The OFFICIAL SF Giants thread.

SLAB · May 7, 2006

Giants(14-17) Vs Astros(19-12)
May 8th, Makeup Game

Noah Lowry (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Vs. Roy Oswalt (5-1, 2.86 ERA)

Well, the Giants are struggling big time, and they head home for hopefully a much needed boost.

Unfortunatly, we come back to fave Roy Oswalt who is well on his way to yet another 20-win season, and what could very well be his Cy Young season...He's been good.

Fortunatly, we get to combat him with who will hopefully move right into our number 2 starter hole in Noah Lowry...His changeup is great and if he can master the pitch even more than the previous years we have something big on our hands.

Barry Bonds...One home run away...His last one was one of those "No-doubters" that Barry had been hitting the past few years...Hopefully that Barry is back...His swing looked good last night, minus his Fultz AB, where he looked over-amped.

Pitching has been the downfall of this team...Lets take a looksee.

1: Jason Schmidt...Returning to form, and would have very good numbers if it werent for a number of bad pitches that all resulted in three run jacks.
2: Matt Morris...Take away his first two starts and he has been atroucious...He's in a pitcher-friendly park, so he'll turn it around.
3: Noah Lowry...Injured...No comment...
4: Matt Cain...Stubborn to the fastball...need to develop his other pitches...Back to the minors?
5: Jamey Wright...Outside of one bad start has been decent.
6: Brad Hennessy...He's been good.
7: Kevin Correia...Should be starting somewhere...Has the stuff, just needs the spot.

The ullpen has been worse.

GO GIANTS!

Evenstar · May 8, 2006

noah is back!

WOO HOO!!!

714 TONIGHT.

SLAB · May 8, 2006

Wow.

Oswalt got S-M-OKED!

That does not happen often!

Evenstar · May 8, 2006

great game tonight, but worrell, man he started off so good, he's getting bombed right and left.

fassero DFA to make room for noah. great move, he was having a really bad year, and the youngsters need the innings more then he does

SLAB · May 8, 2006

Yea, Jeffy needed to go...His time was up...It's alwasy sad to see someone's career end on not their terms, though.

Good luck latching on someweher else for the rest of the year, Jeff.

And Worell is a mental case...HE missed time in Philly (15-Day DL) because he needed time to clear his head, and ever since he got dropped out of the closers role he's been horrible...It's a head thing, IMO.

Great win tonight!

714 Tommorrow!

GO GIANTS!

SLAB · May 10, 2006

Ugh...

Did I call Matt Cain for ROY earlier this thread?

I was wrong...Enjoy a AAA stay in the near future Matty.

SLAB · May 13, 2006

Wow what a comeback today!

Clutch hitting took Lowry off the hook after the bullpen blew it for him.

Just wow.

Still no Bonds HR...

Tommorrow, though!

nebs · May 13, 2006

Yeah that comeback was great.. I came home at the start of the ninth and saw Benitez pitching down 5-2 but stuck with it and am glad I did!

nebs · May 17, 2006

Alright.. 3 blowout wins for the Giants against the Astros. First time in nearly 4 years they scored 10+ runs in 3 straight games.

atxrocker · May 17, 2006

nebs said:

stros were so close to winning it last year. i am still rooting for them to make another run, go houston

SLAB · May 27, 2006

Giants Vs. Rockies Series

5.26.06
Jason Schmidt (3-2, 3.07 ERA) Vs. Jeff Francis (3-3, 3.07 ERA)

5.27.06
Matt Cain (2-5, 5.47 ERA) Vs. Josh Fogg (3-2, 4.35 ERA)

5.28.06
Jamey Wright (5-3, 3.84 ERA) Vs. Byung-Hyun Kim (2-2, 4.02 ERA)

Well, with my school now out, I can concentrate on updating this as I planned...I'll now do a series post, as opposed to individual game posts.

Anyways, Giants really crushed the Rocks in game 1. Jason Schmidt is looking like the potential Cy Young winner from a few years back, Barry is running well and constantly smashing singles through the shift, ever so slowly shifting his BA to respectability.

Enough of the oldsters, how about the newbies? Travis Ishikawa gets his first start out of AA Conneticuit, and proves why he's making the Giants excited, going 3-4 with 3 RBIs...Brian Wilson continues to impress out of the bullpen, as he blew away three Rockies with high fastablls...I wanted to see Jonathan Sanchez get his first opportunity in a no-pressure situation, but he will have to wait...Im excited to see him, though!

