Spring Training Update: Game Wrap- 03-13-2010

The Giants split a split-squad day, but not in the way you might expect. Oakland edged the Giants 8-7 with Matt Cain taking the loss, and the Giants doubled up the Mariners 8-4 behind Kevin Pucetas. Their overall Cactus League record now stands at 9-3. Wouldn't it be nice if that was their record after 12 games of the regular season? Key lines:

Aaron Rowand- 2 for 3, BB. Rowand seems intent on playing within himself, just trying to get on base.

Nate Schierholtz- 0 for 4, 3 K's. Ouch! What a letdown from yesterday's fine game!

Mark DeRosa- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .714.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. Buster is trying to kick the door down!

Matt Cain- 2.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's. An ugly line, but it's still early in ST.

Steve Johnson- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K. Johnson's chances of making the team just took a big step backwards.

Santiago Casilla- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Casilla is in camp. If he's healthy and pitches well, he's the final bullpen man.

Guillermo Mota- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. With each scoreless IP, Mota's place on the team grows more secure.

Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. Another dominant inning from Dan The Man. He's a virtual lock too.

Andres Torres- 2 for 4, 3B, HR, BB. Torres is insisting on a roster spot!

Edgar Renteria- 1 for 3, BB. Rent showing some signs of life.

Fred Lewis- 2 for 4, BB. FLew isn't throwing in the towel just yet. It seems to be coming down to FLew vs Pharoah for the final OF spot. Pharoah is more versatile, but I like FLew's OBP skills.

Kevin Pucetas- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 6/1. I know, 6 ground outs + 1 Fly out + 1 K only adds up to 8 batters, but Pucetas retired all 9 batters he faced. He did it against Seattle's probably opening day lineup. Kevin may have moved himself up to #2 on the #5 SP depth chart.

Medders + Romo- 1 scoreless IP each.

Steve Edlefsen- 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. Will be starting the season in Fresno.

Around the league: Two organizational #1 prospects went down with season ending illness/injury today:

Ryan Westmoreland, OF, Boston, BA #21 overall prospect- diagnosed with a cavernous vascular malformation of the brain. Will undergo surgery. Man, I'd sure like to know how this was discovered! Brain surgery is never a matter of minor concern!

Jared Mitchell, OF, ChiSox, BA #55 overall prospect- Made a spectacular catch in the OF and torn a tendon in his ankle and will undergo surgery that is likely season ending.

Also,

Lance Berkman, 1B, 'Stros, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out 2-4 weeks.

College Corner: Friday Night Starters

This Friday night was the Night of the Strikeout, led once again by the sophomores. Let's go straight to the lines:

Taylor Jungmann, So, RHP, Texas- 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 17 K's!

Gerritt Cole, So, RHP, UCLA- 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 15 K's!

Danny Hultzen, So(draft eligible), LHP, Virginia- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. Against Florida State, no less!

Deck McGuire, Jr, RHP, GA Tech- 9 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.

Drew Pomeranz, Jr, LHP, Ole Miss- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 12 K's.

Thomas Royse, Jr, RHP, Louisville- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 BB, 3 K's.

Pat Dean, Jr, LHP, Boston College- 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.

Here's a name you might want to tuck away for the later rounds of draft day: Mario Hollands, LHP, UCSB, 6'5", 205 lbs. Last night's game- 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 16 K's. Season line- 2-0, 2.05, 22 IP, 8 BB, 23 K's.

Spring Training Update: Game Wrap- 03-12-2010

The Giants got back to their winning ways trouncing the Rockies 9-2 to run their Cactus League record to 8-2. No, I don't think the baseball gods are unhappy with this one! Key lines:

Andres Torres- 2 for 3, 2 2B. Torres and Velez would seem to have the inside track for the Giants 2 reserve OF positions. Fred Lewis has been given his chances this spring and so far hasn't done anything with them.

Darren Ford- 2 for 2, 2B, SB. Ford won't make the MLB roster, but what a nice little line for him! If he can consolidate last year's breakout at a higher level, it would be a very good thing for him and the organization.

Nate Schierholtz- 2 for 3, 2B. Nate is quietly having a good spring, now hitting .357. RF is his to lose, and so far, he's not losing it.

Buster Posey- 2 for 3, 2B. Posey is hitting .333. Do you think he might force himself onto the team?

Todd Wellemeyer- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. Pitching to contact is not a terrible idea in the NL West. I believe #5 starter is Todd's to lose, and so far he's not losing it.

Henry Sosa- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Yet another strong outing by Sosa. I'd like to see him go back to starting in the minors, especially in light of Bumgarner's mysterious loss of velocity.

