The Giants kind of sleepwalked through this one, perhaps because they might have had difficulty picking up the junk Freddy Garcia was throwing in rather poor lighting in Scottsdale Stadium. The game was on TV, though, and it was great to see some baseball, any kind of baseball, being played by the boys in orange and black. Key Lines:
Gregor Blanco- 1 for 2, BB. BA= .233. Blanco negated his single with some sloppy baserunning when Mark Kotsay threw behind him on the turn at 1B and Blanco was unable to beat the throwdown to 2B.
Johnny Monell- 1 for 1, HR. BA= .545. Monell homered deep into the RF bleachers in the 3'rd pinch-hitting for Edlefsen who cleaned up for Timmy in the 3'rd inning.
Cole Gillespie- 0 for 3, 3 K's. BA= .242. Gillespie had a tough game getting rung up 3 times and slipped in the OF whiffing on a ball that got past him and allowed 2 insurance runs to score for the Padres.
Hector Sanchez- 0 for 3. BA= .211. The Hector had a tough night at the plate and behind it. He looked frustrated. Baggs is questioning how secure his roster spot is.
Kensuke Tanaka- 0 for 2. BA= .216. Tanaka had another tough day on the field.
Tim Lincecum- 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 14.73. This was Timmy's first start since healing a blister on his finger. He looked strong in the first 2 innings and his FB was clocked at 93. Everybody still seems optimistic about his season.
Kruk and Kuip- The dynamic duo was in mid-season form:
TV camera shows a guy wearing a T-shirt that say "Kings Wear Rings."
Kuip: "The Giants get their rings during the first homestand. I don't know if we're going to have to wear our tuxes or not."
Kruk: "I'm thinking of wearing mine all year! That's how I'm feeling tonight!"
I laughed out loud for at least 5 minutes on that one. Of course, it's pretty easy to amuse me after almost a half-year without any baseball to watch.
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I have been going through Giants baseball withdrawals. I will be so happy when the season starts when I get to watch my guys and listen to Kruk and Kuip every day.
ReplyDeleteDanielle
Johnny Monell hr was impressive after hitting one foul if Hector do not bounce back quick Monell might take his spot.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if they would say the backup infielder should be able to catch, instead of being able to play SS.
ReplyDeleteMay be hard to find, but it will really give Bochy flexibility.
the org is a bit concerned about hector's shoulder. if he isnt 100% by opening day, maybe they should take a flier on monell as backup, till hector gets healthy. at the very least, a good showing in the bigs would improve johnny's value as trade bait....at the most, monell wins the backup outright....he is a hard working kid and is gonna be in the majors somewhere
ReplyDeletethe utility spot is a huge question mark...really wish they couldve talked riot into coming back
i watched the usa/pr game....gio is gonna be really good this season. if wright had any protection on the mets, he would be a shoo-in for mvp. angel looked good at the plate, even though gio fooled him by going up the ladder...angel already has his midseason legs. jeremy was a total bastiche pitching to angel...didnt give him anything to hit and then jammed him, forcing a pop up...jeremy looks a bit heavier than last season, which is fine
i think the usa team is serious this year and could make it to the finals....the usa/dr game should be fun
bacci
Bacci - Baggs just answered a Decker question: Organizational hitting coordinator. If there's not a major league job available for him, I think this gig suits him well. His daughter, Hailey, is a softball standout at Nebraska and it's important to him that he breaks away to see her games whenever possible.
DeleteI know you keep close tabs on Decker, you might have already had that info.
ya, i knew that they were keeping him in that role. i still think that he is the heir apparent to bochy...either he or wotus
Deletethe interesting move was sending kline back to augusta. i think they see kline as more of a teacher and the kids in augusta are gonna need a lot of mentoring
bacci
Anybody who is in line for Bochy's job is going to wait a long time. I just have a feeling he's not leaving any time soon.
