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Vizquel Returns
2008-05-13 23:54:00
The Giants got Omar Vizquel back over the weekend, and as expected, it showed immediately. Vizquel had three hits on his first day back, then was walked three times the following game and provided his signature defense all weekend. The Giants are 2-1 since his return and look like they have definitely gotten a boast. Now all the sudden the team has some depth at the shortstop position. Vizquel looks like he's close to %100 and Emmanuel Burris is looking like a playable option at short the more he plays. Burris is actually slowly starting to take some at-bats away from Eugenio Velez who just hasn't had the same success in the regular season as he did in Spring training. Bruce Bochy started last week that even with Vizquel's return and Burris outplaying Velez, sending him down to Fresno is not an option at this point. Velez is out of options so would be placed on waivers and available to the other teams before he could be sent down to the minors. With Velez struggling in the two ho...

In"Cain"sistent
2008-05-09 22:14:00
The Giants return home after a disappointing 6 game road trip in which the team went 1-5. Matt Cain had another rough outing as his inconsistent start to the season has carried over into May. Cain had been terrific in his previous 3 starts, but was credited for 5 runs in 6 1/3 innings Thursday as his record fell to 1-3 and era rose to 4.50. The Giants #1 and #2 starters are now a combined 1-10 with a 5.76 era. Granted, most of those losses and era are due to Barry Zito's horrific start. Zito had his best outing of the year on Wednesday so expect to see him stay in the rotation for the time being. Cain continues to be a mystery though. He isn't quite struggling, but he certainly hasn't pitched up to his potential for the most part early on this season. I don't put a huge stock into the quality start stat (6+ip, 3 er or less allowed), but Cain has only been deemed "quality" in 3 of his first 8 starts which isn't a very good ratio. He has the arm and body type to throw 120 pitches...

Zito Makes Rotation Return
2008-05-07 21:48:00
Wednesday nights' game in Pittsburgh is going to be a big one for Barry Zito, maybe his biggest of his 1+ seasons' with the team. After being sent to the bullpen to miss a start and get a chance to clear his head, Zito returns to the rotation to make his first start and appearance since April 27th when he gave up 8 runs in 3 innings to the Cincinnati Reds. Zito has a few things going for him as he is trying to get back on track. He will be pitching in a spacious yard and although the Pirates have been scoring a lot of runs lately, this is one of the weaker offenses and best pitching match-ups Zito has faced all season. That said, a lot must still go right for him to get his first win of the season. Zito's key will be getting through the first two innings without giving up a crooked number. He's been having trouble giving up big innings early which really seems to take the life out of the team. It's tough to stay mentally focused when your pitcher goes out and gives up a 6 spot ...
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Misch Struggles In Zito's Place
2008-05-03 21:25:00
Pat Misch took Barry Zito's turn in the rotation Friday night in Philadelphia but didn't fair much better than Zito has over the first month of the season. Misch gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks over 4 innings and put the Giants in a hole early. A couple clear mistakes were made by him facing former Giant Pedro Feliz. The Giants know better than anyone Feliz's love for first pitch strikes and in both of his at-bats vs. Misch he got them. His second at-bat is was the big blow as he hit a first pitch, hanging changeup into the left-field seats at Citizens Bank Park. Even with early deficit, the Giants came back and forced extra-innings but Brian Wilson blew the save in the bottom of the thirteenth to cost the Giants what would have been an impressive come back win. Misch has now had 1 solid outing and one bad outing so far this year but what has really stuck out is his knack for giving up the long ball. In only 10 innings this season he has already given up 4 home runs. You don...
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April Minor League Report
2008-04-29 01:42:00
Since the Giants are in a period of transition, I am going to start paying a little more attention to their minor league system this summer. The Giants Blog will now start giving monthly minor league reports, exploring what's going on in the Giants' system from AAA Fresno and below.So far, the talk of April as far as positional prospects go has been all about Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval is off to a ridiculous start, hitting .423 with 7 home runs, 24 rbi and 11 doubles while sporting an OPS over 1.3. Sandoval is helping lead the Giants single A affiliate, San Jose, to one of the better records in the California League . The 21-year old catcher looks like he could be the first guy to get the shot when Bengie Molina's contract runs out at the end of the '09 season. Sandoval still has some work to do defensively, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him up with Connecticut before long and then possibly Fresno before the end of the season. I know it's still way early, but any time...
