Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/31/2012

AAA  Game 1  Colorado Springs Skysox pounded the Fresno Grizzlies 9-4:

Nothing to see here.

Game 2  Fresno Grizzlies downed the Colorado Springs Skysox 7-3:

Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .319.
Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(12).  BA= .300.
Jackson Williams(C)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(9).  BA= .263
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.91.

Free Jackson Williams!

AA  Reading Phillies defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-4:

Nothin' much to see here either.  Sorry!

High A  San Jose Giants outslugged the Bakersfield Blaze 8-6:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .293.
Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 5, SB(8).  BA= .277.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 5, HR(20).  BA= .249.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 1 for 5, HR(12).  BA= .247.
Alex Burg(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .272.
Jarrett Parker(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .246.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.68.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets edged the Rome Braves 6-5:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB, 2 SB(33). BA= .242.
Shawn Payne(LF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .314.
Devin Harris(DH)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(1).  BA= .239.
Brett Krill(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .279.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.64.

Mike Newman from Fangraphs said he was planning to try and scout Blackburn and Crick when they came to Rome.  I'll be interested in reading what he has to say.  Games like this from Galindo make you dream a little bit.

Short Season  Vancouver Canadians topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 3-2:

Mike Merganthaler(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .173.
Chris Johnson(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.61.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.14.
Armando Paniagua(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

Rookie AZL  Mariners downed the Giants 4-1:

Jonathan Jones(1B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .291.
Leonardo Fuentes(DH)- 0 for 4, 4 K's.  BA= .070.

Jones continues to impress at the plate hitting for average as well as power.  Fuentes is even more lost at the plate than Brandon Belt, if that's possible.

DSL  Giants smacked the Pirates 7-2:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .244.
Carlos Valdez(RF)- 1 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .242.
Royel Astacio(PH-DH)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .244.
Moises Mesa(LF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .340.
Alejandro Flores(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.68.
Noel Diaz(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 7.82.

Game Wrap 7/31/2012: Giants 4 Mets 1

Oh, what a difference a day makes!  Yesterday, there was enough despair for to raise the stocks of the pharmaceutical companies who make anti-depressants.  The Giants looked like a beaten team while the Dodgers were adding piece after piece for a run to the division title.  Then the Giants made a trade for Hunter Pence.  Hunter Pence wasn't even in the ballpark tonight, but you better believe he was there in spirit!  This was a different team out there tonight and you gotta think the thought of Hunter Pence joining up gave them an extra spring in their step.  Tim Lincecum pitched a solid game through 7.  The offense scratched out 4 runs and Jeremy Affledt a 2 inning Save just like I told Bochy to let him do!  Key Lines:

Ryan Theriot- 1 for 4, 2B, SB(12).  BA= .271.  Ryan Theriot does a lot of little things well and isn't afraid to let other players know when they don't.  With Blanco on 1B with no outs in the 8'th inning, Riot let strike go to let Blanco steal 2B, except Blanco didn't go earning a major league stankeye from Riot.  Theriot replaced Blanco at 1B after a fielder's choice and promptly stole 2B and gave another stankeye to Blanco who was back in the dugout.  After Theriot scored on Scoots' single, Riot and Blanco had a chat in the dugout.

Marco Scutaro- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .277.  Scoots GIDP with the bases loaded and no outs, but at least he drove in 1 run there.  He seems to have caught the RISPitis that afflicts all Giants hitters, but overall he's been a big upgrade on Burriss or Arias and should be a big help down the stretch.

Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.62.  Encouraging start from Timmy, especially pitching out of a bases loaded jam in the 7'th with the last out a K of the mighty David Wright.

Jeremy Affeldt- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 2.53.  This as huge.  Not only did Affeldt get the Save, but he gave the rest of the bullpen a much needed rest.  I've always been a big proponent of leaving a hot hand out there for a 2'nd inning.  Maybe Affeldt won't be available tomorrow, but 6 other guys will have fresher arms.

The Dangerous D'Backs pounded the Dodgers 8-2 so the Giants regain sole possession of first place in the NL West but 1 game.  The Snakes remain 3.5 games back.

Matt Cain takes the mound tomorrow facing Jonathan Niese who can be a tough customer.

Scouting the Trade Deadline: Giants Acquire Hunter Pence

Sorry for not posting something on this earlier.  Just got home from work.

I'll start off by saying I've been a big Hunter Pence fan for a long time, so I'm obviously happy he's going to be a Giant.  He's the guy I wanted them to get last year, both because I like him as a player and his contract was controlled for 2 additional seasons.  Oh well, better late than never!  It sounds like Sabes was actually in on him last year, but couldn't get a deal done.  I don't know why, but I'm guessing the 'Stros were demanding both Wheeler and Brown.  The 'Stros ended up getting quite a rich package from the Phils that I doubt the Giants could have topped.

What do I like about Hunter Pence?  Well, there are several things:  1.  His size and athleticism.  2.  His intensity on the field.  He just looks like he's up there to do some damage every AB.  3.  His incredible consistency from year to year. 4.  I love how he is one of the few tall, lanky players who seems to understand the basic physics of why it's hard for a tall lanky hitter to control the strike zone.

Hunter Pence understands that the slight increase in leverage you get from gripping the bat down at the knob is useless if you can't get the barrel of the bat on pitches on the inner half of the plate.  His solution?  Choke up a full 2 inches or more!  His arms give him plenty of leverage while choking up helps him get the bat around quicker as well as getting more of the fat part of the bat over more of the plate.

He's a slasher who can hit the ball with authority from foul line to foul line and has enough pop to get it out of any ballpark.  He has not been intimidated by AT&T as he has hit very well here.  The Giants desperately needed another RH bat with power in the lineup and Pence is just what the doctor ordered.

What of players the Giants gave up?

I've been as big a fan of Nate as anybody over the years, but at some point you have to admit that the guy is a 4'th OF.  He's had his chances and has failed to sustain success long enough to win a permanent job.  Pence is a clear upgrade

Tommy Joseph is a very interesting prospect with tremendous power potential.  He has worked hard at improving his defensive game behind the plate to the point where he is a legitimate MLB catching prospect.  I have a feeling he will never hit for much of a BA in the majors.  Hate to give up Joseph, but I really don't think the Giants could have gotten more for him in another time or place.  The Giants are deep at that position and you have to give to get.

Seth Rosin is a guy I have liked from before the 2010 draft when the Giants took him in the 4'th round.  He has not performed as well as I had hoped, but he's had nice peripheral stats.  I think he can turn into an innings eating MLB starter, probably a #3 or 4 is his ceiling, but he was definitely in the second tier of the Giants current crop of pitching prospects.

All in all, it was a fair trade for a player who will help the Giants this year when they have a chance to make it back to the postseason and next year too, when there is some uncertainty about several players, mainly Melky Cabrera.

I am disappointed the Giants did not get a closer at the deadline.  To me, that is as big or bigger need as adding a hitter.  Hopefully Sabes can figure out how to add a bullpen arm down the stretch from a waiver deal or the Pence trade could end up being for naught.

Down on the Farm: 7/30/2012

It was a quiet night on the Farm as several teams and leagues had the day off.

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies vs Colorado Springs Skysox suspended after 2 innings with no score.

AA  EL had the night off.

High A  San Jose Giants were idle.

Low A  Rome Braves blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 6-0:  nothing to see here.  'Jackets managed just 3 hits. Neff pitched a scoreless inning out of the pen.

Short Season  NWL was idle.

Rookie AZL  D'Backs topped the Giants 5-4:

Tyler Hollick(CF)- 0 for 2, 3 BB, 2 SB(7).  BA= .361.
Hector Mercedes(RF)- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .273.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(4).  BA= .280.
Shilo McCall(DH)- 2 for 4.  BA= .273.
Matt Lujan(LHP0- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.14.
Emmanuel DeJesus(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.29.

Hey, Hollick takes walks and steals bases!  What a concept!  Speaking of concepts, Jonathan Jones is showing rare power for a Giants prospect even if it's in the AZL.  DeJesus has had encouraging results in limited action after being lights out in the DSL last year.

DSL  Pirates blanked the Giants 3-0:

Luis Pino(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.69.

Pino is a smallish 17 yo RHP out of Mexico who now has 14 K's against 4 BB's in 13 IP in 3 appearances so far.

Game Wrap 7/30/2012: Mets 8 Giants 7

Well, there are disheartening losses and there are losses like this that just reach in and rip it right out of your chest.  Sergio Romo gave up a 4-2 lead in the 8'th inning.  The remainder of the game was a see-saw bullpen battle that the Giants lost on, you guessed it, Scott Hairston's second home run of the game in the 10'th inning.  Who else?  Key Lines:

Scutaro(.274), Theriot(.271), Cabrera(.352), Posey(.316), Belt(.239) had 2 hits each with 2 doubles by Buster and 1 by Scoots.  On the other hand, Scutaro struck out looking in the bottom of the 9'th with the bases loaded to end a chance for the Giants to win it in a walk-off.

Nate Schierholtz- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .257.  Nate also made a nice play on a ball hit off the RF wall to hold Jason Bay to a single.  Don't know if Nate is on the trading block or not, but he's certainly increased his value the last few games.

Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.09.  Solid start for Bumgarner who has 26 K's in his last 3 starts over 20 IP.

Brad Penny- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.02.  Penny looked sharp in his inning. Bochy played it by the book, but Penny is the least worked of the Giants relievers right now, he's the one who is most capable of going multiple innings.  I'm a big believer in letting a reliever go another inning if he pitches a clean inning.  I really wanted Penny to at least start the 8'th inning.

