Results tagged ‘ Cactus League ’
Giants Lineup Has Homegrown Talent – Today In Baseball History
After watching the Giants and A’s game last night. I’m ready for the season to start now. Just seeing them play at AT&T Park. Now it feels like some real baseball. Tim Lincecum out there blowing it by A’s hitters. Seeing Pablo Sandoval hit a RBI double off the right field wall. Everything is just starting to click to get me excited about the season. I know were not the Yankees or anything like that. We have some good young guys that will make the game exciting. Giants fans know the Giants always traded for guys or signed free agents. Now here is some proof that things are starting to change in Giants land.
2007 Opening Day Starting Lineup
1. Dave Roberts
2. Omar Vizquel
3. Barry Bonds
4. Ray Durham
5. Rich Aurilia
6. Pedro Feliz
7. Bengie Molina
8. Randy Winn
9. Barry Zito
We only had one homegrown player from the Giants minor league in the 2007 starting lineup. That player was Pedro (Feloser!) Feliz. The Giants have finally decided to grow some homegrown talent and have put a lot of money into scouting/developing players. This year our opening Day line up will have 5 homegrown players in that lineup. One of them is pitcher Tim Lincecum, but the other 4 are everyday players.
2009 Opening Day Lineup
1. Randy Winn
2. Edgar Renteria
3. Fred Lewis
4. Bengie Molina
5. Pablo Sandoval
6. Travis Ishikawa
7. Aaron Rowand
8. Emmanuel Burriss
9. Tim Lincecum
The 4 everyday players are Fred Lewis, Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and Emmanuel Burriss. These 4 guys should be really exciting to watch. The Giants really like Lewis and want him in the 3 spot this year. Were hoping he can hit around 20 home runs. Lewis has a lot of speed and should get a lot of triples with his speed and the large gaps at AT&T Park.
Now Pablo Sandoval is my favorite of the 4 everyday players. This guy can flat out rake! He had 3 hits in the game last night against the A’s. He had a double of the right field wall and had a triple in the gap. He can run pretty good for a big guy. This guy looked foolish on two change ups outside and then rakes a ball off the wall on the next pitch. Don’t look at Sandoval to walk much. He’s a free swinger at the plate. He should be able to drive in a lot of runs in the 5th spot of the lineup. He also will set up the lower part of the lineup by being on base a lot. I’m sure he’s going to hit over .300 this year. I’m thinking he might hit about .320.
The next guy is Travis Ishikawa. The Giants gave him the 1st base job at the beginning of Spring Training without seeing what other guys would step up for the job. We never really got a chance to see what Ishikawa could do yet, but his spring stats helped Giants fans feel comfortable with him getting the job. Ishikawa led the Giants in home runs this spring by hitting 7. The Giants love him for his defense at 1st base, but they think he will also be able to give them some power. Ishikawa says he’s not a power hitter, but it seems to look like he might have more power than he wants to admit.
The 4th player is Emmanuel Burriss who beat out Kevin Frandsen for the 2nd base job. The Giants really love Burriss and think he can be a really good player. He has speed and has had a really good bat this spring. I’m sure he’s going to be a fine player this season.
These are just the players that are starting this season. The Giants have some other hot prospects that I’m sure will make their debut this season and might even make it to the starting lineup for next year’s opening day.
Today In Baseball History
1985 – The owners proposal of expanding the 1985 League Championship Series from the best-of-five games to best-of-sevin is agreed to by the Players Association.
~ 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
Should The Giants Snag Sheffield?
