Tagged: San Francisco Chronicle
Long Easter Weekend – Giants/Dodgers Today!
Okay now I don’t know if the series with the Padres got me frustrated or if it was the Easter Bunny forgetting to bring me a basket. lol jk The Giants started the season off playing great ball against the Brewers. Then they go to San Diego for the weekend and get swept. Seems like the Giants may have went into San Diego a little to relaxed. I’m sure they thought they would go in there and at least take 2 out of 3 games since the Padres on paper should be at the bottom of the NL West. The Giants did hit and the Giants played pretty poor “D”. I know it’s still early in the season and maybe that jab to the chin by the Padres will wake these Giants up. They have their work cut out for them now starting a series with the hated Dodgers.
Giants face the Dodgers today in the Dodgers home opener. We have Randy Johnson on the mound today and hopefully he can be a stopper and turn this streak around. Johnson has never lost a game at Dodgers Stadium. He has a tough task ahead of him, cause you know the Dodgers do not want to lose a home opener to the Giants. It’s a day game for us on the West Coast. Which means I’m going to turn on my MLB Radio to hear the game at 1pm Pacific Time. Lucky Dodgers don’t have to worry about Lincecum. Wait… I’m not sure if they’re lucky or if we’re lucky???? lol Lincecum looks like he still haven’t found his grove. He let the Padres smack him around on Easter Sunday. Maybe he wasn’t on his game cause the Easter Bunny didn’t leave him a basket in his hotel room in San Diego.
~ King of Cali
All Systems Go For Opening Day!
Today is Opening Day for most teams, and it’s obvious excitement is in the air. I have logged on to MLBlogs and seen so many new blogs in the most recent activity area. I have seen blogs that I never seen before. Everyone is pumped and wants to write about it. Today is the day that every team is still in it and has a chance to be #1. I really wanted to take today off to watch some games, but I decided to work today. I’m going to be off work tomorrow, so I can watch the Giants Opening Day against the Brewers.
As a Giants fan I was pretty damn happy watching the Braves game last night. It was nice because the season was finally starting. Just seeing how good Derek Lowe looked. That must make all Giants fans happy to see him pitching like that for any team other than the Dodgers. =) I can’t believe the Dodgers didn’t even try to get him back. Something else must have been going on. It was not even a question if he will return to the Dodgers once he became a free agent. Everyone knew he was going to end up pitching somewhere else.
Since I’m also playing Fantasy Baseball this year. I did have some other interest in the Braves game. I have Brian McCann as a player on one of my teams and he did hit a 2 run home run. My other player is Shane Victorino. He didn’t do anything last night, so thanks for nothing Shane! lol
Well all I can do today is check scores and highlights from teams playing. I might watch the A’s and Angels game tonight. Just getting myself pumped and ready for Lincecum and the Giants tomorrow. I heard there is chance of rain tomorrow. This game better not get cancelled cause then I might have to take another day off to see their first game. =) I get Lincecum tomorrow, Johnson on wed. ( my b-day) and then I’m going to the Sharks game Thursday night. Talk about a very nice week for me. =)
~ King of Cali
Dodgers vs. Giants Recap – Today In Baseball History!
Giants #5 starter Jonathan Sanchez will miss his start today against the Dodgers. Sanchez burned his finger in the kitchen. I guess he doesn’t make enough money yet to have someone cook for him. He said he will pitch on Sunday against the Dodgers at AT&T park.
Madison Bumgarner is getting his first start of the Spring for the injured Jonathan Sanchez. Giants fans are excited to see him. He’s going to be a pitcher that we look forward to seeing in the pro’s in the next few seasons.
Bumgarner starts the first inning by striking out Juan Pierre, Getting Hu to ground out and striking out Manny Ramirez.
Winn starts the game off with a single and Renteria follows that up with a single. Runners now at 1st and 3rd for Fred Lewis. Winn scores on a RBI single by Lewis. After 1 inning it’s the Giants 1 and the Dodgers 0.
