Game Wrap: Giants 2 D'Backs 1

Pablo Sandoval hit a 2 run HR in the top of the 9'th inning to turn a potential 1-0 loss into a win.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, SB(4).  BA= .275.  Pagan bounced back from a 0 for 5 night to get two hits including the one that started the winning rally.

Pablo Sandoval-  2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .333.  Last night it looked like Pablo might be hitting the DL for awile.  Tonight, he was the hero.  The HR was not a cheapie either.  It would have been out of any park.  Well, maybe not AT&T because of the location, but any other park.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.55.  Not a big strikeout game for Bummy, but effective.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(10).  ERA= 2.13.  It looked like maybe Romo has added a cut fastball to his arsenal.  He had no trouble at all with the 3, 4, 5 hitters in the D'Backs lineup.

If the Rockies lose to the Dodgers, and they are losing 6-2 in the 8'th inning, the Giants and D'Backs will be tied for 2'nd place, 1 game behind the Rockies.  The Dodgers will be 2.5 games behind the leaders.  The Padres outslugged the Cubs 13-7 and will be 5.5 games behind the leaders.

Tim Lincecum tries for the sweep tomorrow evening facing Brandon McCarthy.

Down on the Farm: 4/29/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies scored a walkoff come-from-behind win over the Sacramento River Cats 8-7 in 11 innings:

Carter Jurica(2B)- 2 for 5, HR(2), BB.  BA= .354.
Brett Pill(1B)- 3 for 5, 2 2B, HR(6).  BA= .367.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .296.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.55
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.30.

Huge game for Pill.  Could he play 3B if Pablo went down for an extended period?  Probably not.  Chris Dominguez gets a rare start and makes the most of it.  Perez plays CF while Brownie sits.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Bowie Baysox 7-6:

Joe Panik(2B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .320.
Javier Herrera(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .298.
Andrew Susac(C)- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .290.
Ryan Lollis(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .209.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.38.

Panik seems to have really found his stride.  Very impressive hitting given the environment.  Finally!  A top hitting prospect who seems to be dominating AA!

High A  San Jose Giants were idle.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets beat the Lexington Legends 4-2:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 3, BB, 2 SB(15).  BA= .265.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 4, HR(1), SB(7).  BA= .304.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.08.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(7).  ERA= 0.00.

I'm most impressed by Johnson's ability to keep his walks down. As long has he does that, he's going to be very successful given how hard he throws.

Game Wrap 4/29/2013: Giants 6 D'Backs 4

The Giants survived a 3 dinger inning off starter Matt Cain to break their 5 game losing streak in Arizona.  Key Lines:

Marco Scutaro- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .237.  Scooter reached base 4 times in 5 PA's.  Maybe he didn't need a day off after all?

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 3.  BA= .327.  Pablo is hitting .372 over his last 10 games and .412 over his last 9.  He left the game early due to recurrent elbow soreness.  Maybe that explains the relative lack of power in that stretch?

Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .244.  Bochy batted Belt out of the 8 hole which has been a surprisingly effective spot for Giants hitters this year.  Belt is hitting .379 over his last 10 games.

Matt Cain-  6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 6.49.  Only one of the 4 BB's came back to bite him, but the 3 dingers in the 4'th inning continued a pattern of missing locations and hanging breaking balls that have led to a rash of dingers off the Giants ace.  Cainer did get the ship righted and went 2 more shut down innings after the D'Backs outburst in the 4'th inning.

Jean Machi- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA- 0.00.  Who gets shipped out when Affeldt gets back?  I have a feeling it ain't gonna be Machi!

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(9).  ERA= 2.31.  Cody Ross hit a good pitch for a bloop single to RF.  Other than that, Romo was dominant.

With the Win, the Giants will likely stay 2 games behind the Rockies who are way ahead of the Dodgers in LA.  The D'Backs fall 1 game of the Rockies' pace while the Dodgers will likely fall 3 games back.  The Padres lost to the Cubs 5-3 and fall to 6 games back in last place in the NL West.

Madison Bumgarner takes the mound tomorrow evening against Trevor Cahill.

Down on the Farm: 4/28/2013

AAA  Reno Aces pounded the Fresno Grizzlies 11-2:

Francisco Peguero(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2). BA= .434.
Juan Perez(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .293.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 5 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 7.94.

Excellent peripherals, terrible results for Kickham.  He has a long history of underperforming his peripheral stats going back to college.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the New Britain Rock Cats 4-2:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .240.
Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .304.
Andrew Susac(DH)- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .288.
Brett Krill(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .265.
Chris Gloor(LHP)- 4 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.62.
Tom Vessella(LHP)- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.08.

Panik is really heating up.  Adrianza's BA has slipped a bit, but he is still hitting better than expected for the level and difficulty of the league.

High A  San Jose Giants topped the Modesto Nuts 5-3:

Devin Harris(DH)- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .284.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .220.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .291.
Bobby Haney(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .233.
Austin Fleet(RHP)- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.84.

Nice to see a good game from Mac.

Low A  Lexington Legends beat the Augusta Greenjackets 7-4:

Nothing to see here, IMO.

Game Wrap 4/28/2013: Padres 6 Giants 4

Ryan Vogelsong got bit by the longball and the Giants offense was again not quite able to overcome the deficit.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, BB, SB(3).   BA= .280.  Getting on base twice in 5 PA's is what the leadoff hitter is supposed to do.

Marco Scutaro- 0 for 4, BB.  BA= .215.  Scutaro had a scheduled day off.  At the last minute, he said he wanted to play and Bochy let him.  Nick Noonan was deprived of a chance to start in front of his hometown crowd.  Not sure what to think of this, but I think we all agreed as of yesterday that Scooter needed a day off.  I'm not sure the player is necessarily the best judge of that.

Pablo Sandoval- 4 for 5.  BA= .316.  Pablo had a 4-hit game, but where is the power stroke?

Buster Posey- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .286.

Ryan Vogelsong- 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K.  ERA= 6.23.  There have been a couple of games this season that I thought Vogie pitched much better than the score would indicate due to umpire issues or BABIP issues. This was not one of those games.  Vogie was missing on location and he was missing up in the strike zone.  Combine that with a ballpark that has always been relatively hitter friendly in day games and now has the fenced about 10 feet closer, well, it's a combustible combination and Vogie paid the price.

With the Loss, the Giants remained 2 games behind in the NL West in 3'rd place.  The D'Backs beat the Rockies 4-2 to climb into a first place tie with said Rockies.  The Dodgers gained a game with a 2-0 win over the BrewCrew to 2.5 games behind the leaders while the Pesky Padres gained a game to 5.5 back in last place.

The Giants now travel to Arizona where Matt Cain takes the mound facing Ian Kennedy.

Down on the Farm: 4/27/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies outslugged the Reno Aces 9-6:

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(5), Error(7).  BA= .398.
Brett Pill(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .351.
Juan Perez(3B)- 1 for 3, HR(4), SF.  BA= .282.
Cole Gillespie(LF)- 3 for 4, 2 2B, HR(2), Assist.  BA= .292.
Chris Dominguez(PH)- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= .289.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.45.
Sandy Rosario(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.29.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(7).  ERA= 1.64.

Tanaka is tearing it up on offense, but appears to be still having the defensive yips.  Chris Dominguez seems to have no place to play.  Huge game for Gillespie.  The bullpen arms are stacking up, especially with Machi's performance at the MLB level yesterday.

AA  New Britain Rock Cats beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-2:

Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .295.
Brett Krill(RF)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .233.

Panik is quietly putting together a fine AA season.

High A  San Jose Giants crushed the Modesto Nuts 10-0:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 4 for 5, BB, SB(8).  BA= .307.
Ryan Cavan(3B-2B)- 3 for 6, 2B.  BA= .354.
Devin Harris(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(7), SF.  BA= .286.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .215.
Chris Lofton(CF)- 2 for 5, 3B, SB(4).  BA= .275.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 9/2.  ERA= 4.19.

Kind of a strange situation in LF with Payne and Harris.  You would think Payne would be getting the OF experience here, but he seems to be playing mostly as the DH.  Angel V is hitting .317/.349/.537 over his last 10 games and has a 7 game hit streak going.  That's the kind of line we're hoping to see more of from Mejia.

Augusta Greenjackets pounded the Lexington Legends 12-6:

Matt Duffy(SS)- 1 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .310.
Shayne Houck(DH)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .425.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 6, HR(2).  BA= .264.
Ben Turner(1B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .216.
Trevor Brown(2B)- 2 for 6, HR(1).  BA= .250.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.12.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Stephen Okert(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.43.

Delfino hits his second dinger in 2 days.  Gotta be excited by Johnson's ability to dominate an inning.  Hopefuly this is the start of good things for Okert.

Lots of good stuff down on the farm!

Game Wrap 4/27/2013: Padres 8 Giants 7

A shocking 2-base error by Andres Torres in LF opened the door for a 6 run fourth inning for the Pesky Padres.  Another error by Marco Scutaro on a potential DP ball in the bottom of the 12'th resulted in the fourth disheartening 1 run loss in a row for the defending World Series Champions.  Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 6, 2B.  BA= .290.  Pablo also made at least one amazing defensive play on a diving stop throw out at first all while holding a runner at 3B.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .288.  Gotta feel like the ship will get righted with Buster swinging the bat like this.

Hunter Pence- 1 for 5, 3B.  BA= .260.  Pence also made a nice diving catch in RF to preserve the tie in extra innings, but the Rev's BA has dropped a lot since the first 2 weeks.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 5, HR.  BA= .298.  Crawford jumped on a hanging curveball by Eric Stults in the 2'nd inning and pullled it into the seats down the RF line for  a 3 run dinger.  Where, oh where would the Giants be this season without Brandon Crawford?

