Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants’ Jarrett Parker hits during a spring training baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sunday, March 12, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

By Michael Duca

SCOTTSDALE AZ–You only have to go back to that one home run that the San Francisco Giants Jarrett Parker hit two years ago in September 2015 at the Oakland Coliseum that he hit into the upper deck in the outfield to realize that Parker has just unlimited power potential. When the Giants brass look at young players they’re going to be a little rose tinted looking for good things out of young players coming up through the organization.

In Parker’s case this is a player who played at a major college program in Virginia and he’s got the necessary tools to be a good representation of the team and he just might have that year everyone is expecting him to have this season. The Giants have no left fielder and he is penciled to be in the line up against left handed pitching and their looking for someone to platoon against lefties that’s why they want either Riciano or Morse to win that back up job.

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey hits during a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, March 5, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 11, 2017

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey are already representing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Will there be a couple more Giants joining them?

MLB.com reported that right-hander Jeff Samardzija and new closer Mark Melancon received invites on Thursday to be alternates for Team USA. It’s anticipated that Melancon could join Team USA for the second round in mid-March at San Diego.

In Samardzija’s case, it’s likely he won’t be needed until the semifinal round on March 20 in Los Angeles. For now, the possibility of Melancon and Samardzija joining Team USA hinges on two things – the national team activating them, combined with permission from the Giants.

Melancon, the former Pittsburgh closer who signed a four-year, $62 million free-agent contract with San Francisco in the off-season, was originally a Team USA selection for the WBC. But at that time, Melancon wasn’t sure of his 2017 playing status, so he declined.

Both Samardzija and Melancon said they’re willing to overlook the injury risk factor and participate in the WBC.

“Anytime you get to play any sport in high-level competition, especially to represent your country, it’s a pretty cool thing,” Samardzija said. “Especially for baseball, because it’s not offered at any other time.”

The only other Giant headed the WBC is right-hander Johnny Cueto, who could join Team Dominican Republic in the second round.

On Friday, Crawford and Posey were in the lineup for Team USA’s 10-inning come-from-behind win over Colombia. Crawford drew a walk in USA’s 10th-inning rally.

SPLIT SQUAD GAME VS. REDS
A two-run homer by Conor Gillaspie in the seventh inning helped give the split-squad Giants a 9-7 come-from-behind win over Cincinnati.

Michael Morse homered in the second and fourth innings – his first and second round-trippers of the spring – driving in three runs. Jae-gyun Hwang also homered for San Francisco in the second inning. Aaron Hill and Nick Hundley each hit a double, contributing to the Giants’ 14-hit effort.

Johnny Cueto threw the first two innings for San Francisco, giving up one earned run on three hits with a strikeout and no walks. Matt Cain threw the third, fourth and fifth innings and didn’t fare so well. Cain was tagged for five runs – all earned – on six hits and a wild pitch.

Right-hander Chris Stratton (1-0) worked a scoreless seventh and picked up the win. George Kontos gave up a ninth-inning home run to T.J. Friedl, but also struck out the side to earn his first save of the Cactus League season.

An announced crowd of 10,093 enjoyed the 84-degrees, slight breeze and sunshine at Scottsdale Stadium.

SPLIT SQUAD VS. D-BACKS
The Giants also sent a squad over to nearby Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, where they lost 5-1 to Arizona. Gorkys Hernandez drove in the only San Francisco run.

Left-hander Tyson Blach (0-1) gave up a run-scoring single to Brandon Drury and an RBI triple to Jake Lamb in the first inning.

Saturday’s results give the Giants a 6-10 Cactus League record.

UP NEXT
The Giants host Arizona Sunday, travel to Surprise to play Texas on Monday and to Goodyear to meet Cleveland on Tuesday.