DeleteLast year at one of the Cal League games, I think maybe at Rancho Cucamonga, I noticed a young lady with a little girl sitting in seats near the SJ Giants dugout. She appeared to be communicating with Steve Kline between innings. I wondered if it was his missus and daughter. I recently did come asking around and I'm pretty sure she was. She appeared to be quite a bit younger, but very unassuming and down to earth. Very willing and even eager to talk to the fans in the stands sitting near her. Minor league life has to be tough on families.
DeleteQuestion is, do Agosta and Okert end up in Augusta? I thought Kline had left the Gints, good to know he's back there.
DeleteDirty deed is done. Shankbone has a blog. Lookout world. DrB - gimme your feedback if you like, appreciate all the support you've given me here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yougottalikethesekids.com/
Got it linked. Keep up the good work, Shankbone.
DeleteCheers.
Deletericky o just smashed a huge dinger....2014 is gonna be very interesting re: 1st base
ReplyDeletebacci
And Johnny Monell from the Bronx goes yard. Everybody moans about his defense but left handed batting catchers with pop do not grown on trees.
DeleteGave Ricky's mom a high 5 when I saw the HR in the boxscore this afternoon. She was ecstatic. Survived the first cutdown and then got a chance to impress the skipper with a well timed 'tater. Doesn't get much better than that for a non-roster kid who is ticketed for AA.
DeleteGreat news about Oropesa, and let's hope that he pushes Belt to LF (or replaces Panda at 3B) in a couple years.
ReplyDeleteBut about Monell -- I know he's WAY down on your list, DrB, but it it possible that he overtakes Hector (who apparently let fame go to his head) for a spot on the ML roster? Hector came in overweight, perhaps living La Dolce Vita in the offseason, perhaps a little too soon for the majors, maybe not quite ready to return, to his surprise. And Johnny's been laboring away in the minors all these years -- I seem to recall him much higher on your list a couple of years ago. Perhaps the glory should be shared ....
Well, Johnny Monell certainly has had a terrific winter league season and spring training. What's a little hard for us to know is what the coaching staff thinks of his defense and whether he can handle the premium stuff the Giants pitching staff will throw at him. The pitchers seem to really like Hector for some reason so I think that gives him a leg up on any competitor, plus possession is a big part of the battle in baseball. The incumbent at any position gets the benefit of the doubt.
DeleteAs for why Monell fell down my prospect ranking, it had a lot to do with repeating AA, getting passed by Hector and the presence of Andrew Susac in the organization. Whether Johnny has made up that deficit with his winter and spring performances remains to be seen. It does seem that Hector is one muscle tweak away from starting the season on the DL and in extended spring training. If that were to happen, whether his replacement would be Monell, Jackson Williams or Humberto Quiroz remains to be seen.
...er Guillermo not Humberto Quiroz. Does he have a brother named Humberto? Seems I've seen that name before.
DeleteI got mocked in the minorleagueball chat on the Gints prospects for suggesting him as a sleeper. Monell has some game. The defense will be a questionmark, Baggs is all over that right now. And getting PT with Posey plus trying to get Sanchez into playing shape is a rough scramble.
DeleteI think all teams in baseball do use ST to evaluate a bunch, its just the back of the 25 and the top of the minors mainly. So sure, stats don't matter, but in some ways, they matter a lot. You have to show up and shine to catch an eye. Good for Johnny from the Bronx to do that.
I made the mistake of glancing at MCC for the first time in weeks after commenting on Sickels 150 prospects (hey now - Crick high, Stratton in the 70s, Blackburn and Brown, and a shoutout to Kickham as well). MCC is gleefully relishing the fact Hector might be at risk. Oh vey. The complete misunderstanding of what the guy is, how young he is, what a switch hitting catcher can do for you, plus the belief his defense is flawed...
DeleteWilliams has some good D, but you're looking at mendoza line or worse. I think I've seen a Humberto Quiroz somewhere or other. Its a nice insurance piece.
He's a good story, but Tanaka is fading fast. I was not impressed with his stance/swing that I saw live, and the defense has been really yippy. I think its worth a couple months at Fresno if that's in the cards, but that is a crowded place for Gints middle infielders. Noonan continues to make great plays, he's really stepping up. And Abreu doesn't make it out of the blocks again.
ReplyDelete