Down on the Farm: 08-31-2010

AAA Salt Lake City Bees stung the Fresno Grizzlies 7-6 in 10 innings:

Eugenio Velez- 2 for 5. BA= .297.
Jesus Guzman- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .316.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 2, HR(3), 3 BB. BA= .240.
Brett Pill- 3 for 5, SB(7). BA= .271.
Tyler Graham- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .349.
Henry Sosa- 6.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.97.

You know, I'd really like to know what Brandon Belt's vision measures out at. The kid just doesn't seem to swing at anything he can't hit, or is out of the zone. Sosa gave up some hits, but good to see him not give up any walks.

AA Erie Sea Dogs topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-2:

Pretty much nothing to see here.

High A San Jose Giants pounded the Inland Empire 66'ers 10-4:

Ehire Adrianza- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .250.
Juan Perez- 3 for 5, 3B. BA= .300.
Michael Sandoval- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .266.
Drew Biery- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(8). BA= .249.
Wendell Fairley- 2 for 4, 3B, 2 SB(10). BA= .296.
Justin Fitzgerald- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's ERA= 3.51.

Did somebody light a fire under Wendell Fairley here at the end of the season. He's finally flashing both power and speed! Nice start for Fitz.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets beat the Lakewood Blueclaws 6-2:

Nick Liles- 2 for 5. BA= .313.
Chris Dominguez- 4 for 4, 2B, 3B. BA= .269.
Skyler Stromsmoe- 1 for 5, 3 SB(6). BA= .229.
Andy Reichard- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.49.
Jose Valdez- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.41.
Jose Casilla= 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.20.

Good to see Dominguez get a lot of non-HR basehits.

Short Season Eugene Emeralds topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-1:

Nothing to see here.

Rookie AZL Giants season ended last night with the playoff loss to the Reds. Brewers won the Championship with a 10-8 win over the Reds tonight. Nice season for the AZL Giants though, making the playoffs once again.

DSL Giants lost game 2 of the Championship series to the Reds 13-3:

Leonardo Fuentes- 3 for 4.
Danny Mujica- 0 for 0, 5 BB!, SB.
Marvin Barrios- 3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K.

Game Wrap 08-31-2010: Giants 5 Rockies 2

When Melvin Mora hit a HR into the short porch down the RF line to tie the game at 2-2 of Jeremy Affeldt in the top of the 8'th inning, it brought back some very nasty memories from last night. It seemed like deja vu all over again! Fortunately, the Giants offense, led by Andres Torres and Buster Posey plated 3 runs in the bottom of the inning giving Brian Wilson a nice, easy save opportunity and he didn't let it get away. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 4, HR(14). BA= .284. Who is the team MVP? Torres, Huff or Posey? My vote it Andres Torres! But, it's a close call.

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .289. Freddy's hot streak continues. He even made a great catch at a key moment on a looper hit over his head into short RF. He's partially forgiven for that terrible relay throw last night.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .330. Does this kid pretty much have it all going on, or what? In addition to the 2 run double to give the Giants 2 insurance runs, he threw the most perfect strike to 2B to nail CarGone on a SB attempt I've ever seen. The ball and the runner arrived at exactly the same time. Sanchez' glove didn't have to move. I'm tellin' ya, it was a thing of beauty!

Madison Bumgarner- 1 for 3, 2B. BA- .167. Bum drove in the 2'nd run with a line double through the gap to triples alley.

Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K's. Even when Bum's fastball is in the 89-90 range, it sure seems to jump on hitters quick. Nice job tonight, kid!

Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.67. The more I think about last night's game, the more I'm realizing that it was just blind, dumb luck. Just no way to rationalize that busted bat sending a line drive over the head of the OF. Just no way!

Amazingly, with the W tonight, the Giants crept to within 4 games of the NL West leading San Diego Padres who lost their 6'th game in a row, this time to the D'Backs 7-4. They also blew the Rockies off their tail by another game, 7 back of the Pads and 3 back of the Giants. In the Wild Card race, the Phillies are leading the Dodgers late, so will likely remain 1.5 games ahead of the Giants, while the Cards lost to Houston to drop 4 games off the Wild Card lead tied with the Rockies.

Tim Lincecum, once again, tries to get back on track against in the rubber game of this series with Colorado. Maybe it's not a must-win, but winning this series would be a very nice send off to the upcoming road trip starting in LA.

Down on the Farm: 08-30-2010

AAA Salt Lake City Bees outslugged the Fresno Grizzlies 15-11:

Ryan Rohlinger- 3 for 5. BA= .320.
Jesus Guzman- 4 for 6, 2 2B. BA= .314.
Brandon Belt- 4 for 6, 2B, HR(2), SB(2). BA= .217.
Denny Bautista- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.00.
Dontrelle Willis- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 8.10.

What a way to break out of a slump for Belt! Nice inning from Willis in a game hardly anyone else pitched well in.

AA Erie Seawolves downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-2:

Nothing to see here.

High A Stockton Ports defeated the San Jose Giants 9-5:

James Simmons- 1 for 4, HR(12). BA= .253.
Wendell Fairley- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .294.
Andrew Romo- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 8.22.

Fairley has a nice BA, but this was his first HR of the season? Really? A much improved outing for Romo from his Cal League debut.

Low A Lakewood Blueclaws nipped the Augusta Greenjackets 3-2:

Ryan Cavan- 1 for 4, HR(16). BA= .278.
Luke Anders- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .292.
Tommy Joseph- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .235.
Kelvin Marte- 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.73.

This might be Marte's longest outing as a professional pitcher. He was a reliever in the DSL from what I remember. I'm sure it's his longest in the 'States, well maybe in 2008. He started 7 games and pitched 35 innings that year in the AZL before going down with TJ. He made 5 starts last year for Augusta, but pitched a total of only 21 innings.

Short Season Vancouver Canadians edged the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-5:

Julio Izturis- 2 for 4. BA= .283.
Mike Murray- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .345.
Devin Harris- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .216.
Edwin Escobar- 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 5.28.

Rookie AZL Reds won the first game of the first round of the AZL playoffs over the Giants 6-5:

Gary Brown- 2 for 5, 3B.
Carlos Willoughby- 1 for 3, 2 BB.
Joe Staley- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.
Austin Fleet- 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.
Mike Kickham- 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.
Heath Hembree- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.

At least Kickham had the K's going.

DSL Giants blanked the Reds 7-0 in game 1 of the DSL Championship Series:

Danny Mujica- 2 for 4, BB.
Alberto Robles- 2 for 4.
Luis Vasquez- 3 for 4, 2B.
Joan Gregorio- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.

A dominant start in a post season game for Gregorio. I think we have ourselves a prospect!

Game Wrap 08-30-2010: Rockies 2 Giants 1

Oh.....My.....God! Of all the gut wrenching, soul destroying losses I've suffered through as a Giants fan over the years, and I'm talking 44 years of being a Giants fan, this one has to rank, oh, at least in the top 20 if not the top 10. Just when the Giants needed a great game from their starting rotation in the worst way, Jonathan Sanchez stands and delivers only to have it ripped away from him in a nightmare of a 9'th inning. No key lines tonight. There were no key lines! Just the awful story of the 9'th inning.....sorry, I'm still shaking!

For those of you who think I'm a knee jerk Bruce Bochy apologist, here goes. I would not have sent Jonathan Sanchez out to start the ninth inning! I understand the thought behind it, but no, if you are willing to use Brian Wilson in this game at all, at all, you send him out with a clean slate in the 9'th inning.

Sanchez started the 9'th off well enough with a couple of crisp curveballs to a righty batting Dexter Fowler. Then he sailed a fastball, and another. It was obvious that Sanchez was gassed and was dropping his elbow on the heater. I don't know if he could have controlled the breaking ball better, but Posey kept calling for the fastball down as if Sanchez had any chance at all of delivering it. Maybe after he sailed two fastballs, it might have been better to try to get by on the breaking ball for the rest of the at bat? Well, Fowler walks and Brian Wilson enters the game. Wilson missed with a couple of pitches outside but managed to get the count back to 3-2 against Carlos Gonzalez. Then, he absolutely blows up CarGone's bat, but somehow the ball sailed out into right-center field over the head of Cody Ross, a good outfielder, who completely misjudged the ball. Would Nate have had it? We'll never know. At this point, the run was home, but to make matters worse, Freddy Sanchez, who had a great chance to nail CarGone at 3B, threw an atrocious relay that took 3 hops and skipped past Pablo at 3B and into the stands, guaranteeing CarGone trotting home with the game winner.

It gets even worse. In the bottom of the 9'th inning, Aubrey Huff, Travis Ishikawa and Buster Posey scalded 3 balls off Huston Street, but alas, all 3 were hit right at fielders and that was the ballgame.

I don't know if this represents the end of the Giants season, but it sure as hell feels like it! Total desolation. Words are failing me now, gotta go.

Down on the Farm: 08-29-2010

AAA Sacramento River Cats nipped the Fresno Giants 2-1:

Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .290.
Ryan Rohlinger- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .314.
Jesus Guzman- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .309.
Brandon Belt- 0 for 4, 2 K's. BA= .059.
Johnny Monell- 1 for 4. BA= .200.
Kevin Pucetas- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 5.54.
Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.86.

Monell gets the callup all the way from SJ. Is somebody hurt? He had 1 AB in yesterday's game that I didn't notice. Belt is off to a slow start in AAA.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Altoona Curve 5-4:

Brock Bond- 2 for 4, HBP. BA= .231.
Thomas Neal- 2 for 4, 2B(39), HR(12). BA= .294.
Clayton Tanner- 4 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K's.
David Mixon- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.60.
Andy Sisco- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.60.

Neal is finishing a fine season strong. Bond played LF in this game while Neal played RF.

High A San Jose Giants defeated the Stockton Ports 7-2:

Ehire Adrianza- 2 for 4, 2B, SF, SB(31). BA= .251.
Francisco Peguero- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .317.
Jose Flores- 3 for 5, 3B, SB(8). BA= .334.
Kyle Woodruff- 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.22.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets had the day off.

Short Season Vancouver Canadians beat up on the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 7-1:

Mike Murray- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .353.
Addison Proszek- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 10.38.

Rookie AZL Angels out hit the Giants 9-6:

Gary Brown- 0 for 3, 2 BB. BA- .182.
Brice Cutspec- 2 for 5. BA= .288.
Joe Staley- 1 for 4, HR(5). BA= .250.
Ryan Honeycutt- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(1). BA= .213.
Jake Shadle- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 7.29.
Andy Altemus- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 4.87.
Ryan Bean- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.47.

Brown has drawn 4 walks in 26 PA's and his OBP is .333. Bean seems to be dominating this level. Staley is hitting for power, but will need to make better contact at higher levels.

DSL Giants were idle due to winning their playoff series in 2 games. They will face the Reds in the championship series starting tomorrow.

