Hot Stove League Review: Reds

Last Hot Stove season, the Reds said **** that to an umpteenth year of the teardown/tank/rebuild from within model and decided to rebuild the old fashioned way, by you know, spending money and trading prospects for veterans.  That model carried over into this year's Hot Stove League.  You know what?  They haven't done a half-bad job of putting together a competitive team!  Here's a summary of their moves:

Free Agents Lost:  Kevin Gausman(RHP), Jose Peraza(IF), Alex Wood(LHP), Jose Iglesias(SS).

Free Agents Signed:  Mike Moustakas(IF- 4 years), Wade Miley(LHP- 2 years), Shogo Akiyama(OF- 3 years), Nick Castellanos(OF- 4 years), Pedro Strop(RHP).

Trades:  Acquired Justin Shafer(RHP) from the Blue Jays for Cash, Acquired Jose DeLeon(RHP) from the Rays for cash, Acquired Travis Jankowski(OF) from the Padres for international cap space.

Rule 5 Draft:  Picked Mark Payton(OF).

Summary:  The Reds already did the heavy lifting for pitching with trades for Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer and needed only a #5 SP.  They added a low cost option in Wade Miley who should be a lot better than Alex Wood was last season.  This was Sabes/Evans type offseason for the Reds who methodically added the missing pieces.  Moustakas will play 2B.  Akiyama should be a premium leadoff batter and take pressure off Nick Senzel.  Castellanos is a huge bat for the middle of he lineup and should be able to play the short RF in Great American Ballpark.  Strop adds depth to the bullpen.  Reds are now loaded enough that it is unlikely Shafer, DeLeon, Jankowski or Payton would have made the team.  They may now have a shot if rosters expand to 29 or 30 players.

One more thought:  What the Reds are doing now tells me once again that any team in MLB can afford to spend big money anytime they decide that's what they want to do.  I love the moves they have made and the team they have put together.  And you know what?  I am going to be rooting for them to succeed because I am so sick of the dogma that before you can rebuild, you have to teardown and tank and you aren't allowed to spend money on players until you are at a certain point the the process.

Grade:  A!

Blast From The Past: Your 1951 New York Giants!

I've always loved to look at lineups in boxscores and try to figure out what role each hitter played and how they contributed or didn't contribute to the success or failure of the team.  We've see mini-biographies for several key players on the legendary 1951 New York Giants team.  I'd like to finish that series up by posting their playoff lineup(it was the same for all 3 playoff games against the Dodgers) along with their stat lines.  It's fun to compare with other Giants lineups.  No offense to the great Giants lineups of the 1960's or the championship teams of the 2010's, but I think the 1951 lineup might be the best in Giants history!  Let's see what you think.

Starting Lineup:

Eddie Stanky(R) 2B  .247/.401/.369, 17 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 8 SB, 88 R, 43 RBI, 654 PA.
Al Dark(R) SS          .303/.352/.454, 41 2B, 7 3B, 14 HR, 12 SB, 114 R, 69 RBI, 700 PA.
Don Mueller(L) RF  ..277/.307/.431, 10 2B, 7 3B, 16 HR, SB, 58 R, 69 RBI, 493 PA.
Monte Irvin(R) LF    .312/415/.514, 19 2B, 11 3B, 24 HR, 12 SB, 94 R, 121 RBI, 657 PA.
Whitey Lockman(L) 1B  .282/.339/.407, 27 2B, 7 3B, 12 HR, 4 SB, 85 R, 73 RBI, 673 PA.
Bobby Thomson(R) 3B  ..293/.385, 562, 27 2B, 8 3B, 32 HR, 5 SB, 89 R, 101 RBI, 603 PA.
Willie Mays(R) CF  .274/.356/.472, 22 2B, 5 3B, 20 HR, 7 SB, 59 R, 68 RBI, 523 PA.
Wes Westrum(R) C  .219/.400/.418, 12 2B, 20 HR, SB, 59 R, 70 RBI, 474 PA.

Bench:

Hank Thompson(L) 3B/OF  .235/.342/.386, 8 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, SB, 308 PA.
Ray Noble(R) C  .234/.265/.383, 6 2B, 5 HR, 148 PA.
Bill Rigney(R) IF  .232/.321/.435, 2 2B, 4 HR, 80 PA.

Starting Rotation:

Sal Maglie(R)  23-6, 298 IP, 2.93 ERA.
Larry Jansen(R)  23-11, 278.2 IP, 3.04 ERA.
Jim Hearn(R)  17-9, 211.1 IP, 3.62 ERA.

Swingmen:

George Spencer(R)  10-4, 132 IP, 3.75 ERA, 6 Saves(57 Games, 4 Starts).
Dave Koslo(L)  10-0, 149.2 IP, 3.31 ERA, 3 Saves(39 Games, 16 Starts).
Sheldon Jones(R)  6-11, 120.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 4 Saves(41 Games, 12 Starts).
Al Corwin(R)  5-1, 59 IP, 3.66 ERA, 1 Save(15 Games, 8 Starts).
Monty Kennedy(L)  1-2, 68 IP, 2.25 ERA(29 Games, 5 Starts).
Al Gettel(R)  1-2, 57.1 IP, 4.87 ERA(30 Games, 1 Start).
Roger Bowman(L)  2-4, 26.1 IP, 6.15 ERA(9 Games, 5 Starts).

Notes:

The Giants starts the 1951 season with Bobby Thomson in CF and Hank Thompson at 3B.  Perhaps Willie Mays biggest contribution to the team was on defense which was a huge upgrade on Thomson in CF but Thomson was a better fielder at 3B than Thompson so that upgraded the defense at two positions.  Hank Thompson then became the first bat off the bench and a lefthanded one at that.

Part of the reason for Wes Westrum's high OBP was opposition pitchers pitched around him to get to the pitcher batting 9'th.

Have the Giants ever had a better 1-2 combo at the top of the lineup than Eddie Stanky and Al Dark in 1951?

Although Bobby Thompson was a better hitter with more power than either Don Mueller or Whitey Lockman the lefthanded batters in the 3 and 5 holes gave better balance to the lineup.

Interesting that the #4 and #5(seldom used) SP's and Closer were both by committee with the same multiple pitchers both closing and starting, which I think was fairly standard practice in those days.

So, there you have it.  Your 1951 New York Giants!

Hot Stove League Review: Brewers

Last season the Brewcrew won 89 games and came within a bullpen meltdown of advancing past the wildcard game instead of the ultimate World Series winners, the Nationals.  In response, the Brewers front office chose to modestly reduce payroll while spreading free agent money over a large number of smaller contracts.  Here is a summary of the moves:

Free Agents Lost:  Yasmani Grandal(C), Mike Moustakis(3B), Drew Pomeranz(LHP), Gio Gonzalez(LHP), Jordan Lyles(RHP), Matt Albers(RHP), Travis Shaw(IF-non-tendered), Jimmy Nelson(RHP- non-tendered), Hernan Perez(IF-non-tendered), Junior Guerra(RHP- non-tendered).

Free Agents Signed:  Avisail Garcia(OF- 2 yr/$20 M), Josh Lindblom(RHP- 3 yr/$9.125 M), Justin Smoak(1B), Brett Anderson(LHP), Eric Sogard(IF), Brock Holt(IF/OF), Jedd Gyorko(IF), Alex Claudio(LHP), David Phelps(RHP), Ryon Healy(IF).

Trades:  Acquired Chad Spanberger(1B) from the Blue Jays for Chase Anderson(RHP), Acquired Omar Narvaez(C) from the Mariners for Adam Hill(RHP) and Competitive Balance Round Draft Pick(B), Acquired Luis Urias(IF) and Eric Lauer(LHP) from the Padres for Trent Grisham(OF) and Zach Davies(RHP), Acquired Mark Mathias(IF) from the Indians for Andrew Melendez(C).

Contract Extensions:  Christian Yelich(OF)- 7 yrs/$188.5 M in addition to pre-existing 2 yrs/$26.5 M), Freddy Peralta(RHP)- 5 yrs/$15.5 M.

Minor League FA Signings:  Logan Morrison(1B/OF), Shelby Miller(RHP), Keon Broxton(OF), Justin Grimm(RHP), Mike Morin(RHP), Jace Peterson(IF), Andres Blanco(IF), Tuffy Gosewich(C).

Summary:  There's a lot to unpack here.  Brewers make a big, longterm commitment to Christian Yelich, so it's hardly a teardown.  The rest, much like the Giants, is a collection of potential undervalued players, breakout candidates and midseason trade pieces. Also like the Giants, this approach will look a whole lot better if rosters increase to 29 or 30 players for a compressed regular season.  As for specific moves I liked here, I would say I am surprised Brock Holt cost as little as he did.  Luis Urias could be their SS of the future.  Ryan Healy has huge power and could have a breakout season if he can stay healthy and field a position.  This team could really use an ace starter which they did not acquire.

Grade C+.

Blast From The Past: Jim Hearn 1951

This is a story that needs to be shared.  In all my years as an obsessed Giants fan, I had never really heard of Jim Hearn before I started researching the 1951 season.  I guess you could call Hearn the Giants #3 starter after Larry Jansen and Sal Maglie and ahead of swingman Dave Koslo.  He was one of several Giants who had career or near-career years in 1951.

Jim Hearn was big for that time at 6'3", 205 lbs.  His first sport was basketball.  He played center on his high school team and played basketball at Georgia Tech.  He played semi-pro baseball in the summers which is where he was discovered by a scout for the Cardinals and signed a pro baseball contract.  He did not start pitching until after he turned pro and had trouble adjusting to the nuances of pitching.  He threw hard but after a promising rookie season in 1947, he struggled with command and pitch-tipping issues.  "Big Jim" was a gentle giant and the Cardinals owner and manager accused him of a lack of dedication and of preferring golf to baseball.  He was released early in the 1950 season and the Giants paid the $10,000 waiver claim.