Andres Torres- 0 for 5, Error.   BA= .255.  Not a good game for Torres in any way.  I believe this is his second major hiccup in LF in the last 4 games.  Love Torres, but gotta think he's skating on mighty thin ice out there right now.

Barry Zito- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.29.  Zito was sailing along looking like the good Zito until Torres' error followed by a bloop single with one out in the 4'th inning.  Zito always walks a fine line.  He couldn't get the bleeding stopped and had to be bailed out by Chad Gaudin.

Chad Gaudin- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.80.  Nice multi-inning relief work by Gaudin to keep the game from getting away.

Jean Machi- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Very impressive stint by Machi to carry the game deep into extra innings.  Gonna be tough to send him out when Affeldt gets back.

With the Loss, the Giants remained fell to 3'rd place, 2 games behind the NL West leading Rockies who lost to the D'Backs 3-2.  The D'Backs took sole possession of 2'nd place 1 game behind the leaders.  The Dodgers lost to the BrewCrew 6-4 to remain 3.5 games back in 4'th place while the Pesky Padres tightened things up with a 6.5 game deficit in last place.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to salvage a win in the series facing Jason Marquis in the finale today.

Down on the Farm: 4/26/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies out hit the Reno Aces 9-8:

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 4 for 5, 2B, 3B, 2 CS.  BA= .392.
Francisco Peguero(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .417.
Jackson Williams(C)- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .163.
Juan Perez(3B)- 2 for 2, 3B.  BA= .280.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 5 IP, 7 H 5 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.58.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.93.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(6).  ERA= 1.80.

Tanaka is on fire.  What to do with him?  I would think he is building up significant trade value.  Heston has always been a good control guy so it's a bit jarring to see the 5 BB's.

AA  New Britain Rock Cats beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-4:

Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .203.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 4.  BA= .281.
Brett Krill(DH)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .160.

High A  San Jose Giants defeated the Modesto Nuts 6-4 in 12 innings:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 2 for 6.  BA= .277.
Devin Harris(RF)- 3 for 6, 2 HR(6).  BA= .275.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 5, HR(5), HBP.  BA= .193.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 2 for 5, BB, SB(2).  BA= .294.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 6/1.  ERA= 1.71.
Drew Bowlin(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.40.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(3).  ERA= 1.59.

Marlowe now has 2 strong starts in a row.  He seems to be pitching to more contact and putting the ball on the ground.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets pounded the Lexington Legends 12-1:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 4 for 6, 2 SB(13).  BA= .270.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 4, 2 BB, SB(6).  BA= .313.
Shayne Houck(DH)- 3 for 6, 2B.  BA= .417.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .247.
Trevor Brown(2B)- 4 for 5.  BA= .238.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.52.

Galindo has just 1 XBH out of 20 hits on the season.  He certainly has game changing speed on the basepaths though.  A SLG% of .284 is probably not going to cut it at higher levels, though.  I'm trying to decide whether SJ or Augusta has the stronger pitching staff.

Game Wrap 4/26/2013: Padres 2 Giants 1

Tim Lincecum had a dominant start wasted by an impotent offense.  Key lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, SB(2). BA= .289.  Pagan scored the Giants only run in the first inning with a single, steal of 2B, advanced to 3B on a ground out and came home on a WP.  Posey and Belt also had 2 hit games but those 3 players had 0 for 4's space in between them that effectively killed off any incipient rallies.

Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.64.  Timmy gave up a leadoff single to the opposing pitcher, Cashner, in the 3'rd inning then 3 consecutive 2-out singles at the back end of the inning.  Aside from that small hiccup, he was vintage Timmy.  Unfortunately, Cashner and the Padres bullpen made it stand up.

The Loss put the Giants in 2'nd place tie with the D'Backs 2 games behind the NL West leading Rockies who beat the D'Backs 6-3.  The Dodgers topped the BrewCrew 7-5 to remain at 3.5 games behind the division leaders.  The last place Pesky Padres are 7.5 games off the pace.

Barry Zito takes the mound against Eric Stults in a 5:40 start today.

Down on the Farm: 4/25/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies pounded the Reno Aces 11-5:

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 2 for 4, HBP.  BA= .365.
Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B, Assist.  BA= .212.
Francisco Peguero(LF)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .419.
Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 1 for 2, 3B, 2 BB, SF.  BA= .365.
Brett Pill(1B)- 1 for 5, HR(5).  BA= .354.
Juan Perez(3B)- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .260.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 3 for 5.  BA= .371.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.86.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.00.

Pegs lights it up on his return from the DL.  Maybe this game will get Brownie going.  I think I've said that a couple times already this season.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels idle.

High A  San Jose Giants beat the Modesto Nuts 6-2:

Devin Harris(LF)- 1 for 3, HR(4), HBP.  BA= .257.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 3, HBP.  BA= .193.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 3 for 4, 3B.  BA= .283.
Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .340.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.54.
Tyler Anderson(LHP, Nuts)- 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.93.

Angel V is hitting .308 over his last 10 games.  Tyler Anderson was the Rockies first round draft pick in 2011, while Blach was the Giants 5'th rounder in 2012.

Low A  Game 1  Hagerstown Suns shut out the Augusta Greenjackets 4-0:

Chris Stratton(RHP)- 6 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 11 K's.  ERA= 2.38.

Dominant K's from Stratton there, but he gave up those walks and got bit by a longball.

Low A Game 2  Augusta Greenjackets edged the Hagerstown Suns 3-2:

Shayne Houck(DH)- 2 for 2, HBP.  BA= .400.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.19.
Derek Law(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 0.60.

Down on the Farm: 4/24/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies were idle.

AA  Altoona Curve beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-2:

Joe Panik(2B)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .288.

Andrew Susac(PH)- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .264.

Phil McCormick(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.73.

High A  San Jose Giants pounded the Modesto Nuts 10-5:

Shawn Payne(LF)- 2 for 5, SB(7).  BA= .274.
Elliott Blair(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .269.
Devin Harris(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .254.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .175.
Myles Schroder(2B)- 1 for 1, 3 BB, BA= .333.
Edwin Escobar(LHP)- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.89.
Luis Rojas(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.07.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets vs  Hagerstown Suns postponed.

Game Wrap 4/24/2013: D'Backs 3 Giants 2

What started out as a ferocious pitcher's duel between Madison Bumgarner and Ian Kennedy gave way to a bullpen contest that leaked into extra-innings with the Snakes prevailing in the 10'th inning.  Key Lines:

Brandon Crawford- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .320.  Oh my!  Stay hot, Brandon!  Crawford was already the #1 ranked SS in MLB by fWAR at 1.2.  I'm pretty sure he tacked a few 10'ths of a point on to that today.

Madison Bumgarner- 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.87.  I think it's pretty clear that Bumgarner is the new staff ace.  He got Cained in this one, though.

With the Loss, the Giants fell 1.5 games behind the NL West Division leading Rockies who beat the Braves 6-5.  The D'Backs are now just 2 games behind the Rockies in 3'rd place.  The Dodgers remained 3 games back after a loss to the Mets.  The Padres are 8.5 games back in last place, pending the results of their late game against the BrewCrew.

The Giants now get tomorrow off the travel to San Diego to take on the Padres in Petco Park.

Down on the Farm: 4/23/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies beat the Tucson Padres 4-2:

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 3 for 4, SB(4).  BA= .357.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .354.
Brett Pill(1B)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .367.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.19.
Sandy Rosario(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.55.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.00.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Altoona Curve 3-0:

Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .217.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 1.42.

Ricky is hitting .303/.359/.424 over his last 10 games.  Seems like Fitz deserves a shot at AAA.

High A  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 6-5 in 13 innings:

Ryan Cavan(3B-2B)- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .333.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .171.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .238.
Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .333.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.64.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.74.
Jeff Soptic(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.23.

Angel V is hitting .283 with a SLG% of .623 over his last 10 games.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets stung the Hagerstown Suns 3-1:

Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 3, HBP.  BA= .319.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .186.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.71.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Personally, I think Agosta and Stratton need to move up sooner rather than later. You don't learn much dominating a league you should dominate.

Game Wrap 4/23/2013: D'Backs 6 Giants 4

The Giants offense awoke from a deep slumber to score 4 runs in the 8'th and 9'th innings to tie the score at 4-4, but the D'Backs came back to win it in extra innings.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .293.  Pagan has made himself into a tough out.  He may not walk as much as you'd like a leadoff batter to, but he sees pitches an grinds out AB's.

Brandon Belt- 2 for 2, HR(1).  BA= .222.  Belt almost brought the house down with a game tying 2 run dinger in the bottom of the 9'th.  Alas, it ended up going for naught.  Belt now is 3 for 3 since his batting practice with Bruce Bochy.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 5, 3B.  BA= .296.  Crawford continues to be dangerous and create runs at the bottom of the Giants lineup.

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 6.59.  I know Baggs said it's not a velocity problem, but Cainer rarely breaks 91 on the gun anymore.  He just can't get away with location mistakes like he could when he could pump 93-96 for 7 or 8 innings.

Despite the Loss, the Giants gained 0.5 games on the Rockies who lost both ends of a doubleheader to the Braves, leaving the Giants 0.5 games out of first place.  The D'Backs are now 2 games behind the Rockies.  The Dodgers topped the Mets 7-2 behind Clayton Kershaw and are now 3.5 games back of the lead.  The Padres lost again putting them 8 games back in last place in the NL West.

