San Francisco Giants Jottings

Giants (6) vs White Sox (4)

2009-03-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

In a disturbing trend and for the 3rd game in a row now, the Giants regulars could do nothing against a front line MLB pitcher. Today it was John Danks that held the Giants scoreless for 5 innings on 4 singles and a walk, while striking out 5. The last 3 games it has been 15 innings of shutout ball pitched against the Giants in the first 5 innings of the games. I hope this trend does not continue during the regular season.

In a positive trend, for the 3rd game in a row, the Giants replacements came back to win the game against the opponent's bullpen. Today it was Nate Schierholtz, Eugenio Velez, Scott McClain, Kevin Frandsen and Jesus Guzman that got the RBI's from the 6th inning on to win the game. Today's RBI gave Guzman the team lead with his 12th of the spring.

Matt Cain started the game and pitched a team high 5.2 innings. Matt was not real real sharp today as he gave up 4 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Cain continues to walk too many batters and the 2 solo HRs were just poorly located pitches. You can make all the excuses for Matt that you want about lack of run support, but if he can't start controlling his pitches, he will never be the star we all hope he will be. In his defense, both of the 1st inning runs probably shouldn't have happened. On a looping line drive to LF, Nate Schierholtz got a late jump on the ball and then compounded the problem by diving for the ball. The ball got by him for a double. With a better jump, the ball probably would have been caught and it certainly shouldn't have been more than a single. In the same inning, Randy Winn went back to the wall in RF, then turned around and looked up at the top of the wall like he thought the ball was a sure HR. Problem is the ball hit at the base of the wall for another tainted double. I am not sure how the ball kept from hitting Randy in the head as his back was turned and there were only a couple of feet between him and the wall. That ball definitely should have been caught. Of course........Cain shouldn't have thrown such a hittable pitch either.

Tomorrow will be the same 2 teams out in Glendale. Hopefully the regulars will be able to put up some runs for starting pitcher, Barry Zito. He usually needs all of the runs he can get. Of course, if the Giants hold true to form, not many regulars will make the bus ride to Glendale. Seems like any bus ride of over 1/2 hr. means a lot of youngsters will play.

2009-03-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

After Alex Hinshaw retired the only batter he faced to end the 6th inning, Bobby Howry threw the 7th. Bobby had another good outing allowing no runs on 1 hit and a strikeout. Howry has given up runs in only 1 outing this spring.

2009-03-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Merkin Valdez leaves the field after pitching a very short 8th inning. Merkin only needed 11 pitches (8 strikes) to finish a perfect inning with 1 strikeout. I think Merkin is back.........let's hope he can stay healthy.

2009-03-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Affeldt pitched a scoreless 9th inning to get the save. It was a less than stellar performance however. Affeldt gave up 2 hits (including a double) and a walk and was saved by a nice diving stop at 1B by Jesus Guzman for the 3rd out of the inning. Whatever his mechanical problems are, Jeremy needs to correct them very soon.

2009-03-19T23:55:00.000-07:00

In the 2B derby; Kevin Frandsen started the game at 2B and played the entire game. He went 1 for 3 with an RBI. The RBI came on a hit batsman with the bases loaded to tie the game at 4.

Emmanuel Burriss came in to pinch run for Edgar Renteria and play SS. He went 0 for 1 with a run scored. Not to be outdone by Frandsen, Burriss also was hit by a pitch.

The 2 working together turned a 6-4-3 double play.

2009-03-19T23:54:00.000-07:00

Nate Schierholtz started in LF and went 1 for 3 with a double and a RBI. In this photo, the umpiring crew called this a check swing....I don't think so. It didn't matter as Nate struck out anyway (his only K of the game).

2009-03-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

The offensive player of the game award goes to Andres Torres (again). Andres went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, a stolen base and 2 runs scored. Andres' average now stands at .459 and his 13 runs scored are the best on the team.

I used this photo because you can see that JT Snow was back at the park. That is him sitting on the first folding chair next to Carney Lansford.

Giants (8) at Cubs (6)

2009-03-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Once again, not much coverage for you today. My daughter-in-law had to go back home this evening, so we had to leave early to get her to the airport. We left at the 7th inning stretch, with the Giants trailing 3-5. I was surprised to see the final score when I returned to my condo. Pretty nice to have a game won on a grand slam by a 19 year old middle infielder, Nick Noonan. But when are our starting 8 going to win a game? Seems like it is always the kids who have no chance to make the team. For those of you who don't follow the prospects, Noonan was the Giants sandwich round pick (between the 1st and 2nd rounds) in 2007, straight out of high school. He hit .316 in the Arizona rookie league in 2007 and .279 (with 68 RBI) in Augusta (single A) last year.

Lincecum started the game and was in trouble from the 1st pitch, a LONG HR to Alfonso Soriano. He gave up an additional 2 runs in that inning. Although he only gave up 1 additional tainted run over the next 2.2 innings and struck out 6, he really was not in rhythm the entire game. Timmy went deep in the count regularly, walked 4 and was charged with a wild pitch. Some days you just don't have it. As far as the tainted run I mentioned....in the 4th inning, Lincecum induced an easy groundball to Edgar Renteria's left. Renteria got there and just didn't reach down far enough as the ball ticked off his glove and trickled into LF. The hometown scorekeeper ruled it a hit........even the Cubs fan sitting next to me had already scored it as an error. No question it should have been scored an error, which would have made the 4th run unearned.

Most of you probably know that Pablo Sandoval was hit in the mouth with a bouncing ball. It looked worse than it was. Pablo backed up on the ball (usually a mistake) and the ball took a bad hop and hit him square in the face. He immediately went down and did not move until the trainers got there. At first, I thought he was knocked out. I also thought he was hit in the nose and that his nose was bleeding pretty badly, I later read it was his mouth and that he chipped a tooth and had his lips tore up a bit. Pablo wears braces and that further compounded the problem. Pablo has a bad habit of backing up on hard hit bouncing balls. Usually, his quick hands allow him to make the play. This time they didn't.

Offensively, the Giants regulars couldn't do anything against Cubs starter. Ryan Dempster. As has been the case for years now, with lots of different Giants against lots of different pitchers.........the Giants just couldn't time his slower pitches. They were out in front all day and that produced a series of popups and weak groundballs. You would think after 3 or 4 innings they would realize they have to wait a little longer to start their swing. But the Giants were out in front and reaching until Dempster left the game after 5. It wasn't until after Dempster left the game that the Giants were able to score their first runs in the 6th.

Unfortunately, I missed the best part of the game.....at least for a Giants fan who loves to watch the kids play. Maybe the Giants regulars can do something against the White Sox and John Danks tomorrow. With Sandoval out for a couple of days, it will be interesting to see who starts at 3B. Will they reward Ryan Rohlinger for his late innings heroics or will they give Jesus Guzman a start as a reward for his hot hitting (.421) or will they trot retread Juan Uribe out? I'm hopping for Rohlinger or Guzman......I'm betting on Uribe.

