Right-hander Eric Hacker, a 16-game winner for the Fresno Grizzlies in 2010, has signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants, according to a Twitter post by Sosnick Cobbe Sports agency.

Hacker went 16-8 with a 4.51 ERA in his only season at Triple-A Fresno, setting the franchise wins mark. The 28-year-old spent the past year in the Minnesota Twins system, mostly at Triple-A Rochester.

Read More: mlb free agents 2011, Carlos Beltran (RF – SFG), San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals

With Albert Pujols departing the St. Louis Cardinals for the San Francisco Giants, the Cardinals needed to replenish the bats this season. So Carlos Beltran became a natural target. He was a free agent with a history of knocking the baseball out of the park, and he was represented by the same agent as Pujols, so the connections became obvious.

The Cardinals eventually agreed on a two-year deal worth $26 million, which is a pretty good deal given the hitting power that Beltran can still produce at 35 years old. Although it’ll be impossible to replace Pujols’s hitting power, Beltran can definitely come in and play at multiple positions and provide another additional bat to make the Cardinals potent.

The Giants on the other hand, are left scratching their heads. They’ve now essentially given up a pretty solid prospect in Zack Wheeler for a few months of Beltran, which resulted in no playoff berth. San Francisco is down to only Pablo Sandoval as a great hitter in their lineup, since no one really knows how well Buster Posey or Freddy Sanchez will recover from injury. It’s puzzling San Francisco didn’t even bother to pursue Beltran, and we’ll see if they rue that decision in the months to come.

To discuss Beltran to the Cardinals, head to Viva El Birdos. To discuss Beltran leaving the Giants, go to McCovey Chronicles.

The month of May will not be kind to the San Francisco Giants during the 2012 regular season. During those 31 days, the team will play 29 games with only one off-day. Numerous postseason contenders and division rivals are on the slate. The rest of the months in the season are hypothetically not nearly as tough for the team. In any case, the second month of the season is going to prove to be a vital one for the organization. A major slip-up is the last thing the Giants need.

To start things off, the Miami Marlins come to AT&T Park for a three-game set from May 1-3. It remains to be seen whether that team’s offseason signings will make it a contender. It will likely not be a pushover by any means though. From there, the Milwaukee Brewers will roll into town for three games. The Brewers did taste the postseason in 2011, but they could be without Prince Fielder at this point. Knocking around opponents from the other divisions is always good for obvious reasons.

Can the San Francisco Giants do that?

After opening the month with six games at AT&T Park, the Giants will hit the road for six games. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks are the opponents on that road trip. Los Angeles did manage a winning record and were only a handful of games behind San Francisco in the NL West. Of course, that could make the series go either way. All Giants’ fans know that the D-Backs are not a team to take lightly. That club did upgrade its pitching and retained the same potent offense from last season.

Returning home, the San Francisco Giants will play a two-game set against the Colorado Rockies. I would not call this an easy series, but it should be the simplest task for the team during the month. We should see two wins for the Giants here. At that point, the 2011 World Series champs come to town for a two-game series. The St. Louis Cardinals will lack Albert Pujols, but that will not make both games any easier. A three-game set against the Oakland Athletics will wrap up that homestead and should be somewhat easy.

The Giants will then take to the road again on a seven-game road trip. During that time, the team will face the Brewers again for three games and the Marlins for four games. Once again, both clubs should prove to be a challenge. May then ends with three games against the Diamondbacks back at AT&T Park. There could probably be a tougher schedule, but it is not like the Giants need that at all.

How will the team do with such a grueling schedule in May?

In reality, the San Francisco Giants are no pushovers, so cracking a winning record during the month should not be too hard. Going 15-14 would be nice, but it would not be anything too noteworthy. The club absolutely needs to reach that mark for the month at the very least. Without a doubt, anything less would be more than disappointing. This is a club that cannot afford to post any losing months.

Winning 15 games in a month is always nice, but the Giants will need to go above and beyond that against such a tough slate of opponents. The schedule will only give the team one other month with 29 games in it, which will come in August with a much weaker list of opposing teams. With that in mind, posting a record too far south from 15-14 is really going to do harm to the team. That will show that it cannot beat potential postseason teams or even the clubs within its own division.

Fortunately, the San Francisco Giants are backed by a top-notch pitching squad and an average offense. It is not like the team is likely to fail during the first couple months of the season and then just nosedive in the standings. Well, it could happen, but who expects that to be the result? April, May, June, and the rest of the months should be all right for the Giants no matter who the opponents are.

Errick D. Williams is a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Giants who has attended over 200 games at AT&T Park. He lives in San Diego but regularly travels back up to the Bay Area to catch a game with friends and family members.

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By Staff and wire report

The Associated Press

Published September 16, 2011

DENVER — Pablo Sandoval tripled in the sixth inning to complete the first cycle of his career and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Thursday night to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.