Giants Manager Leo Durocher immediately confronted Hearn about his dedication to baseball saying if his heart wasn't completely in it, he might as well say so and not waste more time.  Hearn apparently satisfied Leo.  The Giants pitching coaches lowered his arm slot to give his fastball more sink.  This adjustment paid immediate dividends and he broke out, finishing the season with a record of 11-4 and a 2.49 ERA. That success produced an uproar in St Louis about how Manager Eddie Dyer could have misjudged him so badly and ultimately led to Dyer being fired.  For his part, the New York press dubbed him the "Miracle Man."  He was not as dominant in 1951 but the potent Giants offense was enough to propel him to a 17-9 W-L record with an ERA of 3.62.  He also won Game 1 of the playoff against the Dodgers and Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees.

Jim Hearn pitched 5 more seasons for the Giants but with uneven success due to a series of nagging injuries.  Durocher became frustrated and resurrected his suspicions that Big Jim was thinking more about golf than baseball.  Hearn finished his career pitching mostly in relief in three seasons with the Phillies.  After retirement from baseball, he opened a Golf Center in his hometown of Atlanta which became his lifelong post-baseball career.

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I found most of the biographical information for this post on the SABR website. It also apparently appears in a book entitled The Team That Time Won't Forget:  The 1951 New York Giants, published by SABR.  Check it out!

Hot Stove League Review: Cardinals

We move on from the NL West to the NL Central in our Hot Stove Reviews.  The Cardinals have a cohort of aging players but are coming off a 91 win season, so chose to mainly stand pat in the Hot Stove League.  Here are the moves:

Free Agents Lost:  Marcell Ozuna(OF), Michael Wacha(RHP), Tony Cingrani(LHP), Williams Perez(RHP).

Free Agents Signed:  Adam Wainwright(re-signed), Matt Wieters(re-signed), Kwang Kim(LHP), Brad Miller(IF).

Trades:  Acquired Austin Dean(OF) from Marlins for Diowill Burgos(OF), Acquired Matthew Liberatore(LHP), Edgardo Rodriguez(C) and Future Considerations from the Rays for Jose Martinez(1B) and Randy Arozarena(OF) and Future Considerations.

Avoided Arbitration:  John Gant(RHP).

DFA/Release:  Dominic Leone(RHP).

Minor League Free Agent:  Oscar Hernandez(C).

Summary:  As mentioned, the Cardinals have a lot of age on this team and a shaky OF situation, particularly with the loss of Ozuna.  The addition of Kim bolsters the rotation and could be very good.  A scouting report from spring training games is on Rotographs.  Seems Kim has pretty good command of multiple pitches which help his low 90's FB play up.  Cards also seem to be counting on highly ranked prospect, Dylan Carlson, being ready to step up in OF. They seem to be confident enough in their depth to trade away Martinez and Arozarena for highly rated pitching prospect, Liberatore which was a nice move for the future.  Cardinals have a long history of mid-level prospects stepping up.  Can they keep doing that as the core of Yadier Molina, Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Carpenter and Waino(plus Dexter Fowler) move into the twilight of their careers?

Grade:  Grade C+.

Blast From The Past: Wes Westrum 1951

Perhaps the most overlooked hero of the Giants legendary 1951 season was a defense-first catcher with a penchant for suffering broken fingers named Wes Westrum.  Westrum's career got off to a slow start serving as a backup catcher for his first three seasons before a breakout campaign in 1950 in which he batted just .243 but with an OBP of .385 and 23 HR's.  Like his Giants team, he got off to a slow start in 1951 due to another broken finger, but once he got healthy he recorded the highest OPS and fWAR of his career.

One of the best kept secrets in baseball lore is that Billy Beane did not invent Moneyball.  It you look at the walk rates and OBP's of the hitters in the 1951 Giants lineup, you will find numbers that put any of Billy Beane's teams to shame.  It's really hard to put into words the beauty of Wes Westrum's 1951 batting line, so here it is for you to stare in wonder at for yourself:

.219/.400/.418, 12 2B, 20 HR, 21.9 BB%, 19.6 K%, fWAR= 4.1, 474 PA.

Like several of his teammates, Wes Westrum's playing career tapered off after that pennant winning season.  He played a lesser role on the 1954 championship team and retired to coaching before the Giants moved west after the 1957 season.  He later went on to manage the Mets and Giants.  The first time I heard of Wes Westrum was as manager of the Mets in the very first MLB game I listened to an the radio.  Of course, I had no idea of his connection to the Giants.  He had a reputation as patient manager who was willing to let young players with high ceilings make their mistakes for the future good of the teams he managed for.

Hot Stove League Review: Rockies

The Rockies are coming off a disheartening 91 loss season with a pitching meltdown the main culprit for the howmanyeth time.  Naturally, you might expect Rockies management to get busy in the offseason and try to shore up the pitching.  Well......not so fast!  Instead of, you know, signing free agents and making trades around the Hot Stove, GM Jeff Bridich chose to let his biggest and highest paid star, Nolan Arenado, who by the way does not seem like the troublemaking type, seethe in disgust over Bridich's lack of action to improve the team and wonder about trade rumors involving him!  Nice!  Here's a list of the moves Bridich made this offseason(it's not a long list):

Free Agents Lost:  Yonder Alonso(1B), Rico Garcia(RHP), Tyler Anderson(LHP), DJ Johnson(RHP), Chad Bettis(RHP), Drew Butera(C), Sam Howard(RHP), Pat Valaika(IF), Harrison Musgrave(LHP), Roberto Ramos(1B/OF).

MLB Free Agents Signed:  Jose Mujica(RHP).

Trades:  None.

Extensions:  Trevor Story(SS)- 2 yrs/$27.5 M.  Scott Oberg(RHP)- 3 years/$13 M.

Minor League Free Agents:  Eric Stamets(SS), Daniel Bard(RHP), Ubaldo Jimenez(RHP), Tim Collins(LHP), Elias Diaz(C), Kelby Tomlinson(IF), Chris Owings(IF), Mike Gerber(OF), Tim Melville(RHP), Zac Rosscup(RHP).

Summary:  Hard to imagine a more disheartening and infuriating Hot Stove outcome from a fan's perspective.  Nolan Arenado was obviously none too pleased himself and he's already guaranteed his $ millions.  The fact ownership did not step in and try to mediate between Arenado and Bridich says a lot and points to a much deeper problem than just the guy sitting in the GM chair.

Grade:  F!

RIP Jim Wynn

1967 is the year I started following the Giants and Major League Baseball in earnest.  I was 10 years old and spent my summer vacation listening to Giants games on a portable radio set up on our back porch while throwing balls at a pitchback.  We lived up in the mountains on the east side of the Napa Valley.  It used to get pretty hot in the early afternoons but then a nice westerly breeze would come up and cool everything down.  That's about as idyllic as it gets.  Talk about summertime and the livin's easy!  Evening games were harder to catch because evenings were family time and reception on the old radio tended to fade in and out.

I don't have a specific recollection of listening to a game between the Giants and Astros in Houston on June 15. I probably didn't because it was an evening game.  I do have vague memories of the Giants getting beaten up pretty badly in Houston by an Astros team that seemed to lose to everyone else in the NL.  I recall not understanding why the Astros were so bad because they had a couple of really good young hitters in Jim Wynn and Rusty Staub as well as an aging Eddie Mathews.  They also had a young lefthanded pitcher with a baffling screwball named Mike Cuellar.  This was the fourth game of a midweek set with the Giants losing 2 of of the first 3.  Juan Marichal was a late scratch and Bob Bolin took the mound for the Giants facing Cuellar.  Game details come from an account of the game written up on the SABR website.

The Giants managed an early 1-0 lead until Wynn led off the fourth inning with a drive to left that reached the second deck in the Astrodome, a truly prodigious blast.  In the sixth inning with the score tied 2-2, Wynn sent another Bob Bolin pitch into the bleachers.  Wynn came up again in the 8'th inning, this time facing lefty Bill Henry.  He lined a pitch over the left field wall to become the first player to hit three home runs in the Astrodome.  The Astros went on the win the game 6-2 and Jim Wynn ultimately hit 37 home runs that season to finish second to Hank Aaron for most in the NL.

Jim Wynn stood just 5'9" and weighed maybe 160 lbs but was wiry strong and a true 5-tool athlete.  Some sportswriter coined the nickname "Toy Cannon", a name he hated at first because he thought it called attention to his short stature, but later came to embrace.  He was a patient hitter at the plate who drew a lot of walks but when he did swing, he aired it out and tended to either hit it a long way or strike out.  His three true outcomes style would probably be more appreciated in today's game.  He also played most of his home games in the Astrodome which severely suppressed home runs.  Despite all that, he fashioned a fine career line of .250/.366/.436 with 291 career HR's and 225 SB's. My memories of him tormenting Giants pitchers are accurate as he hit more HR's off Giants pitchers in his career(37) than against any other team.   He was traded to the Dodgers for Claude Osteen before the 1974 season and led the Bad Guys to an NL Pennant, but a World Series loss to the A's.  His career tailed off after that and his MLB career was over by 1977.

Jim Wynn died yesterday at the age of 78.  RIP.

Blast From the Past: Sal Maglie 1951

I've always thought of Sal Maglie as a Dodgers because he was the losing pitcher in Don Larsen's World Series Perfect Game.  The bulk of Maglie's career was with the Giants with 1951 being his best season by a fairly wide margin.  Maglie got a late start on his career.  His first MLB season was at age 28 for the Giants, but then he took a 5 year detour through the Mexican League before Commissioner Happy Chandler lifted the ban on Mexican League jumpers which allowed Maglie to resume his Giants and MLB career in 1950 at age 33.

Maglie had a distinctive and intimidating pitching style.  Like Ryan Vogelsong, who we all know and love, he was a gentleman who became a different person on the mound.  Talk about a game face!  Maglie did not shave on game days and wore a frightful scowl on his face.  He did not try to throw strikes on the inside corner, preferring to come in high and off the plate so the pitch seemed to graze the hitter's chin.  All his other pitches were on the outer half of the plate.  That's how he got the nickname "Sal the Barber" because he seemed to shave hitter's chins with his fastball.

Sal Maglie was a vital cog in the Giants pennant winning drive in 1951 putting together a 23-6 W-L record with a 2.93 ERA.  Again, it is interesting to look up stat lines of star pitchers from the past and see shockingly low K rates.  I wonder if any pitcher could be successful in today's game with that approach?

