(Flickr/sjsharktank)

A week ago, I tackled the hitters. Now it’s the pitchers’ turn. For the pitching staff I’ll be guessing whether they’ll be UNDER or OVER their projected ERA+.

Matt Cain: 125 ERA+ in 2012, projected 121 ERA+ in 2013. What is there to say about Matt Cain? He’s the rock of the staff, the unquestioned team ace. He’s the Opening Day starter. He’s gotten better each of the last three seasons, and in 2012 posted a career high in strikeouts and a career low in walks. He’s never made fewer than 31 starts in any full season, or thrown less than 190 innings. I’ll confidently predict the OVER on his projection. » Continue reading “2013 Giants ZiPS Projections – Pitchers”

Yesterday, the Giants announced the full list of non-roster invitees (NRIs) to major league training camp. NRIs are players who aren’t on the 40-man roster who nevertheless will start spring training with the major league squad.

Spring Training at Scottsdale Stadium

This may not sound like big news, and it isn’t, for the most part. However, every year one of these guys sneaks on to the roster and ends up contributing in a big way. » Continue reading “Giants Non-Roster Invitees And An Interesting Development”

(Flickr/cseeman)

Earlier this week Benevolent Overlord Mac wrote up a post about Ryan Vogelsong’s appearance on the USA roster for the World Baseball Classic. Today, the complete rosters for all sixteen teams were announced, and there are nine Giants littered across the rosters of teams from around the world. Joining Vogelsong on the U.S. roster is Jeremy Affeldt. Pablo Sandoval, Jose Mijares, and Marco Scutaro will all play for the Venezuelan team, Angel Pagan and Javier Lopez will play for Puerto Rico, and Sergio Romo will play for Mexico. In addition to those eight, Giants minor leaguer Clayton Tanner will play for the Australian team.

Here’s the thing: I love the WBC. Love, love, love it. I understand why most people don’t, and I understand why many of the best players from around the world avoid it. It doesn’t matter to me. Few things get me going like athletic competition mixed with blind, fervent patriotism. Many fans out there would rather their team’s players not participate in this event, and while I understand the sentiment, I disagree. If, say, Sergio Romo tweaks his knee or his elbow pitching for Mexico, will I be upset? Of course. But I understand that that’s the sort of thing that comes with the territory of being an elite talent in a globally popular sport.

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Andrew Baggarly posted a story today that states that the Giants are in serious negotiations with Brandon Lyon, the right-handed reliever who pitched for Toronto and Houston last season. Lyon had a fantastic year last year, pitching 61 innings in his two stops last year, striking out a career high 9.3 batters per nine innings while only walking fewer than three. » Continue reading “Assorted Thoughts On The World Baseball Classic And Brandon Lyon”

I’ve taken a look at the position players, now it’s time to take a look at the pitchers.

Starting Pitchers: Tim Lincecum (probably), Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Barry Zito

WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL AND POSSIBLY UNPOPULAR OPINIONS AHEAD

About a week ago, Buster Olney created a bit of a hubbub amongst Giants fandom when he ranked the Giants’ rotation only the ninth-best in baseball. Here’s the thing – I’m not sure I disagree with him. » Continue reading “A Look At The Giants Roster: The Pitchers”

You can’t take anything in baseball for granted. Literally, anything. A projectile small than an adult’s closed fist is being hurled at velocities well exceeding the automobile speed limit and then bounced around thousands of square feet of space occupied by nine fragile sacks of meat and bone piloted by a mysterious chemical concoction. Really, once you’ve spent enough time considering the convoluted track of evolution and conditioning necessary to produce Hunter Pence, it’s no stretch at all to think “Yeah, of course the Astros could beat the Giants this year. Weirder things have happened.

But if ever there was a chance for a sweep, this series was it. So thank all that’s holy that the Giants cashed that chance in, especially after a game that looked Belisario ugly in the opening innings. Ryan Vogelsong hasn’t been Vogelsongian lately – or rather, he’s been an entirely different kind of Vogelsongian, one hopefully consigned to the dustbin of history – and one hopes that he’ll regain that potent combination of movement and location on his fastball.

That said, if there’s a single pitcher on the Giants’ roster who will just slam himself into the wall (figuratively speaking) as many times as it takes to fix whatever is broken, it’s Vogelsong. Hell, he struck out seven in six innings tonight, which is a good sign of putting it back together after the Zitonian beginning. He got the win! » Continue reading “Giants Recap: Two Weird-Lookin Fellas Do Just Fine In Texas”

Did you know that if you do an image search for "adios pelota" under free to use licensing, you get this?

In the 8th inning, Ryan Vogelsong was taken out of the game after allowing back-to-back singles. Double plays could’ve been turned to get out of the inning, but alas, two inherited runners scored,despite Javier Lopez’s and Sergio Romo’s — and the infield’s — best efforts.

