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San Francisco Giants take St. John’s shortstop in first round of draft

bgroupiea — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:13:27 +0000

The San Francisco Giants selected a shortstop from St. John’s in the first round of the major league draft on Monday night.

The Giants took shortstop Joe Panik with the 29th pick of the draft. Panik is a junior from Hopewell Junction, N.Y., who is hitting .398 this season for the Red Storm.

Check back for more on this story.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Vogelsong, Torres lead Giants over Rockies 2-1

SuperOlgaPoland — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:46:24 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO —

Ryan Vogelsong, the one-time mop-up man, has found a home with the San Francisco Giants. He’s throwing as if he wants to make it permanent.

Vogelsong pitched eight fantastic innings and Andres Torres singled home the tiebreaking run, leading the Giants over the Colorado Rockies 2-1 Sunday in a series highlighted by dominant pitching.

“Until this year I was always the guy who came in when the game was lopsided either way and usually when we were behind by a lot,” Vogelsong said. “To be counted on to win games, it’s awesome, just a great feeling. It’s a role you need to do and not just hang out and be a sideshow.”

Freddy Sanchez also drove in a run for the Giants, who won their fourth in five games. Miguel Tejada had two hits.

Chris Iannetta homered for the Rockies, who are 4-12 in their last 16 games and have not won back-to-back games since May 16-17.

Vogelsong (4-1) matched his career high with eight innings, giving up a run on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven. He’s allowed one run or less in each of his past six starts. Brian Wilson worked the ninth for his 17th save in 19 chances.

Until this year, Vogelsong hadn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2006. He spent three years in Japan and shuffled between three organizations last season.

“It was a long road for him but he never gave up,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He kept grinding to get back to the major leagues. That’s one of the best stories I’ve seen since I’ve been in the game.”

With Barry Zito beginning his minor league rehab assignment in San Jose on Monday night, the rotation could get a little clogged up.

“Voggy is not going anywhere,” Bochy said. “He’s going to pitch every fifth day. We might have to get a little creative here. We’re just starting to talk about it now.”

Matt Lindstrom (0-1) walked pinch-hitter Pat Burrell to open the eighth inning, and pinch-runner Emmanuel Burriss was sacrificed to second by Vogelsong. Burriss went to third on a wild pitch and scored easily on Torres’ tiebreaking single.

The teams combined for 10 runs in the three-game series.

“Got to hit, that’s all I’ve got,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “You give up two runs, you should win. It’s that simple. We gave up six runs in the series but we only scored four.”

Rockies starter Jason Hammel retired 17 of his first 18 batters. He allowed one run and two hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out four.

“It’s hard knowing he’s out there working so hard for us,” Colorado outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. “To not score any runs for him is difficult. It’s tough to lose a game like that.”

One pitch after Vogelsong thought he caught him looking at strike three for the final out of the fifth, Iannetta hit his eighth home run, a shot that easily cleared the left-field fence.

“I snap a little and get it out of the way,” Vogelsong said. “In tight games you have to go back out and pitch. I just slammed my glove down a few times and said a few things you probably don’t want to write.”

Hammel carried a no-hitter into the sixth. He got the first two outs but walked Torres. Tejada ended the no-hit bid with a hit-and-run single and Sanchez followed with his RBI single.

“He lost command there for a brief moment but because of what’s not taking place for us offensively, that’s all it takes,” Tracy said. “It comes back to we didn’t hit. We were 1 for 12 with seven strikeouts with our 2-3-4 hitters. It’s not the first day we’ve had to deal with this. It’s what is holding this team up.”

Hammel has thrown one career complete game – a loss at Los Angeles in July 2009.

NOTES: Giants 1B Brandon Belt was placed on the 15-day disabled list and replaced on the roster by INF Conor Gillaspie. … Rockies OF Dexter Fowler was out of the starting lineup with a sore abdomen. … Giants C Buster Posey visited the clubhouse for the first time since undergoing surgery on his left leg. … Hammel needs two strikeouts to match Bruce Ruffin (319) for 14th on the Rockies’ career list. … Torres was picked off first base in the eighth after getting picked off at second Saturday.