Game Wrap 08-29-2010: Giants 9 D'Backs 7

This was a game that seemed well in hand going to the 7'th inning. Matt Cain was cruising, the Giants had given him some run support.....and then the bullpen tried to give it all away. Fortunately, the offense came back to pick up the bullpen and Brian Wilson did his superman thing in the 8'th and 9'th innings to stave off a crushing sweep by the D'Backs in SF. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 2 for 4, 2B(42), BB. BA= .287. Torres was, once again, a sparkplug for the Giants offense. He also set a AT&T park record for doubles in one season with more than a month still to go.

Freddy Sanchez= 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .287. Freddy is hitting .500, 20 for 40 over his last 10 games. Maybe the trade for Fontenot lit a fire under him?

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4. BA= .276. Pablo continued his hot hitting. The double off the very top of the wall just to the right of the .421 ft. sign was just crushed. He also had a hard hit ball that was caught earlier in the game.

Eli Whiteside- 2 for 4. BA= .240. Eli and Matt Cain played "Little Ball" to perfection at the bottom of the order.

Matt Cain- 2 for 3. BA= .113. Cainer beat out a perfect sac bunt with Whiteside advancing from 2'nd to 3'rd on the play. Later, he faked a bunt, pulled the bat back and hacked a single up the middle.

Matt Cain- 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.11. Nice start for Cain who had a W blown by the bullpen. He needs to work on throwing fewer pitches early in games. Pitch counts, as much as anything, are what is keeping him from a HOF career.

Brian Wilson- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(36). ERA= 1.88. This was the 13'th time this season that Wilson has pitched more than 1 inning. What a horse! What an anchor to the bullpen!

With the W, the Giants gained a game on the NL West leading San Diego Padres who lost again to the Phillies 5-0. The Giants now trail by 5 games. Philadelphia maintained their 1.5 game lead in the Wild Card race with the W over the Pads. The Cardinals lost again to the Nats 4-2 to drop 3 games off the Wild card pace and 5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. Watch out for the Rockies who beat the Dodgers again 10-5 to move to 8 games behind the Padres, but just 3 games behind the Giants and 4.5 games out in the Wild Card race. The Dodgers would, once again, appear to be fading out of it and seem to be trying to trade Manny to the White Sox before Sept 1.

The Giants now begin a 3 game set at home against the surging Rockies before heading south to face the Dodgers in LA. Jonathan Sanchez gets the call for the first game followed by MadBum and Timmy.

Down on the Farm: 08-28-2010

AAA Sacramento River Cats clubbed the Fresno Grizzlies 12-4:

Brandon Belt- 0 for 2, 3 BB, OF assist(Wimberly at 3B from RF!). BA=.077.
Jesus Guzman- 3 for 4. BA= .309.
Ryan Rohlinger- 4 for 5. BA= .311.
Matt Yourkin- 6 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.36.
Craig Whitaker- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.41.

Interesting line from Belt despite getting no hits. They had him playing RF? He threw out Wimberly at 3B? Is there anything this guy can't do? Terrible start from Yourkin who has been mostly solid this year. Whitaker is in a good stretch, but his BB/9 is almost 9 to go with a K/9=9+. He has to cut down on the BB's if he wants to pitch in the majors.

AA Altoona nipped the Giants 3-2 in 10 innings:

Sharlon Schoop- 2 for 5. BA= .295.
Thomas Neal- 2 for 4. BA= .292.
Mike McDonald- 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.05.
Ronnie Ray- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.35.

Ray has a line of 1-0, 0.00, 15.1 IP, 5 BB, 16 K's in his last 10 appearances. His overall line for the season is 2-3, 3.35, 78 IP, 17 BB, 65 K's. He's 26 years old.

High A Stockton Ports topped the San Jose Giants 7-5:

James Simmons- 3 for 4, HR(11). BA= .255.
Danny Otero- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.61.

Simmons is red hot, hitting .357 over his last 10 games. His overall season line is climbing into respectable territory at .255/.341/.452. His BA progression for the season:
April- .225.
May- .232.
June- .239.
July- .254.
August- .333.
He is hitting .282/.373/.565 post all-star break.

Low A Augusts Greenjackets downed the West Virginia Power 7-4:

Nick Liles- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .311.
Ryan Cavan- 3 for 4, 2 2B, SB(11). BA= .278.
Luke Anders- 2 for 4. BA= .292.
Hector Sanchez- 2 for 4. BA= .279.
Zack Wheeler- 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.86.
Jeremy Toole- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.93.
Jose Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(13). ERA= 1.23.

I wonder where Wheeler will be assigned next season? It seems that maybe he still has some things to master at the low A level? Toole has been inconsistent this season but is 0-0, 1.17, 15.1 IP, 5 BB, 19 K's in his last 5 appearances. His draft scouting report had him in the high 90's with his fastball. I hope Casilla gets into a situation where he gets more IP, next year.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes came from behind to beat the Vancouver Canadians 5-4:

Mike Murray(.319), Ryan Scoma(.315), Dan Burkhart(.347), Jose Medina(.250)- 2 hits each.
Aaron King- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.89.
Stephen Shackleford- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 1.86.
Stephen Harrold- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(7). ERA= 3.38

The Volcanoes had no XBH's in this game. Too many walks for King! This was Shack's best game since his promotion from the AZL where he dominated.

Rookie AZL Giants blanked the Angels 3-0:

Gary Brown- 1 for 4, SB(2). BA= .211.
Rafael Rodriguez- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .301.
Sundrendy Windster- 1 for 4, HR(5). BA= .311.
Chuckie Jones- 1 for 3, 3B(4), BB. BA= .279.
Lorenzo Mendoza- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA- 3.50.
Brennan Flick- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.35.
Mike Kickham- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 11.57.
Matt Graham- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 5.63.
Raymundo Montero- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.70.

Windster seems to be playing mostly DH and 1B now. That's not a good sign for the future despite a pretty nice offensive season in the AZL. I guess it's a bit tough getting playing time in the OF on a team with Brown, RafRod and Jones. Windster sure looks incredibly big and strong in the latest pics from Joe Pun over at azgiants.com. Maybe he can hit enough to play 1B? This was the first appearance for Kickham that can be called successful. I think this was Graham's best outing of the season.

DSL Giants defeated the Mariners 5-2 to win their 3 game playoff series:

Christian Paulino- 2 for 5.
Jorge Lopez- 2 for 4.
Alberto Robles- 2 for 4.
Shurendell "Danny" Mujica- 2 for 4, 2B.
Luis Angeles- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.00.

I believe the Giants will now face the winner of the Cubs-Reds game today for the DSL championship.

Game Wrap 08-28-2010: D'backs 11 Giants 3

For a team that recently lost two Cy Young caliber pitchers, the Arizona Diamondbacks suddenly have a pretty solid looking pitching staff looking to the future. I watched part of this game via the Arizona broadcast feed on MLB package. They asked the question of the fans, "Which pitcher has ace potential?" The choices were Ian Kennedy, Barry Enright and Daniel Hudson. The winner, going away, was Enright. My choice would have been the pitcher for this game, Hudson. It didn't really matter though. The Giants could have faced most any pitcher and lost because Barry Zito had what might have been his worst outing in two years, and that's really saying something! The Cincinnati series notwithstanding, teams just don't overcome 10-1 or 9-1 leads very often, which makes that loss in the Cincy series all the more galling. Anyway, this game was done by the time the Giants came to bat in the first inning. Key lines:

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 4, HR(12). BA= .274. Pablo is hitting .326 with 4 dingers in the last 10 games. Too little, too late? At least it gives some hope for next season.

Barry Zito- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 1 K. Just atrocious pitching here from Zito. He's had a pretty good season, but has been horrible his last two starts at critical time in the pennant race. Don't know what else to say. We have at least 3 more seasons of this guy!

Ramon Ramirez- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.55.
Javier Lopez- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.25.

The Giants control both Ramirez and Lopez with arbitration eligibility. Add in Cody Ross in the same situation and it should be an interesting offseason. Both of these pitchers have gotten the job done since the trades. Unfortunately, the Giants starting pitching has regressed to the point where it hardly matters.

The Padres lost again to the Phillies so the Giants remain 6 games off the pace in the NL West race. With the win, the Phillies stretched their lead in the Wild Card race to 1.5 games over the Giants and 2 games over the Cardinals. The Rockies beat the Dodgers so those teams are 9 and 10 games off the division lead and 4.5 and 5.5 games off the Wild Card lead respectively.

Matt Cain takes the mound today to try to stop the bleeding. His opponent is Rodrigo Lopez, probably the weakest D'Backs starter, so this is a game the Giants should win.

Down on the Farm: 08-27-2010

AAA Sacramento River Cats clubbed the Fresno Grizzlies 11-3:

Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .291.
Ryan Rohlinger- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .302.
Waldis Joaquin- 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.86.
Dontrelle Willis- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 11.57.
Tony Pena- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 6.26.
Craig Whitaker- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.55.

I hope the Giants don't give up on using Joaquin as a starter. It will make or break him, but he wasn't making progress as a reliever. Not sure what the Giants obsession with bringing up Willis in September is, he has given zero indication that he can help the team. Pena might have a better chance competing for the Giants SS job next season than for a bullpen gig. Willis might want to consider hitting full time too.

AA Altoona Curve blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-0:

Thomas Neal- 2 for 4. BA= .291.
Daryl Maday- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.31.

High A Stockton Ports downed the San Jose Giants 4-2:

Francisco Peguero- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .318.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 3, 3B(5), 2 BB, SB(30). BA= .249.
Jorge Bucardo- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.20.

Bucardo had a BB/9 of 2.41 in the SAL. It's 5.40 so far in the Cal League.

Low A West Virginia Power nipped the Augusta Greenjackets 3-2 in 11 innings:

Chris Dominguez- 1 for 5, 2 SB(14). BA= .267.
Tommy Joseph- 1 for 5, 2B. BA= .237.
Ydwin Villegas- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .197.
Chris Heston- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 3.77.
Chris Gloor- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.57.
Jose Valdez- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.58.

Heston's line over his last 10 games: 3-3, 2.00, 63 IP, 16 BB, 55 K's, GO/A)= 1.74.

Short Season- Salem-Keizer Volcanoes smoked the Vancouver Canadians 8-1:

Chris Lofton- 1 for 2, 3B, 2 BB. BA= .266.
Ryan Scoma- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .313.
Carter Jurica- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .209.
Jeff Arnold- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .245.
Shawn Sanford- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.25.
Jake Dunning- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.67.

Jurica is 5 for 11 in his last 3 games. Is he going to put on a last minute push to raise his stock in the Giants prospect rankings? Sanford and Dunning have been bright spots in the Volcanoes staff.

Rookie AZL Giants edged the Cubs 8-7:

Gary Brown- 1 for 4. BA= .200.
Rafael Rodriguez- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(4). BA= .300.
Derek Dibbens- 2 for 3. BA= .353.
Sundrendy Windster- 1 for 3, 3B, BB. BA= .314.
Chuckie Jones- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .278.
Robert Haney- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .250.
Jake Dunnington- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's ERA= 0.63.

