The Giants start off spring the right way..... With a win!
Sure it means absolutely nothing but it's still baseball!
Tim Lincecum came out and stunk up the place, but everybody was raving about him!?! For those of you who don't know, the hitters are typically ahead of the pitchers at the beginning of spring. They don't have as many moving parts to pull together I guess. Usually, and from what I have heard is the case with Lincecum yesterday, they are getting a feel for their pitches and maybe even trying out a new thing or two. The most encouraging news I think we got on Timmy yesterday was the fact that he appeared to be in much better shape than he was at the start of spring last season. His conditioning was blamed for his inconsistency last season and if he has tackled that issue then watch out National League!
Buster Posey had two hits, Pablo Sandoval looked good in two ABs, and Madison Bumgarner (another guy who was accused of poor conditioning last season) looked like he was in good shape as well.
The only negatives were that Brandon Belt looked bad and Pablo Sandoval made an error. But hey, it's only one game and it's spring training so who cares right?
This offseason was a little flat for me. The Giants lack of activity kinda bummed me out. The most important move they made was keeping their starting pitching in tact. I know that a lot of noise is being made about those hired guns in Philly, but remember, the Giants staff did something last season that NO staff has done since the deadball ERA when they put together a streak of 18 consecutive games of giving up no more than 3 runs. That tells you how good this staff is even though only two of these guys have won Cy Young awards.
Anyway back to the point I was making. After the dull offseason, just hearing about spring training games is getting me fired up. I really can't wait to see the Giants defend their title. All of the "experts" are saying things like don't be surprised if the Giants finish an uncompetitive fourth in their division (Rob Neyer ESPN I'm talking about you!) and they say the Rockies and Dodgers are the team to beat in the West. It's getting me fired up and I can't wait to see how things unfold when the games start to count!
Go Giants!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Early Reports on Pablo Sandoval sound encouraging
In the early days of spring training, all of the reports regarding the Giants portly third baseman sound encouraging. He is down to 240 lbs from 260 (this would mean a 20lb weight reduction and not the 30+ lbs that was reported before camp started). He has been working hard all offseason and he has a confidence that seemed to be lacking last season.
I think the confidence part is the biggest key to Pablo. Even though he showed that he could put up All-Star type numbers once, I think that as soon as his slump became extended he started to think that he was never going to be able to do it again in the big leagues.
Much has been made of all of the personal issues in his life last season, and I think that if those are the things that affected him so dramatically last season, then boy is he in trouble. Sure a divorce is hard but so is life and if Pablo is going to be affected every time a little adversity creeps in to his life then he is going to have a hard time succeeding and not just at baseball either.
That being said, I think that he used the offseason well. He got the weight off, learned hitting from Bonds, and reported to camp early. I think that he got the message that the Giants' brass sent him at the end of last season and he is poised to have a rebound. Then the Panda hats will be back in full force!
I think the confidence part is the biggest key to Pablo. Even though he showed that he could put up All-Star type numbers once, I think that as soon as his slump became extended he started to think that he was never going to be able to do it again in the big leagues.
Much has been made of all of the personal issues in his life last season, and I think that if those are the things that affected him so dramatically last season, then boy is he in trouble. Sure a divorce is hard but so is life and if Pablo is going to be affected every time a little adversity creeps in to his life then he is going to have a hard time succeeding and not just at baseball either.
That being said, I think that he used the offseason well. He got the weight off, learned hitting from Bonds, and reported to camp early. I think that he got the message that the Giants' brass sent him at the end of last season and he is poised to have a rebound. Then the Panda hats will be back in full force!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The pitchers and catchers have reported!
This offseason I have been kinda lazy in my posting about The Giants. But now that we have some baseball related stuff actually happening, I am ready to get back in to the swing of things!
As I'm sure you already know, the pitchers and catchers reported to spring training yesterday and the first actual spring training game is in 10 days!