Madison Bumgarner takes on Ian Kennedy who always seems to be tough on the Giants tomorrow afternoon.

Down on the Farm: 4/22/2013

AAA  Tucson Padres outslugged the Fresno Grizzlies 8-6:

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 2 for 5, SB(3).  BA= .333.
Cole Gillespie(LF)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .259.
Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 4, 3B, HR(4).  BA= .368.
Johnny Monell(C)- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .297.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 7.13
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.13.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.25.

At this point, I would say Roger K is the clear callup if an OF is needed on the big club irrespective of which side of the plate he bats.  Kickham is learning from the PCL school of hard knocks for pitchers.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels pounded the Altoona Curve 10-6:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .267.
Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .280.
Andrew Susac(C)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .245.
Travious Relaford(PH)- 1 for 1. BA= 1.000.
Phil McCormick(LHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.87.

Adrianza continues his surprising hitting prowess.  Panik has his second multi-hit game in a row.  Well, well, well!  Look who shows up as a pinch-hitter in AA!  Shankbone is going to be bursting his buttons!  Not sure what this is all about but it's inneresting.

High A  San Jose Giants had the night off.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets had the night off.

Game Wrap 4/22/2013: Giants 5 D'Backs 4

The Giants won a stirring come-from-behind win over the D'Backs capped by Brandon Belt's walkoff hit in the bottom of the 9'th inning.  Key Lines:

Marco Scutaro- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .243.  Nice 2-hit night for Scoots.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .301.  Sandoval continues to amaze by not having a strike zone.  The only way to pitch to him is to intentionally walk him!

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .250.  I think Buster is officially hot.

Andres Torres- 2 for 4, SB(2). BA= .306.  Torres just missed a HR or double up the left-center alley. He is hitting the ball with the same authority I remember from 2010.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 1.  BA= .197.  Belt took a special batting practice supervised by Bruce Bochy himself.  Boch then showed faith in him by sending him out there late in a close game on the double switch and then letting him bat against the LH pitcher.  Belt delivered the walkoff hit!  Talk about an ending worthy of a movie!

Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, 2 HR.  ERA= 5.68.  Once again I thought Vogie pitched much better than the score indicated.  For one thing, he was battling a very tough strike zone by the ump.  Not saying it was an unfair strike zone, but it was very tough.  I have to say that to my eye, the zone Miley got was just a hair more liberal.  For Vogie to go a full 7 and keep his team in the game, was an accomplishment.

The Win upped the Giants record to 13-7, 1 game behind the Rockies who had their game snowed out in Denver.  The D'Backs fell 3.5 games off the pace and 2.5 behind the Giants.  The Dodgers were idle and remain 5 games behind the Rockies while the Pathetic Padres lost to the BrewCrew 7-1 to fall 8.5 games off the pace.

Matt Cain faces Patrick Corbin tomorrow evening at AT&T Park.

Down on the Farm: 4/21/2013

AAA  Tucson Padres defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 5-4:

Brett Pill(1B)- 3 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .346.
Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .359.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 3 for 3.  BA= .362.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.00.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Reading Fightin' Phils 4-3:

Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .268.
Javier Herrera(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .317.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .196.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 1 for 1, 3 BB.  BA= .180.
Jack Snodgrass(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.01.

Good to see Panik's name in the highlights.

High A  San Jose Giants pounded the Inland Empire 66'ers 8-3:

Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .324.
Ryan Cavan(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .329.
Villalona, Zambrano, Lofton, Haney- 2B each.  Zambrano added a single.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.08.

Tomlinson has raised his BA all the way from sub-Mendoza territory to .324 with 7 hits in his last 2 games.  Mejia gave up all 3 runs on a 3 run dinger.

Low A Game 1  Augusta Greenjackets edged the Kannapolis Intimidators 1-0:

Joe Biagini(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 6/1.  ERA= 3.45.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(5).  ERA= 0.00.

The Giants obviously see something they really like in Biagini.  This might be his best game as a pro, or ever for that matter.

Low A Game 2  Kannapolis Intimidators dominated the Augusta Greenjackets 8-2:

Chuckie Jones(RF)- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .175.

Game Wrap 4/21/2013: Giants 5 Padres 0

The good Barry Zito showed up today and held the Pathetic Padres scoreless through 7 with Chad Gaudin finishing them off over the last 2 innings.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .301.  Pagan led off the game with something like a 9 pitch AB.  Later he drove in the first Giants runs with 2 run double and then scored on Sandoval's single.  That first AB set the tone though as Posey led off the 2'nd inning with a 12 pitch AB and the Giants hitters were the Pesky ones today.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4.  BA= .290.  Pablo was swinging at everything but made enough contact to get 2 base hits out of it.  Nose to toes, baby!

Buster Posey- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .232.  Gotta start from somewhere.  Hopefully this HR helps Buster get it going.

Andres Torres- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .281.  So far, the Torres/Blanco platoon is working out fine.  I think Torres hits the ball with a bit more authority, though.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3.  BA= .317.  Crawford has already run up an amazing 1.2 fWAR over the first 3 weeks.  That's what great hitting on top of great defense at a premium position will do for you.

Barry Zito- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.42.  Good to see Zito shake off a bad start and get after 'em.

Chad Gaudin- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.73.  Jack of all trades reliever looking like another tremendous under-the-radar offseason pickup by the Giants brass.

With the Win, the Giants move up to 1.5 games behind the first place Rockies in the NL West.  The Rocks lost to the D'Backs 5-4.  The D'Backs remained 1.5 games behind the Giants in 3'rd place.  The Dodgers topped the Orioles to gain a game to 5 behind the Rockies and 3.5 behind the Giants.  The Pathetic Padres remained mired in last place 8 games behind the leaders.

Ryan Vogelsong takes the mound against Wade Miley in the first of a 3 game set with the D'Backs tomorrow evening.

Down on the Farm: 4/20/2013

AAA  Tucson Padres defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 5-4:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .356.
Brett Pill(1B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .313.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 2, 2B, 3 BB.  BA= .313.
Juan Perez(3B)- 1 for 3, BB, Sac., 2 SB(4).  BA= .281.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.86.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, 2 WP.  ERA= 0.00.
Sandy Rosario(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.22.

With Peguero injured, Gary Brown struggling and Gillespie getting only sporadic playing time, it looks like Roger K is the last man standing in the OF depth chart race.  Runzler has been lights out.

AA  Game 1:

Reading Fightin Phils edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-2:

Joe Panik(SS-2B)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .222.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .170.
Edwin Quirarte(RHP)- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.53.

AA Game 2:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(2).  BA= .264.
Joe Panik(2B)- 3 for 4.  BA= .254.
Javier Herrera(LF)- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .304.
Craig Westcott(RHP)- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.63.

High A  San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66'ers 4-2(I attended this game):

Elliott Blair(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .286.
Myles Schroder(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .350.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 1 for 2, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .216.
Kelby Tomlinson(SS)- 3 for 4.  BA= .250.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 10/3.  ERA= 1.80.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, 1 HR.  ERA= 0.82.

Angel V hit the ball on the nose twice:  A lineout to LF and a hard grounder throught the hole on the left side.  He appears to have much better command of the strike zone than when I saw him 3 years ago in High Desert.  Looks like the Ryan Cavan to 3B experiment is done.  I really like what I saw of Myles Schroder at 3B both Thursday night and tonight.  Nice size, athleticism in the field. Switch-hitter with a good approach and swing.

Chris Marlowe appeared to have excellent command.  I would say he was pitching to contact more than recent boxscores would indicate.  He was a groundball inducing machine tonight.  The stadium gun was not working again tonight.  I would estimate Marlowe was working in the low 90's with the fastball.

Bryce Bandilla is a big boy.  He threw noticeably harder than Marlowe.  He did give up 3 very long flyballs, 2 of which were called foul(1 of the fouls might have been a HR. It was a disputed call and I thought it could have been called either way without instant replay.

Low A:  Kannapolis Intimidators edged the Augusta Greejackets 3-2:

Eric Sim(C)- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .179.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/2.  ERA= 2.04.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.38.

Game Wrap 4/20/2013: Giants 2 Padres 0

The Giants mustered just 3 hits off Padres' pitching, but one of them was a 2 run homer by Pablo Sandoval that was the difference in the game.  A stellar pitching performance by Tim Lincecum and the bullpen made it stand up.  Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 3, HR(3).  BA= .277.  Pablo has been kind of quiet lately.  This dinger came at a perfect time.

Tim Lincecum- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.97.  That is the best line Timmy has put up in recent memory.  Let's hope this turns a corner for him.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(8).  ERA= 2.08.  8 Saves in 9 appearances.  Yup, that Blown Save in Chicago sure exposed Romo, didn't it?

The Win increased the Giants record to 11-7 and kept them 2.5 games behind the NL West leading Colorado Rockies who topped the D'Backs again 4-3.  The Loss dropped the D'Backs 4 games behind the division lead.  The Orioles swept a twinbill from the Dodgers dropping da bums 6 games off the pace while the Pathetic Padres dropped to 8 games behind in last place.

Barry Zito tries for the sweep tomorrow facing Eric Stultz.

Hot Tip: Jean Segura Steals First Base

Gotta check out this story and video of Jean Segura's misadventures on the basepaths.  He actually stole 1B, although I don't think he got credited with a SB.  LOL!

Down on the Farm: 4/29/2013

AAA  Tacoma Rainiers topped the Fresno Grizzlies 4-2:

Gary Brown(CF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .212
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .258.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 13 K's.  ERA= 6.23.