RafRod is hitting .380 over his last 8 games after a mini-slump dropped his BA to .270. Good to see him fight back. Windster is having a fine season with a line of .314/.421/.578. Dunnington might be the sleeper of sleepers. He was signed as a non-drafted FA out of high school last year. His overall line this year: 3-0, 0.63, 28.2 IP, 15 BB, 45 K's.

DSL Giants won the first game of their playoff series against the Mariners 4-3:

Christian Paulino- 2 for 4.
Luis Vasquez- 2 for 4, 2B.
Cesar Soto- 2 for 2, BB.
Keurin Feliz- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.
Franklin Noel- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.

Game Wrap 08-27-2010: Diamondbacks 6 Giants 0

I didn't see this game, but it appears that if not for 1 pitch to Adam LaRoche in the first inning, Tim Lincecum might have had a quality start allowing just 1 run in 6 innings. Alas, it didn't really matter whether it was 1 run or 10, the Giants weren't going to win this game as they were whitewashed by a rookie pitcher whose peripheral stats suggest is not going to have very many of these kinds of games in his career. Key lines:

Tim Lincecum- 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.80. Too many walks and a dinger in the first inning, and that was the ballgame right there. He also K'd the side in the first, but the damage was done. Still, the K's and the fact that he seemed to settle down the rest of the way may be indications Timmy is coming out of his funk. It better be soon, like his next start!

Barry Enright- 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.44. With 22 BB's and 39 K's in 66.1 IP, and a GO/AO of 0.85, it would appear that Enright's ERA is destined to make a big move upwards in the near future, but he kept it going long enough to deal the Giants a big setback.

With the loss, the Giants remained 6 games behind the NL West leading San Diego Padres who lost to the Phillies 3-2. The Dodgers won their 4'th game in a row 6-2 over the Rockies to move into a tie with the Rocks 10 games behind the Padres. In winning, the Phillies jumped over the Giants to a 0.5 game lead in the Wild Card race and 1 game ahead of the St Louis Cardianals who topped the Nats 4-2.

Barry Zito will try to bounce back from his last horrible start to keep the Giants hopes for a series win over the D'Backs alive facing another rookie, Daniel Hudson, who has a much more impressive K/9 than Enright.

Down on the Farm: 08-26-2010

AAA Fresno Grizzlies edged the Sacramento River Cats 3-2:

Joe Borchard- 2 for 4, HR(16). BA= .262.
Tyler Graham- 2 for 4. BA= .349.
Steve Holm-2 for 4. BA= .252.
Henry Sosa- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.88
Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.00.
Denny Bautista- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's, Save(8). ERA= 3.18.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Altoona Curve 9-6(completion of a previously suspended game):

Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .395.
Clay Timpner- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .290.
Andy Sisco- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.54.

Belt was obviously not around for the finish.

Altoona Curve beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-1(regularly scheduled game, 7 innings):

Nothing to see here.

High A Visalia Rawhide edged the San Jose Giants 3-2:

Francisco Peguero- 1 for 5, 2 OF Assists(3B, Home). BA= .316.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .248.
Ryan Verdugo- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.73.

Peguero showing off an arm for RF? No SJ player got more than 1 hit in the game.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets crushed the West Virginia Power 18-1:

Nick Liles- 4 for 6, 2B. BA= .310.
Ryan Cavan- 3 for 6, 2B. BA= .274.
Tommy Joseph- 2 for 6, HR(16). BA= .238.
Luke Anders- 3 for 5, 2B, BB. BA= .293.
Ryan Lollis- 4 for 6. BA= .301.
Brian Irving- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.50.

Nice game to pad the stat lines. Tommy Joseph had cooled off a bit, but still has an .800 OPS over his last 10 games. Light Tower Power!!

Short Season Vancouver Canadians topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 7-2:

Nothing to see here.

Rookie AZL Athletics downed the Giants 8-3:

Gary Brown- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .182.
Carlos Willoughby- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .305.
Joe Staley- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .250.
Kendry Flores- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.60.
Mike Kickham- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA- 20.25.
Ryan Bean- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.06.

Brown and Kickham off to slow starts after the long layoff. The K/BB is there for Flores in this one.

DSL Giants start their playoff tomorrow.

The K's and BB's are there for Flores in this line.

Hot Tip!

Over on the left hand side of this site, there's a list of my favorite baseball related websites. Go over there and click onto AZGIANTS.COM or just look up www.azgiants.com. Joe Pun has several photo galleries of recent games posted including great picutures of Gary Brown, Mike Kickham, Brandon Allen, Carlos Willoughby, Kendry Flores and other kids we talk about but don't see in the Down on the Farm series. This is must-see stuff!

Down on the Farm: 08-25-2010

AAA Sacramento River Cats edged the Fresno Grizzlies 6-5:

Eugenio Velez- 1 for 5, HR6). BA= .312.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 3, HR(1), 2 BB, SB(1). BA= .333.
Jesus Guzman- 1 for 4, HR(17), BB. BA= .305.

It really doesn't seem to matter what league Brandon Belt is in, does it? He just keeps putting up the same fantastic looking lines, night after night! Man, I can't wait to see him in SF. Not sure where they are going to put him on the field or the lineup, but they gotta give this kid a look!

AA Reading Phillies defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-2:

Sharlon Schoop- 3 for 4. BA= .296.

Formerly a shortstop who was once compared to Omar Vizquel, Schoop seems to be playing everywhere BUT shortstop now. He played 1B tonight. Yikes! Last night he played LF with Neal moving over to RF.

High A Visalia Rawhide blanked the San Jose Giants 3-0:

Nothing to see here.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets edged the West Virginia Power 4-3:

Ryan Cavan- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(10). BA= .272.
Luke Anders- 1 for 3, HR(13). BA= .290.
Andy Reichard- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K's. ERA= 3.50.
Jose Valdez- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.54.
Jose Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(12). ERA= 1.25.

A dominant start for Reichard. I still believe in him, but he's going to have to get it done the next chance he gets at a higher level. The Giants have really babied Casilla this year. I'll be interested to see what he does next year.

Short Season Vancouver Canadians beat the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 7-4:

Dan Burkhart- 3 for 5. BA= .350.
Adam Duvall- 2 for 4. BA= .265.
Carter Jurica- 2 for 4. BA= .201.
Jeff Arnold- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .234.
Taylor Rogers- 6 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.27.
Kaohi Downing- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.38.

A two hit game from Jurica has to be cause for some kind of special celebration! Burkhart has gotten off to the best start of any draftee except maybe Chuckie Jones.

Rookie AZL Giants were idle.

DSL Giants have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Game Wrap 08-25-2010: Reds 12 Giants 11

What started out looking like a blowout loss turned into a disappointing loss as the Giants fought back from a 10-1 deficit to actually take an 11-10 lead only to lose it on an unearned run in the top of the 9'th and then then lose the game in the 12'th inning. Barry Zito takes the loss filling in for a shorthanded Giants bullpen. I think the Giants will take this game as positive for the big comeback and the continued offensive outburst. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 2 for 7, 2B. BA= .287. This guy has a Key Line in almost every game! Just amazing!

Pablo Sandoval- 4 for 6, SB(3). BA= .276. Panda is 10 for 16 in his last 3 games. Batting .326 over his last 10.

Juan Uribe- 3 for 6, HR(17). BA= .254. 5 for 10 with 2 HR's in his last 2 games.

Madison Bumgarner- 2.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.95. The old ERA takes a beating today. Subpar outing + hitter friendly weather= disastrous line.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.26.

Brian Wilson- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.94. The run may have been unearned, but Wilson has had better lines, even so. Gotta give credit for going 2 for the team though.

Javier Lopez- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's ERA= 2.34. Lopez has been sensational since the trade. Is there room on the team for him next year?

With the loss, the Giants drop to 6.5 games behind the NL West leading San Diego Padres who pounded the D'Backs 9-3. They remained tied with the Phillies, who lost to the Astros 3-2, for the Wild Card playoff spot, and 1 game ahead of the Cardinals who lost to the Pirates 5-2.

The Giants have a much needed day off tomorrow before taking on the D'Backs at home starting Friday 8/27.

Down on the Farm: 08-24-2010

AAA Fresno Giants pounded the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 10-1:

Emmanuel Burriss- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(10). BA= .295.
Ryan Rohlinger- 3 for 4, BB, SB(2). BA= .303.
Ben Copeland- 2 for 3, 3B, 2 BB. BA= .283
Steve Holm- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .249.
Kevin Pucetas- 7 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.72.

Nice game for Burriss. Looking over the Giants SS situation and who is available on the FA market, gotta think Burriss is in the mix for the Giants SS gig next year. 2 solid starts in a row for Pucetas, who has struggled mightily this season.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Reading Phillies 5-4:

Nick Noonan- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .249.
Sharlon Schoop- 2 for 4. BA= .282.
Conor Gillaspie- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .296.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .331.
Thomas Neal- 2 for 4. BA= .293.
Clayton Tanner- 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.42.
Andy Sisco- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.83.

Gillaspie's triple was the only XBH out of 9. Two good outings in a row for Sisco.

High A San Jose Giants scored 4 runs in the last two innings for a come-from-behind win over the Visalia Rawhide:

Francisco Peguero- 1 for 4, 3B, BB. BA= .318.
Juan Perez- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(11). BA= .302.
Kyle Woodruff- 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.24.

Augusta Greenjackets scored 5 runs in the last two innings to edge the Lexington Legends 5-4:

Kelvin Marte- 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.70.
Jeremy Toole- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.94.

The Jackets got their first baserunner with 1 out in the 6'th inning and only sent 21 men to the plate through 7 against Lexington starter Jose Cisneros.

Short Season Yakima Bears defeated the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 8-3:

Aaron King- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.31.

S-K batters managed to score their 3 runs on just 3 hits in the game.

Rookie AZL Athletics beat the Giants 4-1:

Gary Brown- 0 for 3, BB. BA= .143.
Austin Fleet- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.65.
Brandon Allen- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.60.

Well, just look at that! Brown has 2 walks in his first 2 pro games! Kids like Allen are why I'm optimistic about the Giants lower minors.

DSL Giants have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Game Wrap 08-24-2010: Giants 16 Reds 5

It was a balmy night at AT&T park and the balls were flying out of the yard. Fortunately, more of them flew out for the Giants than for the Reds. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .287. Dude just keeps getting it done. Might want to rethink that platoon, Boch!

Buster Posey- 1 for 5, HR(10). BA= .339. Tough night for Buster and he still hits a HR and drives in 3 runs!

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(11). BA= .271. I think we can say The Panda is heating up.

Juan Uribe- 2 for 4, HR(16). BA= .251. I would vote Uribe the most likely current Giant to hit one all the way to the glove.

Freddy Sanchez- 4 for 4, 2B, HR(3). BA= .278. Second 2-hit night in a row. Raised his BA by 17 pts.

Jonathan Sanchez- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.67. Sanchez didn't have it tonight. Fortunately, the Giants hitters picked him up big time.

With the W, the Giants kept pace with the NL West leading Padres who blanked the D'Backs 5-0 behind Clayton Richard. In the Wild Card race, they pulled even with the Philllies who lost a marathon game to the Astros 4-2 in 16 innings, a game in which Ryan Howard went 0 for 7 with 5 K's and was thrown out of the game, and Roy Oswalt ended up playing LF. The Cardinals remained 1 game back with a 4-3 loss to the Pirates.

