It Is Said "A-U-henio"

The mysterious all-encompassing Eugenio Velez made just another common argument for why we should keep him playing every day: 3-5, with a run and 2 RBI. Andres Torres also contributed to a monstrous 4-run top of the 10th, and all lead-blowing was forgiven.

Clever note: Pedromo got the win. He's being used a lot in the later innings, but not many keepers are... I'm wondering if Bochy wants to keep him and give him more chances to practice, or if he wants to keep Pedromo and yet has to justify the desire with more good performances.

Either way, a win is a win, and the rule-fiver from the Cardinals just got his second one of the spring.

FINAL (10)

S.F. - 7

COL - 3

A-Draftin' We Will Go

Fantasy League Time is here! I was so excited that I was setting myself up for disappointment. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed until the later rounds when it came time for pitching:

C	Geovany Soto (ChC - C)
1B	Albert Pujols (StL - 1B)
2B	Dustin Pedroia (Bos - 2B)
3B	Aramis Ramirez (ChC - 3B)
SS	Stephen Drew (Ari - SS)
OF	Carlos Lee (Hou - OF)
OF	Adam Dunn (Was - 1B,OF)
OF	Raul Ibanez (Phi - OF)
Util	Nelson Cruz (Tex - OF)
SP	Joba Chamberlain (NYY - SP,RP)
SP	A.J. Burnett (NYY - SP)
SP	Scott Baker (Min - SP)
RP	Brian Fuentes (LAA - RP)
RP	Chris Perez (StL - RP)
RP	Jose Arredondo (LAA - RP)
P	John Maine (NYM - SP)
P	Justin Duchscherer (Oak - SP)
BN	Khalil Greene (StL - SS)
BN	Adrian Beltre (Sea - 3B)
BN	Jayson Werth (Phi - OF)
BN	Mark Ellis (Oak - 2B)
BN	Jonathan Sanchez (SF - SP)

 How's that? :)

Sionara

In case you missed it, Lincecum blew away the entire Japanese team, allowing no hits over 2.1 IP. Who cares if Japan came back against us? It means we were leading them at all, and Tim's now pitched a two-hitter all spring. 

It's just spring? Me thinks not, yo.

FINAL

Japan - 6

S.F. - 4

The Boys Who Showed Up: Lincecum, Sandoval, Renteria, Ishikawa

The Depth to Handle Potency

Bochy had an interesting lineup today: Bowker at 1B, Frandsen at SS, Velez at 2B, Uribe at 3B. Joe Martinez, one of our Connecticut Defenders (AA) made his second spring start, and he looked impressive. Three innings and not a single hit to a very potent Texas offense. At least we still know that our pitching reserves are deep. He did start losing control in the fourth inning a bit (BB and a triple for the Rangers' first hit), but that's normal for a reserve with little ML experience.

Hearing every time the webcast received an IM or email was amusing, as well.

Guzman showed up AGAIN, knocking a second stand-up double; Bowker repeated the favor and we led 1-0. It was 2-0 after Uribe ripped one past the SS. These runs were two-out runs. Uribe ended the inning, but I applaud his effort for trying to steal: it was the first time he'd been caught all spring. 

Kinsler was caught stealing by Holm to Velez immediately following. I appreciated the immediate "fair play". That triple did lead to a run from Texas, but no more than that, and Martinez escaped with only that damage on his record.

The disappointing factor for today was Jeremy Affeldt. He's supposed to be a good off-season acquisition, and instead he destabilizes a lead. Velez barely made a play, for having to do the splits to make it, and kept a runner at third in a tie-game. However, that couldn't keep the runner from scoring on the next AB, despite a good attempt at a DP turn with Frandsen. The main thing to grasp here is this: batters know exactly what to get out of Affeldt, whether they can get what they want or have to settle for less-productive ball placement off the bat. Either way, they produce and we lose. 

In other news, Posey worked a full count and one-hopped a RBI double, scoring Rohlinger and cutting the lead to 4-3, Texas. Posey will be at Connecticut this year as well as Martinez, where Steve Decker (a former catcher in the 80s) will be coaching him. Exciting times! Posey scored on a fielding error, and tied the score himself as well, 4-4.