That is the type of line we need to see more often from Brownie.  Petit gave up a 3 run dinger to Liddi in the first inning and a solo shot to Eric Thames later.  In between, he was dominant.

AA  Reading Fightin' Phils vs Richmond Flying Squirrels postponed.

High A  Inland Empire 66'er's spanked the San Jose Giants 7-1:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(6).  BA= .310.
Myles Schroder(3B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .313.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 2 for 4.  BA= .200.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 9/4.  ERA= 1.59.

I liked what I saw of Schroder in the first game of the series.  He's got nice size, athletic looking, switch hits, nice approach at the plate.  I wasn't able to make it to the game last night. I would like to see Blach in person. The line is typical of a soft-tossing LHP.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets vs Kannapolis Intimidators postponed.

Game Wrap 4/19/2013: Giants 3 Padres 2

Seems like the Padres always play the Giants tight. Tonight was no exception as the Giants needed a walkoff hit by Angel Pagan to squeak out a 3-2 win.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .318.  Pagan scored the Giants first run on a Sac Fly by Posey then drove in the winning run with a double to the RF wall.  I'm not so sure it's a good thing to be the hero of a walk-off win because you get pummeled so hard by your teammates!

Buster Posey- 1 for 2, 2B, BB, SF.  BA= .224.  This is the type of game that might get Buster's bat going, which would be a huge boon to the Giants offense.

Hunter Pence- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .265.  Pence drove in Buster Posey all the way from 1B on a double down the LF line.

Brandon Belt- 2 for 4.  BA= .193.  Belt's first hit was a hard one hopper that skipped past a diving Everth Cabrera.  The second was a blooper down the LF line.

Gregor Blanco- 3 for 4.  BA= .292.  Even though it does not show up in the boxscore, Blanco should be credited with scoring the winning run.  He led off the 9'th with a single.  Was forced at 2B on a Sac. bunt attempt by Torres.  Torres then picked himself up by stealing 2B setting up Pagan's winning hit.

Madison Bumgarner- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 2.05.  Strong performance by Bumgarner came just short of his 4'th Win in 4 starts.

George Kontos- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.10.  The ERA is not pretty, but Kontos got some big outs as he has done in several other Giants wins this year.

Santiago Casilla- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.93.  Casilla was lights out in this one.  He got credit for the W, his 2'nd of the young season and 3'rd decision.  That is as many decisions as most of the starters!

With the Win, the Giants kept pace with the NL West leading Rockies who stayed 2.5 games ahead by beating the D'Backs 3-1.  The D'Backs fell to 3'rd place 0.5 games behind the Giants.  The Dodgers game in Baltimore was postponed by rain leaving the Bad Guys 4.5 games behind the division leading Rockies while the Pathetic Padres dropped to 7 games off the pace.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound tomorrow evening against Clayton Richard.

Down on the Farm: 4/18/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies won a see-saw game with the Tacoma Rainiers 11-6 in 11 innings:

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 3 for 6, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .358.
Cole Gillespie(LF)- 3 for 6, SB(2).  BA= .273.
Brett Pill(1B)- 2 for 4, HR(3), BB, SF.  BA= .300.
Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 4 for 6, 2 2B, 3B.  BA= .365.
Todd Linden(DH)- 3 for 6, 2B.  BA= .308.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 6, 2 2B.  BA= .276.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.02.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.69.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.29.

Nice game to pad the old stat line.  Wild line from Bonser on many levels.  The bullpen was impressive.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels pounded the Reading Fightin Phils 7-1:

Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .204.
Mark Minicozzi(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .244.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 1.93.
Seth Rosin(RHP, Phils)- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.81.

Ricky's mom was very happy with this game.

HIgh A  San Jose Giants dominated the Inland Empire 66'ers 5-1(I attended this game):

Shawn Payne(LF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .309.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .155.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.93.
Austin Fleet(RHP)- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.08.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.08.

Crick left the game after two innings with a strained oblique.  I did not see any indication of injury while he was on the mound.  He did not come out for the 3'rd inning.  To my eye, Crick has a very hard two seam fastball that sometimes has so much armside run he has trouble controlling it.  On most of the pitches called balls, he wasn't missing by a lot.  He has a nice hard curveball to go with it.

Austin Fleet had great command of a FB that looked like it might be sitting right around 90 MPH and a very sharp breaking ball that completely dominated the 66'er hitters.

I did not stay long enough to get a scouting report on Osich.

Angel Villalona looked terrific at the plate.  He was first pitch swinging on the double and lined a laser beam directly over the head of the LF off the base of the LF wall.  The single was on a 2-2 count and was a sharp groundball through the hole on the left side of the IF.  Angel V appears to have lost some weight and is in decent shape.  He is definitely not thin, though.  I would describe his running style as lumbering on the basepaths.  The bat though...the bat has the potential to be special!

Mac Williamson is tall and surprisingly a bit on the lanky side for a guy who is listed as weighing 240 lbs.  It looks to me like he may run into some of the same problems was Brandon Belt and other tall hitters getting tied up on pitches on the inside corner.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets beat the Kannapolis Intimidators 5-1:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 2 for 4, SB(11).  BA= .264.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(5).  BA= .310.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .254.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.08.
Derek Law(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.73.

Strong start from Stratton.  I wonder if the Giants might promote him the SJ if Kyle Crick is going to miss several weeks with the oblique?

Game Wrap 4/18/2013: Brewers 7 Giants 2

The Brewers pounded Matt Cain to build a 7-0 lead after 3 innings.  Even though Cain and the bullpen held the BrewCrew scoreless the rest of the way, the offense was too little, too late.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 4, SB(2).  BA= .250  With Scutaro sitting, Blanco hit in the 2 hole and did well.

Brandon Crawford- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .352.  Crawford moved up to #5 in the order and hit like a number 5 hitter.

Matt Cain- 6 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 7.15.  As Cain has cut down on his BB's, he seems to be more hittable.  Cain has always been able to suppress HR's and all of a sudden he's giving them up in bunches.  My impression is that as he has used his breaking pitches more, he is also hanging more of them and those are the pitches that are getting clobbered.

The Loss drops the Giants season record to 9-7, 2.5 games behind the Rockies in third place in the NL West.  The Rockies topped the Mets 11-3 to go to 11-4 and a 2 game lead over second place Arizona.  The D'Backs beat the Yankees 6-2.  The Dodgers were idle and fell to 4 games behind the Rockies. The Padres were also idle.  They are 6 games back in last place but coming off a sweep of the Dodgers(had to mention that).

The Giants now return to AT&T Park to face the Pesky Padres with Madison Bumgarner facing Edinson Volquez in the opener of the series.

Down on the Farm: 4/17/2013

AAA  Tacoma Rainiers blasted the Fresno Grizzlies 8-0:

Mike Kickham(LHP)- 3.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 6.39.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.00.

Grizzlies managed just 3 hits off James Paxton and 2 relievers.

AA  Altoona Curve outlasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1 in 11 innings completing a game that was suspended yesterday:  Nothing new to see here.

Altoona Curve edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-3:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .261.
Javier Herrera(LF)- 1 for 2, HR(3), 2 BB.  BA= .277.
Jameson Taillon(RHP, Curve)- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.00.

Adrianza continues to be surprisingly effective at the plate.  Taillon is an elite pitching prospect in the Pirates organization.  If you haven't seen him blow away Joe Mauer in the WBC, I highly recommend looking up the video.

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

Shawn Payne(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .300.
Elliott Blair(CF-1B)- 1 for 3, BB, SB(2).  BA= .276.
Myles Schroder(3B)- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .300.
Edwin Escobar(LHP)- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.84.
Jeff Soptic(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 8.00.
Seth Frankoff(RHP, Ports)- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.00.

The downside to getting all those K's is it runs up pitch counts.  I don't know anything about Frankoff except he has a funny name.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets topped the Lexington Legends 4-3 in 14 innings:

Tyler Hollick(CF)- 1 for 6, 3B, BB, SB(4).  BA= .206.
Benjamin Turner(DH)- 2 for 5, 2B, BB.  BA= .244.
Stephen Branca(1B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .346.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 1 for 6, 2B, 2 SB(4).  BA= .304.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 K.  ERA= 1.06.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.26.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Gregorio looks like he might be having a breakout year in the early going.  Nice multi-inning outings by Gardeck and Johnson.

Game Wrap 4/17/2013: Brewers 4 Giants 3

The Giants battled the Brewers to a standstill only to lose on a walkoff in the bottom of the 9'th inning.  Key Lines:

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4. BA= .320.  Crawford got the first hit off Kyle Lohse in the 6'th inning starting a 3 run rally to tie the score.

Pagan, Scutaro, Sandoval, Pence- 1 hit each.  The Giants had no XBH's in this game.

Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.89.  I thought Vogie pitched better than the score indicated.

Santiago Casilla- 1.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.25.  Bochy must have thought his bullpen needed rest because Casilla seemed shaky from the get-go.  He went to a 2-0 count on almost every batter.  Way more leash than he deserved from his performance and level of command.

With the Loss, the Giants drop 1.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies who were idled by snow in Denver today.  The D'Backs lost to the Yankees and are 2 games behind the Rockies in 3'rd place.  The Dodgers are sitting at 3 games behind the leaders and trailing the Pesky Padres 3-1 with Clayton Kershaw on the mound.  The Padres are 6 games behind pending the outcome of their game against the Dodgers.

Matt Cain tries to salvage a win in the series facing Yovani Gallardo who is coming off a DUI in which is blood alcohol level was reportedly 2.2.  Yikes!  Now watch him pitch a perfect game.

