During the 3-7 homestand: Giants - 29, Other Teams - 48 During the 3-0 sweep in CO: Giants - 35, Rockies - 13
Timmy wasn't sharp, so I'm not sure if today was about Timmy getting out of jams, or the Rockies simply sucking so bad that the Coors Field effect doesn't help them anymore.
Edit to add, the Rockies have scored the 8th most runs in all MLB, so I guess this was Timmy getting out of jams.
2012 SF Giants discussion 8/6: Giants upgrade bullpen for free, get lefty Jose Mijares from Royals.
Hmm, Giants were awarded the claim on lefty reliever Jose Mijares from the Royals, and the Royals simply said "take him." He's reporting to the team tomorrow.
Decent numbers: 2.56 era and 1.267 whip in 38.2 ip. 8.6 so/9, 3.0 bb/9, 0.7 hr/9. 1 blown save, 2 losses. 15/37 inherited runners scored. He's NOT a closer.
Lefties are batting .214/.280/.321 on him, and righties are hitting .295/.375/.459.
However, all of the AL and 11 NL teams passed on him.
There's room on the 40-man for him, but no word on who's going down to fit him in the 25-man.
There are 8 guys in the pen, but only 1 with options (Kontos).
Penny (5.40 era, 1.500 whip) and Loux (4.82 era, 1.446 whip) are the worst guys (non closer category) in the pen right now, but they'd need to be DFA'ed.
I'm thinking that either Penny or Loux will get the boot. Kontos, despite his occasional hiccups, has been decent out of the pen (2.42 era, 1.164 whip).
Or, someone will come down with a case of "biceps tendinitis" and go to the DL.
Boch says that they're backing off of Casilla's workload due to his "blister" issue, and are moving to a closer-by-committee format. With lefty Mijares in the pen, they can save Affeldt for the 9th, and start giving him some cracks at saves.
I'll be on the East Coast (Schierholtz's new town) all week so I can't watch games live this week. Might be a good thing.
Ever since the perfect game it looks like Matt Cain hasn't been as sharp as he could be. Lately he seems to be giving up more homers than usual.
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So, after getting their pitching staff obliterated by the Giants, the Rockies have gone to LA and have held the Dodgers to 1 run in 2 games. Yeah, that makes sense. I just hope they get this effectiveness out of their system before they go up to AT&T Park for this weekend!
Another 0-fer night for Pence. He's now 4 for 30 as a Giant, with those 4 hits coming at Coors. In comparison, Nate's 7-22 with the Phillies.
Buster's carrying the team right now. I just hope the pitching can make the correction it needs.
Nice to see the offense lighting up the scoreboard. I'm thinking that once Panda gets back, Scutaro's going to get a good chunk of the playing time at 2nd, since he's suddenly thriving with the Giants and Theriot's cooled down.
Pagan, Scutaro, Melky, and Posey are red hot right now, and Belt's "#2 hitter hot" right now down in the 6 spot.
I'm shocked by the overall lack of production that Pence has generated so far in a Giants uniform. He looked good tonight, so I hope that it's a sign that he's going to stop hitting like a pitcher.
No offense = no run support = Sucking out of first place.
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Looked like a Lincecum start from last year. Solid quality start in a shutout loss.
Here's my predictions for the rest of this month, and I DARE the Giants to prove me wrong:
3 v Rockies = Giants drop 2 of 3. 3 v Nationals = Giants get swept. 0-3 3 @ Padres = Giants take 2 of 3. 3 @ Dodgers = Giants get swept, 0-3. 3 v Braves = Giants drop 3 of 4. 3 @ Astros = Giants take 2 of 3. and, to close out August: 1 @ Cubs = Giants loose.
So, that, or some combination of that will complete a 12-20 month. Giants will be in 3rd palce behind the Dodgers and DBacks.
Wow, I didn't think the Giants could pull this one out today! Sloppy, lethargic play, they rallied and stomped on the Rockies closer, who also handed Hunter Pence his first homer as a Giant.
Posey's been red hot, Belt's been hot.
ON a related note, I sold off my 2008 Bowman Chrome Buster Posey AU rookie cards, one REF #/500 and the other a Blue REF #/150. I turned a really nice profit, since I bought them right after his injury when his card prices fell. I sold them for more than what they peaked at after the World Series and higher than what I had seen them go for the week prior to me selling, but now they've surpassed my sale price. Ugh. I figured I could go pick up another, but I might have to wait for him to cool down first.
So, there's a hole in my collection that's filled with a stack of cash, but no card... yet.