At 2 a.m. Sunday morning, Arizona, which does not participate in Daylight Savings Time, rejoins the Pacific Time Zone.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, right, talks to former manager Felipe Alou before a spring trianing baseball game in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, March 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Johnny Cueto is back and looking to get in full form after taking time off to help his father out with some health issues. Teammate Joe Panik watched Cueto upon coming back and saw his wicked breaking pitches and Cueto hitting corners. Panik said leaving the batting cage “I’ve seen enough”

#2 Will former Washington Nationals Chris Marrero make the club? So far Marrero has hit two homers this spring and has had a good look at the plate. Manager Bruce Bochy says the jury is still out but if Marrero can hit for average in spring training he just might win a roster spot.

#3 What has Michael Morse meant to the clubhouse upon returning to the Giants? Huge he’s a great clubhouse guy, his teammates are happy to have him back, he’s been clutch at the plate when he played before for the Giants and his teammates are hoping he could win a job which wouldn’t surprise anyone.

#4 Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija hit three batters in his start on Wednesday, he had multiple runners on base in three of the four innings he pitched but despite all of that he coughed up only one run.

#5 Angel Pagan the Giants former centerfielder had been offered minor league deals with three different teams the Orioles, the Braves, and the Nationals. Pagan turned all three offers down and said he’s a big leaguer. Michael’s advice here is sign with one of those teams and try and win a job to get back into the show. His rejecting all three teams could spell the end of his long career in MLB at the age of 35.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey in action during a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, March 5, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, March 5, 2017

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The World Baseball Classic starts Monday, and Giants catcher Buster Posey is on his way to Miami, Fla., to represent Team USA in the competition.

After Sunday’s Cactus League game against Kansas City, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner hinted that he wouldn’t mind joining his batterymate.

“But I wasn’t asked,” Bumgarner said.

Informed of this, Posey paused and said, “Really? Hey, it’ll be fun. It’ll be a new experience. What’s nice for me at this point is that I get to see how this plays out.

“I’m ready to get there. I’m tired of answering questions from teammates about when I’m leaving!” he added. “I’m trying to zero in my swing right now, so it’s been difference in that sense. I’m trying to ramp it up a little bit more.

Posey said his swing feels “pretty good” in his 10 spring at-bats.

“Timing is always the biggest thing, and it’s been nice the last three days to play in consecutive at-bats. It definitely helps.”

Team USA has never made it past the semifinals in the WBC, and Posey said he’d like to help change that.

“Guys at this level aren’t going to go out and play just to play,” Posey said. “You’re playing to win, and we have a lot of confidence.”

Posey is one of three Giants participating in the WBC. The others are shortstop Brandon Crawford (USA) and right-hander Johnny Cueto (Dominican Republic).

BUMGARNER ON SCHEDULE
Bumgarner said that as of his third spring start, he’s “where he wants to be,” after giving up one run and striking out four in three innings.

‘The pitches are a little sharper and crisper. The ball is going in the right direction,” Bumgarner said. “I’m a little ahead of schedule. I felt like I’m more or less ready the last couple of starts.”

One of the better hitting pitchers, Bumgarner said that time devoted to hitting would be “coming soon.”

“There’s no timetable on that,” he said. “We’ve been hitting in the cage pretty often, and we’ll be hitting on the field in the next few days.

Bumgarner is a career .183 hitter with 14 home runs. Last season, he hit .186 with a .268 on-base percentage, three homers, six doubles and nine runs batted in, numbers he’d like to improve on.

“I got a fair amount of hits last year, but I got a lot more opportunities,” Bumgarner said. “I’m not a big goal setter, but if I can keep my average in the .200s, I feel like I’m doing my part pretty well.”

COACH’S INJURY UPDATE
Giants first base coach Jose Alguacil underwent successful surgery Saturday night in a Scottsdale hospital.

Alguacil was hospitalized after suffering a broken nose, a deep laceration above his eye and small fractures in his eye socket when he was hit by a foul ball in the eighth inning of San Francisco’s 2-0 split-squad loss to Kansas City.

Alguacil, along with the other Giants coaches, was sitting in front of the backstop near the dugout when he took a foul off the bat off the Royals’ Hunter Dozier. The injured coach, who never lost consciousness, was airlifted to a Valley trauma center.

No timetable for Alguacil’s return has been announced.

THE GAME
Kansas City came from behind to beat the Giants 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 11,197 at Scottsdale Stadium.