Sergio Romo- 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.30.  I know Romo hasn't pitched a lot of innings but he's pitched and warmed up often.  It looks to me like he's lost a lot of weight.  He may be starting to feel the fatigue of the long season.

Santiago Casilla- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.49.  Looks like Casilla is out of gas.  Sabes has to get a closer today, or it's very hard to see the Giants not fading fast in the dog days of August.  I don't know if Broxton is the answer or not, but if he's available, I think Sabes has to take his shot.

The Dodgers lost to the D'Backs 7-2 to remain in a virtual tie with the Giants atop the NL West and here come the Dangerous D'Backs!  They are now just 3.5 games off the pace.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound tonight facing rookie Matt Harvey

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/29/2012

AAA  Game 1  Fresno Grizzlies edged the Colorado Springs Skysox 4-3:

Gillaspie(10), Linden(9), Ciriaco(1), Williams(8) all hit solo HR's.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.17.

Game 2  Fresno Grizzlies beat the Colorado Springs Skysox 9-1:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(11).  BA= .305.
Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .308.
Juan Ciriaco(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .287.

Gillaspie and Ciriaco hit HR's in both games.  Ciriaco is clearly an organizational player.  Gillaspie seems like possibly a AAAA player.

AA  Erie Seawolves beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-6:

Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 3, HR(9), BB, SB(12).  BA= .287.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .228.

High A  San Jose Giants crushed the Modesto Nuts 8-3:

Carter Jurica(DH)- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .287.
Joe Panik(SS)- 3 for 4, SF, SB(7).  BA= .275.
Bobby Haney(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .323.
Chris Lofton(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .238.

I like Haney. He plays the game with a lot of intensity.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets smothered the Hickory Crawdads 7-1:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 2 for 3, 2 BB, Assist(3B).  BA= .234.
Jose Flores(2B)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .266.
Paul Davis(RHP)- 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.40.

Flores is strictly an organizational player.  Galindo is hitting .342 over his last 10 games.  Davis has just 12 BB in 82 IP and a 2.17 ERA over his last 10 appearances covering 45.2 IP,

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Eugene Emeralds 3-2:

Ryan Jones(2B)- 2 for 3, Sac.  BA= .252.
Mac Williamson(DH)- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .280.
Lorenzo Mendoza(RHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.95.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.70.

Rookie AZL  Giants DNP.

DSL  Giants DNP as usual on Sundays.

Game Wrap 7/29/2012: Dodgers 4 Giants 0

Game wraps like this one are tough to write when you feel more like jumping in the car and going for a long drive to nowhere or getting out your guitar and playing and singing really loud for awhile.  The Dodgers, behind Clayton Kershaw, completed a dominating 3 game sweep of the Giants in AT&T Park, payback for the shellacking the Giants put on them a few weeks ago.  The Giants were actually not totally out of this one, but nothing seemed to go right for them while the Dodgers were able to capitalize on little mistakes by the Giants.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 3, BB, SB(18).  BA= .247.  Blanco is the closest thing the Giants have to a true leadoff hitter and they probably need to stick to that plan unless they can trade for an upgrade.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.22.  Another day at the office for Vogey.  He'd tell you he should have matched Kershaw zero for zero, though.  He created a problem for himself by going 3-0 to Rivera in the 4'th which led to a leadoff single.  With Kemp, Ethier and Ramirez coming up, that's not the way you want to start that inning off.  He would have pitched out of it with only the 1 run allowed had Scutaro not lost a pop up in the sun.  Ramirez lost one later in the game that the Dodgers SS caught, but you could see Vogey seething after Scoots drop and the next batter doubled in another run.  Ballgame!

Clayton Kershaw(Dodgers)-  You had to figure that beating Kershaw 3 straight was an awfully tall order for the Giants and Ryan Vogelsong.  One thing I don't quite get about Kershaw is his radar gun velocity has never been eye popping.  Usually 93-95 max.  Today the highest reading I saw was 93.  Not that he's a soft tosser, but the way batters react, it looks more like they are looking at the high 90's up there.  He must hide the ball well or have some kind of deception in his delivery.

The Giants and Dodgers are now tied for first place in the NL West with the D'Backs lurking 4.5 games back after a 5-1 loss to the Mets.  A lot of fans on various internet message boards are reacting as if this is the end of the season.  While you never want to get swept by your rival at home, this was somewhat predictable.  The Dodgers came to town highly motivated and with a pretty stiff tailwind.  There was the revenge factor from the last series they played in SF plus they had Matt Kemp back and the recently acquired Hanley Ramirez and his corny "I See You" sign.  I know you can't measure that kind of stuff in a statistic, but it's real and makes a big difference in games.  It will be tough, but the Giants need to re-group and play the next series like they just swept the Dodgers to move into a tie for the division lead.  Oh, and Sabes probably needs to make 1 or 2 more moves by the deadline.  As Roger Craig would say, "don't let it get your dauber down!"

Madison Bumgarner will pitch the opener of a 4 game set against the Mets tomorrow night.  RA Dickey pitched today so the Giants won't be facing him, not that it's any guarantee of anything.

Down on the Farm: 7/28/2012

AAA  Colorado Springs Skysox blasted the Fresno Grizzlies 10-1:

Conor Gllaspie(3B)- 2 for 3.   BA= .302.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.27.

I could see these two being packaged in a deadline trade.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Erie Seawolves 6-3:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 3, 2B.  BA= .293.
Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .284.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 3.74.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(13).  ERA= 1.76.

High A Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 5-1:

Duvall hit a HR(19).  Nothing else to see here.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets beat the Hickory Crawdads 6-3:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(31).  BA= .227.
Brett Krill(LF)- 3 for 3, BB, SB(4). BA= .277.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 7 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 5.01.
Kyle Vazquez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(5).  ERA= 4.32.

Mejia was hittable but gotta love the K/BB.

Short Season  Eugene Emeralds out hit the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-6:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .299.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .288.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .238.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .353.

Rookie AZL  Rangers edged the Giants 3-2:

Zach Edgington(LHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.64.
Brandon Allen(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.33.

Edgington is out of UCSB.  He has 14 K's against 0 BB, in 11 IP.  Allen's results this appearance were better than they have been of late.

DSL  Giants smacked the Nationals 9-3:

Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .246.
Nicol Parra(LF-CF)- 0 for 1, 3 BB, 2 SB(18).  BA= .248.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.32.
Eber Guzman(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.75.

Parra is trying to walk and run off the island.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Game Wrap 7/28/2012: Dodgers 10 Giants 0

Matt Kemp took Barry Zito deep in the first inning and the Dodgers went on to dominate the Giants in every phase of the game.  Key Lines:

Barry Zito- 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.89.  Can't really criticize the pitch to Kemp in the first.  It looked like a cutter down and in, off the plate.  Kemp just pulled his arms in and dropped the head of the bat on it and it went.  That was pretty much the ballgame right there.

Chad "Patchy Beard" Billingsley- 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 12/5.  Couldn't really tell if Billz was all that of if the Giants attack was just pathetic.  I'm leaning toward the latter, and yeah, Scoots is not going to make us forget about Pablo over the next two weeks or however long he's out.

The Dodgers climbed to 1 game behind the NL West leading Giants in the standings.  D'Backs play tonight.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to be the Kershaw slayer for the 3'rd time this season tomorrow afternoon also trying to avoid a payback sweep by the Dodgers.

Down on the Farm: 7/27/2012

AAA  Las Vegas 51's defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 8-5:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .307.
Brett Pill(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .294.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 1 for 3, HR(2), BB.  BA= .333.
Clayton Tanner(LHP)- 3 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.80.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 8.44.

Noonan's success probably made Charlie Culberson expendable.  Lollis has quietly had a very nice season.  The Tanner and Bonser reclamation projects are sputtering.

AA  Erie Seawolves beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-2:

Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .282.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .224.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.96.

High A  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 8-6:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .288.
Joe Panik(SS)- 3 for 5.  BA= .271.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .247.
Alex Burg(1B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .270.

Panik is hitting .395 over his last 10 games.  Jurica is hitting .356 over his last 10.  Ricky is in a tough slump.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets edged the Hickory Crawdads 3-2:

Joe Staley(C)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .252.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.98.
Derek Law(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.40.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(20).  ERA= 1.24.

Like what we've seen from all 3 of these pitchers this year.

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes blasted the Eugene Emeralds 14-6:

Matthew Duffy(SS)- 2 for 6.  BA= .250.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .319.
Ryan Jones(2B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .250.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.02

Gregorio gave up all his runs in his final inning of work.

Rookie AZL  Giants doubled up the Angels 8-4:

Tyler Hollick(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(4), Assist(home).  BA= .400.
John Polonius(SS)- 2 for 5, SB(3). BA= .432.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .279.
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.50.
Eduardo Encinosa(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Hollick, Polonius and Jones doing good things in Arizona.

DSL  Nationals pounded the Giants 12-7:

Nicol Parra(CF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .250.
Rando Moreno(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .241.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(6), SF.  BA= .306.

Game Wrap 7/27/2012: Dodgers 5 Giants 3

The trade for Hanley Ramirez paid dividends for the Dodgers as he cranked a 2 run HR in the top of the 10'th inning for the game winner in this game.  Key Lines:

Melky Cabrera- 3 for 5.  BA= .359.  The Melky Hit Parade continues!  Need moar XBH's!

Brandon Belt- 3 for 5, SB(7).  BA= .238.  Belt drove in the 2 runs that tied the game in the bottom of the 8'th.  He struck out with runners on first and second in the 10'th.  I'll say this about the K in the 10'th.  He got the bat off his shoulder and took his hacks.  That's all you can ask him to do.

Matt Cain- 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.80.  By virtually eliminating walks, is Matt Cain making himself too hittable?