Madison Bumgarner hopes to get in on the Giants offensive explosion tomorrow, but Bum might be the Giants pitcher least in need of offensive support right now. Come on MadBum, bring the broom!!

Down on the Farm: 08-23-2010

AAA Fresno Grizzlies pounded the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 12-3:

Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 4, 2 BB. BA= .291.
Eugenio Velez- 2 for 5, BB. BA= .314.
Tyler Graham- 3 for 5, SB(33). BA= .347.
Matt Yourkin- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.85.
Alex Hinshaw- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.93.

The Grizz scored 11 runs in the 6'th inning. Yourkin also contributed 2 hits to help his own cause. Hinshaw has a 0.90 ERA in his last 10 appearances, but he also has 6 BB's in 10 IP in that same stretch.

AA Reading Phillies downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-4 in 10 innings:

Ryan Lormand- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .238.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .325.
Sharlon Schoop- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .276.

Lormand has 5 hits in his last three games, but is hitting just .198 in his last 10. Baggs featured Belt in his latest Organizational Report for BA. He said the Giants are definitely planning on calling him up in September. That means he will be added to the 40 man roster, which also means someone will be dropped.

High A San Jose Giants edged the Stockton Ports 6-5:

Francisco Peguero- 2 for 5. BA= .318.
Jose Flores- 3 for 5, SB(7). BA= .333.
Johnny Monell- 2 for 5. BA= .272.
Charlie Culberson- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .309.
Wendell Fairley- 2 for 4. BA= .297.
James Simmons- 1 for 4, SB(19). BA= .253.

The Giants banged out 15 hits, but only 2 for extra bases.

Low A Lexington Legends came from behind with 6 runs in the last 3 innings to beat the Augusta Greenjackets 8-6:

Chris Dominguez- 2 for 5. BA= .269.
Ryan Cavan- 1 for 3, HR(15), BB. BA= .269.
Tommy Joseph- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .240.
Ryan Lollis- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .298.
Zack Wheeler- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.62.

Nice K's, not so good BB's from Wheeler. K's>>>BB's at this point in his career.

Short Season Salem- Keizer Volcanoes topped the Yakima Bears 4-1:

Julio Izturis- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(7). BA= .300.
Devin Harris- 2 for 5, 1 2B. BA= .190.
Carlos Quintana- 2 for 3, 2B, 3B, BB. BA= .268.
Chris Lofton- 1 for 3, BB, HBP. BA= .268.
Justin Schumer- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO- 9/3. ERA= 1.23.
Stephen Harrold- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(6). ERA= 3.57.

Devin Harris is a guy I had my eye on as a later round draft pick. His numbers are anemic so far, but I think he might be a sleeper based on his college record.

Rookie AZL Giants defeated the Mariners 6-2:

Gary Brown- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .250.
Carlos Willoughby- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .307.
Rafael Rodriguez- 2 for 3, BB, SB(3). BA= .288.
Wes Hobson- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .302.
Jose De La Cruz- 2 for 3, SB(2). BA= .270.
Lorenzo Mendoza- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.76.
Brennan Flick- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Reiner Roibal- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.17.
Jake Dunnington- 1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.67.
Heath Hembree- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.96.

Gary Brown makes his pro debut. Waddyaknow? He draws a walk and has an OBP of .400! Baggs reported in BA that RafRod went out with a back ailment early in the season and just stayed on in Arizona after rehabbing. That's not an unusual Giants pattern to let a player play at a lower level for awhile even after coming back from an injury.

Game Wrap 08-23-2010: Giants 12 Reds 2

I was a story line that doesn't get written nearly enough. The Giants scored early and often, and Matt Cain cruised to his 10'th victory of the season against a the first place team in the NL Central. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 3, HR(13), 2 BB. BA= .284. 2 walks and a homer out of the leadoff man, what more can you ask for?

Buster Posey- 2 for 5. BA= .342. Ho-hum! Another 2 hit game for Posey.

Aubrey Huff- 3 for 4, 2B(29), HR(22), BB. BA=.299. Huff Daddy came within a whisker of making a huge play on a sharp grounder down the line, laying out and just snagging it in the tip of his glove. The ball squirted loose as he tried to transfer it to his right hand. It was still a darn good play as it prevented extra bases. Ultimately it didn't matter as the hitter, Nix, advanced to 3B on Votto's ground rule double and scored on a triple by Rolen.

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .267. Pablo hit some screamers, almost killing the pitcher with one on a drive back up the middle. The pitcher ducked down just as the ball whistled past his ear. Pablo also hit one that nearly took the shortstop's glove off. The SS dropped the ball, but easily forced Guillen at 2B since Jose had to freeze on the line drive right at the infielder.

Freddy Sanchez- 4 for 5, 2B. BA= .269. Moley looked like his old self tonight. A hot streak from him would be welcome.

Matt Cain- 8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.07. About time Cain had an easy start. He still used up an awful lot of pitches in the first 3 innings, but then really settled down. Was throwing 95 MPH heaters in the 8'th inning.

With the W, the Giants gained 0.5 games on the idle Padres in the NL West to 5.5 games back. In the Wild Card race, the Phillies dropped a game to the 'Stros 3-2 while the Cards smacked down the Pirates 10-2 leaving the Cards and Giants tied 1 game back of the Phillies.

Jonathan Sanchez tries to keep it going against rookie lefty Travis Wood who has been sensational for the Reds this season. Sound familiar?

Guillermo Mota goes on the DL to make room for newcomer Cody Ross leaving the Giants with just 11 pitchers. Matt Downs gets the DFA from the 40 man roster. Rosters can expand in 8 days, still, 8 days can be an eternity in a pennant race.

Down on the Farm: 08-22-2010

AAA Fresno Grizzlies out hit the Colorado Springs Sky Sox 10-7:

Emmanuel Burriss- 2 for 5, SF, SB(9). BA= .292
Eugenio Velez- 3 for 4, 2 BB. BA= .313.
Jesus Guzman- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .307.
Tyler Graham- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .342.
Dontrelle Willis- 1 for 1, 3B. BA= 1.000.

Dontrelle Willis- 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, HBP. ERA= 9.00.

I think OGC mentioned this once before, but I wonder what would happen if Emmanuel Burriss had a man-to-man talk with Andres Torres about hitting philosophy? Velez seems to be working on taking more walks. I really like this guy and hope he finds his way back to the majors someday. Dude sometimes got a bit out of control, but I almost like that better than the statues they are running out there right now. Dontrelle Willis needs to seriously consider taking up hitting full time a la Rick Ankiel!

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

Thomas Neal- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .294.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .323.
Conor Gillaspie- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .295.
Felix Romero- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.40.
Andy Sisco- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.91.

Neal, Belt and Gillaspie finishing strong. Sisco has been maddeningly inconsistent. Tonight he was dominant.

HIgh A San Jose Giants dumped the Stockton Ports 7-1:

Francisco Peguero- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .317.
Johnny Monell- 2 for 4, HR(17). BA= .270.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .253.
James Simmons- 2 for 2, 2B, BB. BA= .253.
Jorge Bucardo- 5 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 8/2. ERA= 3.81.

Monell is hitting .370 over his last 10 games. Simmons has a line of .355/.500/.724 over his last 10 games. He is my pick for most athletic player on the team. I'm tellin' ya. If Simmons ever hits consistently, he's the complete package. After a dominant first Cal League start, Bucardo has scuffled a bit.

Low A Lexington Legends defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 8-2:

Chris Dominguez- 3 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .267.
Chris Heston- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.84.

Dominguez is drawing a walk here and there. All in all, I think his season has been somewhat encouraging as I thought there was a real possibility that he might hit about .220 or less. He did commit his 30'th error of the season, but BA voted him the best defensive 3B prospect in the Sally League.

Short Season Yakima Bears topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-3:

Raynor Campbell- 2 for 4. BA= .264.
Jose Medina- 0 for 1, 3 BB. BA= .245.
Shawn Sanford- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.32.

This was Sanford's first professional start after notching 4 Saves for S-K this year and 8 for AZL Giants last year. His ERA is 1.74 over his last 10 appearances. He has a K/9 of 9 and a GO/AO= 2.33.

Rookie AZL Cubs beat the Giants 7-5:

Carlos Willoughby- 2 for 5. BA= .306.
Joe Staley- 1 for 4, HR(4). BA= .239.
Sundrendy Windster- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .316.

Gaspar Santiago- 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.63.
Rafael Martinez- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.00.
Mike Kickham- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 13.50.
Brandon Allen- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.00.
Matt Graham- 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 7.11.

The Giants seem to be taking tandem starting to an extreme and just sort of throwing people out there at random for stints of 3 IP or less, almost like holding tryouts.

DSL was idle. In fact, it looks like the DSL regular season is over. The Giants won their division by 2 games. There will be a 3 game playoff Aug. 27-29. Not sure who against. There seem to be 5 divisions in the DSL.

Game Wrap 08-22-2010: Cardinals 9 Giants 0

Well, that was ugly! In yesterday's preview of today's game, I pointed out Jaime Garcia's 4.08 ERA over his last 10 starts and speculated that the Giants might have an easier time with him than his rumored replacement Kyle Lohse. Well, so much for that idea! No matter how well Lohse might have pitched against the Giants, he would have had a hard time bettering Garcia's performance today in one of the more dominating performances by any pitcher against the Giants this year. Suddenly, this Giants team is looking and playing like an old team. Oh, maybe that's because most of the players on the field today WERE OLD!! Key lines:

Barry Zito- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.75. Just a horrific performance by Zito today. In fairness to him, the ump was squeezing him badly, and the Giants sent some statuary out behind him disguised as fielders. The result was a very ugly batting practice session for the Cards.

Jaime Garcia- 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 15/4. Just total dominance from Garcia as he needed just 89 pitches to complete the full 9 innings. He faced just 28 batters. I drafted this guy for my fantasy team, the Savvy Vets, in the final round of my fantasy draft. He's been pure gold for my team ever since. It's looking like it might come down to choosing between him and Matt Cain for my pitching keeper. Man, Garcia just made that choice a lot harder today!

That's it! There were no offensive performances by Giants hitters worthy of mention as they got no runners past first base and sent just 28 batters to the plate in the game.

WIth the Loss, the Giants fall back to 6 games behind the NL West leading San Diego Padres who beat the BrewCrew 7-3 while the Card moved into a tie with the Giants for 2'nd in the Wild Card standings likely 2 games behind the Phillies who are leading the Nats 6-0 late in their game.

Matt Cain takes the hill tomorrow night in AT&T park facing Edinson Volquez and the Cincinnati Reds who are leading the NL Central by 3 games over the Cardinals, which should tell you something about how tough this 3 game series will be.

