Game Wrap 5/31/2011: Cards 4 Giants 3

The Giants played a pretty good game today only to see it ruined by a bullpen meltdown in the 8'th inning. Key Lines:

Brandon Belt- 1 for 2, BB, HBP. BA= .211. Belt looked pretty good in this one smartly pulling a line drive to RF for his base hit and drawing a walk. He was also hit on the left wrist and may have pulled a groin muscle when he dived for a ball in the disastrous 8'th inning. He left the game leaving Emmanuel Burriss to pinch hit for him with the tying run at the plate in the 9'th inning.

Cody Ross- 2 for 4. BA= .243. Ross hit a couple of singles.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2B. Crawford hit two balls really hard, a line drive single to right-center and a ringing double down the RF line later in the game. Not sure it will last, but the kid has looked very good so far.

Ryan Vogelsong- 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.77. Vogelsong had no secondary pitches in the first 3 innings. He managed to keep the Cards at bay by spotting his fastball and throwing variations of it to keep the hitters from teeing off on it. Very impressive performance because of what he was able to do without his best stuff.

Jeremy Affeldt- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.40. We got the old Jeremy tonight as he was virtually unhittable for 2 innings.

Sergio Romo- 0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. Many internet commentators, including me, have wondered why Bochy doesn't seem to have faith in Romo. Maybe Boch has known something we don't all along?

With the Loss, the Giants remained 0.5 games behind the D'Backs who lost to the Marlins 5-2. If the Dodgers 8-2 lead over the Rockies in the 9'th inning holds up, the Rockies will remain 4.5 games behind tied with the Dodgers for 3'rd place in the NL West. The Pesky Padres won another 1 run game 5-4 over the Braves to move up to 6 games off the pace in last place.

Tim LIncecum takes the mound tomorrow night in St Louis against Jake Westbrook.

Down on the Farm: 5/30/2011

AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox topped the Fresno Grizzlies 8-6:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 1 for 3, 3B, BB. BA= .291.
Thomas Neal(LF)- 1 for 3, 2B, HBP. BA= .350.
Brett Pill(2B)- 2 for 4, HR(9). BA= .304.
Travis Ishikawa(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3). BA= .273.
Brad Eldred(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(8). BA= .307.
Shane Loux(RHP)- 7 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.29.

Pill is still playing 2B. Eldred seems to be pretty versatile for such a big guy. Loux was cruising until he gave up a 6 spot in the 7'th inning. I wonder why Decker just left him in there?

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

Sharlon Schoop(3B)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .182.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.98.

Schoop seems to have become an organizational player of multiple positions.

A+ San Jose Giants downed the Stockton Ports 5-3:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 4, 2 SB(30). BA= .374.
Wendell Fairley(LF)- 2 for 4. BA= .272.
Luke Anders(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(7). BA= .277.
Andy Reichard(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.30.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, HR, Save(17). ERA= 0.92.

Brown is just toying with the Cal League now. Sent him up to Richmond, already! Hembree still struck out the side despite giving up the HR.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets clobbered the Rome Braves 10-3:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 4 for 5, 2B, BB, 2 SB(20). BA= .284.
Raynor Campbell(CF)- 2 for 5, SB(7). BA= .248.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB, SB(3). BA= .263.
Devin Harris(RF)- 1 for 2, 2B, 3 BB. BA= .235.
Gaspar Santiago(LHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.23.
Seth Rosin(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 4.10

Big day for Willoughby. Rosin must have been getting some extra work in due to his last start being cut short by rain.

DSL Giants topped the Nationals 4-1 in a game completed early after 7 innings:

Hector Mercedes(RF, 19 yo)- 2 for 3, HR(1). BA= .286.
Shurendell Mujica(SS, Age NA)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .429.
Marvin Barrios(RHP, 18 yo)- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.

Barrios is a 6 figure bonus baby from last year.

Game Wrap 5/30/2011: Giants 7 Cards 3

The Giants gave Madison Bumgarner some rare run support with a lineup that drew an outcry from the Bochy Haters of the blogosphere(yeah, I'm lookin' at you, Bacci), and the big fella cruised to just his second win of the season despite a good ERA of 3.66. Key LInes:

Andres Torres- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2), S. BA= .261. Torres had been slumping, but the dinger came with 3 men on base and broke open what had been a close game up to that point.

Miguel Tejada- 2 for 5. BA= .217. Tejada is not my idea of a classic 2-hole hitter, but he got the job done today.

Aubrey Huff- 0 for 4, BB, SB(3). BA= .219. Huff is in a prolonged slump, but I agree with Bochy here. The Giants aren't going anywhere whithout Huff and you've just got to stick with him until be comes out of it or the Giants drop out of it, whichever comes first. I think he's going to warm up soon.

Cody Ross- 1 for 4, HR(4), BB. BA= .234. Another guy who hasn't been hitting. He's always been a streaky hitter. Let's hope he starting a new hot streak now.

Aaron Rowand- 1 for 2, 2B, BB. BA= .250. Even I was not with Bochy on this one and even this one worked out today.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, BB, SB(1). BA= .250. I say Crawford is the Giants shortstop until he proves he can't handle it.

Madison Bumgarner- 1 for 2, 2B, BB. Bumgarner is an offensive threat with a bat in his hands. I guess he decided if nobody else was hitting he better bring his own offense with him.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.66. Bum was able to cruise after Torres gave him a 5 run cushion.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.65. Still seems like something must not be right between Romo and Bochy. This wasn't quite mop up duty, but it came pretty close. Romo should be the 8'th inning guy, period.

Kyle McClellan(Cards)- 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.86. There was an enormous outcry over on Extra Baggs when he posted the Giants lineup for the day. One of the many criticisms was this looked like a lineup you'd put out against a LHP, but McClellen is a RHP. What the denizens of the blogosphere had failed to notice was the McClellen has a reverse L-R split and has been much more effective against LH batters. Call it a sample size anomaly if you will, but it sure worked for Bochy in this game. I have to confess I wasn't wild about the lineup when I saw it, but then again, there was no lineup that Bochy could have put out there that looked good. That's just the way it is when you only have one guy hitting on the entire team. Ironically, Freddy Sanchez, the only guy who has been hitting, went 0 for 5 in this one! Anyway, as bad as this team has been struggling, I'm going to give props to Bochy for noticing the reverse split on McClellan and having the courage to go with it. It worked!

The Win enabled the Giants to keep pace, 0.5 games behind the Dangerous D'Backs who crushed the Florida Marlins 15-4 behind a barrage of HR, 2 by Kelly Johnson. The Desperate Dodgers also kept pace with a 7-1 win over the Reeling Rockies. The Dodgers remained 5.5 games behind the D'Backs while the Rockies slipped to 4.5 games behind. The Pesky Padres edged the Braves 3-2 in 10 innings to remain 7 games behind in last place in the NL West.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to keep the magic going against the Cards and Chris Carpenter, who has struggled this year, tomorrow evening.

Scouting the Draft: Ranking the Second Basemen

Second base may actually be a bigger relative organizational need for the Giants than third base. Pablo Sandoval looks like the third baseman for a few more years at least. Freddy Sanchez has one more year left on his contract and is always an injury risk. Second base is Emmanuel Burriss' best position, but will he ever hit well enough? Charlie Culberson is holding his own in AA after last year's breakout in San Jose, but there are still questions about his fielding and whether the bat will translate to the majors. Nick Noonan could move back to 2B, but his bat looks a lot better at SS than at 2B. I love Carlos Willoughby's combination of on-base skills and speed, but he's got a ways to go from low A ball. There is room for another 2B prospect in the system. Here's a breakdown of what's out there in the draft:

First Round:

Kolton Wong, Hawaii- .378/.492/.560, 7 HR, 23 SB, 7 CS. He's small at 5'9", 180 lbs, but a real dynamo on the field. He's a 5 tool player with a highly developed bat that is more gap-to-gap than HR power. Still, he should hit more than well enough for a middle infielder. He is also versatile and has played games in CF, at SS and catcher. There is a good chance of him being available at #29 and if the Giants selected him, he would immediately go to the head of the line for second baseman of the future.

Supplemental Round: None. Wow, that's surprising!

Second Round: None. Wow, that's even more surprising!

Third/Fourth Rounds:

Ryan Wright, Louisville- .346/.426/.598, 12 HR, 16 SB, 2 CS. Don't have a scouting report but the numbers look good.

Dante Flores, HS- No info.

Fifth/Sixth Rounds:

Phillip Evans, HS- I'm surprised to see him ranked this low by BA. I've seen mock drafts with him going to the Giants at #29. This may be a tools vs skills thing. Evans is reputed to have the most highly developed skills of any HS position player in the draft but pedestrian tools. BA has always heavily favored tools.

Christian Lopes, HS- I'm surprised to see Lopes this low too. He's got nice size for a middle infielder and a projectable bat. May not be a terrific fielder.

Mookie Betts, HS- no info.

It looks like Wong or else find a couple of organizational college guys down in the draft.

Down on the Farm: 5/29/2011

AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox crushed the Fresno Grizzlies 24-6:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .290.
Thomas Neal(LF)- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .351.
Travis Ishikawa(RF)- 3 for 3, 2B. BA= .267.
Brad Eldred(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .309.
James Simmons(RF)- 2 for 2. BA= .400.
Ydwin Villegas(P)- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 9.00.

I hadn't noticed James Simmons in the Fresno box scores before today. Yes, THAT Ydwin Villegas! First appearance for the Grizzlies and it's on the MOUND!

AA Akron Aeros edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 3, HR(2). BA= .239.
Eric Surkamp(LHP)- 8 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 11/4.

Nothing to add here.

A+ San Jose Giants blanked the Stockton Ports 2-0:

Zack Wheeler(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K's. ERA= 3.70.
Ari Ronick(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1). ERA= 2.08.

A dominating start by Zack Wheeler!

Low A Rome Braves topped the Augusta Greenjackets 4-1:

Devin Harris(RF)- 1 for 2, 2B, HBP. BA= .232.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.00.
Edward Concepcion(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.74.

Not much offense in Augusta. Kickham not quite as sharp as his first 3 starts. Concepcion continues to be decent out of the pen.

Thanks to Optioned to Fresno for the heads up on the DSL starting. I missed the first game last night. The DSL Giants did not play today. I will include them in my regular Down On the Farm posts from now on.

Game Wrap 5/29/2011: BrewCrew 6 Giants 0

Not much to say about this one except the Giants were dominated in all phases of the game. In addition, except for Brandon Crawford's freak grand slam HR on Friday night, the Giants essentially were unable to generate an offense of any kind the whole weekend. Key Lines:

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 4. BA= .302 Freddy is the only Giant hitting with any consistency and he's not the type of player who can carry a team by himself. Brandon Belt was the only other player to reach base twice via a hit and a walk. There were no XBH's.

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.88. The K/BB was good. Maybe he was unlucky?

Yovani Gallardo(Brewers)- 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.89. Gallardo is a quality pitcher who finally seems to be coming into his own, but the Giants aren't hitting anyone right now. Gallardo was helped by a generous strike zone which Cain seemed to have too. Credit to Gallardo for taking advantage of it.

