giants offense.

The two runs that Giants did get came in the first inning on a Fred Lewis triple that plated Randy Winn and then Lewis scored on a Bengie Molina rbi sac fly. After the first inning, Jeff Francis settled down and the Giants were unable to score any more runs.

Giants Baseball Blog

Barry Zito has finally won his 5th game of the season as the San Francisco Giants beat the Washington Nationals by the score of 6-3 on Tuesday evening.  Zito is now 5-12 on the season with a 5.56 era.  Great win for the Giants as they have now taken the first two games in a three game series against the visiting Nationals.

Zito threw six innings while giving up seven hits and three runs.  He did walk three batters but also struckout five others.  It was a decent start for Zito as it was enough to pick up the victory.  Four different relief pitchers combined to throw the final four innings of the game and did not allow a run.  Jack Taschner and Sergio Romo combined to throw the 7th inning while Tyler Walker threw the 8th inning and Brian Wilson notched his 26th save in the 9th inning.

At the plate for the Giants, Bengie Molina hit a two run home run and a solo home run to finish the game with three rbi.  Both of Molina’s home runs came against Nationals starting pitcher Jason Bergmann.  Fred Lewis also hit a solo home run off of Bergmann in the 1st inning.  Omar Vizquel had a rbi double in the 4th inning and Aaron Rowand tacked on a rbi single in the 8th inning.  That was enough offense for the Giants as they doubled up the Nationals.

Giants Baseball Blog

I’m sure the Giants felt like they could not get out of New York fast enough after the three game sweep in which San Francisco dropped the last game of the series 7-3.   

 The Giants were held scoreless for 21 innings, and had been outscored 18-0 before finally scoring one run in the top of the fourth.  John Bowker doubled to left field and advanced to third on a ground out by Eliezer Alfonzo.  Bowker would score on a wild pitch by John Maine.  The Giants tacked on two more in the top of the fifth to tie the game at three.  Barry Zito had a good at bat and worked a walk and would advance to second when Maine walked Fred Lewis.  Randy Winn would drive in both runs with his 23 double of the season.  However, the Mets bullpen kept the Giants in check and they failed to score from then on.  The Giants left six guys on base, so there were some opportunities for them to score runs and failed to take advantage of the six walks allowed by Mets pitching.

Barry Zito did not figure in the decision.  In his five innings of work he allowed three runs, 2 earned, on four hits while walking six and striking out two.  Three of those six walks came in the same inning when Zito walked three Mets hitters but was able to work out of the bases loaded jam.  The Giants’ bullpen was unable to keep San Francisco in the game.  Sergio Romo came into a 3-3 game and worked just one and two thirds innings giving up three runs, two earned on three hits, Romo was charged with the loss.  Jack Taschner also allowed one run in his one third inning of work.

Ok, so here is my thing on the umps-they have done a terrible job this year.  I think it shows you that something is terribly wrong when both starting pitchers in a game throw a ton of pitches (both Zito and Maine threw over 100 pitches and neither made it past the 5^th).  Not only did both starters throw a ton of pitches, they also had ball to strike ratios that were nearly 50/50.  And while you can say that neither one of the guys had the great stuff, and certainly both of these guys have had their issues this season, if you watched the game you would have seen that much of what happened to Maine and Zito today had a lot to do with the miniscule strike zone.  It isn’t just that the strike zones are largely inconsistent or sometime just way too small, but it bas been some other things as well.  The call in Tuesday night’s game (and I forget which ump was at second base and which Giants’ runner was on), but, the runner was clearly out of the base path, not just a little out of the base path, he was on the grass and the ump was standing right there and did not bother to call it.  And how many blown calls have we seen on homeruns this year, calling homeruns on balls that clearly aren’t, and calling back homeruns that clearly are.  What are these guys doing out there?  I have watched a lot of baseball, and I have to say this is about one of the worst years of all around umpiring that we’ve seen.  I guess the umps really do want instant replay and at this rate, maybe the players association should demand it.    

The Giants continue their road trip with a visit to Wrigley Field.  Matt Cain will be on the hill for the Giants and Jason Marquis will pitch for the cubs.  Game time is scheduled for 1:20 p.m.

Giants Blog

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain had things working for him on Tuesday night as he pitched eighth great innings and only gave up two hits to pick up the win.  The Giants beat the Cubs by the score of 2-1 behind great pitching from Cain and evened up the four game series at one game each.

The game almost got away from the Giants in the ninth inning however as Brian Wilson gave up three hits and one run.  Wilson was able to get a groundball to end the game with tying run at second base and record his 23rd save of the season.

Fred Lewis stole home in the first inning for the Giants first run of the game and then Randy Winn had a rbi single in the sixth inning to score Lewis for the Giants second run.  They didn’t have much offense but it was enough to get the win the way Cain pitched the first eight innings of the game.

Giants Blog