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Starting Pitching Shining
2008-04-26 21:46:00
The San Francisco Giants' starting pitching is starting to match the D-Backs' 5 as the class of the division and quite possibly the whole National League. Jonathan Sanchez turned in another dominant performance, his second 10-strikeout game in his last 4 starts, and beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 on Friday night. In previous seasons, Sanchez has had some trouble keeping a consistent release point and arm angle, but early on this season, it looks like those troubles are behind him. If you take away his horrible season opening start in Milwaukee, he is 2-0 with a 1.50 era and 28 punch-outs in 24 innings. One of the most impressive things about his start on Thursday though was his ability to get deep into the game and he did it by keeping the ball in strike zone. He only walked 1 batter in 8+ innings and if he can keep that ratio up, starts like this will start happening more and more frequently. With the emergence of Sanchez, the Giants now feature a power-armed threesome that can br...
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Giants Notes
2008-04-22 23:14:00
Tuesday nights start in Arizona is a huge one for Barry Zito. Currently sitting at 0-4, Zito takes the mound in search of his first win of the season against one of the best pitchers in the league, Brandon Webb. While Zito has been better in his last two starts than he was in his first two, he's still walking way too many batters and getting himself behind in the count early. With Zito topping out at 84 mph on the fastball, he can't afford to get behind hitters and become predictable to a count. The Diamondbacks are always a tough team for him as well because of all the right handed thump that they have. If Zito goes win-less in April, it will start rumblings about sending him to the DL or possibly to the bullpen so tonight would be as good of time as any to get back on track. The rest of the starting rotation continues to throw the ball well enough to stick and Zito right now really is the odd man out. Who knows, maybe a win over the Leagues best team and could be just what's ne...
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Roster Moves On the Horrizon
2008-04-18 23:17:00
The Giants made one of their easier roster decisions on Wednesday by bringing Vinny Chulk off the Disabled list and sending down Keiechi Yabu. Chulk brings a fresh arm to a bullpen that has been used pretty heavily through the first 2 1/2 weeks of the season and showed immediate dividends by throwing 2 scoreless innings of relief in Wednesday's game. They now have two more guys on the DL who are set to return in the next couple of weeks in Omar Vizquel and Noah Lowry. Vizquel's arrival will send Brian Bocock to Fresno, but it's unclear on who's spot Lowry will be taking when he makes his '08 debut, most likely in early May. Jonathan Sanchez and Kevin Corriea are in a battle for that last rotation spot and both have had their ups and downs. Corriea has the better era and has shown more consistency in being able to get deep into ballgames. As a matter of fact, Corriea may be the most economical of all Giants' starting pitchers with his pitch count. If Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum ...
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John Bowker Arrives
2008-04-14 23:20:00
The Giants haven't had a player have the kind of debut weekend John Bowker had since Will Clark debuted with the Giants in the late 80's. Bowker homered in each of his first two games in the big leagues and after just 6 at-bats with the Giants he is second on the team in home runs (2) and RBI's (7). He worked the count well and even when he didn't hit the ball out of the park, he had good at bats and drove in runs when he had the chance. He's got a quick, compact power swing that reminds me a little bit of Travis Hafner's cut. It's hard to call anyone legit after two games in the bigs, but I think Bowker has certainly caught some eyes. I pointed out Bowker earlier in the spring as someone who could get a quick call up if someone gets hurt and with Dave Roberts likely shelved for the next 3 months, Bowker has himself a roster spot and a chance at legitimate playing time. Surprisingly to some, the Giants took called up Bowker over Nate Schierholtz with the open outfield spot a...