With the Loss, the Giants tumbled out of first place in the NL West as the Dangerous D'Backs topped the 'Stros 4-2 to move 0.5 games ahead. The Reeling Rockies lost again, this time to St Louis 4-3 to stay 3.5 games behind in 3'rd place. Clayton Kershaw may be a Failbeard, but he's heckuva pitcher and he dominated the Marlins with a 2 hit 10 K performance as the Desperate Dodgers fried the Marlins 8-0 to move up to 5.5 games off the pace while the Pesky Padres edged the Nats 5-4 to gain 0.5 games to 7 behind.

Madison Bumgarner tries to be the stopper tomorrow night against Kyle McClellan and the St Louis Cardinals in St. Louis.

Scouting the Draft: Ranking the Third Basemen

First a few general draft notes:

BA's latest Mock Draft has the Giants taking LHP Josh Osich of Oregon State at #29. Osich probably has the highest ceiling of any college pitcher likely to be available that low in the first round. He is fairly polished with an advanced changeup and a decent breaking ball to go with a FB that ranges from 92-97 MPH. As a college pitcher, he would likely be ready for the majors much more quickly than any of the HS arms available at that slot. The Giants don't have an immediate need for a starting pitcher at the MLB level and are unlikely to next year either. Osich could be ready as early as midseason next year as an insurance plan though.

It looks like two potential first rounders might be off the board entirely:

HS OF Josh Bell has reportedly sent a letter to the MLB Scouting Bureau saying he intends to honor his commitment to University of Texas rather than sign a professional contract. His advisor is Scott Boras, so who knows what machinations this may be the surface of, but Bell is much like Austin Wilson last year in that he comes from a highly educated family who may value a college education more highly than the average family. If he really sent such a letter, I would think MLB teams would have to take him seriously which means he will probably end up getting drafted after the 10'th round by a team like the Red Sox, Yankees or Cardinals who might be willing to offer first round money or more to someone drafted that low.

RHP John Stilson, Texas A&M, has been consistently ranked as a late first round pick. He has a torn labrum, often a devastating injury to pitchers. This certainly bumps him out of the first round and possibly out of the draft entirely. Some team may take a late round flyer on him and be willing to wait for a long recovery and uncertain long term future.

Third base is a relative need in the Giants organization, although Pablo's commitment to conditioning has made it less so. Conor Gillaspie, Chris Dominguez and Adam Duvall are all interesting 3B prospects, but all have flaws. There is certainly room in the organization for a first round talent at 3B. Here's BA's breakdown of this year's 3B draft prospects with some of my own comments:

First Round:

1. Anthony Rendon, Rice- could be taken #1 overall. Has injury issues so I'm not sure I would want to spend my #1 overall and the accompanying bonus $$$ on him, but he won't fall to #29.

2. Cory Spangenburg, JC- Not a classic 3B prospect. He's more of a line drive hitter with excellent speed. Could move to CF! Think Conor Gillaspie with speed. I think the Giants have better uses for the #29 pick.

Supplemental Round:

3. Matt Dean, HS- HS shortstop with plus power. Will move to 3B as a pro. Committed to Texas. I haven't heard him linked to the Giants by anybody. Doubt he will be their supplemental round pick.

Second Round:

4. BA Volmuth, Southern Mississippi- Big college shortstop with a power bat who will likely move to 3B in the pros or even corner OF/1B. I really like Vollmuth a lot and would not be at all unhappy if the Giants took in in the second round.

5. Jason Esposito, Vanderbilt- I'm surprised BA has him ranked below Vollmuth. I would probably rank him as a supplemental round talent. Some mocks have him going near the end of round 1. Good fielding 3B with power and speed. Some scouts wonder if the bat will project. I would be happy if the Giants took him either in the supplemental round or in round 2. He would be a reach at #29.

6. Travis Harrison, HS- Harrison is a power hitting prospect who will go as far as his bat takes him. Plays 3B in HS, but may not be able to stick there which is the main reason why he is not considered a first round talent. I could see his case as being similar to Tommy Joseph, so John Barr might like him in the supplemental round or round 2.

7. Tyler Goeddel, HS- Local kid from Mountain View, CA. I don't know much about him, but BA seems to think he has multiple tools that project well.

Third/Fourth Rounds:

8. Taylor Sparks, HS- Klima has a video on baseballbeginnings.com and seems to really like his swing. Projectable looking frame.

9. Cody Asche, Nebraska- .327/.424/.639 with 12 HR's. Those is mighty impressive numbers what with the new college bats. The bat is lefthanded.

10. Steven Proscia, Virginia- .335/.378/.489, 6 HR', 11 SB, 5 CS. I've been eyeing Proscia since last year when he seemed to always have a better batting line game to game than Jarrett Parker. I like the bat in the 4'th round.

Fifth/Sixth Rounds:

11. Garrett Buechele, Oklahoma- .322/.381/.469, 8 HR's. Son of former major leaguer Steve Buechele. Projects to be a similar player which would be kind of an average MLB player which would be an excellent return on a 5'th or 6'th round pick.

12. Matt Skole, Georgia Tech- .348/.442/.538, 9 HR. A big kid at 6'4", 223. Hit 17 and 20 HR's his first two years at Georgia Tech so the new bats sapped his power a bit. Still showed excellent plate discipline and hit for average. Love what I see in the bat. Maybe he is ranked this low because he profiles as more of a first baseman?

13. Harold Martinez, Miami- .308/.390/.399, 3 HR's. A down year has hurt his stock. Had some sort of injury at the end of 2010 and had surgery. Had 21 HR's in sophomore season. How much of the decline is due to injury or luck and how much is due to the new bats? I'm thinking he may stay in school to try and rebuild his stock.

14. Kyle Kubitza, Texas State- .314/.450/.555, 9 HR's, 15 SB's, 3 CS. Lanky LH batter with great plate discipline and some power. Could fill out his frame for more power. I might like him more than the 3 guys listed above him here. May not be a pro third baseman?

Down on the Farm: 5/28/2011

AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox edged the Fresno Grizzlies 8-7 in 10 innings:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 2 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .280.
Thomas Neal(LF)- 2 for 4, SB(3). BA= .358.
Brett Pill(2B-1B)- 3 for 3, 2 HR(8). BA= .308.
Andrew Kown(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.16.
Marc Kroon(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K's, BS(2). ERA= 3.26.

A little known fact about Thomas Neal is he has come speed and can steal bases. June 1 is coming up real soon for Marc Kroon. Decision time. He ain't getting called up.

Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Akron Aeros 3-2 in 10 innings:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .243.
Juan Perez(CF)- 2 for 5, SB(10). BA= .250.
Ryan Verdugo(LHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.93.
Dan Otero(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.42.

Noonan got thrown out twice on the bases by Aeros' OF's.

A+ San Jose Giants smothered the Bakersfield Blaze 8-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, Assist(3B). BA= .369.
Jarrett Parker(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, 2 SB(8). BA= .264.
Tommy Joseph(C)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .216.
Craig Westcott(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 13/4.

Brown keeps rolling. He needs to be promoted, but what else is new? Parker has the makings of a nice 5 tool package if he can ever fully develop the hit tool. Joseph showing some signs of life. Westcott pitched part of last year at AA, so he may be an organizational guy.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets edged the Savannah Sand Gnats 3-2:

Chris Lofton(CF)- 2 for 3. BA= .246.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 10/2. ERA= 2.45.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.17.

Lofton has a 6 game hitting streak and is hitting .314 over his last 10 games. Looks like Melonhead Jr. might be a pretty good pitcher.

Game Wrap 5/28/2011: BrewCrew 3 Giants 2

Jonathan Sanchez pitched well enough to win, but the offense didn't produce anything until the 8'th inning, too little too late. The BrewCrew ultimately won the game on a suicide squeeze walkoff in the 9'th ininng. Key LInes:

Jonathan Sanchez- 7 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 3.38. Gotta take the bad with the good. Way too many walks, but dude is so hard to hit it's still a good line, a winning line with an average offense. The maddening thing is, if he could cut down on the walks he might be an elite pitchers instead of merely very good. Then again, the cost of cutting the walks might be to make him more hittable.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.76. Remind me again why Romo isn't the 8'th inning guy every game with the LOOGY's used only before inning #8?

The loss dropped the Giants lead in the NL West to just 0.5 games over the Dangerous D'Backs who bombed the 'Stros 11-3. The Reeling Rockies crushed the Cards 15-4 to move up to 3 games behind. The Padres won their game over the Nats 2-1 while the Dodgers are still in progress trailing the Marlins.

Matt Cain takes the mound in the rubber game of the 3 game series tomorrow against Yovani Gallardo who is pitching well and thus yet another candidate to shut down the Giants offense.

Down on the Farm: 5/27/2011

AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox topped the Fresno Grizzlies 2-1:

Edgar Gonzalez(3B-SS)- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(6). BA= .266.
Thomas Neal(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(2). BA= .347.
Doug Mathis(RHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 3.42.

Thomas Neal is the Real Deal! Mathis has a 44/17 K/BB in 52.2 IP with a GO/AO= 2.09. Could be an emergency starter.

AA Akron Aeros drubbed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 9-2:

Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4. BA= .230.
Clayton Tanner(LHP)- 3.1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 3 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.84.
Wilmin Rodriguez(LHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.00.

Tanner follows up his best game of the season with his worst.

A+ San Jose Giants edged Bakersfield Blaze 9-8:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .363.
Wendell Fairley(LF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SF. BA= .277.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 1 for 4, 3B, BB. BA= .258.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(16). ERA= 0.48.

Low A Savannah Sand Gnats downed the Augusta Greenjackets 5-2:

Chris Lofton(CF)- 2 for 4, SB(7). BA= .235.
Robert Haney(SS)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SF. BA= .278.
Seth Rosin- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.31.
Jacob Dunnington(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's ERA= 3.14.
Stephen Harrold(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.54.

What was Rosin's best start, by far, was cut short by a rain delay. Good to see those K's!

Game Wrap 5/27/2011: Giants 5 BrewCrew 4

The Giants were a team badly in need of a pick-me-up and boy, did they ever get one from Brandon Crawford who hit a grand slam home run in hs first major league game to lift the Giants to a win over the Brewers in Milwaukee. It was about a year ago when another rookie named Buster Posey took over a moribund looking Giants team into Milwaukee on the heels of a demoralizing series and literally turned the season around. Let's hope this shot in the arm by Crawford has a similar effect on the team and the season. Key Lines:

Andres Torres- 0 for 4, BB, SB(5). BA= .262. Torres is slumping, but has managed to score 6 runs in his last 10 games.

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 4. BA= .299. Freddy has been cranking out multi-hit games

Aubrey Huff- 2 for 4. Huffy started the rally that led to Crawford's grand slam with a leadoff double in the 7'th.

Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 4. BA= .266.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .333. Crawford got absolutlely all of Shaun Marcum pitch with the bases loaded in the 7'th inning. It was the difference in the game. Wow! What a way to lift the Giants spirits and the spirits of Giants fans everywhere!

Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.22. Timmy looked like he was going to be the hard luck loser like a lot of other Giants starters of late until Brandon Crawford came to the rescue.

Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(14). BA= 3.38. Another little pick-me-up for the Giants. Wilson preserving a 1 run lead in the 9'th. Now THAT is a Save!

With the Win, the Giants stayed 1.5 games ahead of the Dangerous D'Backs who edged the 'Stros 7-6. The Cardinals clobbered the Reeling Rockies 10-3 to drop them 4 games off the pace. The Desperate Dodgers topped the Marlins 3-2 to remain 6.5 games behind the Giants. The Pathetic Padres lost to the Nats 2-1 to fall 8.5 games back in last place in the NL West.

Jonathan Sanchez takes the mound tomorrow afternoon against Randy Wolf to try to put another game in the Win column.

Down on the Farm: 5/26/2011

AAA Fresno Grizzlies topped the Oklahoma City Redhawks 8-5:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB. BA= .277.
Edgar Gonzalez(SS-2B)- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(3). BA= .259.
Thomas Neal(LF)- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(2). BA= .333.
Brad Eldred(1B)- 3 for 4, 2 HR(7). BA= .318.
Jackson Williams(C)- 2 for 2, HR(1). BA= .246.
Marc Kroon(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(11). ERA= 2.95.

Williams needs to be getting as many AB's as possible. He is next in line for catcher depth. Marc Kroon has not allowed a run in his last 5 appearances.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels downed the Erie Seawolves 6-1:

Justin Christian(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .287.
Jose Flores(3B)- 2 for 3, HR(3). BA= .186.
Daryl Maday(RHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.77.
Dan Otero(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.52.

Otero has a 33/3 K/BB with a GO/AO= 2.24. His line is 1-0, 0.00, 19 IP, 1 BB, 24 K's, GO/AO= over his last 10 appearances.

A+ San Jose Giants beat the Bakersfield Blaze 6-4:

Luke Anders(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .258.
Nick Liles(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .321.
Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 12/1. ERA= 2.75.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.52.

Marte has a season GO/AO= 2.14. Hembree has a K/BB of 29/8 in 16.1 IP, 16/4 in 9.1 IP, over his last 10 appearances.

Low A Savannah Sand Gnats blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 6-0:

Really, nothing to see here.

Game Wrap 5/26/2011: Marlins 1 Giants 0

Well, the Florida Marlins, who have crushed the hearts of Giants fans a time or two in their history, came into the Giants house and pretty much sacked and pillaged it, taking no prisoners in the process. I mean, that has to be one of the worst butt-whippings I've witnessed in my life as a Giants fan and believe me, I've witnessed a few. Other than a fluky 9'th inning rally last night, the Marlins dominated every phase of the game and some things that are not part of the game, or shouldn't be. I figured after the events of last night, the Giants pretty much had no chance against Anibal Sanchez, and I was pretty much right, except for Ryan Vogelsong's continued sensational pitching. Key lines:

Ryan Vogelsong- 8 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.77. This may all be a dream for Ryan Vogelsong, but what a great dream! Stay hot, Ryan!

Anibal Sanchez- 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.60. The line pretty much says it all. The Giants offense is all but helpless against good pitchers and Sanchez is really good when he's healthy and on.

With the Loss, the Giants lead in the NL West slipped to 1.5 games as the Dangerous D'Backs topped the Reeling Rockies 6-3. The Desperate Dodgers were idle to gain a half game to 6 behind while the Pathetic Padres were also idle and gained to 7.5 games behind.

The Giants fly to Milwaukee to start a road trip against the BrewCrew. Tim Lincecum takes the mound against Shaun Marcum tomorrow.

As expected, the news on Buster Posey was not good after the MRI results were known. In addition to a fractured fibula, Buster tore ligaments on 3 sides of his ankle, lateral, medial and anterior. In other words, there wasn't much holding his foot to his leg. No final decision has been made. They are consulting several specialists but it seems that surgery to repair the ligaments is likely. I did not see any word on whether there was cartilage damage in the joint.

The Giants are keeping a brave face with Bruce Bochy going so far as to not rule out the possibility of a return before the end of the season. I know surgical technology has advanced a lot, but I have a hard time seeing Buster coming back this season. I'm not sure I even want him to. Let it ully heal and fully rehab before going back out there into the battle. If the Giants are in contention late in the season, then they were able to do it without Buster. If they aren't, then you really don't want to be taking any risks on a lost season. Right now, I'm just praying this isn't the end of Buster's career before it even got started.

On possible replacements, I'm most intrigued by Ryan Doumit. Beyond that, I'm not convinced there is anything out there significantly better than Whiteside and Stewart. Give them a chance and see what happens!

Here's hoping for good things from the Brandons and from Chris Stewart who seems like, at worst, a tough out and a guy who will draw some walks.

Game Wrap 5/25/2011: Marlins 7 Giants 6. Buster Posey Hurt

Well, this was definitely not the news I was hoping to wake up to! The Giants not only lost a game I thought they should have won, they lost their most important, their most indispensable player, possibly for a long time. You never know about these things, but it sure feels like the season ended for the Giants last night. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 5, 2B, BB, SB(4). BA= .276.

Freddy Sanchez- 4 for 6, 2B. Freddy was zoned in from the start lashing line drives like he does when he gets hot.

Aubrey Huff- 1 for 6. Even though Huffy drove in the tying runs with a soft single to CF, he did not have a good game at the plate snuffing out rally after rally with 3 K's. Before the tying single, I was planning to write that I don't know if I've ever seen a good veteran hitter more lost at the plate than Huff right now. I'll go ahead and write it anyway.

Buster Posey- 1 for 5. You can check out the details on sfgiants.com and Extra Baggs, but the ankle injury Buster suffered on the game ending collision at home plate appears to be serious. It' can't be a good sign that the Giants would not release the X-ray results last night and Giants spokespeople were quoted as saying "it's bad." Buster is the most irreplaceable player on the team. The fact that you can count the number of elite catchers in baseball on one hand and still have fingers left over, and Buster is one of them, tells you a replacement plan doesn't exist. The part that makes me angry is, IMO, it didn't have to happen. More on that later.

Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 5, BB. Nice game for Nate. Too bad he didn't have one more superhuman throw in him tonight.

Miguel Tejada- 2 for 5, 3 K's. You get the good and the bad with Miggy in one night.

Mike Fontenot- 0 for 2. Fonty left the game with a groin strain. Don't know how bad it is at this point and it's completely overshadowed by Buster's injury. If the Giants don't think Burriss can be an every day SS, you would think Brandon Crawford is next in line, ready or not.

Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.79. Bumgarner settled down and pitched a pretty good game after a monumental struggle in the first inning which ended with a DP.

Javier Lopez- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.55. It was obvious Lopez didn't have it tonight. He wasn't getting the LH batters out. What did Bochy think he was going to do with Gaby Sanchez and Mike Stanton, two of the hottest RH batters on the planet coming up? I know it didn't feel like it, but the Giants were still down by just 1 run and getting that one out would end the inning. Right now, Sanchez and Stanton are killing everything so it might not have made a difference, and I know you don't bring in your closer in a game you are trailing, but you've got to think Mota has a much better chance of getting that one out than Lopez at that point.

Even though it feels like they are in last place, the Giants stayed 2.5 games ahead of the Dangerous D'Backs who edged the Reeeling Rockies 2-1. The Rocks stayed 3 games behind. The Desperate Dodgers lost to the 'Stros 2-1 to stay 6.5 games back while the Pesky Padres topped the Cards 3-1 to remain 8 games back in last place.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to be the stopper today against Anibal Sanchez with the angry black cloud of Buster's injury bearing down in Giants Land like a Midwestern tornado.

Not a good day to be a Giants fan!

Down on the Farm: 5/25/2011

AAA Oklahoma City Redhawks defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 5-1:

Thomas Neal(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(1), OF Assist(home). BA= .333
Brandon Belt(LF)- 0 for 4, 2 K's, OF Assist(home). BA= .337.
Santiago Casilla- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.80.
Jordan Lyles(RHP, Redhawks)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.20

Good to see Thomas The Tank Engine back from the DL. His shoulder was well enough to throw out a runner at home. I think it's good for Belt to go through a slump and have to fight his way out of it. The Giants apparently didn't have any RHP's available in the top of the 9'th inning tonight. Bring Casilla up! Lyles is the Astros top prospect.

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

Charlie Culberson(2B)- 3 for 4, SB(5). BA= .301.
Juan Perez(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .250.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 3, 2 HR(6), BB. BA= .221.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.14.
Jason Stoffel(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(8). ERA= 3.57.

Big games for Culberson and Monell. Culberson's BA gets above .300. He's hitting .333 over his last 10 games.

A+ San Jose Giants scored 5 runs in the last 3 innings to beat the Bakersfield Blaze 5-1:

Brandon Crawford(DH)- 3 for 5, 2 2B, HR(3). BA= .322.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .288.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .245.
David Mixon(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 2.65.
Hector Correa(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's, Save(1). ERA= 2.14.

If Fonty has to go to the DL, I wonder if Crawford would get the call?

Low A Savannah Sand Gnats edged the Augusta Greenjackets 6-5 in 14 innings:

Drew Biery(DH)- 2 for 6, HR(4). BA= .273.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.35.
Jacob Dunnington(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.25.

Biery was the only Greenjacket to get more than 1 hit in the game. Melonhead Jr. is pitching well so far. Still have high hopes for Dunnington who is still young.

Game Wrap 5/24/2011: Marlins 5 Giants 1

If you just look at the box score, you might reasonably conclude that Matt Cain didn't pitch very well tonight. You would be wrong about that. Matt Cain pitched very well tonight. The home plate umpire had a very bad game. His strike zone was wildly inconsistent, but mostly it squeezed Matt Cain, forcing Cainer to throw pitches down the middle of the strike zone to some very good Marlins batters. The Marlins lineup can take care of itself, thank you. It doesn't need help from the umpire. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco might have had to work with the same strike zone but the Giants batters never really forced him into situations where he had to make great pitches, so you really couldn't tell, so give the Marlins hitters credit for putting Cain into situations where the ump became the game. Key lines:

Torres and Ross reached base 3 times and Posey had 2 hits. The Giants just weren't able to sustain any rallies.

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. Yup, it's not a great line, but you had to see the strikes the ump called balls to really appreciate that Cainer actually pitched good.

Nate made another tremendous throw from RF to snuff out another Marlins rally. The throw in a flyball to fairly deep RF forced the runner from 3'rd to retreat from trying to score on the SF. The trailing runner was caught by surprise and hung out to dry between 2'nd and 3'rd for a DP.

With the loss, the Giants lose a half game to both the Rockies and D'Backs who split a day-night double-header leaving Colorado 3 games off the pace and the D'Backs 3.5 games back. The Dodgers topped the 'Stros 5-4 to gain back a game to 6.5 games behind while the Padres lost to St Louis 3-2 to remain in last place 8.5 games behind.

The Rockies got bad news when Jorge De La Rosa exited the first game of their DH with a torn UCL which will require TJ surgery and put him on the DL for the remainder of the season.

