2009 Spring Training News

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Spring Training is finally here and there is a feeling of hope for the Giants in '09, something us Giants fans haven't felt in a long time. The Giants have made big improvements to the team by signing Randy Johnson, Jeremy Affeldt, Bobby Howry and Edgar Renteria. As the Giants break into camp, here are a few notes on the early stages of Spring Training.

-Jonathan Sanchez has the leg up on being the Giants #5 starter. Noah Lowry is hoping to change that but he has been shut down for a few days due to tightness in the shoulder. Its Sanchez's spot to lose.

-Buster Posey hit a homerun on the very first pitch of batting practice on his first day of Spring Training. Very promising sign.

-Fred Lewis has gained 15 lbs of muscle over the offseason but has yet to start running drills after offseason bunion surgery.

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-Pablo Sandoval will not be getting any looks behind the plate this spring. He will strictly be used as at first and third base. Sandoval will be the third string catcher.

-Noah Lowry missed his throwing session yesterday but is hoping to get some bullpen work on Tuesday.

-Merkin Valdez threw a 31 pitch session today, his first since being shut down in Winter Ball.

-Brian Bocock, last year's Opening Day SS, inherited Omar Vizquel's jersey #13 at Vizquel's request.

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-Noah Lowry missed his second bullpen session since experiencing tightness is his throwing shoulder. He did throw from 100ft but on flat ground. He is hoping to pitch Thursday.

-Edgar Renteria has reportedly lost 10 lbs. this offseason and is in good shape. Awesome.

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-Nate Schierholtz has not been taking part in running drills due to a hamstring pull but is still hitting.

-Lowry finally had a bullpen session and said he felt fine afterward. We'll see how he feels tomorrow.

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Tell me why the Giants have a chance this year. I look at their lineup and I just don't see it happening. The outfield is really solid, but the infield doesn't look like much. I know Sandoval is highly touted and Renteria is a really nice shortstop, but nothing about this lineup screams "contender" to me.

Obviously the pitching has some huge upside, which is the key. Convince me the Giants have what it takes to be competitive.

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All you have to look at is the rest of the division. Rockies, Dodgers, Padres and Dbacks have taken steps back in an already weak division. The Giants have upgraded their offense with the signing of Renteria and Sandoval and Ishikawa getting a full season instead of just a month. More importantly the bullpen is upgraded. The Giants signed Affeldt and Howry and got rid of junk like Walker and Hennessey. The Giants rotation is also a lot stronger this year with Lincecum going against opposing team's aces rather than Zito. Zito being dropped to the 4th spot is huge for the Giants. Johnson being added will help out a lot too.

So in summary, the Giants have upgraded the bullpen, the offense and the rotation plus they have depth. Hope I opened your eyes a tad

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-The flu is affected many of the Giants players in camp.
- Bochy is leaning towards batting Lewis third this season and keeping Molina in the cleanup spot

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First ST game is today against the Indians. Lincecum will be facing off against Jeremy Sowers. Lewis will be sitting out as a precautionary move.

Zito and Johnson pitched in yesterday's intrasquad game and looked good with both throwing two scoreless innings. Burriss had two erros and was caught stealing in the game.

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Big game for Ishikawa today going 3-3 with two HRs and 4 RBI. Not a bad start to the Spring for Travis,eh? Most impressive thing was the homers came off a lefty and a righty. Nate Schierholtz also hit a bomb with a man on. Burriss got the start and went 1-2 and Frandsen followed him by going 1-2 with a RBI. Lincecum only pitched an inning giving up one hit and striking out one. Giants are currently up 10-7 on the Indians. Good to see the Giants taking ti slow with the Freak. Luis Perdomo, our Rule 5 pick, looked good pitching a scoreless inning.

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Giants were crushed today 16-7. I only heard the game so I can;t give too much insight besides what I heard and what the box scores show. Matt Cain had a good outing despite giving up a homer to Russell Martin. He was hitting 90-93 mph with his fastball which is great for his first outing. Pat Misch had a horrible day giving up five runs on four hits and two walks. Misch couldn;t even finish the inning. Affeldt had a rough debut giving up four runs on five hits. Segio Romo also had a rough day giving up six runs but only three were earned. Kevin Pucetas had a great outing giving up just one hit in two innings. Do not count him out as a possible #5 starter. Waldis Joaquin really impressed Jon Miller so keep an eye on him.

Offensively Rowand homered, Ishikawa remained hot going 1-2 with a double and Aurilia went 2-3. Uribe had a good game going 2-3 with 2 RBI at SS.

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Randy Johnson gave up a run in two innings in his Giants debut. The Big Unit also struck two men out.

Jonathan Sanchez is the first pitcher to go three innings giving up a run and striking out four.

Zito threw two hitless innings against the M's while walking one and striking out two. I am shocked since last year he was torn apart in his first start.

Lincecum three three perfect innings against the Brewers and needed 27 pitches to do so. If only he could do that all the time.

Frandsen, Bowker, Rowand, Lewis, Scheirholtz and Ishikawa have all homered, Ishikawa twice.

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Been away for a while but now I'm back and with some news.

Sergio Romo had a MRI and it revealed a sprain ligament in his elbow so he will be shut down for a few days.

Ryan Rohlinger has hit three 9th inning HRs in four days. He has a .444 average with three bombs and eight RBI.

The Battle For Second Base:
Burriss-.355/.394./.419, 2 SB, 2 RBI
Frandsen-.304/.385/.478, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Randy Winn is 2-28 this spring.

The Rotation:
Tim Lincecum has given up just one hit in seven innings while striking out six.
Randy Johnson has 12 K's in 8 1/3 innings and given up just one run.
Matt Cain has given up four runs in 6 1/3 IP and struck out six.
Barry Zito has struck out five but walked four in 8 2/3 IP. He has also given up five runs.

Brandon Medders has impressed going 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Justin Miller has pitched four scoreless. Both have good shots at making the team.

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Lincecum gave up just his second hit of the spring today against Team Japan. Timmy struck out five in 2 1/3 innings.

Renteria hit his first homer of the spring going 2-3 with a RBI. Sandoval also went 2-3 with a RBI against Team Japan. He also had a walk which is amazing!!

Justin Miller hit a stumbling block giving up five runs in 1 1/3 innings. Miller is facing tough competition for the last spot in the bullpen and this definitely hurt with guys like Medders, Francis Beltran and Luis Perdomo doing so well.

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Jonathan Sanchez threw four scoreless innings against the Netherlands tonight in the WBC game. He struck out four and walked only only while giving up just two hits. Great performance form Sanchez so far this spring. He threw three scoreless innings earlier against the Rays this spring.

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Giants lead the Majors in HRs this spring!!!