Down on the Farm: 4/16/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies topped the Tacoma Rainiers 3-2:

Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .261.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .390.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.50.

I think Hembree will be up in SF by mid-season provided he stays healthy.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels vs Altoona Curve suspended after 9 innings tied 1-1:

Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .222.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 3 for 3, BB.  BA= .196.
Taylor Rogers(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Phil McCormick(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.08.

Hopefully this game will get Panik and Ricky going.

High A  San Jose Giants edged the Stockton Ports 2-1:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .304.
Elliott Blair(CF)- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .269.
Ryan Cavan(3B)- 2 for 3, 2B,  BA= .382.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .135.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K.  ERA= 1.06.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(2).  ERA= 0.00.

Another dominant performance by Blackburn.  He now has 21 K's against just 2 BB in 17 IP with a GO/AO= 1.42.  Bandilla continues to be ridiculously dominant and now has 21 K's in just 9 IP.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets downed the Lexington Legends 2-1:

Matt Duffy(DH)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .320.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .250.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.84.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(4).  ERA= 0.00.

Better start by Agosta than his last one, but a lot of walks here.

Game Wrap 4/16/2013: Brewers 10 Giants 8

The Giants offense put up a spirited effort, but it was not enough to overcome the 9 run mess Barry Zito left in the bed.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .340.  Pagan is doing his job at the top of the lineup.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SF.  BA= .320.  Sandoval is playing like Sandoval.  I'm still looking for huge season from him.

Brandon Belt- 3 for 4, SF, SB(2).  BA= .191.  Maybe this game will get Belt going.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .304.  Nice article in Fangraphs today about Crawford and how his improved hitting is probably for real.  I said the same thing in response to an article by Howard Bender during the offseason and got flamed for it.  Crawford keeps this kind of hitting up, and I think it is entirely possible, combined with his defense and we could be looking at a MVP caliber season.

Nick Noonan- 1 for 1.  BA= .538.  Don't anyone wake Nick Noonan up. He's unconscious!

Barry Zito- 2.2 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.86.  Zito runs hot and cold.  Not sure which is which, but we'll say he was cold today.  It kind of started out as a BABIPing in the 3'rd inning, but as it progressed, he turned into a batting practice pitcher.  I tend to believe Bochy left him in 1 or 2 batters too long.   There is plenty of history of when things start to go south on Zito, they go in a hurry.  Not that he was fooling anyone, but Gomez' HR hit the foul pole and Weeks' 2-run double hit the chalk on the LF foul line in addition the the BABIP whims I referred to earlier.

The Loss left the Giants 0.5 games behind the Rockies who defeated the Mets in the first game of a twin bill.  They are tied 8-8 in extra innings on game 2, so that outcome will leave the Rockies a full game ahead or tied with the Giants.  The D'Backs lost to the Yankees 4-2 to remain 0.5 games behind the Giants.  The Dodgers trail the Padres 8-1 in their game, so will likely remain 1.5 games behind the Giants while the Padres would improve to 5 games behind in last place.

Ryan Vogelsong takes the mound tomorrow evening facing Kyle Lohse.

Down on the Farm: 4/15/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies out hit the Tucson Padres 12-11:

Gary Brown(CF)- 3 for 6, 2B, 3B, Assist(home).  BA= .240.
Brett Pill(1B)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .313.
Juan Perez(3B)- 4 for 4, 2B, 3B, HBP.  BA= .333.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 3 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.80.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.13.
Brett Bochy(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 27.00.
Sandy Rosario(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.87.

Gotta feel sorry for pitchers trying to make an impression in the PCL.  Places like Tucson, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs are almost unfair to try to pitch in, which makes Dunning's performance all the more impressive here.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels shut down the Altoona Curve 2-0:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .275.
Javier Herrera(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .293.
Skyler Stromsmoe(3B)-2 for 3, BB.  BA= .231.
Jack Snodgrass(LHP)- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 12/2.  ERA= 2.20.
Tom Vessella(LHP)- 1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.96.

Adrianza continues to hit.  This was the 3'rd start for Snodgrass. He has a terrific GO/AO= 2.33, but pedestrial K and BB ratios.

High A  San Jose Giants pounded the Stockton Ports 12-6:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 1 for 4, BB, SB(5).  BA= .302.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .286.
Ryan Cavan(3B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .365.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 4, 2 HR(3), BB.  BA= .125.
Chris Lofton(LF)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .281.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.04.
Austin Fleet(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.86.
Luis Rojas(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.93.
Hunter Strickland(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

3 dingers in 2 games for Angel V!  Disappointing start for Mejia.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets pounded the Lexington Legends 7-3:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .261.
Travious Relaford(3B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .244.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 4. BA= .304.
Andrew Cain(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.

Cain is a big guy with some tools.  His line at S-K last summer:  .243/.338/.343 with 2 HR, 5 SB.

Off Day AQA

We haven't done a Q/A for awhile.  Since the Giants are off today, we'll do one.  All reasonable baseball related questions answered to the best of my ability, Giants, prospects, draft, fantasy.  Hope everyone will chip in with their thoughts and make it a discussion too.

Down on the Farm: 4/14/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies mauled the Tucson Padres 11-6:

Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .342.
Juan Perez(3B)- 2 for 5, 2 HR(2).  BA= .263.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .188.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .375.
Todd Linden(PH)- 1 for 1, HR(1).  BA= .286.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.80.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Quite the slugfest here with Juan Perez muscling up for 2 dingers and Carter Jurica continuing his hot hitting.  I guess we should remember that Jurica was a 3'rd round draft pick once upon a time and hit very well in college ball.

AA  Trenton Thunder blasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 15-1:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .263.
Adam Duvall(DH)- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .378.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .154.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.72.

Adrianza's hitting has been a pleasant surprise so far.  Ricky's bat seems to be slowly warming up. He has a 4 games hit streak, but also had 8 K's in those 4 games.  I like seeing Valdez go more than 1 inning at a time.

High A  San Jose Giants topped the Visalia Rawhide 8-6:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .308.
Elliott Blair(CF)- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .263.
Devin Harris(LF)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .302.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .091.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Payne is an on-base machine at the top of the order.  The Giants must see something in Blair that does not show up in stat lines.  They keep giving him chances.  Angel V hits his first dinger!

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets vs Charleston River Dogs game was suspended after 13 innings tied 7-7:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 4 for 7, 2B, 3 SB(9).  BA= .256.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 1 for 6, BB, 4 SB(5).  BA= .222.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 5, BB, SF.  BA= .286.
Andrew Cain(LF)- 1 for 4, 2B, BB, SF.  BA= .250.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.59.
Derek Law(RHP)- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.90.
Steven Okert(LHP)- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 9.00.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 0.00.

Galindo and Relaford ran wild on the bases.  I like seeing the groundball tendency from Johnson.

Game Wrap 4/14/2013: Giants 10 Cubs 7

The Giants won a see-saw battle in a game that left pitchers on both teams visibly frustrated by the umpire's miniscule strike zone.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence- 3 for 4, HR(4), BB, SB(3).  BA= .288.  Apparently The Reverend is becoming known among Giants fans by a much less dignified nickname, Under Pants.  There were orange undies glued upside down to the tops of caps in the stands today, much to the delight of Kruk and Kuip.  Pence is on a pace to hit 48 HR's and 36 SB's on the season.  Hey, he's playing for a contract!

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .281.  Blanco had two very key hits and made some sparkling plays in the OF.

Hector Sanchez- 2 for 5.  BA= .214.  Sanchez started the winning rally with a 1 out single in the 10'th.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, BB, HBP.  BA= .286.  Crawford was, once again, a tough out in the 8-hole and had several sparkling plays in the field including a sliding catch down the LF line that had to be seen to be believed.

Nick Noonan- 1 for 1.  BA= .500.  Noonan rapped a 2 run single in the top of the 6'th inning to help get the Giants back into this one.  Even giving them a temporary 5-4 lead.

Tim Lincecum- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.63.  I knew it might be a tough day for Timmy when I heard Kruk discussing this umps K-zone in the top of the first.  When Timmy gave up 2 dingers and 4 runs to the first 5 batters of the game, I was about this close to thinking this game might be better off with less of my involvement in it.  I'll give credit to Timmy for hanging on and getting through 4 more innings while limiting the damage.

George Kontos- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 7.71.  Kontos had a huge inning in front of his homies.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(7).  ERA= 2.35.  Romo certainly wasn't fooling anyone.  It did not look good after he gave up a leadoff double to Soriano.  Fortunately he had a 3 run lead to work with and the next two balls were smoked but right at fielders including the second one right back at Romo.  This outing was a perfect example of why Saves are probably a grossly overrated statistic.

Bottom of the order watch:  The 6-9 spots in the order, including PH, went 7 for 19 with 3 BB's and 1 HBP.

The Win improves the Giants record to 9-4.  They win a 4 game series in Chicago for the first time since 1998 or something like that.  The D'Backs defeated the Dodgers 1-0 to remain 0.5 games behind the NL West leading Giants.  The Rockies edged San Diego 2-1 and are also 0.5 games back.  The Dodgers dropped 1 game off the pace with their loss while the Pathetic Padres fall 6.5 games off the pace in last place at 2-10.

The Giants have tomorrow off before starting a 3 game series in Milwaukee, where Buster Posey's bat has come alive in the past.  Barry Zito gets game 1 Tuesday night facing Wily Peralta.

Hot Tip: Carlos Quentin's HBP Zone

Terrific article over on Fangraphs by Dave Cameron entitled Carlos Quentin's HBP Zone.  Go check it out, everybody.