Madison Bumgarner takes the mound tomorrow night against Chris Volstad.

Down on the Farm: 5/24/2011

AAA Oklahoma City Redhawks defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 5-2:

Tyler Graham(CF)- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .267.
Brandon Belt(LF)- 1 for 3, BB, OF Assist. BA= .351.
Josh Banks(RHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.52.
Santiago Casilla(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 0.00.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Erie Seawolves 5-1:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(5). BA= .239.
Eric Surkamp(LHP)- 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.53.

Kieschnick is hitting .378/.425/.568 over his last 10 games. Nicely done by Surkamp.

A+ No games scheduled in the Cal League.

Low No games scheduled in the SAL.

Down on the Farm: 5/23/2011

AAA Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Oklahoma City Redhawks 7-5:

Tyler Graham(CF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .250.
Ryan Rohlinger(SS)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .177.
Brett Pill(1B)- 1 for 1, HR(6), 2 BB, SF. BA= .311.
Andrew Kown(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.35.
Henry Sosa(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 10.41.
Marc Kroon(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(10). ERA= 3.12.

Amazingly enough, there is apparently a sizable contingent of followers over on mccoveychronicles.com who think Rohlinger should have gotten the callup instead of Burriss. It seems that the buzzword for a player with speed is "VROOM" which is derogatory to them. Not saying Grant is in that camp. He's still writing some good articles, but the comments have become pretty much unreadable.

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

Justin Christian(LF)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .289.
Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 5, HR(3), BB. BA= .250.
Ryan Verdugo(LHP)- 6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K's. ERA= 3.07.

Noonan showing a bit of power. Verdugo was hampered by 4 errors in the game. Those K's look good.

A+ San Jose Giants outslugged the Stockton Ports 12-9:

Gary Brown(CF)- 4 for 5, 2 2B, 2 SB(28). BA= .378.
Brandon Crawford(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .296.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 3 for 5. BA= .287.
Hector Sanchez(DH)- 3 for 5, 3 HR(8)! BA= .313.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(7). BA= .278.
Zack Wheeler(RHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.32.

Huge breakout game for Hector Sanchez. Oh my! I know some of us have believed in him since he was putting up interesting numbers in the DSL a few years ago. Brown has cut way down on his CS in the last couple of weeks. Dominguez drawing some walks and stealing some bases, an endlessly fascinating player! Wheels seems to be regressing in is control but all the damage came on a Grand Slam HR in the 5'th inning.

Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Charleson River Dogs 11-6:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(18). BA= .291.
Ryan Scoma(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(4). BA= .258.
Devin Harris(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .244.
Chris Lofton(CF)- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .224.
Robert Haney(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .271.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 1.80.
Seth Rosin(RHP)- 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.58.

Lofton is hitting .281 with a .395 OBP over his last 10 games. He has a .357 OBP overall. Another good start for Kickham. Disappointing results so far for Rosin. He needs to miss more bats!

Down on the Farm: 5/22/2011

AAA New Orleans Zephyrs defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 5-2:

Tyler Graham- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(20). BA= .246.
Doug Mathis- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.47.

Not much to see here.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Reading Phillies 3-2:

Justin Christian(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(2). BA= .286.
Clayton Tanner(LHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 10/5.

Tanner had a perfect game going to 6.2 IP before giving up a single, HR and double before getting the 3'rd out of the inning. Even more impressive is what Tanner has been doing with his K/BB over his last few starts. I have to admit that after his first two games this year, I was ready to write Tanner off as a prospect, but he's steadily improved as the season as progressed. Over his last 3 starts, his line is 1-1, 1.90, 19 IP, 2 BB, 14 K's all while maintaining a GO/AO > 1. He's 23 years old. Not young, but not impossibly old either. Still has a chance to be a back of the rotation starter in MLB.

A+ San Jose Giants blanked the Stockton Ports 5-0:

Gary Brown(DH)- 1 for 4, HR(5), HBP, SB(26). BA= .366.
Brandon Crawford(SS)- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .286.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .278.
Jarrett Parker- 2 for 4, SB(6). BA= .259.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 0 for 2, BB, HBP, SB(6). BA= .277.
Craig Westcott(RHP)- 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.13.
Hector Correa(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.43.
Ari Ronick(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA- 1.54.

The Little Giants did not allow a hit until the leadoff batter of the 9'th inning.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets downed the Charleston River Dogs 5-2:

Drew Biery(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(3). BA= .289.
Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 2 for 4. BA= .266.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.58
Edward Concepcion(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.58.
Stephen Harrold(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's, Save(5). ERA= 1.69

Not much to say about this one.

Game Wrap 5/22/2011: Giants 5 A's 4

As a fan, you naturally want your team to crush the opposition game after game. Dominate the opposition! Run away with the division! That's not how these Giants roll though. They play Torture Baseball. White knuckle wins game after game. For sheer excitement and feeding my addiction to the game, it's like injecting pure heroin directly into the veins. It just doesn't get any better. Every game is a gripping contest with the outcome in doubt to the last AB and sometimes beyond. I long ago let go of fretting about whether this kind of play is sustainable or not. Heck, the Giants have been sustaining it for well over a full year now! Yesterday's game was no exception as the Giants and A's locked up in a see-saw battle that finally saw an extra-inning, walk-off rally put together by the two guys who were probably least likely to pull it off. Key Lines:

Andres Torres- 0 for 5, HBP. BA= .265. This line doesn't look like much but for the 4'th game in a row, Torres scored a run in the first inning. This time, he took one for the team and came around on Freddy Sanchez' double.

Buster Posey- 1 for 5. BB. BA= .281. Not a great game for Posey. Gotta be a bit concerned about the foul backs he's taking off the grill. This time he nearly had his jaw dislocated. Can't help but remember the way Mike Matheny's career ended.

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .281.

Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 2, HR(4). BA= .263. Nate tied the game with a pinch hit 2 run dinger down the RF line. Nate is really starting to show off his power potential lately. He pulled this one down the line. I'm not sure why we don't see more of this kind of HR at AT&T. It seems like balls pulled down the line almost always get pushed foul by the wind. Not sure why this one stayed fair, but it sure came at an opportune time. I've seen replays of the HR and still am not sure if it was a splash hit or not. I never saw where it landed.

Darren Ford- 1 for 1, SB(5). Ford looked like a desperation pinch-hitter for Romo who had pitched 2 full innings. Instead he did a nice job of going the other way with the ball for a single to start the winning rally. Once he got on base, you knew the Giants were in business. Dude has game changing speed, I tell you. Game changing speed! Not only did he steal 2B to put himself in scoring position, but it is likely no other Giants could have scored from 2B on the game winning hit. You get the feeling that Darren Ford and his speed are slowly growing on Bruce Bochy.

Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 2. Burriss not only poked the game winning hit to RF, but also played LF and 2B in the game. According to the writeups in sfgate.com and Extra Baggs, Ford and Burriss have become close friends. Watching the Giants championship run made a big impression on both of them and they spent the offseason talking to each other about how they could contribute more in the future. They worked together in the early season in Fresno and are now teammates on the Giants again. They made eye contact as Burriss came to the plate and nodded to each other. From Ford's perspective it was "you're going to do it, buddy." From Burriss' perspective, it was "if I get a hit, you're going to score." Both players delivered. Even though the ball got fairly deep to RF, Ryan Sweeney has a great arm and threw a seed to the plate. Ford beat the throw by a hair and probably no other Giant could have beaten it. How great is that story anyway? Burriss is another young player who Bochy is starting to notice. His willingness to do whatever the team asks him to do and be as versatile as possible is helping his cause, a lot. Part of that determination was instilled through watching the team win it all last year.

Jonathan Sanchez- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.47. Pretty typical Sanchez start. I was just thinking. If he pitches his 5-6 IP and only gives up 1 or zero runs in the process, he and the Giants are going to win a large percentage of those games. You don't want all your starters lasting just 5 or 6 innings but if it's just one and he's as stingy with runs as Sanchez, it could be a whole lot worse.

Jeremy Affledt- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.94. It's a bit mystifying why Bochy, who has apparently lost faith in Romo would continue to place faith in Affledt in close games. He should not be entering any game in which the Giants are tied or have the lead until he proves he's figured out whatever is wrong.

Sergio Romo- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.42. I don't buy that this proves Bochy has faith in him. I mean the game goes into extra innings and you've already burned up your closer. You have to put someone out there. The only ones left other than Romo were Lopez and Mota. BTW, when was the last time we saw Mota in a game?

With the W, the Giants stretched their lead in the NL West to 3.5 games on the Reeling Rockies who were swept by the BrewCrew over the weekend. The Dangerous D'Backs swept the Twins in Arizona and kept pace with the Giants to move into 3'rd place 4 games back. The Desperate Dodgers lost 2 out of 3 to the ChiSox including an 8-3 embarrassment yesterday to fall 7 games off the pace. The Pathetic Padres were annihilated by the Seattle Mariners in a 3 game sweep to fall 8.5 games behind. Right now, the Dangerous D'Backs are looking like the biggest threat in the division, but there is still a long, long way to go.

The Giants get a needed day off before taking on the Florida Marlins in AT&T Park with Matt Cain taking the mound in game one against Ricky Nolasco. Thank God they aren't facing Josh Johnson this series!

Blogger's Note: I'll Be Away

I'll be away from the blog until tomorrow evening. Catch up then. Go Giants!!

Down on the Farm: 5/21/2011

AAA New Orleans Zephyrs downed the Fresno Grizzlies 4-2:

Really not much to see here. Casilla pitched another scoreless inning an a rehab appearance. Justin Dowdy got promoted to Fresno and pitched a scoreless frame.

AA Reading Phillies edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-3:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .229. Kieschnick stays hot.

A+ San Jose Giants pushed across a run in the bottom of the 9'th inning to take the Stockton Ports 1-0:

Hector Sanchez(DH)- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .304.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 11/3.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(13). ERA= 0.56.

Sanchez stays hot. Heston was actually a good pitcher for Augusta last year, but those of us who know W-L don't mean much still tend to subconsciously downgrade a pitcher with a poor W-L. He's been a bit luckier this year but had to take this on through the 8'th to get 1 run in support. Hembree should probably be promoted about the time Gary Brown is.

Low A August Greenjackets defeated the Charleston River Dogs 3-1 in 11 innings:

Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, HR(12), BB. BA= .266.
Drew Biery(DH)- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .268.
Shawn Sanford(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.54.

Duvall has turned into this monster since moving to 3B. The organization suddenly has depth at that position!

Game Wrap 5/21/2011: Giants 3 A's 0

Tim Lincecum was Big Time Timmy Jim today as he made a 1 run lead stand up from the first inning until the Giants mounted a 2 run rally in the bottom of the 8'th inning to "put the game away." Timmy cruised through the 9'th. I watched the game on Gameday, but even through the numbers coming through game day, you just felt that Timmy was determined to finish this one. Key Lines:

Andres Torres- 0 for 3, BB. Once again, Torres played the leadoff role beautifully drawing a walk to lead off the game. He went to 3'rd on Freddy's double and scored on a Buster Posey ground out. Hey, if Torres did nothing more than that every game, he'd score 162 runs, right? And, never underestimate the importance of getting that first run on the board, especially with this pitching staff!

