Tweets by two former Giants on Twitter

Sometimes the transaction wire contains bad news. As expected, Ryan Vogelsong moves on to greener pastures. A great Giant, he will be sorely missed.

	KPIX 5 (@CBSSF)
12/18/15, 5:09 PM "Arrr!" Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Ryan Vogelsong To One-Year Contract >> cbsloc.al/1OcWDeB

The same could be said for Juan Perez. A great Giant. Understood his role and performed well when called upon. It seems hard enough to get Gregor Blanco enough AB's and playing time, except for injuries. Perez was just blocked here in SF, he serves a shot to show what he can do given more opportunities.

	Juan Carlos Perez (@juan_perez24)
12/20/15, 1:46 PM Thanks to every Giants fan for the memories and the support. I appreciate the love and every single reply!

Vogel-Strong!!

These 30 pitch first innings are becoming de-rigeur for the Giants staff and that has to stop, but other than that......Vogel-strong. He's positioning himself ahead of the Walking Wounded - Peavy, Hudson, Lincecum and now Mike Leake.

Leake needs to come back strong and Cain needs to have a start where he announces his presence with authority. Right now, Cain would likely be out of any post-season starting rotation and that is unfortunate.. The stuff looks OK, the command is just not there. It comes and goes and when it goes the ball flies.  Given that he is pitching with a "new" elbow, that makes sense, but it simply has to come around soon.

from CSN Bay Area:
Rewind: Vogelsong embraces pressure, leads way for Giants | CSN Bay Area:

Bochy had the right man ready when Mike Leake's hamstring couldn't answer the bell Tuesday. Vogelsong pitched six shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He shook off a slow start -- a 30-pitch first inning -- and thoroughly dominated with a fastball that was so lively that Bochy wondered if he was even going to use his secondary pitches. Vogelsong retired 16 of the final 17 Cardinals he faced, striking out the side in the third inning and setting the Cardinals down with ease in his final frame.

"He's a warrior," Bochy said. "This guy will give you all he has, and that's all you can ask. He's well-prepared and he has a great focus. That was a long first inning and that's kind of been his niche, but he responded."

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Stat of the Week: Who will throw the next No-Hitter? | ACTA Sports

If you can get a match up of any two of the pitchers on this list, it becomes must-watch TV. We had King Felix vs. MadBum the other night and it did not disappoint. Bumgarner was obviously geeked up, tossing 95 MPH a couple of times and Hernandez was as sharp as a tack.

Maybe another Bummer vs. Kershaw match up when the Giants pass through LA?

Vogelsong looked sharp with the fastball last night, some 93's with great command, hitting his spots well. He needed that to solidify his spot as # 4 or #5 starter with Cain/Peavy due back. Allegedly.

Archived Stat of the Week | ACTA Sports: 

Who Will Throw the Next No-Hitter? June 11, 2015

Two nights ago, Chris Heston threw the first no-hitter of the 2015 season. It was an impressive game, with Heston striking out 11 Mets hitters and getting 13 more to ground out, one for a double play. There were only two flyball outs. According to Baseball Info Solutions’ (BIS) Range and Positioning System, there were only two balls put into play that had a higher than 50 percent chance of being a base hit: a groundball hit by Ruben Tejada in the seventh inning and a groundball hit by Wilmer Flores in the eighth. However, both were easily turned into outs because Brandon Belt was well positioned, playing deep into the hole between first and second base. In fact, every play the Giants made on defense was easy. The video scouts at BIS rate the difficulty of every ball in play on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being routine and 5 being impossible, and there was not a single play given a higher rating than a 2 during that game. So now that the first no-hitter of 2015 is out of the way, who is going to throw the next one? Every year in the Bill James Handbook, we publish a list of the most likely pitchers to throw a no-hitter during the upcoming season in the Career Targets section of the book. The system for determining the likelihood of throwing a no-hitter is based on a pitcher’s projected games started, innings pitched, strikeouts, hits allowed, and double plays induced. Here are the most likely no-hitter candidates from the 2015 Bill James Handbook: Most Likely No-Hitter, 2015 Player Chance of No-hitter Clayton Kershaw, LAN 25% Chris Sale, CHA 23% Stephen Strasburg, WAS 21% Corey Kluber, CLE 20% Max Scherzer, WAS 20% Yu Darvish, TEX 18% Felix Hernandez, SEA 18% David Price, DET 16% Madison Bumgarner, SF 15% Zack Wheeler, NYN 15% This list obviously includes the best and biggest arms in baseball. While pitchers like Chris Heston can sneak up on us with a no-hitter, the household names are still the guys that are most likely to achieve the feat