Giants (7) vs Brewers (5)

2009-03-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I was more interested in celebrating than documenting today's game......which is too bad because it was a good game. From what I remember (through my beer induced haze) the Giants did not score at all and looked totally dead against Jeff Suppan. Hopefully, they can correct that by opening day. A late inning inside the park HR by Mr. March, Ryan Rohlinger, helped to tie the game. I didn't know Rohlinger could run that fast. Then a 9th inning walk-off HR by Jesus Guzman ended it.

Pat Misch started and had his best spring outing. Too bad it came AFTER he was sent back to the Minor League camp. Madison Bumgarner had his second outing and continued to blow people away. Alex Hinshaw had one of his few scoreless innings. Even Billy Sadler managed to throw a perfect inning. Tim Alderson did not fare so well, raising his spring ERA to 22.50. And Francis Beltran gave up his first 3 runs of the spring.

That's about all for today. Tim Lincecum is slated to be back on the mound today against the Cubs, after a bout with bronchitis.

Giants (5) vs Angels (8)

2009-03-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

As just about everyone knows by now, Tim Lincecum was scratched from the game due to bronchitis. That made this a bullpen game with Jeremy Affeldt getting the start. In addition to that, the Giants gave almost every starter the day off, with the exception of Bengie Molina and either Kevin Frandsen or Manny Burriss (depending on who wins that battle), who started at 2B and SS respectively. By about the 5th inning the Giants had an entire infield that had no chance of making the team. So bottom line is, they didn't try real hard to win this game........and the result was their 4th loss in a row.

Considering the circumstances, the only thing that concerned me about this game was that 5 of the Angels 8 runs were scored off of the Giants' lefthanded and righthanded setup men. Bobby Howry gave up his first 2 runs of the spring, so there is no real concern there. Affeldt however, continues to struggle, as he gave up another 3 runs in 2 innings of work, on 3 hits (2 doubles) and a walk. Affeldt is obviously having mechanical problems. Between innings he and Dave Righetti had a long discussion that was punctuated with arm movements and such, indicating they were talking about mechanics. I'm not a pitching coach, but it looks like Jeremy is dragging his arm. On a high percentage of his pitches, his arm was still behind him after his landing foot hit the ground........not usually a good thing for a pitcher. No matter what the exact problem......he needs to fix it before the start of the season.

In the battle for second base, Frandsen went 1 for 3 with an RBI as he chopped the ball over a drawn-in Angels infield for an RBI. He was also caught stealing, when Jesus Guzman swung though a hit and run pitch. Burriss was 0 for 1 with a sacrifice bunt. Both played flawless defense, but didn't have any particularly tough chances.

Apparently, the Giants plan to make tomorrow's game against the Brewers another bullpen game with Billy Sadler as the starter. Considering Billy's 18.00 ERA, that should mean another "interesting" game.

2009-03-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

After slumping early in the spring, Bengie Molina had another 2 hits today to raise his average to .303. He also provided most of the runs for the Giants as he had 3 RBI on the day.

2009-03-16T23:56:00.000-07:00

Merkin Valdez was absolutely victimized by his teammates. He threw 1.1 innings and gave up a single and a walk......but managed to be charged with 2 earned runs. How is that possible you might ask. Well, I'll tell you. After a 1-2-3 seventh inning, Merkin got the first out in 8th inning. He walked the next batter. The next batter hit a groundball just to the right of firstbaseman Scott McClain. McClain misplayed the ball, but managed to have it tick off his glove as it headed into RF, resulting in a 1 out situation with runners at the corners. I would have scored it as an error, but the Scottsdale Stadium scorekeeper disagreed.

So now Rule 5 draftee, Luis Perdomo comes in to a 1st & 3rd situation with 1 out and proceeds to kill his chances of making the team. Luis was only able to get 1 out while allowing both of Merkin's runners to score, plus 1 runner of his own. Perdomo allowed a double and 3 walks in the short time he was in the game. Perdomo's ERA was saved from further damage when he was relieved by Waldis Joaquin who left all 3 of Perdomo's runners stranded. Waldis also pitched the 9th inning. Waldis continues to impress, as he struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced and lowered his spring ERA to 1.29. I am liking this guy.

Giants (3) vs Royals (11)

2009-03-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

After fighting back a couple of days ago to even their spring record at 8-8, the Giants had their 3rd game in a row when they just got trashed. The offense continues to get the absolute minimum runs out of their hits. Today it was 12 hits, including 3 doubles and a triple, which produced only 3 runs. Considering Barry Zito gave up that many runs in the first inning, you know it had to be a long day.

Speaking of Barry Zito, after a couple of good outings and a couple of mediocre outings, Zito was in mid-season form today. He was horrible. He did go 5 full innings, throwing 85 pitches, but too often those pitches had "hit me" written all over them........and they were coming in sooooo slow, that the batters had no problem reading them. He was tatooed for 10 hits, including 2 HR's and 2 doubles, and gave away another 3 walks. That was good for 6 earned runs and it probably should have been more. As I said before, there is no speed posting at the stadium, but the game was being repeated on the MLB channel and I saw a little bit of it while getting ready to go out for dinner. The gun on the replay showed Zito at a blistering 84 MPH. High School speed......High School results.

Alex Hinshaw continues to pitch his way off of the opening day roster as he gave up 1 run, a leadoff HR in the 9th, on 2 hits with 1 strikeout. 1 inning, 1 run........that's the way it has been for Hinshaw as his ERA now stands at an even 9.00.

Non-roster invitees, Andres Torres and Jesus Guzman both had doubles in their only AB's in the 8th when the Giants scored 2 of their 3 runs. Both of these guys are trying hard to make the team as Guzman is now batting .414 with a team high 10 extra base hits. Torres is batting a team high .452.

2009-03-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

Scott Barnes made his debut in today's game. I am sure it was not what he had pictured in his mind. He only lasted 2/3 of an inning, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk. He did strike out a batter. When Barnes left the game, only 1 run had crossed the plate, but he left the bases loaded for Jesse English. Jesse allowed all 3 runners to score on a walk and a hit before finally getting the last out of the inning.

Barnes went through 3 levels in the Minor League system in his first year as a pro last year, ending at Class A Augusta. In total, he gave up only 24 hits in 43.2 innings of work and wrung up 63 K's while only walking 12. Scott is only 21, so there is plenty of time for him to show better than he did today.

2009-03-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

Randy Winn got 2 hits today for, I believe, the first time this spring. Randy really has not been consistently hitting the ball with any authority. Today he had 1 bloop single and 1 hard hit line drive double in 3 AB's. The double was Randy's 1st extra base hit. He also struck out once. Of his 5 hits this spring there has been 1 infield hit and at least 2 bloopers that I can remember. Winn "raised" his spring average to .147.

