San Francisco Giants Weekend Wrap-Up: Giants Continue Cactus League Dominance

The San Francisco Giants' biggest concern coming into the 2012 season has been anything but worrisome, at least during the start of the 2012 Cactus League.

The Giants have swung the bats so far in their first 10 games this spring. They stand at 7-3-1 for the spring and have slugged a .326 team batting average.

San Francisco's power numbers have been the best in the Cactus League so far. In 11 games, the Giants lead the league with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs.

The Giants are also second in the league in runs scored with 73. The only team better in that statistic is the Seattle Mariners with 74 runs scored.

Their ability to get on-base has also been encouraging this spring. The Giants lead all of baseball (Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues) in OPS with a .919 clip, and they have a team on-base percentage of .376, good for third in the Cactus League.

Is this foreshadowing the team's 2012 season, or is it a mirage?

It is difficult to say since the ball flies in Arizona, but a couple of players stand out as in-shape and ready to go (I would like to hear your thoughts by commenting below).

Keith Allison/Flickr, Creative Commons

Melky Cabrera continues to have a torrid spring training. Over the weekend, he went 3-for-7 against Milwaukee Brewers Saturday and the Seattle Mariners Sunday, with another double and three RBI.

Cabrera's spring average is now at .542, with three home runs, four doubles, and nine RBI in seven games. He leads the Cactus League in both home runs and RBI.

Here is a quick wrap-up of the Giants' three weekend spring training games:

Saturday (SS):

• Brewers 3    Giants 13  (Tommy Joseph, 2-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB)
• Barry Zito: 3 IP, 0 ER, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K
• Giants 5     Angels 9 (Aubrey Huff, 2-for-3, HR, RBI)
• Huff hitting .316 this spring.

Sunday:

• Mariners 5   Giants 7 (Hector Sanchez, 2-for-2, HR, 3 RBI)
• Eric Surkamp (3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3K)
• Sunday's box score can be found here. 

That is 25 runs in 3 games. It is safe to say that the Giants had a swinging weekend.

On the injury front, Buster Posey and Brian Wilson each played in the game Sunday against the Mariners. Both looked encouraging and appear to be back to form.

Buster Posey went 0-for-2 on Sunday, but caught four innings. With Brian Wilson on the mound and a runner at first base in the second inning, Posey fired a strike to second base to gun down the Mariners' Carlos Peguero in an inning-ending strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play.

Rob Shenk (Flickr) [Creative Commons]

 

In that same game, Wilson pitched a scoreless fourth inning. He gave up a one-out single to Peguero and struck out one.

Wilson's velocity was in the low 90s, but he still effectively and efficiently completed a scoreless inning. Most importantly, Wilson pitched nine pain-free pitches.

I am sure Wilson will crank up the velocity once the games count.

As I write this, I see Aaron Rowand, now with the Miami Marlins, on ESPN strike out on a low and away slider. Classic Aaron Rowand. I smile.



Materials from MLB.com.

Giants go 1-1-1 in Cactus League Opening Weekend; Hector Sanchez Deserves the Backup Catcher Role

If there is one positive sign from this weekend's 1-1-1 Cactus League opening start, it is that there are signs of life.

The Giants scored 18 runs in three spring training contests (albeit one of the games was a split squad with their "B" lineup). In doing so, the Giants looked like a faster, more athletic team and not the station-to-station snoozer offense the Giants displayed in the last couple of years.

Yes, the home runs will be less, but the runs will be there. San Francisco has also added more seasoned, professional hitters such as Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, who both did excellent in their two games.

In Sunday's 11-1 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks, each went 2-for-4, with an RBI from Pagan that day. For the spring, both are 3-for-7 (.429) and hitting the ball with authority and confidence--even on outs.

Another competition may emerge at first base. Brett Pill and Brandon Belt 3-for-6 and 4-for-8 respectively so far this spring. The incumbent, Aubrey Huff, is 2-for-5 and could be ousted in 2012 if he does not perform in spring training or the first half of the regular season.

The Giants proved last year they have no patience with over-the-hill veterans who do not produce, no matter how much they are paid.

By Cbl62 (via Wikimedia Commons)

To me, Huff's key to success is take more walks, swing at strikes, and go the opposite way more like he did in 2010.

Another bright spot so far this preseason is Hector Sanchez, who is vying for the backup catcher role to compliment Buster Posey. Sanchez, in two games, went 4-for-5, with a home run and four RBI.

Sanchez's counterparts, Chris Stewart and Eli Whiteside, will certainly have their hands full this preseason. Sanchez is coming off a winter ball season where he scorched the ball, hitting .339 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI in 51 games.

Here is my two cents on the catching situation...


Do whatever you can to inject offense into the Giants' lineup, and yes, that means sending Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart down to Fresno or cutting them. Hector Sanchez is a blossoming young hitter who deserves a chance, and although his catching skills need work, he will only get better with major league experience as Buster Posey's backup catcher.

Whiteside and Stewart will just cost the Giants outs in their lineup, something they cannot afford to have. These two hitters are already over 30 and are unlikely to hit any better than .250 at any point in their future careers.

It is time that the Giants do more of seeing what players have--not what they have left. Sanchez is definitely worth a closer look in the big leagues.

...

A rather interesting moment occurred at the ballpark yesterday.

In the top of the second inning, a swarm of bees infiltrated Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, delaying the game for 41 minutes. As the bees moved in from the outfield towards the infield, Diamondbacks and Giants players exited the field.

The bees made their way to the Giants' first-base dugout. Grounds-crew personnel and local fire officials were summoned to get rid of them.

You can see pictures of the bees in this MLB.com article.