According to the fill-in dude for Extra Baggs, Barry Zito stayed home in Scottsdale and pitched 4 innings of scoreless ball against a Giants minor league lineup. I'm not sure whether to think this is a good sign for Zito, or a bad sign for the minor leaguers!

Split squad tomorrow, so we should see plenty of action from the kids.

Around the league:

Aroldis Chapman reportedly hit 100 MPH again today in his second appearance for Cincy. I'm betting he's on the opening day roster.

Clayton Kershaw is looking like the opening day starter for the Choking Dogs.

Spring Training Update: Game Wrap- 03-11-2010

I was happy that the Giants had been playing almost perfect baseball so far this spring, but I was seriously starting to worry that maybe the baseball gods weren't smiling. Well, the baseball gods were appeased today as the Giants dropped their exhibition game against the Mariners 6-2 and looked bad doing it. Key lines:

Aaron Rowand- 2 for 3, CS. I'm OK with Rowand leading off. He seems to be taking his job of getting on base seriously and certainly seems capable. What I'm not OK with is Aaron Rowand thinking he's a classic leadoff speedster and trying to steal bases. They say you have to be successful on at least 70-75% of basestealing attempts to make it a positive offensive contribution. Rowand might get to 50% if he's lucky. He needs to just get on base and be ready to try to take third on a single, or come home on a double, but not try to steal!

Mark DeRosa- 2 for 2, BB. DeRosa shows why he may be an offensive upgrade, but a defensive liability as he failed to get to a pop fly double in LF.

Tim Lincecum- 2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's. Just 2 ER, but a WHIP of 3 isn't going to win you many games. I'm thinking that Timmy is starting his spring over since he was limited to a simulated game due to rain his last scheduled start.

Madison Bumgarner- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 0 K's. Another start-over, but the signs are ominous. Baggs is reporting 86-89 MPH. Add in the wildness and lack of K's and you have to start wondering if this kid is hiding an injury, like an ACL or something.

Mota, Runzler and Romo- 3 likely bullpen members were lights out once again with 1 shutout inning apiece.

A couple of minor league contract signings of note:

1. Pablo Sandoval's older bro signed out of indy ball.

2. LHP Andy Sisco. This guy is enormous and might be interesting. A lefthanded mirror image of Steve Palazzolo at 6'10", 270 lbs. Pitched pretty well for one season with KC in 2005: 2-5, 3.11, 75.1 IP, 42 BB's, 76 K's. His BB/9 ballooned over the next 2 seasons and then he missed 2008 and 2009 with TJ surgery. Still just 27 y.o., he's someone to keep an eye on. The Giants have a history of being patient with this type of pitcher. Maybe they need to have Steve Kline take a look at him. He was able to get Dan Runzler turned around.

Fangraphs has it's NL Top 50 Prospect list up. Pretty similar to BA's with 4 Giants: Posey- #4, Bumgarner- #9, Zack Wheeler- #26, Thomas Neal #36. We'll see how it shakes out when they combine the NL and AL lists into a overall Top 100. Gotta wonder about MadBum that high with his continued velocity issues. Definitely a story to follow and a scary one for Giants fans.

Around the league:

Brandon Webb appears more and more likely to start the season on the DL.

Matt Holliday has a rib cage strain that seems like it might be more serious than originally thought. Rib cage strains can be debilitating for a long time.

Russell Martin is out 4-6 weeks with a pulled groin muscle. Gotta think there is something longer term going on with him though.

Michael Taylor homered for Oakland. Fantasy tip: Watch this guy closely. He'll start the season in the minors, but will almost certainly be called up before the season is over and will absolutely rake.

Spring Training Update: Game Wrap- 03-10-2010

The Giants continued their winning ways taking the Cubbies 5-1 today, while scoring all 5 of their runs in one inning. The Giants MO so far has been stiflling pitching and defense plus one big inning. This is getting scary! I think the Giants have a chance to be very good this year, but this good? Man, I don't think so! I'm starting to be afraid, very afraid that we are all going to look back on this spring training and wish we could have bottled some of these wins for the regular season. Still, ya gotta be excited over their overall play and individual performances, especially the pitching. Oh man, and what pitching! From virtually every pitcher in the entire organization! Here's some key lines:

Panda- 1 for 4, HR. Grand slam HR!!

Jonathan Sanchez- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, Pick Off. Barring injury, I think Durty is headed for a breakout season of epic proportions!

Medders allowed 1 run in 1 IP. Pucetas, Hacker, Whitaker, Edlefsen and Joaquin all pitched one scoreless inning each.

Craig Whitaker made his second scoreless spring appearance counting the intrasquad game. He recorded 3 groundball outs. If he were to have a successful season in the minors, it would be another significant boost to the organization.

