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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
UPDATE: Molina trade
John Shea reporting:
AGREEMENT IS DONE
Molina to the Rangers for reliever Chris Ray and a player to be named. Buster Posey, here is your pitching staff.
Previously posted:
MOLINA TRADE REPORT
Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com is reporting that a deal sending Bengie Molina to the Rangers could be consummated within 24 hours. Reporters covering the Rangers are saying the team is delaying making a roster move before tonight's game in Anaheim.
Without Molina, the Giants would be more dedicated to Buster Posey behind the plate, but Eli Whiteside still would be in the mix. The Giants could either move Aubrey Huff back to first base or play more of Travis Ishikawa -- given his hot bat off the bench and the fact the team is in need or another left-handed bat.
Fans and media questioned why Bochy sat Posey Monday and Tuesday, but the move would have allowed Molina to be showcased for the Rangers, who are in the market for a veteran catcher.
Molina makes $4.5 million, and he's still owed about half of that. The Fox report linked first baseman Chris Davis or catcher/first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia, both in the minors as possibly part of a deal.
John Shea from the ballpark, where the Giants will try to sneak out a win over the Dodgers, against whom they're 1-4. . .Pregame notes
Aaron Rowand is the Giants' leadoff hitter, so right away we'll see him face Vicente Padilla -- for the first time since Padilla beaned him April 16 and sent him to the DL.
Will Jonathan Sanchez retaliate?
Interesting that manager Bruce Bochy is batting Rowand first. Might as well. Reminds me of what Dusty Baker used to say when it came to friction with other teams: "We don't start nothing, but we don't run from nothing, either."
That might partly explain Rowand's place in the lineup.
Manny Ramirez is out of the Dodgers' lineup one day after he walked off saying he had a hamstring injury.
The Giants are 8-16 vs. the NL West -- no team in the division has fewer intradivision wins. The Dodgers are 20-5.
Giants' lineup: CF Rowand, 2B Sanchez, RF Huff, LF Burrell, 3B Sandoval, SS Uribe, 1B Posey, C Whiteside, LH Sanchez.
Dodgers' lineup: SS Furcal, C Martin, CF Kemp, 1B Loney, 2B Belliard, LF Anderson, RF Johnson, 3B Carroll, RH Padilla.
For in-game updates, check Twitter @JohnSheaHey
| Jun 30 at 07:52 PM
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sandoval bats third, Posey sits
Ron Kroichick reports from the Giants-Dodgers game.
Lineup chatter: One day after his costly baserunning blunder in the Giants' series-opening loss to the Dodgers -- a gaffe punctated by manager Bruce Bochy later replacing him for a pinch hitter -- Pablo Sandoval finds himself in a familiar place tonight, back in the No. 3 spot in the order.He spent 54 games there earlier this season, only to drop to the No. 6 and No. 7 positions the past two-plus weeks as he struggled at the plate. Now, with the entire offense struggling -- scoring only five runs total the past three games -- Bochy did some serious juggling.
The lineup: Andres Torres, Freddy Sanchez, Sandoval, Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Bengie Molina, Edgar Renteria and Matt Cain.
''More than anything I'm trying to shake up the lineup, trying to go back to where it was,'' Bochy said before the game. ''Plus, I think Pablo has been swinging better from the left side.''
One notable omission from tonight's lineup, of course, is Buster Posey. He's been scuffling, too, with only six hits in his last 43 at-bats. But it was still surprising to see his name excluded from the starting lineup again.
Bochy said Posey will play Wednesday.
''We're trying to mix things up,'' Bochy said. ''Buster's going to be catching a little more now. He's done well back there.''
Dodger talk: The Dodgers offered some lineup chatter of their own tonight, when manager Joe Torre filled out a card omitting outfielder Matt Kemp for the third consecutive game. It was enough to prompt Kemp to walk into Torre's office about 4:15 for what the manager characterized as a cordial conversation. Torre also indicated Kemp will start Wednesday against Giants left-hander Jonathan Sanchez.
Even so, Torre didn't provide much insight into Kemp's extended stay on the bench.
''We won the game (Monday night) and we played well,'' Torre said in explaining his decision. ''Matt got in there at the end. We just decided to do this. ... I get a chance to write the lineup, and I put in who I choose to put in.