Down on the Farm: 4/13/2013

AAA  Tucson Padres beat the Fresno Grizzlies 5-3:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .225.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .235.

AA  Trenton Thunder shut out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 4, SB(1).  BA= .244.
Andrew Susac(C)- 0 for 1, 3 BB.  BA= .346.

High A  San Jose Giants won a pitching duel over the Visalia Rawhide 1-0:

Shawn Payne(DH)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, 2 SB(4).  BA= .278.
Myles Schroder(2B)- 2 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .500.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.64
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Hunter Strickland(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Andrew Barbosa(LHP, Rawhide)- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 0.82.

A leadoff hitter putting up lines like Payne's is going to score runs.  Blach was a single digit draft pick who did not play in the pros last season.  Bandilla now has a ridiculous 17 K's in 7 IP.  Barbosa was drafted 3 times by the Giants before finally signing with the D'Backs.  The White Whale that got away.

Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Charleston River Dogs 4-1:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 5, 3 SB(6).  BA= .194.
Matt Duffy(SS)- 3 for 5, SB(2).  BA= .270.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .167.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.45.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Fantasy Focus: Replacing Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes is a terrific fantasy baseball asset when he is healthy, but the man is made of glass.  Yesterday, Reyes severely sprained his ankle in a slide into 2B and will likely miss 3 months.  I thought he was a big risk moving to a home stadium that still uses artificial turf, although this injury does not seem to be related to the surface.  The guy who owns him in my fantasy league paid a handsome price in our auction draft, somewhere in the mid-$30's.  I got Ian Desmond for right at $20.  I liked my deal at the time and it's looking a lot better now.

One interesting question is who might be available on the FA market in a fantasy league to fill in for Reyes over the next 3 months.  Here is a list of shortstops available in my league(10 team league):

Andrelton Simmons(Braves)- 7 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB, .206 BA.  Likely to improve his BA and SB numbers.  Could score close to 100 runs over the course of the season if he continues to lead off for the Braves.

Zack Cozart(Reds)- 4 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, .114 BA.  Cozart will give you some HR's but little else as he hits down in the Reds lineup and hits for a poor BA.

Jean Segura(Brewers)- 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, .429 BA.  Segura has not stolen bases as expected so far, but has done everything else.  He is hitting second in the BrewCrew lineup some too.

Jhonny Peralta(Tigers)- 2 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB, .316 BA.  Peralta will give you a decent BA and some power. Nothing exciting and not much upside.

Stephan Drew(Red Sox)- 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, .167 BA.  Could be a nice pickup if you believe he is healthy and still has something in the tank.

Brandon Crawford(Giants)- 5 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, .286 BA.  Well, well, look what we have here!  Crawford may be the second best bet of all these choices.  Only drawback is he'll mostly be hitting 8'th, but the bottom of the Giants lineup has become quite productive.  Even the pitchers give the #8 hitter some semblance of protection.

Marwin Gonzalez(Astros)- 5 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, .364 BA.  I don't know how likely he is to sustain this kind of hitting.  He definitely won't be hitting .364 on the season.  Might be worth a flyer to see how long he stays hot, though.

If I needed to pick up a SS in my fantasy league, I think I would go with Segura with Brandon Crawford as my second choice, Simmons third.

Game Wrap 4/13/2013: Giants 3 Cubs 2

The Giants eked out a narrow win over the Cubbies on another frigid day in Chicago.  The key to the game, which doesn't show up in a stat line is the Cubs had runners at 2'nd and 3'rd two times, first with no outs and then with 1 out and came away with nothing to show for it.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 5.  BA= .259.  Blanco also has a .394 OBP.  He moved over to CF when Angel Pagan came u with a sore wrist after hitting the wall yesterday.  Pagan entered the game later as a PH and played CF, so it must have been more of a precaution.

Marco Scutaro- 3 for 4.  BA= .286.  After a slow start, Scutaro is back to being a hit machine.

Andres Torres- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .269.  After seeing how much authority he is hitting the ball with in some AB's from the left side, I'm not so sure Torres shouldn't be the every day LF and let Blanco come off the bench.  Torres is stroking it from gap-to-gap.  On the other hand, he struck out 3 times in this game too.

Madison Bumgarner- 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.77.  Bochy might have left Bumgarner in 1 batter too long, but I can see how he wouldn't be too afraid of Navarro batting from the right side after he hit a dinger from the left side yesterday.

Santiago Casilla- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 1.50. Casilla came in and slammed the door for 2 innings, saving the game and giving the rest of the bullpen some rest in the process.

The Win improves the Giants record to 8-4.

Tim Lincecum tries for the 3'rd win in a 4 game series tomorrow facing Edwin Jackson.

Comment: An Ugly Side of Baseball

One of the uglier aspects of baseball, a sport that is comparatively safe in terms of contact and injury, is the fact that almost every pitcher in the game holds a potentially lethal weapon in his hand and the potential to "accidently" use it on every play.  I say almost every pitcher because it is hard to imagine Barry Zito so much as hurting anyone with anything he throws, but 95% of pitchers in baseball throw harder than Barry Zito.

It is a fact of life that to be a successful major league pitcher, you have to be willing to occasionally remind certain hitters that you do have that lethal weapon and would be willing to use it if they don't respect it.  It is a standard part of baseball pitching strategy to occasionally throw some "chin music" AKA brushback pitch up there.  I mean, they didn't nickname Sal Maglie "The Barber" for nothing.

I remember attending the infamous Giants-Dodgers game where Steve Finley hit the walk-off grand slam.  The irony of that game is it might have been the best game Brett Tomko pitched as a Giant, maybe in his career.  Late in that game, Adrian Beltre was leaning over the plate a little too much and Tomko threw a pitch up and in that sent Beltre bailing out so hard he was flat on the ground.  Next pitch was a slider down and away that Beltre had no chance on.  Huge strikeout.  A Dodger fan sitting next to me murmured that it was great pitching.  He understood the science of the game and knew it was part of good pitching strategy.

Carlos Quentin is a very good major league hitter, at least when he is healthy, at least in part because he has taught himself to be not afraid of the lethal weapon in the pitcher's hands.  Quentin went to college at Stanford.  Stanford is well known to teach it's hitters how to get hit by pitches in order to 1.  Get on base and 2. Force pitchers to throw pitches in locations more favorable to the hitters.  Quentin has carried that ethic over into his MLB career.  There was even a SI or BA article about it a few years ago, can't remember which one, but I remember the article.  

I have no problem with what Quentin is doing up at the plate.  It's within the rules of the game and if he's willing to take the punishment in return for the gain, he certainly has a right to.  Kudos to him for finding a way to win.  I do have a problem with him doing that and then charging the mound when he gets hit.  Come on dude!  If you are up there trying to get yourself hit, just go down to first base since that's what you wanted in the first place!

There has been a lot of discussion about whether Greinke hit Quentin on purpose.  After watching the video, I have to say I am not sure, but that pitch sure went straight for his shoulder.  It was not a situation where a pitcher would typically try to hit a batter, even in retaliation for something.  3-2 pitch, close game, later in the game.  On the other hand, the way Quentin stands on top of the plate, and with the weakness of he Padre lineup around him, Greinke may well have decided he was not going to give in and throw a strike there and if he was going to walk him anyway, he'd send a message at the same time.

Greinke did use poor judgement in the way he defended himself.  He was smart to not try to use his right hand for a fist or let Quentin body slam him, thus endangering his right arm, but a running body check with his left shoulder also was probably not a wise move.  I have to say I'm not sure what a good defensive response might have been, but obviously not that one, but that is hindsight.  

Baseball is getting perilously close to a situation like in hockey where you can send a goon out to injure the opposing team's star player and the asymmetry of the relative abilities and punishments makes it profitable for the instigating team.  We've already seen that with Scott Cousins and Buster Posey.  Quentin's 8 game suspension in no way equals what the Dodgers lose in Greinke being out 8 weeks.  I'm not sure I'm in favor of a strick eye for an eye type of justice where the attacking players sits as long as the injured player is out, but MLB definitely needs to look at longer harsher penalties for actions that lead to injuries to opposing players.  

One more thought:  I believe there is a rule in MLB that a hitter has to try to get out of the way of an inside pitch in order to be awarded first base.  The most famous enforcement of this rule occured a long time ago when a Giants hitter, I think maybe Dick Dietz was not awarded first base thus preserving Don Drysdale's streak of scoreless IP.  I would like to see that rule enforced more often for hitters like Quentin.  I'm sorry, but turning your front shoulder inward is not trying to get out of the way.  In fact, it's trying to get hit!  Enforcing that rule would put a stop to hitters standing over home plate and not moving, thus putting pitchers in positions where they might feel they have nothing to lose by hitting the batter.

While I'm at it, I would also like to see the rule changed so that player cannot get first base if their baggy uniform that flies out 6-8 inches away from their body gets hit but they don't.  That is a ridiculous rule and needs to be changed.

Down on the Farm: 4/12/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Tucson Padres 7-4:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B, CS(2).  BA= .194.
Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .412.
Francisco Peguero(RF)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .441.
Roger Kieschnick(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .333.
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.00.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.80.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(3).  ERA= 0.00

The CS bug is still biting Gary Brown.  I'll make a flat out prediction here:  We're going to see Heath Hembree pitching in SF before the season is done, barring injury, of courese.

AA  Trenton Thunder beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-3 in a game completed after 8 innings due to rain:

Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .375.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .360.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.25.

Duvall and Susac continue to supply the offense for the Squirrels.  Fitzgerald pitched OK in a short outing.