Like his teammate, Larry Jansen, Maglie developed back problems which sapped his effectiveness in future seasons.  He did go 14-6 with a 3.26 ERA for the World Series Winning Giants in 1954.  He pitched part of a season for the Dodgers in 1956 culminating in his losing the perfecto to Don Larsen when he pitched very respectably himself allowing 2 runs in 5 hits in 7 IP.

After his playing career ended he had two stints as pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox.  While several pitchers, including Bill Monbouquette, Earl Wilson, Dick Radatz and Jim Lonborg credit Maglie with boosting their careers, he lost his job twice due to new managers, Johnny Pesky and Dick Williams, wanting to pick their own pitching coaches.

A few years ago, my family and I visited my brother-in-law who was living in Niagara Falls, NY.  I recall driving past a metal sign marking Sal Maglie's home in Niagara Falls.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: TJ McCants

TJ McCants SS/2B, HS.  B-L, T-R.  6'3", 180 lbs,

5 tool player, although maybe comes up a bit short on arm strength.  Long, lean projectable build with a smooth swing.  6.63 60 yd dash.  82 IF velocity, but PG says he throws well from lower arm angles and gets rid of the ball quickly on the run.  91 MPH exit velocity.  Video reminds me a lot of a larger, even more projectable version of Grant McCray, the Giants 3'rd round pick from last season.  Fangraphs boys say he is "raw as sushi," but think scouting heavy teams will like his projectability.  Remember, FZ loves "tools" and places a lot of faith in player development.

Hot Stove League Review: Padres

With a farm system cranking out exciting young players and the signing of an elite free agent, the Padres were expected to make some noise in the NL West in 2019.  Instead, they limped home in last place in the NL West.  AJ Preller has been in the GM chair now long enough for Padres ownership to expect to see some return on their investments.  2020 is likely a make or break year for AJ Preller and his job.  Let's look at the offseason moves Preller made to try to take the Padres to the next level.

Free Agents Lost:  None.

Free Agents Signed:  Drew Pomeranz(LHP-4 years), Pierce Johnson(RHP), Craig Stammen(RHP- re-signed).

Trades:  Acquired Zach Davies(RHP) and Trent Grisham(OF) from the Brewers for Luis Urias(IF) and Eric Lauer(LHP).  Acquired Jurickson Profar(IF) from the A's for Austin Allen(C).  Acquired Tommy Pham(OF) and Jake Cronenworth(SS) from the Rays for Hunter Renfroe(OF) and Xavier Edwards(SS) and a PTBNL.  Acquired Emilio Pagan(RHP) from the Rays for Manuel Margot(OF) and Logan Driscoll(C/OF).

Retired:  Ian Kinsler(2B).

Minor League Free Agents:  Abraham Almonte(OF), Jerad Eickhoff(RHP), Gordon Beckham(IF), Juan Lagares(OF), Daniell Camarena(RHP), Brian Dozier(2B).

Summary:  4 years for Drew Pomeranz is an almost laughable overpay.  Profar is coming off a rough season and needs a big bounceback.  Zach Davies can eat innings, but is not the ace this rotation desperately needs.  Tommy Pham might be a better all-around player than Hunter Renfroe, but does not have Renfroe's freakish power.  A very odd Hot Stove performance for a GM in the hot seat with a team that has expectations of contending.  Oh, and he's still stuck with Wil Myers and his contract.

Grade:  D.

Blast From The Past: Larry Jansen 1951

Larry Jansen was a key member of the 1951 Giants.  It was the last of a run of consecutive seasons as a workhorse starting pitcher.  After kicking around semi-pro and minor league gigs for years, including stints with the San Francisco Seals, Jansen finally broke in with the New York Giants in 1947 at the age of 26.  Pitching success in those days focused on Wins, Losses and ERA.  Jansen was an immediate success going 21-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 248 IP.  His bread and butter pitch was the slider which he used to induce soft contact rather than as a strikeout pitch.  Jansen was a contact pitcher whose highest K/9 was 5.27 in 1950.  He also walked very few.  I assumed he got a log of groundball outs, but per Baseball Reference, his GO/AO was right around 1.  He was known for using few pitches per start and short games, often clocking in at less than 1 hour.

Jansen's other 20-win season came in 1951 going 23-11 with an ERA of 3.04.  Like the team, he got off to a sluggish start to the season.  At one point his record stood at 5-5, but then he reeled off 7 Wins out of 9 Starts.  Although he remained a workhorse down the stretch, he developed back issues which affected his performance which carried over into the World Series which may have been the main reason why the Giants lost the series to the Yankees.

The back problems persisted and led to a steady downward trend in his stat lines through the end of his Giants career in 1954.  He staged a brief comeback with the Reds in 1955.  Larry Jansen was later hired by Alvin Dark to be the Giants pitching coach a position he kept through several managers through 1971.  It was speculated that Jansen fell out of favor with his Giants bosses due to over-emphasizing the slider.  Jansen believed it was because he was critical of the Giants penchant for callup up young SP's before they had learned a third pitch, which he considered essential for MLB SP success.

Larry Jansen was an essential member of the Giants famous 1951 NL Pennant winning team and a very good Giant throughout his long life of 89 years.

Hot Stove League Review: Diamondbacks

A funny thing happened on the way to a rebuild for the D'backs.  They skipped the teardown part.  After trading away Zack Grienke and his enormous contract, they re-allocated that money in a series of smaller, yet significant deals to add to a team that surprisingly finished with a winning record of 85-77 last season.  Here is a rundown of their Hot Stove League highlights going into the 2020 season:

Free Agents Lost:  Adam Jones(OF), Wilmer Flores(IF- Team Option declined), Jarrod Dyson(OF), Yoshihisa Hirano(RHP), Alex Avila(C), Abraham Almonte(OF- refused minor league assignment).

Free Agents Added:  Stephen Vogt(C), Junior Guerra(RHP), Madison Bumgarner(LHP), Kole Calhoun(OF), Hector Rondon(RHP).

Arbitration(Non-tendered):  Steven Souza(OF), Caleb Joseph(C), Taijuan Walker(RHP).

Arbitration(Signed):  Nick Ahmed(SS), Archie Bradley(RHP), Robbie Ray(LHP), Andrew Chafin(LHP), Matt Andriese(RHP), Jake Lamb(IF), David Peralta(OF).

Trades:  Acquired Starling Marte(OF) from the Pirates for Liover Peguero(IF), Brennan Malone(RHP), International Bonus Pool money.

Minor League Free Agents:  Edwin Jackson(RHP), Jon Jay(OF), Mark Leiter(RHP), Dalton Pompey(OF), Trayce Thompson(OF).

Suspension:  Domingo Leyba(2B- 80 games).

Summary:  Starting pitching was not thought to be a need going into the Hot Stove League, but Bumgarner steps into the #1 SP role at a fraction of Zack Grienke's cost.  They also get younger and more powerful by replacing Adam Jones with Kole Calhoun.  They found the final puzzle piece in the trade for Starling Marte which allows them to move Ketel Marte back to 2B with Starling taking over in CF.  Stephen Vogt replacing Alex Avila is probably a lateral move, but Vogt pairs nicely with a young Carson Kelly as a catcher tandem.

These moves might leave them a Closer short and they may eventually regret trading Brennan Malone, but this is a team that will likely compete for a Wild Card playoff spot in 2020, if and when.

Grade B+.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: Tanner Witt

Tanner Witt 3B/RHP, HS.  B-R, T-R.  6'6", 200 lbs.

Tanner Witt is a two-way HS player who has been scouted mainly as a RHP with an eminently projectable body and a mid-90s FB with room for more velocity.  Recently, he's garnered more attention for his hitting while drawing comps to Kris Bryant.  Tall hitters often have long swings and trouble controlling the strike zone, but on video his swing strikes me as being short and quick to the ball with natural power.  On the mound, I see some extraneous elbow action, but otherwise an easy, loose high 3/4 delivery without a lot of visible effort.  I'm guessing MLB teams are going to see him as a pitcher and want him to concentrate on it. Fangraphs has him ranked #45 with an up arrow. They seem to see him more as a hitter.  MLB Pipeline has him at #67 as a RHP.  PG scouts him as a RHP but had good things to say about the bat too.    He's committed to Univ of Texas.  He may choose to preserve his options as a two-way player or hope to vault into the top 5 or 10 as either a hitter or pitcher 3 years down the road.  I don't know if he is related to the Bobby Witts but his dad, Kevin, was a #28 overall pick for the Blue Jays and played parts of 5 seasons for 4 teams and is currently a hitting instructor in the Marlins system.

Thoughts on COVID-19 and the Future of MLB

Lots of speculation from fans regarding how soon we will see MLB games this year, if at all.  I'll offer my thoughts here.  Again, I will try to base my comments on facts as we know them.  Again, any opinions I express are my own and not necessarily those of my practice group or leadership of the medical profession.  As always, I highly recommend maintaining awareness of WHO and CDC as well as state and local guidelines and instructions, and following them as much as possible.

One question that has come up is whether games could be played now in empty stadiums.  The rationale is that younger healthier players are low risk and it is safe for them, or something to that effect.  My answer is that may be a consideration down the road after we get past the current peak and are in a position closer to China or South Korea with very few new cases being reported.  Until then, we need to maintain a complete shutdown.

Fact:  If you plot a graph of Case Fatalities vs age for the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, you see three distinct peaks:  Young children and the elderly are two of the three, but the other one is at approximately age 25-40.  It is believed that the reason for this middle peak is an intense immune response in the lungs causing fatal respiratory failure.  Interestingly, the majority of fatalities in the middle group occurred within a few day of onset while fatalities for older persons tended to occur after about 10 days and are thought to be due to secondary infections.

 Fortunately, we are not seeing a lot of fatalities in young children with COVID-19.  While the average fatality age is around 80, we are hearing and seeing alarming anecdotal reports of large numbers of people age 30-50 with critical illness and death.  I personally know of at least 3 such cases within 3 degrees of separation from my own family.  So while there are differences in risk, everybody is at risk to some degree and there may be a risk peak around age 30-35.