2009-03-15T23:56:00.000-07:00

Pablo Sandoval was one of 3 Giants to get 2 hits.......of course Pablo seems to get 2 hits every day. He raised his average to .429 with 2 singles in 3 AB's. Pablo also made one nice reaction play on a hard hit ball hit right at him.

2009-03-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Emmanuel Burris was the other Giant to get multiple basehits. He played the entire game at 2B and had 2 singles in 4 AB's, raising his BA to .385.

Kevin Frandsen played SS for the second time this spring as he relieved Edgar Renteria. He was 1 for 2 with a run scored thanks to a SAC fly by Buster Posey. Kevin raised his average to .289 on the spring.

Giants (4) vs Padres (8)

2009-03-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of firsts for the young Giants. We got a look at 3 pitchers for the first time, Buster Posey went deep for the first time and Nate Schierholtz made his first appearance in a game since the first couple of games.

In looking at the box score, you would think Matt Cain had a terrible outing, allowing 5 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 4.1 innings. BUT Matt also had 7 strikeouts and a couple of his hits were the product of poor outfield defense and at least 3 runs would not have scored if the Giants had an outfielder in LF instead of Minor League infielder Matt Downs. Cain wasn't totally blameless however as he threw a few balls right over the middle of the plate and 2 walks in 4 innings is never acceptable.

Offensively, the Giants had plenty of hits to win this game. 11 hits including 3 doubles and 2 HRs will usually win a game for you. A pair of double plays (Renteria and Rohlinger) and 8 men left on base pretty much did them in offensively.

2009-03-14T23:58:00.000-07:00

The first young pitcher we saw today was Steve Edelfsen. Edelfsen relieved Cain with 1 on and 1 out in the 5th inning. He allowed Cain's runner to score on 1 hit, a double.

Edelfsen pitched in single A San Jose last year and had a 8-5 record with a 3.36 ERA. He also had a stint in the Hawaii Winter League where he didn't fare so well, compiling a 10.66 ERA in 12.2 innings of work.

2009-03-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

Next to the mound was 2007 first round draftee, Madison Bumgarner. It's hard to evaluate a pitcher based on 1 inning, but this kid throws hard. Physically, he does not look like someone who won't be 20 until August 1st. Look at the lower body on this kid. Those big thighs give him good drive off the mound. Today he threw 1 inning of no hit, 1 walk 1 strikeout ball. His control was OK as he threw 13 of 22 pitches for strikes. Both of his outs that weren't via strikeout were on groundballs.

Madison had the best ERA in the minors last year while pitching in Augusta (single A). He had a minuscule ERA of 1.46 while going 15-3. Not bad for a 18/19 year old in his first year as a pro.

2009-03-14T23:56:00.000-07:00

Tim Alderson followed Bumgarner to the mound. Although he is 9 months older than Bumgarner (still a pup) he doesn't seem to be as well developed, physically, and did not seem to throw the ball quite as hard. He had a not so good outing, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits (including a HR) while striking out 2. One of his hits, though, was another outfield misplay. Alderson is from Scottsdale, so he was pitching in front of his friends and family, some of which were sitting a couple of rows in front of us. That had to add to the nervousness factor a little bit.

Tim pitched in single A San Jose last year where he went 13-4 with a 2.79 ERA. He had a very good 124 to 34 strikeout to walk ratio.

2009-03-14T23:55:00.001-07:00

Travis Ishikawa had his 1st HR since the first game of the spring. He went 2 for 3 and is now batting .324 for the spring. It appears to me that Travis is pretty close to wrapping up the starting firstbaseman's job. I really haven't seen much to show me that anyone else is even in the running. Rich Aurilia has been the DH more than he has been at 1B and 36 year old Scott McClain is the only other person that is getting regular playing time there.

2009-03-14T23:55:00.000-07:00

Matt Downs looks like a hitter, but it might be time to end the outfield experiment. While playing the entire game in LF, he had 1 scored error and 3 additional misplayed balls that cost the Giants 3 or 4 runs in total. He doesn't judge the ball very well off the bat and tends to freeze until it is too late to go get the ball.

Offensively, he was 0 for 2 for one of the few times this spring, but he still walked twice, scored a run and got 1 RBI. He is batting .320 for the spring. Love the bat.....hate the glove.......at least in the outfield.

2009-03-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

Buster Posey came into the game to catch when Bumgarner came to the mound. I think the Giants are trying to get a relationship started here as soon as possible. Posey went 1 for 2 with a 2 run HR, his first of the spring, to raise his average to .385.

2009-03-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

Nate Schierholtz' injuries finally let him get into a game. He started in RF in the leadoff spot in the order. As soon as he got 2 ABs he came out of the game. They are obviously being very careful with him. He got an opposite field single in 2 ABs. Nate really needs to start playing. Looks like he finally has an opportunity this year and his body won't let him take advantage of it.

Giants (4) vs Japan (6) 3-11-09

2009-03-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Interesting game against Team Japan yesterday. The first thing you notice is the press coverage. There must have been 200 members of the press on the field before the game. I remember when Keiichi Yabu first reported to the Giants camp last year. He had an "entourage" of about 15 members of the Japanese Press following him everywhere.....and that was for a 39 year old who really wasn't very good when he was younger. Also the fans are very into this WBC stuff. About half of the people of Japanese decent in the crowd had a Japanese Flag drawn on their face and there were numerous signs written in Japanese throughout the crowd. My seats are right on the aisle behind the visitor's dugout. My view of the game was disturbed almost continuously by Japanese fans running down the aisle to the dugout and snapping photos of the players.....especially since Yu Darvish spent most of the game on the dugout railing right in front of me.

Tim Lincecum started the game and while he kept his spring ERA at 0.00, he was not as sharp as he has been in his other 3 spring starts. Timmy's problem was control related. He did strike out 5 batters, but he also walked 3 in 2.1 innings. He only allowed one single, but left 2 men on base when he left the game with 1 out in the 3rd. Tim threw 49 pitches in 2.1 innings as compared to 28 pitches in 3 full innings in his last start. In addition to the 3 walks he went deep in a lot of counts. Jesse English relieved Lincecum and helped Tim out by stranding both runners.

The Giants took a 4-0 lead after 3 innings and hit the ball pretty well off of the first 2 Japanese pitchers. The problem was that the Giants went hitless after the 4th inning. Their only offense from the 5th on was 2 walks and 1 hit batsman by submariner Shunsuke Watanabe. Giants' starters: Randy Winn (o for 2), Bengie Molina (0 for 3), Aaron Rowand (0 for 3 not to mention a GIDP), Rich Aurilia (0 for 2) and Eugenio Velez (0 for 4) all went hitless.

Although they did hit 3 doubles, it is obvious the Japanese Team lives on the principle of "small ball". Lots of dinks and bloopers fell for basehits, they stole 3 bases and 2 of their 6 runs scored by way of the sacrifice fly. The Japanese players are also more into the game than their American counterparts. The entire team was up on the dugout railing for the entire game and any player who scored went the entire length of the dugout receiving congratulations from his teammates. It actually reminded me a little of a high school game because of the level of enthusiasm from the players.