Ryan Vogelsong pitched effectively into the sixth inning and had two hits, and Brandon Belt homered for San Francisco. The Giants have won five straight and prevented Arizona from moving closer to clinching the NL West. The Diamondbacks lead the Giants by seven games with 12 to play.

Sandoval homered in the first, doubled in the second and singled in the fifth. In the sixth he hit a fly ball to the base of the wall in right-center field and beat the throw to third for the triple to complete the cycle.

The four hits all came against starter Jhoulys Chacin (11-12).

Sandoval is the 25th Giant to hit for the cycle and the first since Fred Lewis accomplished the feat May 13, 2007, also at Coors Field. It is the 10th cycle recorded at Coors Field.

Jordan Pacheco and Chris Iannetta homered for the Rockies.

The Giants built an early lead on Sandoval’s bat and poor fielding by the Rockies.

San Francisco took a 2-0 lead in the first when Carlos Beltran singled with two outs and Sandoval homered into the second deck in right, his 20th.

The Giants used two Colorado errors to extend the lead in the second. Brandon Crawford scored on a throwing error by shortstop Tommy Field. Jeff Keppinger hit a sacrifice fly and Pacheco misplayed Beltran’s grounder at first, allowing Cody Ross to score from second to make it 5-0.

The Rockies got one back in the third when Chacin scored from third on Mark Ellis’ single. Pacheco made it 5-2 when he led off the fourth with his second home run.

San Francisco made it 7-2 in the sixth on an RBI double by Ross, who scored on a double play grounder by Beltran.

Vogelsong (11-7) allowed two runs and four hits, walked four and struck out eight in 5 2-3 innings.

Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

Colorado scored three runs in the seventh on Iannetta’s 13th homer and RBI doubles by Chris Nelson and Eric Young Jr.

Belt led off the ninth with his sixth homer to make it 8-5.

Chacin gave up seven runs — four earned — and nine hits, walked four and struck out one in 5 2-3 innings.

Notes: Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki (hip) and 1B Todd Helton (back tightness) missed their second straight game. … Giants closer Brian Wilson (right elbow strain) threw a side session Thursday. … Left-hander Madison Bumgarner will face Colorado rookie right-hander Alex White on Friday in the second game of the four-game series. Bumgarner is 0-3 in five starts against the Rockies while White has never faced the Giants.

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Featuring the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and Brian Wilson, the San Francisco Giants will play 16 home games and 17 away games during the 2012 Cactus League Spring Training.

Note: All game times for Pacific Standard Time. (SS) represents split squad game. All games are part of Cactus League Spring Training and home games are played at Scottsdale Stadium, the exclusive home of the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco Giants 2012 Spring Training Schedule

Saturday, Mar. 3: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1:05 p.m.

Sunday, 4: at Milwaukee Brewers, 1:05 p.m.

Sunday, 4: at Arizona Diamondbacks (SS), 1:10 p.m.

Monday, 5: vs. Milwaukee Brewers (SS), 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 6: at Los Angeles Dodgers, TBD

Wednesday, 7: vs. Colorado Rockies, 1:05 p.m.

Thursday, 8: at San Diego Padres, 1:05 p.m.

Friday, 9: vs. Cincinnati Reds, 1:05 p.m.

Saturday, 10: vs. Milwaukee Brewers (SS), 1:05 p.m.

Saturday, 10: at Los Angeles Angels (SS), 1:05 p.m.

Sunday, 11: vs. Seattle Mariners, 1:05 p.m.

Monday, 12: at Kansas City Royals, 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 13: vs. Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, 14: vs. Cleveland Indians, 1:05 p.m.

Thursday, 15: at Seattle Mariners, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, 16: at Chicago Cubs, 1:05 p.m.

Saturday, 17: vs. Oakland Athletics (SS), 1:05 p.m.

Saturday, 17: at Los Angeles Dodgers (SS), 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, 18: vs. San Diego Padres, 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 20: at Arizona Diamondbacks, 1:10 p.m.

Wednesday, 21: at Cleveland Indians, 1:10 p.m.

Thursday, 22: at Colorado Rockies, 7:10 p.m.

Friday, 23: vs. Texas Rangers, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, 24: vs. Colorado Rockies (SS), 1:05 p.m.

Saturday, 24: at Cincinnati Reds (SS), 1:05 p.m.

Sunday, 25: at Chicago White Sox, 1:05 p.m.

Monday, 26: vs. Kansas City Royals, 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday, 27: vs. Los Angeles Angels, 1:05 p.m.

Wednesday, 28: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.

Thursday, 29: at Texas Rangers, 6:05 p.m.

Friday, 30: at San Diego Padres, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, 31: vs. Cincinnati Reds, 3:05 p.m.