One more point:  I read just today that Hong Kong thought they were out of the woods and relaxed the restrictions and almost immediately had a resurgence.

IMO, MLB will need to remain shuttered until we are close to zero new cases.  At that point, they could consider training and playing without fans and with rigorous screening of players and staff. That is a minimum of 3 months away. If control of the pandemic is maintained, they could gradually open up the games to fans.  I would estimate there will have to be limits for as long as 18 months to 2 years.  If they look at seat placement, they could make limited seating available as long as the seats are at least 6 feet apart with rigorous screening on entry into the park and control of traffic entering and inside the park.  As to whether it's worth that trouble and potential liability, I will have to let MLB management decide that.

I will say this,  as things stand right now, I do not envision myself risking attendance at any sporting event or entertainment venue or large conference or destination vacation for at least the next calendar year and possibly as long as two years.

The one caveat to all of the above is if an effective vaccine is developed and widely distributed, we could all go back to business as usual(until the next pandemic arises, and it will), but that is likely at least 9-12 months away too.

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In answer to comment #2, the one young man who died was 34 years old.  He had asthma(Asthma is quite common in young adults) and a remote history of testicular cancer.  No word on whether he was treated with chemotherapy.  It is possible he had residual immune suppression if he was.  The other 3, who are still alive but requiring ventilation support(one age 32 and 2 in their early 40's), have no known underlying disease.

Underlying disease has a wide range of severities.  Hypertension, obesity and asthma are considered risk factors for fatal outcomes.  Those are all quite common in people age 30-50.

While older people and people with "underlying disease" are higher risk,  deaths are not limited to them and some of the underlying diseases which increase risk are not at all uncommon even in younger people, and are not necessarily ones you would think would make them die from a virus.

Point is, we cannot afford to just throw older people and younger ones with "underlying disease" under the bus while everyone else carries on with normal activities.

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A sliver of good news out of Italy:  Number of new deaths has dropped for 2 consecutive days.  Let's all hope and pray that trend continues.  Italy started their nationwide "lockdown" 2 weeks ago with a prediction of results in about 2 weeks.  Unfortunately, U.S. cases and fatalities are still rising exponentially and we are nowhere close to a true "lockdown" anywhere, let alone nationwide.

Blast from the Past: Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky 1951

The New York Giants of the 1940's had talented players, but they were mostly slow, lumbering power-hitting types.  Leo Durocher, whose contract was traded from the Dodgers to the Giants in the middle of the 1948 season, wanted more speed and defense.  He got his wish before the 1950 season when the Braves traded their double-play combo, Alvin Dark and Edde Stanky, to the Giants for 4 players including a couple of the aforementioned power hitters.

Alvin Dark was a 5-tool athlete who earned college scholarship offers in both football and basketball.  He was the shortstop, a superior defender with excellent bat-to-ball skills and a bit of power and speed.  Stanky was a short(5'0") scrappy second baseman, also a great defender, who made the most of his hitting ability by taking a lot of walks as well as HBP's producing OBP's over .400.  He previously played fo Durocher on the 1940's Dodgers teams.  Stanky was the perfect leadoff hitter while Dark was the perfect #2 hitter.  They played together for the Giants for just two seasons, but were as responsible for winning the 1951 pennant as anyone on the team.  For those of you who believe in "clubhouse chemistry", the 1940's Giants were the team that prompted Leo Durocher to coin his famous phrase, "nice guys finish last."  Dark and Stanky were Durocher type players who achieved both success, failure and controversy throughout their careers with their fiery personalities.

Here are the stat lines for the 1951 Giants keystone combo and their leadoff and #2 hitters:

Eddie Stanky:  .247/.401/.369, 17 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 8 SB, 88 R, 43 RBI, 19.4 BB%, 9.6 K%, 653 PA, 5.0 fWAR.

Alvin Dark:  .303/.352/.454, , 41 2B, 7 3B, 14 HR, 12 SB, 114 R, 69 RBI, 6.0 BB%, 5.6 K%, 700 PA, 5.2 fWAR.

Now, how would you like to see THAT at the top of the Giants lineup in 2020?

Stanky left the Giants after the 1951 season to be player-manager of the Cardinals and quickly ramped down his playing career to concentrate on pulling the strings from the dugout.  Dark played 6+ seasons for the Giants and was also part of their 1954 World Series Championship team.  He also went on to have a successful and controversial career as a manager of multiple teams including the pennant winning 1962 Giants, but that's a story for another day.

Hot Stove League Review: Dodgers

The Dodgers are coming off their 7'th consecutive NL West division championship(and 31'st consecutive failure to win the World Series).  Thus they came into the Hot Stove League season looking for a game-changing addition which would make them prohibitive favorites to win it all in 2020.  They may have accomplished that by adding one of the top 5 players in all of baseball(for just one season), but gave up a lot in a blockbuster trade.  They seemed to have another big trade set up with the Angels that fell through.  We'll take a look at that one too.  Here's the summary:

Free Agents Lost:  Rich Hill(LHP), Hyun-Jin Ryu(LHP), Russell Martin(C), Jedd Gyorko(IF), David Freese(IF).

Free Agents Signed:  Blake Treinen(RHP), Jimmy Nelson(RHP), Alex Wood(LHP).

Trades:  1.  Acquired Mookie Betts(OF) and David Price(LHP) from the Red Sox for Alex Verdugo(OF), Connor Wong(C) and Jeter Downs(SS).  2.  Sent Kenta Maeda(RHP) and Jair Camargo(C) to the Twins for Brusdar Graterol(RHP) and Luke Raley(OF).  Graterol was originally supposed to be flipped to the Red Sox but failed their physical(he's had widely reported injury issues).  The Dodgers ended up keeping him and sending Downs and Wong to the Red Sox instead.  The Dodgers also had another trade set up with the Angels which did not involve any players exchanged in the first two trades but was apparently contingent on them.  The trade was Joc Pederson(OF), Ross Stripling(RHP) and Andy Pages(OF) for Luis Rengifo(IF) and an unnamed prospect.  This trade was delayed while the Dodgers and Red Sox ironed out their trade.  Angels owner, Artie Moreno, reportedly became disgusted with the delay and cancelled the trade.  This is a curious development as the trade appeared to be much more favorable for the Angels, unless the unnamed prospect was Jo Adell, in which case, the Dodgers were stupid to not remove the contingency part of the trade and just complete it.  Got all that?

Arbitration(Non-tendered- lost):  Yimi Garcia(RHP).

Arbitration(Signed/Avoided):  Scott Alexander(LHP), Austin Barnes(C), Cody Bellinger(OF), Enrique Hernandez(UT), Julio Urias(LHP), Ross Striping(RHP), Corey Seager(SS), Max Muncy(2B/1B- 3 year contract), Chris Taylor(OF- 2 year contract).

Arbitration(player won):  Pedro Baez(RHP).

Summary:  The addition of Betts gives the Dodgers a crazy good lineup with even crazier good positional depth.  The losses of Ryu and Maeda are significant.  The rotation has a lot question marks after Kershaw(who is suddenly a bit of a question mark himself) and Walker Buehler probably should be considered the ace of the staff now.  Price is coming off an injury plagued season but seemed healthy in spring training.  He can be a solid #3 if he stays healthy.  Urias can be a star if he stays healthy.  The bullpen needed more depth with Kenley Jansen possibly on the downside of his career.  Treinen is coming off a down season and has to bounce back.  Graterol might eventually be a Closer, but has an injury history of his own and is only on the roster because he failed his physical with the Red Sox. But maybe the Dodgers don't need more than average pitching with their positional strength. They can also add a pitcher in a midseason trade(they still have Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling as potential trade chips).

Looking ahead, the Dodgers have some age creeping up on them, especially on the pitching side, Betts is a free agent at the end of the season and their farm system is not what it was a couple of years ago.  Their "window" may be down to 1 year and they need to hope the pitching doesn't implode.

Grade B.

Blast from the Past: Monte Irvin's 1951 Season

Apologies for fewer posts.  Historical pieces and offseason reviews take a bit longer to research and write up than Game Wraps.  We all know the story of the 1951 Giants.  We know about Willie Mays callup from the minor leagues.  How he lit a spark to a team that trailed the Dodgers by 9 games.  We know about Bobby Thomson's home run.  I've always been fascinated by the other players on that team and how really good they were.  The MVP by fWAR of the 1951 Giants and ranked #6 in MLB was Monte Irvin.

Monte Irvin was a star for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League.  He was a 5-tool SS/CF up until WW II in which he served for 3 years in the European Theatre with a segregated engineering unit.  His ears were damaged in the war which caused loss of balance but he was still able to play, albeit with a reduction in tools and performance.  After Jackie Robinson's tremendous success, Dodgers GM Branch Rickey was looking for other black players and wanted to sign Monte Irvin.  Eagles business manager, Effa Manley, was by now wise to the economic impact of losing star players to the major leagues.  She demanded compensation from Rickey and threatened to sue if she didn't get it.  Rickey backed off.  The Giants eventually paid $5000 for Irvin's contract in 1949.

Irvin's MLB career got off to a slow start as he batted just .224 in 93 PA in 1949.  He was 30 years old.  He progressed to a slash line of .299/.392/.497 in 432 PA in 1950 for an fWAR of 3.2.  1951 was, by far, his best MLB season.  Irvin did not just serve as a mentor for Willie Mays.  He was the star of the 1951 team in his own right.  Playing both corner OF positions and 1B, he fashioned an outstanding batting line of .312/.415/.514, 19 2B, 11 3B, 24 HR, 12 SB, 94 R, 121 RBI, 13.5 BB%, 6.7 K%, 657 PA, 6.4 fWAR.  Just look at that!  I would call that Vottoesque for a comp with a current player.  he finished third in the NL MVP balloting behind Roy Campanella and Stan Musial.  The Giants went on to lose the World Series to the Yankees in 6 games but Monte Irvin had a great series with 11 hits, a .458 BA and a steal of home in Game 1.

A fractured ankle suffered on a slide into 3B in spring training limited Irvin to 46 games in 1952.  He played better in 1953 for a bad Giants team without Willie Mays who was serving the second year of army duty.  Mays was back in 1954 and Irvin contributed a .262 BA with 19 HR's as the Giants won the World Series in 4 games against the Cleveland Indians.