Stephen Fife(Dodgers)-  6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.46.  Don't know anything about Fife.  This was his second MLB start.  He has 3 K's against 6 BB's.  He's not going to have long term success with those peripherals.  I've learned to be very leery of opposing pitchers I've never heard of before.  Takes hitters an AB or two to adjust.  Fife also had a double and scored the first run in the 5'th as Matt Cain got BABIP'ed with bloopers in that inning.

The Dodgers gained a game on the NL West leading Giants and now have a 2 game deficit.  The D'Backs won a slugfest over the Mets 11-5 and are now 5.5 games behind the leaders.

Barry Zito tries to be the stopper today facing Chad "Baggy Pants" Billingsley.

The Giants announced a trade for Marco Scutaro to bolster their bench.  The cost was Charlie Culberson who started off the season strong in Fresno but had tailed off badly in the last couple of months and probably was not in the Giants future plans.

It sounds like Pablo Sandoval will probably be placed on the DL today and Aubrey Huff called up.  I don't see Aubrey Huff helping this team and it throws the Belt situation back into uncertainty just as he seems to be coming around a bit.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/26/2012

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Las Vegas 51's 2-1:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .306.
Jason Stevenson(LHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.88.

Richmond Flying Squirrels outlasted the Erie Seawolves 7-6 in 15 innings:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 6, HR(7), BB.  BA= .290.
Tommy Joseph(C)- 4 for 6, HR(8), BB.  BA= .264.
Nick Liles(LF)- 2 for 6.  BA= .274.

Brown and Joseph are the top 2 prospects at this level.

High A  San Jose Giants doused the Bakersfield Blaze 7-1:

Adam Duvall(3B), 1 for 5, HR(18).  BA= .246.
Jarrad Page(DH)- 1 for 3, BB, 2 SB.  BA= .111.
Ryan Bradley(LHP)- 8 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.60.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets beat the Lexington Legends 9-4:

Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .234.
Devin Harris(RF)- 3 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .245.
Brett Krill(LF)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .270.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.69.
Steven Neff(LHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.64.

Mike Newman of Fangraphs and Scouting the Sally says he is going to try to catch Crick and or Blackburn when the Greenjackets travel to Rome for a series.  I'll be interested in what he has to say.

Short Season  Everett Aquasox topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-1:

Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .246.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.78.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.05.

Rookie AZL  Giants crushed the Royals 12-1:

Gabriel Cornier(C)- 2 for 5.  BA= .353.
John Polonius(SS)- 3 for 4, BB, SB(2).  BA= .438.
Cristian Otero(2B)-  2 for 4, 2B, SB(3).  BA= .228.
Travious Relaford(3B)- 2 for 3, 2B, 3B, BB.  BA= .348.

Cornier is a guy who has been flying under the radar.  He's a 20 yo switch-hitting catcher who spent 2 years in the DSL then barely made a blip last year in Arizona.  Is this the start of a breakout?  Giants have several fairly young high-ceiling guys doing well in Arizona.

DSL  Giants beat the D'Backs/Reds 5-2:

Royel Astacio(3B)- 1 for 3, 3B.  BB.  BA= .240.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

This was Diaz' 2'nd consecutive start not allowing a run.  He has allowed just 1 ER in his last 22 IP over 3 starts.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/25/2012

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies crushed the Las Vegas 51's 12-1:

Brock Bond(DH)- 3 for 5.  BA= .338.
Brett Pill(1B)- 3 for 5, 2 HR(7).  BA= .295.
Todd Linden(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .279.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 3 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .333.
Eric Hacker(RHP)- 8 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.48.

I wonder if Pill senses an opportunity opening in SF?

AA  Bowie Baysox blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-0:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 3, BB, Sac.  BA= .289.
Nick Liles(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .272.

High A  Bakersfield Blaze came from behind to down the San Jose Giants 4-2:

Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(17).  BA= .246.
Seth Rosin(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.31.

I wonder if there were scouts from other teams at this one?  Rosin seems like a guy other GM's might have an interest in and who the Giants might be willing to part with.

Low A  Lexington Legends out hit the Augusta Greenjackets 9-5:

Shawn Payne(LF)- 1 for 2, 3 BB, SB(38).  BA= .313.
Brett Krill(DH)- 1 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .265.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.29.
Kyle Vazquez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.60.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.27.

Vazquez has an ERA of 2.38 over his last 10 appearances with 12 K's in 11.1 IP, and a GO/AO= 2.67. Yikes Chris Marlowe!

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Everett Aquasox 6-4:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .302.
Matthew Duffy(SS)- 0 for 3, 2 BB, SB(8).  BA= .237.
Chuckie Jones(CF)- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .240.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 1 for 5, 2B.  BA= .222.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .308.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.11.
Chris Johnson(RHP)-  4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.43.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.00.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.87.

Hill is hitting .452 over his last 10 games. He's had multi-hit games in 8 of his last 10.  Chuckie Jones has a 7 game hit streak going.  What's up with Stratton?

Rookie AZL  Giants downed the Brewers 3-1:

Randy Ortiz(DH)- 1 for 4, 2 SB(13).  BA= .267.
Tyler Hollick(CF)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(3).  BA= .375.
John Polonius(SS)- 1 for 3, 3B, BB, SB(1).  BA= .393.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .270.
Matt Lujan(LHP)- 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.48.
Scotty Walker(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.40.

Jonathan Jones is hitting .372 over his last 10 games.  Hollick and Polonius continue their hot hitting.

DSL  Giants dominated the D'backs/Reds 7-1:

Carlos Valdez(RF)- 2 for 3, HR(3), 2 BB.  BA= .252.
Hengerber Medina(SS-3B)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(6).  BA= .328.
Alejandro Flores(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.78.

Valdez might be the top prospect on the DSL team.  Good to see him have a good game like this.

Game Wrap 7/25/2012: Padres 6 Giants 3

The Giants lineup was missing two of their 3 best hitters and Tim Lincecum returned to being consistently inconsistent.  The result was a loss to the Pesky Padres.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .230.  If there was a silver lining to this one, it's that Brandon Belt's AB's appeared to get better as the game went on and he finished the day off with a ringing double to RF that started a 2 run rally in the 8'th inning.  I still think he needs to back off the plate a bit or else choke up on the bat.  Pitches on the inside corner are right about even with his elbows when he swings.  I don't think that it's an accident that his double came on a pitch just outside the middle of the plate where he could extend his arms normally and still barrel it up.

Tim Lincecum- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.88.  The pitching line speaks for itself.  It's so similar to so many of his other lines this year and that's the way it was watching it on TV too(I had to take a day off to get my A/C fixed).  Just really frustrating to watch.

The Dodgers and D'Backs play later tonight.

Giants get the day off tomorrow to see if Pablo can heal quickly.  Matt Cain gets the next start Friday against TBD for the Dodgers.  This would have been Nate Eovaldi's spot in the rotation.

PS:  Anybody else think Chase Headley would look very good in a Giants uniform?  I wonder what it would take?

PS:  Dodgers lost to Cards in bottom of 12'th inning.  They remain 2.5 games back of the Giants.  D'Backs lost to the Rockies to remain 6 games behind.

Down on the Farm: 7/24/2012

AAA  Las Vegas 51's defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 4-3:

Brett Pill(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .286.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 3 for 4.  BA= .295.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.27.

Does Pill have his groove back enough to come back to SF and play 1B every day?

AA  Bowie Baysox beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 4, SB(28).  BA= .289.
Daniel Mayora(3B)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .307.
Luke Anders(DH)- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .214.
Chris Gloor(LHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.99.

Anders moves up from SJ, probably as strictly on organizational player.  Is Gloor a sleeper?  Big lefty, but I've heard his velocity does not measure up to his size.

High A  San Jose Giants extinguished the Bakersfield Blaze 12-0:

Bobby Haney(2B)- 4 for 5, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .329.
Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .266.
Jarrett Parker(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .246.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .220.
Jarrad Page(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .103.
Jack Snodgrass(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.42
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.91.

Nice game to pad some stat lines with.  Page comes over from the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.  27 yo.

Low A  Lexington Legends edged the Augusta Greenjackets 4-3:

Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 2 for 5.  BA= .228.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 11/2.  ERA= 2.71.

Hard to not get impatient for Blackburn to move up.

Short Season  Everett Aquasox edged the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 3-2:

Charles Jones(CF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .232.
Mac Williamson(DH)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.05.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.82.

Williamson moves up from Rookie ball.  This will be a truer measure of the early returns on him.

Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

DSL  Yankees1 downed the Giants 4-3:

Richard Rodriguez(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .247.
Moises Mesa(LF)- 3 for 3, 2B.  BA= .378.
Hengerber Medina(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .328.
Luis Pino(RHP, 17 yo)- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

First start, 2'nd appearance for Pino.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Game Wrap 7/24/2012: Giants 3 Padres 2

The Giants got solid pitching from Madison Bumgarner and scintillating defense from several players and finally won a tight ballgame on a walk-off single by Brandon Crawford.  Key Lines:

Nate Schierholtz(RF)- 1 for 3, BB SB(3).  BA= .248.  Nate led off the game with a double and scored the first of 2 runs that would be the last the Giants would score until the walk-off.

Pablo Sandoval(1B)- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .299.  Pablo strained a hammy stretching for a DP relay that was successfully completed.  Hopefully it's a mild strain as the Giants cannot afford to lose his bat for an extended period again.

Brandon Belt(1B)- 0 for 2, BB.  BA= .229.  Belt replaced Sandoval at 1B.  He did a good job drawing a leadoff walk in the top of the 9'th and scored the winning run.  Don't know if that changes his basic equation, though, as his walks are not the problem.