Giants' broadcaster Jon Miller described the workers trying to rid the bees as something you would see out of the movie Ghostbuster's. They wore space-men like suits that protected the workers from head to toe.

Runners were at second and third with nobody out at the time of the delay. There was no score.

When play resumed, Giants' catcher Hector Sanchez ripped a single bringing in the first run of the game.

You never know what you will see when you come to the ballpark. Baseball is back folks!



Information used in this article came from MLB.com

Manny Ramirez Goes 0-For-2 in Oakland Athletics Exhibition Debut

Oakland Athletics' slugger Manny Ramirez had a less than stellar first day on the job.

By User shgmom56 on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as "DSC03222") [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ramirez took two at-bats in the A's Cactus League opener and grounded out both times, including into a double play in the bottom of the first inning. He was the starting designated hitter for that game.

Although Ramirez struggled at the plate today, he told ESPN he felt good.

"At least I was seeing the ball pretty good," Ramirez said.

Ramirez signed a minor league deal worth $500,000 back in February. If he makes the big-league club, Ramirez will have to serve a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.

As for Ramirez's new green-beanied wardrobe?

"I like the white uniform. It's beautiful," Ramirez told ESPN. "My friends, they'll be calling, 'Man, you look so good in green.'"

...

Before you all bring out the "I told you so" comments, consider this...

It was Manny's first baseball game in a year. He has not faced live pitching in a real game since the very beginning of last season, and it is a good sign that he even put the bat on the ball today.

Does this mean he is going to start mashing the ball like he did back in his heyday? Definitely not, but if he can give the A's .265, with 20 home runs and 75 RBI, I think Oakland would be very happy.

The bottom line is it is simply too early to tell how Ramirez will do this season based on one preseason game. Even the best of the best go hitless in a game, and look way worse than Ramirez did, but the first game is always overblown simply because there is no past history to go by.

Ah, the quandary sports sometimes is. Strap em' on folks. It's going to be a bumpy ride with Mannywood in town.

...

Will Manny be a contributor for the Athletics this season? Was today's two failed at-bats a microcosm of Manny's 2012 season? Or do you think Manny will tear it up this season?

Will Ramirez do more harm than good for the A's? Will Manny be Manny?

Lastly, is an opening game (whether it be opening day or the preseason opener) overblown too much by the media or is a good start crucial to a baseball player's success.

We will find out as the soap opera called a 162-game baseball season unfolds. Stay tuned....

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Bay Area Ball: The Giants and A's Return to the Bay Area

It's a late night tonight, and I got a ton of eBay items to sell, so here's a good summary on tonight's game from a very good blogger. Follow him on twitter @BayCityBall08.

Quick thought from me: The Giants looked good tonight. Aubrey Huff crushed a high fastball into the port walk tonight (off a lefty), and Pat Burrell showed opposite-field power, crushing a two-run double to right field off Brett Anderson. That is a sign they are right.

Belt didn't get a hit, but I still want him on the team to replace Ross in the lineup.

If Rowand is in there, that would be a big mistake by Bochy. He just cannot make contact and looked horrible in his lone plate appearance tonight striking out.

Cain was solid. He gave up three runs and left in the fifth, but he had good command. That's all that matters in spring training. One of the runs came on two cheap bloop hits.

Anyway, on to the article.

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Bay Area Ball: The Giants and A's Return to the Bay Area: " The Cactus league is finally over, and it's almost time to get some meaningful baseball going... Put that on hold for a few more day..."

MLB.com article of Lincecum's outing today

Here is today's MLB.com article about how Lincecum did today. It was not good, but at least the rain wiped it out (the game was canceled after 3 innings).

Note: I did not write this nor contributed to it in anyway. This piece was written by MLB.com's Chris Haft.
...

Article Link: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110321&content_id=17053900&notebook_id=17053976&vkey=notebook_sf&c_id=sf

Lincecum deceptively ugly against Rockies

By Chris Haft/MLB.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Though rain wiped out the Giants' Cactus League affair Monday against the Colorado Rockies, the experience still counted for Tim Lincecum, whose pitching line was deceptively ugly...


My Thoughts

Hey, it's spring training. As long as nobody gets hurt, and Lincecum got his work in, then, all is fine.

Giants Injury Report: Brian Wilson out with a mild oblique strain

Giants All-Star closer Brian Wilson was diagnosed Saturday with a mildly strained left oblique, the team announced Saturday.

Wilson believes he will be ready for opening day, but Martie Lurie of KNBR said on the Giants' postgame show that March 31's opener is in jeopardy for the bearded right-hander.

Wilson will not throw the ball until Monday, when he will be re-evaluated.

Wilson earned a major league best 48 saves last season. He reported the discomfort last Friday, the day after pitching a shutout inning against the Angels in an exhibition game.

Coming into Saturday's game, Wilson pitched five innings in the preseason and gave up just one run (1.80 ERA). 

My Thoughts

This is a bit of a concern for me.

Brian Wilson is one of the best closers in the National League, and I do not think the Giants have anyone formidable to replace him with. Casilla does not throw enough strikes for me in the ninth, and Sergio Romo is just too prone to the long ball late in the game (as seen in the NLDS).

Although Javier Lopez is a good pitcher, I want someone who can throw gas coming into the ninth inning. If this were 2009, I would say Jeremy Affeldt could step in, but he just has not been consistent enough of late.

A possible under-the-radar candidate could be Marc Kroon. Kroon was a successful closer in Japan who nearly broke the all-time saves record over there. He is doing okay in spring training, giving up two runs in six innings (3.00 ERA), while striking out four.

Still, it would be very difficult to replace Wilson. Wilson insists he will be fine for the opener in Los Angeles, but anything could happen and the Giants need to look at other options just in case.


Information from Chris Haft, a reporter for MLB.com

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