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San Francisco Giants rally to 11-inning victory

Cradsbrat — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:42:01 +0000

ST. LOUIS — Aubrey Huff said it best the other day. No matter how many pieces the Giants are missing, they have to follow last season’s World Series-winning formula: Scratch out hits and win any way you can.

Even after Tim Lincecum blew a lead, even with Manny Burriss playing first base, and yes, even when down to their final strike, the Giants kept on scratching in a 7-5, 11-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

Huff’s two-out walk and pinch runner Manny Burriss’ stolen base set up Nate Schierholtz’s tying single in the ninth to force extra innings. Schierholtz came through again after Freddy Sanchez doubled in the 11th, rapping another run-scoring single, and closer Brian Wilson literally pitched lights-out baseball while recording the save as the Giants gave themselves a chance for a winning trip.

There was little else formulaic about this victory, though. Even the ending was odd, as umpires delayed the game for 16 minutes with Allen Craig at the plate with two outs. A bank of lights went out behind home plate — did Cardinals manager Tony La Russa accidentally lean against a switch? — and players from both teams walked off the field to wait as the lamps slowly powered back up.

Once play resumed, Wilson retired Craig on a ground ball on the first pitch to end it.

And what formula has Burriss at first base? He ended up at the position for the first time in his career because rookie Brandon Belt,

Huff’s only backup, was unavailable because of a sore left wrist. Belt was hit by a pitch the previous day.

But Giants manager Bruce Bochy didn’t hesitate when Huff drew his two-out walk in the ninth. Burriss’ speed paid off, as he stole his way into scoring position, and Schierholtz followed with his flared hit.

It was the first blown save for Fernando Salas, who had been 10 for 10 in opportunities. Maybe it’s just a bad year for Cardinals closers to face the Giants; they have blown three opportunities in six games against the Giants.

Huff already played the hero earlier in the game, when his solo home run in the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie. The homer was his first since May 11, breaking a dry spell of 73 at-bats.

But Lincecum allowed a career-high 10 hits, including four to the final four batters he faced, and blew a one-run lead in the seventh. Craig hit a pinch, two-run home run to put the Cardinals ahead. It was the first pinch homer Lincecum had allowed in his five major league seasons.

The Giants had rallied from a three-run deficit in the sixth, when Cody Ross and Andres Torres hit run-scoring doubles and Eli Whiteside hit a sacrifice fly. But they regretted wasting chances earlier in the game; they stranded seven runners in the first four innings against Jake Westbrook.

The Giants can make it a winning trip against two tough N.L. Central teams if they can win behind Jonathan Sanchez in the series finale Thursday. They won’t have to face Jaime Garcia, who was among the major league ERA leaders before getting roughed up in his previous outing. The Cardinals pushed back Garcia; they called up Lance Lynn to make his major league debut instead.

For more on the Giants, see Andrew Baggarly’s Extra Baggs blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs.

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MLB: San Francisco 5, Milwaukee 4

ragutd451 — Sat, 28 May 2011 08:49:46 +0000

MILWAUKEE, May 27 (UPI) — Brandon Crawford hit a grand slam home run in his major league debut Friday, rallying the San Francisco Giants and Tim Lincecum to a 5-4 win over Milwaukee.

Crawford had never played above Class AA before being called up this week after the Giants had to adjust their roster due to the long-term loss of catcher Buster Posey.

Starting at shortstop, Crawford lined out to center in the third and grounded into a double play in the fifth to begin his major league career.

He came up with the bases loaded and the Giants facing a 3-1 deficit in the seventh and hit the first pitch from Shaun Marcum (6-2) over the wall in right field. Marcum came into the game with a 2.37 ERA but gave up five runs on six hits in six-plus innings.

Lincecum (5-4) got the win while lasting seven innings. He surrendered three runs, two of them on a third-inning homer by Rickie Weeks.

Brian Wilson came on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth and allowed a two-out single before picking up his 14th save.

The Giants snapped a three-game losing streak. Milwaukee had won six in a row.

What do you guys think about this.

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey believes his season is over

Roindjnkfvjkfvijfijkdfd — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:56:44 +0000

MILWAUKEE — Buster Posey expects to miss the remainder of the season, but he insisted he is “100 percent” committed to returning as a catcher. And by the time he straps on shinguards in 2012, he hopes Major League Baseball has discussed and implemented ways to protect catchers from being treated like tackling dummies at home plate.

What about a discussion with Scott Cousins, the Florida Marlins runner who fractured his leg and tore three ligaments in his ankle in a collision Wednesday? Posey said that’s a message he’s in no rush to return.

“I don’t know if it really matters,” said Posey, speaking publicly for the first time since the collision on a conference call he arranged with three Giants beat reporters. “If it’s something that would make him feel better “… I can imagine if I was on the other end, that would be just as difficult to know that a play you were involved in has more than likely put somebody out for the rest of the year. I’m kind of indifferent, I guess.”

Posey hesitantly acknowledged he is “highly likely” done for the season. He and the Giants medical staff continue to gather information before he undergoes surgery to repair the ligament damage. There will be no official time frame until after that surgery is performed, but Posey said he has received no indications that his injuries could be career-threatening.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery, but something I do believe I will be able to fully recover

from,” he said, thanking teammates, fans and the organization for the outpouring he has received.

What does Posey remember from the sacrifice fly in the 12th inning, in which Cousins broke a 6-6 tie?

“I just remember the way the ball was hit, I figured there would be a play at the plate, especially with Nate’s (Schierholtz) good arm, and I just remember almost feeling I went to my right a little to catch the ball, and it skid on the grass. I tried to come back toward the plate, and he (Cousins) was on top of me. That’s pretty much all I can remember.”

Posey, who looked at replays, did not go so far as to call the hit a dirty play. But he didn’t offer Cousins any absolution, either.

“Well, I mean “… I don’t think he did anything illegal,” Posey said. “So yeah, it’s kind of “… I don’t know, it’s a tough one to answer. He didn’t do anything illegal, but looking at the replay, I think there was probably a lane to slide.

“I want to make this very clear: I don’t know Cousins. I’m not out to vilify Cousins in any way whatsoever. It happened, and it’s over with. But the main point I want to get across is a play like that is something that’s got to be looked at by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association because, and this might sound dumb, but I feel fortunate I’ve just got a torn up leg. “… I’m fortunate I didn’t come away with a neck injury or a spinal injury.”

It’s a misconception that Posey was blocking the plate. Replays and aerial shots, including a series that his agent, Jeff Berry, distributed to the media, clearly show that Posey was set up to the right side. Cousins, apparently thinking his only play was to jar the ball loose, targeted Posey instead of the plate.

“If you’re completely in front of the plate, camped out, the runner doesn’t have a choice,” Posey said. “But I feel Cousins had a choice to slide or come at me, and he came directly at me.”

Giants general manager Brian Sabean said he would wait at least another day or two before talking to league officials “so I can take the emotion out of it.” But the G.M. said he was “still numb” about what he saw.

“He felt he had to resort to that,” Sabean said of Cousins. “He chose to run into the catcher rather than take the other path.”

Posey said he is in considerable pain, especially when he must move, and managing the discomfort is his prime focus for now.

“I know with my personality, once some of the pain subsides, it’s going to be tough on me just to sit,” he said. “But, for now, I’m just concentrating on feeling good.”

That’s all for today.

San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey Injury Prompts Call for Rule Change

dxszyacy — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:38:17 +0000

Reigning National League Rookie of the Year Buster Posey, catcher for the San Francisco Giants, suffered a broken bone in his left leg last night during a home plate collision with Florida Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins. Chris Haft of mlb.com is reporting that Posey will likely miss the remainder of the season.

Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post blogs today that, “Cousins was in tears this morning, telling reporters how bad he felt,” and he quotes Cousins as saying, “It’s everywhere. No matter where I look. It’s on TV as a soon as I turn the TV on. It’s outside on TV. It’s on TV here as soon as I walk in. And when I see it I turn away. I juts dont like knowing that I could have possibly ended somebody’s season.”

Whenever a player in any sport is badly injured, some variation of following questions is invariably asked: Why did it happen? Could it have been prevented? Is the sport doing enough to protect its players?

In this instance it seems that at least Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Buster Posey’s agent Jeff Berry believe the answer to that last question is, “No,” and they think it’s time for a rule change.

Bochy, a Major League catcher for nine seasons, said in an interview today that, while he understands things like this happen in baseball, he believes that catchers “are in harm’s way [in these situations],” and that the MLB, “should consider changing the rules a little bit,” (See video for Bochy’s full comments.)

Posey’s agent Jeff Berry is none too pleased about this either:

“You leave players way too vulnerable. I can tell you Major League Baseball is less than it was before [Posey's injury]. It’s stupid. I don’t know if this ends up leading to a rule change, but it should. The guy [at the plate] is too exposed.

“If you go helmet to helmet in the NFL, it’s a $100,000 fine, but in baseball, you have a situation in which runners are [slamming into] fielders. It’s brutal. It’s borderline shocking. It just stinks for baseball. I’m going to call Major League Baseball and put this on the radar. Because it’s just wrong.”

It is easy to understand how Bochy and Berry could be so upset. They are probably each a little upset with themselves in allowing Posey, who is arguably the best hitter on a team that ranks last in the National League in runs, to be behind the plate.

Catcher is unquestionably the most dangerous position on a baseball field and already this season there have been a handful instances where Posey has been dinged up behind the plate. But maybe they should take a few days to cool down and realize that, while Posey’s injury is unfortunate, it is (say it with me) a part of the game.

There are dozens upon dozens of plays at the plate every baseball season and the number of them that end in catastrophic injury can be counted on one hand. Things like this are going to happen from time to time. It is nonsensical to believe that every time somebody gets injured in sports a rule change is warranted.

Posey found himself in an awkward position as Cousins hit him at the plate. He was positioned on his knees with his butt on his feet. Had he been in a squat, as he was the instant before Cousins hit him, he likely would have rolled over and not suffered this injury. It was an unfortunate sequence of events where Posey ended up in the wrong position at the wrong time.

One has to wonder how much this has to do with the fact that this is Buster Posey—fan and league favorite, World Champion, and NL Rookie of the Year—and not, say, Ryan Doumit of the Pittsburgh Pirates. If Posey weren’t such a productive member of his team and so important to Major League Baseball’s marketing department, would anybody be this upset?

I can’t help but be reminded of the NHL. When Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins suffered his season-ending concussion last year, people started to buzz a little bit about player safety. But it wasn’t until Sidney Crosby was concussed in the middle of this season that the NHL really began its crusade against hits to the head. How come nobody calls for rules changes until a high-profile player is seriously injured?

Sports are sometimes dangerous. There are times when these dangers supersede the entertainment value of the game and a change needs to be made. Catchers suffering injury on plays at the plate is not an epidemic on par with concussions in the NFL, as Mr. Berry would have us believe. This was an unfortunate accident and nothing more. Hopefully the MLB realizes that and stays away from the rulebook.

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2011 MLB Draft Preview: San Francisco Giants Top Ten Prospects

avyapnrty — Sat, 21 May 2011 19:31:44 +0000

Read More: Buster Posey (C – SFG), Francisco Peguero (CF – SFG), Ehire Adrianza (SS – SFG), Brandon Crawford (SS – SFG), Madison Bumgarner (P – SFG), Thomas Neal (LF – SFG), Brandon Belt (1B – SFG), Jose Casilla (P – SFG), Tommy Joseph (C – SFG), Gary Brown (CF – SFG), Jarrett Parker (OF – SFG), Zack Wheeler (P – SFG), San Francisco Giants

As we prepare for the upcoming 2011 MLB Amateur Draft, we’ve decided to check out the San Francisco Giants top prospects at this point. The Giants are in a position where the cupboard is thinning out a bit thanks to the Giants being able to promote a lot of young talent to the big leagues. They’ve promoted primarily pitchers, but Buster Posey has obviously worked out ok for them as well.

There are a variety of prospect rankings out there. Baseball America is the grand-daddy of them all, but SB Nation has its own MInor League Ball to satisfy your needs. Additionally, the folks at mlb.com have put together a database ranking the A’s top ten prospects. Here is a rundown of the top ten listed in all three. For BA, please note the rankings were as of January 26, 2011. For Minor League Ball, the rankings are from November 14, 2010.

There is clear consensus at the top of the Giants rankings. Brandon Belt is a clear-cut number one and will likely be back in the major leagues very soon. Zack Wheeler, Gary Brown and Francisco Peguero are the next three prospects in some order with Wheeler and Brown playing together at Advanced Single A San Jose, while Peguero recovers from knee surgery before getting going at AA. After those four prospects, the remaining consensus players are Ehire Adrianza, Thomas Neal and Charlie Culberson.

The Giants have promoted a sizable chunk of top talent in recent years. This past season saw Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner stake their claim at the major league level and make huge contributions towards the Giants 2010 World Series victory. Even though the team lacks a ton of minor league talent at this point, any franchise will trade places with the Giants in that sense.

Belt earned a spot on the team’s 25-man roster out of spring training but struggled in 17 games with a line of .192/.300/.269 and was sent back to Fresno. In 25 games at Fresno he’s found his stroke as he has crushed the ball to the tune of .380/.519/.620 (he added a grand slam Friday night). It’s safe to say Belt will be back in the majors at some point in 2011.

After Belt, Wheeler and Brown are the two big prospects for the Giants. Wheeler was a first round pick in 2009 and Brown was a first round pick in 2010. The two youngsters are playing together in San Jose where Brown is finding serious success thus far. In 40 games, Brown has put together a line of .378/.449/.529 and could very well find himself in AA before too long.

For more on MLB prospects, join Minor League Ball and Baseball Nation. For more San Francisco Giants chatter, join McCovey Chronicles.

Not much else going on in the MLB planet today.

Giants top $317,000 per share of playoff prize pool

free trial — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:11:30 +0000

The World Series champion San Francisco Giants divided up their postseason bonus money of nearly $20 million into 50 full shares worth more than $317,000, Major League Baseball said Monday.

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San Francisco Giants earn more than $317K for World Series

homejobn — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:39:30 +0000

A full World Series share for the champion San Francisco Giants was worth $317,631.29 this year, according to figures released Monday by Major League Baseball.

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Posey, Feliz win MLB rookie awards

Acalecate — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:32:55 +0000

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Texas Rangers closing pitcher Neftali Feliz have been named as Major League Baseball’s rookies of the year.

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Posey, Felix claim Rookie of the Year honors

homejobn — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:59:07 +0000

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Texas Rangers closing relief pitcher Neftali Feliz were awarded Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year honors on Monday.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

FanHouse: Guillen arranged for shipment of HGH

gostodin — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:24:48 +0000

Jose Guillen was left off the San Francisco Giants playoff roster in September after the team was reportedly alerted by Major League Baseball to a federal investigation involving the outfielder and shipments of human growth hormone sent to his wife.

What do you guys think about this.

Troy Record asks for World Series trophy appearance

Deana18CAMPOS — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:27:33 +0000

TROY Ã¢â‚¬â€ The Troy Record is asking Major League Baseball, the National League and the San Francisco Giants to right a 127-year wrong.

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Giants challenge Sandoval to get in shape

BymnBaivy — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:26:00 +0000

After enduring an epic collapse in offensive production and defensive range in his second full Major League season, Giants general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy said Friday they have made it perfectly clear to Pablo Sandoval that he needs to seriously alter his lifestyle.

What are your opinions.

Giants, D-backs considering Taiwan opener

Nakaltos — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:20:00 +0000

Fresh off their first World Series title since 1954, the Giants are close to finalizing a two-game series against the D-backs in Taiwan next March to open the 2011 Major League Baseball season.

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