Angel Pagan(CF)-  1 for 4.  BA= .278.  Pagan saved the game in the 8'th inning with a sensational catch in the left -CF alley off the bat of Carlos Quentin.  Headley, the runner at first base was rounding 2B when the catch was made.  Pagan did a shoulder roll and came up throwing hitting Brandon Crawford in shallow-medium left-CF.  Crawford was in perfect relay position and showed off his arm with a perfect strike to Brandon Belt to complete the DP and leave Quentin spiking his helmet in disgust.  The Giants do not win the game without that play.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 4.  BA= .239.  I don't think you get WAR credit for a walk-off hit, but between that and his relay throw, he had to have gained a 10'th of  a point or two.  Luckily, Crawford did not appear to be injured by the dogpile that ensued.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.10.  Bumgarner was solid except for a brief hiccup in the second inning when the Pads scored 2.

Carlos Quentin(Padres)- 1 for 3, HBP.  BA= .268.  Quentin scalded the ball 3 times but the Giants turned sensational DP's on 2 of them.  I don't know whether Bumgarner hit him on purpose leading off the 6'th, but this may be a good time to remind everybody of a great story about Bumgarner from the minor leagues.  Seems he hit a batter for no apparent reason.  When he got back the bench, the manager, who thought it looked suspicious, asked him if he did it on purpose.  "Yes!" replied Bumgarner.  "Why?" asked the manager.  "Because he swung too hard!"  LOL!  Make of that what you want.

Dodgers lost to the Cards 8-2 with Kershaw pitching to fall 2.5 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  The Dangerous D'Backs took the Reeling Rockies 6-2 to stay 6 games off the pace.

Tim Lincecum starts an afternoon game tomorrow facing Jason Marquis.

Down on the Farm: 7/23/2012

AAA  Salt Lake City Bees stung the Fresno Grizzlies 1-0:

Andrew Kown(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.56.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Bonser moves up to AAA.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Bowie Baysox 1-0:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 4.  BA= .290.
Justin Fizgerald(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's,
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.43.

High A  Cal League was idle.

Low  A  Lexington Legends defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 6-2:

Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .226.
Shawn Payne(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B, Assist(2B).  BA= .313.
Ben Thomas(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .243.
Joe Staley(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .247.
Edwin Escobar(LHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.61.

Short Season   Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Tri City Dust Devils 7-6 in 10 innings:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .295.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(6), BB. BA= .286.
Stephen Branca(SS)- 3 for 4, SB(1).  BA= .293.
Matthew Graham(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 0.53.

Kentrell Hill is supposed to be a crazy good athlete.  The only question was the hit tool.  He's 21 yo which is not old for this league.  He may be a sleeper to keep an eye on.

Rookie AZL  Giants downed the Dodgers 6-4:

Shilo McCall(LF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .302.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 2 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .254.
Alberto Robles(3B)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .600.
Brandon Allen(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K. ERA= 8.25.
Reiner Roibal(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Gotta be excited by Shilo McCall's first pro season.  Jonathan Jones is hitting .353 over his last 10 games.  Big strong kid out of Canada JC. He's 20 yo so has some time to develop.  Discouraging season for Brandon Allen.

DSL  Yankees1 blanked the Giants 2-0:

Royel Astacio(3B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .243.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.18.
Shawn Gomez(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.78.

Mella and Gomez are two teenagers who look promising.  I think Mella got a 6 figure bonus.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Game Wrap 7/23/2012: Giants 7 Padres 1

The Giants got 9 hits from their 2,3 and 4 hitters and a strong start from Ryan Vogelsong and cruised to an easy 7-1 win over the Pesky Padres(they are always Pesky when they play the Giants).  Key Lines:

Ryan Theriot- 3 for 4, 2B, SB(11).  BA= .279.  Theriot hitting .295 over his last 10 has been very steady this year.  Also playing solid D at 2B.  Who needs Freddy Sanchez?

Melky Cabrera- 3 for 4.  BA= .360.  Buster Posey is unconcious right now.  Melky has been unconscious all year! He has a 10 game hit streak with 6 of the 10 multi-hit games.  He's hitting .406 in July which is not as good as the .429 he put up in May. He has hit .300 or better every month so far.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4, HR(13).  BA= .317.  Speaking of unconscious!  Short of Barry Bonds, I'm not sure I've seen a hotter hitter than Buster Posey right now.  Buster has 5 games with 3 or more hits out of his last 10.  Included in that 10 game span is 3 HR's and  a .513 BA. He's hitting .403 for the month of July.  Tonight he drove in 4 of the Giants 7 runs and put the game away in the 5'th with a rare opposite field HR to the top of the RF arcade.  His 60 RBI's have him tied for 9'th in the NL and he has driven in 17 in his last 10 games.  So, you want Ribeyes?  You got Ribeyes!

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 4.  BA= .239.  Crawford had a strange game. He drove in the 4'th run of the first inning on a liner to LF that was originally called an out as Kotsay appeared to catch the ball just at the grasstops.  The Umps then huddled and ended up calling it a hit and an RBI.
Replays clearly showed the ball was trapped.  Later, Crawford stroked a double to the right-center gap but was called out by the first base ump on an appeal play on the grounds he missed 1B as he was rounding it. Replays on the SD TV broadcast appeared to show him touching the bag with his left heel as he rounded it on the inside.  Crawford was thrown out at first in the bottom of the 8'th for the final out of the inning.  He took a wide turn toward the field and appeared to say something to the ump as he passed him and headed out to SS.  The Ump gave him the old heave-ho.  I say, way to stand up for yourself, Brandon!  Sometimes you just have to get it off your chest!

Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.26.  This was just another day at the office for Vogey.

The Dodgers topped the Cards 5-3 to remain 1.5 games back of the NL West leading Giants while the D'backs beat Jonathan Sanchez and the Rockies 6-3 to remain 6 games behind the leaders.

Madison Bumgarner pitches tomorrow evening against Edinson Volquez.
AAA  Fresno Grizzlies out hit the Salt Lake City Bees 10-5:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .307.
Todd Linden(DH)- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .282.
Charlie Culberson(2B)- 2 for 5, 2 HR(10).  BA= .244.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels downed the Akron Aeros 4-3:

Tommy Joseph(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .257.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.71.

High A Inland Empire 55'ers crushed the San Jose Giants 12-0:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .287.
Bobby Haney(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .313.

Jurica hitting .356 over his last 10 games.

Low A  Hagerstown Suns burned the Augusta Greenjackets 10-4:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 4, SB(29).  BA= .223.
Jose Flores(SS)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .265.
Shawn Payne(LF)- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(37).  BA= .310.
Devin Harris(DH)- 1 for 3, HR(2), BB.  BA= .219.
Paul Davis(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.72.

Short Season  Tri-City Dust Devils blew away the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-2:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 3.  BA= .289, OBP= .404.
Sam Eberle(DH)- 3 for 5.  BA= .317.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.87.
Steven Okert(LHP)- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.15.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.38.
Cameron Lamb(RHP0- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.70

Kentrell Hill is hitting .395 over his last 10 games and is showing some serious on-base skills.

Rookie AZL  D'backs scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9'th to edged the Giants 2-1:

Leonardo Fuentes(1B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .085.
Cristian Paulino(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .253.
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.25.
Renzo Freite(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 8.31.

Fuentes has just 4 hits on the season, all of them doubles.

DSL  Giants were idle as usual on Sundays.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Game Wrap 7/22/2012: Phillies 4 Giants 3

The Giants took a hard fought game into extra innings but ultimately fell short of a sweep in Philadelphia.  Key Lines:

Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 5, 2 HR(5).  BA= .253.  Holy Toledo, Nate!  You know, I'm not wild about giving grease to the squeaky wheel, but I have to say Nate is putting his money where his mouth is.  With Blanco and Christian scuffling, I think you have to ride Nate 'til he cools off.  Of course, Nate has had games like this before and he's tended to disappear for weeks afterwards, so we'll see.

Brandon Belt- 0 for 5, 3 K's.  BA= .231.  Another awful day at the plate for Belt.  Gotta think Sabes is hard at work looking for a bat, but in the meantime, with a pennant race to worry about, also gotta think Whiteside catching with Buster at 1B is a better option and it's a no brainer as soon as The Hector comes back.

Emmanuel Burriss- 0 for 1, K.  BA= .215.  Belt and Burriss had consecutive K's after Brandon Crawford let off the top of the 12'th with a double.  You kind of knew it was over when that went down.  Not sure what Burriss is bringing to the team that just about any warm body on the waiver wire couldn't do better.

Barry Zito- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.75.  The Phillies' two best hitters are Utley and Howard, both LH hitting back-to-back in the lineup.  Zito has been particularly tough on LH hitters this year.  Figured he'd have a good game.  When your #5 starter can give you a QS on the road in a bandbox, you gotta feel give him props.

Javier Lopez- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.48.
Jeremy Affeldt- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.39.  Lopez and Affeldt neutralized Utley and Howard two times through the lineup.  Even though the Giants ultimately lost the game, that is huge and will get you more wins than losses in these types of games.  Lineups like what the Phillies put out there is exactly why you need two good LOOGY's on your team.

Brad Penny- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 3.86.  It was obvious from the first batter that Penny did not have command of his stuff.  When he can't put his FB on the corners down in the zone, he becomes a batting practice pitcher.  Maybe he hasn't gotten enough work lately.  On the other hand, how do you give a guy like this work when you are fighting for wins every game in a tight pennant race?

Dodgers did what the Giants weren't able to scoring 5 runs in the top of the 12'th inning in NY for an 8-3 win and a sweep.  Ramon Ramirez was the goat for the Mets.  That win left the Dodgers 1.5 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  The D'Backs crushed the Astros 8-2 to move up to 6 games off the pace.