Next we have Matt Cain...Can he duplicate his previous effort? I hope so...Will he? It's a possibility...If he mixes his stuff, and doesnt overuse the fastball, he can do anything...Up against perenial humanized form of mediocrity that is Josh Fogg, the kid has a chance for a win.

Then Jamey Wright starts, but I pencil in a loss...BK Kim always seems to smoke the Giants at SBC...It's always a trip watching that guy pitch, until about the seventh inning when you realize him and his funky delivery only fools the Giants, as they get shut out once more by him.

Barry Bonds still looking for 715, but he looks better...As long as hes playing good, I can do without the HR for a while...Lets get to .300!

Next Series: Marlins
We should sweep em.
Cant wait to see Hanley Ramirez, as he has been a stud.

BawLa · May 27, 2006

SLAB said:

Jason Schmidt could win the Cy Young and I'm just pondering the idea of us dumping Bonds' contract and giving a big chunk of it to this guy. I mean he has completely re-invented himself since the injury and hopefully will make a run at the cy. I hope he wants to stay here cuz I get the feeling like he doesn't get as much love as he deserves.

I've wanted to see this Ishikawa guy for a while now and was very pleased when it happened. I thought he was going to be a 2nd baseman but it was nice to see him at 1st. Maybe he could be what Jose Vizcaino is not and that is a utility guy that can actually hit.

Brian Wilson going the distance in the ninth made me smile. Boy we are lucky to have found this guy. With a 97 mph fastball I think we may have that closer we have so desperately needed since Rob Nen. I'm sorry but I think Benitez isn't clutch enough for the 9th. He would make a better 8th type guy IMHO. And with Worell out for a little it is nice to have some stability in a seemingly unstable bullpen.

Friday's win was a great one for the giants, Schmidt, and the young guys. Even Durham is starting to finally get it going. Which is where I think we will sweep this homestand. I expect the Rockies to go huge on either Cain or Wright, but not both, and I expect our guys to be right there with 'em. Wright has been pitching like he wants the #2 sopt, even though he always seems to get help from our bats where our other pitchers don't. Cain is starting to settle down which is great for us because if we can tame this young beast, then we could be talking about some good times to come.

If we can sweep the homestand then we could turn it into a great streak because Florida is weak. If we go into New York on a 6 game win streak then we could start of June the right way. Because after them it is going to be a relatively easy month. But first things first...Go Giants.

SLAB · May 27, 2006

BawLa said:

As much as I hate the idea of dumping Bonds, it would make sense...I mean, hes going to command money, and as of now, he hasnt been himself...Hes starting to turn it around, but I could see a complete 180 back to dominace if all he had to do was DH...Also, Schmidt may be awesome, but he is not a oung guy anymore...Hom many more years can he keep this up...If we sign him to a big 3/4 year deal Im fine, anything else is scetchy.

BawLa said:

As far as I know Ishikawa is a straight up first baseman...If he can be groomed, or if he has prior experience, anywhere else, would cutting Viz and letting him be out utility guy be worth it? Eh, I think he deserves the most ABs he can get...He seems like a keeper.

BawLa said:

Out bullpen is going to be amazing in a few years assuming wqe dont trade off these youngsters...Brian Wilson, Jeremy Accardo, Kevin Correia, Jonathan Sanchez (from what I heard)...Theyre gonna be good.

BawLa · May 27, 2006

SLAB said:

Schmidt isn't a young guy but he isn't over the hill either. I think he is a #1 starter and hopefully we throw #1 kind of money at him. I mean I love Bonds too, and it would be hard for him or me to see him playing anywhere else...but 22 mil/year? Gimme a break Barry. If you love SF so much than take a pay cut.

Vizcaino is a keeper for the time being but what will we do with 2 first basemen? I mean Niekro or Ishikawa? Niekro has more power but in our field you need Barry-like power from the leftey's side. Since they are both so young it might not be that hard to convert one to say outfield, kinda like Mark Sweeney. If one of them could be a swingman then we get the best of both worlds.

I'm so excited for our bullpen too, but I was sorely dissapointed earlier this year. I thought that Munter was a lot better. I thought that Walker would have been the best set-up man in the NL after last year. I knew Accardo would struggle a little, but his stuff is too electric to let go. Benitez can't stay off the DL and Timmy is great but he won't carry the team. I'm just glad that Wilson emerged when he did. Correia seems like he is going to take Fassero's place as a long mid reliever. I like Kline even though he had a shakey start too. Everyone has been talking about Sanchez. I don't think we necessarily need him with all of the other talent we have, but he won't hurt either.