As I said......a very fun game to watch. It's always interesting to see the differences amongst cultures.......even when they are playing the same game.

Note: The Giants have an off day today and are playing the Rockies in Tucson tomorrow. Since I go to so many games these days, I have avoided the 2 hr one-way drive to Tucson for the past couple of years. So the next game I will be going to will be against the Padres on Saturday. It's supposed to be 75 degrees here the next couple of days. It will be hard to find something to do in weather like that.......but I will force myself.

2009-03-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Jesse English came on to relieve Tim Lincecum with 2 on and 1 out in the 3rd inning. Jesse stranded both runners with a fly out and a strikeout. English was put in this same situation (only with 2 outs) on Wednesday against the Rangers. In that situation he left both of Joe Martinez' runners stranded. The first batter faced in both games was a left hander. Is Jesse a get 1 or 2 outs to get out of the inning lefty specialist in the making?

2009-03-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have been one of the few Jack Taschner supporters for the last couple of years, but he is losing me. He just doesn't seem to be able to regularly get people out. Today it was 2 hits and and an error that allowed 2 runs, 1 earned. The good news is that he didn't walk anyone.......a problem that has always dogged him. Today's stats won't count against Spring Training numbers, but it wouldn't matter much since his spring ERA in 8.31 with 6 hits and SEVEN walks in 4.1 inning pitched.

2009-03-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Justin Miller was the losing pitcher today. Although his spring training ERA is 0.00, he didn't pitch nearly that well today. He allowed 5 runs on 4 hits (2 doubles) and a walk. He also struck out 1. Miller was charged with 2 wild pitches, but in my opinion one of them should have been a passed ball on Eli Whiteside. Justin was really the only pitcher that the Japanese team hit hard.

Alex Hinshaw did not help Miller out at all. He came into the game with 1 out and 2 men on. Alex proceeded to give up 2 hits and allowed both of Miller's runs to score. He also tallied 1 strikeout. This was a pretty average spring outing for Hinshaw, who has given up 8 hits in 4 innings now. I expected him to be almost a given in the 2009 bullpen, but he has me a little worried.

2009-03-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Brian Wilson pitched the 7th inning in typical Brian Wilson fashion. No runs scored, but he made it interesting with a basehit and 2 walks. Wilson helped himself out by turning a 1-6-3 double play. I really like Brian Wilson, but he NEEDS to cut down on those base on balls.

2009-03-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

Manny Burriss helped out his cause in the battle for 2B. He had 2 basehits, including a double, in 3 AB's and stole a base. He was also hit by a pitch.

2009-03-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Travis Ishikawa had a good, but slightly painful day. He was 1 for 1 with a walk and 1 RBI on a sacrifice fly. He was also hit by a pitch. I guess pitcher Tetsuya Utsumi didn't like someone named Ishikawa playing against the Japanese team.

2009-03-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Edgar Renteria had his best day as a Giant. He singled and scored in the first inning and hit a solo HR in the 3rd. Edgar also struck out once.

2009-03-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Pablo Sandoval had a good day at the plate. He had 2 singles in 3 AB's while scoring a run and batting 1 run in. Pablo also, believe it or not, drew another walk. This one doesn't count in the spring stats, but it doesn't change the fact that he now has 3 in 28 AB's and that's only 1 less than he had in 145 ABs with the Giants last year.

Pablo also committed his second error of the spring (again it doesn't count). On both errors, it looked like the ball "surprised" Pablo and he let a ball go by that was very close and required little or no movement on his part. I have seen him display quick, soft hands........but I am not too sure about concentration level.

2009-03-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Yu Darvish is the new poster boy for Japanese baseball. It seemed to me like he got more attention than even Ichiro. At 22 he already has 4 seasons and 652+ innings under his belt in the Japanese League. Oh......and that career 2.33 ERA (1.82 & 1.88 the last 2 years) doesn't hurt either. I missed quite bit of the game trying to peak around and through people trying to get his attention and/or photo.

2009-03-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ichiro Suzuki was at his customary position in the lineup, leading off for Japan. He was 1 for 3 with a walk on the day. The walk came off of Tim Lincecum, who broke Ichiro's bat on a groundout in the first inning.

2009-03-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

I included this photo because this guy, Shunsuke Watanabe, has the strangest delivery I have ever seen. He balks on every pitch from the stretch, but the unpires aren't calling it. He comes set, then lifts up his front foot and sets it right back down BEFORE he starts his delivery. It's almost like Robb Nen's toe tap....except he does it not during his delivery, but right before he starts his delivery. And his motion from the windup absolutely defies description. I wouldn't even attempt to describe it. I wish I had a mini-cam to film and post it. Strangest thing I have ever seen. It has to be on the internet someplace. If anyone can find it, let me know the location and I will attempt to post it here.

Giants (8) vs Brewers (6)

2009-03-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

Mr. March was at it again today. Ryan Rohlinger won the game, with a 3 run, walk-off HR in the bottom of the 9th. Ryan just keeps winning games in the late innings with his bat. The only difference today was this HR came with no one out, whereas his prior heroics all came with 2 outs. Rohlinger is now batting .444 and leads the team in RBI (8) and HR (3) even though he only has 9 at bats. His slugging percentage is a ridiculous 1.556. Oh those Spring Training numbers.

I will post a few more photos and comments later tonight or in the morning.

2009-03-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Barry Zito had an OK start, but gave up way too many baserunners. He threw a team high 4 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits (1 double) and 2 walks while striking out 1. The umpire was not giving Zito the borderline pitches and that always spells trouble for Barry.

2009-03-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Bobby Howry followed Zito and threw 2 innings. His spring ERA remained at 0.00 as he allowed no baserunners and struck out 2. I have been impressed with Howry. He still has good zip on his fastball and his control has been spot on since I first saw him throw live batting practice in mid-February.

2009-03-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Merkin Valdez followed Howry to the mound. He was not nearly as sharp as he was on Friday and could only last 1/3 of an inning. His control was WAY off and there didn't seem to be as much zip on his pitches. Merkin gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, including a triple and 2 walks. He also threw a wild pitch and hit a batter. Like I said.......little to no control. Hopefully he was just having a bad day and there is nothing physically wrong with him. Merkin needs to have a healthy season for once.

2009-03-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Waldis Joaquin replaced Valdez and did a great job bailing out Merkin. He got a double play from the first batter he faced and left Valdez' 2 runners stranded. He also pitched the 8th inning and gave up his first run of the spring on a double and a single. He walked none and struck out 1.

2009-03-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Luis Perdomo pitched the 9th inning and allowed a solo HR to allow the Brewers to take the lead 6-5. The HR was his only mistake as he got the other three batters he faced on a groundball and 2 flyball outs. Even though he gave up the lead, Luis was the eventual winner of the game thanks to Rohlinger's heroics in the bottom of the inning.