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .276. Freddy went into a bit of a slump there for awhile, but seems to be coming back up out of it.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .284. In addition to the RBI groundout, Buster started the winning rally with a single and hit another ball on a line to the leftfielder. He seems to be coming out of his funk a bit too.

Cody Ross- 1 for 3, HBP. BA= .256. Buster took second on a grounder to the pitcher by Burrell, the only time Pat the Bat made contact all day. Ross then singled Buster home then advanced to 3B on Huff's single and came home on Miggy's SF giving Timmy an insurmountable 3 run lead going to the 9'th.

Miguel Tejada- 1 for 3, SF. BA= .218. A reasonably productive day at the plate for Miggy.

Time Lincecum-9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 2.06. Think Big Time Timmy Jim didn't have something to prove after last start in Colorado? Took him 133 pitches to do it, but I'm guessing he would have taken up a martial arts stance out there if Bochy had tried to lift him. He went into the 9'th with 108 pitches but it took a few extra pitches above budget to K those last two batters. Beyond that, words fail.

With the Win, the Giants extended their lead in the NL West to 2.5 games over the Reeling Rockies who lost to the BrewCrew 3-2. The Dangerous D'Backs maintained 3'rd place, 4.5 games back after scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 8'th inning for a come-from-behind win over the Twins. The Dastardly Dodgers got clobbered by the ChiSox in Chicago 9-2 to fall 6 games off the pace while the Pathetic Padres were blanked by wunderkind pitcher Michael Pineda 4-0 to fall 7.5 games behind the Giants.

Jonathan Sanchez goes for the sweep tomorrow against Gio Gonzalez in an afternoon game.

Down on the Farm: 5/20/2011

AAA New Orleans Zephyrs blanked the Fresno Grizzlies 2-0:

Shane Loux- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.61.
Henry Sosa- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 9.55.

Shouldn't a guy named Loux be pitching for New Orleans? Just when you think Sosa is finished, he comes out a throws a couple of very good innings.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Reading Phillies 4-3:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 4, 3B, HR(1). BA= .220.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.67.
Jason Stoffel(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(6). ERA= 3.94.

Kieschnick is hitting .310 with a .500 SLB% over his last 10 games.

A+ San Jose Giants crushed the Modesto Nuts again 9-1:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 3, HR(4), 2 BB. BA= .377.
Hector Sanchez(C)- 2 for 5, HR(5). BA= .298.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .287.
Tommy Joseph(DH)- 2 for 5. BA= .224.
Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.59.

Not only is Gary Brown hitting like he did in college, he's drawing walks too, which he didn't do in college. He's even flashing a bit of power here and there. Is this Hector Sanchez' breakout season? He's hitting .356 with a SLG% of .556 over his last 10 games. He seems to be doing most of the catching lately too.

Low A Charleston River Dogs downed the Augusta Greenjackets 4-2:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 2 for 3, 2B, HBP. BA= .294.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 3, HR(11), BB. BA= .261.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.59.

Duvall has 6 dingers in his last 10 games with a line of .289/.400/.789. His season SLG% is .515. Augusta is not an easy park to hit HR's in either.

Game Wrap 5/20/2011: Giants 2 A's 1

Ryan Vogelsong took on A's ace Trevor Cahill in a pitching duel and didn't give an inch as the both starters departed after 6 innings with the game tied 1-1. Aubrey Huff finally drove in the walk off game winning run in the bottom of the 10'th as the Giants won the battle of the bullpens. Key Lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 3, BB, SB(3), S. BA= .300. Torres played the role of leadoff batter perfectly as he led off the game with a walk, stole 2B and took third on a wild throw then scored the first run on a groundout be Freddy Sanchez. It would be the only run the Giants scored until the bottom of the 10'th inning.

Aubrey Huff- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .222. It's been a frustrating spell for Huff, but he came through with the game winner driving in Emmanuel Burriss from 2B after the A's had walked Freddy Sanchez to get a lefty on lefty matchup with Brian Fuentes. Did the A's look at Huff's splits before they made that decision?

Nate Schierholtz- 0 for 4. BA= .256. Nate went 0 for 4, but made the play of the game when he GUNNED down Josh Willingham at 3B who was trying to go from first to 3'rd on a single by Mark Ellis. He also made a nice running catch on Kevin Kouzmanoff later in the game.

Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 1. Burriss scored the game winner from 2B after singling on a 3-2 pitch to lead off, sacrificed to 2B by Torres. The A's walked Freddy Sanchez to get to Huff and Huffy hit the game winner. I wonder if Burriss' speed at 2B influenced the A's to walk Freddy figuring any single would plate the run and Freddy is more likely to hit a single than Huff to get any kind of base hit? Bruce Bochy: Please, please give Burriss a chance to play SS and lead off for awhile! Torres would make a fine #3 hitter and speed changes games, even with no SB's.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.93. Vogelsong might not have been quite as sharp as in his 2 prior games. It seemed like the A's were getting their leadoff hitter on almost every inning, but man, did he ever pitch with heart! In spite of all those leadoff batters getting on, the only run the A's scored was unearned. Take your time getting well, Barry!

Bullpen- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. No single standout here, but man, can this bullpen ever shut it down when they are going well!

With the win, the Giants stretched their lead in the NL West to 1.5 games over the Reeling Rockies who lost a 14 inning heartbreaker on Prince Fielder's walk off 2 run HR after the Rockies had taken a lead in the top of the inning. I wonder if the BrewCrew did the fall down thing around The Prince after the walk-off? The Dangerous D'Backs held on to edge the Twins while the Dastardly Dodgers topped the ChiSox in extra innings to remain 4 and 5 games back respectively. The Pesky Padres dropped to 6.5 games back with a loss to the Mariners.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound in a late afternoon game tomorrow against Brett Anderson in what will likely be another pitching duel. Can Timmy recover from his last rough start?

Scouting the Draft: Ranking the Shortstops

BA has a couple of articles ranking draft prospects by position and by what round they should be drafted in based on talent. I thought I'd look at a couple of positions where the Giants have an organizational need. I'll give BA's rankings by round and then add my own comments if I have any. Shortstop is a position of extreme need at the MLB level. It's also a position of extreme scarcity throughout baseball. Although the Giants have some depth at the position in the minors, non of their prospects stand out as sure fire MLB successes, so it could be a position they are looking to draft this year:

First Round:

1. Francisco Lindor, HS- Projected to go in the upper half of the round, he won't be there at #29.

2. Javier Baez, HS- Projected toward the end of the first round he could be there at #29. Bigger than Lindor. Great bat, marginal defense, especially long term. Prone to emotional outbursts. Probably does not fit the profile of what the Giants are looking for.

3. Levi Michael, UNC- Steady, disciplined bat with a bit of speed. Probably doesn't project for much power. Marginal for sticking at SS, but probably can. Most mocks have him projected in the mid-20's, but could fall to #29. I just don't see him as enough of a sure thing to take him over a high-ceiling arm.

Sandwich Round:

4. Trevor Story, HS- Definitely a SS with a great arm. Has hit 90-92 as a pitcher. Close to a 5 tool player but the hit tool is a bit of a question mark. If you want a player who would definitely stick at the position, he might be a better choice than Baez or Michael at the end of round 1.

Second Round:

5. Brandon Martin, HS A bit of a sleeper who has flown under the radar until recently. A 5 tool prospect, "fast twitch athlete" who can stick at the position. May take some time to develop the tools. If you are definitely looking for a SS, could be worth a reach at #49 in the 1S.

6. Joe Panik, St John's- A college SS who will probably move to 2B in the pros. The hit tool is highly developed.

7. Nick Ahmed, Connecticut- More likely to stick at SS than Panik with a great arm(91-94 as a pitcher). The hit tool is not as developed as Panik's.

8. Jace Peterson, McNeese State- Don't know anything about this guy, but he's a football cornerback so is probably a great athlete.

9. Brad Miller, Clemson- Don't know much about him, but he seems to be a better hitter than SS.

10. Connor Barron, HS- Big for a SS. Is moving up draft boards. Has been compared to Reid Brignac of Tampa Bay.

11. Tyler Greene, HS- Has some tools but runs hot and cold. Could go high if a particular team really likes him.

Third and Fourth Rounds:

12. Brandon Loy, Texas
13. Jake Hager, HS
14. Tyler Grimes, Wichita State
15. Taylor Featherstone, Texas Christian

I think I've read that Hager has a nice hit tool. Don't know much about the others but lower round college shortstops almost never make it.

Fifth and Sixth Rounds:

16. Mitchell Walding, HS
17. Austin Nola, LSU
18. Justin Boudreaux, SE Louisiana
19. Kevin Kramer, HS

Don't know anything about any of these.

There was one name I was surprised to not see in the list: Julius Gaines! This is a very athletic looking kid who also looks great at the plate. Projects as a true SS. Committed to Florida International. Man, if he's really not ranked in the top 6 rounds I could really see the Giants taking him in the 6'th or 7'th. If they could then sign him for Chuckie Jones type money, he could be the steal of the draft. Remember his name! You can find several scouting reports by googling him and there's at least 1 scouting video on youtube.com. I think Klima did a report on him for baseballbeginnings.com too where you can find him listed as Kenneth Gaines, Jr.

Down on the Farm: 5/19/2011

AAA Fresno Grizzlies defeated the New Orleans Zephyrs 6-2:

Tyler Graham(CF)- 2 for 4, SB(17). BA= .243.
Brandon Belt(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(4). BA= .380.
Brett Pill(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .316.
Brad Eldred(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(5), SB(5). BA= .349.
Josh Banks(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.68.
Santiago Casilla(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.

I'll take a point or two off the OBP and BA for a HR from Belt. He did make an error at 1B. The Brett Pill 2B experiment is back on. Casilla is getting closer.

AA Bowie Baysox outlasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-2 in 16 innings:

Nick Noonan(SS)- 2 for 6, 2B, BB. BA= .264.
Roger Kieschnick(LF-RF)- 2 for 7, SB(4).
Eric Surkamp(LHP)- 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.76.
Dan Otero(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.69.
Ronnie Ray(RHP)- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.99.

A+ San Jose Giants smashed the Modesto Nuts 9-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, 2 SB(25). BA= .378.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 0 for 2, 3 BB. BA= .250. OBP= .370.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .274.
Wendell Fairley(LF)- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .298.
David Mixon(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.27.
Chuck Lofgren(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA- 0.00.

Brown continues to terrorize the Cal League. Parker seems to be another extreme plate discipline guy, or is is timidity? I guess it's good to have some of these guys scattered through the organization. They used to be non-existent.

Low A Greenville Drive edged the Augusta Greenjackets 6-5 in 11 innings:

Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 6, HR(10). BA= .259.
Ryan Scoma(1B)- 2 for 5, HR(3). BA= .248.
Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 2 for 5. BA= .277.
Raynor Campbell(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(5). BA= .252.
Seth Rosin(RHP)- 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.08.
Gaspar Santiago(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.32.
Jacob Dunnington(RHP)- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.55.
Drew Bowlin(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.52.

