So David Pinto wrote an interesting article suggesting that Pat Burrell has a hard time hitting hard fastballs. Almost as if he read the very same article and sought to prove it wrong, Burrell crushed a 97 MPH Jonthan Broxton fastball last night. I’m certainly not saying that one at-bat proves Pinto wrong (that would be pretty stupid), but it… Read more →
What better day is there, other than Opening Day, to have what can only be described as blind optimism? Easy. It’s Opening Day… after winning the World Series for the first time in 53 San Francisco seasons. I know, I know, you’re tickled. Me too. Yesterday, I concluded that Brandon Belt would make his major league debut tonight at Chavez… Read more →
When trying to decide what the Giants’ X factor is, you could probably run down a few different paths. Pitching health and infield defense are definitely directions that I considered before writing this post. Without pitching health, like most teams, the Giants are in hot water. If you remove Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain from the equation that is the… Read more →
When Giants fans see Cody Ross, they see a bald, smiling saint that crushes home runs off of Roy Halladay. Luckily, though, not all Giants fans are created equal. You see, about half of today’s Giants fans were yesterday’s casual baseball fan – or maybe last August’s casual baseball fan. Certainly, half is probably an exaggeration, but you get the… Read more →
There are a myriad of Giants topics currently being covered (and covered… and covered*) by the beat writers and bloggers – Is Brandon Belt better off in Triple-A or starting at first base for the Giants? Should the Giants release Aaron Rowand? Who should replace Brian Wilson? Is Jeff Suppan’s fastball better than Tim Wakefield’s? Are you sure? Seriously… I… Read more →
After a busy week, I’ve been catching up on news. To me the most interesting development of the early spring was this bit from Baggs: Bruce Bochy said the word “competition” definitely applies in left field, even though in this case, it’s established vets like Mark DeRosa and Pat Burrell who are pitted against each other. It’ll be deep into… Read more →
Andrew Baggarly tweets: I’m hearing the Giants have re-signed OF Pat Burrell to a discounted, one-year contract, pending a physical. Working to confirm. Hmmm. I like the ‘discounted’ and ‘one-year’ parts. Burrell, was of course, one of the many junk-heap acquisitions that turned out nicely for the Giants last season. After returning to the National League, Burrell basically reverted to… Read more →
Not a lot to write about tonight. Colby Lewis had a fine start — 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO — that kept the Giants off balance for most of the night. The scoring for the Giants came on a Cody Ross solo shot — who else, right? — and an Andres Torres solo HR in the 8th…. Read more →
Way back before this season started, I did my annual wins above replacement (WAR) projection post for the 2010 team. I came away with a projected 83-84 wins for the 2010 Giants. Not a bad projection at all, and it’s possible that if we’re talking about true talent this team might be closer to the mid-80′s, but the Giants excelled… Read more →
Go gently, my sweet prince. According to CSN Bay Area, the Giants have sent OF John Bowker to AAA Fresno. The Giants, as usual, don’t seem to have the patience to let young hitters just play for an extended period of time. After being proclaimed the starting right fielder, John Bowker played for most of the month of April. He… Read more →