High A  Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 12-6:

Shawn Payne(LF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(2).  BA= .265.
Ryan Cavan(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .350.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.17.

Crick threw 87 pitches in his 3.2 innings of work.

Low A  Charleston River Dogs outlasted the Augusta Greenjackets 2-1 in 11 innings:

Benjamin Turner(1B)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .292.
Tyler Hollick(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .211.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 0.90.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.29.
Brandon Farley(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.18.

A little more dominance from Stratton in his second start.

Game Wrap 4/12/2013: Cubs 4 Giants 3

The Giants staged to 3 run rally in the top of the 9'th inning to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, except that they gave it all back in the bottom of the inning converting Kyuji Fujikawa's Blown Save into a Win.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 4.  BA= .341.  There were two balls in the 9'th that Pagan might have been able to catch.  I'll give him a pass on the last one that hit the wall in right-center.  The only way he could have had that was to make a running leaping catch at full speed and crash into the bricks.  Better to live to fight another day.  The other was an attempt on a sliding catch of a short liner off the bat of David DeJesus.  Tough catch, but the ball was there. Pagan just misjudged where it was and didn't get his glove in the right spot.  Still, Pagan is fielding at a +UZR in a tiny sample size so far this season, so we'll won't criticize too much here. He'll make more plays than he fails to make.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .167.  Belt drove in the putative tying and winning runs in the top of the 9'th, onlhy to have to go for naught with Romo's Blown Save.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 2, BB.  BA= .286.  Crawford also has a .390 OBP.  He's become a tough, tough out.

Matt Cain- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K.  ERA= 5.94.  Cain threw a lot of pitches in the first two innings, but hung in there and ended up with a QS and gave his team a chance to win.

The Loss drops the Giants record to 7-4 and 0.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The D'Backs blanked the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw 3-0 behind Patrick Corbin and their bullpen.  The Loss drops the Dodgers into a tie for 3'rd place with the Rockies at 1 game back.  The Rockies topped the Pathetic Padres 7-5 and dropped them 4.5 games back in last place with a record of 2-8.

Madison Bumgarner faces Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija tomorrow in another day game.

Down on the Farm: 4/11/2013

AAA  Las Vegas 51's pounded the Fresno Grizzlies 14-3:

Francisco Peguero(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .448.
Juan Perez(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .241.
Andrew Klown(sorry, I couldn't resist)- 1.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K.   ERA= 12.15.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

AA  Trenton Thunder edged the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5 in 11 innings:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 6.  BA= .276.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 5, 2 HR(2).  BA= .318.

Susac struggles all season in San Jose then comes out smoking to start the season in Richmond after almost being sent back to San Jose.  As Vin Scully would say, "go figure."

High A  San Jose Giants scored a walkoff win over the Visalia Rawhide 3-2:

Shawn Payne(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .258
Devin Harris(DH)- 2 for 4.  BA= .333.
Chris Lofton(CF)- 3 for 3, Sac.  BA= .231.
Ydwin Villegas(2B)- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .375
Edwin Escobar(LHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Jorge Bucardo(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.45.
Hunter Strickland(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00

Is Bucardo working his way back into prospect status?  Villegas is hitting uncharacteristically well.  Interesting that he's playing 2B with Bobby Haney at SS.

Low A  Augusta Greenjackets blanked the Charleston River Dogs 3-0:

Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .310.
Jesus Galindo(CF)- 0 for 3, BB, HBP, 2 SB(3).  BA= .222.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 0.82
Derek Law(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 0.00.

Dominant line from Gregorio.  The 6'7" righty has 13 K's against just 1 BB in 11 IP.  He had a 5.54 ERA last year in Salem-Keizer, but pretty good peripheral stats.

Game Wrap 4/11/2013: Giants 7 Cubs 6

The Giants offense continued in high gear to overcame a subpar day from the pitching staff.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, SF.  BA= .350.  The bottom of the order got on base and the top of the order drove them in.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 2, 2 BB, HBP.  BA= .273.  Crawford showed he could handle the 2-hole as he reached base 4 times out of 5 PA's.  he drove in a run, but had no runs scored to show for it.

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.  Sandoval had the only XBH of the game for the Giants.

Nick Noonan- 3 for 5.  BA= .455.  Noonan has never stopped hitting since being called back from minor league camp.

Ryan Vogelsong- 0 for 1, BB, Sac.  BA= .000.  Another Giants pitcher shows he can handle a bat and help himself win.  The 6-9 spots in the order went a combined 5 for 16 with 2 BB, scored 5 of the 7 runs and drove in 1.

Ryan Vogelsong- 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 7.15.  Again, Vogie's peripheral stats look better than his ERA would indicate.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(6).  ERA= 0.00  Romo has been perfect so far.

The Win improved the Giants record to 7-3 and gained them a 0.5 game lead on the idle D'Backs.  The Dodgers can move into a second place tie with a win over the Padres tonight.  The idle Rockies fell to 1.5 games out and the Padres will be either 3.5 games behind or 4.5 depending on the outcome of their night game against the Dodgers.

Matt Cain takes the mound tomorrow facing  former Giants farmhand Carlos Villanueva.

Down on the Farm: 4/10/2013

AAA

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .440.
Cole Gillespie(LF)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB. BA= .333.
Brett Pill(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .250.
Chris Dominguez(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .167.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Sandy Rosario(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 7.71.

Heston has 16 K's against just 2 BB's in 12 IP this season, although his GO/AO is upside down and he's given up 3 dingers.

AA  Bowie Baysox topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-6:

Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .417.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .222.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.35.

Like seeing Valdez stretched out a bit.

High A  San Jose Giants lost a marathon in 13 innings to the Stockton Ports 4-3:

Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K', GO/AO= 8/3.  ERA= 0.82.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Catcher Eliezer Zambrano pitched the final 1.2 IP and was the loser.  Blackburn has 12 K's against just 1 BB in 11 IP with a GO/AO= 1.86 over his first two starts.  All 6 of Bandilla's out came via K's.

Low A  Savannah Sand Gnats blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 7-0:

Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.   BA= .269.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.12.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Not quite the same results as his first start for Agosta.

Game Wrap 4/10/2013: Giants 10 Rockies 0

The Giants unleashed a ferocious offensive attack on Jeff Francis the Rockies' pitching staff, while Barry Zito's renaissance continued to gain momentum.  The result was a dominant win to sweep the 3 game series.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .361.  Pagan continues his hot start.

Marco Scutaro- 2 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .235.  Scooter is 6 for his last 11 and has raised his BA from .111 to .235 over the last 3 games.

Buster Posey- 3 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .276.  I would say Buster has busted out of his slump too.

Brandon Belt- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .148.  After Belt took an 0 for 5 last night, I suspected he might sit against the LHP, but Bochy stuck with him and he had a good day at the plate.  Gotta be a confidence booster there.

Andres Torres- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .286.  Last night and today, Torres looked like the Torres of 2010 when for the middle 4 months of the season, he might have been the best player in baseball.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .258.  Crawford has become a force out of the 8 hole.

Barry Zito- 2 for 3, Sac.  BA= .750.  Zito has turned himself into a tough out.  Whether it is fouling off pitches and running up pitch counts or a well executed sacrifice bunt or slapping the ball to LF, he has really figured something out at the plate and his helping himself win.

All in all, the last 4 batters in the lineup went a combined 9 for 18 with 3 doubles, 5 Runs and 4 RBI's.  I'm tellin' ya, the bottom of the lineup has become a major weapon for the Giants.

Barry Zito- 7 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB,  4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Ironically, when Barry Zito signed his contract, I think most of us thought it would be OK on the front end but terrible by the end.  It's turning out to be exactly opposite of that.  Gotta think having a missus to go home every day has had a major positive effect on Zito's concentration and focus.

The Win improves the Giants record to 6-3 tied with the D'Backs for first place in the NL West.  The D'Backs pounded the Pirates 10-2.  The Dodgers are leading the Padres 4-1.  A win would leave them 0.5 games behind in 3'rd place.  A loss would drop them 1.5 games behind, 0.5 games behind the Rockies in 4'th place.

The Giants now fly to Chicago for an afternoon game tomorrow.  Ryan Vogelsong faces Scott Feldman.

Down on the Farm: 4/9/2013

AAA  Fresno 4  Las Vegas 1

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 2 for 3, Sac.  BA= .429.
Carter Jurica(SS)- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .375.
Jackson Williams(C)- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .188.
Yusmeiro Petit(RHP)- 6 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.06
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 0.00.
Zack Wheeler(RHP, 51's)- 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.12.

I guess the 8 hits allowed is a clue that these numbers may not translate to the majors for Petit.  He's just too hittable.  Kind of a so-so start for Wheeler.  You'd like to see more dominance at this level before you bring  him up to the MLB level.

AA Bowie Baysox out hit the Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-7:

Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .208.
Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .240.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .450.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 1 for 2, 2B, BB, HBP.  BA= .267.
Craig Westcott(RHP)- 5 IP, 4 H,1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 1.00.

Duvall continues his hot hitting.  So far, Parker is doing at least as well at AA as he did in San Jose.  Ricky is struggling.

High A  San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports 5-2:

Eliezer Zambrano(C)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .200.
Elliott Blair(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(1), HBP, SB(1).  BA= .375.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Jeff Soptic(RHP)- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.60.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

That is a lot better start for Mejia than last year in Augusta.  Osich and Soptic are hard throwers who showed their strikeout stuff here.