Bumgarner has another perfect inning to retire the Dodgers in order in the top of the 2nd inning.
Doug Mientkiewicz hits a 2 run home run off of Justin Miller to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the top of the 4th.
Emmanuel Burriss led off the Giants bottom of the 5th with a triple off of ex-Giant Shawn Estes. Aurilia hits a RBI single scoring Burriss to tie the game at 2.
The Dodgers get the bases loaded in the top of the 6th inning, but are unable to get any runs across.
Fred Lewis hits a triple in the bottom of the 6th inning. He then scores on a sac fly by Matt Downs. Travis Ishikawa hits a solo home run to give the Giants a 4-2 lead.
The Dodgers get the bases loaded in the top of the 7th inning. The Dodgers score 3 runs and take a 5-4 lead over the Giants.
The Giants answer back in the bottom of the 8th. Andres Torres hits a solo home run to tie the game at 5. The Giants then load the bases for Matt Downs and he hits a bases clearing double. The Giants now have a 8-5 lead over the Dodgers.
Juan Castro hits a 2 run home run off of Alex Hinshaw in the top of the 8th inning. The Dodgers end up getting another run and the game is tied going into the bottom of the 8th inning.
The Giants answer right back in the bottom of the 8th scoring 2 runs to take a 10-8 lead into the 9th inning.
The Cactus League finally comes to a end. The Giants hold the Dodgers scoreless in the 9th and win 10-8.
Totals
- Dodgers get 8 runs, 10 hits and 0 errors.
- Giants get 10 runs, 14 hits and 1 error.
Multi Hit Game
The Giants get 3 players with a multi hit game.
- McBryde goes 2-2 with 1 RBI and scored 1 run.
- Lewis goes 2-3 with 1 RBI and scored 1 run.
- Holm goes 2-4 with 1 RBI and scored 1 run.
Pitching Highlights
Bumgarner pitched 3 innings giving up 1 hit and striking out 4 Dodgers including Manny Ramirez.
Side Notes
This was the final cactus league game for the Giants. The Giants are flying to San Francisco after the game and will be playing the A’s tomorrow night at AT&T Park.
Giants lead the National League in home runs this spring. The #1 team in home runs is the Kansas City Royals.
Randy Johnson will pitch Friday against the A’s and then his first start of the season will be on Wednesday (my b-day) against the Brewers.
Today In Baseball History
1997 – Setting a record for the most runs scored in one inning of an Opening Day contest this century, the Padres score 11 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a 12-5 rout of Mets. Chris Gomez, Rickey Henderson and Quilvio Veras lead the attack with a back-to-back-to-back home runs.
~ King of Cali
Giants vs. Rangers (game 2) Recap – Today In Baseball History!
The Giants get an early 2 nothing lead on a 2 run double by catcher Steve Holm. Scoring on the hit was Uribe and Horwitz. The Giants end up with a 5 run 2nd inning. Pablo Sandoval gets a 2 run single to knock the starter Matt Harrison out of the game. Burriss and Velez scored on Sandoval’s single.
Josh Hamilton (on my 2nd fantasy team) hit a home run off of Zito in the bottom of the 3rd inning. The score after 3 innings is Giants 5 and the Rangers 3.
Torres hit a solo home run off of Jennings in the 6th inning to give the Giants a 6-3 lead.
Giants have runners on the corners for Pablo Sandoval. He hits a RBI stand up double off the fence. Burriss scores from the 3rd and Aurilia moves to 3rd base on the hit. Going into the bottom of the 7th it’s the Giants 7 and the Rangers 3.
Giants score more in the top of the 8th. Torres scores on a RBI single by Wald. The Giants get another run on a RBI single by Velez. Aurilia follows up with another RBI single scoring Burriss. The score is now Giants 10 and the Rangers 3.