Jesus Guzman made a glorious attempt at a triple, but was thrown out. What I will say is that the kid is at least trying to make an impression, and so far he's done it. The problem is that he could have had a double with no one out and a chance to be the go-ahead run, and instead Torres was given empty bases.  The nicest thing is that they still turned it into a lead: Bowker, Rohlinger and Downs went on base in a row, and we walked away with a 5-4 lead (Rohlinger being tagged out trying to force a run himself). The lead is nice, but it could have been more without forcing extra bases. I suppose we still have to learn when to push and when not to push, based on team streaking.

Velez knew. He stretched a double, and then stole third. Velez scored easily off a SAC to CF, and with a DP turned by he, Frandsen and Bowker it was a final.

FINAL

S.F. - 6

TEX - 4

The Boys Who Showed Up: Velez, Bowker, Downs, Posey, Uribe, Martinez

P.S.-> Note: this was only the second game of the spring where we did NOT hit a HR.

Timmy the Kid

Just remember you heard that nickname here first, over a year ago:

"Timmy the Kid" makes the cover of MLB 2K9.

'Nuff said.

-Michael

Rohling (or, "Brew Crew on the BBQ, Part II"!)

Who are these kids, exactly? One day, Uribe and Bowker do nothing; the next day, they go back-to-back for HRs. One day, Sandoval is the 3B to replace, but over the last several days Ryan Rohlinger has hit 9th Inning HRs to give us the lead, and today to win the game.

I am absolutely speechless.

FINAL

MIL - 6

S.F. - 8

The Boys Who Showed Up: Uribe, Bowker, Rohlinger

P.S.-> Misch's last multi-run inning gaffe finally caught someone's attention: he's been optioned to Fresno, along with his partner-in-crime from the last debacle Ron Ray.

Payback's "A" Bitch

All I'm going to say is that it's extremely satisfying to smack the A's around a bit, when Oakland made a number of trades for power. Finally, I am starting to see good pitching be complemented with team offense I KNEW we had.

Check out the box score for details.

FINAL
S.F. - 10
OAK - 1

The Boys Who Showed Up: Lewis (2-3, 2RBI, R); Posey (1-2); Downs (3-4, 3 RBI, 2R--HELLO?); Johnson (3.1 IP, 0 R, 3 Ks)

As Good As A Day Off.

As usual, Cain did extremely well only to have the team keep from producing. Ron Ray let five runs pass in the fourth inning, and Misch gave up three in the sixth. Why were they kept in for those innings, and the bullpen warming only after the damage was complete? I think Bochy may have made a number of decisions already. Also, Burriss made two errors in that sixth inning, and it was hugely surprising.

The only reason I kept listening (enough to hear that Aurilia was involved in a 3-run sixth to counter the Rockies, and Rohlinger hit his second ninth-inning HR in as many games) was because of Jon Miller. So, before I forget to encourage you, please don't forget to buy your tickets for the 8/7 bobblehead giveaway for Jon! :)

One piece of information worth considering: We haven't had a day off yet. In other words, I'm a little exhausted for them, so they must be as well.

FINAL
COL - 9
S.F. - 7

The Boys Who Showed Up: Cain, Posey, Bocock, Aurilia, Torres, Rohlinger

Angelic Surprises

There's nothing much to say but the usual for the pitching: Lincecum was dominant (the L.A. announcers called him "as advertised", with emphasis), and no-names competing for BP spots blew a 2-0 lead against the Angels today. A walk-off HR given by Sadler did not surprise me in the slightest. But I will say that I get a nice little twisted joy hearing the Angels' announcers acting like it was their batter's positive action.

But there's nothing different about the offense, either, particularly. The 2-0 lead was a surprise, but the biggest surprise of all today was Andres Torres. This kid and Guzman, even without team support, are hitting up a storm. (The problem here happens to be that I cannot tell if this is normal for them, if they're finally coming into their own, or if they're just spending all they have to get that 5th roster spot now that Roberts is a free agent.) We even made a comeback to take the lead in the bottom of the 9th, a two-run shot by Ryan Rohlinger.

Who ARE these kids, hmm? And are they for real? You can never be too sure, given last year, but then because of last year's constant rotation some people are picking us to be the surprise of '09.

Oh, you want the final? Sorry, I was giddy from realizing that I really did love my team enough to pay attention to them last year.