2009-03-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Beside's Rohlinger, 2 other Giants had HRs on the day to give the Giants the Major League lead in HR's hit this spring. Juan Uribe got one , a pinch hit, solo job in the 6th inning to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. It was Uribe's only AB of the game. His average is now an even .200. He has only had 5 hits, but 3 have been doubles and 1 a HR.

2009-03-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

The other HR came off the bat of John Bowker. Bowker went back-to-back after Uribe's HR and put the Giants up by 2. It was Bowker's 2nd HR of the spring. Unfortunately, his 1 for 3 (with a walk) line for the day raised his average to only .185.

2009-03-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

Even though the Giants rapped out 11 hits today, only Eugenio Velez had multiple hits. He went 2 for 3 with 2 singles, a run and an RBI raising his average to .276. As you can see from these 2 photos, Eugenio also stole his 2nd base of the spring.

Giants (10) vs A's (1)

2009-03-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Funny thing happened today. The Giants played the A's in a Spring Training game and actually WON. I didn't bring my camera to the game, but just a few quick observations.

Both teams had split squad games, with the A's also playing at home and the Giants playing in Tempe. That gave me a chance to see a couple of kids that came over from the Minor League camps. They are real easy to spot, because instead of the black jersey's with orange lettering that the Major Leaguers wear, the Minor Leaguers wear black with white lettering. Roger Kieschnick, Michael Ambort, Mike McBryde and Francisco Peguero all saw some action with the big club. They made their presence known as they went a combined 3 for 4 with 2 runs, 3 RBI and no strikeouts. Most impressive was Michael Lambort who made the most of his only AB by crushing a long 2 run HR down the LF line. Lambort was in Salem-Keizer (short season A) last season. He had 9 HRs and a 1.059 OPS in 34 games there. Of course he is a little on the old side for that league, since he will be turning 24 in April.

The youngsters that ARE on the roster also helped run the score up. Buster Posey was 1 for 2 with a single and a walk (now batting .375 for the spring). Matt Downs played RF again today and misplayed another ball off the wall, but that was more than made up for by his 3 for 4 performance with his 2nd HR of the spring, 2 runs and 3 RBI. Brian Bocock started at SS and went 1 for 2 with a run and a walk. Conor Gillaspie was 0 for 1 with one successful chance at 3B. All in all a very good showing for the kids.

Randy Johnson was today's starter and went a team high 3.1 innings. I don't think he was as sharp his last outing, but he still managed to pitch shutout baseball, allowing 3 singles and 2 walks while striking out 3. Osiris Matos gave up his first run of the spring. Francis Beltran, Justin Miller and Brian Wilson all kept their spring ERA's at 0.00, pitching 4 innings of 1 hit, 1 walk ball between them.

Add in Bengie Molina's HR and Fred Lewis' triple and double.....and a good time was had by all. Did you know the Giants lead the Cactus League in HRs? Hard to believe huh?

Giants (7) vs Rockies (9)

2009-03-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Giants again had not enough offense until it was too late. The regulars are still mostly in a slump with Randy Winn (.043), Edgar Renteria (.263), Bengie Molina (.238) and Aaron Rowand going a combined 2 for 10 on the day. Even starters Pablo Sandoval and Kevin Frandsen, who have been hitting well, got in on the act with a combined 0 for 4. Of the starters, only Travis Ishikawa stood out with a 2 for 3 performance. Of course, with no one ahead or behind him in the lineup hitting, Travis had no RBI or runs scored.

The score wasn't as close at it appears. It was 9-3 going into the bottom of the 9th. In the 9th, the Giants scored 4 runs on the strength of yet another 2 out HR by Ryan Rohlinger. This time with 2 men on base. Is it too early in his career to start calling Rohlinger "Mr. March"? You may recall that Ryan did this same thing last year, when he had some big hits late in games during the spring.

The pitching was impressive, at least the pitching that mattered. Ronnie Ray had a terrible outing, giving up 5 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks.....and that was just in 1 inning. Pat Misch continues his one good game, one bad game pattern by giving up 3 runs (2 earned) in his inning of work. He gave up 3 hits and a walk (plus an error). Too many baserunners to be sure, but he was victimized a little by bad luck (or bad infield positioning). On one base hit, with a man on first breaking on the pitch, the ball was hit to where Manny Burris HAD been. Manny had broke to cover 2B and even though he stopped and made a lunge for the ball........a weak ground ball got under his glove for a basehit. On another basehit, the exact same thing happened on the opposite side of the field only this time Renteria was covering 2B and he was able to stop the ball from getting through to the outfield, but it was an infield base hit. Two ground balls that could have been double plays, but the wrong guys were covering 2B.......just bad luck for Misch. The other run was given up by Henry Sosa who allowed 2 hits in the 9th and struck out 1.

The pitchers who are going to be on the team fared MUCH better. Matt Cain had another good outing. He threw 3 shutout innings allowing 3 hits and striking out 3 Rockies. The only really hard hit ball was Clint Barmes' triple. Cain was in control all the way. Bobby Howry pitched another perfect inning to keep his spring ERA at 0.00. Jeremy Affeldt threw 2 innings today and appears to be over his earlier mechanical problems. He allowed 1 hit and 1 walk, while tallying 1 strikeout. Affeldt looked MUCH better than he did earlier in the spring.

Defensively, it was a tight game, with one exception. Emmanuel Burriss continues to make stupid mistakes and make errors on easy plays. He committed another 2 errors today, both on easy groundballs that were hit right to him. On one play the ball landed right at his feet and he still had plenty of time to get the runner, but he panicked and could not find the handle on the ball, reaching down and missing it 2 or 3 times. I don't know what has happened to Burriss, I don't remember seeing this from him until this past Arizona Fall League season.

In what has been a pattern in past springs, the Rockies used only 17 players in the game, while the Giants used 26. Clint Barmes went 4 for 4 and 7 Rockies starters had 4 or more plate appearances. For the Giants Bowker had 4 and Ishikawa and Renteria had 3 PA's........no one else had more than 2. Also the Rockies starter went 4 innings and they even had a reliever go 3.2 innings. Heck.....the Giants haven't even had a starter go more than 3.0 innings. Yet another reason why Spring Training is hard to handicap.

2009-03-07T23:58:00.001-08:00

2009-03-07T23:57:00.000-08:00

2009-03-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

2009-03-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

Giants (4) at Angels (5)

2009-03-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

Once again, the same scenario played itself out today. Most of the Giants pitching staff had a great game.......but Ramon Ortiz comes into the game....throws 2 innings.......and gives it up. In this case Ortiz followed Tim Lincecum and Merkin Valdez into the game in the 5th inning. He entered a no hit, shutout with the Giants leading 2-0. He left after 1.2 innings having given up 3 runs on 4 hits and a hit batsman. The (almost) funny thing is..........Ortiz actually LOWERED his ERA to 19.29. I will say this again.....why sign a guy like this to even a Minor League contract? A 5.82 ERA in the Japanese League is not exactly a sterling entry to have on your resume. Why would you want a 35 year old (soon to be 36) taking up a spot that should be taken by a youngster......at any level?