As for the team itself, nothing much to report. A quick view of the front page of Sfgiants.com reveals that Buster Posey is glad to get back to work, Tim Lincecum is driven by his stumbles last season, and the Giants are excited to begin their title defense. Pretty informative stuff!
The biggest surprise is that Pablo Sandoval is one of the few position players in camp already. There was no word of his weight so I hope that is good news since I would expect there to be plenty of articles about how he failed to get in shape if he didn't. We also found out that the ball from the last out of the World Series is in Brian Wilson's possession and it is safe inside of an unused candy jar.
That's pretty much it for now. I am counting down the days until the season starts and by the time I get this posted there will only be 9 more days until the first spring training game!
As I'm sure you already know, the pitchers and catchers reported to spring training yesterday and the first actual spring training game is in 10 days!
As for the team itself, nothing much to report. A quick view of the front page of Sfgiants.com reveals that Buster Posey is glad to get back to work, Tim Lincecum is driven by his stumbles last season, and the Giants are excited to begin their title defense. Pretty informative stuff!
The biggest surprise is that Pablo Sandoval is one of the few position players in camp already. There was no word of his weight so I hope that is good news since I would expect there to be plenty of articles about how he failed to get in shape if he didn't. We also found out that the ball from the last out of the World Series is in Brian Wilson's possession and it is safe inside of an unused candy jar.
That's pretty much it for now. I am counting down the days until the season starts and by the time I get this posted there will only be 9 more days until the first spring training game!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sanchez, Ramirez, Ross, and Casilla all avoid arbitrarion
The San Francisco Giants are determined to keep their World Series roster in tact. Other than Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe, there really haven't been any major defections from the Champions' roster.
World Series heroics aside, Renteria's 243 AB's won't be missed and you can expect that Miguel Tejada will come pretty close to matching Uribe's offense, if not his versatility.
Now you throw in the signings of Cody Ross, Jonathan Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, and Ramon Ramirez and the 2011 Giants almost look exactly like the 2010 Giants. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just not that exciting of a thing from a blogger's, or a Giants fan's, perspective.
The only two arbitration eligible players left for the Giants to come to terms with: Andres Torres and Javier Lopez. Both are expected to come to terms and avoid arbitration. Torres appears to be the guy who is going to be the big winner this off-season. His contract is poised to go from $426,000 to somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million. Or roughly a 500% pay increase! Go Andres!
Just under a month left until pitchers and catchers report!
San Francisco Giants, 50 Years - 2008 publication
World Series heroics aside, Renteria's 243 AB's won't be missed and you can expect that Miguel Tejada will come pretty close to matching Uribe's offense, if not his versatility.
Now you throw in the signings of Cody Ross, Jonathan Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, and Ramon Ramirez and the 2011 Giants almost look exactly like the 2010 Giants. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just not that exciting of a thing from a blogger's, or a Giants fan's, perspective.
The only two arbitration eligible players left for the Giants to come to terms with: Andres Torres and Javier Lopez. Both are expected to come to terms and avoid arbitration. Torres appears to be the guy who is going to be the big winner this off-season. His contract is poised to go from $426,000 to somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million. Or roughly a 500% pay increase! Go Andres!
Just under a month left until pitchers and catchers report!
San Francisco Giants, 50 Years - 2008 publication
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Quiet offseason for Giants
This offseason has been a pretty quiet one for the Sna Francisco Giants. But that has pretty much been Brian Sabean's M.O. since he traded Matt Williams for Jeff Kent way back in the 90's. A case could be made that his biggest move was the re-signing of Aubrey Huff to a 2 year $22 million deal. The signing of Miguel Tejada, the leaving of Juan Uribe, and the drama with Edgar Renteria can all be lumped together as the second biggest storylines of the offseason.
The talking heads are all predicting Colorado to win the division and the Dodgers to finish in second. I'm not sure how they arrived at these predictions since neither team is really all that much better and, aside from a hot streak in August by the Rockies, neither was all that competitive last season.