I'll give them credit for the comeback win. After going down by 2 runs the normal Giants lineup gives up and makes dinner plans. This time they actually fought back and won.
Next up is a tough series with the Nationals.
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With Panda likely to be activated for tomorrow's game, I'm interested to see who ends up going to the bench. Pill's going to be optioned back to Fresno, no doubt.
Hmm, I thought they'd demote Pill, but they've got him out doing community contact stuff today. Seems kinda messed up to make a guy go out and do community service the day he gets demoted. Then again, Bochy took Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez with him to Japan for that All Star thing last off-season, and they got traded a week after they got back.
They are working with a short bench, but considering how much the bullpens' been in use over the last week, it seems like we've needed that extra body in the pen.
Kontos is the only guy with options, but Penny kinda sucks.
Kontos has given up 7 earned runs in 26 ip all year. Penny's given up 10 earned runs in 19 ip all year.
Maybe someone will go on the DL for some BS injury. Giants love doing that.
3rd inning. Game over. Series over. Giants getting swept.
Looks like the Ryan Vogelsong elite pitcher era ends tonight but the Brad Penny sucks era lives on.
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Never mind tonight. The Giants can regroup by building on the success they've had against the Nationals this year. Oh wait, I forgot...
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<< <i>Looks like the Ryan Vogelsong elite pitcher era ends tonight and the Ryan Vogelsuck era begins. >>
MadBum had a worse outing last year. Remember that Twins game? He seems to have come out of that ok.
I'm not ready to give up on a guy like Vogelsong after 1 bad outing. >>
I remember that game because I was at that game. It was over before the bottom of the 1st inning and I remember people leaving that game in the 1st inning. If I recall the Giants scored two whole runs in their comeback attempt.
Against Gio Gonzalez it will take that lineup 45 innings to score 11 runs.
Next two games they'll face Zimmerman and Strasburg. Never mind winning a game, there's a good chance they won't score a run this series.
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Not watching the game, but looking at some of the replays, there were a lot of balls that were hit directly to Giants infielders in that 3rd inning that they simply failed to field. Voggy gave the defense a lot of grounders, and they returned the favor by not fielding them.
It's nights like this that I wish I were a Phillies fan. If tonight was happening to the Phillies the fans would have their own fun chukking batteries at the home dugout.
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<< <i>It's nights like this that I wish I were a Phillies fan. If tonight was happening to the Phillies the fans would have their own fun chukking batteries at the home dugout. >>
<< <i>It's nights like this that I wish I were a Phillies fan. If tonight was happening to the Phillies the fans would have their own fun chukking batteries at the home dugout. >>
Raider fan? >>
That works too. I'm really a Niners fan but my family had Raiders season tickets from the 1995 move to 2003 (I was born in 1980 so I was a freshman in high school with Raiders season tickets, I'll admit that was cool). I've been to plenty of both teams' games. Raiders fans are mostly enthusiastic but harmless but let's just say over the course of those years I've seen it all.
Normally I would go to 4 or 5 games a season and my mom or I would give the other tickets to friends, colleagues or business associates. When I was a sophmore in high school I gave tickets to my English-Lit teacher (an Oakland native 26 years old at the time) for him to take his then girlfriend. On the Monday after he pulls me aside between periods and candidly asks me if I ever get scared at the games. I told him things happen but it's mostly harmless fun. He said his girlfriend and him were scared for their lives. I gave him the "when in Rome" spiel but he just couldn't get his head around that.
On the bright side the Giants scored more points than the Raiders did tonight.
And what's insult to injury after a raping at home like tonight is you go on Twitter and you see those stupid "yeah they got killied at home but I don't care cuz I'm a Giants fan 4 life!" tweets.
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<< <i>And what's insult to injury after a raping at home like tonight is you go on Twitter and you see those stupid "yeah they got killied at home but I don't care cuz I'm a Giants fan 4 life!" tweets. >>
Why are you following anyone who tweets (or re-tweets) stuff like that?
Half my family are die-hard 49er fans, while the other half are die-hard Raider fans. I fell on the 49er side of the fence apparently. I haven't really been die-hard about the 49ers since Montana left, though I peek in from time to time to see what's going on.
Hmm, here's something that's flown under the radar for a few months... Angel Villalona has resumed baseball activities in the Dominican Summer League, where he's hitting .310/.444/.512 in 37 games. 8 doubles, 6 homers, and 29 RBI. Not bad. 21 walks / 35 strikeouts. In adition to his 21 walks, he's been hit by pitches 11 times in those 37 games, which seems like a lot to me.