The Giants now come home to a much welcome 10 game homestand starting off tomorrow night with Ryan Vogelsong facing Clayton Richard of the Padres.

Down on the Farm: 7/21/2012

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Salt Lake City Bees 6-4:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .304.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .273.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

AA  Akron Aeros clubbed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-1:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, 3B.  BA= .218.
Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .290.
Austin Fleet(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.12.
Thomas Neal(LF, Aeros)-  3 for 5, HR(8).  BA= .305.

Old friend Thomas Neal is having a good season albeit back in AA.  Wish him the best.  I really hope he makes it to the show eventually.

High A  San Jose Giants blasted the Inland Empire 66'ers 11-2:

Carter Jurica(3B)- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .283.
Joe Panik(SS)- 3 for 5, 2B, HBP.  BA= .268.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 3 for 6, HR(11).   BA= .261.
Jarrett Parker(CF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .245.
Justin Schumer(RHP)- 9 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.28.

Jurica is hitting .345 with a .511 SLG% over his last 10 games.  Panik and Ricky seem to have gotten their feet back under them.

Low A  Hagerstown Suns edged the Augusta Greenjackets 5-4:

Payne and Thomas had 2 hits each.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 6.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.40.
Derek Law(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.99.

Short Season  Tri City Dust Devils came from behind to top the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-4 in 10 innings:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 5.  BA- .275.
Mike Mergenthaler(DH)- 1 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .220.
Stephen Branca(2B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .259.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

This might be Biagini's strongest start of the season.  He's cut his BB rate way down since moving to Salem-Keizer.  He's starting to look like a fairly serious prospect.

Rookie AZL  Giants doubled up the A's 8-4:

Randy Ortiz(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .284.
Wendell Fairley(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .250.
Gabriel Cornier(C)- 2 for 4.  BA= .357.
Tyler Hollick(LF)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(2).  BA= .438.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(1).  BA= .333.
Justin Lux(?)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Jose Reyes(RHP)- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.70.

No info on Lux.  His player bio page is still blank except for the line from this game.

DSL  Giants topped the Mets1 4-3:

Richard Rodriguez(2B)- 2 for 5, SB(10).  BA=  .247.
Carlos Valdez(RF)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .258.
Diomedes Mateo(LHP)- 6.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K's.  ERA= 1.45.

The only blemish in Mateo's 6.2 innings of work was a throwing error by the catcher after a strikeout.  Mateo is an older prospect, but he is putting up some interesting numbers  56 K's against just 13 BB's in 43.1 IP. Giants picked him up from the Pirates organization.  I'm guessing he may have been involved in some Age-gate shenanigans as his first year with the Pirates was 2009. He put up decent numbers in 2011 with the Pirates Rookie league affiliate in the GCL, but the was apparently released.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Game Wrap 7/21/2012: Giants 6 Phillies 5

An anticipated pitching duel between Matt Cain and Cole Hamels turned into a slugfest with each team hitting 3 dingers including 1 each by the starting pitchers.  Amazingly, the Giants came out of it with the win assuring themselves a win in the series and a winning record on the road trip.  Key Lines:

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 3, HR(10), 2 BB.  BA= .357.  We are getting close to the 2/3 point of the season and Melky is still just killing it!  Game after game!  He even drew a couple of walks in this one.

Buster Posey- 4 for 5, 2B, HR(12).  BA= .314. Speaking of killing it.  Buster has been on a tear since the All-Star break failing to get a hit in just one(last night), with 4 games out of 8 with 3 or more hits.  .472 BA over that span.

Brandon Belt- 0 for 5.  BA= .237.  Belt hit in the 8 hole today and left 7 runners on base.  Not sure that hitting a guy with no confidence 8'th is the answer to anything.

Matt Cain- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA- .156.  Cain joins Madison Bumgarner pitcher HR bragging rights.  I could have sworn Cainer had already hit one this year.

Matt Cain-  8 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.74.  Kind of an ugly line for Cain.  Not like him to give up 3 dingers in a game.  On the other hand, he kept his pitch count down and stayed in the game for 8 innings giving the bullpen a chance to win it.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(24).  ERA= 3.25.  Very encouraging that Casilla was able to get a Save with just a 1 run lead in a hitter's ballpark.

The Dodgers won their game over the Mets 8-5 to stay 2.5 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  D'Backs play the 'Stros later tonight.

Barry Zito goes for the sweeeeeep tomorrow afternoon facing Jumbo Joe Blanton.

Down on the Farm: 7/20/2012

AAA  Salt Lake City Bees defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 4-1:

Chris Dominguez(LF)- 2 for 2, Assist(2B).  BA= .247.
Eric Hacker(RHP)- 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.71.

Chris Dominguez is hitting .359 with 2 dingers over his last 10 games...and he has a cannon for an arm.  Could he be lightning in a bottle?

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Akron Aeros 3-2:

Tommy Joseph(C)- 3 for 3, BB.  BA= .261.
Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .287.
Craig Westcott(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K', GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 3.61.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(11).  ERA= 1.47.

High A  Inland Empire 66'ers beat the San Jose Giants 9-5:

Andrew Susac(DH)- 1 for 4, HR(7), BB.  BA= .220.
Jurica, Burg and Burkhart had 2 hits each.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.07.

Low A  Game 1  Augusta Greenjackets downed the Hagerstown Suns 10-3:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 3, HBP, Sac, SB(27).  BA= .205.
Shawn Payne(DH)- 2 for 4.  BA= .311.
Jose Flores(2B)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .250.
Brett Krill(LF)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 HBP.  BA= .267.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.78.
Steven Neff(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.95.

Game 2  Augusta Greenjackets squeaked past the Hagerstown Suns 1-0:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 3 for 3, 2B, Sac, SB(28).  BA= .221.
Brett Krill(RF)- 1 for 1, BB, HBP.  BA= .269.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.75.
Kyle Vazquez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.61.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(19).  ERA= 1.31.

Brett Krill was HBP 3 times in the 2 games.  Ouch!

Short Season  Tri-City Dust Devils topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2-1:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 4, SB(4).  BA= .267.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .298.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.23.
Chris Johnson(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.91.
Peter Tago(RHP, Dust Devils)- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 16/3.  ERA= 5.89.

Don't panic folks.  Way too early to draw any conclusions about Stratton.  Peter Tago was a kid I liked a lot for the draft a couple years ago.  He's struggled so far in his pro career.

Rookie AZL  Giants downed the Rangers 9-6:

John Polonius(SS)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .529.
Johnathan "Mac" Williamson(RF)- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .300.
Cristian Paulino(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, 2 SB(7).  BA= .247.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .226.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .333.
Matt Lujan(LHP)- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.26.
Emmanuel DeJesus(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.80.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.59.

Williamson is showing off his power.  He should be moved up to S-K fairly quickly.  Polonius continues to impress with his play and with how he wears the uniform.

DSL  Giants blanked the Mets 2-0:

Carlos Valdez(RF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .252.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .308.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.65.
Carlos Alvarado(RHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 1.13.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Game Wrap 7/20/2012

It was Giants weather in Philadelphia and the Giants took full advantage as Brandon Crawford broke up a tight pitching duel with a grand slam HR in the 6'th inning.  The Giants cruised the rest of the way to a 7-2 win.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 0 for 5, 3 K's.  BA= .246.  The LH hitters seemed to be not seeing the ball well in the first 3-4 innings, none less so than Blanco who might as well have been blind up there.

Ryan Theriot- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .279.  Theriot started the big rally with a single and nobody was more excited about Crawford's big blow in the dugout.

Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .250.  Nate drew a key walk to load the bases for Crawford.  Not that I have a ton of confidence in Nate, but if Blanco continues to look vision challenged at the plate, Bochy might want to think about giving Nate another shot at starting in RF.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .240.  I think if we were told at the beginning of the season Crawford would hit .240 on the season, we'd have all happily given him the starting SS job.  I don't know the exact formula for calculating WAR, but Crawford earned a full W tonight in my book.

Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.72.  Timmy was on fire early and the cool weather helped him take it all the way through 7.  Very solid effort from Timmy.

Laz Diaz(Home Plate Ump)-  That might have been the most ridiculous strike zone I've seen all season, especially for Worley.  He was calling pitches that were a full 8 inches off the outside corner to LH hitters strikes.  He probably had a similar zone for both pitchers, but it was most noticeable with Worley.

The Dodgers outlasted the Mets 7-6 to stay 2.5 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  The D'Backs are leading the Astros 9-4 late.  A win would leave the D'Backs 7 games back.

Matt Cain takes the mound tomorrow against Cole Hamels in what promises to be an epic pitching duel.

Hot Tip: Giants are Clutch!

Beyond the Boxscore, linked over on the left, has calculated "clutch" scores for every team this year and posted the rankings on their site.  Giants came in at #7 with a score of +1.27.  For reference, a score>2 is considered fantastic while a score between 1 and 2 is "great".  Bet you knew that about the Giants already, right?  Anyway, check it out for yourself.

Down on the Farm: 7/19/2012

AAA  Las Vegas 51's defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 10-9:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B. SF.  BA= .301.
Aubrey Huff(1B)- 0 for 1, BB.  BA= .154.
Todd Linden(RF-1B)- 2 for 5, HR(8).  BA= .288.
Chris Dominguez(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B, Assist(2B). BA= .238.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.37.

Noonan stays hot.  Dominguez gets another assist.  Not sure what's going on with Huff.  Unless there is something obvious mechanical going on, and it seems like if there was it would have been fixed by now, he must be close to being done.  It's hella tough to pitch in the PCL.

