Tim Lincecum is still a work in progress: I think the amount of panic that’s spent on Tim Lincecum is a little much at times, but Lincecum still hasn’t had what I would call a “crisp” start this year. In game one of today’s doubleheader, Lincecum did some good stuff (eight strikeouts) and some bad stuff (five walks). After five… Read more →
So, the biggest news of the day — besides Brandon Belt getting another rare start — is that the Giants have signed Madison Bumgarner to a five-year extension (with some club options) worth $35M (maybe up to $40M if Bumgarner qualifies for super two status). Bumgarner’s deal will buy out at least one of his free agency years, and potentially… Read more →
There are times when you know you’re watching a superb pitching performance. Much like when you turn on a classic movie, or put on a great record, you just know that you’re in for a treat. Today was one of those times. In the Giants home opener against the Pirates, Matt Cain threw one of the best games from a… Read more →
Goofy day. First, Facebook bought Instagram. They only paid a billi… Wait, they paid a billion? Oh. Manny Ramirez doing idiotic stuff like using the restroom behind the Green Monster during a pitching change is an example of Manny Being Manny. Today, when Barry Zito threw a four-hit shutout in Coors Field — in Coors Field — it was just… Read more →
Here’s a new graphic — in its early stages — of something I’m calling Game Flow. The idea is that it’s a simple graph showing the progression of the game from the pitching side of things. I’m still looking for a way to incorporate things like runs, outs, strikeouts, and walks into the graph, but for now this is a… Read more →
Usually I am loath to cover the Fresno Grizzlies. I won’t lie, people. Fresno hasn’t had a good team since I’ve started covering the San Francisco Giants system. There have been prospects there (Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner) to write about, but they are fleeting. This year, we have a pretty good group of guys in the central valley…. Read more →
Some more thoughts on the five-year contract extension that Matt Cain signed today. * Per ESPN’s TruMedia, only four starting pitchers — Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Roy Halladay, and Cole Hammels — had lower wOBA against scores last year. Batters averaged a .262 wOBA against Matt Cain in 2011. That really is a remarkable number. The league average wOBA against… Read more →
Well, despite the obvious thing: baseball 1. It’s working! 2. FFFFFFFFF 3. Not the bees! — 1. The general rule of thumb with Spring Training: it’s totally useless unless it confirms your deepest and darkest fears. (Can’t sleep. Belt stopped walking. Oh jeez.) 2. Madison Bumgarner is awesome. More to come as I crunch the statistics. 3. Bees. Really, that… Read more →
You’ve heard “Pitchers and catchers report” roughly one billion times over the last couple of weeks. You won’t here. I don’t care about the other Giants catchers, at least unless we’re talking about their stable of catching prospects on the farm. Over at the SweetSpot, Chris provided his pick for the Giant we are most excited to see in 2012…. Read more →
The new PECOTAs are here. (Hat tipping to Twitter friend, @SFBleacherGirl for the notice.) They aren’t pretty for the Giants’ offense. But I think you probably already knew that. The offense could be terrible. The offense might be bad. Oh, god. The offense is looking at me right now. I’m not sure what to do. I’ll just avoid eye contact… Read more →