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Vogelsong throws seven scoreless, Giants win 6-0 | CSN Bay Area

Just what the Dr. ordered for Vogie and the Giants. Pitching and Defense. Three straight shutouts is just phenomenal.

I agree with the blurb about the potential underlying power in Panik's bat. He's banging hangers right now but eventually he will put some drive into fastballs as well and at that point I believe he develops into a 10-15 HR guy.

from CSN Bay Area:
Instant Replay: Vogelsong throws seven scoreless, Giants win 6-0 | CSN Bay Area:

Vogelsong threw seven shutout innings to pace a 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres that was the fifth straight overall and eighth straight at AT&T Park. It was also the third consecutive shutout for the Giants, who are riding a red-hot starting staff. Since Vogelsong’s implosion at Dodger Stadium, Giants starters have a 0.98 ERA. 

....

At the plate: Giants coaches have long believed that there’s more power in Panik’s bat, and he did hit 22 homers in parts of four minor league seasons. That’s not a lot, but it’s more than the one he had as a rookie. Panik now has two homers into the arcade in his last four games. Every little bit helps for a team trying to make up for the losses of Michael Morse and Pablo Sandoval and the injury to Hunter Pence. 

 'via Blog this'

Vogelsong's two big mistakes blow up on Giants

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong hands the ball to manager Bruce Bochy (15) during the fifth inning of a MLB baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Vogie nails it with his post-game quote. Giving up one three-run bomb in a game will normally get you killed, he gave up two and that was too much to overcome.

from Yahoo Sports:
Diamondbacks edge Giants 7-6 behind HRs from Peralta, Lamb - Yahoo Sports:

"It's just hard because basically I wasted a good offensive night from our team,'' Vogelsong said. ''Any time we can go out and score six runs we should get a win. Those guys deserve a win for that.''

'via Blog this'

It's only the second game of the season (small sample size alert) so no time to panic yet, but the script for the Giants has been to hold other teams offense down with superior pitching, defense and bullpen and allow a somewhat pedestrian offense to score four or more runs. I don't have the exact numbers, but the Giants have won somewhere on the order of 75% of their games where they scored four or more runs in the past. So far this season the ledger stands at 1-1.

The concern is you previously felt more confident in the pitching staffs ability to hold teams under 4 runs consistently and fretted about the offenses ability to clear the magic number 4. Now the script seems to have flipped.

I know it's early but, being a Giants fan, I have become somewhat of a natural born fretter.

Now you know the rest of the story....and ten years earlier than promised

Getty Images

When Voglesong "flirted" with the Astros prior to re-signing with the Giants this past off-season, he perked up a few ears with this line:

But everything that’s happened to me this offseason — and one of these days I’ll tell you guys all about it, when we’re all sitting around having a couple beers 10 years from now when I’m done playing — and you’ll go, ‘There’s no way that happened,’ and I’ll say “Yup,” and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.” 

Turns out -- from the following article from When the Giants come to Town, quoting Jon Heyman -- there was an interesting detail to the back story. And we didn't have to wait ten years.

from Hardball Talk:
Ryan Vogelsong “really wasn’t comfortable with what was going on” with Astros before returning to Giants | HardballTalk:

According to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, Vogelsong said the following about the Astros during a conference call yesterday: 

 “I made a visit to Houston and met with A.J. Hinch the manager and the staff, the training staff, and I took a physical — just as the process went along here, really wasn’t comfortable with what was going on. Ultimately, made a decision to come back with the Giants and I’m really just really happy to be back and glad things worked out the way they have.” 