Irvin's final playing season was 1956 with the Cubs.  He went on to have a distinguished post-playing career in various roles for MLB.  The Giants retired his #20 in 2010.  He joined other Giants living Hall of Famers in throwing out the first pitch for the 2010 World Series.  He passed away in 2016 at the age of 96.

*Biographical facts were taken from Monte Irvin's SABR biography and Stats are from Fangraphs.

Hot Stove League Review: Giants

By request, we'll try to review offseasons for as many teams as we can.  We'll start with the Giants then NL West then rest of NL.  We'll do AL if we have time and don't burn out.  With the very real possibility of losing the entire season looming, reviewing with offseason seems a bit futile, but hey, maybe we can just declare winners based on offseason performance.  Aaanyway.....here is a summary of Giants key offseason moves(way too many for a comprehensive list):

Free Agents Lost:  Madison Bumgarner(LHP), Will Smith(LHP), Steven Vogt(C.)

Non-tendered(lost):  Kevin Pillar(OF).

MLB Free Agents Signed:  Kevin Gausman(RHP).  Drew Smyly(LHP), Wilmer Flores IF(2 yrs), Hunter Pence(OF.)

Trades:  Zack Cozart(IF) and Will Wilson(IF) from the Angels for cash or PTBNL(Giants take on full $12 M of Cozart's remaining contract and release him, essentially paying $12 M for the last year's #15 draft pick, Wilson).

Non-tendered(Re-signed):  Joey Rickard(OF), Tyler Anderson(LHP), Rico Garcia(RHP),

Avoided Arbitration:  Donovan Solano(IF), Alex Dickerson(OF), Wandy Peralta(LHP).

Rule 5 Draft:  Dany Jimenez(RHP).

Minor League Contracts:  Yolmer Sanchez(IF), Billy Hamilton(OF), Trevor Cahill(RHP), Tyson Ross(RHP), Darin Ruf(1B/OF), Rob Brantly(C), Tyler Heineman(C), Drew Robinson(IF).

Waiver Claim:  Jarlin Garcia(LHP).

Summary:  Nice collection of potentially undervalued, breakout and bounceback players.  That's not the stuff you generally build championship teams with, but you might find a piece or two for the longterm puzzle and you might create some nice trade opportunities at the trade deadline.  Late in the offseason FZ went into churn mode and brought in a huge number of spring training invitations which created several roster dilemmas without clearly making the team better.

Loss of Madison Bumgarner hurts, but after more of the story came out it was probably never in the cards and probably for the best to move on.  Failure to get a more established RH bat for the OF, frontline SP and Closer meant offseason did not generate much enthusiasm to overcome the pain of losing Bummy.  Best move was for the future with the Will Wilson trade.

Grade:  C+.

Down on the Farm: Giants Sign International Prospect

Hmm.....I thought it was a bit odd the Giants seemed to leave money on the table last July 2.  I figured if Farhan knew he wasn't going to use all of his bonus pool money, he would have traded it.  Well, we may now know why and it's pretty darn exciting stuff.  Per Alex P on NBC Bay Area, the Giants have signed a 16 year old prospect from the Dominican Republic who is being compared by some to Fernando Tatis Jr.  In fact, Javier Alexander Francisco Estrella is a protege of Fernando Tatis Sr.

This kid is listed at 6'2", 175 lbs and if you look at the video, the Fernando Tatis Jr comp is inescapable.  Tall, lean, athletic looking.  Long levers but graceful, powerful motions.  Reportedl a true 5-tool athlete.  I could not find any info on what he signed for, but I would think he would be in great demand.  He as apparently eligible to be signed on July 2.  No word on why he did not sign then or why his name does not show up on any of last year's July 2 prospect lists.

Hopefully we'll find out more as time goes on, but based on the available information and a snipped of extremely impressive video, I would think he is immediately a top 10 Giants prospect.  If he is what he appears to be, and I realize we are working with very little information, the Giants farm system, which was alread rated top 10 by some analysts, just got a whole lot stronger.  Check it out!

COVID 19 Update: Help Us Help You!

I am a medical professional.  The numbers keep pouring in and are overwhelming, both scientific and economic.  It's easy to become fatalistic, give up and say, "what will be will be."  There is nothing I can do about it anyway.   I imagine if I feel that way, the average person out there must be feeling it even more.  The numbers, to be sure, are extremely sobering.  We are in the greatest fight to save our civilization as we know it since World War 2.  But, in the overwhelmingly bleak numbers, there is clear evidence that this fight is winnable, that the worst case scenario can be avoided.  It's up to us, individually and collectively.  If you follow the numbers nothing is surprising and the weapons to fight back clear.

For a quick review, Covid-19 is a respiratory virus transmitted from host-to-host through droplets dispersed in the air in a 6 foot radius around people who are infected.  It can also be transmitted through direct contact with hosts and with surfaces droplets have landed on as well as through fomites, or dormant viruses, on surfaces.  But the main route of transmission seems to be through airborne droplets.  Here are a few statistical facts:

1.  On average, each person infected with the virus transmits it to approximately 2-2.5 other people.  Incubation period is 5-6 days.  In every country and community where the virus has gained a foothold and left unchecked, the number of new cases has doubled every 6 days.  Every. Single. Time!

2.  China and South Korea demonstrated that this exponential growth in the number of cases can be blunted or reversed through aggressive testing and quarantining.

3.  In average risk populations, Case Fatality Ratios(CFR's) can be held at approximately 2% as long as the healthcare system is not overwhelmed(CFR's can be held lower than 2% in lower risk populations such as South Korea).  So far in the U.S., the healthcare system has mostly had capacity to treat all affected patients through supportive care and our CFR is holding at 2%.  

4.  In average risk populations, if the healthcare system is overwhelmed, CFR's rise to around 4%.  In Italy, a country with a high risk population AND an overwhelmed healthcare system, CFR's have ballooned to a horrifying 7-8%.  We cannot let the number of cases increase to the point of overwhelming the healthcare system!

These numbers are based on known, confirmed cases.  Real CFR's may be lower due to uncounted cases, but the above numbers have remained remarkably stable as the totals climb.  As us baseball fans know so well, the larger the sample, the more likely it won't regress.

So, what does this data tell us?  The bad news is this virus has the capacity to kill in numbers none of us have ever witnessed.  The good news is that aggressive preventive measures can limit the number of infections with the added benefit of allowing the healthcare system to save up to half of infected patients who would otherwise die.

This is why it is imperative that each and every one of us must practice social distancing, not just to stay disease free ourselves, but to "flatten the curve"(and eventually reverse it) and give us, your healthcare professionals, a fighting chance to save those who are not fortunate enough to escape infection.  Despite having no proven effective treatments for the virus itself, healthcare professionals can save lives through aggressive supportive care, but you need to give us a fighting chance.  To paraphrase the immortal Jerry Maguire, "We need you to help us, help you!"

For details of how to help us, visit the CDC website for best practices for social distancing.  You may also wish to review my prior post entitled Thoughts on Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19).  I have come to sum it all up in one simple principle:  Your probability of becoming infected is directly proportional to the number of people you come within 6 feet of.  Simple as that.  Every other recommendation is based on that fact.

RIP Johnny Antonelli

As a lifelong Giants fan, I was vaguely aware of a pitcher named Johnny Antonelli.  That is a shame because Johhny Antonelli had a long, successful run pitching for both the New York and San Francisco Giants and was a major contributor to the last World Series championship the Giants won before 2010.  Johnny was a native of New York state. Unfortunately, he was not pleased with the Giants move to San Francisco and was open about his feelings for the new city.  San Francisco fans, in turn hated him, which is probably why he was not more well known to Giants fans like me. Johnny Antonelli died on February 28, 2020 at the age of 89.

Johnny Antonelli was a locally renowned lefthanded high school pitcher in the state of New York.  His father, a railroad track worker, tireless wrote to scouts and organized showcase games for his prodigy son.  Johnny impressed the scouts enough to spark a bidding war and signed with the Boston Braves for what was then a huge bonus of $52, 000 in 1948.  For comparison sake, veteran star pitcher Johnny Sain was making just $22, 000 that season.  As a "bonus baby", Antonelli had to be kept on the MLB roster for at least 2 seasons.  The Braves won the NL pennant in 1948 behind the pitching of Sain and Warren Spahn, so Johnny Antonelli was used mostly to pitch batting practices.  You may recall a saying that sprung out of the season, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." The veterans resented Johnny's large bonus and refused to award him any World Series shares before the commissioner intervened and awarded him several hundred dollars.

Antonelli pitched more over the next two seasons with mixed success, then spent 2 seasons in the military.  He played on military teams which served the same purpose as minor league games.  He came back in 1953 and went 12-12 with a 3.18 ERA for the Braves.  He was then traded to the Giants in a 6 player trade that involved Bobby Thompson going the other way.  Needless to say, trading away the hero of 1951 was not popular with Giants fans, but Johnny won them over with the best season of his career going 21-7 with a 2.30 ERA.  He then started and won game 2 of the 1954 World Series and Saved game 4 in relief of Hoyt Wilhelm as the Giants swept the Indians.

Although his subsequent career was a bit up and down, he went on to win 20 games with a 2.86 ERA in 1956 and won 19 games with a 3.10 ERA for the 1959 San Francisco Giants.  Despite pitching well for the San Francisco Giants, Antonelli hated the city of San Francisco, was not fond of playing in Seals Stadium and spoke out about the wind in Candlestick Park.  San Francisco fans in turn considered him a snobby New Yorker and heaped boos and scorn on him.  His ERA ballooned in 1961 and the owner of the Cleveland Indians became convinced that all Johnny needed was a change in scenery and worked out a trade that sent Harvey Kuenn to the Giants.  Alas, Johnny did not turn his career around with the Indians and he retired to his hometown in New York state.

Johnny invested the money he earned from baseball in a tire store.  He expanded the business into a chain of stores selling Firestone tires and became a successful and very wealthy businessman in his won right.  He remained in contact with Giants ownership and made regular appearances at Giants reunions and alumni events.