FINAL
S.F. - 4
L.A.A. - 5

The Boys Who Showed Up: Torres, Rohlinger, Lincecum

P.S. -> My son and I finally got him his first glove today! Yeah, OK; he's only 2 and the glove is for 3-5 years of age. But the first time he put it on, he did so perfectly, and I already knew he had a rocket of an arm!

Roster Moves & Rivals

There's always something historic about the season's first Battle of The Bay matchup. The concept alone would entertain even the nominal Bay Area fan.

It's a good thing that is so, because there wasn't much more to this game without the pre-existent rivalry. If I were the A's, I would be mildly upset at the lack of competition. The Giants started a weaker lineup, probably to test Uribe's ability to command his probable field of mostly secondaries (Kawa was the only certain starter). Uribe didn't do that all too well, causing Velez to throw to him too far from second base, once making an opposition single a double instead.

The SP was a certain Martinez that I had not really seen or heard of, and he lasted a whole 1 2/3 innings, giving up four. Taschner was wild, and Matos had to enter by the fourth inning--but when he did, it resulted in a DP. The A's, on the other hand, started an extremely notable prospect, Trevor Cahill. Cahill did well, except for a WP that allowed a run. Someone who did do well for us was Francis Beltran, who put the A's down in order for one BP inning.

As for offense, a few of the unknowns surprised me: Torres manufactured our first run by stretching a double, advancing well and then taking home on a WP. Jesus Guzman, a young 3B hit his second HR in as many games, which impresses well (he also made a nice tag to stop a triple). An intriguing note, though Jon spoke well by saying it's not much because we're in spring, is that the Giants have the most HRs in spring among NL teams. I will agree that it is obviously still spring; we had two on with two out in the 8th Inning, making it a chance to tie the game, and Bowker whiffed. However, even if it is just spring, things are assuredly looking up from last year, without question!

The most intriguing news from this game happens to be the roster releases: Yabu is now optioned along with another BPer, and Roberts is now officially released. The first piece doesn't surprise me, and makes me glad. The second piece doesn't exactly make me sad, but it does surprise me. Roberts had been doing well recently, even being willing to take the fifth spot for OF on the bench. Brian Sabean visited in the 4th inning voicing some unbelievable news: that the reasoning was primarily based in giving the youth more ABs. "Unbelievable" because my GM may see what I have noticed for so long. Sabean also noticed that he wasn't willing to see a certain pitcher in AAA "at his age". My only other guess to complement the Sabeanic mentality is that Roberts wasn't willing to be optioned, but his release raises a number of questions:

1) What will happen to the rest of his salary? Does it free it up to add to someone like Lewis, whom we obviously want to keep?
2) Who will take the 5th OF spot? Is Velez going to be an OF-only reserve, or do we want to keep an extra IF, maybe keeping both Frandsen and Burriss? Guzman?
3) What else will happen now that kind of precedent has been set? Are we finally willing to go with the numbers from last year, take a risk and do better with a very young team; rather than maintaing a guaranteed mediocre season? Could we in fact be back to form?

To be honest, I could see it coming when Vizquel was released and Aurilia was "invited" to spring training via a minor league contract. But this was a shock; a good one both for purpose and stats, but a shock. Sabean seems to really like Velez, as well. What next? Perhaps you want to start only the best team players instead of paying $126m for a "third starter"? Hallelujah!

One thing now is not a shock: There's nothing like clarity in the front office, even if it's a prima facie reasoning for the time being. That kind of news will do, to occupy the mind during a day off tomorrow.

FINAL
OAK - 4
S.F. - 2

The Boys Who Showed Up: Torres, Guzman, Sabean

The Fruit of Youth

When Pat Misch has to rescue your SP, you get disappointed. Zito did well at first, but nullified a stunning teamwork-built 3-1 lead with a WP and then a 2-R HR to Ethier. Thank goodness Richie got a taste for his swing and gave us the lead back. And then Sandoval chipped in with one of his own. The addition of yet two more runs still couldn't keep the bullpen from allowing trouble once again, walks loading the bases after the Dodgers closed it to 7-5. Sadler removed, we barely escaped the inning 7-6.

The comforting bliss after that storm came through Roberts; a vet who is deliberately taking the fifth OF slot in the depth chart produced two more RBI. But once again teamwork was key: the bases had to be loaded in order to score two with a single. Bowker scored from Posey's second hit of the day: 10-6. The Dodgers kept threatening, per the usual, but in the end what matters not in spring is the score...