On this day, Ortiz needed an accomplice to lose the game. After the Giants came from behind to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the 9th on a Ryan Rohlinger HR, Billy Sadler came into the game to attempt a save. It has been a struggle for Billy to even get the ball over the plate all spring. Today.......that was not the problem. Sadler gave up a double and a HR to the only 2 batters he faced to blow the save and lose the game. These were the only 2 extra-base hits the Angels had all day. Billy Sadler now has a worse ERA than Ortiz at 27.00.

The other 4 pitchers did a great job. Collectively, they threw 6.1 innings and gave up exactly 1 single and 1 walk. As a matter of fact, even though Sadler and Ortiz did their best to fatten the Angels' batting averages, the Giants outhit the Angels 10-7 and had more extra basehits 3-2. But, as has been a problem with the Giants for a few years now........they also left more men on base than the Angels 6-2.

I will post a few photos with some more coments as the evening goes on.

2009-03-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Tim Lincecum started the game and pitched another 3 dominant innings. He gave up no hits and 1 walk while registering 3 strikeouts. He has now given up 1 walk and 1 hit in 3 games thus far this spring. He is getting a bunch of swing-throughs, which tells you his "stuff" is excellent. He is mixing his pitches up and today got at least 1 K on a changeup. The only thing I don't quite understand is....he has thrown only 65 pitches in 3 games. I know Spring Training is longer this year.....but heck, he threw 30 pitches the first time he threw live batting practice. If the Giants continue to be so overprotective of him, it might backfire and leave him unprepared to throw 100 pitches a game for 33 starts.

2009-03-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

It was great to see Merkin Valdez throwing in a game again. I didn't think his fastball was as overpowering as I remembered it, but it must have been moving or he was hitting his spots well. Besides....it's his frst appearance. After starting his first batter off with 3 straight balls, he came back strong to get 2 weak flyballs to LF and a groundball out. No hits, no walks, no K's. Stay healthy Merkin. The bullpen needs you.

2009-03-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

Brandon Medders followed Ramon (Gas Can) Ortiz to the mound. He gave up a single to the 1st batter he faced to allow Ortiz' last runner to score. He got the next batter to finish off the 6th inning. Medders came back out for the 7th and pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 inning. Medders struck out one. Brandon has been a pleasant surprise, throwing 5.1 innings this spring. allowing just 1 hit, 2 walks and 4 K's.

I did not get a decent photo of Waldis Joaquin who pitched the 8th inning. Waldis continued a great spring while throwing 1 inning and allowing no hits or walks and striking out 1. Joaquin's spring ERA remained at 0.00.

2009-03-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

There was not much headway made in the competition for the 2B job. Kevin Frandsen was the DH and Burriss was the second baseman. Frandsen went 2 for 4 with 2 singles. Burriss was 2 for 3 with a couple of singles and a HBP. Burriss was caught stealing again. He is only 1 for 3 in stolen base attempts. He just is not reading the pitchers real well.

2009-03-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

Fred Lewis walked in his first AB and scored the first run of the game as he took off on the pitch (shown here) and scored easily on Bengie Molina's double. He also reached base later in the game on a fielder's choice, stole 2B and scored his 2nd run of the game on a basehit by Rich Aurilia. His line for the day was 0 for 2. But the 2 runs he scored without benefit of a basehit would have been big.........except for this guy named Ortiz.

I did notice a pronounced limp as he returned to the dugout after scoring his 2nd run.

2009-03-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

Bengie Molina had a good day, going 2 for 3 with the game's first RBI on a 2 out double.

2009-03-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

Ryan Rohlinger replaced Juan Uribe at 3B and had a clutch 2 out, 2 run HR in the top of the 9th to put the Giants ahead 4-3. Ryan would have been the hero of the game if not for Billy Sadler coming out and crapping all over the field in the bottom of the 9th. Oh....and Rohlinger is now batting a cool .400 for the spring. Didn't he do this same thing last year?

2009-03-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Randy Winn continued his spring futility with yet another 0 fer. This time it was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. With swings like this one, you can see why he is 1 for 21 (.048) so far in Cactus League competition. Nate Schierholtz needs to get healthy.

Giants (2) vs A's (4)

2009-03-05T20:56:00.001-08:00

The Giants faced the A's today. So it being a Spring Training game.......naturally the Giants lost. The Giants looked like they were fielding a split squad or even a "B" team. Kevin Frandsen and Travis Ishikawa were the only players who are competing for starting jobs who played in the game. Steve Holm was the catcher, Juan Uribe at SS, Jesus Guzman at 3B, Eugenio Velez in LF, Andres Torres in CF and John Bowker in RF.

The Giants' "A" team is nothing to write home about offensively......this team was lucky to score 2 runs on 6 lousy hits. Every year the Giants throw more "B" lineups out there than any other team in the Cactus League. It's been that way since the Dusty Baker days. A first inning leadoff bunt by Andres Torres, 2 advances on groundballs and a wild pitch accounted for the Giants' first run. A solo HR by Jesus Guzman accounted for the only other run.

The A's effectively put the game away when they scored 4 runs in the first two innings off of Joe Martinez. The Giants pitchers shut the A's out the rest of the way....but the Giants lineup couldn't get more than half way to catching up to the original 4 runs. The good news is the Giants featured 4 pitchers today with ERA's of 0.00 and 1 pitcher with an ERA of 2.25. But the offense just couldn't catch up.

There was a Will Clark sighting today. Will was on the field before the game and must have signed autographs for 30 minutes. Once the game began, he sat on the field next to the dugout until about the 7th inning. It was good to see Will back in the orange and black. He never should have played in any other uniform.

2009-03-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Today would have been Jonathan Sanchez' day to start. But since he pitched for Puerto Rico against Tampa Bay yesterday, Joe Martinez was pressed into action. (By the way........Sanchez threw 3 innings of 1 hit 2 K ball). Joey did not have a good day as he gave up all 4 of Oakland's runs in his 2 innings of work. 5 hits and 1 walk in 2 innings just isn't going to cut it for Martinez, He looked pretty dejected as he left the diamond. Joey gave up the only 4 runs that Oakland would score on the day.

In the background is Travis Ishikawa who went 0 for 3 and dropped his average to .364.

2009-03-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

Jack Taschner followed Martinez and was typical Taschner. He pitched 1.1 innings and gave up 2 hits and a walk. No runs for once, but not very impressive either.

2009-03-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

Next up was Osiris Matos who had a really good outing. He finished off Taschner's 2nd inning and left 2 of Taschner's runners stranded. He then pitched a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the 5th. He threw 1.2 innings........no hits, no walks (also no strikeouts) and kept his spring ERA at 0.00.

2009-03-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Brian Wilson pitched the 6th inning. He kept his spring ERA at 0.00 by going 1 inning and allowing 1 double and tallying a strikeout.