Anyways, this guy might just well get that second chance. He's 21 now, and no longer that phenom teenager who signed at the age of 16, and raking in the DSL is basically minus-minus A ball, but you've gotta start somewhere.
On the 40 man roster are a few guys who we've never seen in SF before.
Hector Correa, RHP, 24 years old. He was aquired in a weird trade in 2009 when the Giants sent reliever Jack Taschner to the Phillies for catcher Ronny Paulino, then immediately flipped Paulino to the Marlins for the 21 year old (and injured) A baller Correa. Correa's never gotten higher than AA, is back in A ball, and getting knocked around in San Jose. (18 ip, 7.50 era, 1.778 whip, 1.53 so/bb).
Francisco Peguero, OF, 24 years old. He's one of those toolsey outfielder types, good glove, good arm, and is fast. Though he's only stolen 1 base all year, he's legged out 10 triples and 18 doubles. In 2010, the Giants were impressed with his 16 triples, 10 homers, and 40 stolen bases and added him to the 40 man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He's in Fresno now, and is apparently making the Grizzlies fans happy, but his .271/.294/.401 probably won't do much for his call up chances, unless the Giants decide to just throw caution to the wind and bring him and to see what he can do.
Ehire Adrianza, SS, 22 years old. All glove, no bat. Slick fielder at his position. He's shown a lot of speed in the past, but his .289 OBP isn't going to give him a lot of chances to show that off. Unless he really improves his hitting in the next year or two, he's never going to see AT&T Park w/o a ticket.
Roger Kieschnick, OF, 25 years old. The closest thing we have to a "power outfielder" in the minors. His minors career has been marred with back injuries, but when he's healthy he rakes. He was hitting .319/.390/.623 with 14 homers in Fresno before he broke a shoulder bone in a collision with an outfield wall in May. He's supposed to resume baseball activity this month.
Is Villalona totally clear of his legal and visa issues now?
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<< <i>Is Villalona totally clear of his legal and visa issues now? >>
His legal issues were resolved last year. I don't know whats going on with his visa status though. He was denied a visa to come to the US for spring training on the grounds that he didn't fit the criteria of "professional athlete" or something like that. Giants players who wintered in the DR said that he was in shape and ready to go, so who knows.
In other minors news...
Down in Richmond (AA), Gary Brown is continuing to do well, hitting .282/.348/.398 with 31 steals, 30 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 homers. He's also been hit by pitches 18 times.
It's not likely that we'll see him in SF this year, but who knows? Maybe he'll come on up and do Mike Trout stuff. More likely than not, he'll probably do Justin Christian stuff if he got called up this year.
When Zack Wheeler got traded, a lot of us thought that the Giants farm system was now utterly devoid of starting pitching. Not so. This season, Chris Heston (RHP) has emerged as a decent prospect. In 21 AA starts, he's posted a 2.20 era, 1.098 whip, and 3.80 so/bb ratio. That's a little better than the line that Wheeler posted in the minors this year (21 starts, 3.26 era, 1.161 whip, 2.56 so/bb ratio). The big difference is that Wheeler was a HS draft pick, while Heston was a college pick, and both were drafted in 2009, so Heston's a bit older and SHOULD be further along in his development.
Still, if Heston continues to develop, he may be in the mix to start in a few years.
Well, the collective "us", the Giants fans. The only prospect starting pitchers tend to be 1st round picks. Seldom have the Giants had a deeper pick flash any sort of prospect type ability.
And no, I'm not Mike Murphy. I thought we went over this a few years ago....
Penny to the DL with a sore shoulder. Otero called up to take his spot in the pen.
Otero's done pretty well in Fresno since his early-season demotion. After getting shelled in the majors, and having a rough first few months back in the minors, he been good. He's even logged several multi-inning outings.
Could be that Otero and Hensley will start getting used as the mop-up guys until Otero can prove that he's something more.
Anyways, on Penny's issues, it's being listed as "right shoulder impingement", which is basically a rotator cuff problem. He's been dealing with the pain for a while now, and was working through it when the Giants first signed him and had him down in Fresno. If it's bothering him enough to DL him now, chances are that we won't be seeing him for a while. Giants will probably leave him on the DL at least until the rosters expand on September 1st.
Giants currently have 39 guys on the 40 man roster. I don't know why they haven't done this yet, but they still have Freddy Sanchez on the 15 day DL. Putting him on the 60 day DL will get him off the 40 man and give them another spot to work with if they need it.