While the pitching situation is still very much unclear, even with Howry and Affeldt, what is obviously positive is how well the offense is gel-ing. We had nine hits by the fourth inning, and the only people without a hit were vets. We have not been this young and interdependent in a while, and it's refreshing. Burriss, Lewis, Sandoval (3-3, HR; spring average of .471 now), Velez and Kawa (2-2, 2B) are all doing well together, and it's definitely because of the time spent with the team last year. I won't make predictions, but I am not expecting last place again. Hallelujah.

FINAL
L.A. - 8
S.F. - 10

The Boys Who Showed Up: Sandoval, Aurilia, Roberts, Posey

Sneak Attacks on Diamondbacks

I will admit right here, right now, and for the time being quite freely, that I may have underestimated the acquisition of Randy Johnson.

Is he older? Yes. Do we have an extremely improved farm system? Yes. Do we have a stellar pitching staff already? Yes. But what we have not had is veteran leadership on that staff. And what we would like to do is continue our sneaky success against the D-Backs. Johnson provides both, and rather directly. He chided our batting practice, has multiple successful (even dominant) seasons, has been championship-proven, and comes from an in-division rival.

Today, against that in-division rival, he was perfect through his first three innings, striking out seven. Pain-free and effective; how could I ask for more?

What I could have asked for, I seemed to receive. Sandoval did get his first HR in the 5th. Frandsen and eight others went to the plate in the 6th (including Rohlinger, whom I had almost forgotten about since last year--even though he has done well), scoring an additional four times. Tying the game at 5 looked promising.

In the 7th, Rohlinger advanced to 2B and the threat was on. But Downs was held at home plate after being hit on the forearm during a check-swing, and despite a good battle he grounded out.

Can you blame me, then, for feeling a sense of justice when we took a two-run lead in the next inning because of Eugenio Velez? Velez's "need of the moment" playing not only yielded an RBI single, starting the 6th inning rally; but he also homered to give us the lead in the 8th, and finally made a stunning diving catch to end the game, single-handedly preserving a 7-6 lead with a runner at 2B. Winner; Comeback Winner. There's no question that he will be staying on in the "Uber-Utility" role this year, so far.

While I was happy for the win, the other (as-usual) news left me a bit wary for Johnson: a shaky patch of bullpen testing and more errors kept Johnson from getting the win... Please don't leave, Randy.

FINAL
ARZ - 6
S.F. - 7

The Boys Who Showed Up: Johnson, Velez, Rohlinger, Sandoval, Medders

A Royal Mess (PART II!)

The calling from MLB.com made me extremely thankful for Jon. The game is always harder to follow with them, but I will admit that the game wasn't exactly one to follow.

By the third inning, there were five errors--we had three of them. And just after the third one that Aurilia made throwing, Aurilia watched a ball die in fair territory. The end of the inning was a complete annihilation for making a comeback earlier. What used to be a 3-0 lead for K.C. (three runs given up by Cain in only 1 2/3 innings, by the way), a lead that was nullified just a half inning earlier by merely two hits, became a 7-3 monstrosity. The color guy had the gall to say, "And that's all the scoring that's happened so far." Mm-hmm. He was right. The final was horrendous. I couldn't even keep track of the score, and the announcers mostly ignored it. Hey, why not: this is exactly the kind of spring game I remember from last year. It's training; some even think the training is too long now, anyway. Why not just mess around? That's a lot more fun.

At least Doug Greenwald made a good historical connection between having a team with both "Downs" and "Uribe" on the team; of course, back then, it was Kelly and Jose, and we were a much bigger threat to the NL...

FINAL
S.F. - 5
K.C. - 14

The Boys Who Showed Up: Practically N/A

Puttin' The Brew on The Bar-B-Q.

It's called winning. We did it. Lincecum's 9 ABs were strikeouts. That's right: in a row.

A note on this: Bowker hit a 3-run shot, just when it looked like we were going to tank this one to the Brew crew. It was well-appreciated... but this is exactly what I've come to expect from John: show up hugely once in a while, show up not-so-much for long stretches.

