Tim Hudson pitched 6 strong frames while Juan Perez and Brandon Hicks bolstered their cases for roster spots with supporting dingers. Key Lines:
Buster Posey- 3 for 4. BA= .405. I'm starting to believe in a big season from Buster.
Brandon Hicks- 3 for 4, HR(3), BB. BA= .432. Hicks is absolutely unconscious right now. Definitely into Randy Elliott territory in terms of Giants history. Made a nice play at both 2B and 3B on defense to boot. Gotta think he's closing in on a roster spot. Speaking of….When was the last time Tony Abreu played?
Juan Perez- 1 for 4, HR(2), BB. BA= .308. Perez broke a 1-1 tie with a 3 run dinger. I noticed his swing on that hit. Short, quick to the ball. Holds the bat high and just drops the bat head down. That's a swing that will play in the majors. Hicks has a similar swing.
Tyler Colvin- 0 for 3, K. BA= .167. If there is a true competition for 5'th OF, gotta think Perez has it won. Maybe Colvin senses that too? He did make a nice sliding catch in RF on a Texas Leaguer.
Tim Hudson- 2 for 3. BA= .800. Wow! Giants pitchers have always taken pride in their hitting, but Huddy is coming in and schooling them on how it's done! No DH for him! I'm thinking we're going to see him as pinch hitter a few times this year. No wonder he didn't want to go to an AL team!
Tim Hudson- 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 6/8. ERA= 3.72. I didn't think Huddy was quite in mid-season form. To many flyballs. Then again, this is Arizona. That ball is going to be sinking a lot more in AT&T! Showed how to shut down rallies even without the strikeout pitch twice.
Jeremy Affeldt- 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 10.50. Another reason why David Huff might be in line for a roster spot. Affeldt clearly was not himself out there. Just doesn't look strong and his mechanics seemed to be all out of whack. On the other hand, he was the victim of some BABIP luck as the leadoff double had seeing eyes down the RF line and the next hit was a bouncer up the middle that would have been an out if it had been close to a fielder.
The game was on the White Sox station on TV. Hawk Harrelson and Steve Stone made my ears bleed once again. Those two clowns started talking about Kyle Crick. One of them asked the other what they thought of drafting HS pitchers in the first round. "That's the worst thing you can do with a draft pick!" Uh, hate to break it to you guys, but Matt Cain, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez and Madison Bumgarner would like to have a word with you! LOL!
In addition to the spring training cuts announced yesterday, Kameron Loe saw the writing on the wall and took his option to be released. I also learned that Carter Jurica left minor league camp on his own accord.
Around the League:
This is for those of you who wanted the Giants to sign Josh Johnson. He's going to start the season on the DL with a flexor muscle strain in the forearm.
Dodgers and D'Backs about to start Game 2 of the regular season Down Under with Hyun-Jin Ryu facing Trevor Cahill.
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Well they have to swallow Courtney Hawkins! I wouldn't be surprised if they go high school again.
ReplyDeleteJ
Yeah, Courtney was looking a bit portly out there today. Gotta be patient with the HS kids, though. Sometimes it can take 3-4 years of struggling before they get it.
DeleteDodgers vs D'Backs blacked out in SoCal unless you have Time Warner Cable. Wouldn't watch the Dodgers if there was anything else to do, except when they play the Giants.
ReplyDeleteAlex P mentioned that he is unimpressed with the D'Backs roster. Of course, losing Corbin for the season is a big blow, but yeah, Prado and Montero are decent players but not batting 4'th and 5'th!
ReplyDeleteHuge day for Hicks and Perez today, with Petit and Huff having big Friday night performances. Those 4 could all be on the 25-man, although I'd expect Hicks in Fresno is Scutaro is somehow ready for Opening Day. If he's not, I have no clue how the front office could justify Abreu over Hicks at this point (assuming Ehire gets the first IF spot). Perez has shown all the tools this spring. We know he'll run, catch and throw. Will he hit outside of AZ? I still think he makes a great 5th OF.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how great I feel about a Machi-Petit-Huff front end of the bullpen, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I have a feeling this bullpen will see some big turnover as the season progresses.
One more week!
I have long advocated for putting more guys in the bullpen who can go 2 innings or more at a time, so I'm on board with keeping both Petit and Huff. We'll just have to see how it works out, if that's what the Giants end up doing.
DeleteIt might be a good thing to keep 2 long relievers like Petit and Huff, since it gives them protection incase the SP starts off slow again...I think the bigger question for 2014 might be if the Giants younger bullpen arms like Hembree, Law, or Cordier will be good enough to step up if an injury occurs to a Romo or Casilla...
DeleteLG
LG
Law was darn impressive the one time I saw him. 94-96 MPH out if that whirling dervish delivery. Hembree has been solid both last year and this spring except for that one hiccup in his first spring appearance and that seemed like it was due to not being mentally ready for that first appearance. Cordier has a checkered history with his control/command, but has looked very good this spring. I just think the bullpen needs at least one of two of those young arms with overpowering stuff to start getting MLB experience. I like Machi, but he is what he is. I don't see much of a higher ceiling there. I think I'd rather see his spot go to one of the younger dudes who throws hard now and has upside.
DeleteThe way Bochy put it, it sound like they want to be covered in case the starters who we are hoping would comeback from subpar years falter.
DeleteI am just speculating, but perhaps Scutaro opens on the DL and, with his spring training numbers, I suspect there may be something physical with Abreu as well, and he also opens on the DL.
DeleteThat leaves Hicks and Adrianza to man 2B.
Boom! Abreu released today!
DeleteD'Backs not putting up much of a fight in Australia. Man, outside of Goldy, that lineup is really, really weak! He's not going to see many strikes this year, I would think.
ReplyDeleteDrB did you see Puig's line?
ReplyDeleteYeah, 3 for 5. He wrenched his back on his last AB and needs an MRI.
Deletefat boy turned down 3/40
ReplyDeletegoodbye pablo...its been nice knowing you
but no...you dont get paid for coming into camp finally in shape
bacci
Agreed. It'll be an interesting negotiation. Pablo gets hurt again, he might want something like that. But I don't blame him for asking for the Pence, he's the youngest hitter in a long time to hit FA, he plays at a position that doesn't have anything on the open market worth a can of beans, and he's still got a ton of potential. I don't think the Giants should throw the Pence at him, he hasn't earned it. But I do think some other team will pay him that... unless he gets hurt again.
DeleteOh boy Lincecum is so washed up. Never seen an athletes fall from grace to the gutter as quickly as this dude went.
ReplyDeleteHope we enjoy that 5.00 ERA and $17.5m a yr which will hurt the chances of Giants signing players for next yr
I am still hoping he will come through.
DeleteWe will probably go with at least 2 multiple-inning guys, as Bochy seemed to have indicated.
Perhaps it will all clear up in due time, but the prospect of the rotation seems to be a bit cloudy now.
Gotta admit, today's start was not encouraging.
Delete