''Matt's been struggling. I think it's been frustrating for him, we can all see that. Hopefully, these couple of days will give him a chance to breathe a little.''
| Jun 29 at 06:45 PM
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday night leftovers, plus an explanation on the Victor Martinez shift
UPDATE: One quick note. The Giants optioned Joe Martinez to Fresno to clear a roster spot for Madison Bumgarner. Bochy also said this start is not a one-shot deal for MadBum, adding, "I hope it's for good."
Also, in the blog below I was critical of the decision to play a right-side shift on Victor Martinez in the ninth inning last night against closer Brian Wilson, who likes to pitch on the outside corner.
I posed the "why" question to bench coach Ron Wotus, who positions the defense. He said the spray charts revealed that while batting left-handed this year Martinez had hit precisely one ball on the ground to the left side of the infield. The Giants played what they thought were overwhelming odds and happened to get burned when Martinez hit an RBI single through the vacated left side.
ORIGINAL POST: I had to cram so much into my 700-word game story for today's paper, especially with the Madison Bumgarner news breaking, I admit I left out a lot of interesting stuff from last night's 5-4 win against Boston. So let's chew on some leftovers.
-- I don't think I ever have seen, nor will see again, a guy walk three batters and throw three wild pitches in an inning, yet not allow a run, but Santiago Casilla did that in the seventh inning, which began when he walked pitcher Tim Wakefield. Wakefield has been in the majors for 18 1/2 seasons and had walked twice before that.
Casilla was clearly out of sorts. He was visited not only by pitching coach Dave Righetti but also members of the Giants infield, who more than once came by to urge him on.
-- I did not like the left-side shift that manager Bruce Bochy put on Victor Martinez in the ninth inning. With a man on third and two outs, and your team leading by two runs, the last thing you want to do is leave the line wide open.
Especially when your pitcher throws 98 mph and lives on the outside corner. Martinez could have rolled one into the corner, not only driving in the fourth run but putting himself, the tying run, into scoring position. As it was, Martinez grounded an outside pitch right to the spot where third baseman Pablo Sandoval would have been standing in normal positioning and got the RBI.
-- Jonathan Sanchez said the key to settling down after his 37-pitch, three-run first inning was turning to his changeup. It was his best pitch last night and, as he said, the Red Sox kept swinging at it. Sanchez had to adapt to a home-plate umpire who absolutely refused to call the corner pitch a strike.
-- A poor decision by second baseman Bill Hall might have cost Boston the game. After Nate Schierholtz's one-out single in the eighth against Ramon Ramirez, Andres Torres slammed a grounder off the mound on a hit-and-run (or run-and-hit. I never asked). Hall was running toward the bag to take a threw on Schierholtz when he gloved the ball and tried a swipe tag on Schierholtz, who is too fast and slid safely into second. By that time, Hall had no chance to get Torres at first.
With two runners on, Ramirez threw a wild pitch and Freddy Sanchez gave the Giants the insurance run they would cash in with a sacrifice fly. Had Hall just thrown out Torres at first, Sanchez would have batted with two outs.
-- Aubrey Huff, who has been a terror to pitchers all season, had absolutely no answer to Wakefield, whom he has never hit. He took an 0-for-5 with five groundballs.
-- Finally, some credit to Giants fans for not selling all of their season tickets to Red Sox fans. As usual, there were a lot of Boston rooters in the crowd. You heard them yell "Yooook" when Kevin Youkilis hit his three-run homer. However, they were drowned out by Giants fans during key moments of the game.
| Jun 26 at 01:45 PM
Friday, June 25, 2010
UPDATE: Bumgarner scratched for Fresno, may start against Boston today
UPDATE: I'm now told the plan remains for Joe Martinez to pitch tomorrow and that Madison Bumgarner was scratched in case Martinez needs to be used in relief tonight. I'm told a decision will be made postgame tonight.
Fresno broadcaster Doug Greenwald just texted with news that Madison Bumgarner has been scratched from tonight's scheduled start at Portland. I expect the Giants to announce after tonight's game that Bumgarner will pitch against Boston tomorrow instead of Joe Martinez.
During our regular daily session with manager Bruce Bochy, he said Martinez would be available in the bullpen in a pinch. The bullpen has worked a lot since Sunday, with three of four starters since getting knocked out very early, including Barry Zito and Matt Cain the last two days. And face it, Sanchez, who is pitching tonight, is always a candidate for a short one.