Guillermo Mota's scheduled to be eligible to come back August 28th.
Looks like the Nats pulled one out of the Giants game plan: go crazy on runs in one game then forget how to score runs the very next day. What's more, they actually beat a good pitcher in Zimmerman.
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MadBum brought it. 2nd CG of his career. Ironically the Nats are, as a whole, their strongest vs left handed pitching. Just not tonight though. 9 ip, 1 run on 5 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts.
AT&T Park stole 2 homers from Brandon Belt tonight. A shot to left hit the wall 2 feet (or less) from the top, and a booming shot to right hit the bricks inches from the top. Both scored runs, but both lead to Belt getting thrown out at a base.
Belt's heating up. He's looking like a red-hot #2 hitter. If those wall-shots were any indication, the homers are going to come, and they might come in bunches.
Maybe he'll start hitting some like he did with this one last year: BOOM!
2012 SF Giants discussion 8/15: CRAP! Melky Cabrera suspended for PEDs.
Well, that's just dandy. I guess it's good the Giants didn't lock him up in a multi year deal.
So, we just lost our #3 hitter and are adding a #7 or #8 hitter in Blanco or Christian.
This just put a huge dent in any post-season aspirations.
Edit to add: He admitted to using in his statement today. That's nice, but it doesn't change that he just stabbed the Giants and their fans in the back.
If the Giants make it to the post season and win the Division series in 4 or 5 games, then according to MLB, Melky can be re-activated in time for the NLCS.
Apparently that rumor that started on Twitter on July 27 was true, but not public yet.
Something was bound to be up when a guy goes from a .245 hitter up to a .355 hitter with an increase of power in less than two years. Hell if Ryan Braun tested positive then got his suspension overturned then who knows what'll ultimately happen.
I am certain he isn't the only one in the league doing testosterone and I hope other fans will stand behind him like I know I will.
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<< <i>Hell if Ryan Braun tested positive then got his suspension overturned then who knows what'll ultimately happen. >>
Melky's statement: "My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program..."
Nothing is going to get overturned here. Melky's done.
<< <i>Hell if Ryan Braun tested positive then got his suspension overturned then who knows what'll ultimately happen. >>
Melky's statement: "My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program..."
Nothing is going to get overturned here. Melky's done. >>
Too bad he just gave in and rolled over and the team couldn't stand behind him like the Brewers did with Braun.
This news is this year's proverbial home plate collision. With the absence of the team's best hitter this season is effectively lost, with or without Posey's hot hitting. Boy are those other guys who signed a contract extension sorry they did.
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<< <i>Boy are those other guys who signed a contract extension sorry they did. >>
Who are you talking about? >>
Cain for one. Could've signed with a contender after the year but is now relegated to the rest of this year and probably for the majority of his contract getting Cain'd in every outing.
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<< <i>Cain for one. Could've signed with a contender after the year but is now relegated to the rest of this year and probably for the majority of his contract getting Cain'd in every outing. >>
Cain signed his extension w/o knowing anything about what Melky Cabrera could or couldn't do. Heck, he signed without knowing if Buster Posey was even 100%.
I wonder, with an obvious void in the OF, what would happen if they gave Gary Brown a taste of the big leagues? What if, what if he goes all Mike Trout on the NL?
For now, the best lineup we've got is:
Pagan - CF Scutaro - 2b Panda - 3b Buster - C Pence - RF Belt - 1b Blanco - LF Crawford - SS
There's a whole lot of "if" in the middle of that lineup.
If Panda can hit again... if Buster can keep up his pace... If Pence can stop hitting like a pitcher and more like his career averages if Belt can keep hitting....
I did a little write up on Roger Kieschnick yesterday. Fresno says that he's out for the season, so we won't be seeing him in September.
<< <i>Gary Brown the next Mike Trout? I guess everything is possible but I'll bet he'd be a lot more likely to pull a Justin Christian than a Mike Trout. >>
Yeah, that's what I said yesterday. Or he'll be 2011 Mike Trout, who went .220/.281/.390 in 135 PAs.
Gary Brown the next Mike Trout? I guess everything is possible but I'll bet he'd be a lot more likely to pull a Justin Christian than a Mike Trout.
As for the others in the lineup, I know everybody was eager for Panda's return. Fans love him and he's a great plus for the lineup but in my honest opinion I don't think he's as big of a gamechanger as most fans have him made out to be.
To my surprise Belt's been hitting well and by all accounts last night should have been a 2 homer night for him. Pence is starting to hit better as well.
