Matt Cain pitched 5 perfect innings but the Cubbies came back with the help of some poor fielding. Key Lines:
Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 3. BA= .381 Pablo drove in the only two runs as Morse and Pence scored on his single in the bottom of the 4'th inning.
Matt Cain- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K. ERA= 0.00. It doesn't get much better than that. I didn't see what his stuff looked like, but the line would indicate that he was in complete control of everything. Wow!
David Huff- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 9.00. Huff makes his spring debut with so-so results. He's getting a late start, but the door is still open for that long relief/6'th starter slot.
Jeremy Affeldt- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.00. Not a great outing by any stretch, but Affeldt was hurt by a Keystone Cops play in which both Brandon Crawford and Tony Abreu committed errors.
Jose De Paula- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. De Paula continues to make impressive appearances in different roles.
Barry Bonds arrived in camp today for a weeklong stint as a special instructor. The press conference went as well as could be expected and better under the circumstances. He sounds happy and eager to be part of the Giants organization again. Great to hear he's living in SF now. He sounded humble when he said he isn't sure if he can be a good coach or not. He's here to find out.
I kind of feel like the 2 rings have taken a huge weight off the entire organization. Just think of how frustrating it would be to remember Barry's career if we were still waiting for the first one.
If you are interested in getting some great firsthand information about minor league camp, check out the website Giant Potential linked over to the left. Connor Penfold is the proprietor and he has terrific information with pictures and videos. Just a teaser: If you are impressed by the Giants wealth of young pitchers who were and are in big league camp, they have at least 2 more ready to join that group: Luis Ysla and Keury Mella. Remember those names and check out Giant Potential!
Around the League: While the Atlanta Braves await the outcome of Kris Medlen's MRI, Brandon Beachy, another TJ survivor, came out after 2 innings of a planned 4 inning start complaining of biceps tightness. The Bravos may be starting to regret thinking Tim Hudson wasn't needed anymore.
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Matt Cain! Barry! Despite a loss to the loveable losers, its a good day to be a Giants fan.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to the webz Shank. Your optimism and wisdom was missed during your (brief) respite.
DeleteWell thanks CC, you have to step away here and there...
DeleteCain is off to an impressive start, to say the least. In the "camp battle" department, it sounds like Abreu had a rough game. Error in the field, followed by a base running mistake. That'll get you on the expressway to the doghouse if you keep it up. With Adrianza and Hicks both impressing lately, Abreu needs to step up his game.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments about Barry and the rings. It was SO GOOD to see him with that SF logo on his chest today. I've missed that guy, and think this is a great step in the right direction by the organization. The picture of Bonds talking with Posey today was pretty cool. The former icon and a current icon, goo stuff.
Ysla looks solid in his first internet footage. Where the heck was this guy hiding out for the past 5 years?! Great work by Conner, indeed. Would love to take a trip down to AZ someday and get a better look at these kids.
Wow, 21 y/o Ysla! The Giants system is having a veritable renaissance of pitching prospects. Great blend of American kids and kids from the South American powerhouse nations, too. And jeez, then the mention that Mejia is 14 months younger than Luis...that says a lot about where Mejia is at and the success he's had so far!
DeleteSo, I don't know if you guys are all in the know about this but.....I stumbled across something of a gold mine the other afternoon:
https://sfgiants.app.box.com/shared/bk3ucnsdqi
It's basically the dropbox for everything media-related on the Giants, including all of the video clips from Spring Training. Enjoy! And perhaps keep it a bit on the down-low. Not sure if we're supposed to have access to this link or not...there does seem to be a log-in page associated with the site, in general.
Very interesting stuff. I'd never seen that before, although it doesn't really seem like something that would be a "hands-off" deal. Not to me, anyway. Thanks for the link.
DeleteI was able to find some highlights of the futures game from this weekend. Pretty sweet stuff!
DeleteSorry to nitpick above, but baseball hasn't quite yet evolved to include "South American powerhouse nations". When it comes to baseball, Venezuela and Columbia have seceded from the larger continent to join forces with the smaller island nations of the Caribbean. Caribbean baseball fever, catch it.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Caribbean ballplayers, how about the Abreu/Adrianza battle? One guy has a bad day and the other moves ahead. Blow by blow, this bout could go the distance. Unless Sabean trades Adrianza.
The problem with trading Adrianza is who or what do you trade him for? A pitching prospect? Yeah, like the Giants need more of those! A younger shortstop with higher upside? That's not going to happen! A catching prospect? The Giants aren't a perfect team, but they also don't have a lot of glaring needs at either the MLB level or in the organization.
DeleteAdrianza and Abreu are probably pretty close in terms of how much they can help this year, but which one are you more likely to regret letting go 3 years from now? I think that question is easy to answer. I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I am on Team Ehire.
Right now, I think the most likely scenario is Scutaro starts the season on the DL and they keep both Adrianza and Abreu an extra week or two to try to figure it out.
It seems to me like Hicks is starting to bypass Abreu as well. Their career MLB stats are nearly the same, with Abreu being a bit more consistent. However, Hicks doesn't come with nearly the injury risk...and his defense this spring has looked good. Add to that Hicks' spring play, and who knows - every team loves an unknown dark horse in the clubhouse.
DeleteGreat question Doc. I've been wondering the same thing: what position would the Giants trade for. I'd say outfielder with some options and some upside. Maybe somebody that can be stashed in AA this year but about ready for AAA. A guy that has the ability to control the K zone. Maybe a 3rd base prospect as well.
DeleteWhat kind of phone conversations is Sabean having right now? Is Adrianza developing some buzz outside of Giants camp?
Something tells me Sabean doesn't call other GM's to shoot the breeze. He'll make some calls when they decide who stays and who goes.
DeleteI assume the same. I imagine he may receive some phone calls. Should he choose to answer is entirely up to him.
DeleteAdrianza making one heck of a case as we approach the halfway point of ST.
He certainly did not hurt his chances today.
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