Giants reliever Josh Osich thriving since his call-up - SFGate

 The health concerns perhaps demonstrate why Stephen Okert may have placed higher on most prospect lists. From a pure "stuff" standpoint, it's probably a wash. If this kid can stay healthy, he has a chance to replace Affeldt down the road. What is it they say about drafting pitchers?

"You need to take two, because one will break."

The Giants may need both of these guys to replace Affeldt and Lopez relatively soon.

from sfgate.com
http://m.sfgate.com/giants/ostler/article/Giants-reliever-Osich-thriving-since-his-call-up-6374261.php

It's funny, because the man doesn't look fragile. Six-two, a solid 220 pounds. And he throws 98 mph, which, contrasted with much of the rest of the Giants' pitching staff, looks like 128 mph.

And effective? Small sample size, as they say, but the Giants called up Osich from the minors Friday, and in four relief appearances, he has faced 13 batters and allowed no hits. In the Giants' 4-1 loss to the Mets on Wednesday, Osich pitched the eighth inning and 1-2-3'd the heart of the Mets' batting order on routine grounders.

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He runs down the list of the bad stuff, dating back to college at Oregon State.

"Ulnar-nerve surgery, 2009, 2010 Tommy John (surgery), 2011 tore sub-scap(ula) muscle in shoulder, 2012 impingement, 2013 I had a radial-nerve injury, 2014 another impingement."

Sent from my iPhone

Giants core strength

The Giants not so secret weapon. Two lefties and two righties provide Bochy a ton of flexibility and maneuverability in the late innings. As we have seen lately it has allowed him to leave both Matt Williams and Mike Matheny lying in a cloud of second guessing the wake of their series with the Giants.

from Yahoo Sports:
Giants rely on core of 4 relievers - Yahoo Sports:

Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo are among the seven players who have played in all three postseason runs for San Francisco since 2010, providing stability to a role that can be so hard for some teams to fill come October.

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Javier Lopez, Giants finalize three-year deal | Giants Extra

When you can carve up great left-handed hitter like Votto like this, perhaps 3 years at $13 million is a relative bargain. Good to see Javy back .

from Giants Extra:
Javier Lopez, Giants finalize three-year deal | Giants Extra:

Acquired at the deadline in 2010, Lopez has a 2.26 ERA in four seasons with the Giants. Last season, Lopez made 69 appearances and had a 1.83 ERA, the lowest full-season mark of his career. In 236 appearances for the Giants, he has given up just two home runs.

“He’s so reliable,” manager Bruce Bochy said in September. “What I love about him is he’s so well prepared and so professional about how he goes about his business.”

The Giants have now spent $161 million on four players — Lopez, Pence, Lincecum and Tim Hudson.

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