Disappointing start for Rosin. Dominant outing by Dunnington.

Game Wrap 5/19/2011: Giants 3 Dodgers 1

The Giants almost let a sparkling effort by Madison Bumgarner go for naught in the 9'th inning tonight, but a diving catch by Nate Schierholtz in right field saved the game. Key Lines:

Freddy Sanchez- 1 for 4, SF. BA= .276. Freddy drove in 2 of the Giants 3 runs with a sac fly to drive in Madison Bumgarner who had doubled in the 3'rd and a 2 out basehit to score Miggy Tejada from 3B.

Aubrey Huff- 0 for 5. Huff hit at least 3 balls hard enough to be hits but they were right at fielders.

Buster Posey- 1 for 3, 2B, BB, HBP. BA= .277.

Miguel Tejada- 2 for 4, SB(2). BA= .221 Miggy is hitting .287 over his last 10 games. Unfortunately, his OBP is .287 over the same span.

Madison Bumgarner- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 S. BA= .188. Can the kid handle the bat, or what?

Madison Bumgarner- 8.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.71. Bum looked like he was out there playing a leisurely game of darts. He was in complete command, but couldn't quite get that last out. He than had to wait out one of Brian Wilson's patented torture sessions before Nate saved the game with diving grab off the grass tips in RF off the bat of Jamey Carroll with the bases loaded.

The Win kept the Giants in first place by 0.5 games over the Rockies who rode Jason Giambi's 3 dingers to a win over the Phillies. The Dangerous D'Backs edged the Braves 2-1 to move into 2'nd place 4 games off the pace while the Dodgers loss bumped them down to 4'th place, 5 games behind. The Pesky Padres edged the BrewCrew 1-0 to remain 5.5 games behind the Giants in last place.

The Giants now come home to face the crosstown rival Oakland A's with Ryan Vogelsong getting another chance to impress facing Oakland's ace Trevor Cahill.

Game Wrap 5/18/2011: Giants 8 Dodgers 5

Any win against the Dodgers is a good game, but man, I feel so sad for Matt Cain. He took a 5-2 lead into the 8'th inning only to have a ridiculous parade of relievers blow the lead. Fortunately, Cody Ross hit a 3 run dinger in the top of the 9'th to get the 3 run lead back and Brian Wilson got through the bottom of the ninth for an undeserved Win. Key lines:

Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 5. BA= .276. Freddy kept the line moving in the 3'rd inning after Matt Cain started a series of 3 consecutive singles with 2 outs to drive in the Giants first run off Clayton Kershaw. Then started the winning rally with a single in the 9'th.

Buster Posey- 2 for 5. BA= .275. I guess he'll take them any way he can get them but the first hit was a dribbler up the middle. He then kept the winning rally going with a ground ball single to LF. Buster just seems to put the ball on the ground way too much for a guy who isn't all that fast and is supposed to be driving in runs.

Cody Ross- 2 for 4, HR(3). BA= .260. Gotta say, Cody Ross has a flair for the dramatic.

Miguel Tejada- 2 for 4. BA= .214. Nice game for Miggy. Maybe the start of something good?

Mark DeRosa- 0 for 1. BA= .162. DeRosa came up holding his left wrist on a check swing in his second AB. He appeared to be in severe pain. Word from the clubhouse was a wrist sprain, but gotta think it's a whole lot worse than that what with that being the same wrist he's had 2 surgeries on. The DL seems like a certainty and we may be looking at the end of his career.

Matt Cain- 7.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.28. Cainer seemed to temporarily lose focus after Kemp broke up his perfect game with a leadoff HR in the top of the 5'th inning. He managed to get out of it without further runs scoring and took a 5-2 lead into the 8'th. He gave up a leadoff single, got an out and was then lifted after 111 pitches as Lopez was brought in to face Ethier. Was Cainer showing just a bit of frustration and maybe showing up his teammates just a tad when he went streaking over the the railing on the 3B side to try to catch a pop up that Posey and Miggy got late jumps on? What was that, anyway?

Javier Lopez- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.13. It looked like Lopez got some generous calls from the ump but struck out Ethier looking with some nasty stuff off the outside corner.

Sergio Romo- 0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.74. There really is no shame in giving up a soft single to Matt Kemp with 2 outs and a runner on first, but that was it for Romo as Bochy harrumphed out to the mound to bring in Wilson. Now, if Bochy really had so little faith in Romo, why didn't he bring in Wilson to face Kemp for the 1 out? Just ridiculous reasoning, or lack thereof!

Brian Wilson- 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, BS(2), W(4-1). Wilson didn't look right at all tonight. He was pale, a little gaunt looking. He coughed up the 3 run lead, but then managed to get through the 9'th after Cody Ross bailed him out. At one point he threw a pitch and came up holding his arm at a funny angle and the trainer came out to check on him. He later hit 96 on the radar gun so maybe it was just a twinge, but BWeezy really didn't look good out there tonight.

With the Win, the Giants move back into first place in the NL West by 0.5 games over the Rockies who lost to the Phillies 2-1. The Dodgers fall to 4 games back tied with the Dangerous D'Backs who came from behind to edge the Braves. The Padres went 5.5 games down in last place with a 5-2 loss to the BrewCrew.

Madison Bumgarner takes the mound tomorrow evening against the Dodgers and Chad Billingsley as the Giants try for a 2 game series sweep and a .500 road trip.

Down on the Farm: 5/18/2011

AAA No Games Scheduled in the PCL

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Bowie Baysox 4-2:

Roger Kieschnick(DH)- 2 for 3. BA= .209.
Sharlon Schoop(1B)-2 for 3. BA= .207.
Ryan Verdugo(LHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.12.
Jason Stoffel(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(5). ERA= 4.20.

Not a whole lot to say here.

A+ Modesto Nuts outslugged the San Jose Giants 12-9:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 5. BA= .375.
Brandon Crawford(SS)- 4 for 5, 2 2B, HR(1). BA= .364
Hector Sanchez(C)- 3 for 5. BA= .295.
Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 4, HR(2). BA= .233.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 6.35.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 6.11.
Ari Ronick(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.69.

Brown and Crawford are screaming for promotions. Sanchez is hot, hitting .356 over his last 10 games. Bad start for Dunning. So much for my prediction that Valdez would break out this year.

Low A Greenville Drive whitewashed the Augusta Greenjackets 3-0:

Scoma and Harris had 2 hits each.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.00.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.00.

Not a whole lot to see here either.

Down on the Farm: 5/17/2011

AAA Fresno Grizzlies topped the Memphis Redbirds 5-3:

Emmanuel Burriss(SS)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(16). BA= .361.
Brandon Belt(LF)- 1 for 2, HR(3), 2 BB, SF. BA= .387.
Andrew Kown(RHP)- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.60.

Brandon Belts one.....deeeep!!! Grand Slam HR for Belt to go with is usual 2 BB's.

AA Bowie Baysox made a 2 run first inning stand up for a 2-0 shutout of the Richmond Flying Squirrels:

Charlie Culberson(2B)- 2 for 4. BA= .299.
Clayton Tanner(LHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.79
Alfredo Simon(RHP, Baysox)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.38.

Not a half bad line from Clayton Tanner. Simon is a former Giants farmhand. Q: How come guys like Juan Uribe and Simon get into serious trouble down in the DR, and show up in the States in a couple of months, yet Angel Villalona's situation doesn't seem to ever get resolved? Just asking.

A+ Modesto Nuts held off the San Jose Giants 3-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .374.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 3 for 5, 3B. BA= .265.
Wendell Fairley(LF)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .291.
Zack Wheeler(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 8/2. ERA= 3.82.

Wheeler's K/BB was upside down in this one. Another 3 hit game for Gary Brown......(yawn).

Low A Augusta Greenjackets trounced the Greenville Drive 8-2:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 1 for 4, BB, SB(14). BA= .295.
Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 4, HR(1), BB. BA= .267.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 5, HR(9). BA= .261.
Drew Biery(DH)- 3 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .346.
Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .281.
Devin Harris(RF)- 4 for 5, 2B, HR(8). BA= .232.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.58.
Edward Concepcion(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.82.

Have to say I am really digging RafRod's performance so far this year. If he keeps this up it portends very welll for the future.

In his latest post Baggs is sensing that a shakeup is looming and a recall of Brandon Belt might be part of it.

Game Wrap 5/17/2011: Rockies 5 Giants 3

Jonathan Sanchez took a gem of a game into the 8'th inning only to have it all unravel, in part due to his own throwing error. Is it just me or have Giants pitchers had a terrible time fielding this season? I'm not sure I can count how many runs or games it has cost them already. Key lines:

Buster Posey- 2 for 4. BA= .271. Posey needs to string some multi-hit games together.

Pat Burrell- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .240. Mixed feelings about Burrell. He's definitely a power threat when he's in there. Best defensive alignment is Ross in LF, Torres in CF and Nate in RF. Ross can hit some too.

Aubrey Huff- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .229. Huffster is hitting .323 over his last 9 games.

Jonathan Sanchez- 7 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.71. Sanchez' line was 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. at the start of the inning. After the first two batters reached on singles, he threw away a sac bunt. Lopez then came in and poured gasoline on the fire. Don't know if the final outcome would have been different, but it sure seems likely that the throwing error on the bunt hurt a lot. I don't know where to find the stats but it sure seems the Giants pitchers have been particularly bad at fielding bunts and combackers this year.

With the loss, the Giants fall out of first place in the NL West by 0.5 games with the Rockies taking over the top spot. Bummer. It really feels like the Giants should have won both games, or at least had a chance to win both games.

The Giants move on to LA for another 2 game series with Matt Cain taking the mound against the fearsome Clayton Kershaw.

Down on the Farm: 5/16/2011

AAA Memphis Redbirds edged the Fresno Grizzlies 5-4 in 14 innings:

Brandon Belt(RF-LF)- 2 for 6, 2B, BB. BA= .384.
Brett Pill(1B)- 4 for 7. BA= .321.
Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 2 for 6, 2B. BA= .288.
Doug Mathis(RHP)- 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.54.
Steve Edlefsen(RHP)- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 6.86.
Marc Kroon(RHP)- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, BS(1). ERA= 3.52.

Belt has an interesting line over his last 10 games: .323/.511/.387. Is the 2B experiment over for Brett Pill? Minor league journeyman Mathis had a 6 inning no-no. He'll be lucky to ever get a cup of coffee, so why not let him try for the full monty? Second recent disastrous outing for Edlefsen.

AA No games schedule in the Eastern League.

A+ San Jose Giants won an 18 inning see-saw battle with the Stockton Ports 10-9:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 8, 2B, SB(23), CS(11). BA= .367.
Ryan Cavan(2B)- 2 for 8, 2B, HR(5). BA= .254.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 5 for 8, HR(9). BA= .292.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 9, 2B. BA= .262.
Hector Sanchez(C)- 2 for 7, 2B, BB. BA= .282.
Santiago Casilla(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 0.00.

