3-2 seems to be the Giants magic score this spring as they won by that score for something like the 4'th time in 5 games. Brandon Hicks took Clayton Kershaw deep in the second and drove in all 3 runs while Edwin Escobar overcame the butterflies and some squeezing by the ump. Key Lines:
Brandon Hicks- 1 for 2, HR, 2 BB. BA= .429.
Edwin Escobar- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 0 K. ERA= 1.50. I was following on Gameday. There were several pitches called balls by the ump that were well within the K zone on the Pitch Fx monitor. I thought the kid did a good job of keeping his composure settling down to limit the damage. Afterwards, Bochy hinted that Escobar might be getting close to being the first option for reserve starter.
Jason Berken- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.50. Nice effort by Berken who has MLB experience and could work his way into the reserve starter mix.
Jean Machi- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.15. Machi certainly did not hurt his cause in making the roster as he bailed out Melonhead Jr in the 8'th and then slammed the door in the 9'th all with just a 1 run lead on the Dodgers.
Clayton Kershaw(Dodgers)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 10.00. Better than his first 2 starts of th spring and better than his last start of 2013, but still not exactly what you expect from Kershaw. I don't know what his velocity was, but it looked like he laid a lot of pitches right out over the plate on the Gameday strike zone. The pitch that Hicks hit out was belt high and down the middle with nothing on it.
Madison Bumgarner pitched 5 shutout innings in the Future's Game. I could not find boxscore, but the Giants won that one 8-0.
Long article by Alex P on Extra Giants about Gary Brown. Sounds like he and the Giants are still not quite on the same page. Kind of a mixed reaction from me here. I agree with Brown that he should not become a slap/groundball hitter, especially since he only bats from the right side. That approach just isn't going to work. Agree with Bam Bam and the organization that he needs to hold his hands higher.
Barry Bonds arrives in camp tomorrow.
Around the League:
RHP Kris Medlen, Braves, left today's game holding his right elbow and was diagnosed with the dreaded "forearm strain." He will likely start the season on the DL. The next headline you read in those kinds of injures is usually about a visit to Dr Andrews.
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Doc,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you have a twitter handle or not but i would really recommend following @giant_potential for some good spring training camp pics and info. He also has a web page with some great info too. http://www.sfgiantpotential.squarespace.com/
He said that Ysla was stting 93-95 in the futures game.
I'll probably just link his website. It's a good one.
DeleteGreat site, Anon. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteI think Brown should do and become whatever the Giants think he should. He sounded very defiant in the article, like he wasn't evening try to at times. Sounds like he may be now a bit but I think the kid has an attitude that could come back to bite him. Also, it is not just about his hitting, his base stealing is terrible too. He can't blame that on the Giants asking him to change his game. Hopefully a guy like Todd Linden can advise him of what happens when you don't listen.
ReplyDeleteI think players should have some input into basic longterm questions like whether they should try to be a gap power hitter or a slap hitter. Andres Torres tried for years to do what he was told and be a slap hitter. It wasn't until he was basically out of baseball and had nothing to lose that he re-tooled and became a gap power hitter with some loft in his swing. He ended up having just one season of success with it, but what a season it was and it never would have happened if he had just kept on doing what he was told.
DeleteOn the other hand, if there is a way he is holding his bat that is making him pop up, or if he is swinging at too many first pitches, he needs to listen to the people who can help him fix that and at least give it a try.
scully apparently said something about escobar that set all the faithful off
ReplyDeletei wasnt listening to the game at the time, so i have no idea what it was....but it seems the time change made vin really cranky
i have a feeling that kershaw is just getting work in and not showing much of his stuff
will have to wait for the season to start to see if all the work of the last 3 seasons has indeed had an effect on him...i wouldnt cry if it has
in the futures game, maddy looked good
bacci
Vinny was ticked that the Giants didn't send Bummy over to face Kershaw. He went on and on about how Escobar was a single A pitcher(he pitched half a season in AA) and it wasn't fair to the fans who had paid to see the game.
DeleteBochy has had policy the last couple of seasons that the Giants starters do not face division rivals in ST so the hitters don't get a preview before the season starts. I think that may be more mind games than anything else, but it didn't just start today. Besides, who goes to spring training just to see the same players you would see in the regular season. As the Jimmy Fallon character said in Fever Pitch, "I have to scout the players!" You go to get a look at phenoms, how kids do against veterans and who is going to win roster battles. Vinny got introduced to a young pitcher who he may well be describing during his MLB broadcasts before he knows it. Those Dodger fans will remember the name Edwin Escobar when he pitches his first MLB game against the Dodgers. They will say, "You know, he could be tough. Remember how he hung in there in that spring training game?"
Yeah, Vinny kind of went over the edge on something that really wasn't a big deal and should have been a positive for him if he had done his homework on the opposition.
well, escobar was a bit under the radar, despite being put 56 on the top 100 prospects list
Deletei was sure that he needed another full season of work before he would be ready...he is only 21
i was wrong...although a couple of months to work on secondary pitches in either fresno or richmond, couldnt hurt
i agree that he does get the call should anyone falter or get injured
i asked alex if he was working on getting an interview with broshuis re the lawsuit and he said that he was working on it....should be interesting
tomorrow is bonds day....will be great to see him back in a uni and i think he is gonna surprise some of the kids with how approachable and ez to listen to, he actually is
bacci
I think Vogey has until the All Star break, or less, to show if he is going to rebound from last year. If he hasn't and Escobar has shown anything in the minors, I think he will get the call. Will be too hard to keep their shiney new toy down plus they could use another left hander in the rotation.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think Vogey has less time than that. If he's getting shelled regularly, he could be gone by the middle of May. We'll hope that does not happen, but I think he will be on a short leash.
DeleteEscobar could use at least a few starts in AAA. Maybe 10. He's going to learn that advanced hitters control the strike zone better.
DeleteI was thinking that Berken could be a threat to Petit. His work today sounded superior than Petit's to date.
The thing about Brown that really caught my eye was how he holds his right elbow down by his rib. Strange.
DrB, do you think there are more pitching injuries in the spring training than the regular season, depending on how the offseason is spent?
ReplyDeleteI wonder about it because this is the time pitcher would 'power' up after a shutdown, almost like when the take-off or landing of a plane is the most critical part of the journey.
I tend to believe that pitching injuries are close to random events with harder throwers, i.e. high 90's, at more risk.
DeleteAlso, pitchers with prior injuries seem to be at more risk.
Delete