Totals
Giants win on 10 runs, 14 hits and 0 errors. Rangers get 3 runs, 6 hits and 2 errors.
Multi Hit Game
The Giants have 4 players to have a multi hit game.
- Emmanuel Burriss went 2-5 scoring 3 runs.
- Rich Aurilia went 3-4 with 2 RBI’s.
- Pablo Sandoval went 2-5 with 3 RBI’s.
- Andres Torres went 2-5 with 1 RBI and scored 2 runs.
Pitching Highlights
Barry Zito had a very solid game. Zito went 7 strong innings. He gave up 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 strike outs and a solo home run to Josh Hamilton.
Giants two new relievers Howry and Affeldt both pitched a perfect 8th and 9th inning.
Giants pitching Zito, Howry and Affeldt sat down the last 12 Rangers in order.
Giants Side Notes
One week from today the Giants will have their opening day with the Brewers.
Fred Lewis is only going to play Left Field this year. Lewis has heard a lot of stuff yelled at him while playing Left Field. Last season at Wrigley Field and Dodgers Stadium he heard. “Hey Barry, you look skinny.” Lewis said “I got that one all the time. I’m not Barry. I’m Fred Lewis. The name and the number on the back say it all.”
Today In Baseball History
1961 – The Pacific Coast League’s proposal to use a designated hitter for the pitcher is rejected by the Professional Baseball Rules Committee by a vote of 8-1. The first use of the DH will occur in the American League in 1973.
~ King of Cali
Who’s Your 3 For Your Team?
I’m curious to see what other bloggers out there think about their teams. I want to know who you think your #1 player is, most excited to see play this year and one prospect that we should all watch out for in the near future….
Giants #1 Player…
I think the Giants #1 player is Tim Lincecum. I wish I could say it was an everyday player but it’s not. Which means our #1 player only plays every 5 days, but he’s one hell-of-a-player! Everyone knows he won the Cy Young last year. I think he’s only going to get better. I mean it’s hard to match the stats he had last season, but that was just his first full season. He’s going to learn more about the hitters and his pitches. He’s got Randy Johnson to absorb a lot of knowledge off of.
Most Excited To See…
The player I’m most excited to see play this year is Pablo Sandoval. This guy can flat out rake! He played in 41 games and the end of last season. He hit .345 during that time. He has been just as hot in spring training. He has hit 3 home runs and has a .460 batting avg. He is going to get on base a lot and drive in some runs for the Giants. He will be a spark plug to help jumpstart this offense.
Prospect To Watch Out For…
The up and coming prospect to look out for is Buster Posey. He is going to be the Giants catcher of the future. He also had a great spring and it looked like he was trying to battle it out with Molina for the starting role, but the Giants would like to see him catch a year in the minors. He will be brought up probably in September. I’m pretty sure he will be the Giants starting catcher next season.
~ King of Cali
Giants vs. Indians Recap – Today in Baseball History!
Giants send Sanchez to the mound against Lee for the Indians. After 1 inning it’s the Giants 3 and the Indians 0. The Giants scored 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 errors in the bottom of the 1st inning. In the 2nd Velez hit a 2 run triple to give the Giants a 5-0 lead. Sandoval hit a sacrifice fly to score Velez. The Giants get another 3 run inning off of Lee. Make it a 4 run inning now. Rich Aurilia just hit a solo home run. The Giants hit for the cycle this inning. They got a single, double, triple and a home run. After 2 innings it’s the Giants 7 and the Indians 0. The Indians get on the board in the top of the 4th inning on a home run by Peralta. The Giants answer back in the bottom of the 4th. Uribe hits a RBI double to score Aurilia. The Giants now have a 8-1 lead. The Indians get back on the board in the top of the 6th. Nate Schierholtz hits a RBI double to score Velez in the bottom of the 5th. The Giants end up adding 2 runs in the 6th. After 6 innings it’s the Giants 10 and the Indians 2. The 7th and 8th innings went by pretty fast. The game is now in the 9th inning. Which means the Indians are down to their final 3 outs. The first Indian up hits a triple. He scores on a sacrifice fly. Indians are down to their final 2 outs. The Giants get the final out and get a cactus league win.