Giants Rebound
2008-04-11 21:32:00
During the home stand, the Giants have not looked like the same team that started the year 1-5 on the road. Their starting pitching, as well as their bullpen, have been almost untouchable over the last 3 nights and they are finally starting to get some hits with runners in scoring position. Bengie Molina continues to carry the team offensively and is really becoming this teams' heart and soul. I still don't like Molina in the 4th spot in the lineup because he clogs the bases for the middle of the order, but he sure is producing like a cleanup hitter early on in the season. I also have to give a little credit to Bruce Bochy. I haven't said too many positive things about Bochy's managerial decisions since he came aboard last season, but I do like how he's starting mix up his lineup and isn't being tentative about benching the veterans. I like Rich Aurilia and Ray Durham, they seem like nice guys and would probably be fun to go out for a beer with, but these guys are no longer qu...

Giants Struggle Through Home Opener
2008-04-08 03:54:00
I know it's still way early on in the season and even though the Giants weren't expected to be very good this year, the way they have opened the season has been a little worse than I was expecting. They suffered their 4th lose in as many days in their home opener Monday. The starting pitching, outside of Tim Lincecum's warrior like performance at Dodger Stadium, has been below average, and that was supposed to be the clear cut strength of the team. Matt Cain got lit up on Monday, one day after Barry Zito lost for the second straight start in Milwaukee. Cain struggled to find his command all day and got himself in trouble by getting behind early in the count against practically every batter he faced. Cain has these kinds of days once in a while and he was probably a little amped up about the opener. Zito had the same problem in LA and to a lesser extent Milwaukee. Amazingly, the bullpen has been more of a strength than the starting pitching this season. Everyone in the pen seems t...
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Pitching Shines in Series Finale
2008-04-04 00:27:00
Although the Giants still have yet to get their offense going after the first series of the season, their pitching is looking as good as advertised. Tim Lincecum didn't start the game Wednesday night as the Giants were expecting the game to be called in the middle innings, but he got the win in relief. He turned in a very gutsy performance and still dealt with a rain delay right in the middle of his outing. Lincecum also went 1-1 with the bat and scored what turned out being the winning run on a Randy Winn sac fly in the 6th. It wasn't just Lincecum who was impressed on the mound Wednesday night either. Merkin Valdez got the emergency start and kicked off the game in fashion by striking out the side with impressive 95 mph heaters and a wicked split. He ended up going 2 scoreless, hitless innings to start and Jack Taschner came in and threw well in his relief. It was also good to see Brian Wilson notch his first save of the year in harsh conditions and he did it with a very nice de...
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Giants Go Quietly In Opener
2008-04-01 22:32:00
Barry Zito's second opening day start as a Giant looked a lot like his first on. Zito struggled through 5 innings giving up 4 runs and 8 hits as the Giants were shut out for the second consecutive opener. Zito was around 83 mph with his fastball and although his curve is a big one, it's so slow that hitters can re-adjust at the plate and still be effective against the pitch. It looks like it's going to be another long season for Zito if he's around 82-83 mph on the fastball without much command. It's not like anybody can be too surprised with the outcome of Monday's game, but I think that Giants fans were expecting a little more life out of this team. The so called "warrior spirit" and "swagger" they supposedly now carry, didn't translate to much and the Giants looked identical to last year, minus Barry Bonds. We also didn't see the youth movement that was promised, as Brian Bocock and Jose Castillo were the only players in their twenties to start yesterday.Now that the open...

Playoff and Award Predictions
2008-03-30 22:28:00
AMERICAN LEAGUE AWARDSAL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Det.(First year in Detroit's potent lineup should yield huge numbers and a trip to the postseason)AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Det. (Has improved over the last 2 years and could win 22 this year with that lineup behind him) Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, Tam. (Will be called upon early in the season, and should be a full time starter after that)Manager of the Year: John McClaren, Sea. ( Seattle is poised to break out with a big year this year and McClaren will be pushing all the buttons)Comeback Player: Francisco Liriaino, Min. (After missing all of the '07 season recovering from TJ surgery, he should return to form in '08)NATIONAL LEAGUE AWARDSNL MVP: David Wright, NYM ( Look for his 4th full season to be his best yet: .320, 40-30 with 120+ rbi)NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, NYM (After winning 2 AL Cy Young awards, he figures to start collecting a few in the NL)Rookie of the Year: Joey Votto, Cin. (In a stacked Reds' lineup, the...