Think maybe there is a geographic rivalry between these two teams? Very nice game for Dominguez. Usually these marathons are killers for the ol' batting average, but Dominguez really helped his season line in this one. 9 AB's for Parker? That's crazy! He gets 2 hits with a double and his BA takes a hit. .222 for the game.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets game against the Hickory Crawdads was suspended due to rain after Augusta took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 11'th inning. The game will not be resumed. It will not count as a W or L for either team. Individual stats count:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 3, 2B, 3 BB. BA= .273.
Drew Biery(DH)- 1 for 5, HR(1). BA= .273.
Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 2 for 5, HR(1). BA= .274.
Shawn Sanford(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.92.

HR by RafRod!

Game Wrap 5/16/2011: Rockies 7 Giants 4

The Giants hitters staked Tim Lincecum to 2 leads which he gave back, the last 5 in a horrible 6'th inning in which he completely lost his stuff and Bruce Bochy had a brain cramp or two. Key Lines:

Andres Torres- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .340. Andres continued to hit the ball hard.

Freddy Sanchez- 3 for 4. BA= .272. Freddy's 3 hits helped produce one run even though he isn't listed in the scoring. He followed Torres' HR with a single, was forced on a Huff grounder. Huff then scored ahead of Nate's HR the same inning.

Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 2, HR(3), 2 BB. BA= .286. Nate again flashes he power in Coors field and even drew a couple of walks to boot. He continues to let his play on the field state his case for a starting gig in RF.

Tim Lincecum- 5/2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.36. I know Timmy is the ace of the staff and has earned the right to prove he can't get it done, but by the time Carlos Gonzalez came up with 2 runners on base and the score tied 4-4, anybody who was paying attention knew what was going to happen. Timmy was getting pummeled by a parade of much lesser hitters than Carlos Gonzalez. They weren't bloop hits or bleeders either. By this point in the game, Timmy had completely lost command of the fastball and his deadly split-change was hanging up around the belt every time he threw it. If Bochy still has enough faith in Jeremy Affeldt to warm him up while the Giants still had the lead or were tied, then he's also gotta have faith the the LHP is a better option against CarGo than a Tim Lincecum who has completely lost his stuff. Timmy at his best or even his average? Yeah, I go with him against CarGo, but not on what he was throwing in the 6'th inning tonight. It wasn't like the bullpen had been overworked after Vogelsong's rain-shortened CG on Saturday and the rainout yesterday.

Thanks to the rainout yesterday coupled with the Rockies' loss to the Padres, the Giants came into the game up by 1.5 games in the NL West so remain in first place by 0.5 games.

Jonathan Sanchez tries to split the series tomorrow against Ubaldo Jimenez who has struggled mightily this year but could break out at any time.

Down on the Farm: 5/15/2011

AAA Memphis Redbirds crushed the Fresno Grizzlies 10-2:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 1 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .286.
Brandon Belt(LF)- 0 for 2, 2 BB, Assist(Home). BA= .388.
Henry Sosa(RHP)- 1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 0 K. ERA= 10.53.

Wow! Belt is making Kevin Youkilis look like a free swinger! Where is the line between selectivity at the plate and timidity? Will MLB pitchers with better stuff and command always be able to take advantage of Belt's approach? He certainly is not going to get the borderline calls from the umps until he has established that it's not just timidity. Is Sosa done? I don't see how they can just keep letting him go out there and get ripped like that.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels trounced the Harrisburg Senators 11-4:

Charlie Culberson(2B)- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(4). BA= .293.
Nick Noonan(SS)- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .278.
Jason Christian(LF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, SF. BA= .292.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .241.
Juan Perez(CF)- 5 for 5, 2B, 3B. BA= .270.
Sharlon Schoop(1B)- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .130.
Dan Otero(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.85.
Jason Stoffel(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, HBP. ERA= 4.50.

Overall, the AA Giants prospects are hitting much better than you might expect given the history of their prospects in the Eastern League. Noonan is hitting .350/.435/.575 with 6 of his 7 doubles and 1 of his 2 HR's in his last 10 games. Charlie Culberson is hitting .333 over his last 10. Johnny Monell is hitting .323 over his last 10. Juan Perez is hitting .366 over his last 10. Danny Otero has 26 K's against just 2 BB's in 24.1 IP with a GO/AO= 2.54.

A+ San Jose Giants blanked the Stockton Ports 2-0 in a rare Cal League pitcher's duel:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(22). BA= .367.
Luke Anders(1B)- 2 for 3, HR(6). BA= .273.
Chris Heston(RHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's, GO/AO= 9/3. ERA= 2.76.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(12). ERA= 0.60.

Very nice game for Heston. He's been flying under the radar, but has pitched very well in the tough Cal League. Hembree looks like a true fast track candidate and possible future closer.

Low A Hickory Crawdads downed the Augusta Greenjackets 4-1:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .299.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 3, HR(8), BB. .273/.358/.503.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.

Duvall is hitting .364 with 4 dingers in his last 10 games. He seemed to really take off when he moved to 3B. Melonhead Jr. makes a nice pro debut coming off TJ at the end of his college career as a pretty good closer for Kansas.

Favorite Websites

Be sure and check out my favorite websites listed over on the left hand side of the blog. I just added a new one today: Optioned to Fresno. It's a Giants prospect oriented blog I found through a link on Splashing Pumpkins. Check it out.

I also deleted 3 links to sites that have become somewhat dormant: Fantasy Phenoms, Roto Authority and MLB Bonus Baby.

Down on the Farm: 5/14/2011

AAA Memphis Redbirds defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 7-5:

Emmanuel Burriss(2B)- 3 for 5, 2B, 3B. BA= .366.
Brandon Belt(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .400.
Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 1 for 4, 2B, SF. BA= .285.

If Burriss could play SS at the MLB level, I'd be campaigning for him to be the starting SS for the Giants right now. The Giants obviously believe he can't. Belt continues to put up crazy numbers, but maybe not as much power as hoped?

AA Harrisburg at Richmond was rained out.

A+ Stockton Ports pounded the San Jose Giants 9-4:

Hector Sanchez(C)- 2 for 4, HR(4). BA= .283.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 3 for 4. BA= .265.
Kelvin Marte(LHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 7/1.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.38.
Ari Ronick(LHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.57.

Marte allowed the first 4 batters to reach base in the 6'th. Valdez came in and promptly gave up a two run double. He eventually allowed all of Marte's baserunners to score plus gave up 2 more runs of his own before he settled down and retired 6 of the next 7 batters, 4 by strikeout.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets blanked the Hickory Crawdads 5-0:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(13). BA= .298. OBP= .385.
Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 5. BA= .400.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .271.
Seth Rosin(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 12/2. ERA= 3.62.
Gaspar Santiago(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.66.

Doesn't Willoughby seem like a perfect leadoff batter? Adrianza is off the DL, presumably on a rehab assignment before reporting to a higher level. Where is he going to play? Noonan seems to be doing well in Richmond while Crawford is almost surely ticketed for Fresno. Back to SJ? What becomes of Jurica then? Seth Rosin pounded the strike zone pitching to contact for grounders. He may need to develop better secondary stuff to get a few more K's. Santiago has 22 K's but also 16 BB's in 19.2 IP.

Game Wrap 5/14/2011: Giants 3 Cubs 0

The baseball gods were smiling on the Giants today as they spotted Ryan Vogelsong an early lead and he pitched shutout baseball through 6 innings before the game was called due to rain. It was an official game so the Giants and Vogelsong get credit for the win. Key Lines:

Freddy Sanchez- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .259. Freddy had the only XBH of the game.

Buster Posey- 1 for 2, BB. BA=.256. Buster had the only RBI as the Giants were helped by 3 Cubbies errors.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, W(3-0). Another dominant line from Vogelsong. He had to overcome 2 errors by Tejada at SS, but was helped by 2 DP's both of which Tejada participated in.

The Win put the Giants back in sole possession of first place in the NL West as the Reeling Rockies lost a hitfest to the Pesky Padres 9-7. The Dodgers lost to the Dangerous D'Backs 1-0 behind Jesse Collmenter as Billingsley's 1 hit 0 ER effort went to waste. The Dodgers are 3.5 games back while the D'Backs are 5.5 back and the Pads are 6 back. The Giants have won 8 of their last 10 while every other team in the NL West has losing record over the same span except the Padres who are 5-5.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound, weather permitting tomorrow trying to win the series for the Giants against Big Bad Carlos Zambrano who is 4-1 with a 4.35 ERA. There is no question that Timmy is the superior pitcher here, but can the Giants score on Big Bad Z?

Scouting the Draft: Robert Stephenson

BA has their first official mock draft up and they have HS RHP Robert Stephenson going to the Giants at #29. If you just google his name, you will find scouting videos and reports galore. I looked him up on baseballbeginnings.com and Klima really likes his arm action. What makes him interesting from a Giants perspective is he's a local product of Alhambra HS in Martinez, CA. At 6'2", 180 lbs with long arms and legs, he's both compact and rangy all at the same time. From looking at his frame and delivery, I'd say he fits right into the line of Matt Cain and Zack Wheeler. From last year's draft, he reminds me the most of Peter Tago.

I would be happy if the Giants took him at #29. What's becoming clear is this draft is historically deep in pitching. The Giants are as thin as they have been in recent years in organizational pitching. They need a boost in the system so they aren't caught in a bind when it comes time for the current rotation to become FA's. If the Giants are looking to use this deep pitching draft to re-stock the farm system in arms, there will be no shortage to choose from. I would be very happy with Stephenson, Dillon Howard, or Henry Owens from the HS ranks and there are others out there who rank right with that group. From the college ranks, Osich looks like the best possibility at #29, but it's not impossible that Tyler Anderson could fall to #29 or an Andrew Chafin from Kent State or several others. Right now, if it came down to a choice between Osich and Anderson, I might take Osich because he has better velocity to go with a great changeup.

Down on the Farm: 5/13/2011

AAA Nashville Sounds edged the Fresno Grizzlies 3-2:

Emmanuel Burriss(2B-SS)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .348
Brandon Belt(LF-1B)- 1 for 3, 2 BB. BA= .387.
Brad Eldred(RF)- 3 for 5, 3 2B. BA= .319.
Jackson Williams(C)- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .271.
Waldis Joaquin(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.16.
Henry Sosa(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 7.71
Marc Kroon(RHP)- 0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K's, Loss(1-2). ERA= 3.95.

Belt seems to be trying to walk back to SF. Jackson Williams has a .390 OBP and is hitting .409 over his has 10 games. It would be a great story, but I don't think we'll be seeing Marc Kroon pitch in SF.

AA Harrisburg Senators defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-2:

Justin Christian(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .286.
Nick Noonan(SS)- 3 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .258.

Noonan is hitting .308/.386/.615 over his last 10 games and seems to be holding his own at shortstop.

A+ San Jose Giants outhit the Lancaster Jethawks 9-7:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(3). BA= .371.
Brandon Crawford(SS)- 4 for 4, BB. BA= .500.
Hector Sanchez(DH)- 1 for 3, BB, SF. BA= .275.
Tommy Joseph(C)- 2 for 4. BA= .252.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .248.
Santiago Casilla(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.