The Giants get 10 runs on 14 hits and 1 error. The Indians get 3 runs on 9 hits and 2 errors.
Highlights
- The Giants have 5 players that have a multi hit game.
- Torres goes 2-5 scoring 2 runs.
- Velez goes 3-5, 2 RBI’s and scored 3 runs.
- Schierholtz goes 2-4, 2 RBI’s and scored 3 runs.
- Aurilia goes 2-3, 1 RBI and scored 1 run.
- Uribe goes 2-4 with 3 RBI’s.
- Every Giants starter got a hit today including starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez.
Side Notes
The Giants had to stop the game last night vs. the Cubs. It was really windy and I think at the start of the game the wind was blowing 25-30mph. I watched some of the game on TV and was amazed at how they could even play. Zito got the start for the Giants. He pitched 5 innings giving up 3 runs and getting 7 strike outs. That’s a decent start for Zito. Giants got the win 5-3 over the Cubs.
Jesus Guzman didn’t get the off day like the rest of the Giants on Wednesday. He played a minor league game, so he can work on playing 1st base. This guy has been on fire with his bat, but the Giants don’t know where to put him on defense. They have him trying to play more first base.
Today in Baseball History
1989 – Sports Illustrated exposes Pete Rose’s gambling activities. The article alleges ‘Charlie Hustle’ bet from the Riverfront dugout using hand gestures with an associate.
~ King of Cali
Giants Spring Training Pics and Today in Baseball History!
I was talking to a friend of mine at work. He was telling me he was going to the Giants Spring Training. I told him to try to snap a few pics for me. He came back and told me he didn’t take many pics but sent me what he did have. He was telling me it was a blast. They sat 3 rows behind the visitors dugout. Next year I need to plan it way in advance, so I can be sure to go. I keep saying I’m going to go but something always comes up. No excuses next year.
Pablo Sandoval and Edgar Renteria at 3rd and short.
Pablo Sandoval getting ready to rake a pitch.
Travis Ishikawa looking at a pitch that he doesn’t offer at. Today in Baseball History
1974 – The Red Sox release future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda (1999) and Luis Aparicio (1984).
~ King of Cali
Giants vs. D-Backs recap – Today in Baseball History!
Matt Cain get’s the start for the Giants against Davis. The Giants do get the first 2 guys on base, but Davis gets the next 2 guys to pop up. Then he gets Schierholtz to ground out to end the top of the first. It doesn’t take long for the D-Backs to get on the board. Lopez hits a double and then Eric Byrnes gets and RBI single. Byrnes then steals 2nd base. That’s all the D-Backs would get in the 1st inning. After 1 inning it’s Giants 0 and the D-Backs 1. In the top of the 2nd the Giants are threatening with bases loaded. Burriss is up and hits a ball off the wall that gets him 3 RBI’s triple. This all started with a 2 out walk to Holm’s. Giants now have a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the 2nd. The Giants score again in the top of the 3rd on a Schierholtz home run off of Davis. After 3 innings its the Giants 4 and the D-Backs 1. Fred Lewis starts the 5th off with a single right up the middle. He gets to 2nd base on a wild pitch. Rich Aurilia hits a RBI double to score Lewis. Giants take a 5-2 lead. Ishikawa comes in to run for Aurilia and moves up to 3rd base on a Schierholtz ground out. That’s all the Giants will get in the 5th. Now the game is in the top of the 8th inning and still the same score. The Giants 5 and the D-Backs 2. Still no offense action for either team in the 8th inning. The game is now going into the 9th inning. McBryde hits a 2 run triple to give the Giants a 7-2 lead in the in top of the 9th. The D-Backs get back on the board in the 9th inning. They scored 1 run off of Wilson but it was because of an error. Giants win the ball game 7-3. The Giants are now 15-14 in spring.