So, RIP Johnny Antonelli.  I believe San Francisco fans should forgive him for hating the city on the opposite coast from his home and consider him a forever Giant.  If you would like to read an excellent article about Johnny Antonelli, look up a recent one on Hardball Times.  There is also a nice career summary on the SABR website.

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Again, thanks to readers and commenters for the positive response to my posts about the COVID-19 pandemic.  We'll try to delve into some Giants and baseball history to fill the space where Game Wraps and Down on the Farm would otherwise be.  I will also try to put together some offseason summaries for the Giant and other MLB teams per a reader request.

Responses to Comments and Questions From Previous Post

I posted a response to the first comment/question to my last post as an addendum.  From now on, I will post responses here.

Stay safe, everybody!

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I just read a comment in an article from another blog:  "And of course, all this is extremely prone to change.  The spread of COVID-19 has been anything but predictable..."

The spread of COVID-19 from the first cases in China has been completely predictable for anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of virology and epidemiology.  I'll let readers extrapolate that statement to their own conclusions.

Thoughts On What We Do Now

Well, here we are.  First of all, I appreciate the kind words and positive feedback regarding my COVID 19 post.  As a physician and educator, it is rewarding to know folks found it informative.  Literally within hours of writing the post, MLB announced the cessation of spring training and a delay of the regular season by at least 2 weeks.  I have to tell you, based on incident data I have seen, I do not expect to see any games being played before June at the earliest.  I hope I am wrong about that, but even if social distancing measures work as intended, if we go back to business as usual too soon, we risk a resurgence and having to start all over.

We have a double whammy situation here.  Has anyone tried to find entertaining content to watch on TV lately?  Wow!  Talk about 57 Channels and Nothin' On!  We have DirecTV and it's more like 570 channels and nothin' on!  Without sports to watch, social distancing becomes an even more isolating and boring existence.  OK, I can write more articles for my blog.....oh, never mind.  There are no games to write about.  Well, there's always the minor leagues......oops!  Never mind that too!  OK, there's college baseball and the draft......nope, that's cancelled too!

How has COVID 19 affected you?  I went out to the store this afternoon and a mob of people stocking up on everything you can imagine.  I got what I needed, but a lot of shelves were empty or almost empty.  Absolutely no paper products to be found anywhere.  On top of all that, I probably exposed myself to the virus in the process!

I will try to think of things to write about to help all of us get through, but it's going to be tough.  I'm looking for suggestions.  If you have any, please post them in comments.  This is probably a good time to start a Q/A.  Post your questions and I'll answer them in a subsequent post.  I'll take questions on any topic within reason.  Giants, prospects, draft, fantasy baseball, Giants and baseball history, Coronavirus, other medical topics, whatever you want to talk about.

Stay safe, everybody!  This virus is the real deal.  And for God's sake, stop hoarding toilet paper!

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What an honor to get a comment/question from the family of a minor league player!  BTW, I know who you are from the information you gave, but I'll let readers do their own research and figure it out for themselves.

If it is financially feasible for your son to stay put, that is probably the best bet to stay safe(although nothing is guaranteed).  Mass transportation of any kind is very high on the list of things to avoid if at all possible.  If travel is absolutely necessary, private car is probably safest, again if possible.  I know our instincts are always to get close to family members who fall sick.  Just remember that strict, even draconian, quarantining of the sick, even from family members is the key to stopping the spread of this pandemic.

One more thought:  The Case-Fatality Ratio rises dramatically with age so you are much more likely to become severely or critically ill, or even die from the virus, than your son, if you get it.

Thoughts on Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19)

As stated in my profile, I am a practicing physician.  As the Novel Coronavirus(COVID-19) grew into a pandemic, I debated writing a post about it.  Developments over the last 48 hours directly impact the Giants and MLB, so here it is.  I will try to stick to facts as I know them.  Any opinions I express are my own and not necessarily those of the leadership of my employing medical group or my profession.

If you look at the entirety of human history, pandemics of infectious diseases have played an enormous role.  For centuries, they were likely the major reason why the human population of Earth remained relatively low and stable.  It is only in the last 200-300 years that they have become rare and this rarity is a major reason why Earth's population exploded.  This dramatic decrease in the frequency and severity of pandemics is due to equally dramatic developments in our understanding of transmissibility, basic public health and hygiene, anti-infective medications and vaccines.  Long before COVID-19 showed up, I believed the single biggest threat to our civilization is a major pandemic due to a deadly respiratory virus like influenza or COVID-19.

The last major deadly pandemic due to a respiratory virus occurred in 1918, almost exactly 100 years ago when an antigenic shift produced a new influenza virus which killed millions of humans worldwide.  Every year, influenza kills thousands of humans.  The reason why it does not kill millions is the vast majority of humans have at least partial immunity through prior exposure to similar viruses and vaccines which produce both individual and herd immunity.  The reason why another antigenic shift would likely kill millions is the the body's immune system does not recognize it as a foreign invader which delays an effective immune response.  Interestingly, if you plot case-fatality ratio(CFR) vs time for the 1918 Influenza pandemic, it is bimodal with one peak at about 48 hours and another at 10-14 days.  The first peak occurred most frequently in young healthy men ages 20-40 and was believed to be due to an overwhelming immune-mediated pneumonia.  The second peak was due to secondary bacterial pneumonias.  Remember, the 1918 influenza pandemic occurred prior to vaccines and antibiotics or antiviral medications.

While not an exact replica, the current COVID-19 pandemic resembles the 1918 influenza pandemic more closely than anything we have seen in the intervening years.  Coronaviruses are a family of viruses which cause respiratory flu-like illnesses which we see fairly frequently on an ongoing basis.  What makes COVID-19 different, is likely an antigenic shift for which there is no individual or herd immunity.  Unlike influenza, we have not previously developed vaccines or antiviral agents against coronaviruses.  This creates a perfect environment for a major deadly pandemic.

The numbers are scary.  Worldwide, the CFR(Deaths/Confirmed Cases) remains remarkably stable at approximately 3.5%(by comparison, the CFR for seasonal influenza not due due an antigenic shift is approximately 0.1%).  Estimates of real CFR including unconfirmed cases are closer to 1.0-1.5%, but in Italy which has an older population, the reported CFR is around 7%.  Incubation period is 5-6 days(compared to 3-5 for influenza).  Number of secondary infections generated from one individual is 2-2.5(higher than influenza).  While a secondary infection ratio of 2:1 does not seem so bad, this virus remains highly contagious.  In one town in New York, 80 cases have been traced to 1 individual.  Another cluster of cases in the Boston area grew out of a single conference attended by employees of a biomedical company.  Transmission is through direct contact, droplets(produced by breathing, cough or sneeze) and fomites(dormant viruses  on contaminated surfaces).  Approximately 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, but 15% are severe(requiring oxygen) and 5% are critical(require ventilation support).

Extrapolation of these numbers leads to some truly frightening projections.  If the virus spreads unchecked, it will likely infect a minimum of 30% of the population.  U.S. population is approximately 350 million which means 100 million infected.  A CFR of 3.5% would produce 3.5 million deaths.  A CFR of 1% would produce 1 million deaths.  It does not appear that this virus is losing transmissibility or virulence over time.  At this point, our only current hope of avoiding these catastrophic numbers is to limit transmission rates.  An effective vaccine will likely take at least months to develop and an effective antiviral medication remains elusive.

It appears China successfully blunted the spread of the virus through reportedly draconian quarantine measures which go far beyond anything even contemplated in the U.S up to this point.  Current measures such as cancelling the NBA season and the Coachella Festival are likely just the beginning of restrictions which will go far beyond anything any of us have ever experienced.  How effective these measures prove to be remains to be seen.  Early in my career, I had a patient who remembered living through the 1918 influenza pandemic.  She lived on a remote farm in Missouri approximately 20 miles from the closest neighbor.  She lost half her immediate family.

I receive many requests for my personal recommendations for avoiding COVID 19 and many readers here may have the same question.  Here is what I currently recommend:

1.  Follow directions from the CDC and local authorities.

2.  Avoid gatherings of people such as hotels, conferences, church services and entertainment events including sporting events. Avoid mass transportation, planes, trains, buses, etc.  DO NOT BOOK ANY CRUISES for the foreseeable future!  Avoid popular tourist sites.

3.  Remember droplet radius is 3-6 feet.

4.  Use of masks is controversial.  All I can say is for years droplet precautions in my hospital involve wearing a simple surgical mask.  Of course, we take the mask off and wash our hands immediately upon exiting the room.  I don't know if wearing a mask at all times would be as effective.  It is unlikely that N95 masks are more effective than a simple surgical mask which is effective against direct inhalation of droplets.

5.  Wash hands after every contact with another person or surfaces which may be contaminated. Avoid handshakes!

6.  Although I am not aware of foodborn transmission, droplets containing the virus could theoretically remain on uncooked food for a long time.  Avoidance of uncooked food is a consideration.  Fast food is probably safer than a sit-down restaurant and the drive-through window is probably safer than physically entering the restaurant.

7.  If you develop cough and fever, you should immediately self quarantine until you can be tested(testing should become more readily available in the next few days).  If possible, put on a mask or some type of facial covering before presenting to a healthcare facility for evaluation.

8.  Much as I hate to say it, you probably should postpone routine medical visits.

While panic is never helpful in a crisis, it is appropriate to maintain a vigilant respect for the ability of this virus to produce mass casualties and take appropriate steps to protect yourself and others.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/11/2020: Giants 6 Rangers 4(5 Innings)

The Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and held on to win a weather-abbreviated spring training matchup with the Rangers in Surprise.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 1 for 2, 2B, BB.  BA= .320.  As long as Dick stays healthy, he's the lefthanded side of a LF platoon to start the season.

Darrin Ruf RF- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .429.  Ruf keeps on bashing XHB's.  Closing in on a roster spot.

Austin Slater 1B- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .250.  Slater came into the game on an 0 for 9 skid.

Kevin Gausman RHP- 3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.35.  Giants SP's seem to be hitting the "dead arm" phase of spring training....or maybe it's just that time where the hitters catch up with the pitchers?