I'll update as I get more info.
| Jun 25 at 06:40 PM
Thursday, June 24, 2010
A win today makes it a .500 trip (3-3)
John Shea from inside the Astros' enclosed stadium, where the Giants end a weeklong journey with the only all-National League game of the day . . .No Pablo Sandoval or Andres Torres today. Bengie Molina's in there, a day game after night game, because, as manager Bruce Bochy said of Molina and Matt Cain, "They've got a pretty good thing clicking, so we'll leave that battery alone."
Molina will rest tomorrow because Eli Whiteside always catches Jonathan Sanchez.
The Astros' starter, Wandy Rodriguez, is a lefty, so that's one reason Pablo's on the bench. The switch-hitter is batting .229 with no homers and six RBIs against lefties while he's at .293 with six homers and 24 RBIs against righties.
And,hey, there's Buster Posey, finally, at first base.
Bochy reiterated that Joe Martinez and Posey will be Saturday's battery but only if Martinez isn't needed in relief today for a second straight game. He said the brass hasn't talked about Madison Bumgarner making Saturday's start.
"We haven't talked about it," Bochy said. "Don't get me wrong. We've discussed everybody down there (at Fresno), but right now, we're not talking about him."
The lineup; SS Renteria, 2B Sanchez, RF Huff, 3B Uribe, LF Burrell, 1B Posey, C Molina, CF Rowand, RH Cain.
For in-game updates, check Twitter @JohnSheaHey
| Jun 24 at 10:46 AM
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Still waiting on Posey
John Shea from Houston, where the Astros must be wondering if they'll beat the Giants ever again. . .Buster Posey sits a second straight game. Manager Bruce Bochy is sticking with the lineup that beat Roy Oswalt yesterday. He said Posey will return to first base tomorrow and play the weekend's Boston series -- including a starting assignment behind the plate on Saturday.
Pitcher Joe Martinez still is scheduled to start that game, but he remains available for emergency relief. Bochy said if Martinez is used in relief tomorrow, he wouldn't start Saturday.
Anyone up for a Madison Bumgarner-Buster Posey battery?
Bochy on Posey: "He hasn't had a break. He came up here and has been grinding pretty hard. He could use a break. I gave him a day yesterday, and the way we played, I decided to give him an extra day. We faced a godod pitcher yesterday and won the game. We're throwing the same guys out there."
The lineup: CF Torres, 2B Sanchez, RF Huff, 3B Uribe, LF Burrell, 1B Sandoval, SS Renteria, C Molina, LH Zito.
For in-game updates, check Twitter @JohnSheaHey
| Jun 23 at 04:50 PM
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Day off for Buster; year off for DeRosa
John Shea from deep in the heart of Texas, where Tim Lincecum and Roy Oswalt are the featured performers in the opener of a three-game set . . .Buster Posey is out of the lineup after getting just two hits in the past seven games. He's catching Matt Cain's between-starts bullpen session, and manager Bruce Bochy wants him to work on blocking the plate and throwing to second base, things a catcher usually does when he's not the full-time first baseman.
Buster said he doesn't feel any different at the plate than when he opened with a 10-game hit streak.
"You've got to deal with it," he said. "When you hit a bomb and a few balls hard and they get caught, the main thing is to stay with your approach."
In other news, the Giants finally decided that Mark DeRosa will have his season-ending wrist surgery. Not this week, according to trainer Dave Groeschner, because the doctor is moving his office from Baltimore to Cleveland. Next week is the plan. He has one year remaining in his two-year, $12 million contract.
Also, Bochy says Joe Martinez will start Saturday against Boston. "For now," Bochy said.
So Madison Bumgarner's not quite ready?
"I didn't say that. He's throwing really well," Bochy said.
Martinez will be available in long relief. Maybe if he's used in a game close to Saturday, Bumgarner becomes a candidate.
For in-game updates, check Twitter @JohnSheaHey
| Jun 22 at 04:31 PM
Friday, June 18, 2010
In which Fred Lewis says he doesn't want to shove it up the Giants' you-know-what, when he really does
Fred Lewis, who will lead off and play center field for the Blue Jays tonight, said the Giants are just another opponent with good pitching, and he has no special desire to give it to them.
"I've tried not to think about the past," he said. "Anything that's dead should be buried. That's over and done with. I'm moving on."