The Giants have apparently acquired OF David Ross from the Florida Marlins on waivers. It appears that the Giants may not have anticipated this outcome when they placed a claim on Ross which was reportedly made to block him from being traded to the Padres. When the Giants claimed him and then did not want to trade for him, the Marlins may have called their bluff and simply let him go, shedding the pro-rated remainder of his contract and transferring that to the Giants along with Ross's roster spot. The Giants are not going to make an announcement of a corresponding roster move until tomorrow. Ross would make the 6'th pure OF on the team. Out of Torres, Rowand, Burrell, Guillen and Nate, Nate would seem to be the guy on the bubble which is really a shame if the Giants really didn't want Ross. Of course, they could release Ross, but then the Padres could pick him up for virtually nothing, a much worse outcome than if the Giants had not claimed him and the Pads had been forced to trade him or pay his full prorated $1 M salary. What a mess! It's understandable why the Giants wanted to block Ross from going to SD, but I'll have to give Brian Sabean a razzberry on this one.

Addendum: Baggs seems to think the Giants will most likely put someone on the DL until rosters expand in a little over a week. I guess that isn't so bad. Cody Ross is a much better player than Nate in the short term. He even has a year of arbitration left. He'd be worth offering arb to. If he accepts, you get a pretty good player for 1 year. If he declines and signs elsewhere, you get a draft pick.

Down on the Farm: 08-21-2010

AAA Colorado Springs Skysox blanked the Fresno Grizzlies 2-0:

Henry Sosa- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.00.
Tony Pena- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.76.

The Grizz managed just 3 hits.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels hung on to edge the Bowie Baysox 7-6:

Nick Noonan- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .250.
Thomas Neal- 1 for 3, HR(11), BB, SF. BA= .293.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, HR(9), BB. BA= .319.
Conor Gillaspie- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .293.
David Quinowski- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.04.
Rafael Cova- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(21). ERA= 2.19.

The lads continue to hit well. Belt keeps belting! I am still optimistic about Neal being the Giants starting LF of the future.

HIgh A Stockton Ports downed the San Jose Giants 9-6:

Jose Flores- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .332.
Charlie Culberson- 2 for 4, BB, SB(23). BA= .310.
Matt Klimas- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA= .241.
Johnny Monell- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= .268.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 3, S, SB(29). BA= .253.
Andrew Romo- 1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 45.00.

Culberson looking to make a strong finish to an excellent, breakout season. Flores just keeps hitting. Romo gets a rough greeting in the Cal League.

Low A Lexington Legends held off the Augusta Greenjackets 7-6:

Skyler Stromsmoe- 3 for 5. BA= .270.
Chris Dominguez- 2 for 4. BA= .263.
Tommy Joseph- 1 for 3, HR(15), SF. BA= .242.
Jesse Shriner- 2 for 4. BA= .267.
Ryan Lollis- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .295.
Jeremy Toole- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.08.
Jose Valdez- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.51.

I think Tommy Joseph has had a fantastic season for his first professional experience.

Short Season Yakima Bears topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-2:

Edward Concepcion- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 8/1. ERA= 6.59.
Kaohi Downing- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.50.
Jake Dunning- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 2.84.

Nice start for Concepcion who has struggled with the higher level this year.

Rookie AZL Cubs downed the Giants 4-3:

Wes Hobson- 2 for 4. BA= .295.
Rafael Rodriguez- 2 for 4. BA= .286.
Matt Downs- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .250.
Derek Dibbens- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .333.
Kendry Flores- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 11/1. ERA= 3.51.
Ryan Bradlely- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA- 4.96.
Jake Shadle- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 6.75.

Flores should be moving up the prospect lists. RafRod seems to stay consistent. He'll have to move it up to higher levels next year.

DSL Nationals beat the Giants 5-3:

Luis Angeles- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.85.

Game Wrap 08-21-2010: Cardinals 5 Giants 1

For 3 innings, maybe 4, this looked like a pitcher's duel between Tim Lincecum and Chris Carpenter. A couple of key hits by former Giants Randy Winn, who took Timmy deep in the 4'th inning, and Pedro Feliz, who hit one down the LF line that got away from Pat Burrell to drive in Yadier Molina, changed all that. The game was never really in doubt after that, although there was a point in the 8'th inning where a bomb from any one of Burrell, Guillen or Sandoval could have made it close. Key lines:

Buster Posey- 2 for 4. BA= .244. Buster has an 8 game hit streak going, although he made a couple of weak throws to 2B trying to catch basestealers.

Jose Guillen- 2 for 4. BA= .264. Guillen has had two hits in 4 of his last 5 games.

Tim Lincecum- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.72. Timmy seemed to have good velocity and good control of the fastball the first time through the Cards' lineup. Winn's leadoff dinger in the 4'th was left out over the plate. Tim got through the rest of the 4'th without any further damage, but then started getting pounded in the 5'th and only recorded 1 more out. Timmy looks like he's added just a bit of bulk in the last couple of weeks. His face looked a but fuller. His uni still kind of hangs on him from the waist down. He definitely needs to do something about that hair too! It kept getting in his mouth after almost every pitch. Yuck! That has to be distracting. The challenge will be for Timmy to add some muscle and bulk to keep his stamina up while not sacrificing the flexibility he needs for his delivery.

With the loss, the Giants failed to take advantage of an opportunity to gain ground in both the NL West and Wild Card races as the Padres lost again to the BrewCrew and the Phillies lost to the Nats. The Giants remain 5 games off the NL West pace and a game behind the Phils.

Barry Zito tries to even the Giants record on the road trip tomorrow against Cardinals Rookie of the Year Candidate Jaime Garcia. Garcia who has struggled a bit in his several starts posting a 4.08 ERA in his last 10 games. There was talk of having Kyle Lohse pitch tomorrow and move Garcia's turn back or even skip a start. I actually think the Giants might do better against Garcia than Lohse who is the kind of pitcher who sometimes gives the Giants fits(don't they all?).

Down on the Farm: 08-20-2010

AAA Fresno Grizzlies dumped the Omaha Royals 4-2:

Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 2, 2 S. BA= .294.
Eugenio Velez- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .310.
Eric Hacker- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.96.

Hacker runs his record to 16-5. He has a 1.26 ERA in his last 5 starts.

AA Bowie Baysox topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-3:

Clay Timpner- 2 for 4, 2 HR(3). BA= .296.
Darren Ford- 2 for 5, 2 SB(37). BA= .252.

High A San Jose Giants downed the Visalia Rawhide 7-4:

Jose Flores- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .331.
Drew Biery- 1 for 4, HR(14). BA= .249.
Justin Fitzgerald- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K's. ERA= 3.64.

Disappointing season for the guy who got the nickname Biery Bonds last year in Salem-Keizer. Fitz has a dominant start.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets vs Savannah Sand Gnats cancelled.

Short Season Yakima Bears topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-2:

Chris Lofton- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .279.

Rookie AZL Giants were idle.

DSL Giants defeated the Cubs 4-1:

Danny Mujica- 1 for 3, 3B, BB, SB(21). BA= .223.
Gabriel Cornier- 2 for 3, 2B, 3B, BB. BA= .270.
Joan Gregorio- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 2.80.

Mujica continues his hot hitting, .333/.404/.476 with 7 SB's over his last 10 games. Gregorio is looking more and more like a real prospect.

Game Wrap 08-20-2010: Giants 6 Cardinals 3

The Giants and Cardinals both got 13 hits in this game. The Giants cashed in more of theirs as Madison Bumgarner once again pitched a tough 7 innings and came away with the W. Key lines:

Buster Posey- 2 for 5, 2 2B(18). BA= .342. Buster has hit 4 doubles in his last 2 games.

Aubrey Huff- 2 for 3, HR(21), 2 BB. BA= .295. I love watching Huff Daddy when he knows he's hit one out.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(10). BA= .268. Hitting .308 with 4 dingers in his last 10 games.

Mike Fontenot- 2 for 4. BB. BA= .286. Fontenot played SS with Uribe's foot hurting.

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 5. BA= .263. 2 hits each from the 6, 7 and 8 spots in the lineup.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.20. This kid is impressing more and more. He was hitting 93 on the gun with the heater and keeping the Cardinal batters off balance with his secondary stuff. No matter how this season ends up, how great is it that the Giants have brought two players like Buster and MadBum to the majors in one season?

Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(35). BA= 2.01. Wilson had to make it a bit interesting with 2 outs, but I was never too worried. He had this one under control all the way!

The Padres finally lost, 10-6 to the BrewCrew, allowing the Giants to get to 5 games behind in the NL West. In the Wild Card race, the Phillies topped the Nats 1-0 to stay 1 game ahead of the Giants while the Cards slipped to 3 games behind the Phillies and 2 games behind the Giants.

Classic matchup tomorrow night with Tim Lincecum facing Chris Carpenter. Timmy will have to be the Timmy of old to make a game out of this one though.

Down on the Farm: 08-19-2010

AAA Omaha Royals topped the Fresno Grizzlies 6-5:

Emmanuel Burriss- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .291.
Eugenio Velez- 2 for 5, 3 SB(28). BA=.306.
Ryan Rohlinger- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(8), BB. BA= .298.
Tony Pena- 1 for 3, 3B. BA= .286.
Kevin Pucetas- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 6.06.
Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.

Burriss played 2B and Pena played SS. Is Pena just filling in, or is he in the mix for the Giants MLB job next year? Is Velez getting more accomplished at SB's?

AA New Britain Rock Cats edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-6:

Darren Ford- 1 for 4, HR(5), BB. BA= .250.
Thomas Neal- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .293.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, HR(8), BB. BA= .325.
Conor Gillaspie- 3 for 4, 2 2B, SF. BA= .292.
Clay Timpner- 3 for 5. BA= .294.
Carlos Zambrano- 2 for 3, 2 S. BA= .667.
Clayton Tanner- 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.44.

High A San Jose Giants out hit the Visalia Rawhide 9-6:

Francisco Peguero- 2 for 5. BA= .316.
Jose Flores- 3 for 5. BA= .329.
Johnny Monell- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .266.
Ehire Adrianza- 3 for 5, 2 2B, 2 SB(28). BA= .253.
James Simmons- 2 for 4, 3B, BB. BA= .248.
Kyle Woodruff- 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.98.
Ryan Verdugo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.05.

Big game for Adrianza. Verdugo is a LHP whose fastball gets into the low 90's.

Low A Savannah Sand Gnats blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 3-0:

Nick Liles- 2 for 3, 2B
Andy Reichard- 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.54.

Liles had 2 of the 'Jackets 3 hits. Pretty good game for Reichard.

Short Season The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and the NWL were idle.

Rookie AZL Giants topped the Dodgers 3-1:

Joe Staley- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .241.
Jose De La Cruz- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .272.
Austin Fleet- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 2.63.
Jake Dunnington- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.69.
Heath Hembree- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.13.

Fleet needs to pitch at higher levels to draw any real conclusions but he's been dominant in the AZL. Dunnington looks like a promising FA signing out of HS. Hembree must be on the closer track all the way.