Low A  Savannah Sand Gnats stung the Augusta Greenjackets 7-2:

Mitch Delfino(3B)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .227.
Benjamin Turner(1B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .357.
Travious Relaford(2B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .250.
Mason McVay(LHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

McVay is a big LHP who may have starter potential.

Game Wrap 4/9/2013: Giants 9 Rockies 6

Brandon Crawford hit a 3 run homer in the 6'th inning to spark a come-from-behind win for the Giants over the Rockies at AT&T Park.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 3 for 5.  BA= .364.  Pagan is starting this season where he left off last year, smoking hot.

Marco Scutaro- 3 for 4, Sac.  BA= .194.  The BA shows just how much Scutaro was scuffling coming into this one.

Hunter Pence- 2 for 5.  BA= .300.  The Rev stays hot.  He lost another hit when his line drive went right into the glove of the 2B.

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .231.  Blanco's OBP stands at .412.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .231.  This Brandon was the hero tonight. His 3 run dinger was the game changer bringing the Giants back from a 6-2 deficit to 6-5.  The rest was easy.

Andres Torres- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= .188.  Torres' double over the head of Cuddyer in RF reminded me of the way he swung the bat for much of 2010.  

Tim Lincecum- 6 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.91.  Timmy had a terrible 2'nd inning but hung in there and got through 6 innings.  3 of his walks came in the 2'nd inning including the opposing pitcher.  Had he gotten Nicasio there, he would have been out of the inning with just 1 run allowed.  So, we'll see.  I'm not quite ready to give up on Timmy having a good season quite yet.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(5).  ERA= 0.00.  Romo faced 3 LH batters and dominated.  He's developed a nice 2 seam FB and tailing changeup combination that allows him to attack LH batters with almost as much confidence as RH batters.

The Win brought the Giants season record to 5-3 and into a first place tie with the Rockies and D'Backs who lost to et Pirates 6-5.  The Dodgers lost to the Pesky Padres 9-3 to fall 0.5 games off the pace while the Padres tightened up the division bringing their last place standing to just 2.5 games behind.

Barry Zito faces Jeff Francis in an afternoon game tomorrow.

Down on the Farm: 4/8/2013

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

Kensuke Tanaka(2B)- 3 for 5.  BA= .389.
Francisco Peguero(RF)- 4 for 5.  BA= .455.
Roger Kieschnick(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .471.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.60.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.00.

Pegs and Roger K are red hot.  Do you think they sense a callup opportunity on the horizon and there is some competition for it?

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels outslugged the Bowie Baysox 12-10:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .286.
Joe Panik(2B)- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .200.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 3, HR(2), BB, BA= .438.
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .231.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .357.

Duvall keeps this up and his stock will go way up.  Susac is off to a very nice start.  He almost got sent back to SJ.

High A  San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports 8-2:

Ryan Cavan(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .429.
Devin Harris(DH)- 1 for 3, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .350.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 1 for 1, HR(1), 2 BB.  BA= .273.
Chris Marlowe(RHP)- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.93.

Mac Williamson came out of the game after 1 AB. Chris Marlowe was effectively wild.

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

Matt Duffy(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .313.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .222.
Rafael Rodriguez(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .176.
Benjamin Turner(1B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .364.
Eric Sim(C)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .300.
Joe Biagini(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.15.
Derek Law(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Stephen Johnson(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 0.00.

I think Duffy might have some sleeper potential.  Derek Law has been lights out so far.  Looks like Stephen Johnson is the Closer for Augusta.

Game Wrap 4/8/2013: Giants 4 Rockies 2

Hunter Pence hit a 3 run dinger in the first inning and the Giants pitchers did not need the insurance run they got in the 8'th inning.  Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 3, HBP.  BA= .360.

Hunter Pence- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .280.  The Rev gave Bumgarner a nice lead to work with right off the bat.  In the end, it was enough.

Madison Bumgarner= 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.32.  Bummy did not have good command walking at least 3 leadoff batters and going to numerous 3-2 counts.  He ultimately fell 1 out short of a QS.

Santiago Casilla- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.  Casilla looked very confident out there tonight.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(4).  ERA= 0.00.  A bit of a scare when Rutledge hit a leadoff double that was nearly a HR.  I was never too worried because of the insurance run the Giants got in the bottom of the 8'th.

The Win upped the Giants record to 4-3.  The D'Backs lost to the Pirates so the Giants are now 1 game behind the NL West leading Rockies and D'Backs in 4'th place.  The idle Dodgers are in 3'rd place 0.5 games behind the leaders.  The Padres were idle and are now 3.5 games behind in last place.

Tim Lincecum takes the mound tomorrow evening facing Juan Nicasio.

Down on the Farm: Transactions

More transactions listed in BA"

Released:  RHP Kevin Couture, RHP Willy Lebron, RHP Mitch Mormann, RHP Shawn Sanford, RHP Kyle Vazquez, LHP Franklin Noel, LHP Matt Yourkin, 2B Carlos Willoughby, 3B Daniel Mayora, OF Mike Merganthaler.

Matt Yourkin caught on as the batting practice pitcher for the SF Giants.  That is possibly an entry into coaching.

7 day DL:  RHP Brett Bochy, RHP Drew Bowlin, RHP Jose Casilla, RHP Edward Concepcion, RHP Paul Davis, RHP Jacob Dunnington, RHP Austin Fleet, RHP Stephen Harrold, RHP Shane Loux, RHP Jon Meloan, RHP Taylor Rogers, RHP Ryan Sadowski, RHP Justin Schumer, RHP Mason Tobin, LHP Kelvin Marte, LHP Carlos Teller, C Trevor Brown, C Tyler LaTorre, C Brad Moss, C Jesus Navarro, 2B Brock Bond, 3B Myles Schroder.

Down on the Farm: 4/7/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies edged the Tacoma Rainiers 5-4:

Francisco Peguero(RF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .353.
Brett Pill(1B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.
Cole Gillespie(LF)- 3 for 4, SB(1).  BA= .385
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save.  ERA= 0.00.

Frankie Pegs and Cole Gillespie carrying over their spring training success.  A not bad start for Kickham.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels squeaked by the New Britain Rock Cats 3-2 in 11 innings:

Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .300.
Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 5.  BA= .176.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .385.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .300.
Justin Fitzgerald(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.70.
Phil McCormick(LHP)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Jose Valdez(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

A strong showing at the plate in AA for Adrianza could raise his stock dramatically.  Duvall is raking it in the early going.

High A  San Jose Giants topped the Visalia Rawhide 5-3:

Bobby Haney(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .286.
Shawn Payne(LF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .333.
Mac Williamson(DH)- 2 for 5, 3B, HR(2).  BA= .353.
Ryan Cavan(3B)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .438.
Devin Harris(RF)- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .353.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.60.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Jeff Soptic(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.00.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.00.

Williamson stays hot.  Dominant line for Bandilla.

Low A  Lexington Legends downed the Augusta Greenjackets 5-2:

Stephen Branca(LF)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .444.
Charles Jones(RF)- 2 for 4, SB(1).  BA= .273.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Steven Okert(LHP)- 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Game Wrap 4/7/2013: Cardinals 14 Giants 3

Did you know there is a reference to baseball in the Bible?  In the big inning.....  The Giants were on the wrong end of a big inning today as the Cardinals scored 9 runs in the 4'th and went on to a runaway victory on Ring Day for the Giants.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .333.   Pagan led off the Giants half of the first inning with a triple up the left-CF alley.  He added a 2B in his next AB.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4.  BA= .318.

Matt Cain- 3.2 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 8.38.  Cain was perfect through 3 and then the roof caved in.  Can't really say he was BABIP'd because most of the hits were liners that were squared up pretty good.  Not sure how you can look so good for 3 innings and suddenly completely lose it, though.

Chad Gaudin- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Gaudin's job was to preserve the bullpen in a lost cause of a game.  He did that admirably.

With the Loss, the Giants fell into 4'th place, 2 games off the pace set by the D'Backs and Rockies.  The Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-2 and are now in sole possesssion of second place, 1 game behind the leaders.  The Pathetic Padres lost again to the Rockies and are now 1-5, 4 games behind in last place.

The Rockies now come to SF with Jorge De La Rosa facing Madison Bumgarner in game 1 tomorrow evening.

Fantasy Focus: Savvy Vets Completes A Trade

With 1 day to go in the first week's head-to-head matchup, my Savvy Vets fantasy baseball team is leading 7 categories to 1 with 2 categories tied.  Friday marked the completion of the first trade in our fantasy league with Savvy Vets trading away closers Carlos Marmol, Glen Perkins and Kyuji Fujikawa for RHP Alexi Ogando.

The rationale for the trade is that those closers were not enough to be competitive in most head-to-head matchups. Instead of working all season and using up half my 40 allotted moves to maybe build a competitive bullpen, why not fill those RP slots with pitchers who can help in other categories  and try to dominate W's and K's while hopefully remaining competitive in ERA and WHIP.

Ogando helps accomplish that goal was he is a SP with RP eligibility.  He turned in a sensational start before the trace was complete.  In 2011 as a starter, he had a very low WHIP which fits right in with my general strategy.

In accompanying moves, Savvy Vets added Shelby Miller, yesterday's starting pitcher for the Cardinals, who also has RP eligibility, from the waiver wire along with Andrew Cashner of the Padres.  Cashner is pitching out of the bullpen as he recovers from spring training thumb injury.  Bud Black has announced that he plans to move him into the rotation in the near future after he builds his arm strength back.

My strategy for building fantasy pitching staffs is to look for big, young, hard-throwing pitchers with big upside.  With Ogando, Miller and Cashner, I think I found 3 who fit that profile.