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<< <i>As for the others in the lineup, I know everybody was eager for Panda's return. Fans love him and he's a great plus for the lineup but in my honest opinion I don't think he's as big of a gamechanger as most fans have him made out to be. >>
He could be, depending on how much he's recovered from his hand surgery and his hamstring pull.
<< <i>I wish your team could play by the rules and not be CHEATERS!!! >>
Yeah, because the Dodgers never had a player do something like this.
>>
How many years has it been since since the stands at Dodger Stadium were that full?
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This sort of think kills a team internally. It might not be as critical as the Posey injury of last year though. Posey was replaced with a platoon of guys who hit like pitchers. Melky will probably get replaced by shifting guys around.
I wouldn't be shocked to see something like this:
CF - Pagan 2b - Scutaro 1b - Panda C - Posey RF - Pence 3b - Arias LF - Belt SS - Crawford
Comments
During the 3-0 sweep in CO: Giants - 35, Rockies - 13
Timmy wasn't sharp, so I'm not sure if today was about Timmy getting out of jams, or the Rockies simply sucking so bad that the Coors Field effect doesn't help them anymore.
Edit to add, the Rockies have scored the 8th most runs in all MLB, so I guess this was Timmy getting out of jams.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Hmm, Giants were awarded the claim on lefty reliever Jose Mijares from the Royals, and the Royals simply said "take him." He's reporting to the team tomorrow.
Decent numbers: 2.56 era and 1.267 whip in 38.2 ip. 8.6 so/9, 3.0 bb/9, 0.7 hr/9. 1 blown save, 2 losses. 15/37 inherited runners scored. He's NOT a closer.
Lefties are batting .214/.280/.321 on him, and righties are hitting .295/.375/.459.
However, all of the AL and 11 NL teams passed on him.
There's room on the 40-man for him, but no word on who's going down to fit him in the 25-man.
There are 8 guys in the pen, but only 1 with options (Kontos).
Penny (5.40 era, 1.500 whip) and Loux (4.82 era, 1.446 whip) are the worst guys (non closer category) in the pen right now, but they'd need to be DFA'ed.
I'm thinking that either Penny or Loux will get the boot. Kontos, despite his occasional hiccups, has been decent out of the pen (2.42 era, 1.164 whip).
Or, someone will come down with a case of "biceps tendinitis" and go to the DL.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Ever since the perfect game it looks like Matt Cain hasn't been as sharp as he could be. Lately he seems to be giving up more homers than usual.
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first 6 games as a Giant: .154 ba, 3 doubles, 0 homers, 5 rbi, 1 walk, 6 so.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Another 0-fer night for Pence. He's now 4 for 30 as a Giant, with those 4 hits coming at Coors.
In comparison, Nate's 7-22 with the Phillies.
Buster's carrying the team right now. I just hope the pitching can make the correction it needs.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Nice to see the offense lighting up the scoreboard. I'm thinking that once Panda gets back, Scutaro's going to get a good chunk of the playing time at 2nd, since he's suddenly thriving with the Giants and Theriot's cooled down.
Pagan, Scutaro, Melky, and Posey are red hot right now, and Belt's "#2 hitter hot" right now down in the 6 spot.
I'm shocked by the overall lack of production that Pence has generated so far in a Giants uniform. He looked good tonight, so I hope that it's a sign that he's going to stop hitting like a pitcher.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
0-fer Pagan, 0-fer Melky, 0-fer Pence, 0-fer Belt.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
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Here's my predictions for the rest of this month, and I DARE the Giants to prove me wrong:
3 v Rockies = Giants drop 2 of 3.
3 v Nationals = Giants get swept. 0-3
3 @ Padres = Giants take 2 of 3.
3 @ Dodgers = Giants get swept, 0-3.
3 v Braves = Giants drop 3 of 4.
3 @ Astros = Giants take 2 of 3.
and, to close out August:
1 @ Cubs = Giants loose.
So, that, or some combination of that will complete a 12-20 month. Giants will be in 3rd palce behind the Dodgers and DBacks.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
last 10 games at AT&T: 2-8 (vs Padres, Dodgers, Mets, Rockies) 22 runs scored, 50 runs allowed
last 10 games on road: 7-3 (vs Phillies, Rockies, Cardinals) 72 runs scored, 37 runs allowed
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
The dude's gone into Super Hero mode since the AS break. .441/.505/.774, 9 homers, 32 rbi since the AS Break.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Posey's been red hot, Belt's been hot.