DSL Giants downed the Orioles 7-2:

Danny Mujica- 2 for 5, 3B, SB(20). BA= .222.
Jorge Lopez- 2 for 5. SB(7). BA= .243.
Alberto Robles- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(20). BA= .272.
Luis Vasquez- 3 for 5. BA= .289.
Jesus Galindo- 2 for 3. BA= .255.
Victor Feliz- 1 for 3, 2 BB, 2 SB(9). BA= .303.
Ariel Hernandez- 5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.01.
Jose Reyes- 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.60.

Game Wrap 08-19-2010: Giants 5 Phillies 2

The Giants have pulled themselves away from the brink several times this year. Only time will tell if tonight was the start of another self-rescue, but the Giants needed this one badly. Jonathan Sanchez pulled himself together at an unlikely time and pitched a very good, if not great game. The offense had a veritable explosion of runs, as Giants offensive explosions go. The result was a win they had to have. Key lines:

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 4. BA= .261. Nice game by Freddy. Hope this is the start of more of these.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2 2B. Man this kid just keeps on impressing and impressing!

Jose Guillen- 2 for 4. BA= .261. Guillen is 7 for 15 with a dinger since the trade.

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 4, HR(9). BA= .266. Pablo is hitting .290 with 3 dingers in his last 10 games.

Jonathan Sanchez- 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.47. What's maddening is that Sanchez appears to have the talent to pitch like this on a regular basis. Maybe this will be the start of a run? The Giants desperately need someone to step up right now. Sanchez did tonight.

The Padres kept right on winning, 5-3 over the Cubbies for a 4 game sweep. The Giants were only able to keep pace at 6 games behind. In beating the Phillies, the Giants pulled up to 1 game behind them for the Wild Card berth. St. Louis was idle, falling 1 full game behind the Giants.

The Giants now move on the St Louis for 3 games against Wild Card rival Cardinals with Madison Bumgarner taking the hill vs Jake Westbrook, a game the Giants should win.

Down on the Farm: 08-18-2010

AAA Omaha Royals laid a goose egg on the Fresno Grizzlies 5-0:

Jackson Williams- 2 for 3, 2B

Sorry, just not a lot to see here.

AA New Britain Rock Cats topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-1:

Thomas Neal- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .291.
Adrian Martin- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.32.

Martin comes over from New Hampshire in the Toronto Blue Jays system. Is he the PTBNL for Fred Lewis, or did Toronto release him?

High A Visalia Rawhide trounced the San Jose Giants 7-2:

Francisco Peguero- 2 for 4. BA= .315.
Jose Flores- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .324.
Joel Weeks- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .267.
Charlie Culberson- 0 for 2, 2 SF. BA= .310.
Jason Stoffel- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.87.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets pounded the Savannah Sand Gnats 9-1:

Nick Liles- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .307.
Ryan Cavan- 2 for 2, HR(14). 2 BB, HBP. BA= .275.
Ryan Lollis- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .292.
Zack Wheeler- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.74.
Craig Clark= 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.63.

Cavan reached base in all 5 of his PA's. Wheeler had an adventuresome start adding in a WP and Balk to his line. Kids will be kids, I guess.

Short Season Spokane Indians demolished the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 17-1:

Julio Izturis- 2 for 4. BA= .309.
Danny Brock- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .264.
Shawn Sanford- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.33.
Addison Proszek- 0.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 14.29.

Sanford was the 13'th round draft pick in 2009. He's been pretty invisible this year, but has pitched well: 2-3, 2.33, 27 IP, 12 BB, 31 K's. Proszek may be needing some Prozac after allowing 12 ER in his last 2 outings covering 2.1 IP.

Rookie AZL Angels defeated the Giants 5-2:

Carlos Willoughby- 2 for 4. BA= .309.
Wes Hobson- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .288.
Rafael Rodriguez- 1 for 4. BA= .278.
Chuckie Jones- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .300.
Dontrelle Willis- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 9.00.
Reiner Roibal- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.35.

The Giants went with a 9 pitcher/1 IP each committee in this one. Maybe Willis is someone Dick Tidrow isn't going to have an answer for?

DSL Phillies blanked the Giants 2-0:

Keurin Feliz- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 1.51.

Game Wrap 08-18-2010: Phillies 8 Giants 2

No matter how painful it is to lose a 1 run game, one that your team could have, maybe should have, won, a much more disturbing trend is to start losing a bunch of blowouts. The difference? Teams are going to win a percentage of close games on luck alone. Teams on the losing end of blow outs never had a chance. For another excellent take on what's going on with the Giants, I would recommend El Lefty Malo's current post on his blog. The link can be found over in the column on the left hand side of this page. A key error by newcomer Mike Fontenot led to a crushing 3 run HR by Jimmy Rollins turning a game that could have been tied at 2-2 in the late innings into a route for the Phillies. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 4, HR(12). BA= .287. Torres continues to be a bright spot.

Pat Burrell- 1 for 4, HR(14). BA= .257. Not sure if Burrell is part of the problem on defense, but at least he is making a huge contribution offensively.

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.11. I know you can't expect a team go errorless all season. Pitchers need to be able to pick up their team mates who make occasional errors. I looked up Mike Fontenot's UZR rating on fangraphs.com and he's actually a plus fielder at 2B over his career. I also know this one hurt....a lot! Cain dug himself a hole, but could have been out of the inning with a 2-2 tie. That gets him to the later innings where a better set of relievers could have kept it close and the GIants might have had a chance. instead, the route was on.

With a loss, the Giants fall 6 games behind the Padres who beat up on the Cubs 5-1. They also dropped 2 games behind the Phillies in the Wild Card race. It's starting to slip away, folks.

Jonathan Sanchez would not seem to be a very good bet to stop the bleeding tomorrow against Cole Hamels.

Down on the Farm: 08-17-2010

AAA Fresno Grizzlies downed the Omaha Royals 5-2:

Emmanuel Burriss- 0 for 2, BB, SB(7). BA= .289.
Eugenio Velez- 1 for 3, HR(5), BB. BA= .308.
Ryan Rohlinger- 1 for 3, HR(7), BB. BA= .297.
Tyler Graham- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(31). BA= .349.
Waldis Joaquin- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.27.
Joe Paterson- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.00.
Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.
Geno Espinelli- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(12). ERA= 2.52.

Joaquin gets the start. It's not yet clear if this is a move back to starting for Waldis, or just an emergency bullpen committee game. I, for one, would be very happy to see Waldis move back to starter and try to develop his game a bit more. Runzler coming along nicely in his rehab role.

AA New Britain Rock Cats defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-5:

Darren Ford- 1 for 3, 3B, BB. BA= .250.
Nick Noonan- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .257.
Thomas Neal- 1 for 3, 2B(34), BB. BA= .292.
Sharlon Schoop- 1 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .275.

High A Visalia Rawhide bested the San Jose Giants 4-1:

Juan Perez- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .303.
Charlie Culberson- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .311.
Jorge Bucardo- 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.29.
Ben Wilshire- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.98.
Edwin Quirarte- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.96.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets blanked the Savannah Sand Gnats 1-0:

Ryan Lollis- 1 for 3, 3B. BA= .293.
Chris Heston- 7.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's, GO/AO= 11/3. ERA= 3.92.
Chris Wilson- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.00.

Heston's line for his last 10 starts is 3-4, 2.52, 64.1 IP, 13 BB, 53 K's, GO/AO= 1.98. His last 3 starts have been dominant. Look for him next season in San Jose.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Spokane Indians 5-3:

Chris Lofton- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .276.
Mike Murray- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .414.
Adam Duvall- 1 for 2, HR(4), BB, HBP, SB(1). BA=.273.
Justin Schumer- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 11/1. ERA= 1.86.
Andrew Romo- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA=2.19.
Stephen Harrold- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(5). ERA= 3.52.

Murray was signed as a FA after the draft. He hit .345 with a SLG% of .505 for Wake Forest his senior season. He has a classic Catcher's body at 5'11", 205 lbs. Schumer was also an undrafted FA out of UNC Asheville. He had pedestrian numbers in college, but impressed in some tryouts. Maybe he is one of those guys Tidrow saw something that could be tweaked on?

Rookie AZL Giants game was postponed. Must be monsoon season in Arizona.

DSL Mets blanked the Giants 4-0:

Yeini Martinez- 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.36.
Marvin Barrios- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.80.

I would think we will see Barrios as an 18 yo next season in the AZL.

Blast From the Past: Bobby Thomson, RIP

Bobby Thomson died yesterday at the age of 86. Perhaps no one in the history of sports achieved instant fame and then had that moment frozen into immortality quite the way Bobby Thomson did just a bit short of 59 years ago at the Polo Grounds in New York City.

The Giants had already made an improbable comeback, overcoming a 13 1/2 game deficit by winning 37 of their last 44 games to finish in a tie with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the NL Pennant. There were generally no playoff games back in those days. Just the pennant race and then the World Series between the two league champions, so a 3 game playoff to decide the league championship was in itself unusually exciting. I'm pretty sure that the fact that it involved two teams from NY played a role in raising the stakes in the eyes of the press and to the ultimate immortality of Thomson's role. The Giants and Dodgers split the first two games of the series. The third game found the Dodgers leading 4-1 going to the bottom of the 9'th inning for the home-team Giants. The Giants managed to plate one run and then had 2 runners on base with 2 outs when Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate.

I had always thought that Bobby Thomson's HR that day was almost a fluke, a chance occurence by a pretty average or even below average ballplayer. I learned something new today. I discovered that Bobby Thomson was actually a pretty darn good player who was known for hitting HR's. In fact, he hit a total of 264 HR's in a career that lasted just over 12 seasons. He averaged about 22 HR's per season for his career. That's pretty darn good even by recent standards. In the history making 1951 season, he hit a career high 32 HR's which was 5'th best in the majors. Giants fans had every right to hope for something good to happen when Thomson came to the plate that October afternoon.

The Dodger's pitcher was Ralph Branca who had once won 21 games for the Dodgers, but was on the downside of his career by 1951. With 2 runners on base and a rookie named Willie Mays in the on-deck circle, Thomson hit a shot down the LF line that found the short porch in the Polo Grounds for a walk-off game winning, playoff-series winning HR. The Korean War was in progress, and radio had recently gained the ability to cover the world. The game was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. I believe an episode of M.A.S.H was based on the event. Thomson's HR would soon be immortalized as "The Shot Heard Round the World." And it was! Adding to the drama was Giants radio broadcaster Russ Hodges who screamed into the microphone, "The Giant win the pennant!" "The Giants win the Pennant!" over and over for several minutes.

I remember listening to the last game of the 1966 season. The Giants had already been eliminated in a very close race with the Dodgers for the NL Pennant. The game had a sad, autumn feel to it, even to a young kid 10 years old at the time. As the postgame show came to an end, they replayed Hodges' call of Bobby Thomson's HR. That is a moment I will never, ever forget. I had read about the event in the Word Book Encyclopedia and in a book about the history of baseball written by Russ Hodges, but hearing a recording of Hodges' call just sent a wave of excitement through me that, for a moment, made me forget that the Giants had just finished second to the Dodgers for the second year in a row. When it was done, I was left with a yearning to hear the game where the Giants won the World Series in my time that has burned inside me for 44 years now. I'm still waiting for that game and that call!