Sunday, Apr. 1: at Milwaukee Brewers, 1:05 p.m.

Sources:

San Francisco Giants Spring Training Tentative Schedule, SFGiants.com

San Francisco Giants Spring Training Ballpark, SFGiants.com

More from this contributor:

New Orleans Hornets 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

San Antonio Spurs 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

Philadelphia 76ers 2011-12 Regular Season TV Schedule

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Follow this contributor on Twitter @_austinchang.

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By Ronnie Polidoro
Rock Center

Nearly nine months after being viciously beaten while leaving a Los Angeles Dodger home opener, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow has only recovered enough to barely speak and he is still unable to walk.

NBC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman visited Stow at a rehabilitation center in San Jose, Calif. The 42-year-old paramedic and father of two is relearning basic things like walking, brushing his teeth, swallowing, and even how to speak.  His recovery has been a slow process but he was able to greet Snyderman as part of an exclusive look at his life since the attack.

Two of the men who attended the fateful baseball game in Los Angeles with Stow, Corey Maciel and Jeff Bradford also spoke to Rock Center in an exclusive interview discussing one of the worst episodes of fan violence in American sports history.

It was opening day in March at Dodger Stadium.  The Dodgers were playing the defending World Series champion team, the San Francisco Giants.  San Francisco fans Maciel, Bradford, and Stow, along with their friend Matt Lee, had taken a road trip to Los Angeles to root for their team.

Proudly wearing their orange and black uniforms, they stuck out in the blue sea of Dodger fans, and soon the heckling began.  

“Nobody’s off limits for heckling at a game, especially when it’s friendly banter,” Maciel told Dr. Nancy Snyderman. 

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But the friendly banter soon escalated into name-calling, threats and cursing.

“At no point did we think about leaving, because as uncomfortable as we might have been at times, we had paid our money.  We’re here to see a baseball game,” Maciel said.

The game ended with the Dodgers winning 2-1.

As fans filtered out of the stadium, the four visitors stayed by their seats to avoid the massive crowds. When they finally left, the taunting continued into the parking lot. 

“It turned from uncomfortable in the stadium to almost a hostile feeling in the parking lot,” Maciel said. 

The group was staying at a nearby hotel and trying to beat the taxi stand line.  Bradford says they went the long way through a dimly lit parking lot to look for a cab farther from the stadium. 

 

“Bryan and I were side by side and talking amongst ourselves,” Maciel said. “We’re walking past this car.  And I noticed there’s a group of people.  And, next thing, one of them comes from behind the car yelling, and pushes Bryan into me.”

Maciel says his friends dismissed the trouble and kept walking, picking up the pace.  The parking lot exit came into focus. Then he says he heard footsteps coming from behind them and then a loud scream. 

“I turned around, and at that point, I see Jeff get punched in the face and get knocked to his back.  And I just remember feeling stunned, completely stunned, almost paralyzed with the feeling of what is going on right now,” he said.

Trying to assess the situation, Maciel says he looked for his other friends. 

“I looked over to see where Matt and Bryan were.  And I didn’t see Matt, but I saw Bryan.  And somebody had his attention.  And he was looking away from me.”

That’s when Maciel says Bryan was punched from behind and knocked to the ground allegedly by the same man who punched Jeff.  His attacker was kicking him in the side of the head, over and over. 

Maciel and Bradford say they sprinted to Stow and jumped on him to cover and protect him, begging the attacker to stop.

“Right after we had covered Bryan up, somebody from the crowd grabbed him and said, ‘That’s enough.  Get out of here.’  And the next thing I know, I look up and I see him running away,” Maciel said.

Maciel says he called out Stow’s name repeatedly, but his badly beaten friend gave no response.  “I felt so helpless,” he said.

Stow laid there with severe injuries to his skull and brain, struggling to hold on. 

In July, two suspects were arrested, Louie Alex Sanchez, 29, and Marvin Eugene Norwood, 30. Sanchez and Norwood both pled not guilty to charges of felony assault, battery, and mayhem in August.  Their preliminary hearing has been set for January 17.

After seven months in the intensive care unit, much of what he spent in a medically induced coma, Stow was transferred from San Francisco General Hospital to the rehabilitation center in San Jose, Calif.  Doctors say Bryan will be permanently “disabled” and expect that he will never be a paramedic again.

Despite the severity of the attack Bradford says he’s hopeful baseball’s reputation is not damaged irreparably.

“It’s supposed to be a team sport.  You know?  Good rivalry.  This is one bad instance among millions and millions of sports fans that go every year and have the time of their lives.”

Editor’s Note: Dr. Nancy Snyderman’s full report on Bryan Stow and his recovery airs tonight, Dec.19 at 10p/9c on NBC’s Rock Center.