Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Game Wrap Spring Training 2013: Giants 8 D'Backs 6

The Giants wound up the 2013 Cactus League with a resounding win that was not as close as the final score would make it seem.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 1 for 2, HR(3).  BA= .365.  The Reverend is ready to start the season and is playing for a contract.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 3, HR(8).  BA= .448.  Boffo spring for the former phenom.  If Belt so much as shows modest improvement in last year's numbers, the Giants are gonna be alright.

Francisco Peguero- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .333.  I don't remember when I've seen two guys go after a final roster spot the way Pegs and Gillespie have this spring.  I still think Pegs has to win the full time starting job in LF to make the team as the Giants will want him to play everyday.

Nick Noonan- 3 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .254.  Talk about making the most of your opportunity.  Young Nick has grabbed this one by the throat!

Guillermo Quiroz- 2 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .294.  I'm still not sure that The Hector is a lock to be the backup catcher.

Madison Bumgarner- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.29.  Bummy is ready to start the season!  Game 2 in LA!

Javier Lopez- 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K's.  ERA= 13.50.  Gotta have faith the Lopez will pull it together once the season starts.

Sergio Romo, Chad Gaudin, Heath Hembree- 1 scoreless IP each.  Hembree earned his 4'th Save of the Cactus League.  He had 2 K's in this one and looks like a good bet to be one of the first callups if needed in season.

The Bay Bridge Series starts tomorrow night against the A's at AT&T Park.  Game 2 is Friday night also at AT&T and Saturday afternoon it moves to the O.co Coliseum.  Then Easter Sunday off and opening day in LA on Monday, April 1.  Woo Hoo!!!

10 comments:

  1. The Giants have a great vibe going on right now. I hope they aren't peaking too soon!

    Gillespie and Quiroz are breaking camp as reserves. Both Sanchez and Pegs could use some more time in the minors. Real question is when does Hembree get the call? The Kid is going to be in the bigs sometime this year.

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  2. Its nice to see the Giants young prospects such as Pegs, Hembree, and Noonan having good spring trainings. It speaks well for the team's minor league system. I've seen a couple of games where Pence collected some hits to the opposite field. I hope it lasts throughout the season. I think Lopez's line is a little misleading because he's a lefthanded specialist brought in to face 1 or 2 lefthanded hitters during the regular season.

    LG

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  3. Noonan! Noonan! Noonan!

    Better pick up Belt for your fantasy teams, he looks ready! Pence too.

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  4. Noonan stepping up really helps on several fronts, since it stabilizes the depth. Hembree getting back on his game is great. I for one don't think Belt is surprising. I may be wrong, and I defer to the experts, but my sense of Belt was at every level he started slow and then it clicked. The problem was the yo-yo year, which I put on the Giants not Belt. He's gonna have a big year, and the fact that others are just handing the division to Colorado and the Dodgers is laughable to me.

    Way more worried about Timmy and Pence, than I am Belt or even Crawford.

    BTW, I still think Pegs should be called up. I loved the way Bochy helped Belt last year and I think that should be the plan for Pegs. Let him be a late inning guy, occassional starter, etc., and then let him ultimately be the starter. If we had a full time OF of Pegs, Pagan and Pence, we'd be in good shape if Pegs hits to his potential.

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  5. Peguero's ceiling is No.5 OF so it wouldn't hurt to have him start the season on the 25. I agree Pence is the biggest worry. Then, if he has a decent year, do the Giants give him a long extension? That would be a gamble. But what contract isn't?

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    1. Peguero's ceiling is No.5? That will be news to the front office.

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    2. Yeah, Pegs' ceiling is not a #5 OF. Sorry, Anon.

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    3. I absolutely agree. His ceiling is a starter (IMHO). My point of keeping him on the club was that I thought that he could transition in a bit easier if handled the same way as Belt (finally), so while he loses the day in day out, he benefits as he takes more control. Least in my little perfect world where he grabs ahold, Pagan is awesome, and Pence has a great year. Then, we just have to decide to sign Pence long term.

      PiLamBear (and original Anon)

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    4. Well, the conventional wisdom is that since baseball is a game of repetition and imprinting patterns on the brain, it's a given that young players with high ceilings have to play every day to develop. I'm starting to think the Giants may have found an alternative development method: Play a kid for a day or two then sit him down and let him absorb the lessons he's learned. If he has a flaw, they talk to him about it, have him work on it in the batting cages then after a few days, go out and try to apply the lessons learned.

      I know I've had the experience of trying to learn material for a test. I'd be up studying at night going over it again and again and getting worse and worse at remembering. Then, after sleeping on it, I'd wake up in the morning and have the whole thing down cold. Sometimes the brain just needs some time and space to process things.

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  6. Exactly Dr. B. That's my point. Sometimes the pressue is just too much to just throw a guy to the wolves. Guys like Posey, Panda, Timmy (well, originally) and the other young pitchers get it. But maybe that isn't necessarily the way for all guys. I agree, by corollary, the play-sit-learn may also not be effective for all guys, but it worked great with Belt. Crawford is a great example of the more traditional way where he just needed to power through.

    My point is let's not assume that Pegs can't get there if he (for now) is the 5th Of.

    PiLamBear

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