Game Wrap 08-17-2010: Phillies 9 Giants 3

The Giants started a critical 6 game road trip in discouraging fashion getting blown out of a previously close game in the late innings. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 4, 2B(39). BA= .288.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4. BA= .340.

Pat Burrell- 1 for 4, HR(13). BA= .257.

Jose Guillen- 2 for 4, HR(17). BA= .257.

Once again, the Giants offense got off to a promising start plating 2 runs in the first inning, including Burrell's dinger. Then, the hitting just stopped until it was too little too late.

Barry Zito- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 3.56. Zito made the 2-0 lead hold up for 4 innings. Maybe the zero K's should have been a clue that this was not going to hold up. He gave up 2 runs in the 5'th and then couldn't get an out in the 6'th giving up a leadoff single to Polanco and then back-to-back doubles to Werth and Victorino.

Santiago Casilla- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.02. Casilla has been pitching his butt off without a lot of help from other bullpen members. Give him credit for keeping this one close as long as he did.

Chris Ray- 0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.05. Just a horrible outing by Ray, who initially was a shot in the arm for the bullpen after the Molina trade. My first thought was that Ray hasn't bee too good lately, but he had only allowed 2 ER in his previous 9 appearances, although he loaded the bases and needed help to get out of the inning in his last game.

With the loss, the Giants fall to 5 full games behind the division leading Padres who, in typical fashion, topped the Cubbies 1-0. The Giants also fall a full game behind the Phillies in the Wild Card race, while the Cardinals lost to the BrewCrew 3-2 to remain 0.5 games behind the Giants, but now 1.5 games behind the Phillies. Colorado, LA and Arizona are still playing as of this post.

Matt Cain tries to be the stopper for the Giants tomorrow going against Joe Blanton in a game you have to figure the Giants should win, unless the wheels have come off completely.

Down on the Farm: 08-16-2010

AAA Iowa Cubbies beat the Fresno Grizzlies 5-3:

Henry Sosa- 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.13.
Steve Edlefsen- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.87.
Craig Whitaker- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.84.

I hope they keep Sosa starting for awhile, even if he struggles. He'll either finally learn to pitch or prove he can't.

AA Eastern League was idle.

High A Cal League was idle.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets topped the Rome Braves 8-7:

Nick Liles- 2 for 5. BA= .307.
Chris Dominguez- 2 for 5, 2B(26), SB(12). BA= .267.
Tommy Joseph- 3 for 5, 2 2B(19). BA= .244.
Luke Anders- 2 for 5. BA= .293.
Hector Sanchez- 2 for 4, 2B(19). BA= .284.
Brian Irving- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.38.
Jose Valdez- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.58.

Dominguez and Joseph both have OPS's >.900 over their last 10 games. Valdez has a record of 1-0, 0.69, 13 IP, 10 BB, 18 K's over his last 10 games. Too many BB's but the K/9 is there. I predicted a breakout for this year. He got off to a slow start, but is coming on strong now. Watch out next year! Dude is a monster!

Short Season Spokane Indians drubbed the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 12-3:

Ryan Scoma- 2 for 4, HR(3). BA= .330.
Edwin Escobar- 3 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 3 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.26.

Disappointing start for Escobar after his last dominant outing, but 18 yo kids are going to have their ups and downs.

Rookie AZL Giants edged the A's 3-2:

Rafael Rodriguez- 2 for 4. BA= .280.
Chuckie Jones- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB, SB(6). BA= .299.
Alex Burg- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .333.
Kendry Flores- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.69.
Heath Hembree- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(1). ERA= 1.29.

RafRod back on track. Jones is really having a very fine start to his pro career. I would think he should easily make BA's top 20 AZL prospect list. Flores is just 18 yo and has had a fine season too: 5-2, 3.69, 46.1 IP, 13 BB, 47 K's. Hembree, the Giants 5'th round draft pick has 15 K's against 0 BB's in 7 IP.

DSL Giants crushed the Yankees 15-1:

Danny Mujica- 2 for 4, BB, SB(19). BA= .225.
Alberto Robles- 1 for 3, BB, SB(19). BA= .272.
Victor Feliz- 2 for 5. BA= .295.
Hector Mercedes- 2 for 5. BA= .206.
Cesar Soto- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .226.
Jesus Galindo- 2 for 3, BB, 2 SB(42). BA= .242.
Luis Angeles- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 1.86.
Franklin Noel- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.67.

Like what I'm seeing late in the season from several of these players.

The Giants signed their top 2 draft picks, Gary Brown and Jarrett Parker. Parker ended up at about twice slot at around $700K, but Brown was barely over slot at $1.3-1.45 M depending on your source. They ended up not signing Austin Southall who would have been a nice HS bat to come along behind Tommy Joseph. I'm glad they got Brown and Parker signed, but here's hoping they move the signing deadline up in the next Contract with the Player's Association. There is not reason why the Brown, Kickham and Parker signings had to go down to the wire. A lot of these negotiations apparently didn't START until today!! They easily could have gotten the same deal done within 1 week of the draft and then the players would have had the benefit of playing this summer. Oh well, signing late doesn't seem to have hurt Brandon Belt, so what do I know anyway?

Down on the Farm: 08-15-2010

AAA Fresno Giants defeated the Iowa Cubs 8-5:

Emmanuel Burriss- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .298
Eugenio Velez- 1 for 5, HR(4), SB(25). BA= .312.
Ryan Rohlinger- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .298.
Brock Bond- 2 for 3, 2 SB(8). BA= .292.
Eric Hacker- 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 4.15.
Brandon Medders- 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 6.38.

Not sure why Medders is still around.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9'th inning for a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Portland Sea Dogs:

Thomas Neal- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .291.
Sharon Schoop- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .274.

HIgh A Modesto Nuts scored 3 runs in the 8'th inning to beat the San Jose Giants 3-2:

Juan Perez- 2 for 5. BA= .302.
Johnny Monell- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB. BA= .263.
Wendell Fairley- 2 for 4. BA= .299.
Jeremy Affeldt- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Justin Fitzgerald- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.74.


So, who goes when Affeldt comes back? Mota? Ramirez? Will the Giants just DFA somebody or will they try to get someone though waivers and trade them? Should be interesting.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Rome Braves 4-2:

Skyler Stromsmoe- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(1). BA= .250.
Tommy Joseph- 2 for 4. BA= .239.
Kelvin Marte- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.29.

Marte had a huge K/9 in the DSL before going down with TJ. Next year should be telling as to what kind of pitcher the Giants have with him. Stromsmoe seems to be the classic organizational journeyman going wherever he is needed. Encouraging to see Tommy Joseph's BA creeping up.

Short Season Spokane Indians outslugged the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 11-8:

Raynor Campbell- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(3). BA= .271
Ryan Scoma- 3 for 5. BA= .326.
Dan Brock- 2 for 5. BA= .253.
Devin Harris- 1 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .208.
Carlos Quintana- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .266.
Edward Concepcion- 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 7.07.
Aaron King- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.09.

Rookie AZL Giants were idle.

DSL Giants were idle.

Game Wrap 08-15-2010: Padres 8 Giants 2

This game can be summed up rather succinctly. Timmy didn't have it! Not much else to say about it. Key lines:

Buster Posey- 3 for 4, HR(9). BA= .337. Kid is amazing, although I think maybe he should have come out of the game, or else moved to 1B after about the 4'th inning. This was not a winnable game by that point.

Tim Lincecum- 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.62. Timmy is obviously not right. Whether it's mechanics, head issues or he physically worn down, something isn't right. There is always hope that he will figure it out and be that ace again, but it's tough to see the Giants winning a playoff spot with him pitching like this.

Javier Lopez- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 2.56. OK, I have an issue with this one. I understand that Timmy put the bullpen in a bind with his early exit. I also understand that you aren't going to use Wilson, Romo, Casilla and possibly not Ray in a game like this, but if you are going to extend somebody for an extra inning, it shouldn't be the one and only LHP in your pen. Come on, Bochy, Ramirez was warmed up. Use him for the 2 innings and bring in Lopez only if you absolutely have to. Oh well, he only pitched to one batter last night and tomorrow is a travel day, so maybe it won't be a problem, but I still don't like it.

WIth the loss, the Giants drop to 3.5 games behind the Padres for the NL West lead. Colorado Rockies edged the BrewCrew 6-5 to stay 8.5 games behind while the Dodgers got smashed by the Braves 13-1 to drop back to 10 full games behind. The D'Backs lost to the Nats 5-3 to go 23.5 games off the pace. In the Wild Card race, the Cards lost again the to Cubbies 9-7 to stay 0.5 games behind the Giants. The Phillies play tonight and have a chance to move into a tie if they win.

Tomorrow is a travel day followed by a 6 game road trip against the Phillies and Cardinals then back home for 3 against the Reds before resuming intra-divisional play. Meanwhile, the Padres will be playing the BrewCrew and Cubbies. It will be a big challenge for the Giants to emerge from this string of games within hailing distance of the NL West lead or the Wild Card.

Down on the Farm: 08-14-2010

AAA Iowa Cubs out hit the Fresno Grizzlies 13-12:

Brock Bond- 2 for 4, 2 BB. BA= .289.
Eugenio Velez- 4 for 6. BA= .314.
Brett Pill= 4 for 6, 2B. BA= .280.
Ryan Rohlinger- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(6). BA= .310.

Good to see The Pharoah apparently back to full health after taking that nasty foul ball of the dome in the Giants dugout.

AA Portland Sea Dogs topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5 in 10 innings:

Thomas Neal- 0 for 4, SB(11), 2 OF Assists. BA= .293.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .338.

Neal shows off his multidimensional game. Belt keeps it rolling.

High A Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 6-4:

Francisco Peguero- 2 for 4. BA= .316.
Johnny Monell- 1 for 2, HR(16), 2 BB. BA= .260.
James Simmons- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .249.
Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Kyle Nicholson- 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 6.13.
Danny Otero- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 5.06.
Ryan Verdugo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.18.
Jason Stoffel- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 4.98.

Simmons is hitting .345/.441/.724 over his last 10 games. As customary, Runzler pitched the first inning in his rehab appearance. Huge discrepancy between Nicholson's K/BB and his hits/runs allowed in this one. Stoffel stumbles.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets held off the Rome Braves to win 6-5:

Chris Dominguez- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .266.
Ryan Cavan- 2 for 4, HR(13). BA= .274.
Tommy Joseph- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .236.
Ydwin Villegas- 2 for 4. BA= .209.
Andy Reichard- 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 3.78.
Jose Valdez- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.65.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes pounded the Spokane Indians 12-7(the Indians are a Texas Rangers affiliate, of all things!):

Chris Lofton- 1 for 4, BB, SB(13). BA= .276.
Julio Izturis- 4 for 5. BA= .303.
Michael Murray- 3 for 5. BA= .391.
Dan Brock- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .259.
Dan Burkhart- 1 for 3, BB, HBP. BA= .500.
Carter Jurica- 1 for 5, 2B. BA= .208.
Devin Harris- 2 for 4. BA= .200.
Andrew Romo- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.42.