ON a related note, I sold off my 2008 Bowman Chrome Buster Posey AU rookie cards, one REF #/500 and the other a Blue REF #/150. I turned a really nice profit, since I bought them right after his injury when his card prices fell. I sold them for more than what they peaked at after the World Series and higher than what I had seen them go for the week prior to me selling, but now they've surpassed my sale price. Ugh. I figured I could go pick up another, but I might have to wait for him to cool down first.
So, there's a hole in my collection that's filled with a stack of cash, but no card... yet.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Next up is a tough series with the Nationals.
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Since Panda went on the DL:
Crawford: 46 pa, .250/.348/.275
Arias: 40 pa, .342/.350/.421
Scutaro: 67 pa, .322/.373/.441
Theriot: 67 pa, .200/.262/.233
Maybe we'll see Scutaro shift over to 2nd and move Theriot to the bench?
Pagan CF
Scutaro 2b
Melky LF
Buster C
Panda 3b
Pence RF
Belt 1b
Crawford/Arias SS
pitcher
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
They are working with a short bench, but considering how much the bullpens' been in use over the last week, it seems like we've needed that extra body in the pen.
Kontos is the only guy with options, but Penny kinda sucks.
Kontos has given up 7 earned runs in 26 ip all year. Penny's given up 10 earned runs in 19 ip all year.
Maybe someone will go on the DL for some BS injury. Giants love doing that.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
Looks like the Ryan Vogelsong elite pitcher era ends tonight but the Brad Penny sucks era lives on.
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<< <i>Looks like the Ryan Vogelsong elite pitcher era ends tonight and the Ryan Vogelsuck era begins. >>
MadBum had a worse outing last year. Remember that Twins game? He seems to have come out of that ok.
I'm not ready to give up on a guy like Vogelsong after 1 bad outing.
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<< <i>
<< <i>Looks like the Ryan Vogelsong elite pitcher era ends tonight and the Ryan Vogelsuck era begins. >>
MadBum had a worse outing last year. Remember that Twins game? He seems to have come out of that ok.
I'm not ready to give up on a guy like Vogelsong after 1 bad outing. >>
I remember that game because I was at that game. It was over before the bottom of the 1st inning and I remember people leaving that game in the 1st inning. If I recall the Giants scored two whole runs in their comeback attempt.
Against Gio Gonzalez it will take that lineup 45 innings to score 11 runs.
Next two games they'll face Zimmerman and Strasburg. Never mind winning a game, there's a good chance they won't score a run this series.
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<< <i>It's nights like this that I wish I were a Phillies fan. If tonight was happening to the Phillies the fans would have their own fun chukking batteries at the home dugout. >>
Raider fan?
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<< <i>
<< <i>It's nights like this that I wish I were a Phillies fan. If tonight was happening to the Phillies the fans would have their own fun chukking batteries at the home dugout. >>
Raider fan? >>
That works too. I'm really a Niners fan but my family had Raiders season tickets from the 1995 move to 2003 (I was born in 1980 so I was a freshman in high school with Raiders season tickets, I'll admit that was cool). I've been to plenty of both teams' games. Raiders fans are mostly enthusiastic but harmless but let's just say over the course of those years I've seen it all.
Normally I would go to 4 or 5 games a season and my mom or I would give the other tickets to friends, colleagues or business associates. When I was a sophmore in high school I gave tickets to my English-Lit teacher (an Oakland native 26 years old at the time) for him to take his then girlfriend. On the Monday after he pulls me aside between periods and candidly asks me if I ever get scared at the games. I told him things happen but it's mostly harmless fun. He said his girlfriend and him were scared for their lives. I gave him the "when in Rome" spiel but he just couldn't get his head around that.
On the bright side the Giants scored more points than the Raiders did tonight.
And what's insult to injury after a raping at home like tonight is you go on Twitter and you see those stupid "yeah they got killied at home but I don't care cuz I'm a Giants fan 4 life!" tweets.
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<< <i>And what's insult to injury after a raping at home like tonight is you go on Twitter and you see those stupid "yeah they got killied at home but I don't care cuz I'm a Giants fan 4 life!" tweets. >>
Why are you following anyone who tweets (or re-tweets) stuff like that?
Half my family are die-hard 49er fans, while the other half are die-hard Raider fans. I fell on the 49er side of the fence apparently. I haven't really been die-hard about the 49ers since Montana left, though I peek in from time to time to see what's going on.
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Anyways, this guy might just well get that second chance. He's 21 now, and no longer that phenom teenager who signed at the age of 16, and raking in the DSL is basically minus-minus A ball, but you've gotta start somewhere.