With the way the Giants’ offense can be terribly inept, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that they lost the game because two runners scored in the 8th. Except that wasn’t the case, because Vogelsong was pretty okay. Actually, more than okay. Prior to the back-to-back singles in the 8th, he only gave up two hits and three walks.

This marks Vogelsong’s ninth straight quality start and the eighth straight game where the Giants won a game that he started. That ain’t bad for a back of the rotation guy.

And even better? Vogey didn’t get Cained.

The Giants managed to score four runs — homers included!

Buster Posey hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning to give the Giants the early lead. Angel Pagan scored on a Joaquin Arias sac fly in the 4th. Melky Cabrera hit a two-run bomb in the 8th inning to make it 4-0.

Four straight games where the Giants hit home runs.

That’s quite awesome, if you ask me.

(Now, please, just continue to hit homers, Giants. You look more competent when you do so.)

Don't question it. Just accept it.

Today, the Giants and the Cubs played a game in which the atmosphere was, dare I say, a classic?

Amidst the organ churning and the vendors vending, the barbershop quartets were singing their tunes.

Matt Cain was spectacularly Matt Cain-y, going 8+ innings, striking out seven, giving up only one run. Good stuff.

And the socks — striped stirrup high socks for all. Now that was a glorious thing.

Sure, the Cubs were on the board first, but the Giants managed to score two runs in the 6th to prevent Cain from being Cained. With, uh, Aubrey Huff drawing a bases loaded walk to tie the game in the first place.

I don’t know, y’all, just roll with it and don’t complain, I guess.

And Cain gets base hits! And breaks up double plays! If there were any Giant more baseballier than Cain…nope. No one is baseballier than Cain.

Javier Lopez pitched 2/3 of an inning, entering the game after Cain walked Starlin Castro. Two pitches, double play. Bam. Sergio Romo in to close. Three pitches, Alfonso Soriano grounds out, ballgame.

And Matt Cain wasn’t Cained today.

(Flickr/Linsey)

Madison Bumgarner made his first start against the Mets in the second game of a doubleheader tonight. And it was a good one. The Giants completed the doubleheader sweep with a score of 6-1.

For the second time today, the Giants came out swinging in the first inning. CF Gregor Blanco led off with a single, followed by a towering Pandamode HR from Pablo Sandoval for two runs. Nate Schierholtz continued his day’s hot streak with a triple*, followed by a sac fly from Hector Sanchez for another run.

*Nate would finish the game 3 for 5, and 6 for 10 for the day.

Of note, Sandoval extended his season-starting hit streak to 16, tying Willie Mays’ team record set in 1960. The Panda also has the longest current hit streak in the majors.

The Giants scored another 2 runs in the 4th inning, when Blanco’s fly ball to LF went into Jason Bay’s glove, but then right back out as Bay fell over, scoring Brett Pill and Emmanuel Burriss. When I was an assistant coach for my girls t-ball teams, I always told the kids that when the ball goes in the glove, you close the glove. Or, as we put it: “When the fish goes in the mouth, the croc snaps its jaws shut.” AND THAT’S WHY YOU DO THAT, JASON BAY. » Continue reading “Post-Game Recap: Giants Sweep the Doubleheader”

Giants, left, is defeated by baseball, right. (Illustration by Mac)

Back when I first started drafting a recap for this game, here’s how it started:

Ryan Vogelsong went a solid six innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk, and striking out eight, including a fantastic mow-down of the Mets 3-4-5 after a leadoff double to Daniel Murphy. With the game tied at 1-1 in the seventh, Manny Burriss (somehow!) on second, and Mets sinkerballer Mike Pelfrey beginning to reach the upper bounds of his pitch count, Vogelsong was removed from the game for Brandon Belt. Belt fought off a couple of tough pitches and came through with a single to score Burriss. A bullpen conglomeration of Daniel Otero, Javier Lopez, and an extremely well-rested Santiago Casilla closed out the game, giving the Giants a hard-fought 2-1 win against a resurgent Mets squad.

At least, that’s how things went in my own private universe. » Continue reading “Post-game Recap: Baseball Baseballs All Over The Giants”

Perfectly Acceptable Zito (TM) showed up today and that was nice. Five innings and two runs given up. Not bad. Kept the Giants in the game even though Powder was apparently missing from Citi Field. But the Giants scored three runs before Zito was out of the game — one on an Angel Pagan home run, one on a Buster Posey RBI double, and another because of a wild pitch.

And maybe — just maybe — that could’ve won the game.

Because surely, with run support and an actual lead, there was a chance. Maybe. » Continue reading “Post-game Recap: PAZsive-Aggressive Giants”