But that suits the Giants just fine. For some reason, they are always picked to finish at or near the bottom of the division. Even in the early 2000's when they were competing for the division crown on a regular basis, they were always being picked to finish in third or fourth place.
But do the Giants have what it takes to compete?
As long as Barry Zito is the team's fifth starter and the rest of the rotation is filled out with Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, and Sanchez, they will compete with anyone. Sure the Phillies added Cliff Lee, but he lost his postseason magic against the Giants and I don't see him regaining it any time soon.
As for the offense, it has a chance to be greatly improved from last season. Obviously, having Buster Posey for a full season helps. But the reports on Pablo Sandoval are that he has dropped 22 lbs (!) so far this offseason and that could translate into a huge threat at the plate.
A note on Pablo: I don't think his weight is necessarily the reason he struggled so much last season. nor do I think his many personal problems are entirely to blame either. (although I'm sure they didn't help much.) I think Pablo's problems at Home Plate are the same as his problems at the Dinner Plate. His lack of discipline. If Pablo can lay off that pitch just off the lower half of the plate that Barry Bonds would have spit on I think he will remind us all of the Panda that we all fell in love with in 2009.
As for the rest of the offense, Bochy should know by now that Aaron Rowand's days as an everyday player are behind him. He has a solid platoon of Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz in right and Pat Burrell is the only guy I can see starting in left field every day as the roster stands now. Although Left could very well be manned by either Aubrey Huff or Brandon Belt if the latter continues to impress in either spring training or in Fresno.
The only real open spot on the Giants' roster is the backup shortstop role. With the talk of Emmanuel Burris and Brandon Crawford competing for that opening I think the Giants may make a move for someone right around the beginning of spring training to fill that hole.
There is no reason that can't duplicate what they did last season. Their rotation and bullpen is the deepest in baseball. Their offense should continue to "Torture" us just enough to make it into the playoffs and then after that, they have to be considered the favorites
The talking heads are all predicting Colorado to win the division and the Dodgers to finish in second. I'm not sure how they arrived at these predictions since neither team is really all that much better and, aside from a hot streak in August by the Rockies, neither was all that competitive last season.
But that suits the Giants just fine. For some reason, they are always picked to finish at or near the bottom of the division. Even in the early 2000's when they were competing for the division crown on a regular basis, they were always being picked to finish in third or fourth place.
But do the Giants have what it takes to compete?
As long as Barry Zito is the team's fifth starter and the rest of the rotation is filled out with Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, and Sanchez, they will compete with anyone. Sure the Phillies added Cliff Lee, but he lost his postseason magic against the Giants and I don't see him regaining it any time soon.
As for the offense, it has a chance to be greatly improved from last season. Obviously, having Buster Posey for a full season helps. But the reports on Pablo Sandoval are that he has dropped 22 lbs (!) so far this offseason and that could translate into a huge threat at the plate.
A note on Pablo: I don't think his weight is necessarily the reason he struggled so much last season. nor do I think his many personal problems are entirely to blame either. (although I'm sure they didn't help much.) I think Pablo's problems at Home Plate are the same as his problems at the Dinner Plate. His lack of discipline. If Pablo can lay off that pitch just off the lower half of the plate that Barry Bonds would have spit on I think he will remind us all of the Panda that we all fell in love with in 2009.
As for the rest of the offense, Bochy should know by now that Aaron Rowand's days as an everyday player are behind him. He has a solid platoon of Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz in right and Pat Burrell is the only guy I can see starting in left field every day as the roster stands now. Although Left could very well be manned by either Aubrey Huff or Brandon Belt if the latter continues to impress in either spring training or in Fresno.
The only real open spot on the Giants' roster is the backup shortstop role. With the talk of Emmanuel Burris and Brandon Crawford competing for that opening I think the Giants may make a move for someone right around the beginning of spring training to fill that hole.
There is no reason that can't duplicate what they did last season. Their rotation and bullpen is the deepest in baseball. Their offense should continue to "Torture" us just enough to make it into the playoffs and then after that, they have to be considered the favorites
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)