Jurica is hitting .263 over his last 10 games. Danny Brock is hitting .270 over his last 10.

Rookie AZL Giants downed the Rangers 5-3:

Robert Haney- 2 for 4, 3B, BB. BA= .235.
RafRod- 0 for 4, SF. BA= .270.
Chuckie Jones- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .296.
Sundrendy Windster- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B. BA= .341.
Gaspar Santiago- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.69.

RafRod's BA has taken a 30 point hit in 2 games. Windster is raking.

DSL Marlins topped the Giants 7-6:

Jorge Lopez- 3 for 5, SB(6). BA= .250.
Victor Feliz- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .292.
Joan Gregorio- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.09.
Marvin Barrios- 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.99.

Game Wrap 08-14-2010: Giants 3 Padres 2

It took awhile, along with a lot of bitten off fingernails, but the Giants managed to turn the tables on the Padres with a 1 run extra inning win when the Padres had the more dominant pitching. While not quite a must win, the victory makes tomorrow's games much less desperate than it would were a sweep staring the Giants in the face. Key lines:

Mike Fontenot- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .286. Nice game for Fontenot.

Buster Posey- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .331. In addition to the two hits and scoring the winning run in the 11'th inning, Posey hit another shot that nearly ripped Tejada's hand off in his prior AB that would have been the game winner had it not been right at Miggy. Hail to the Buster!

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 3, 2 BB. Panda's HR off Latos to open the 7'th inning was as much the game winner as Posey's run. Without that HR, I'm not sure the Giants score any runs in the game at all. Panda happened to connect with a pitch up near eye level and put it in the Cove on 1 bounce. I know you can't ascribe it all to luck, Panda is obviously a gifted hitter, but Latos throws that same pitch 20, 30, heck, 50 times and Panda comes up empty, I swear.

Juan Uribe- 2 for 5. BA= .260. Panda's HR put the fear into the Padres, but if you pitch to Juan Uribe too many times, he will make you pay!

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.27. What a gutty performance by Bum! A hot pennant race. A dominant pitching opponent. Fox Game of the Week. The future is bright with this kid!

Javier Lopez- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 2.68. Looking for a payoff to for trading Bowker and Martinez? Lopez came in to the game in the 8'th inning with 2 outs, the bases loaded and a tough LH hitter at the plate. He got a ground out to end the inning. That out might be the difference between a playoff spot and not.

Wilson, Romo, Casilla- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's. Each pltcher allowed 2 baserunners and each got out of their jam. For once, the Giants bullpen outpitched the Padres' pen.

Mat Latos- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 2.32. Latos is a horse, and he was certainly dominant today. I did think he was helped by an awfully generous strike zone by the ump. I remember seeing some pitches that I thought were slightly off the plate called strikes in the first inning. Then, when I saw the movement on his breaking ball, I said to myself, "uh-oh, he might just throw another shutout today with that stuff and that strike zone. it looked like several of the Giants hitters though the zone was a bit wide too.

With the W, the Giants pull back to 2.5 games behind the Pads. Meanwhile, Colorado lost to the BrewCrew 5-4 to drop back to 8.5 games behind, and the Dodgers won their game against ATL 2-1 to get to 9 games off the pace. Arizona blasted Washington 9-2 to get back to 22.5 games behind. In the Wild Card race, Cincinnati pulled within percentage points of the Cards and a 0.5 game deficit to the Giants as they topped Florida 5-4 while the Cards were losing to the Cubbies 3-2. The Phillies blanked the Mets behind Roy Halladay to remain 1 game behind the Giants.

Tim Lincecum tries to get his game back on track tomorrow against Wade LeBlanc who has bedeviled the Giants throughout his short MLB career. It's not a must win, but make no mistake, a 1.5 game deficit coming out of this series is a whole lot better than a 3.5 game deficit which is light years better than a 5.5 game deficit, which would be close to insurmountable at this point in the season.

Down on the Farm: 08-13-2010

AAA Iowa Cubs blanked the Fresno Grizzlies 5-0:

Tyler Grahan- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(30). BA= .353.
Craig Whitaker- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.09.
Tony Pena- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.23.

Too many walks for Whitaker. Pena now has 6 consecutive scoreless appearances in AAA.

Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Portland Sea Dogs 3-2:

Darren Ford- 0 for 3, S, 2 SB(35). BA= .250.
Clay Timpner- 2 for 3. BA= .292.
Brad Boyer- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .225.
Clayton Tanner- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.25.

An effective start for Tanner, but the K/BB nunbers are still horrific.

HIgh A Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 6-1:

Wendell Fairley- 1 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .297.
Jeremy Affeldt- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.
Kyle Woodruff- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 11/4. ERA= 2.83.

As is customary, Affeldt got his 1 rehab inning in at the start of the game. Woodruff's GO/AO for the season is <1, so this game was an anomaly for him.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Rome Braves 7-4:

Nick Liles- 1 for 3, BB, SF. BA= .310.
Chris Dominguez- 2 for 5, HR(18). BA= .266.
Ryan Lollis- 2 for 4. BA= .294.
Ydwin Villegas- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .203.
Zack Wheeler- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA- 3.89.
Craig Clark- 3.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.97.

Dominguez made his 25'th and 26'th errors of the season while hitting his 18'th HR. He is 11 for 23 over his last 5 games with 2 dingers. Domiguez continues to be an enigmatic prospect with a huge ceiling, but major flaws to overcome. I think we can all temporarily stop fretting about Zack Wheeler who started this game and dominated in his 5 innings of work.

Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes came from behind to edge the Eugene Emeralds 4-3:

Chris Lofton- 3 for 5, OF Assist. BA= .276.
Ryan Scoma- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .317.
Dan Brock- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .253.
Dan Burkhart- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .538.
John Eshleman- 2 for 4. BA= .280.
Shane Kaufman- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.08.
Kaohi Downing- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.20.
Stephen Harrold- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(4). ERA= 3.77.

Eshleman has quietly raised his BA into respectable territory. Burkhart has been on fire since signing his pro contract.

Rookie AZL Giants crushed the Indians 9-1:

Carlos Willoughby- 3 for 3, BB, S, SB(22). BA= .305.
Chuckie Jones- 1 for 3, 2B, HBP. BA= .298.
Sundrendy Windster- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .333.
RafRod- 0 for 5, 3 K's. BA= .282.
Austin Fleet- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 2.93.

Willoughby, Jones and Windster continue to impress. RafRod's BA took a beating in this one. Fleet really should move up to at least S-K before the season is out.

DSL Giants beat the Nats 9-4:

Danny Mujica- 4 for 5, 3B. BA= .220.
Alberto Robles- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .273.
Hector Mercedes- 3 for 5, 3B, HR(1). BA= .198.
Renzo Freite- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.52.

Mujica continues to surge. Mercedes is 18 yo. This is his best game as a pro, by far. Nice size for an OF, 6'3". 188 lbs.

Game Wrap 08-13-2010: Padres 3 Giants 2

A very tough loss. This was Jonathan Sanchez' put up or shut up game. He came up short. He didn't exactly pitch terribly. It wasn't quite a QS, but with a lot of help from the bullpen, it should have been good enough to the W, except that after a 2 run first inning, the Giants bats went into hibernation. Key lines:

First inning- Torres walks, advances to 3B on a WP and throwing error. Sanchez out on a sharp comebacker. Huff doubles down the LF line scoring Torres. Posey singles to left putting runners at first and third. Burrell grounds into a force out at 2B scoring Huff. Sandoval lines out to RF. Great start, huh? The only problem is these were the only runs the offense would generate against Clayton Richard and the Padres' bullpen all night.

Aaron Rowand- 1 for 4, CS. BA= .247 Some fans thought Torres might have caught Headley's fly ball triple to CF in the second inning that helped erase the Giants 2 run lead from the first. Together with the CS, not a good night for The Gamer.

Jonathan Sanchez- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, HBP. ERA= 3.60. Decent work, but not nearly enough to back up smack like he was running last week. Dude needs to shut his mouth and pitch.

Santiago Casilla= 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.20.
Ramon Ramirez- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.94. Casilla and Ramirez have both been solid in the bullpen.

The loss dropped the Giants 3.5 games behind the division leading Padres who win their 6'th 1 run game vs the Giants this year. Colorado Rockies edged the BrewCrew 5-4 to drop 8.5 games behind the leaders, while the Dodgers were blanked by Tim Hudson and the Braves 1-0 to drop 10 games behind. Arizona lost to Washington 4-2 to drop to 23.5 games behind. In the Wild Card race, the Phillies were blanked by RA Dickey and the Mets 1-0 to stay 1 game behind the Giants while Cincinnati defeated Florida 7-2 to climb within 0.5 games of the Giants.

Madison Bumgarner takes the mound against Mat Latos who has dominated the Giants in 2 starts already this year in the Fox Game of the Week. Hopefully Latos' arm is getting tired from all the innings, otherwise, this one appears to be a mismatch and with Timmy's recent struggles, a series sweep by the Padres looms as a possibility.

Blogger's Note

I will not have access to the blog for the next 24 hours. Will catch up tomorrow night. Go Giants! Beat the Pads!!

Down on the Farm: 08-12-2010

AAA The PCL was idle.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels were rained out.

High A San Jose Giants were idle.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Rome Braves 5-3:

Hector Sanchez- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .290.
Ryan Lollis- 2 for 2, BB, S. BA= .292.
Chris Heston- 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 4.15.

Heston's line for his last 10 games is 2-5, 2.70, 63.1 IP, 14 BB, 51 K's, GO/AO= 1.83. Hector Sanchez' line for his last 10 games is .389/.450/.528.

Short Season Eugene Emeralds crushed the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 10-0:

Seth Rosin- 1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.91. Ewww! Bad game for Rosin!

Rookie AZL Royals beat the Giants 7-4:

RafRod- 2 for 4, SB(1). BA= .300.
Chuckie Jones- 3 for 4. BA= .297.
Joe Staley- 2 for 4. BA= .231.
Derek Dibbens- 2 for 4. BA= .318.
Lorenzo Mendoza- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.79.
Gaspar Santiago- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.35.
Reiner Roibal- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.

Raffy just turned 18 on July 13, so he's still ahead of of development curve. He's hitting .375 over his last 10 games. Jones is even younger having turned 18 on July 28. He's hitting .366 over his last 10 games. The Giants seem to be basically holding pitching tryouts as Mendoza went the longest out of 7 pitchers they used in the game.

DSL Giants downed the Cubs 10-6:

Shurendell Daniel Mujica(I really hope they call him Danny): 2 for 5. BA= .201.
Jorge Lopez- 4 for 5, 2B, 3B, HR(1), SB(5). BA= .244.
Leonardo Fuentes- 1 for 5, 2B. BA= .242.
Victor Feliz- 4 for 4, BB. BA= .279.
Cesar Soto- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .208.
Keurin Feliz- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.70.

Lopez hits for the cycle!! Feliz is turning 20 yo and has uninspiring secondary stats.