Final Totals
Giants get 7 runs, 10 hits and 1 error. D-Backs get 3 runs, 10 hits and 2 errors.
Highlights
The Giants only have one player who has a multi hit game. Emmanuel Burriss went 2-4 with 3 RBI’s.
Cain gets the win he pitched 5 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and 5 strike outs.
Side Notes
Giants play the D-Backs on April 17th for their first series of the season.
MLB News
The Marlins stadium passed the final vote and they will get a new stadium. They will start building in July of 09, and should be ready by 2012.
Today in Baseball History
1933 – Babe Ruth takes a $23,000 pay cut which is indicative of the depression era.
~ King of Cali
Mariners vs. Giants quick recap – Today in Baseball History
Randy Johnson gets the start for the Giants. He gets the Mariners in order in the first inning. In the bottom of the first Pablo Sandoval hit a ball to right field that hasn’t even landed yet. After 1 inning it’s the Giants 1 and the Mariners nothing. In the top of the 2nd inning Balentien hit a home run off of Johnson to tie the game at 1. The Mariners would add another run in the top of the 3rd. On a RBI double by Bentancourt. Molina then throws out Bentancourt trying to steal 3rd base to end the inning. Tim Lincecum came in to pitch in the top of the 4th inning. No runs for either team till the top of the 7th inning. Balentien hits a sacrifice fly to get an RBI in the 7th off of Tim Lincecum. The score is now Mariners 3 and the Giants 1. The Mariners get another run in the top of the 8th. Moving into the bottom of the 9th. It’s the Mariners 5 and the Giants 1. No real excitement for the Giants in today’s game. They still couldn’t get anything going in the 9th inning.
Final Totals
Mariners get 5 runs, 7 hits and 0 errors.
Giants get 1 run, 5 hits and 0 errors.
Highlights
Pablo Sandoval is the only Giants player to have a multi hit game. He had 3 of the Giants 5 hits. Sandoval went 3-4 with 1 RBI and scoring 1 run.
Randy Johnson went 3 innings giving up 3 hits, 2 runs and 1 home run.
Tim Lincecum went 6 innings giving up 4 hits, 3 runs and 1 strike out.
Side Notes
Andres Torres leads all of the National League in Avg this spring and Pablo Sandoval is right behind him.
Today in Baseball History
1990 – Howard Spira is arrested for extorting money from George Steinbrenner The Yankee owner paid Spira $40,000 in January.
I also wanted to add this one as well. I have never heard of this guy but seems like he would have been a great pitcher.
1963 – On the day he is fitted for his big-league Orioles uniform. Steve Dalkowski pitching in an exhibition against the Yankees feels something pop in his left elbow. The fireballer from New Britain, Connecticut, who once struck out 24 batters in minors, will never appear in a major league game.
~ King of Cali
Giants 2009 Spring Training Stats
Games
24 – A. Torres
23 – J. Bowker
23 – J. Bowker
22 – S. McClain
AB
57 – K. Frandsen
55 – T. Ishikawa
54 – E. Burriss
Runs
15 – A. Torres
12 – E. Velez
11 – E. Burriss
Hits
22 – E. Burriss
20 – P. Sandoval
20 – A. Torres
2B
8 – J. Guzman
5 – K. Frandsen
5 – E. Renteria
3B
3 – F. Lewis
2 – A. Torres
2 – E. Velez
HR
5 – T. Ishikawa
4 – J. Guzman
4 – R.. Rohlinger
RBI
14 – J. Guzman
11 – B. Molina
11 – R. Rohlinger
AVG (players with more than 20 AB’s)
.455 – A. Torres
.417 – P. Sandoval
.407 – E. Burriss
King of Cali 