The Giants once again looked like a different team than the one that stunk up the Arizona desert last week. Tight pitching and timely hitting is what got them a ring last year and they were on the same track tonight in Oakland. Key lines:
Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 2, HR(2). BA= .270. Nate replaced Burrell in LF and homered. I would certainly hope that Nate is not on any sort of roster bubble after a solid spring.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .282. Belt was the DH tonight. Gio Gonzalez is the second tough LHP Belt has faced in as many nights. He held his own in this one.
Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .280.
Barry Zito- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.30. Ugly K/BB here, but didn't give up a run until the 6'th inning. If he can do that most starts in the regular season and maybe get to the 7'th instead of the 6'th, the Giants will be OK.
Ramon Ramirez- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Ramirez allowed a runner he inherited from Zito to score, but then got out of the inning and into the next.
Dan Runzler- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.20. Runzler sure looks like he should be on the team to me. Having the option may work against him though.
Guillermo Mota- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K's, Save. ERA- 3.29. Mota has really pitched well enough to make the team too, but not as well as Kroon or Runzler.
Brian Wilson will definitely start the season on the DL opening up an extra bullpen slot, temporarily. The Giants released Jeff Suppan who only had one really bad outing, but couldn't beat out some insanely tough competition for a roster spot. He'll try to hook on with another team. I'm really not sure he's a better option for any team than their existing #5 starter though.
The Giants and A's return to AT&T Park for an afternoon game to close out the Bay Bridge Series before heading down south to LA. Yeah, Beat LA! It's Madison Bumgarner's turn to take the mound and try to shake off the desert doldrums.
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if there was no rowand and no service time situation...belt would be on the 25 man
ReplyDeleteimpressed with zito....with the stache, not so much
he does have to watch the bb's though
pitching looks great...defense looks average...offense is what it is, and it is a bit better than last year
liked how belt broke up the dp, and how pablo scooted up the line, which wouldve made it hard to double him up....much better than last season
still hope they go with kroon
despite runzler's great spring, i think they are gonna use his option
i hope those that get sent down realize, that at least this season, it has little to do with talent of the lack thereof...the team is just that deep
they should not rush wilson...from the back thing to the oblique..if he isnt 110 percent, he could end up with nagging injuries all season long
same with ross
a's should have an interesting season...nice mix of vets and youth....godzilla should be able to teach the kids a thing or two...and he still has a good bat
they have a very nice starting 5...pen, is ok
unless there is a deal in the works for ti, i dont understand why he hasnt been given an outright yet
he is definitely the odd man out (unless, god forbid, there is a trade in the works, using nate)
btw...watching rowand...the crouch and butt out stance is not as extreme....but you can easily see why he pretty much stinks at the plate
that stance does nothing, as he has to straighten up for each swing...which takes both time and effort
that slider he k'd on was at his head
Yeah, I'm no hitting coach, but I really think the batting stance is a big part of Rowand's problem. The timing mechanism is way too long. He could adjust in time when he was younger but not now.
ReplyDeletegood and bad news
ReplyDeletebelt to start at first
runzler in the pen
kroon and ti cut