Wendolyn Bautista RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Giants seem to have signed several minor league FA pitchers with interesting names.  So far, they have pitched well in spring training games.  Never heard of this guy before.  I would give the name a grade of 30.

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Giants have an off day tomorrow then split squad games on Friday with Logan Webb facing the D'Backs in Scottsdale and Shaun Anderson facing the Angels on the road.

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Drew Smyly threw 4 innings in a batting cage.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/10/2020: Cubs 16 Giants 3

Johnny Cueto got knocked around Scottsdale Stadium and the Cubs piled on from there.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 1 for 3, 3B.  BA= .269.  YtY gets his first XBH of the spring.  Seems to be getting quite a few looks in CF.

Jaylin Davis LF- 1 for 2, 2B, BB.  BA= .222.  Davis is 3 for 8 over his last 3 games.  5 of 6 hits on the spring XBH's.

Pablo Sandoval PH- 2 for 3, 2 2B.  BA= .278.  Pabs must have played a position after PH, or else he PH 3 times in 1 game....or something.

Johnny Cueto RHP- 1.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 12.79.  Yikes!  Let's hope he was just working on some things...or had terrible BABIP luck.

LHP- 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.79.  Suarez had looked strong before this not so good outing.

Dany Jimenez RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.57.  This qualifies as the strongest appearance for Giants pitchers on the day.  With multiple RP's struggling and Tony Watson now questionable for Opening Day, Jimenez remains on track to a roster spot.

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Kevin Gausman tries to ramp up his innings tomorrow against the the Rangers in Surprise.

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Giants sent Joey Bart and Cristhian Adames to minor league camp.  Enderson Franco and Joe McCarthy were optioned to AAA.  There is a good chance we see Joey Bart in the majors before the 2020 season is done.  Adames and Franco are depth for the big league club.  Joe McCarthy tries to keep the good vibes from spring training going in Sacramento.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/9/2020: Indians 11 Giants 7

Trevor Oaks pitched 3 strong innings to open the ballgame for the Giants, but several relievers struggled as the Indians ran away with it.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .304.  Dick is the presumptive strong half of a LF platoon and has not done anything to lose that so far.  Staying healthy is his big challenge.

Darren Ruf 1B- 1 for 2, 3B.  BA= .458.  Ruf's red hot spring continues.  He would appear to be the frontrunner for the 26'th roster spot, but he'll have to keep the pedal to the metal over the next 2 weeks.

Zach Green 3B- 1 for 1, HR(3), 2 BB.  BA= .462.  Zach Green stays hot and may have something to say about the 26'th man role too.

Trevor Oaks RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Oaks missed all of 2019 after undergoing hip surgery.  Before that, he was an up and comer in the Dodgers organization, so FZ and Kapler know him well.  He took a big step toward a 5'th starter or long relief role today with 3 strong innings out of the gate.

Jerry Blevins LHP- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 22.09.  Blevins has the veteran track record, but is getting torched in spring games so far.  His curveball has apparently gone missing and Gabe Kapler didn't sound too bullish on his chances in the postgamer.

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Giants host the Cubbies in Scottsdale tomorrow with Johnny Cueto facing Giants nemesis Tyler Chatwood.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/8/2020: Giants 8 Mariners 4

The Giants came with their hitting shoes on again and overwhelmed the Mariners in Scottsdale.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence DH- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .364.  I was just about to ask what happened to Hunter Pence.  Then he shows up and crushes a HR and smokes a double down the line to drive in 3 runs.  Pence looks like he is in great shape, almost on the thin side.  He appeared to be moving around well and his bat was lightning quick.

Buster Posey C- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .450.  The double was sun-aided as the Mariners CF appeared to lose track of it.  Great to see Buster looking healthy and hitting with consistency.  Hopefully the power also ticks up as we approach the regular season.

Drew Robinson 2B- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .286.  At the beginning of the Hot Stove season, FZ said he was looking for a lefthanded IF bat.  Robinson seemed buried on the depth chart at the beginning of spring training, but has made the most of his chances.  Lots of people vying for that 26'th roster spot but Robinson is stating his case.  He has a really sweet looking swing. The double today was a perfectly placed liner in the opposite gap off a LHP.

Jaylin Davis CF- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .200.  Davis has really struggled at the plate, but maybe his bat is starting to come around.  The HR was on oppo-field monster that came off a very easy looking swing.

Darren Ruf 1B/LF/1B- 3 for 3, 3 2B.  BA= .455.  If the season started tomorrow, I'm guessing Ruf would be on the roster.  He's crushing the ball with a very short, quick swing that generated tremendous power.  FZ likes versatility and Ruf was on the 1B-LF shuttle.  He even made a nifty running catch near the LF line.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.08.  The run came on a walk and a triple with 1 out in the 2'nd inning.  He ended the threat with 2 K's.  He also struck out the last batter he faced for the 2'nd out in the 4'th inning on pitch #62.  He must have been on a 60 pitch limit today.

Trevor Gott RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 7.71.  Gott looked sharp after a couple of rough appearances.

Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.  he threw a lot of pitches, but managed to finish the inning with his zero ERA intact.

Shaun Anderson RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 19.29.  Anderson gave up dinger but looked better than he has previously this spring.  Still kinda hard to see him not starting the season in Sacramento.

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Giants get on the bus to face the Indians tomorrow.  It's slated to be a bullpen game with Trevor Oaks first up.

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Bad news for Matt Carasiti who had looked really good this spring.  He'll undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: Ryan Hagenow

Ryan Hagenow RHP, HS.  6'5", 200 lbs.

Tall, long-limbed HS righty who is young for the class and just starting to grow into his frame.  FB up to 93 in summer PG showcase from a low arm angle.  FB tails to armside with pop.  Junked his curveball due to low arm angle for a slider that better complements the FB.  Also has an effective changeup.  Kid has huge projection but comes with the obvious risk of HS pitching prospects.  Reportedly a good student who is committed to Kentucky.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/7/2020: Giants 12 White Sox 7

The Core Four batted 1-4 in the lineup today and brought their hitting shoes as did most of the subs.  Add in a dominant first three innings from Trevor Cahill and it was a successful spring game for the Giants.  Key Lines:

Core Four- 6 for 8, 2B, BB.  BA= .324.  After a slow start, The Core has gotten hot.  Their cumulative stat line is now 24 for 74, 4 2B, 4 HR, 2 BB.  .324/.342/.541.

Donovan Solano PR/SS- 2 for 2, 2 2B.  BA= .500.  Solano never stopped hitting last season and is carrying that into the spring.  He's got a guaranteed MLB contract, so have to believe he either makes the team or gets traded.  He may have significant trade value at this rate.

Zach Green PH/3B- 2 for 2, HR(2).  BA= .417.  Green is quietly having a hot spring.   Don't see how there is room for him on the team, though.

Darren Ruf 1B- 3 for 3, 2 HR(3).  BA= .368.  Ruf showing off his power.  I believe he is the first Giant to reach 3 HR's this spring.  Lack of position flexibility makes it tough to see how he makes the team.  Might it come down to the speed and defense of Billy Hamilton vs Ruf's power for "26'th Man"?  Giants are absolutely starved for RH power so I could see Ruf winning that battle.

Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .438.  If the spring Joey Bart is having doesn't make you excited for the future, you're probably not a Giants fan.  Once again, he's not going to make the team, but his performance likely shortens the time between Opening Day and his ultimate promotion to the Giants. That won't happen until he can play every day and stay up for good.  The looming question is how the Giants will handle the inevitable transition from Buster to Bart.

Jaylin Davis CF- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .182.  Davis has struggled at the plate.  Giants seem to be willing to give him time to get hot.  Will he get over the AAA to MLB hump?

Billy Hamilton CF- 1 for 1.  BA= .294.  That's a decent BA for BHam but he has not drawn any walks and has not stolen a base.  Is he auditioning for the starting CF job or "26'th Man?"  Not sure he is winning either of those roles.  His D in CF is the hardest for us to quantify as fans and that may be the deciding factor.

Trevor Cahill RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  Cahill pitches 3 perfect innings in dominant fashion. He may have just vaulted into the lead for 5'th starter.

Dany Jimenez RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.80.  Jimenez gives up his first run of the spring.  He still appears to be on track to make the team on the strength of his Rule 5 draft pick status.

Jerry Blevins LHP- 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 18.50.  With multiple LHP's fighting for roles, does Blevins' abysmal spring performance make any difference?  He pitched effectively last season after posting a 21.60 ERA in spring training.

Wandy Peralta LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Peralta would have a decided edge over Blevins for a lefty reliever role based on spring performance, but Wandy has an option.

Yapson Gomez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 3/0.  ERA= 0.00.   The lefty with the different name and the funky delivery strikes again.  Giants must be intrigued to bring him back for another look-see.

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Giants take on the Mariners tomorrow afternoon in Scottsdale with Jeff Samardzijia likely looking to stretch it out facing lefty Justus Sheffield.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: Bryse Jarvis

Bryse Jarvis RHP, College(Duke).  6'2", 195 lbs.

2018:  5-1, 2.45, 47.2 IP, 22 BB, 67 K.
2019:  5-2, 3.81, 75.2 IP, 37 BB, 94 K.
2020:  3-1, 0.67, 27 IP, 2 BB, 40 K.

Bryse Jarvis was your average pitchability college prospect out of HS and through his first two college seasons.  FB 89-91 with a breaking ball and changeup.  Change up best pitch.  Instead of pitching in the Cape Cod League over the summer, he went to Driveline to work on his mechanics and to a gym to gain strength.  Although current scouting reports of velocity remain elusive, (Fangraphs reports "rumors" of mid-90's velocity in fall practice) the results on the field are dramatic.  His walk rate, which was close to unacceptable for a pitchability guy, has all but disappeared and the K rate has hit double digits in several games.  He made headlines with a perfecto against Cornell, which is not all that impressive coming against an Ivy League school, but yesterday he took a perfect game into the 7'th inning against Florida State, which is top notch competition.  His father is Kevin Jarvis, a former MLB pitcher who played for 12 seasons, mostly with the Reds.  He is mentoring Bryse's career and helped map out the offseason plan that appears to be responsible for vaulting him into the elite college pitcher ranks.  Fangraphs still has him ranked at #184, but this appears to be based on preseason evaluations in which the improved stuff was only rumored.  We'll be watching closely for updates.