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National League West Preview
2008-03-28 22:50:00
1st Place, Los Angeles DodgersLineup:SS Rafael FurcalC Russel MartinRF Matt KempCF Andruw Jones1B Jared Looney2B Jeff KentLF Andre Eithier3B Nomar Garciapara/Andy LaRocheRotation:RHP Brad PennyRHP Derrick LoweRHP Chad BillingslyRHP Esteban LoaziaRHP Hiroki KurodaSU: Jonathon BroxtonCL: Takashi SaitoAs much as it pains me to do so, It's hard not to pick the Dodgers to win the NL West this season. They have an excellent blend of productive veterans, and youngsters on the rise. Even if Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciapara cannot stay healthy all year, the Dodgers have a ton of talent who could come up and take those positions from them. Andre Either and Matt Kemp have already put Juan Pierre and his 11 million dollar-a-year salary on the bench. Their pitching has the same depth as Chad Billingsly proved last year that he's ready and capable. The Dodgers also have young lefty Clayton Kershaw waiting in the wings. If Jason Schmidt can come back healthy by mid-season, it would be like adding ...
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National League Central Preview
2008-03-24 22:27:00
1st Place, Chicago Cubs Lineup:SS Ryan TheriotLF Alfonso Soriano1B Derrick Lee3B Aramis RamirezRF Kasuke Fukudome2B Mark DeRosaC Geovany SotoCF Felix PieRotation:RHP Carlos ZambranoLHP Ted LillyRHP Ryan DempsterLHP Rich HillRHP Jason MarquisSU: Carlos MarmolCL: Kerry WoodThe Cubs brought over Kasuke Fukudome from Japan this winter to help solidify the middle of their order. It's still tough to tell what kind of power numbers he will put up in America, but he should be around .300 providing speed and solid defense. If Derrick Lee rebounds this year and can stay healthy, the Cubs should score plenty of runs. I like Theriot and Soriano at the top of the lineup. While their offense may not have quite the weapons that a few of the other division contenders do, they have the best pitching. Carlos Zambrano and Rich Hill haven't even hit their prime yet and both are among the better starters in the NL already. Lilly is very steady in the 2 spot. It will be interesting to see how Dempster...
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National League East Preview
2008-03-22 23:00:00
1st Place, New York MetsLineup:SS Jose Reyes2B Louis Castillo3B David WrightCF Carlos Beltran1B Carlos DelgadoLF Moises AlouRF Ryan ChurchC Brian SchniederRotation:LHP Johan SantanaRHP Pedro MartinezRHP John MaineLHP Oliver PerezRHP Orlando HernandezSU: Aaron HeilmanCL: Billy WagnerThe Mets' acquisition of Johan Santana, the games best starting pitcher, should finally put them over the hump in the National League . They have 3 legit MVP candidates in their everyday lineup and their starting pitching has looked incredibly strong this spring. Pedro Martinez looks healthy and ready to go and he and Santana should form a nice 1-2 punch. Jose Reyes took a small step back last season after a great '06 campaign. I'm expecting him to have his best year yet hitting over .300 with 20 home runs and 70 stolen bases at the top of that lineup. Their outfield surrounding Carlos Beltran is their only question mark heading into the season. Moises Alou is hurt and going to start the year on the DL ...