On the 40 man roster are a few guys who we've never seen in SF before.
Hector Correa, RHP, 24 years old. He was aquired in a weird trade in 2009 when the Giants sent reliever Jack Taschner to the Phillies for catcher Ronny Paulino, then immediately flipped Paulino to the Marlins for the 21 year old (and injured) A baller Correa. Correa's never gotten higher than AA, is back in A ball, and getting knocked around in San Jose. (18 ip, 7.50 era, 1.778 whip, 1.53 so/bb).
Francisco Peguero, OF, 24 years old. He's one of those toolsey outfielder types, good glove, good arm, and is fast. Though he's only stolen 1 base all year, he's legged out 10 triples and 18 doubles. In 2010, the Giants were impressed with his 16 triples, 10 homers, and 40 stolen bases and added him to the 40 man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He's in Fresno now, and is apparently making the Grizzlies fans happy, but his .271/.294/.401 probably won't do much for his call up chances, unless the Giants decide to just throw caution to the wind and bring him and to see what he can do.
Ehire Adrianza, SS, 22 years old. All glove, no bat. Slick fielder at his position. He's shown a lot of speed in the past, but his .289 OBP isn't going to give him a lot of chances to show that off. Unless he really improves his hitting in the next year or two, he's never going to see AT&T Park w/o a ticket.
Roger Kieschnick, OF, 25 years old. The closest thing we have to a "power outfielder" in the minors. His minors career has been marred with back injuries, but when he's healthy he rakes. He was hitting .319/.390/.623 with 14 homers in Fresno before he broke a shoulder bone in a collision with an outfield wall in May. He's supposed to resume baseball activity this month.
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<< <i>Is Villalona totally clear of his legal and visa issues now? >>
His legal issues were resolved last year. I don't know whats going on with his visa status though. He was denied a visa to come to the US for spring training on the grounds that he didn't fit the criteria of "professional athlete" or something like that. Giants players who wintered in the DR said that he was in shape and ready to go, so who knows.
In other minors news...
Down in Richmond (AA), Gary Brown is continuing to do well, hitting .282/.348/.398 with 31 steals, 30 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 homers. He's also been hit by pitches 18 times.
It's not likely that we'll see him in SF this year, but who knows? Maybe he'll come on up and do Mike Trout stuff. More likely than not, he'll probably do Justin Christian stuff if he got called up this year.
When Zack Wheeler got traded, a lot of us thought that the Giants farm system was now utterly devoid of starting pitching. Not so. This season, Chris Heston (RHP) has emerged as a decent prospect. In 21 AA starts, he's posted a 2.20 era, 1.098 whip, and 3.80 so/bb ratio. That's a little better than the line that Wheeler posted in the minors this year (21 starts, 3.26 era, 1.161 whip, 2.56 so/bb ratio). The big difference is that Wheeler was a HS draft pick, while Heston was a college pick, and both were drafted in 2009, so Heston's a bit older and SHOULD be further along in his development.
Still, if Heston continues to develop, he may be in the mix to start in a few years.
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<< <i>When Zack Wheeler got traded, a lot of us thought that the Giants farm system was now utterly devoid of starting pitching. >>
us??? hmmmm
<< <i>us??? hmmmm
Well, the collective "us", the Giants fans. The only prospect starting pitchers tend to be 1st round picks. Seldom have the Giants had a deeper pick flash any sort of prospect type ability.
And no, I'm not Mike Murphy. I thought we went over this a few years ago....
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Otero's done pretty well in Fresno since his early-season demotion. After getting shelled in the majors, and having a rough first few months back in the minors, he been good. He's even logged several multi-inning outings.
Could be that Otero and Hensley will start getting used as the mop-up guys until Otero can prove that he's something more.
Anyways, on Penny's issues, it's being listed as "right shoulder impingement", which is basically a rotator cuff problem. He's been dealing with the pain for a while now, and was working through it when the Giants first signed him and had him down in Fresno. If it's bothering him enough to DL him now, chances are that we won't be seeing him for a while. Giants will probably leave him on the DL at least until the rosters expand on September 1st.
Giants currently have 39 guys on the 40 man roster. I don't know why they haven't done this yet, but they still have Freddy Sanchez on the 15 day DL. Putting him on the 60 day DL will get him off the 40 man and give them another spot to work with if they need it.
Guillermo Mota's scheduled to be eligible to come back August 28th.
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AT&T Park stole 2 homers from Brandon Belt tonight. A shot to left hit the wall 2 feet (or less) from the top, and a booming shot to right hit the bricks inches from the top. Both scored runs, but both lead to Belt getting thrown out at a base.