Brown would seem to be in need of a promotion to AA. I would think we'll be seeing Crawford's name in the Fresno Grizzlies box scores soon. Jarrett Parker's OBP is .379 with a .440 SLG%. He's hitting .316/.435/.579 over his last 10 games. Casilla is on a rehab assignment.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets downed the Hickory Crawdads 8-4:

Carlos Willoughby(2B)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB. BA= .292.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 2, HR(7), 3 BB. BA= .270.
Drew Biery(DH)- 3 for 3, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .400.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 2.25.

Duvall is hitting .324/.465/.618 over his last 10 games. His bat seemed to heat up after the move to 3B. Mike Kickham has a successful 2011 debut.

Game Wrap 5/13/2011: Cubs 11 Giants 4

It's probably not too surprising that the Giants would have a letdown in a road day game following the completion of a tremendous sweep of a 6 game homestand against division rivals. This one stayed close until the 7'th when the Giants normally reliable bullpen suffered a complete collapse and the Cubs turned it into a route. Key Lines:

Andres Torres- 3 for 5, 3B, SB(2). BA= .349. Torres has been red hot since his return from the DL. We know from last year he can stay hot for a long time, although .349 is probably ripe for a regression.

Aubrey Huff- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .224. Huffy is hitting .297 over his last 10 games, so he seems to be gradually coming out of his early season slump.

Cody Ross- 1 for 4, HR(2). BA= .246. Ross is hitting .321 over his last 10 games.

Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 4.25. Bum walked a couple of key batters after getting them down 0-2 and it hurt him. Still, if he continues to pitch this well, gotta think the chips will start falling his way. Huh? Try telling that to Matt Cain!

Jeremy Affeldt- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 1 BB, HBP. ERA= 5.79. Although Affeldt has had a good outing here and there, he really hasn't looked right for a long time. Not sure what the problem is. He seems to have good velocity, good break on the curveball. Just very poor command more often than not. He probably needs to go to the back of the bullpen for awhile.

Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 7.41. Runzler may not be getting regular enough work to stay sharp. I would think he goes down when Casilla comes off the DL.

The Giants played the only day game in MLB, so we don't know what effect this loss will have on their hold on first place in the NL West. For now, it drops their lead to 0.5 games. If Colorado wins, they would take first place back by percentage points.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to build on his last excellent start tomorrow soft tossing lefty Doug Davis who they know from his days with the Arizona D'Backs.

Down on the Farm: 5/12/2011

AAA Nashville Sounds beat the Fresno Grizzlies 5-2:

Brett Pill(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .324.

Pill moved back to first with Belt playing LF and Travis playing RF in this one.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Harrisbug Senators 6-3 in 11 innings:

Charlie Culberson(2B)- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .291.
Juan Perez(CF)- 3 for 6, SB(7). BA= .242.
Johnny Monell(C)- 4 for 5, 2B, HR(4), BB. BA= .228.
Eric Surkamp(LHP)- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.88.
Dan Otero(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.93.

Big game for Monell who needs some more of these. Otero has a 24/2 K/BB with a GO/AO= 2.38 in 23.1 IP. Not quite as dominating a start from Surkamp than what we've seen.

A+ San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 5-4:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 3, BB. CS(10). BA= .362.
Tommy Joseph(DH)- 1 for 2, HR(4), HBP. BA= .244.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 2 for 3, HR(8). BA= .284.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 5.52.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(10). ERA= 0.69.

Brown may need to work on being more selective in his baserunning, or else learn to read pitchers and get better jumps. Good to see the Bash Brothers hitting the long taters again.

Low A Rome Braves clobbered the Augusta Greenjackets 13-6:

Ydwin Villegas(SS)- 3 for 4. BA= .185.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4. BA= .267.

Not much to see here.

Game Wrap 5/12/2011: Giants 3 D'Backs 2 First Place!

The Giants got a typically superb performance from Matt Cain then held on for the W to gain sole possession of first place in the NL West. Key Lines:

Nate Schierholtz- 3 for 4, 2B, SB(3), Assist(Parra at 2B)- Nate continues to state his case for a starting gig game by game. Here he demonstrated all 5 of his tools. I didn't see the game because I was at work, but Carl Steward has a great description of how Nate played the carom off the wall perfectly and threw a strike to 2B to nail Parra. Great stuff.

Eli Whiteside- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .208. Posey got a much needed day off. Whiteside responded 2 doubles. What more can you ask for?

Matt Cain- 7.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.22. Cainer was sailing along when he gave up two 2-out singles in the 8'th. Affeldt gave up a single to plate one of the runners and then Ramirez gave up another single to plate the other. Ramirez managed to get the last out without further damage.

Sergio Romo- 0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 0.93. Bochy apparently does not have a lot of confidence in Romo right now. I don't think that's a short leash he has him on. I think he has ahold of him by the collar! In fairness to Bochy though, 3 of the next 4 batters were lefthanded.

Javier Lopez- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1). ERA= 0.59. Anybody want to undo that trade and have Bowker back? Wilson was unavailable after pitching several days in a row. Lopez gave the crossed arms and finger to the sky sign after nailing down the W.

The Giants completed their second consecutive sweep of a series and swept the 6 game homestand. I think Bacci found a stat that this was the first time in MLB history that a team swept a 6 game homestand without scoring more than 4 runs in any one game. I'm tellin' ya. The Giants pitching isn't just good, it's historically good! Didn't they set a record for consecutive games allowing 3 runs or less last year, at least since the dead ball era?

The Reeling Rockies lost again, this time to the Mets 9-5 to allow the Giants to take over sole possession of first place in the NL West. The Dodgers were rained out and the Padres were idle.

The Giants go back out on the road with Madison Bumgarner opening up a weekend series in Chicago against the Cubbies. Ryan Dempster will be the opponent. He got off to a very rough start to the season, but has been much better in his last 2 starts.

Blogger's Note: Site Crash

Hey everybody! Sorry for the blackout. It seems the site server crashed big time and it took them almost 24 hours to fix it. It looks like they deleted the comments from Wednesday's posts. Just want you all to know it wasn't me who deleted them. Thought is was a great discussion about SB's at Fresno and baseball strategy in general. Thanks to everybody who participated. I will try to get caught up over the next 24 hours.

Dr B

Down on the Farm: 5/11/2011

AAA Nashville Sounds topped the Fresno Grizzlies 4-3:

Conor Gillaspie(3B)- 1 for 3, BB, 2 SB(3). BA= .289.
Cal Eldred(1B)- 2 for 3, HR(3), SB(4). BA= .286.
Doug Mathis(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.15.
Steve Edlefsen(RHP)- 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.40.

Cal Eldred is apparently trying to channel Rickey Henderson. Gillaspie is not particularly fast either and he stole 2. I'll say it again. That stuff won't work at the MLB level. Darren Ford in a 0-0 tie? OK. Running everybody all the time? Uh-uh!

Bowie Baysox edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB. BA= .200.
Juan Perez(CF)- 2 for 4, BB, SB(6). BA= .230.
Nick Noonan(SS)- 1 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .247.
Ryan Verdugo(LHP)- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 3.03.

Kieschnick has 2 hits in 3 of his last 4 games.

A+ San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 5-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .363.
Brandon Crawford(SS)- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .500.
Hector Sanchez(C)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .284.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .238.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 2 for 4, 2 SB(5). BA= .275.
Zack Wheeler(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.66.
Chuck Lofgren(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.

Crawford should be on a rehab assignment and not stay with SJ very long. I would think his destination for this year is Fresno. Dominguez had been scuffling, moved down in the order and showed off some speed. Lofgren was highly touted prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization. He's a local kid drafted out of HS in 2004 who fell on hard times the last couple of years. He's hooked up with the Giants organization, presumably the team he grew up rooting for. If anybody can help him turn it around, it would seem to be the Giants.

Low A Rome Braves topped the Augusta Greenjackets 5-2:

Robert Haney(SS)- 2 for 3, 2B, HBP. BA= .290.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, HR(6). BA= .260.
Chris Lofton(CF)- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .218.
Shawn Sanford(RHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 10/2. ERA= 3.27.
Edward Concepcion(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 4.32.

Duvall is on a .306/.405/.611 tear over his last 10 games. Lofton is hitting .333 over his last 10.

Game Wrap 5/11/2011: Giants 4 D'Backs 3

It wasn't a walkoff win tonight, but still an interesting and exciting game the Giants won. Jonathan Sanchez battled poor fastball command in the early innings but hung tough to keep his team in the game. The Giants offense chipped away at Armando Galarraga and managed to gain the lead in time for Sanchez to get credit for the victory. The bullpen nailed it down from the 7'th inning on. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .324. Torres is back! On base 3 times out of 4, his last hit, the game winner, was one of his patented long line drives that seemed to carry forever and finally bounced into the CF seats for a ground rule double driving in Tejada from 3B.

Aubrey Huff- 1 for 4, HR(4). BA= .211. Huffy got ahold of one and sent it to the top of the wall in right-center, a prodigious blast into a swirling wind that had picked up as the game went along.

Miguel Tejada- 3 for 4, 2B. BA= .213. It's a wonder what a little competition will do for you. In fairness to Tejada though, he has hit a lot of balls hard that have been caught.

Jonathan Sanchez- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 3.68. After his last start, it was easy to think Sanchez was headed for another early exit after giving up a leadoff double and a walk. He was able to limit the damage in the first inning and again in the second. After a Henry Blanco HR in the 4'th, he really settled down and pitched fine 5'th and 6'th innings to end up with the QS and the W. Hopefully he grew as a pitcher in the process. A nice, gritty effort from Durty tonight.

Ramon Ramirez- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.08. Ramirez looks a bit bigger than he did last year and he seems to have found another gear on fastball regularly getting it up to 94 and with all kinds of movement. Right now, he's pitching as well as anyone on the team.

Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(12). ERA= 4.15. Wilson clearly didn't have his best stuff tonight. He managed to dig himself out of a hole created by a leadoff double and a walk with no outs. On the last out, you had to hold your breath as Kelly Johnson sent on to the warning track in left-center. Wilson has been used a lot lately. Maybe he should be unavailable tomorrow? Better yet, maybe the Giants can build a big enough lead that it's not a Save situation in the ninth.

The Giants moved within percentage points of the Reeling Rockies who were rained out today. The Dodgers blanked the Pirates 2-0 to also gain a half game on the leaders at 3 games behind. The Dangerous D'Backs, of course, lost a half game to 4.5 games back while the Pesky Padres lost to the BrewCrew 8-6 and dropped to 5.5 games back.

Matt Cain takes to hill tomorrow afternoon trying to keep the winning streak going and complete the Giants second sweep in a row. The Giants have now won 5 in a row and 7 of their last 8 games.

Buster Posey seemed to get his bell rung a bit on a foul back that caught him flush in the middle of the faceguard on his catcher's helmet. The new helmets come to more of a point in front to deflect the energy of most foul tips, but this one was dead center. I would expect Buster to sit out tomorrow's afternoon game.