Blast From the Past: Joe Nathan

Joe Nathan has a torn ACL in his right elbow and will likely undergo "Tommy John" surgery in the near future. The announcement got me to reminiscing about Nathan's career with the Giants, and of course The Trade. Joe Nathan's story is one of the more unusual ones in MLB.

Nathan was a shortstop at Division III SUNY Stony Brook, which has since graduated to a division I program. He was a two time Academic All-American and a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. Most scouts thought he looked more like a pitcher and noted his plus arm from SS. The Giants drafted him in the 6'th round in 1995. He signed immediately, played infield for Bellingham in the Northwest League, but didn't hit. The Giants wanted him to pitch, but he went back to school for his senior year and graduated. After graduation, he decided to give pitching a try and spent the next two years in the Giants farm system.

Joe Nathan made his MLB debut on April 21, 1999 pitching 7 shutout innings. He had a very live fastball that reached the mid-upper 90's finishing the season at 7-4 with an ERA of 4.18. He struggled in 2000 with shoulder pain and wildness and underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery after the season. For the next two seasons, Joe's fastball deserted him. He struggled in the minors with low velocity and high ERA's. Nathan kept after it, though, and learned how to pitch without the overpowering velocity developing better command and secondary pitches.

Nathan's velocity was back to the mid-90's in the spring of 2003 and he won a bullpen job with the Giants. He became the "high leverage" pitcher going into games at pivotal moments usually with runners on base. He rang up a 12-4 record with an ERA of 2.96. Although he did not record any Saves, he was probably the most valuable reliever, if not pitcher, on the team. Joe struggled a bit late in the season, and in the playoffs, he lost confidence and Felipe Alou, who was an impatient and uncommunicative manager, lost confidence in him. His season ended when Alou yanked him in the middle of an AB in the playoffs against the Florida Marlins. Nathan clearly was afraid to throw a strike, and was making half-hearted pickoff throws to first just to avoid throwing a pitch.

That offseason, the Giants traded Nathan, along with prospects Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano to the Minnesota Twins for All-Star catcher AJ Pierzynski. Of course, us Giants fans know the rest of this story all too well. AJ was a disaster in San Francisco while the Twins immediately installed Joe Nathan as their closer where he proceeded to save 246 games over the next 6 seasons while never exceeding an ERA of 2.70.

Joe Nathan's story is another microcosm of my entire experience as a Giants fan. Great promise, disappointment, bad trades and what ifs. After all the patience the organization showed him in the minors and after his shoulder surgery, why did they give up on him so quickly after his confidence lapse in 2003? What role did Felipe Alou play in losing Nathan? What if the Giants had kept Nathan and made him the closer in 2004? Would Steve Finley have hit that grand slam HR? Would the Giants have already clinched the division making Finley's HR a non-factor? Would the Giants have spent their money on someone other than Armando Benitez before the 2005 season? What if? What if? What if?

Spring Training Update: Game Wrap- 03-09-2010

If the Giants are going to build on last year's 88 win season, they are going to have to use a blueprint like the last two spring training games. Keep it close with lockdown pitching and defense then cash in on an offensive opportunity. On the other hand, I'm superstitious enough to feel like if they win too many games in the spring they are going to wish they had saved some for the regular season somewhere down the road. Still, a 6-1 spring record is better than 1-6. Good pitching is much better than bad pitching. Timely hitting is better than no hitting. Kids contributing is much better than kids not contributing. I'm digging spring training so far. The Giants won todays game against the White Sox 6-2. Here's some key lines:

Fred Lewis- 1 for 2, HR. FLew is going to need a few more of these to win a roster spot. Nice comeback from yesterday's 0'fer.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, HR. Buster played 9 innings at catcher. He threw out 1 of 3 baserunners, nearly catching a second. He also made a nifty tag out of Juan Pierre on a tapper in front of the plate that Pierre thought was a foul ball. LOLJuanPierre!

Matt Cain- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Rounding into game shape.

Brian Wilson- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. One of the things I love about Brian Wilson as our closer is his ability and willingness to to more than one inning.

Steve Johnson- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Rule 5 draftee. He appears to be competing for a bullpen spot rather than #5 starter, which seems to be coming down to Wellemeyer vs Bumgarner.

Dan Runzler- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. Another dominant outing for Big Dan. A bullpen spot is his to lose.

Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. Romo is in mid-season form!

Around the league:

Jason Heyward is absolutely destroying the ball for Atlanta. 6 for 14 with 2 doubles, HR, 6 BB's, 2 SB's so far making a huge case to be their starting RF to start the season.

The Dodgers got crushed by Colorado 12-0 today.