On Getaway Day from the 2014 Cactus League, the Giants fell behind the Rockies 6-0, then stormed back with 8 runs over the final 3 innings for the win. Key Lines:
Juan Perez- 1 for 1, SB(4). BA= .311. Colvin drew a walk and scored a run, but Perez has this thing locked down, right?
Hunter Pence- 1 for 2, HR(5), BB. BA= .362. We know Pence is not going to hit .362, but it sure is great to see the continuation of his power surge from last year. Far from a regression, I think we are going to see another big year from The Rev.
Jarrett Parker- 1 for 1, HR(1). BA= .222. Parker's blast cleared the batter's eye which is quite tall and 430 ft from home plate, a truly prodigious blast even by Cactus League standards. Oh, and Parker wins the award for Most Valuable Hair in camp too!
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .255. Adrianza played 2B and teamed up with Crawford on a sensational force play in which Crawford made a diving stop and Adrianza barehanded the feed. I bet that got the wheels turning inside the Ol' Melonhead!
Hector Sanchez- 2 for 3, HR(2). BA= .340. I'm tellin' ya. Anytime the Giants need or want to move Buster out from behind home plate, this kid is ready to go with a full time catching gig. Oh man, what a talent!
Matt Cain- 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 K. ERA= 7.47. OK, not gonna fret about a start on the final day of Cactus League with the wind blowing like crazy. Hmm, Hmm, no I'm not! Just getting his work in, that's all!
Yusmeiro Petit- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. Very nice tuneup for Petit.
Santiago Casilla, Jean Machi- 1 IP, 0 R. Machi walked 2.
Marco Scutaro said the diagnostic injection did not help his back. He then underwent a third epidural injection, which hasn't seemed to help much either. Scutaro conceded he will start the season on the DL and probably won't be ready for the second series either. This is sounding worse by the day. I'm beginning to think we are going to be fortunate to see Scoots at all this season!
Jeremy Affeldt goes on the DL with a strained medial collateral ligament in his knee. Am I the only one relieved to hear this news? Affeldt has been raving about how great he feels, but he sure has not looked good! This opens up another bullpen slot to start the season. Dan Runzler and Heath Hembree are accompanying the team to San Francisco for the Bay Bridge Series. JC Gutierrez might have the inside track on Affeldt's slot, though.
Speaking of Buster Posey, he was scratched from this one for "very, very, very" minimal hamstring tightness. Buster reportedly wanted to play.
Around the League:
Huge news out of LA! I have said all spring that Clayton Kershaw does not seem right. There was a piece by Kyle Boddy in Hardball Times yesterday about how even though he had good numbers in the opener in Australia, Kershaw's velocity was down and his mechanics were off. He had an MRI showing inflammation in his upper back and will miss his next start. He's hoping to be ready for the Giants series. I have to say, I have no idea what kind of a problem this might be, but it does not sound like something that is going to resolve in a few days.
Remember Seth Rosin? The Dodgers put him on waivers and he was claimed by the Texas Rangers. The Rangers will be the third team to hold his rights after he was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Mets. If he does not stick with one of these teams for a full season, he has to be offered back to the Phillies for $25 K.
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J.C. Gutierrez, huh? Don't know much about this guy but velocity charts indicate he works his fastball right around 95 mph.
ReplyDeleteI think they might go with Law.
What's the 40 man move? Strickland to 60 day DL?
Hector Sanchez may ultimately cost Belt playing time and may ultimate get Belt shipped out of town - unless Posey moves to third.
And about that time Andrew Susac will be knocking on the door.
DeleteBelt is going nowhere. If someone needs to move to 1B, Belt would just move to LF. And no way Hector hits so well that Belt loses any playing time.
DeleteAnd Posey to 1B full-time just does not make sense when he can play other positions. His bat would be average playing 1B fulltime, the only reason he plays there is to get some rest from catching while keeping his bat in the lineup.
I agree with OGC. Posey is an unusual and unique talent and I think he'll be able to make a challenging transition to either 2B or 3B, where his defense may actually end up being above avererage....simply based on the fact that nothing Buster does is anything but above average. ;)
DeleteThere are a number of different scenarios that could play out including trades that could include Belt. The only given in my mind is that Buster Posey won't be traded!
DeleteNice gamer, DocB.
ReplyDeleteSaid it before, saying it again, Scoots back ain't seeing the field until med-season at best. If three epidurals and a nerve block ain't nailing the problem, then there is a REAL problem. Rehab, prayer, surgery. Not an easy path. Hope he makes it back, miss watching his contact rich ABs.
Man looking at the starter's stats (minus MadBum), all I can say is time to get the hell out of AZ and back to the rainy Bay. Tired of hearing about no grips, pop flies flying out, and thin air with no break. Real balls by the Bay, I say.
Feeling good about the Giants offense tho, it's long and got some bench depth. Hector Sanchez is the bomb. No fear.
Its in the by-laws. Mark DeRosa. Freddy Sanchez. Now Scoots. You have to have 6MM parked on the bench/DL. The Giants Way.
DeleteAlways followed by a World Series win, right!
DeleteYou forgot about Dave Roberts and I believe that Affeldt is also making $6M per year.
DeleteHe hasn't looked very good all spring, and could Kershaw's problem date back to his last game in 2013?
ReplyDeleteNot surprised by Affeldt's injury. These days, any time a player underperforms, the first suspicion is injury, then mechanics, then low psychic energy, then the normal ups and downs, except if he is a rookie (in the case, maybe he is nervous, not that good or just adjusting) or a very old player (in that case, it's age before injury).
Hey, a new metric IM/PE+nUD regressed against Rnbad or xVOP*years.
DeleteHow is the correlation between low psychic energy and low T ?
DeleteI will have to consult my astrologer and will get back to you later on that.
DeleteHe's a Gemini, don't forget to mention that...
DeleteHe also stepped on the chalk line and changed underwear when he was not supposed to.
DeleteOK, this discussion is getting into MCC territory! I do suspect that Kershaw's problems started with the final postseason game in 2013.
DeleteWant to test out my PDuD formula on Huff and Rowand first.
DeleteIf it started with that final 2013 game, and with several months of rest (Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb), and he still not better, what do you speculate, if possible, medically?
DeleteI would not want to speculate. I can't say I've read a report on a pitching injury quite like this before, though. For now, we'll just go with the inflamed muscle explanation. Those usually don't get better overnight and I won't be shocked if other issues surface in the future.
Delete