I have been thinking if the Giants should go out and get Gary Sheffield. They would only have to pay him $400,000. The Tigers will have to pay him his $14 Million for this year. He would be a good bat to put in the middle of the
lineup. He might not be able to play everyday which would be fine to get other guys playing time. I’m just not sure who I would sit down to get him in the game. Randy Winn is the most consistent player we have had. Aaron Rowand plays center and the Giants want Fred Lewis in left. I think I might just keep moving Winn around and whatever outfielder gets a day off that’s where I would put Winn. I’m still not sold on if I were the Giants if I would do it. It’s just hard to pass up on a power bat like Sheffield’s that’s available for only $400,000. I’m sure he will be signed soon. Just not sure what team will jump out there and snag him.
lineup. He might not be able to play everyday which would be fine to get other guys playing time. I’m just not sure who I would sit down to get him in the game. Randy Winn is the most consistent player we have had. Aaron Rowand plays center and the Giants want Fred Lewis in left. I think I might just keep moving Winn around and whatever outfielder gets a day off that’s where I would put Winn. I’m still not sold on if I were the Giants if I would do it. It’s just hard to pass up on a power bat like Sheffield’s that’s available for only $400,000. I’m sure he will be signed soon. Just not sure what team will jump out there and snag him.~ 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
Burriss wins the 2nd Base Job
This was just released today. Emmanuel Burriss has won the 2nd base job. Kevin Frandsen has been option to Triple-A Fresno. I don’t think anyone really seen this coming. I mean it was starting to become obvious that Burriss would win the job, but no one expected Frandsen to be sent down. It seemed like the loser of the battle would be coming off the bench. Some people think this may be the end of Frandsen with the Giants.
Hot hitting Jesus Guzman was also sent down as well. The Giants just don’t have a spot for him right now. He needs to work on his defense before they can find a spot for him. They are hoping he can go down to Triple-A and continue to hit like he has but also work on his feet work and develop defensively.
~ King of Cali
Rangers vs Giants (new style) Recap – Today In Baseball History!
Today I decided to listen to the Giants and Rangers but not recap it like I usually do. Just thought I would point out a few highlights from the game. Just figure readers get bored of reading plays from every inning if nothing exciting really happens. Let me know what you guys think of my recap this way.
Texas scored 7 runs, 10 hits and 0 errors. Giants scored 5 runs, 10 hits and 1 error.
Hot hitting Jesus Guzman hit a Pinch Hit home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
Giants #3 starting pitcher Matt Cain pitched 7 innings. He gave up 4 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk and 8 strike outs. Cain at one point sat down 11 Rangers in a row.
Pablo Sandoval who seems to always have a multi hit game let us down today. He only got 1 hit today. His off day is still a 1-3 day at the plate. =)
7 Home Runs in the game. 4 home runs for the Rangers and 3 for the Giants.
Multi Hit Game
The Giants only had 2 players that had a multi hit game. Fred Lewis went 2-4. Juan Uribe went 2-5, 3 RBI’s, 2 runs and hit a 2 run home run in the 3rd inning off of Kris Benson.
Giants Side Notes
Buster Posey has finally left the Giants spring training camp. He will be playing for the San Jose Giants this year. They want him to get a year of catching under his belt in the minors. He will most likely be brought up in Sept. If Molina gets traded you may see Posey up sooner. Posey looks like he’s ready to play in the Majors now, but when you have Molina there you want to make sure Posey isn’t rushed. They want him to get comfortable behind the plate.
Randy Johnson is pleased with his 7 inning performance against their minor league team. Johnson wasn’t overwhelming but was glad he got his work in. Johnson will make his first start of the season on my B-day April 8th! He’s the Giants #2 starter this year.
Giants have 2 more games in Arizona before coming back to San Francisco to face the A’s Thursday night.
Rangers Side Notes
The ex-Giant Omar Vizquel gets a start at 2nd base today for the Rangers.
Catalanotto and Andruw Jones are battling for the final roster spot for the Rangers.
Today In Baseball History
1992 – The White Sox trade Sammy Sosa and pitcher Ken Patterson to the cross-town rival Cubs for slugger George Bell. Sossa will pass Erni Banks as the franchise’s all-time home run leader.
~ King of Cali
King of Cali
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