AA  Akron Aeros edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-3:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .297.
Chris Gloor(LHP)- 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.09.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.88.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.51.
Tyler Holt(CF, Aeros)- 1 for 4.  BA= .222.

Brownies stays hot.  Holt was one of several "5 tool" CF types who we followed leading up to the 2010 draft.  He was recently promoted to AA after posting a .263 BA in the Carolina League, admittedly the Carolina League is a much tougher league to hit in than the Cal League.  We'll see what he does in the EL.

High A  San Jose Giants out hit the Lancastar Jethawks 15-7:

Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B, BB.  BA= .266.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 4 for 4, 2 2B, SF.  BA= .261.
Alex Burg(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .268.
Jarrett Parker(CF-RF)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(18).  BA= .240.
Chris Lofton(LF-CF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .239.
Seth Rosin(RHP)- 2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.56.
Phil McCormick(LHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.34.

Ricky had been in a brutal slump.  Panik keeps his resurgence going.  A rough start for Rosin.  Lancaster is a ridiculous park to try to pitch in.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets vs Hagerstown Suns postponed.

Short Season  Tri-City Dust Devils blew away the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 7-5:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 3 for 5, SB(3).  BA= .254.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .291.
Trevor Brown(DH)- 2 for 5.  BA= .190.
Andrew Cain(RF)- 1 for 2, 2B, 3 BB.  BA= .221.
Matthew Graham(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.60.
Steven Okert(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

DSL  Giants blanked the Cubs2 7-0:

Hengerber Medina(2B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .345.
Emmanuel Hernandez(DH)- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .267.
Fernando Pujadas(C)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .250.
Alejandro Flores(RHP)- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.06.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Game Wrap 7/19/2012: Braves 3 Giants 2

Madison Bumgarner allowed just 3 hits but 2 of those were solo dingers.  The Giants defense added an unearned run for the Braves and it was enough for Bumgarner to take the loss.  Key Lines:

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 3, 3B.  BA= .357.  Melky's Hit Parade continues as he racked up his 4'th 2-hit game in a row.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 3.  BA= .244.  Belt was pulled for PH Justin Christian who is hitting .179 with the lefty on the mound.  Not gonna defend THAT one.   Belt has actually hit lefties quite well.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K's, GO/AO= 10/2, 2 HR.  ERA= 3.12.  That's a sweet looking line except for the dingers.

The Dodgers are idle today, so the Giants lead in the NL West slipped to 2.5 games over the Hated Ones.  D'Backs lost to the Reds 7-6 to stay 7 back.  Trevor Bauer got sent back to the minors.

The Giants move on to Philadelphia where they should have more fun with the fans.  Tim Lincecum starts game 1 of the series tomorrow night facing Vance Worley.

Down on the Farm: 7/18/2012

AAA  Las Vegas 51's clobbered the Giants 11-5:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 5, HR(7).  BA= .298.
Chris Dominguez(LF)- 2 for 3, BB, Assist(home).  BA= .232.

Noonan continues his fine season.  Dominguez has a cannon for an arm.  Not sure how may OF assists he's had but he's had a lot.  Maybe he should take up pitching?

AA  Altoona Curve hammered Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-3 in a rain shortened game:

Gary Brown- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .295.  Brown's train keeps a rollin'!  I think we can officially switch off the concern about Brownie's future and start reveling in his terrific AA season.

High A  Lancaster Jethawks blanked the San Jose Giants 9-0:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .281.
Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .264.
Nick Tropeano(RHP, Jethawks)- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.24.

Jurica has thrived in the leadoff spot.  Panik seems to have shaken his slump.  Tropeano is a pitcher I really liked in the 2011 draft out of Stony Brook.

Low A  SAL was idle.

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Everett Aquasox 11-4:

Kentrell Hill(LF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .227.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 3 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .265.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .274.
Sam Eberle(C)- 2 for 4.  BA= .308.
Ryan Jones(2B)- 1 for 1, BB, HBP, SF.  BA= .267.
Raymundo Montero(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 2.55.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.08.

Duffy drove in 6 runs in all.

Rookie AZL  Athletics topped the Giants 8-6:

Randy Ortiz(CF)- 1 for 4, 2B, BB, 2 SB(11).  BA= .267.
Johnathan "Mac" Williamson(DH)- 2 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .400.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 3 for 3, 2B, HR(1), BB, SB(4). BA= .302.
John Polonius(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .500.
Jonathan Jones(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .188.
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 7.00.

Williamson makes a successful professional debut.  Love what Shilo McCall is doing so far!


DSL  Cubs2 edged the Giants 3-2:

Carlos Valdez(RF)- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .241.
Hengerber Medina(2B)- 2 for 3.  BA= .320.
Eber Guzman(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.58.
Shawn Gomez(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.44.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Game Wrap 7/18/2012: Giants 9 Braves 4

The Giants turned a tight pitching duel into a slugfest in extra-innings and came out winners to assure a win of their first series of the eastern road trip.  Key Lines:

Justin Christian- 0 for 6.  BA= .185.  This is a deceiving line as Christian hit the ball hard several times.

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 5, HR(9).  BA= .354.  The Melky Hit Parade continued unabated.  The HR was a godsend as it looked like Mike Minor might be cruising to a 1-0 shutout until Melky's dinger tied it in the 6'th.  The ATL fans are getting on Melky pretty good and he's giving it back just as good.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .308.  Buster now has 3 consecutive 3-hit games.  He came out after his 3'rd hit, a questionable move, but I'm guessing he has to catch the noon game tomorrow too.

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 2, HR(5).  BA= .255.  Another ex-Brave.  Blanco atoned for striking out with the bases loaded with a 3 run dinger in the 11'th that essentially clinched the win.

Brandon Belt- 0 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .243.  Right now, Belt is having trouble getting the bat off his shoulder.  I don't think he took more than 3 swings all night.  If you take enough pitches, you are going to draw some walks, but I'm really not sure how much that helps the team despite what the statheads and Beltists say.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 1, HR(2), BB.  BA= .240.  Crawford fouled a pitch off his knee and went down like he's been shot.  For a minute or two, it looked like the Giants might end up with a pitcher playing SS!  He pulled himself up off the mat and when they tried to throw him another cutter inside, he pulled it into the RF bleachers for a 3 run HR in the top of the 11'th inning. How great is that?  I was ready to write Crawford off a few games ago, but he's had much better looking AB's in his last couple of games.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.31.  Typical gutsy performance from Vogelsong facing a potent LH leaning Braves lineup.

Jeremy Affeldt-  2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.57.  Affeldt's effort enabled the Giants to extend their bullpen deeper into the game than the Braves.

Javy Lopez- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.72.  The BB was intentional to PH Pastornicky as the extra runner did not matter in a tie game in the bottom of the 9'th.  Lopez threw a lot of pitches to Bourn before striking him out, but I thought he maybe should have pitched the 9'th too with all the LH hitters in the heart of the Braves lineup.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.34. Casilla blew away the first two batters in the 9'th, but then gave up a double to Freeman and a HR to McCann.  He seemed to be afraid to throw the breaking ball to the LH batters.  Not sure if that was Whiteside's call or his.  Giants may need to think about a trade for a closer for the stretch run.  Broxton?  Lytle?  Street?  Stay tuned!

The Dodgers beat the Phillies 5-3 in extra innings to remain 3 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  The D'Backs topped the Reds 7-1 to remain 7 games behind in 3'rd place.

Madison Bumgarner goes tomorrow against Tim Hudson.  Huddy is always very tough on the Giants, but I also like Bumgarner facing that Braves lefty leaning lineup too.

Down on the Farm: 7/17/2012

AAA  Las Vegas 51's defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 5-4:

Nothing to see here.  No multi-hit lines and Tanner got roughed up in his start.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels soared over the Altoona Curve 10-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, HR(5), BB, SB(27).  BA= .292.
Daniel Mayora(3B)- 4 for 4, 2B.  BA= .306.
Mark Minicozzi(1B)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .302.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .245.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 2.71.
Jacob Dunnington(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Tim Alderson(RHP, Curve)- 2.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.40.

Brownie stays hot.  Good, but not spectacular game from Kickham.  Tim Alderson has pitched better this year, but go roughed up pretty bad in this one.  Gotta say it looks like the Sanchez trade ended up favoring the Giants even with all his injuries.

High A  Lancaster Jethawks edged the San Jose Giants 4-3:

Joe Panik(DH)- 2 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .262.
Alex Burg(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(8), BB.  BA= .263.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 0 for 4.  BA= .248.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.93.

Hopefully Panik is coming out of his slump.  Hate to say it but Ricky is in a bad one right now.

Low A Game 1  Augusta Greenjackets blanked the West Virginia Power 2-0:

Ben Thomas(1B)- 1 for 2, HR(4).  BA= .243.
Brett Krill(RF)- 1 for 2, HR(3).  BA= .267.
Edwin Escobar(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.43.

Game 2  West Virginia Power turned the tables on the Augusta Greenjackets 2-0:

Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 9/2.  ERA= 2.82.

Augusta pitching continues to be the strength of the organization.

Short Season  Everett Aquasox topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-2:

Ryan Jones(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .257.
Chuckie Jones(CF)- 1 for 4, BB.  BA= .224.
Mike Zunino(DH, Aquasox)- 3 for 4, 2 HR(3).  BA= .457.

Zunino was the Mariners first round(#3 overall) draft pick.  They also have one of my pre-draft sleeper, Jamodrick Magruder, hitting leadoff. He's hitting just .229 so far.

