Bumgarner nails it, as usual

San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner winds up to pitch during the second inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)


Madison Bumgarner is showing the baseball nation what Giants fans have known about him for many years. He is tough as nails. As we later found out, sadly he may have been the second toughest Giants on the field last night behind Juan Perez. 

from Yahoo Sports:
Bumgarner, Giants blank Royals for 3-2 Series lead - Yahoo Sports:

Hardly menacing on the mound, Bumgarner was simply untouchable — again. As "MVP! MVP!" chants broke out from each packed corner of AT&T Park, Bumgarner finished off the first World Series shutout in 11 years.

"You know what? For some reason, I keep getting really lucky this time of year, so I'll take it," Bumgarner said.

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Lorenzo Cain could only watch Juan Perez's double hit off the wall. (USA Today)

from Yahoo Sports:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/juan-perez-delivers-key-hit-after-learning-his-good-friend-oscar-taveras-died-074707879.html

SAN FRANCISCO – Juan Perez didn't believe it, didn't believe his friend was dead, so he ran back to the San Francisco Giants clubhouse and swiped his phone on. He saw the text messages, at least 20, more coming in, all with the horrible news that Oscar Taveras, fellow ballplayer, fellow Dominican, was gone. Then he saw a text with the picture that confirmed it: Taveras at the morgue, on a table, blood everywhere, a horrible image Perez couldn't shake.

He started to cry. Giants closer Santiago Casilla told Perez to shut his phone off, to stop looking at the photo. And Joaquin Arias implored him: "Stay strong. Stay strong." The Giants might need him. And Gregor Blanco said: "I know it's not easy. Let's just try to do it."

For Juan Perez, a 27-year-old utilityman playing in his first World Series, there was no time to grieve Sunday. This is an awful burden, inconceivable, the consequence of a show-must-go-on mentality pervasive in sports. Taveras, the 22-year-old St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, and his 18-year-old girlfriend died in a horrific car crash Sunday. Now one of his best friends saw the grisly result and was expected not just to ignore it but erase from his head the image, from his bones the emotions, from his soul the anguish and play baseball.

"I don't know how he played," Casilla said.

Giants Game 5 win comes with heavy heart, especially for Juan Perez - CBSSports.com

Rest in peace, Oscar Taveras. (USATSI)

Sad news. This kid had all the makings of a future super-star. Hearts and prayers go out to the taveras famil and the Cardinals family and fans. 

from CBSSports.com
Giants Game 5 win comes with heavy heart, especially for Juan Perez - CBSSports.com:

"It just breaks your heart," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's a shame that this has happened. The kid had a bright future ahead of him. He hit a big home run against us. It's a loss for his family, the Cardinals and baseball because this kid was a special talent. I know Juan Perez was good friends with him and I guess he heard during the game."

 This is true. A former winter ball teammate of Taveras, Juan Perez -- who has been friends with Taveras since 2009 -- learned of the news in the dugout during the game and began to cry. In fact, some Giants coaches said they found Perez in the clubhouse during the game in tears. He later entered the game and ended up with a two-RBI double late, giving the Giants what was an insurmountable 4-0 lead with the way Madison Bumgarner was dealing.

 After the game, Perez kept his composure when discussing the passing of his friend, though the sadness was evident.

 "It was tough," Perez said. "We were very close friends. My heart goes out to his family and to the Cardinals organization. I had a few innings to try and get over it and focus and do my job. I just had to try and put everything away and concentrate on the game."

And he did so with a little help from fellow Dominican (as was Taveras) Joaquin Arias.

"During the game, when I found out, at first I think I was thinking too much about it," recounted Perez. "Arias came over and said ‘stay strong, keep your mind strong and we can win this game.' "

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Opportunity knocks for Cardinals Oscar Taveras

He will debut against the Giants so we will get a first hand look but he has the look of a future superstar in the making. Hopefully, he does not display his prodigious talents today. This guy should be a force to be reckoned with for a long time debuting at 21.



from Hardball Talk:

Oscar Taveras batting sixth and playing right field in MLB debut | HardballTalk:

It’s official. The Cardinals have recalled top prospect outfielder Oscar Taveras from Triple-A Memphis. He’ll take the roster spot of Matt Adams, who was placed on the disabled list with left calf tightness.

According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Taveras will bat sixth in his major league debut this afternoon against the Giants. While he has made most of his starts in center field at the Triple-A level this year, he’ll play right field today.

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P.S: Well, Oscar Tavares was who we thought he was. Pretty swing, but lethal.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/oscar-taveras-homers-in-mlb-debut--receives-curtain-call-from-cardinals-fans-201103267.html

Prospect Ups and Downs and Timmy Tough

Gary Brown starts to heat up for Fresno 

from the Fresno Bee:
Grizzlies Report for 5/12: Fresno 7, Memphis Redbirds 4, 11 innings - Fresno Grizzlies - fresnobee.com:

Brown warming up: After a slow first month, Grizzlies outfielder Gary Brown is starting to heat up. Brown, one of the top prospects in the San Francisco Giants' farm system, went 3 for 6 with a double and two RBIs. His season average is up to .220. But Brown, who typically starts off each season slow, is hitting .326 in his past 10 games with two home runs and six RBIs, along with three steals. Brown, however, still must work on his strikeout-to-walk ratio, which was 15-2 in the past 10 games and 38-9 for the season.

Cardinals prospect Oscar Tavaras big swing

Prospect goes down: Redbirds outfielder Oscar Taveras, rated the No. 3 overall prospect, injured his right ankle during a slide into second base during the ninth inning with the game tied at 4. Taveras, considered the top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, is considered day-to-day. The 20-year-old finished 2 for 5 to raise his average to .317, and has four home runs and 20 RBIs.

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Tony Avelar Associated Press Tim Lincecum's outing was the third in his career in which he's gone at least seven innings, allowing two or fewer hits and no runs.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/13/5415037/good-day-for-giants-lincecum-he.html#storylink=cpy

from the Sacramento Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/13/5415037/good-day-for-giants-lincecum-he.html

SAN FRANCISCO – After his last start against the Phillies, the eighth outing in a span of 10 by the Giants' rotation that did not qualify as a quality start, Tim Lincecum said he expected there would be some discussion among the five about righting what has been an up-and-down month and a half to start the season.

The topic was broached in the following days, Lincecum said Sunday, though apparently not in any formal setting.

"I mean, it's just kind of one of those things where we kind of kick each other in the ass," Lincecum said.

Metaphorical or not, the intended effect showed over the final three games of the Giants' series win over the Braves, punctuated by a 5-1 win Sunday in what Lincecum readily acknowledged was his best start of the season.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/13/5415037/good-day-for-giants-lincecum-he.html#storylink=cpy