PS:  I found an article on the SB Nation Duke Blue Devils site which confirmed Jarvis' velocity is up to 95 this season.  Obviously, his command has improved dramatically too.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/6/2020: Giants 5 Brewers 5

Kevin Gausman made another strong start and Joe McCarthy made the biggest offensive impression in a game that ended in a tie.  Key Lines:

Joey Bart PH/DH- 0 for 2, K.  BA= .462.  Bart took a borderline called 3'rd strike, went off on the ump and got chased.  Manager Gabe Kapler had mixed reviews.  On the one hand he loved the passion but added that Joey needs to also learn patience and to channel the passion.  Probably not a good look for a rook who is enjoying a very successful spring training, but has no chance to make the team.

Joe McCarthy LF- 1 for 1, HR(1), BB.  BA= .364.  McCarthy is quietly putting together a strong spring training albeit in a tiny sample size.  FZ clearly sees something in him and is giving him opportunities despite a dismal recent record in the minors.

Mauricio Dubon 3B- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .421.  Dubon got the start at 3B and made a nice running catch in a pop-up behind 3B and down the line.  He also made a throwing error.  The bat stays hot.

Kevin Gausman RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 4/1.  ERA= 1.29.  Gausman is coming along nicely in his bid for for #3 SP.

Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 3/1.  ERA= 3.86.   DRod pitched two strong innings(6 and 7) before faltering in the 8'th.  In the mix for 5'th starter with Beede out.

Rodolfo Martinez RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Could Martinez be in the mix for Closer?  He's always had Closer type velocity, but has not been able to stay healthy or consistent.

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Giants host the White Sox in Scottsdale tomorrow with Trevor Cahill getting the start after two relief appearances.  He would seem to be in the mix for 5'th starter also.

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Today was the first big cutdown of the spring roster coinciding with the opening of minor league camp.  The Giants exercised options on Chris Shaw(OF/1B), Kean Wong(2B),  Melvin Adon(RHP), Sam Selman(LHP), and Conner Menez(LHP).  Non-roster players who were reassigned included Sean Hjelle(RHP), Tyler Cyr(RHP), Jake Jewell(RHP), Luis Madero(RHP), Trey McNutt(RHP), Sam Wolff(RHP), Raffi Vizcaino(RHP), Sam Moll(LHP), Ricardo Genoves(C), Jamie Westbrook(OF).

It was a bit surprising that Chris Shaw did not get a longer look, but the Giants don't seem to quite know what to do with him.  We'll watch Sean Hjelle closely wherever he is assigned(likely AA Richmond.  He has a chance to make his MLB debut sometime this season).  I think Luis Madero is a sleeper acquisition to keep an eye on and I am bullish on Sam Moll's future as a lefty reliever.

The cutdown leaves 55 players in camp competing for 26 roster spots.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: Markevian Hence

Markevian Hence RHP, HS.  6'1", 175 lbs.

Markevian Hence is on the small side, but has remarkably long arms and uses his right one to generate easy 96 MPH heat.  PG describes the arm as "lightning quick."  Hence has a 4-pitch mix, 4-seam, 2-seam, breaking ball, changeup.  Breaking ball is best secondary pitch and misses bats.  Committed to Arkansas.  Could take on helium if he maintains velocity through his senior HS season. Oh, and he has at least a grade 60 name.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/5/2020: Indians 7 Giants 1

Brandon Belt hit his second HR of the spring, but the Giants managed just 2 other hits in the game as the pitching staff struggled.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .222.  Meet the new Belt, same as the old Belt:  .222/.300/611.   The .611 won't hold up, but the other two numbers look about right.

Drew Smyly LHP- 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Had to wonder about an injury when you saw that line, but it was the 32 pitches to get one out that brough the early hook.

Andrew Suarez LHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.70.  Suarez has 9 K's in 6.2 IP, with just 1 BB.  He appears to have the inside track on the 5'th starter role with Tyler Beede out deep into the season.

Sam Selman(L), Andrew Triggs(R), Jarlin Garcia(L)- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.  All three of this trio have a 0.00 ERA on the spring so far.

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Kevin Gausman makes his 3'rd spring start tomorrow against the Brewers and Josh Lindblom.  DRod will follow Gausman before the bullpen takes over.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/4/2020: Dodgers 4 Giants 0

Johnny Cueto was not sharp in his second start of the spring and the Giants offense never found traction against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers pitchers who followed.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .333.  YtY continued his solid spring, but didn't get much help.  He was the only Giants batter with a crooked number in the Hit column, but as with all the other Giants batters, he had big fat zeros on either side of it.

Johnny Cueto RHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 7.71.  It's probably about time we started seeing some regression from Giants SP's.  Cueto had the worst start of any Giants SP so far this spring.  It's still early with plenty of time to get back on track before the start of the season.

Bullpen- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  Tyson Ross was mentioned as a candidate for the rotation after Tyler Beede's injury.  He had a scoreless frame in this one.  Dany Jimenez, the Rule 5 draftee who has to make the team or be offered back to the Blue Jays, pitched his fourth 1-inning appearance of the spring without allowing an earned run.

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Drew Smyly makes his 3'rd start of the spring tomorrow against the Indians in Scottsdale.

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Tyler Beede got the classic good news/bad news from the doctor today.  Good news:  He apparently does not need Tommy John surgery.  Bad News:  He has both a forearm strain and a UCL sprain.  Hard to envision him pitching for the Giants again before midseason let alone Opening Day.  And that's a real downer for him, the team and the fans because Beede appeared to be on the verge of a breakout season.

Scouting the 2020 Draft: Alejandro Rosario

Alejandro Rosario RHP, HS.  6'1", 165 lbs.

Smallish HS pitcher with a mid-90's FB and a sharp breaking ball.  Looks bigger than 165 lbs on video.  Easy, high 3/4 arm action with life on the FB.  Was old for 2021 class but reclassified to 2020.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/3/2020: Rangers 6 Giants 5

Wilmer Flores led the offense with a 3-run HR.  Tyler Beede exited early with elbow "tightness."  But the biggest buzz to come out of this game came from an unknown lefty with a very funky delivery named Yapson Gomez.  Yapson who?  Remember the name!  Key Lines:

Buster Posey C- 2 for 2, BB.  BA= .357.  Buster continues his hot spring hitting.  Will his legs hold up over a full season?

Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .333.  Flores bat looks for real, but where is he going to play?

Logan Webb RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.15.  I assume Webb reached a pitch count limit in the 3'rd inning.

Tyler Beede RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Beede was undoubtedly planning to go at least 2 IP, but came out after 1 complaining of "tightness".  He will undergo tests.  That's all not good news a elbow "tightness" is often a precursor to a visit to Dr Andrews' office.

Yapson Gomez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  He might not have even been scheduled to pitch.  Called into action when Beede left after 1 IP, Gomez lit up the crowd with one of the funkiest windups you'll ever see.  He brings the front foot up and freezes it, then gives it a shake and shimmy(not his body like Johnny Cueto, but the front foot) before he delivers the ball.  you can hear the crowd oohing and ahhing on the video.  Gomez must be a minor league FA signing.

Gomez is 26 yo, came up through the Cubs organization. Spent last year in the Indians system:

A+:  2-6, 2.27, 63.1 IP, 9.38 K/9, 2.42 BB/9, GB/FB= 1.74, 8 Saves.
AA:  1-0, 3.36, 8 IP, 6.75 K/9, 2.25 BB/9, GB/FB- 2.00.

He'll probably start the season in AA and try to win an add to the 40 man roster as well as a mid-season promotion/callup.

Trevor Gott RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.00.  Gott hits a road bump.

Shaun Anderson RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 30.38.  Ouch!  Anderson keeps getting lit up.

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Johnny Cueto makes his second spring start tonight in Glendale, AZ against the Dodgers.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/2/2020: Giants 8 D'Backs 1

Jeff Samardzija became the first Giants starter to go 3 innings this spring and Zack Green led the offense with a 3-run HR.  Key Lines:

Hunter Pence RF- 1 for 2.  BA= .500.  Nice to see Hunter Pence shake out the cobwebs and make an appearance.  Gotta admit, I'm getting a little sick of the nostalgia stories by the beat writers.  "Pence and Panda together again just like old times....blah, blah, blah!"  Look, I'm not convinced that FZ and Kapler are all that, and but at least Kapler seems to be all in for the future. I'm OK with Pence and Panda on the team, but these relentless nostalgia stories are buzzkills. Don't care how many nostalgic reunions you can think up, 2014 ain't coming back and it's time to move on.

Austin Slater CF- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .333.  I could see Austin Slater sticking as a RH platoon bat for the OF.  He's having a nice spring so far.

Joey Rickard CF- 2 for 2, 2B, 3B.  BA= .500.  Speaking of platoon bats.  I could also see a Giants 5-man OF made up of Dick, YtY, BHam, Pence and Rickard.

Mauricio Dubon 2B- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .500.  I say make this kid the starter at 2B and stop messing around with this super-utility BS.

Zach Green 3B- 1 for 2, HR(1).  BA= .500.  Tough to see a path for Zach Green to make the Opening Day roster.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.80.  First Giants SP to go 3 IP this spring.  Gave up solo HR to 9'th batter in the lineup.  Shark is going to give up his dingers.  Trick is to keep runners off base in front of them.  You can give up 3 solo HR's and pitch a Quality Start.  All good things come to an end.  Shark breaks scoreless innings streak for Giants SP's.

Luis Madero(R), Tyler Rogers(R), Jarlin Garcia(L), Nick Vincent(R), Andrew Triggs(R), Matt Carasiti(R)- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K.  Garcia is a near lock to make the team.  Rogers should be a close to a lock.  Nick Vincent has veteran savvy and pitching we'll for Gabe Kapler last season on his side.  Madero seems like sleeper.  I don't know where he'll start the season, but I feel like we will be seeing him again in the future.

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Tyler Beede and Logan Webb make their second appearances of the spring tomorrow against the Rangers flip-flopping roles with Webb making the start and Beede to follow.