Belt's heating up. He's looking like a red-hot #2 hitter. If those wall-shots were any indication, the homers are going to come, and they might come in bunches.
Maybe he'll start hitting some like he did with this one last year: BOOM!
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Well, that's just dandy. I guess it's good the Giants didn't lock him up in a multi year deal.
So, we just lost our #3 hitter and are adding a #7 or #8 hitter in Blanco or Christian.
This just put a huge dent in any post-season aspirations.
Edit to add: He admitted to using in his statement today. That's nice, but it doesn't change that he just stabbed the Giants and their fans in the back.
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I guess he wasn't pasteurized after all.
- dissapointed and
Apparently that rumor that started on Twitter on July 27 was true, but not public yet.
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I am certain he isn't the only one in the league doing testosterone and I hope other fans will stand behind him like I know I will.
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<< <i>Hell if Ryan Braun tested positive then got his suspension overturned then who knows what'll ultimately happen. >>
Melky's statement: "My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program..."
Nothing is going to get overturned here. Melky's done.
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<< <i>
<< <i>Hell if Ryan Braun tested positive then got his suspension overturned then who knows what'll ultimately happen. >>
Melky's statement: "My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program..."
Nothing is going to get overturned here. Melky's done. >>
Too bad he just gave in and rolled over and the team couldn't stand behind him like the Brewers did with Braun.
This news is this year's proverbial home plate collision. With the absence of the team's best hitter this season is effectively lost, with or without Posey's hot hitting. Boy are those other guys who signed a contract extension sorry they did.
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<< <i>Boy are those other guys who signed a contract extension sorry they did. >>
Who are you talking about?
<< <i>Too bad he just gave in and rolled over and the team couldn't stand behind him like the Brewers did with Braun. >>
How would the team stand behind him? He admitted using PEDs. "Everyone else is using them" isn't really an argument.
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<< <i>
<< <i>Boy are those other guys who signed a contract extension sorry they did. >>
Who are you talking about? >>
Cain for one. Could've signed with a contender after the year but is now relegated to the rest of this year and probably for the majority of his contract getting Cain'd in every outing.
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<< <i>Cain for one. Could've signed with a contender after the year but is now relegated to the rest of this year and probably for the majority of his contract getting Cain'd in every outing. >>
Cain signed his extension w/o knowing anything about what Melky Cabrera could or couldn't do. Heck, he signed without knowing if Buster Posey was even 100%.
I wonder, with an obvious void in the OF, what would happen if they gave Gary Brown a taste of the big leagues? What if, what if he goes all Mike Trout on the NL?
For now, the best lineup we've got is:
Pagan - CF
Scutaro - 2b
Panda - 3b
Buster - C
Pence - RF
Belt - 1b
Blanco - LF
Crawford - SS
There's a whole lot of "if" in the middle of that lineup.
If Panda can hit again...
if Buster can keep up his pace...
If Pence can stop hitting like a pitcher and more like his career averages
if Belt can keep hitting....
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<< <i>Gary Brown the next Mike Trout? I guess everything is possible but I'll bet he'd be a lot more likely to pull a Justin Christian than a Mike Trout. >>
Yeah, that's what I said yesterday. Or he'll be 2011 Mike Trout, who went .220/.281/.390 in 135 PAs.
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As for the others in the lineup, I know everybody was eager for Panda's return. Fans love him and he's a great plus for the lineup but in my honest opinion I don't think he's as big of a gamechanger as most fans have him made out to be.
To my surprise Belt's been hitting well and by all accounts last night should have been a 2 homer night for him. Pence is starting to hit better as well.
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<< <i>As for the others in the lineup, I know everybody was eager for Panda's return. Fans love him and he's a great plus for the lineup but in my honest opinion I don't think he's as big of a gamechanger as most fans have him made out to be. >>
He could be, depending on how much he's recovered from his hand surgery and his hamstring pull.
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<< <i>I wish your team could play by the rules and not be CHEATERS!!! >>
Yeah, because the Dodgers never had a player do something like this.
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<< <i>
<< <i>I wish your team could play by the rules and not be CHEATERS!!! >>
Yeah, because the Dodgers never had a player do something like this.
How many years has it been since since the stands at Dodger Stadium were that full?
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I wouldn't be shocked to see something like this:
CF - Pagan
2b - Scutaro
1b - Panda
C - Posey
RF - Pence
3b - Arias
LF - Belt
SS - Crawford
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