2009-03-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

Francis Beltran followed Wilson and also kept his ERA at 0.00. He threw a hitless inning and struck out 1 batter.

2009-03-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

Justin Miller threw the 8th inning. He gave up his first hit of the spring, but pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one.

2009-03-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Luis Perdomo closed out the game with yet another scoreless inning. No hits, 2 K's

2009-03-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

John Bowker had another poor game. 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts and he looked pretty bad doing it. He did have an outfield assist when he threw a runner out at 3B. John is now hitting .118 on the spring.

2009-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

2009-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Giants (7) vs Diamondbacks (6)

2009-03-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

It was really a good game today, except for Ramon Ortiz.......who is a complete waste of an orange and black uniform.

Randy Johnson started the game and must have had a grudge to settle with his former team. Randy pitched 3 full innings and struck out 7....SEVEN Diamondbacks, including striking out the side in the 1st inning. He gave up 2 singles and a walk in a dominating performance. Johnson was really never threatened because one of the singles and the walk came after he struck out the first 2 batters in the first inning. After that it was clear sailing. Anyway, can we engineer him facing the Diamondbacks 20 times this year?

Which brings up a question (not really, but I needed a transition)......why do the Giants sign people like Ramon Ortiz? The man had a 5.82 ERA for the Orix Blue Wave in the Japan League last year. I know he was only a Minor League signing with a non-roster invite to the Major League camp..........but......exactly where and at what level do you want him pitching for the Giants' organization? I would rather have a 19-21 year old nobody.....anybody....take the spot designated for him in the Minors. Ramon gave up 2 runs in the 4th inning and the Giants had someone up in the bullpen ready to replace him. When Ortiz wiggled his way out of the inning, the bullpen sat down and Ortiz was trotted out for the 5th inning. Ortiz reponded to the faith his team showed in him by allowing another 3 runs. He pitched 2 innings and allowed 5 ER's on 7 hits (including a double and a triple), a walk and 2 strike outs. Just a terrible performance.

You have to wonder if the Giants need more than 58 players in camp. First, with the injuries to Schierholtz, Lewis and Roberts, they have infielders playing the outfield and blowing games (Matt Downs yesterday). Then they feel compelled to leave a scrub like Ortiz in the game for 2 innings when he is throwing batting practice. Where is Justin Hedrick? Adam Cowart? Garrett Broshuis? And any number of Giants farmhands who surely couldn't do worse? I just don't get it.

Bottom line is that Ortiz gave up 5 of the 6 runs the Diamondbacks scored. Other that that....the pitching staff did a great job.

The offense was decent....especially after the 4th inning. Eugenio Velez had a solo HR for the Giants first run and Pablo Sandoval had a 2 run HR in the 6th. The team tallied a total of 11 hits.

Much better game today than yesterday. Tomorrow I go to the Dodger's brand new park in Glendale. Have I mentioned I hate the Dodgers? Hopefully, Barry Zito has a good day tomorrow.

The Day's Rotation

2009-03-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

2009-03-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

2009-03-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

I think I see Aaron Rowand's problem. Shouldn't your eyes be OPEN when you swing the bat?

2009-03-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

2009-03-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

2009-03-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

2009-03-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

Giants (5) at Royals (14)

2009-03-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

This was just a horrible game. If it wasn't so sad....it would be funny. The Giants gave up 18 hits, 10 walks (TEN!!!!) and had 3 scored errors plus 3 more defensive miscues that weren't scored as errors. If it wasn't for the Royals trying to keep up with the Giants in the error category...the Giants would only have scored 2 runs (the other 3 were unearned). In the Giants 3 run inning, the Royals had 3 double play situations and had a total of 1 out to show for it. Try as they might....the Royals could not come CLOSE to paying as badly as the Giants.....but then who could?

I posted the photo to the left to show the attendance of this game. And this was in 3rd inning when it was still 3-3. Apparently, Spring Training fans knew what this game was going to be like and wisely stayed away. The announced attendance was 3,200. I have not been to a Spring Training game with this few people in 20 years.

OK......I am now going to finish this up and have a LARGE stiff drink. Tomorrow has to be better.....doesn't it?

2009-03-02T16:28:00.001-08:00

Matt Cain did not have a great outing, but should have fared better than he did. 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 ER and 2 K's in 1 2/3 innings. The real killer was a flyball to RF that was misplayed into a 2 RBI triple. Matt was throwing 90-91 and I think I saw only 1 pitch as high as 92. Hopefully he is just now working his speed up to normal levels. He struck out the first 2 batters he faced but then started getting the ball up. Bad defense aside, this was not a good outing for Matt.

2009-03-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Jesse English followed Cain in the 2nd and got the only batter he faced out. I didn't get a photo of Jesse in action because it never occurred to me he would only face 1 batter. I guess the planned rotation had Cain only going 2 innings.

2009-03-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Kevin Pucetas followed English and couldn't get out of the 3rd inning as he gave up 4 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and a walk. He was tagged with the loss because he entered the game right after the Giants had tied the game at 3.

2009-03-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Ronnie Ray followed Pucetas and not only helped Pucetas by stranding his 2 runners, but also pitched a scoreless inning of his own. Officially, Ronnie gave up 3 basehits. One of the hits was a ground ball to 2B that should have been scored an error. Ray did not walk or strikeout anyone.

2009-03-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless/hitless inning in the 5th. As is typical with Brian, he had some control problems, walking 2 batters. He was not wild to a specific location......outside, low, high, etc. He was hitting 96 on the radar with regularity. Not bad for March 2nd. If he threw his changeup....I didn't see it.

2009-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

Jack Taschner was horrible as he gave up 3 hits, 3 walks and 3 ER's in the 6th inning. He also struck out 2 batters. I was so disgusted after watching this inning that I left and did not see Keiichi Yabu give up another 4 runs in only 2/3 of an inning in the 7th. Unfortunately, I also missed Waldis Joaquin finish off the 7th and pitch the 8th giving up no hits, 1 walk and 2 K's.

2009-03-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

Rich Aurilia had a bad day while starting at 3B. He went 0 for 3 and had an error on a groundball that he let play him. He was able to glove the ball (he still has pretty quick hands), but then bounced the throw about 2/3rds of the way to 1B. The throw was also wide as Bowker kept the ball from getting by, but had to leave the bag to do so. In the same inning, Rich let an attempted sac bunt go, expecting it to roll foul.....of course it didn't and ended up being a basehit. I don't know if he was gunshy and didn't want to attempt a throw or not, but it looked like a relatively easy play if he would have grabbed the ball when he first reached it.

2009-03-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

John Bowker also had a bad day as he went 0 for 2. He did walk with the bases loaded for an RBI. John was charged with an error when a pickoff throw from Matt Cain hit him right in the glove and some how bounced away to allow the runners to advance. It just looked like he closed the glove before the ball got there. I don't know how.....but that's what it looked like.