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American League West Preview
2008-03-21 02:50:00
1st Place, Los Angeles AngelsLineup:3B Chone Figgens2B Howie KendrickCF Torii HunterRF Vladimer GuerreroDH Garret AndersonLF Gary Matthews Jr.1B Casey KotchmanC Mike NapolieSS Erick AybarRotation:RHP John Lackey (out till May)RHP Jared WeaverRHP Kelvim Escobar (out till May)RHP Jon GarlandRHP Ervin SantanaSU: Scott ShieldsCL: Francisco RodriguezThe Angels went out and added another outfielder to an already deep outfield this winter. Torri Hunter gives them a great defensive presence in the center and another quality, middle of the order bat. There lineup is the best it's been since the Vlad era began. Not only do they have a ton of power throughout the lineup, they also have 4 guys who could easily steal 30 bases with Mike Scoscia pushing the buttons. I also like the mixture of youth and veterans they have going on in their everyday lineup. However, their pitching isn't sitting as pretty at the moment. Their top two starters, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, aren't expected back ...
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AL Central Preview
2008-03-17 21:00:00
1st Place, Detroit TigersLineup:CF Curtis Granderson1B Carlos Guillen3B Miguel CabreraRF Maglio OrdonezDH Gary SheffieldSS Edgar RenteriaC Ivan Rodriguez2B Placido PolancoLF Jacque Jones/Marcus ThamesRotation:RHP Justin VerlanderLHP Kenny RogersRHP Jeremy BondermanLHP Dontrelle WillisLHP Nate RobertsonSU: Fernando RodneyCL: Todd JonesThe Tigers pushed themselves ahead of the rest of the AL Central after the blockbuster deal in December that landed them Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera makes the Tigers offense one of the best (if not the top) offenses in the league. Their pitching has some question marks, but so does every other team in the division. Verlander is solid, but Bonderman and Willis are coming off sub-par years and need to pitch like they're capable of. Getting a full season out of Kenny Rogers should help. The bullpen, led by Todd Jones, is fragile and a little thin at the moment, but the team is expecting Fernando Rodney to start the year healthy, and Joel ...
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AL East Preview
2008-03-13 21:21:00
Every year, at about the middle of March, I break down the divisions in baseball and pick how I think they will finish. As always, I will start in the AL East and finish in the NL West. 1st Place, Boston Red SoxLineup:CF Jacob Ellsbury2B Dustin PeroiaDH David OrtizLF Manny Ramirez3B Mike Lowell1B Kevin YoukilisRF J.D. DrewC Jason VaritekSS Julio LugoRotation:RHP Josh BeckettRHP Daisuke MatsuzakaRHP Tim WakefieldLHP Jon LesterRHP Bartolo ColonSU: Hideki OkajiemaCL: Jonathan PapelbonDL: RHP Curt SchillingThe Red Sox return practically the same exact team that cruised to an easy World Series tittle just five months ago. Their bullpen is second to none in all of baseball and their offense is always going to be among the leagues best. The lineup should be even better than last years' if they can get bounce back seasons from J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez who both performed way below their career standards last season. Their starting pitching is very solid, but still has some question marks...
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Giants' Roster Shaping Up
2008-03-10 20:17:00
With about 2 1/2 weeks of Cactus league play left, some of the Giants ' roster questions are starting to become more clear, but now they have another one. The biggest uncertainty that faces the Giants as they round out the Cactus league is who will start the season with Noah Lowry's spot in the starting rotation. The Giants rotation is supposed to be the teams strength, but Lowry, their number three starter and their top winner from a year ago had surgery just last Thursday and isn't expected to start the season in the Giants rotation. It looks like Pat Misch may have a leg up on Jonathon Sanchez for the opening at this point, but both guys will have about 3 more starts until anything is determined. Misch continues to have a good spring while Sanchez is still trying to figure out his mechanics. The Lowry injury has also apparently staled whatever conversations the Giants have had with the White Sox about Joe Crede. Brian Sabean was asked about the chances of pursuing Crede after t...
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Giants Shut Down Lowry
2008-03-05 21:55:00
Noah Lowry 's recent bout with wildness has had people wondering whether the 27 year old lefty has gone Rick Ankiel, or if he possibly has a serious elbow issue. The Giants are hoping it's neither, but they are shutting him down for a while to hopefully get a grasp on some elbow tendinitis issues that have been bothering him. Lowry had to cut short his 2007 season by a month due to elbow stiffness and Bruce Bochy is wondering if he's fully recovered yet. Anytime there are on going elbow problems, you can't help but thinking of the worst case scenario which is the ligament transplant operation that all pitchers fear, Tommy John Surgery. I'm not saying that I think Lowry will eventually need the surgery, but if he comes back in a few weeks and is still having issues, the question may be raised. Going into the off-season, Lowry was talked about as being the most likely trading chip for the Giants in their search for offense, but other GM's had their questions about his health an e...
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Early Spring Analysis
2008-03-03 04:50:00
The Giants have looked sloppy through the first week of spring training, but there have been a some bright spots. Eugenio Velez and Freddy Lewis, two guys who are fighting for an opening day roster spot, have absolutely torn up the cactus league thus far. Lewis is leading the Giants with a .500 average, .700 slugging percentage and 4 rbi's through his first 4 games. Velez has been on base seven times, scored 6 runs and stolen 5 bases. Both of these players are out of options so they can no longer be sent to the minor leagues without first clearing waivers. It's a pretty safe bet that neither player would clear waivers, so it would be in the Giants best interest to have them on the team come March 31st in Los Angeles. Lewis has thoroughly outplayed Nate Schierholtz and Rajai Davis so far this spring, and if he keeps it up, it's likely that Schierholtz will start the year in Fresno as he still has an option year left. A couple young players who won't make the team right away but h...
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Giants Roughed Up In Spring Opener
2008-02-28 22:16:00
It was only the first game of the spring, and you can't take anything too seriously at this point, but there weren't many positives going on for the Giants Thursday afternoon in Scottsdale. In fact, it was so ugly by the 3rd inning that Jon Miller and Duane Kuiper started discussing the Academy Awards. The offense, the area of the team that everyone is wondering about, looked stale and went down quickly and quietly through the first 4 innings. They were, however, without 3/8 of their projected opening day lineup missing Ray Durham (hamstring), Omar Vizquel (knee) and Bengie Molina (back). Randy Winn hit a bomb in the first inning and Aaron Rowand had a couple solid singles in his first un-official at bats as a Giant, but that was about it for the starters. The young hitters did a little better later on in the game. Eugenio Velez flashed some of his speed and offensive ability with an RBI triple in the sixth, something he had a knack for doing with the Giants late last year. Freddi...
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Young Players the Talk of Camp
2008-02-25 23:15:00
The Giants' full squad has been at work for almost a week now, and most the talk around the Giants camp has been of the young players that will fill out this teams' roster come opening day. There have been plenty of articles written this spring about the stud pitchers Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, as well as the teams young outfielders and second basemen Kevin Frandsen. One guy who is starting to get some attention, and a guy who I'm sure a lot of casual Giants' fans aren't familiar with is John Bowker. It looks like the Giants may have future plans for the 24-year old power bat who led all Giants minor leaguer's with 22 home runs and 90 RBI's in AA ball last season. A 22 home run season doesn't jump out at you too much, but he hit them playing in the Eastern League which is very rich with pitching and big ballparks. He also made the Eastern League All-Star team which is no small feat for a Giants' minor league hitter. Due to the fact that there are about 7 outfielders curre...
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Spring Training Notes
2008-02-19 02:10:00
Most all of the Giants' 40-man roster had arrived in camp Monday, with the first full squad workout of the spring scheduled for Tuesday morning. Not much new news to talk about yet, but that should change Tuesday when the whole calvary goes to work. Most of the talk around the camp so far has been about the Giants' impending second base battle as well as their new philosophy on running more as a team. It seems like they have been talking about running more every year for a while now, but this year they are actually going to have to do some things on the bases in order to produce runs. Outside of Aaron Rowand and Bengie Molina, I would be pleasantly surprised to see any other player on the current roster top 15 home runs or 75 RBI's this year, so they are going to have to manufacture runs and taking extra bases will be crucial. Everybody in the Giants projected starting lineup is a threat to take a base except for Molina so they have the pieces to enforce that kind of baseball if ...