I don't like Durham's contract too much so I hope this Frandsen guy steps up quick. It is kinda crazy how we had the oldest team last year and we are transitioning to a young team. All in all, I think Sabean is doing a great job.

SLAB · May 27, 2006

Actually, Niekro is a natural third baseman.

So, trade Feliz, and just move Niekro over there.

BawLa · May 27, 2006

SLAB said:

Genius!

We should trade Durham and Feliz. Maybe we could package them with someone else for a superstar in return.

SLAB · May 28, 2006

Durham + Feliz + Linden/Ellison + Eddy Martinez-Esteve (High ranking prospect who's a born DH...His defense is beyond attrocious) to an AL team.

Seems like a pln.

BawLa · May 28, 2006

SLAB said:

Lol word! Except I would keep Ellison. I like something about him, I just can't place it yet.

SLAB · May 28, 2006

Eh, Im prbably agreeing with you.

Linden still has the intriguing upside that can potentially buy someone off.

With Ellison you know what you have, and he can be a resectable 4th outfielder/spot starter for us next year.

SLAB · May 28, 2006

Giants (27-23) Vs. Marlins (15-33) Series Post

5.29.06
Matt Morris (3-5, 5.49 ERA) Vs. Scott Olsen (2-3, 6.44 ERA)

5.30.06
Noah Lowry (1-2, 3.62 ERA) Vs. Brian Moehler (2-4, 6.80 ERA)

5.31.06
Jason Scmidt (4-2, 2.78 ERA) Vs. Josh Johnson (4-2, 2.18 ERA)

And the Giants will fly to Florida to get in a series with the now-hot Florida Marlins...As young as they are you cannot expect them to play consistant ball, so hopefully their little win streak will be done by the time we come in, and we can make both Olsen and Moehler look like what their stats show.

Morris should be ablke to set himself stright on Monday...Against a young pitcher whos, well, not been good, and against an offense that is, well, also not good its the grounds for a good start...I really think he needs this one to set himself straight, if he screws up, I see confidense issues arising.

Same can be said for Lowry...HE should be able to win the game...Aginst a pitcher whos been lousy, and against the anemic offense...This isnt as important to Noah, but a wins always good.

The game of the series will be game three...21 year old Scott Olsen has been the gem for Floida's pitching staff this year...Ever since coming into the rotation he has been lights out...As has Schmidt...A potentiall pitchers duel...Can Schmidt acomplish something big? Against the weak offense let your imagination run wild...Control Ramirez and Cabrera and you're set.

SLAB · May 30, 2006

Ugh, we take a semi-good streak into Florida, and what do we come away with?

So far we have made the name for two pitchers.

Scott "Cy" Olsen and Brian "Cy 2" Moehler.

Why cant we hit guys with ERA's in the 6's???

Ugh, common Schmidt, get us a win.

atxrocker · Jun 20, 2006

Giants coaches contacted by Mitchell in steroids probe

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Members of the San Francisco Giants' coaching staff have been contacted by former Sen. George Mitchell in his independent investigation of steroids in baseball.

"I understand some guys were supposed to [talk to him]," Giants manager Felipe Alou told The Associated Press on Monday. "That's all I know. That is very personal. I don't ask these guys."

Several people within Major League Baseball confirmed that coaches on Alou's staff had heard from Mitchell. They spoke on condition of anonymity after being asked not to discuss the investigation publicly. Harvey Shields, one of Giants slugger Barry Bonds' personal trainers, who works for the team, also was being sought by Mitchell.

The former Senate majority leader was appointed in March by commissioner Bud Selig to head the league's investigation into steroids in the sport.

Bonds, second on the career home run list behind Hank Aaron, is among the players being investigated.

Alou said he had not yet been contacted by Mitchell, "but I probably will."

A Giants spokesman said the entire coaching staff declined to comment about Mitchell's investigation because Major League Baseball asked teams not to discuss the subject publicly to protect the integrity of the probe.

Selig has said he was prompted to launch an investigation in part by the spring release of the book Game of Shadows, by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who detailed Bonds' alleged use of steroids, insulin and human growth hormone.

There is no timetable for completing the investigation.

Authors Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada wrote that Bonds started using steroids because he was jealous of the attention paid to Mark McGwire's home run race with Sammy Sosa in 1998.

The 41-year-old Bonds, who passed Babe Ruth with his 715th career home run last month, has always denied using steroids of any other performance-enhancing drugs -- insisting everything he has accomplished is a product of natural talent and hard work.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/06/19/bonds.steroids.ap/index.html

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