The Royals tied the game with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, and pushed the go-ahead run across in the top of the ninth when Bubba Starling singled and scored on Zane Evans’ infield groundout.

San Francisco took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third on Buster Posey’s two-run single to right off Royals’ starter Danny Duffy. The Giants extended their lead to 3-1 in the fourth on Mac Williamson’s solo homer to right-center, his first of the Cactus League season.

Posey was 2-for-3.

Kevin McCarthy (1-0), the fourth Royals pitcher, picked up the win in relief, Albert Saurez (0-1), the seventh hurler for San Francisco, was the losing pitcher, and Malcolm Culver picked up his first save.

The Giants are 3-8 in Cactus League play, while the Royals improved to 7-3.

WEEK AHEAD
The Giants host Cleveland’s split squad on Monday, play the Dodgers in Glendale on Tuesday and host the Puerto Rico WBC team on Wednesday before taking Thursday off.

A’s ROSTER UPDATE
Over in Mesa, the Oakland Athletics reassigned right-handed pitchers Michael Brady, Trey Cochran-Gill, Heath Fillmyer, Tucker Healy, Aaron Kurcz and Josh Smith to their minor league camp.

The A’s now have 64 players in camp, including 40 players on the 40-man roster and 24 non-roster invitees. The breakdown includes 28 pitchers, six catchers, 19 infielders and 11 outfielders.

AP photo Jeff Chiu: San Francisco Giant broadcaster Duane Kuiper (right) adjusts Giants cap on the head of Giants fan Grace Witt (center) with Giant broadcaster Mike Krukow( left) looking on at AT&T Park Giants Fanfest on Saturday Feb 11, 2017

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–With the 2017 season for the San Francisco Giants starting on April 2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, there will be the familiar voices of Dave Flemming, Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow and Jon Miller in the television and radio booths; however one thing will change this season. Krukow will not be traveling with the club east of Denver. Meaning Krukow will miss 45 games back east.

Krukow, who is now 64 years old will work a reduce schedule this season due to his degenerative muscle disease, and will be replaced by Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez. Krukow said he approached the Giants about the idea of cutting back and they told him they loved to have as much as many games he can work, “I’m feeling good, but at the end of last season, it became pretty obvious I couldn’t do the whole thing again,” Krukow told the Mercury News. “I approached the Giants and they were fabulous. They said, `We’ll take what you can give us.’

During the season, Krukow will work all 81 home games and road games within the National League West nothing east of Denver but emphasized that he won’t miss any post season games. “So I won’t do the longer trips just so I can preserve some strength, because I want to do this for a long time. And I believe that I can, but I’ve got to be smart about it.”

In all, the former Giants right hander will work 117 of the 162 games. Former Giant pitchers Javy Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt will both work games doing color for play by play announcer Duane Kuiper while Kruk is on the shelf for those 45 games. Krukow has all the confidence in Lopez and Affeldt to do the job, “Left-handed perspective, that’s good,” Krukow said. “Affeldt is a true lefty but Javy, maybe, he’s a right-hander in a left-hander’s body. They’re both fantastic. They been around the game a long time.”

Jeremy Kahn is a San Francisco Giants beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

nbclatino.com: Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo in 2014 World Series parade will start throwing this month for the Los Angeles Dodgers as their new reliever

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–During the San Francisco Giants even year magic runs of 2010, 2012 and 2014, they were led out of the bullpen what was known as the “Core Four.”

The four relievers consisted of Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo, who helped lead the Giants to three World Series championships in seven years.

Affeldt retired after the 2015 season, Casilla took his talents back to the East Bay and the Oakland A’s, Lopez retired just recently and Romo recently signed with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Romo, who was drafted by the Giants in the 28th round in the 2005 Draft, pitched parts of nine seasons for the Giants, going 32-26 with 84 saves, a 2.58 earned run average.

During the 2016 season, Romo missed almost three months due to a flexor strain in his pitching elbow.

Romo ended saving just four games, a 2.64 earned run average in just 40 games and threw a career-low 30.2 innings.

The right-hander signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers.