Giants notch their thirteenth win (against thirteen losses) in their final Cactus League game. Pablo Sandoval had two hits and a run scored and Alen Hanson hit the game-winning homer. Both of those guys are "on the bubble" and fighting for a spot. The Panda actually has minor-league options, but his veteran status means he does not have to accept a demotion and can ask for his outright release (at least that's my grasp of the Byzantine MLB roster rules). We'll see what shakes out. All assumptions are off: FZ is still wheelin' and dealin' and I don't expect The Final Twenty-Five to be named until the last possible moment.
Giants face the A's tomorrow at 1:05 in Oakland and follow that with two evening games (6:45 start times) in San Francisco (what are we calling The Park--The Big O? The Orifice?). The real thing starts on Thursday in San Diego. It's the Padres Home Opener!
--M.C.
11 comments:
Veteran C Erik Kratz comes on board and IF CJ Hinojosa (AA) goes to Milwaukee in a swap. RHP Jose Lopez (AAA) DFAd to make a roster spot.
I guess Aramis Garcia goes to AAA to start the season.
Stay tuned!
Tweet from Baggs
Turns out that Stephen Vogt's opt-out decision is today. Conversations with Giants ongoing. I'm hearing the Giants are seriously considering carrying three catchers to reduce Posey's workload, if they're not already committed to doing so.
Awesome factoid from David Laurila at FanGraphs:
Ichiro Suzuki had 10,734 plate appearances and reached base 3,790 times.
Darrell Evans had 10,737 plate appearances and reached base 3,863 times.
Kratz has been named the backup.
When I saw that Colorado released C Tom Murphy I thought "oh, here comes another one!" and sure enough FZ grabs him. Stockpiling catchers seems smart given the uncertainty re Posey's health. Buster says he's happy with his progress, but of course that's what everyone knows Buster is going to say. If saying it is so makes it so then it's all good, right?
Giants just picked up Yogi Berra off of bereavement waivers.
Wondering if Boch ought to suit up!
Aramis Garcia goes to AAA, which I expected all along, and I suppose that means they'll carry just two catchers.
That's it for Chris Stratton. He was traded to the Angels for a lefty, Williams Jerez. Strat was a 2012 first-rounder and pitched in parts of three seasons, 2016-17-18. Jerez is a reliever, 27 next month, with little ML time but good K numbers in the upper minors. His problem seems to be walks. I suppose he's the new Steven Okert!
In my opinion, we should refer to the park as Pac Bell. Having two Oracle sporting venues within a couple of miles of each other is just insane. Larry Ellison has way too much money.
I will leave all the intelligent baseball comments to others who actually have been paying attention. I have been disappointed by all the negative projections about the Giants, like maybe they will win a couple of games if they are lucky and they have by far the worst outfield in the MLB. I enjoy the game whether we win or not. I love the team whether they get the to playoffs or not. Who knows what will happen? Seriously, did any of you expect us to win in 2012?
I don't know, I can't do PacBell anymore, that was too long ago. No one liked "The Orifice"? Hmmm, how can you not like orifices?
And I too think the club will be better than projected. If they can play .500 that would be no small improvement. Regardless, I'll be here. There is always something to get excited about, even if the team stinks. The young players, for sure, I'm always interested in how they develop. And I haven't stopped liking Bum, Buster, and The Brandons, they will always be special players even if they don't make the All-Star team or the post-season! I'm a Giants Lifer, that's not going to change.
Ty Blach to AAA, just like Andrew Suarez. We know the 5 starters, and there are 7 relievers (Smith, Melancon, Watson, Moronta, Dyson, and new guys Nick Vincent and Travis Bergen) so it's a 12-man staff. At least right now! Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
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