SFGate

Cain wins 2009 Willie Mac Award

The Giants just presented Matt Cain with the prestigious Willie Mac Award, voted on by teammates as the most inspirational Giant in 2009. I'll have comments in my Giants Beat. Suffice it to say he was surprised.

Other top vote-getters were Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe. Cain said he voted for Jeremy Affeldt. I'm told an unusually large number of players got votes, which tells me there is a lot of respect for one another in that clubhouse.

The Willie Mac Award has been given out since 1980. (Willie got a huge ovation from the crowd as he was introduced during the ceremony). Bengie Molina won it the past two years.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 25 at 07:08 PM

UPDATE: Posey to make first big-league start tonight; Renteria's season over

He faces Carlos Zambrano, a tough assignment.

The lineup: Velez 2B. Winn RF. Sandoval 3B. Uribe SS. Bowker LF. Ishikawa 1B. Posey C. Rowand CF. Lincecum P.

UPDATE: Manager Bruce Bochy suggested Posey will start behind the plate for most of the remaining games.

"He's going to get some playing time," Bochy said. "It's time. We know it's a longshot where we're at with nine games to go and Bengie (Molina) banged up. I look forward to watching him. He's looking forward to playing."

Bochy also said Edgar Renteria will have surgery tomorrow to remove bone spurs and chips in his throwing elbow. Team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki will preform the procedure in San Francisco. By doing it now, Renteria can start his rehab sooner. He is expected to 100 percent ready to play by spring training.

Renteria neds his season with a .250 average, the lowest of his big-league career. His 48 RBIs are the fewest since he had 31 with Florida in 1998.

There are a lot of I-told-you-sos from people who predicted the shortstop could not live up to his two-year, $18.5 million. I am not here to defend the signing, but on the other hand it would be unfair not to mention that he played most of the season with the spurs and chips in his elbow. He also developed shoulder issues in both arms. His right-shoulder problems could be tied directly to compensating for the pain in his elbow.

Renteria gets one more season in San Francisco to prove his critics wrong.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 25 at 04:54 PM

First game of the last homestand

Manager Bruce Bochy said the Giants have to "win out," though he added they could afford to lose a game or two if they get help from the Rockies.

He also said he's not tweaking the rotation any longer, meaning Tim Lincecum will get two more starts, period. The first is tomorrow. The other is the final home game, next Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

Bochy said Nate Schierholtz has food poisoning.

Brad Penny is 3-3 with a 2.64 ERA in nine games against the Cubs. In his last three starts, the ERA is 1.80.

The lineup: 2B Velez, RF Torres, 3B Sandoval, C Molina, SS Uribe, LF Bowker, 1B Ishikawa, CF Rowand, RHP Penny.

Posted By: John Shea (Email) | Sep 24 at 05:07 PM

Articulate Giants farmhand: 'The dream was falling apart'

In the wake of the Angel Villalona arrest, Giants minor-league pitcher Garrett Broshuis blogged articulately about his impressions of his teammate at San Jose this year and the belief among Dominican players that they need guns back home. Particularly impressive were the journalistic touches, such as comparing the murder rates in the Dominican Republic and Detroit.

Broshuis' stats are not those of a hot prospect. He spent three seasons at Double-A Connecticut and then was demoted to San Jose at the start of 2009 before climbing again. He'll be 28 in December, and he can see the writing on the wall.

I e-mailed Garrett asking how it felt to be demoted, and got this remarkably honest response:

It crushed me to go back to San Jose. Throughout spring training I believed that I would be in Fresno. I had a good year last year, ranking second in the Eastern League in wins and third in the league in innings pitched. I believed that my hopes of a promotion were legitimate.

For every day of spring training I was in the Fresno group, and then on the very last day of camp, when almost all the cuts had already been made, I was called into the office and told that there wasn't a spot for me in AAA. They were going another route with the starters there. My heart sank, and I was speechless for a moment or two. Read More »

Posted By: Vlae Kershner (Email) | Sep 24 at 11:51 AM

UPDATE: Bochy goes the speed route, plus Sanchez to have postseason surgery

Tonight's lineup: Velez 2B. Torres CF. Winn RF. Sandoval 3B. Uribe SS. Bowker LF. Ishikawa 1B. Whiteside C. Sanchez P. UPDATE: manager Bruce Bochy just told us Freddy Sanchez will require surgery on his left knee after the season. However, bochy said the team is not ready to say it will shut him down for the last few games this year as long as the team is mathematically alive.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 23 at 04:16 PM

UPDATE: Tonight's lineup behind Matt Cain, plus Sanchez update

Facing Doug Davis, a lefty junkballer, will be: Velez LF. Torres RF. Sandoval 3B. Molina C. Uribe SS. Garko 1B. Rowand CF. Frandsen 2B. Cain P.

UPDATE: Second baseman Freddy Sanchez had an MRI on the left knee he injured last night, but results were not immediately available. Manager Bruce Bochy said he would tell us after the game. Sanchez was not at the park before batting practice began.

Bochy did report that Sanchez was "very sore" this morning. Though it might seem Sanchez might not play again this season, judging from how he needed help getting off the field last night, Bochy said he remains hopeful Sanchez can return.

Kevin Frandsen gets the start at second base tonight, but only because the Giants are facing a lefty. Bochy said he likely will have Eugenio Velez tommorrow and perhaps John Bowker or Fred Lewis in left. Seems like Randy Winn is getting a little of the Edgar Renteria treatment.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 22 at 04:55 PM

UPDATE: Sanchez leaves with knee injury

Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez, whose short tenure in San Francisco has been marked by various injuries, left tonight's game in Arizona with what looks like a serious left leg injury.

Sanchez needed to support himself with an arm around assistant athletic trainer Mark Gruesbeck as he hobbled off the field into the dugout.

It's a bit of a mystery how he got hurt. He came out after Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer that gave the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. Sanchez ran the bases in the top of the first, reaching on an infield hit and scoring from second base on an error.

UPDATE: The report from the training room is a twisted left knee, the same knee that already was hurt when Sanchez was traded to the Giants on July 30. I'm sure the medical staff is working to pin down a more specific diagnosis.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 21 at 07:07 PM

Tonight's lineup under the roof in Phoenix

They will face Billy Buckner: Velez LF. Sanchez 2B. Winn RF. Sandoval 3B. Molina C. Uribe SS. Ishikawa 1B. Rowand CF. Zito P. :

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 21 at 03:23 PM

Angel Villalona suspected of murder in Dominican

Angel Villalona, the Giants first base prospect who at the time was given the largest signing bonus in team history at $2.1 million, has turned himself into authorities in the Dominican Republic and is suspected of a homicide. The story can be found here.

The Giants are expected to issue a statement shortly.

Villalona spent the season with Class A San Jose, which won the California League championship last night, but was not with the team because he was hurt.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 20 at 02:26 PM

Sunday's lineup behind Lincecum

The lineup: Torres LF. Sanchez 2B. Winn RF. Sandoval 3B. Molina C. Uribe SS. Garko 1B. Rowand CF. Lincecum P.

Posted By: Henry Schulman (Email) | Sep 20 at 10:58 AM