That said, I'm pleased that even in spring we manage to pull anything but a horrendous record. That's saying something for a team that was once projected to finish in the bottom tiers of baseball hell. It's also saying something for keeping the best of our farm talent in a "reward cycle". Sandoval is at 3B, Burriss, Velez and Frandsen will likely all make the 40-man roster, and Ishikawa... well, you already know my opinion there. Posey, Downs and Gillaspie are all getting ABs immediately; things look good, despite the big "throw-money-at-it" signings. (Note: this is a complaint about the philosophy, not about the players themselves.)

It wasn't against Sabathia, or even a complete Brewers roster, but it will do, boys. It will definitely do.

FINAL
MIL - 2
S.F. - 5

The Boys Who Showed Up: Lincecum, Affeldt, Posey, Bowker.

Mariner Meandering

Things looked up immediately. Fred Lewis hit a solo shot to start the game (1-0), and Sandoval slashed a base hit. (Looks like they're starting to take Randy Johnson's advice about batting practice.) Ishikawa singled, continuing his hitting dominance (5-6 w/ 2HRs at that point). We only managed to get that one run, but the promise was exciting. This is the first inning, when the opposition is at its best and freshest quality of play.

In the field, Velez played a drag-bunt perfectly. The pregame mentioned that Bochy quite likes Velez, despite the fact that everyone else thinks the battle for 2B is between Frandsen (again, poor guy) and Burriss (a prodigy, in my opinion). Velez showed why: he has an intangible characteristic of providing what the moment needs, not what fantasy owners want to see. Zito had an uncharacteristic 1-2-3 inning. So endeth the first inning.

Scheirholz led off with a single. Uribe got hung up on stretching a 2B, but no one covered 2B in the pickle, with an RBI double. 2-0. We ended the scoring there, but Zito showed himself able to handle it--and he should be able to by now, in any case. The scoreboard tweaked, and Jon joked that "it's kind of a surprise to see Zito still in here in the 7th inning." My amusement was multi-fold. Zito was still clean after two, when he was replaced. Apparently, he's been having "pitching accountability" all winter with Brian Wilson, The Animal. I knew Brian was good for the team in more than pitching. Zito may impress me now, with some time.

The unfortunate next tidbit is Bowker coming in... only to try to make a spectacular catch (from lack of a decision) and error it up. I say "unfortunate" because this kid has been trying to make the team very intentionally (and did make it last year, thanks to our franchise record of callups). He just needs more time. And Travis is a much better player (Kuip called 'Kawa a "natural first baseman", and I agree). That was all to notice for the 3rd inning.

In the 4th, Velez and Holm combined for a great end to the Mariner end. The rest of the inning seemed like the title of this post.

Zito had been replaced in the third inning, and that was all she wrote. For Martinez in the 4th, things were forgettable. Two runners, a single basehit and an error: the score tied. A fantastic diving catch from Andres Torres turned management heads (since it was his first play), but the run scored anyway. 3-2, SEA. Frandsen made the same kind of beautiful play at 2B and the bleeding stopped.

Rowand managed a leadoff double in the 7th, and Bocock replaced him as a pinch runner. Downs, a young kid, sac flied Bocock to third, and it paid off when a passed ball made the jog to home easy. 3-3. Uribe, unfortunately, pushed the good luck and the OF threw him out trying to stretch a triple. Holm, facing two outs, had little steam and popped out. But, once again, sparks of teamwork-batting showed themselves.

The sparks repeated in the eighth. Frandsen doubled, and Sandoval singled him home. Happy Day: 4-3. Chipping away at a lead is good, people. It makes sure (a) the other team doesn't see the lead being lost, (b) our motivation keeps moving in a positive direction, and (c) an intricate team mentality is built, that contributes beyond the field, to commradery and season morale.

Alex Hinshaw, whom I do like, unfortunately blew it. The first two batters had 2-0 counts and belted the next pitch. Hinshaw seemed to learn his lesson a bit, and took the next batter to 0-2 instead. That batter grounded out; but that batter was the diamond in the rough. The next one repeated the previous batters instead and belted another--thankfully the runner didn't score (which was bad news for that runner, I assure you). A valiant effort by Burriss at short couldn't stop that runner making up for his poor earlier performance, another single followed and eventually Hinshaw's place on the team was moving further and further down the pine.

Matos was given the ball, threw one pitch, and cut all of the slack. Nevertheless, damage finished; 6-4, SEA.