Rookie AZL  Athletics pounded the Giants 16-7:

Christian Diaz(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .176.
Gabriel Cornier(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .382.
John Polonius(SS)- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .500.
Travious Relaford(2B-3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .347.
Tyler Hess(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.05.
Ariel Hernandez(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 8.10.

Relaford stays hot.  Tyler Hess is a big guy, 6'5", 240 lbs out of Sonoma State.  He pitched the last 2 seasons in the Braves organization.  His numbers last year weren't that bad with a 4+ ERA.

DSL  Giants downed the Phillies 5-1:

Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(5), BB.  BA= .316.
Keury Mella(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.99.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Game Wrap 7/17/2012: Giants 9 Braves 0

The Giants offense mounted a sustained attack aided in no small part by old fashioned hustle.  Barry Zito was dealing from the first batter.  The Giants cruised to an easy win over the hottest team in the NL and got off to a great start to their 6 game road trip back east.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(16).  BA= .253.  Blanco got the game off to a great start by drawing a walk and coming around to score on Buster Posey's first double.  He would reach base 2 more times and score once more.

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .353.  Melky's hit parade continues.  He may have felt he had something to prove to the Braves and the fans in ATL.  His double was a single that he stretched, possibly foolishly, into a double when Bourn routined a liner that he fielded in short right-center.  Melky was safe by a hair so it all worked out for good.

Buster Posey- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .302.  Buster was on fire as he scalded the ball his first 3 AB's, the 3'd one a double to the left-centerfield wall with the bases loaded that drove in 3 runs.  Buster is 8 for 15 since the All Star break.  Buster may have had some extra motivation playing in his home state in front of friends and relatives.

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5.  BA= .287.  Pagan started the 6 run rally in the 4'th by beating out a grounder to first when Jurrjens missed the bag on the cover play.  You never know when hustling down the line will pay off.  It paid off big time in this game!

Hector Sanchez- 1 for 2.  BA= .281.  Hector hurt his left knee while diving back to the bag on a pickoff play.  The leg has been gimpy for awhile now, though, so it might not have been a single injury event.  Hopefully he's just banged up and needs a nice 2 week DL stint and nothing more.  The Giants really can't afford to let him go day-to-day as that would leave them with no backup catcher, so a DL stint is a virtual certainty.  Eli Whiteside will probably be the callup.  As much of a gamer as Whitey is, and as much as some have complained about Hector's hitting and D, I don't think you can overstate what Hector has done for this team.  His bat is much better than Whiteside's and combined with Buster's ability to play 1B has given the Giants tremendous flexibility that they will almost certainly lose.  In addition, I believe the Giants best offensive lineup right now is Buster at 1B and Hector behind the plate.  They lose that for awhile now.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .237.  Crawford hit the ball with authority.  He needed something good to happen for him at the plate. Maybe this can be a new starting point for him.

Barry Zito- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.75.  Zito was dealing.  You could see if from the way he went after the first batter, Bourn.  Zito really has been the guy who has saved the season from disaster with Timmy's struggles.  The Braves LH batters, in particular, had no chance against him.

The Dodgers blew another game in the late innings, losing to the Phillies 3-2 to fall 3 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  The D'Backs got blanked by Cincy 4-0 to fall 7 games behind.

Ryan Vogelsong faces Mike Minor in tomorrow's contest in Atlanta.

KC DFA'd Jonathan Sanchez today.  The Giants have a history of giving their castoffs second chances.  Let's see if he ends up coming back on  minor league deal.

Down on the Farm: 7/16/2012

AAA  Las Vegas 51's defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 9-6:

Aubrey Huff(1B)- 1 for 4.  BA= .250.
Todd Linden(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .289.
Charlie Culberson(2B)- 2 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .242.
Chris Dominguez(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .222.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.40.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve 5-3:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .219.
Tommy Joseph(C)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .256.
Mark Minicozzi(1B)- 4 for 5.  BA= .294.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 8/0.  ERA= 2.30.

High A  San Jose Giants downed the Visalia Rawhide 5-1:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .278.
Joe Panik(SS)- 0 for 1, 3 BB, SB(6).   BA= .258.
Jarrett Parker(CF)- 1 for 2, HR(8), 2 BB.  BA= .234.
Justin Schumer(RHP)- 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.43.

Osich was pretty emphatic in a recent interview that he is more comfortable pitching out of the pen.  Jurica has multiple hits in 4 of his last 5 games.

Low A West Virginia Power vs Augusta Greenjackets game was postponed.

Short Season  Everett Aquasox pounded the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-2:

Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .263.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.07.

Rookie AZL  Giants crushed the Angels 9-0:

John Polonius(SS)- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .600.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .265.
Cristian Paulino(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .239.
Rey Duran(C)- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .263.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.
Jose Reyes(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.18.
Zach Edgington(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Travious Relaford is killing it!  As near as I can tell, John Polonius was signed as an undrafted FA on July 5.  He's originally from Curacao and was drafted in round 30 out of JC ball last year by Cleveland.  He played this year for West Virginia and hit .305.  From pics I found, looks terrific in a uniform!

DSL  Giants edged the Phillies 4-3:

Nicol Parra(LF)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .282.
Kleiber Rivas(DH)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .150.
Juan Nova(RHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.31.
Luis Pino(RHP, 17 yo)- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Pino is out of Mexico and makes his pro debut.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/15/2012

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies game with the Tucson Padres postponed.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Harrisburg Senators 8-7:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 5, SB(26).  BA= .288.
Daniel Mayora(3B)- 2 for 2, 2 2B, BB, 2 HBP.  BA= .299.
Juan Perez(RF)- 4 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(11).  BA= .291.
Juan Ciriaco(2B)- 4 for 5.  BA= .188.
Craig Westcott(RHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.67.
Jacob Dunnington(RHP)- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.

Dunnington makes his AA debut.  Seems like Perez has been around forever, but he's putting a nice little season together in a tough environment for position prospects.

High A  San Jose Giants edged the Visalia Rawhide 2-1:

Joe Panik(SS)- 2 for 4, SB(5).  BA= .258.
Ryan Bradley(LHP)- 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.51.
Jose Valdez(RHP) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(5).  ERA= 3.00.

Short Season  Yakima Bears topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 10-8:

Kentrell Hill(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, 2 BB, SB(2).  BA= .207.
Chuckie Jones(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .231.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .277.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .286.
Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 1 for 4, BB, SB(6).  BA= .253.
Sam Eberle(C)- 2 for 5.  BA= .304.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Matthew Graham(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.64.

Nice game for padding offensive stat lines.  Stratton makes his pro debut with 2 IP marred by a solo dinger.  Nice appearance for Graham who still has more BB's than K's on the season.

Rookie AZL  Giants clubbed the D'Backs 10-2:

Randy Ortiz(CF)- 3 for 5, SB(9).  BA= .284
Hector Mercedes(RF)- 2 for 3, 3B(3), BB.  BA= .309.
Ryan Honeycutt(DH)- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .333.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .293.
Matt Lujan(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 8.22.
Cameron Lamb(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Leenhouts has 13 K's in 7.2 IP.

DSL  Idle for their All-Star game.  Royel Astacio and Julio Pena appeared representing the Giants.  Astacio drew a BB in the game.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Game Wrap 7/15/2012: Giants 3 Astros 2

This one was more of a battle than it probably should have been, although Bud Norris can be one tough customer when he's on.  Glass half empty:  Giants should have buried this inferior team.  Glass half full:  Giants swept a series they should have swept and head out on the road with a small first place cushion to work with.  On a day when Melky was off for the birth of his child and Riot was apparently not available for some unknown reason, I'll take the latter.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 4, BB.  BA= .252.  I figure if Blanco gets on base twice or more in a game, he's done his job.  His efforts got the Giants 1 of their runs today.

Buster Posey- 3 for 4.  BA= .297.  Buster drove in single runs with 2 of his 3 hits.

Matt Cain- 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 2.56.  Not to be a Debbie Downer here, but Cain will likely never pitch a better game than the perfecto.

Bullpen-2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.   Bochy was like a kid in a candy store with the mixing and matching today.  Worked to perfection except for a HBP by Affeldt.

The Dodgers got clobbered by those Pesky, Pesky Padres to fall 1.5 games off the Giants pace while the Cubbies completed a sweep of the D'Backs who fell 6.5 games behind.  Something funny going on in LA.  Kemp DNP.  Dodgers website said it was was just to keep him fresh, but how fresh does dude need to be after missing the better part of a couple of months?  Billz goes down with elbow pain.  They might end up having to empty out their farm to get a pitcher.

Giants have a day off then start a 6 game road trip to Hotlanta and Philly.  Barry Zito starts things off on Tuesday evening against the Braves who are as hot as this summer's weather in Georgia.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/14/2012

AAA  Tucson Padres defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 9-5:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 3 for 3, 2 2B, BB, HBP.  BA= .304.
Todd Linden(RF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .286.

Noonan reached base all 5 PA's.  He's hitting .340 over his last 10 games.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Harrisburg Senators 5-4:

Gary Brown(CF)- 0 for 4.  BA= .289.
Daniel Mayora(3B)- 4 for 4, 2B.  BA=.294.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 1 for 4, HR(9).  BA= .241.
Chris Gloor(LHP)- 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.98.

Brown's hitting streak comes to an end.  Nice start for Gloor.

High A  Visalia Rawhide beat the San Jose Giants 8-3:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .280.
Aubrey Huff(DH)- 1 for 5.  BA= .250.
Brennan Metzger(LF)- 1 for 1.  BA= 1.000.

Metzger is the first draftee from this year to play for a full season club.  Huff is not exactly tearing up the Cal League.

Low A  West Virginia Power downed the Augusta Greenjackets 8-6:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 4, BB, 2 SB(25).  BA= .210.
Brett Krill(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .264.
Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .227.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 4.1 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.55.
Derek Law(RHP)- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.09.