2009-03-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

Manny Burriss had a good day with the bat. Here he bunts safely for his first hit of the game. Later he got one of the longest singles I have ever seen. He hit the ball over the CF head VERY DEEP. Dave Roberts was on 1B and concluded the ball was going to be caught. Since it was so deep, Dave wanted to tag up and go to 2B. He turned his back on the play and did not immediately realise the ball was going to drop safely. When it went over the CF head, Burriss had to slam on the brakes to keep from passing Roberts on the basepaths.

On defense, he attempted to field a hardhit groundball that was hit right at him. The ball ran up his arm and bounced off of his chest. The Surprise Stadium scorekeeper ruled it a hit. He literally did not have to move. I am sure that 100 out of 100 Major League scorekeepers would have ruled it an error.

2009-03-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Matt Downs was one of only 2 fielders to play the entire game. He went 1 for 4 at the plate....but like most of the team his defense was lacking. He was playing RF when a high flyball was lifted to the wall, He got back to the wall and was in a position to make the play, then he sort of shied away like he thought he was going to hit the wall hard. As he reached his glove up, the ball hit the wall, under his glove, about head high. Since the ball never touched his glove, it was ruled as a triple charged to Matt Cain. An absolute killer of a play that helped doom the team early in the game.

2009-03-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

Fred Lewis was the DH in the game. He went 1 for 4 with a couple of strikeouts. Fred has seen very little action in the field. As we know, he Fred can use all of the outfield practice he can get. I can only assume his toe (operation to remove a bunion) is still bothering him.

2009-03-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

Andres Torres was the other fielder who played the entire game. Torres had a good day at the plate, going 2 for 4, scoring a run and striking out once.

Stop me if you have heard this before.......in the field he committed a big error, also affecting Matt Cain. With a man on 1B, the batter hit a blooper that fell in front of Andres in shallow CF. The runner must have misjudged Torres' location because he rounded 2B and headed for third. Torres came up throwing and it looked like the runner was going to be out by 20 feet at 3B. Unfortunately, Torres launched a rocket.....that sailed WAY over the Rich Aurila's head and skipped off of the top of the dugout and into the crowd. So, instead of no score, runner out and batter safe at 1B.........it was runner scores......batter ends up at 3B. Just freakin' amazing!

Giants (5) vs Brewers (2)

2009-03-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

I didn't take my camera to the game today so sorry no photos. Just a few quick observations.

Tim Lincecum started and was in mid-season form. The threw 3 perfect innings. Not a single baserunner reached base and he struck out 2 Brewers. In contrast to his first start where he threw 18 pitches in 1 inning, Timmy only needed 17 pitches to get through the first 2 innings today. I lost track of the total number of pitches for the 3 innings, but I read it was 27 (19 strikes). Damn impressive performance.

Billy Sadler did not help his cause by giving up the only 2 Brewers runs of the game on 2 hits (1 double), a walk and a strikeout. Jeremy Affeldt had another less than impressive outing. While he didn't give up any runs, Jeremy came close by loading the bases on 2 hits and a walk. He also threw a wild pitch. But then again he showed what he is capable of by getting 2 of the 3 outs via strike out.

We saw Luis Perdomo for the first time. He threw a hitless inning with 2 K's and looked good., although he faced mostly Minor Leaguers. Luis is a rule 5 draftee who has to remain on the roster or be offered back to St. Louis. So far so good, but it is very early. Bobby Howry pitched his 2nd scoreless inning of the spring. He allowed 1 single and tallied 1 strikeout.

Offensively, the Giants didn't hit very well, but did enough to win. No Giant had more that 1 hit and they totaled only 7 on the day. The big blow was, of course, John Bowker's 3 run HR in the 6th. The first pitch HR was only Bowkers 2nd hit in 11 AB's this spring and he has an unacceptable total of 5 strikeouts. The HR helped, hut he still has a ways to go to make the team this year.

Buster Posey saw his first action behind the plate in the last 3 innings of the game. He looked comfortable, but he really didn't have any tests. Affeldt threw a wild pitch past Buster, but it was really wild and there wasn't much chance to block the ball. Posey had only 1 plate appearance and lofted a medium deep sacrifice fly for his first RBI.

Pablo Sandoval had one of the best at bats I have seen in a long time. He got to an early 1-2 count and then started fouling off pitch after pitch. If the ball was inside or off-speed, he would pull it foul. If it was a fast ball or on the outside part of the plate, he would foul it the other way. After several fouls, he worked the count full before lining a single to CF. Pablo worked the pitcher for 14 pitches....heck that's only 3 pitches less than it took Lincecum to complete 2 innings. Just a great at bat. In other breaking news.......Pablo actually took a walk in his final plate appearance.

In the 2B competition, not much headway was made today. Burriss was 0 for 2 and Frandsen was 0 for 3. Frandsen did make a nice play on a hard hit linedrive that I thought was over his head and into RF. Frandsen snagged the ball and threw to Edgar Renteria to double off the runner, who like me also thought it was going to be a hit. When he got into the game, Eugenio Velez played LF. Looks to me like he is already out of the competition for the 2B job.

Tomorrow is the long trip out to Surprise to see the Giants face the Royals again. Hopefully, the Giants can do better than the 6-1 loss the Royals hung on them on Friday.

2009-03-01T09:14:00.001-08:00

Still think Tyler didn't lose a little weight? Sometimes it takes getting cut to motivate a player.

Giants (4) at Mariners (6)

2009-02-28T16:22:00.001-08:00

The Giants lost again today running their record to 1-3. This was a back-and-forth game with the lead changing hands 3 times. Barry Zito pitched about as well as I have seen him pitch during Spring Training. The only qualifier is that I thought he got a couple of pretty generous calls from the home plate umpire. The only real disappointment of the day was Alex Hinshaw. This is another pitcher I had hoped would be a big help this year. He couldn't get out of his inning and was hit hard pretty much anytime he came in over the plate. Ronnie Ray and Joey Martinez also gave up runs, but they are not expected to contribute this year, so I am not so bothered by their performance.

The offense was pretty good, but you should probably score more than 4 runs when you get 10 hits with a HR and 4 doubles. Fred Lewis got his first HR of the spring. If you look at the photo below, you can see the HR ball leaving his bat. Kevin Frandsen manufactured a run when he got yet another basehit, induced the pitcher to balk him to 2B, took 3B on a flyball out and scored on a 2 out basehit by Pablo Sandoval. Kevin is now hitting .800 for the spring.

Also below I included a photo of Tyler Walker. Is it just me or did Tyler finally lose some weight? Watch him have a great year this year for Seattle.

Not a bad game to watch...but at 1-3, the Giants are starting down the same road they traveled last spring when it became hard to even watch the games. Hopefully they can do better tomorrow at home against the Brewers.

Today's Rotation

2009-02-28T16:10:00.001-08:00

2009-02-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

2009-02-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

2009-02-28T16:07:00.000-08:00