Lewis is smart enough not to burn any bridges. In fact, he said as much: "I'm not trying to prove anybody wrong because you don't know what might happen in years to come. I'm just here to play baseball right now and enjoy myself."
Do you believe that? I don't.
The Giants-Lewis divorce was not amicable. As far back as last season he asked for a trade, a request that was repeated this spring. He felt the Giants did not give him a fair shake, taking him out of the lineup when he messed. He was having a good spring training with the Giants until he hurt a ribcage muscle, he said, by coughing too hard. After that, he seemed like a different person.
Management was perplexed. Lewis seemed to have checked out. After one particularly bad game at minor-league camp late in spring training, he told reporters his side was still hurting and told management he was having trouble seeing the ball.
A trade was inevitable. Ultimately, the Giants practically gave Lewis to Toronto for $75,000.
It's worked out better for Lewis than the Giants so far. With left fielder Mark DeRosa staring down not one, but two possible surgeries (one on his wrist tendon, the other to fix his nerve issue), they don't have a regular left fielder. Meanwhile, Lewis is hitting .291 with an .841 OPS, which is pretty good for a leadoff hitter. His 21 doubles are tied for fifth in the American League.
As for that whole argument that Lewis needed a change of scenery and could not have done this with the Giants, he said that's bunk.
"All I can say is, no matter where I've been or where I'd be, I would be doing the same thing I'm doing right now because of the great spring that I had and the great offseason that I had," he said. "The change of scenery doesn't have anything to do with it.
"I wanted to play every day. That's the main thing, trade or no trade. I just wanted to play and show what I was capable of doing because last year was a fluke. I worked eight hours a day to prove to myself and prove to people that last year, that wasn't me. If you think that was me, you were wrong."
Starting tonight, Lewis has three chances to show the Giants what he wants to show them, whether the past is buried or not.
| Jun 18 at 03:18 PM
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Martinez to start Tuesday over Bumgarner -- probably
Manager Bruce Bochy announced that Joe Martinez will start Tuesday's game against Baltimore in place of injured Todd Wellemeyer.
I asked Bochy if this decision had anything to do with Bumgarner's suspension, or more specifically the blowup in his last start that led to it. He said no.
"He's throwing the ball well down there," Bochy said. "We don't go on one game or one start, even with our position players. That didn't come into play at all. We happened to need pitching the night Joe was scheduled to pitch, so we scratched him to give us some coverage. He's here, he's thrown the ball well and we'll give him the start."
That would change only if Martinez is needed in relief the next two nights. He will be in spikes.
Martinez is 5-2 with a 3.07 ERA in Fresno (Bumgarner is 6-1, 3.13). Martinez's last start was a complete game victory against Las Vegas in which he allowed one run, walked none and struck out seven.
| Jun 13 at 12:08 PM
Sandoval hitting second, plus Wilson only halfway scary
Lineup today has Pablo Sandoval batting second for the first time in his career, I believe. Freddy Sanchez also gets his first game off since his 2010 debut. The lineup: Torres CF, Sandoval 3B, Huff RF, Uribe SS, Burrell LF, Posey 1B, Molina C, Downs 2B, Cain P.
I also got to thinking about Brian Wilson and how scary his saves are. I wondered where he fits in the National League "scare range." The best way I figured was simply to rank the closers' WHIPs, right? I discovered that Wilson is smack dab in the middle.
Here are the WHIPs of the 15 regular NL closers. I don't have an entry for the Phillies because they have closer by committee:
1. Franklin (STL) 0.86
2. Corpas (COL) 0.89
3. Broxton (LA) 0.92
4. Nunez (FLA) 0.93
5. Wagner (ATL) 1.03
6. Marmol (CHI) 1.07
7. Rodriguez (NY) 1.11
8. Wilson (SF) 1.27
9. Bell (SD) 1.30
10. Cordero (CIN) 1.45
11. Capps (WSH) 1.47
12. Dotel (PIT) 1.54
13. Lindstrom (HOU) 1.59
14. Hoffman (MIL) 1.95-*
15. Qualls (AZ) 2.09 (!)
*Demoted from the job
Bell is the only closer with more saves (20) than Wilson (17), and his WHIP is slightly higher. Their numbers are higher than you'd like to see for the ninth inning, but they both can get away with it because they have great stuff.
| Jun 13 at 10:55 AM
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