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Capellan and Sanchez Impress Bochy
2008-02-16 01:24:00
The Giants have only been through a couple workouts this spring, and with camp full of pitchers to scour over, Bruce Bochy has been particularly impressed with Jonathon Sanchez as well as 21-year old Rule 5 draftee Jose Capellan. Bochy mentioned Capellan's size and velocity as something that stuck out as well as Sanchez's improved command and mechanics. Capellan is listed on the Giants official roster as being 6'2" 170 pounds, but appeared in camp closer to 6'3" 250 pounds. Both Sanchez and Capellan are competing for a left-handed bullpen spot with Sanchez also in the mix for the fifth starters spot. Capellan has to make the roster out of spring or else he can be taken back by the Red Sox if they want him. I think this is a good year for the Giants to take a shot on a rule 5 guy and if Capellan shows he belongs during the spring, he should be given a bullpen spot, even if it's at the expense of veterans Jack Taschner or Steve Kline. Sanchez on the other hand, will be better sui...
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Spring Training Preview
2008-02-12 04:04:00
Pitchers and catchers are set for their first workout of the spring on Thursday, and this will be my final post of what has seemed like a very long and boring off-season. Come Thursday, there will be some actual baseball to talk about and even though the Giants are likely looking at their 4th consecutive losing season, spring fever is starting to swing into full effect with Giant fans.Brian Sabean made an interesting move Monday, signing reliever Scott Williamson to a minor league deal with an invite to camp. This move is a low risk, high reward type deal that could end up giving the Giants a valuable bullpen commodity for the league minimum. Williamson threw well in his brief, injury shortened 2007 campaign. When healthy, he still brings a decent fastball and isn't easy to hit (16 k's and a .235 BAA in only 14 innings pitched last year). At worst, he gets cut or starts the year in Fresno, at best, the Giants have themselves a solid middle reliever. His injury last year wasn't ar...
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Offseason Review
2008-02-05 22:09:00
With the Giants' pitchers and catchers ready to break for spring training in 9 short days and no Giant news to report on (besides the steroid debacle), I figured now would be a decent time to recap the offseason, although there wasn't much movement on the Giants' front:Who's Here: CF Aaron Rowand (Phillies)Who's Gone: Barry Bonds (FA), Pedro Feliz (Phillies), Ryan Klesko (FA)Aaron Rowand takes Bonds spot in the lineup and in the outfield which helps this team's defense significantly, but losing Bonds' bat and not adequately replacing it will have this team struggling to score runs, even more so than last year. As for Feliz and Klesko, both are very replaceable and neither were high priorities for the club at the end of the year. Feliz was in talks with the Giants for most of the winter, but the sides never seemed to get to close on anything. Losing Feliz and Klesko means a lot more ab's for Rich Aurilia, Kevin Frandsen and Dan Ortmeier which is a good thing. The loss of Bon...
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Phillies Grab Feliz
2008-01-31 02:17:00
The Giants and Pedro Feliz have officially seperated after the 3rd basemen signed a 2 year, 8.5 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies . Obviously, if you've read my posts over the last 3 months, you know how satisfied I am that the Giants will finally have someone other than Pedro Feliz manning 3rd base for them in 2008. With that said, and through all his struggles with the bat (career .288 OBP), Feliz still did some good things for the San Francisco Giants. He played very solid defense at a position that isn't easy, and I still think he has one of the best arms of any 3rd basemen in baseball. However, his bat is one that is better suited for a balanced lineup, one in which he could hit 7th or 8th and isn't counted on being a high average or on-base percentage guy. With the 2008 Giants who are rebuilding and could use 3rd base as a spot to put a young, power hitter, he made absolutely no sense, and I'm glad Sabean realized it. With the Phills, who have Jimmy Rolens,...
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