Mejia got hit hard after a long string of successful outings.  Law was dominant.  He has 28 K's against just 2 BB's in 19.1 IP over his last 10 appearances.

Short Season  Yakima Bears blanked the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-0:

Stephen Branca(2B)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .234.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.30.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.89.

Branca had 2 of the Volcanoes 3 hits in the game.

Rookie AZL  Giants were idle.

DSL  The DSL was idle.

Game Wrap 7/14/2012:

Tim Lincecum was pitching for his place in the rotation and came through with what might have been his best performance of the season pitching 8 dominant shutout innings.  The lead was lost in a bizarre turn of events in the  top of the 9'th inning so he ended up with a no decision.  Hector Sanchez eventually picked himself up from his 9'th inning defensive miscue with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 12'th.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .252.  Blanco reached base 3 times in 6 PA's but did not figure into the scoring.

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .353.  Melky's hit parade continues unabated.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .308.  Both of Sandoval's hits were IF hits.  He is in noticeably better shape than when he came off the DL and was getting down the first base line in 4.5 secs.  He scored the game winner after beating out a chopper to the SS hole.

Hector Sanchez-  4 for 6, 2B.  BA= .278.  Sanchez is taking a lot of heat for the miscue in the 9'th.  In fairness to him, it was a very tough play.  Tough pitch to block and he had to go a long way to get it.  The throw was more a mistake of aggressiveness than a bad play.  Gotta love the long term potential of the bat, well, the whole package, but especially the bat.

Tim Lincecum- 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K's.  ERA= 5.93.  I still think Timmy looks too thin, but he had plenty of stamina in this one.  He got stronger in this one as the game went on and he pitched 8 full innings.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.97.  Casilla's stuff might have been too good in this one.  The tying run scored on a K on a nasty pitch in the dirt that Sanchez partially blocked but it bounced far enough for him to feel like he had to hurry his throw to first. It was an awkward angle with the runner partially blocking the path of the ball to 1B and it pulled Belt off the bag into foul territory.  Maxwell, who started the play at 2B saw that Sanchez was too far away from the plate to get back and cover it and never stopped running beating Belt's throw and the game was tied.

Brad Penny- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 2.25.  How big is Penny's ability to go more than one inning in relief?

The Dodgers lost to the Pesky Padres 7-6 so the Giants move back into first place in the NL West by 0.5 games over da Bums.  The D'Backs lost to the Cubs again so they fall to 5.5 games off the Giants pace.

Matt Cain takes the mound tomorrow against Bud Norris in an afternoon game.  We all know what he did in his last start against the "Stros.

Go Giants!

Down on the Farm: 7/13/2012

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Tucson Padres 8-5:

Brock Bond(3B)- 3 for 3, BB, SB(2).  BA= .345.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .333.
Skyler Sromsmoe(RF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(13).  BA= .259.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.14.

Lollis gets the call from San Jose to fill in for Pegs who is apparently hurt.  Bond doesn't hit for power at all, but he has always peppered the field with base hits his entire minor league career.

AA  Game 1  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Harrisburg Senators 4-0:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B, CS(14).  BA= .290.
Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 2, BB, Sac.  BA= .220.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.95.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.36.

Game 2  Harrisburg Senators edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, 3 SB(25).  BA= .292.
Juan Perez(RF)- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .282.
Daryl Maday(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.14.

It's not easy to get multiple hits in 7 inning games, but Brownie did it twice.  He now has multiple hits in 7 straight and 8 of 10.  He's hitting .435 with a SLG% of .696.  Some have noted that he's not drawing walks.  Not sure why he would want to draw walks when he's hitting .435.  Brown's history is he draws more walks when he's not hitting, but when he's hitting, well, it's like Yogi Berra once said, "I hit the bad pitches so good, I didn't see why I should wait for a good one!"  LOL!

Fitzgerald has allowed just 2 runs in his last 20 innings over 3 starts with 18 K's and 6 BB's.

High A  San Jose Giants cracked the Modesto Nuts 5-4:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .277.
Joe Panik(SS)- 1 for 4, HR(5), BB.  BA= .256.
Aubrey Huff(1B)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .273.
Alex Burg(RF)-2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .266.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, BS(3), W(5-4).  ERA= 3.07.

Jurica is hitting leadoff with Lollis called up to Fresno.  Not sure what role there is for Huff on the Big Giants.  Hopefully Panik gets untracked here.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets stung the Greenville Drive 3-1:

Shawn Payne(LF)- 3 for 4, SB(33).  BA= .314.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.94.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's  ERA= 3.65.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(16).  ERA= 1.44.

Crick's line is not as dominant as some he's had but very effective.  Marlowe moves to the pen.  I think he might be coming off a 7 day DL stint as it's been 11 days since he last pitched.

Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Yakima Bears 6-4:

Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 3, BB, SB(6).  BA= .277.
Charles Jones(CF)- 1 for 3, SF.  BA= .232.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .333.
Andrew Cain(RF)- 2 for 4, SB(4).  BA= .232.
Raymundo Montero(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.97.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(5).  ERA= 2.31.

Rookie AZL  Giants outlasted the Royals 9-8 in 10 innings:

Randy Ortiz(CF)- 2 for 6, 3B, SB(8).  BA= .263.
Tyler Hollick(DH)- 3 for 4, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB.  BA= .571.
Gabriel Cornier(C)- 2 for 3.  BA= .357.
Jean Delgado(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .300.
Travious Relaford(SS)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .297.
Brandon Allen(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 7.31.
Emmanuel DeJesus(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.25.
Eduardo Encinosa(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 0.00.

Hollick put up video game numbers in JC ball.  So far, he's doing it again in his pro debut.  Is Relaford translating raw talent into skills?  Gotta start wondering if Allen is ever going to get past the lower minors.

DSL  Giants beat the Pirates2 6-2:

Nicol Parra(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .274.
Carlos Valdez(RF)- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .255.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .326.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 7 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.45.
Carlos Alvarado(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 1.29.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Game Wrap 7/13/2012: Giants 5 Astros 1

Madison Bumgarner dominated the Astros while the Giants offense got him some early runs for an easy win.  Key Lines:

Ryan Theriot- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .277.  Maybe Riot should be leading off?  His OBP is .353 in June and July so far.

Buster Posey- 1 for 4, HR(11).  BA= .289.  Buster's bomb was a mammoth shot to dead CF in the first inning with  Theriot on base.

Angel Pagan- 2 for 3, SF, SB(16).  BA= .287.  Pagan gets off to a good second half start.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .255.  Nice little game for Belt.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.15.  Bumbgarner was in complete command with Snyders solo HR in the 7'th with the Giants leading 4-0 the only damaging blow.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.69.  Romo retired the first 3 batters he faced, but put two runners on base in the 9'th creating a Save situation for Santiago Casilla.

Santiago Casilla- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(22).  ERA= 2.78.  Casilla needed this as he used his fastball to set up the curveball this time with excellent results.

The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw topped the Pathetic Padres 2-1 to keep their 0.5 game lead on the Giants in the NL West.  The D'Backs got blown out by the Cubs 8-1 to fall 5 games back.

Tim Lincecum faces a crucial test tomorrow against Lucas Harrell in an evening game.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Down on the Farm: 7/12/2012

AAA  Tucson Padres edged the Fresno Grizzlies 6-5:

Brock Bond(3B)- 2 for 3, 2B, HBP.  BA= .335.
Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .299.
Jackson Williams(C)- 3 for 4.  BA= .280.
Clayton Tanner(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.00.

Free Brock Bond, Nick Noonan and Jackson Williams!  LOL!

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels soared over the Harrisburg Senators 12-3:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .288.
Tommy Joseph(C)- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .255.
Juan Perez(RF)- 3 for 4, HR(7), BB.  BA= .281.
Daniel Mayora(3B)- 3 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .282.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, GO/AO= 14/5.  ERA= 2.72.

Brown is hitting .458 for the month of July.  Joseph has 3 doubles and 3 HR's in his last 10 games for a SLG%= .535 and an IsoP of .279.

High A  San Jose Giants blanked the Modesto Nuts 4-0:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .273.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.98.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.20.

I'm pretty sure this was Rogers' best start of the season.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets rained out.

Short Season  Yakima Bears topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 8-5:

Kentrell Hill(CF)-  0 for 2, 2 BB, Sac, SB(1).  BA= .191.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .265.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .283.
Sam Eberle(C)- 2 for 5.  BA= .293.
Matthew Graham(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.77.
Franklin Noel(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.89.

Noel pitched 5 years for the DSL Giants before coming to the States.  Graham has pitched effectively in 10.2 IP despite a K/BB= 6/8.

Rookie AZL  Giants beat the Cubs 7-2:

Randy Ortiz(DH)- 1 for 4, SB(7).  BA= .257.
Tyler Hollick(CF)- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .333.
Shilo McCall(LF)- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .225.
Drew Stiner(C)- 2 for 2.  BA= .400.

Hollick makes his pro debut.  Stiner is back from his suspension.

DSL Giants 12  Pirates2 3:

Hengerber Medina(2B)- 1 for 2, 3 BB, HBP. SB(4).  BA= .342.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .322.
Carlos Valdez(RF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .247.
Royel Astacio(3B)- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .265.
Alejandro Florez(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 2.41.

John Sickels is starting a review of his pre-season top 20's for each team.  First up was the Tampa Bay Rays.  For those of you who might be hung up on organizational rankings, the Rays were BA's #11 ranked system at the beginning of the season.  Go read through Sickels' mid-season review and tell me whether you think the Rays system is significantly better than the Giants right now.