Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Spring Training Update: Game Wrap Giants 8 Dodgers 4

Melky Cabrera had a big day to lead a vigorous Giants offense in beating the hated ones. Key Lines:

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 4, 2 HR. BA= .455. Melky has always had the tools. He has not always had the conditioning or motivation. Hate to get my hopes up, but I could see a scenario where last year was only the beginning for him.

Emmanuel Burriss- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .444. Burriss played LF today and is definitely gunning for a roster spot which the GIants appear to want him to win.

Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 4, 2B, SB. BA= .300. Nate wants to run more.

Brett Pill- 2 for 4, HR. BA= .462. Pill is out to get a roster spot and maybe more.

Hector Sanchez- 0 for 4. BA= .444. The Hector cools off.

Joe Panik- 2 for 2, 3B. BA= 1.000!

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 2, BB. BA= .571.

Barry Zito- 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. I don't remember his line from his first spring start last year, but I think it was a lot worse.

Steve Edlefsen- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Heath Hembree- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Buster Posey ran the bases for the first time and hit the bag twice with his left foot. Early reports are the ankle felt much better and he will probably play in his first spring game this week.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound tomorrow against the Rockies.

13 comments:

  1. I seem to remember his first start last year being worse than just bad. It actually REALLY pissed off the org, who was expecting him to come into camp with a chip on his shoulder after being left off the post-season roster. He did not appear to translate that chip to the field.

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  2. zito was spotting his pitches, but couldnt break 83 on the fb

    he is gonna have to be perfect in every outing with lots of run support, to get past the 4th

    he still sux

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  3. check that...the gun may have been off by 5mph....hembree was clocked at 91-93

    oh....and maury wills (BOOOOOOO)paid a visit with manny

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    1. I don't think most of these guys go all out in their first appearance, although I would think, once again, that Zito would come in wanting to make a statement.

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    2. I think we all know by now that Zito is not really capable or interested in making any kind of a statement.

      It's business as usual for him.

      As many have stated, the man is capable of putting together a decent half season. Let's hope he's scheduling that for the first half of '12.

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  4. Gary Brown had a nice single, then tried to take 2nd not going all out on a pitch in the dirt and got gunned. Grounded out his 2nd AB.

    If Hector had wheels he would have had 2 hits - balls deep in the hole. Uribe does have a great arm still.

    Panik's triple was the best, he fought off a couple of 0-2 pitches, got his pitch and roped it into the corner, stand up triple. I like him a lot.

    Hembree looked good. Didn't know anything about the radar. Zito had a good first inning and a bad 2nd inning. That's a little microcosm of how I expect him to go: good for 2-3 starts, and then the wheels will come off. If you add 5 MPH he might be getting towards 87-88. Ethier took him on a no-doubter.

    Oh, and Melky looked good. Speed watching a dvr is weird. I like watching as it happens. Manny B made a nice running catch on a flare, and had a double. Adrianza has a very similar stance to Burriss, I confused em twice.

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    1. with his bat, i see no reason why the org should not shift panik to 2nd

      pablo, craw, panik.....nothing would get out of the if

      think of the pressure taken off the pitching staff

      and pablo/panik take the offensive pressure off craw....who is gonna bat 8th no matter what

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  5. OT: the SJ Staredown continues. Looks like the A's don't have ownership votes. Kawakami has the good point that the NYC/CHI teams aren't going to set precedent with existing territory. So Selig is doing his usual consensus build/stall while he tries to back door the Giants. Good for them on keeping the high ground and the hole cards. Wolff is content to take his 30MM a year and profit. It might be a war chest to pay off the Gints, but he doesn't really look like a crazy dreamer to me, I bet he's looking for a buy out ultimately himself. This isn't getting worked out quickly, so there will be much more RDF in the future as well.

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    1. Sorry if my question is not relevant, I don't know accurately how this part of baseball business is ruled.
      But why is it that important for the Athletics to stay within the bay area and share with the Giants this territory?
      Cities like Portland or Las Vegas seem to be a good place to implement a baseball team with no rights territory competition. Is it impossible? Isn't there any investor who could be interested in ruling a baseball franchise?
      I don't understand the A'S stubbornness in this case.

      GIP

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  6. I think it would be very difficult to get a stadium built in Portland. Las Vegas is a possibility. They'd have to find a way to make it a "destination" and tie in with the whole gambling/entertainment scene there.

    I've also read hints that contraction of the A's and Rays is on the backburner as a serious possibility. They'd have to find to way to mollify the MLBPA though. Possibly expand rosters of the remaining teams by 2 or something so the total numbers of MLB roster slots stays the same?

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    1. I'm starting to think the A's will go on the market once the Dodgers' sale is completed.

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    2. That would be way over the line, I am not in favor of the elimination of the A's AT ALL. If I understand you, the two teams would merge into one, and essentially become the Tampa Bay A's Rays? I can't even begin to imagine how this might be good for either of the teams, their owners, certainly not their fan bases, nor the players. The other thing perhaps you are getting at is that both teams would be run out, which is equally as heinous, as the Rays are an excellent team and organization and have been giving the BoSox and Yanks a run for their money nearly every year now. As for the A's - they're in a real slump right now. Honestly, the decision to keep Bean around for a bunch longer seemed a little desperate on the part of the owners, essentially saying "with the way we run things around here, there probably isn't anyone else ready to put up with it or prepared to take over at this stage of the mess."

      The A's moving somewhere else I can absolutely see happening, and it's looking less and less like it'll be SJ.

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    3. Hey, I didn't say I was if favor of contraction. I was just reporting something I read. I have no idea how serious the notion is. Probably just idle speculation. I am not as aghast at the idea of contraction as it sounds like you are, but I think there are probably better alternatives.

      It seems to me the quickest, least expensive way for the A's to become viable again is to build a nice, cozy baseball only stadium in the Colosseum parking lot. Then, the owner needs to temporarily go over budget on some players to get a more attractive, competitive product on the field. Just my own opinion, but I think they need a new GM too, but they've kind of painted themselves into a corner with that one. Maybe they could tell Billy they will release him from his contract if he can find a better deal with another team?

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