Conor Gillaspie, our recent high draft pick who actually played in the last month of the season last year (got a single off Dan Haren, hint-hint), took an AB though nothing came of it. Matt Downs managed a double, however. Kuip immediately voiced my thoughts, "Now it's time to see who this kid is." He got the tying run to 3B earlier, and kept the glimmers a-goin' for the 9th. Nothing else did, though.

FINAL
S.F. - 4
SEA - 6

Just as an aside, I absolutely love that Dave Flemming gets plugged in for promos during the broadcast... without being in the booth. Jon and Duane appreciated having to address him as if there, and pointing that out, as well. It's always nice to see that class and dry wit are inherent to calling the team's games. :)

The Boys That Showed Up: Velez, Downs, Lewis, Zito (thanks Brian).

Clarity in Office

Will Clark is now an official rep.

Just in case y'all were still unaware. Too bad it's a "minor role", but that will do if it's the first step in the process of getting a former player to run the team. Thank God someone's paying attention...

-Michael

A Royal Mess

Randy Johnson is slowly figuring out what all the other quality pitchers have on our team. You can pitch quite well; but when you do you can be quite sure that the offensive production and the fielding will tag-team to help you lose low-era games.

At least Sanchez got some work; he'll need it due to Lowry's forearm, which apparently is still twinged. (For the record, let it be known that when Noah injured himself last year at this time, popping that tendon, I knew it was a career-breaker.) Most the rest of the pitching happened to be people I'd never heard of, except for Sadler. Hence, the final score (which the announcer for MLB.com sped over at the end of the game, not without reason).

The single greatest highlight: Posey showed for an AB in the 9th. He made a unnoticeable out, but that's not the point. The point was that even on a day like today, that single AB reminded me of all the new boys getting ABs and pitch-ins so far, already. It is the best part about our new ownership: Hope ariseth in the farm system, and it's actually getting a shot in ST right away.

FINAL
K.C. - 6
S.F. - 1

History in Spring

The good news is that this was the first-ever meeting of S.F. and L.A. in the spring in 30 years. Seriously. The Dodgers used to be in Florida. FLORIDA. Really. Who practices on the East Coast of the United States when playing on the West Coast of the United States. Dodgers. That's who. ;) Jon teased Ken Levine by saying he was "once a well-known radio broadcaster, and now works for the Dodgers". Ken Levine caught it. Jon said, "well, it's the Dodgers; what do you expect?" Jovial, but classic. I did hear from guest Charlie Steiner that the Dodgers extended the contract to Manny Ramirez (for those of you following big-name signings). I'd be happy to see we do not get him.

Some notable players: Ishikawa and Aurilia.

The bad news is that it was just spring training. It was entertaining, but our pitching and eventually the Dodger fielding just blew up. 6-0 L.A., then we took advantage of backup fielding and cut it to 6-4. Then 6-5. Next 10-5, though Velez made a fantastic throw from the outfield behind 2B (he also hit well after finally coming in). Of our recent bullpen signings, Howry did well and Affeldt--well, I hope Affeldt was just trying to fine-tune a particular pitch in a particular location, because they lit him up. I'll spare you the rest of the details:

FINAL
L.A. - 16
S.F. - 7

Oy.

WELCOME BACK KAWA!

The first things I shall tell you is that today is Ash Wednesday.

The second thing I shall tell you is that you should immediately have the theme to "Welcome Back, Kotter" in your head, and I'm about to tell you why.

Spring Training is upon us, thank GOD. The voice of Jon today was almost as good as an old friend returning after years of silence. Everyone did mostly well.

-Lincecum's first pitching AB was a K.
-Renteria's first AB was a 2B
-Scheirholz's first AB was a 1B
-Ishikawa's first AB was a RBI 1B

But that was not all that 'Kawa did. Oh no. The man who "has problems against lefty pitching" was 3-3, 2 HRs, and 4 RBI. Hello? Did you hear that?

You know who else hit like Ishikawa, who performed like him regularly, who came up through our own system as a surprise, and played 1B? Will Clark. Will Clark, people. I'm not making predictions, but I have always enjoyed watching this kid. He's humble, hard-working, and dedicated to the franchise. That's all I have to say.

Welcome back, 'Kawa. Welcome back.

FINAL
SF - 10
Cleveland - 7