 Vogelsong later was a guest on San Francisco radio station KNBR and again made a vague reference to how his free agency played out: 

 “I feel like I’ve been pushed back here by divine intervention or whatever you want to call it. But everything that’s happened to me this offseason — and one of these days I’ll tell you guys all about it, when we’re all sitting around having a couple beers 10 years from now when I’m done playing — and you’ll go, ‘There’s no way that happened,’ and I’ll say “Yup,” and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.” 

 So was this just a matter of awkward phrasing on the part of Vogelsong or did the Astros do something to turn him off? Well, Vogelsong’s agent, Dave Meier, has since clarified that his client meant to say that he was only “uncomfortable” because negotiations started breaking down, not because of something the Astros did. 

We might never know the whole story, but Vogelsong and the Giants are obviously happy with how things worked out.

'via Blog this'

Fast forward to yesterday's news...

from When the Giants Come to Town:
When the Giants Come to Town...:

Sounds like the Houston Astros are being run by a bunch of used car salesmen(sorry if any of you readers are used car salesmen.  Nothing personal).  Jon Heyman is reporting that after agreeing to a 1 year/$4M contract, the Astros came back with a lower offer after viewing Vogey's physical report.  Sound familiar?  That's exactly the same stunt they pulled on first round draft pick Brady Aiken that ended up blowing up in their faces, costing them the signing of not just Aiken but 2 other draft picks they had apparently made promises to contingent upon signing Aiken for the lower amount.  If this report on Vogey's situation is true, the Commish needs to get involved and come down on those scam artists down there.

'via Blog this'

"I'm back where I wanted to be," Ryan Vogelsong says after signing one-year deal - Giants Extra

From Vogie Out!! to Vogie Back!!!. Not only back where he wanted to be, but back where he belonged. He just wouldn't have looked right in another uniform. And so continues the great comeback story with the Voglesong's proving true the old adage that "behind (beside?) every great man is a great woman....chirping in his ear every two seconds".

from Giants Extra:
"I'm back where I wanted to be," Ryan Vogelsong says after signing one-year deal - 

Giants Extra:

Through it all, a persistent voice pushed him back toward San Francisco.

“I also have a wife (Nicole) that loves San Francisco and loves the fans and I’ve got her chirping in my ear every two seconds,” he said.


Vogelsong talks openly about his faith, and said a return just felt right to the family, which includes a young son, Ryder. He credited “divine intervention” for pushing him back towards the Giants and said it felt like a weight had been lifted when he left Houston and returned to negotiating with the Giants.

“When a decision came down everything kept leading me back to San Francisco,” he said. “Honestly, I just think it’s where I’m supposed to be. Stuff happens for a reason."

'via Blog this'


Indeed. Ryan Vogelsong, Back where you belong.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSu9AjAwJLI

38 Special - Back Where You Belong

Ryan Vogelsong “shifts course” on Astros, now “in serious discussions” with the Giants | HardballTalk

Be still my heart. Of course, this is exactly what I love to see....RESULTS!!! From my blog post of two days ago to the news of the day.



from The Slav's Blog:
http://slavieboy.blogspot.com/2015/01/giants-get-steal-with-nori-aoki.html

BTWII, I keep hearing that the Giants may need to add a guy like Ryan Vogelsong. Last time I checked, Ryan Vogelsong was still available. SIGN VOGIE!!! You cheap bastards!!!

from Hardball Talk:
Ryan Vogelsong “shifts course” on Astros, now “in serious discussions” with the Giants | HardballTalk:

Free agent starter Ryan Vogelsong was said to be working toward an agreement with the Astros and even traveled to Houston on Monday to meet with team officials. But it appears those negotiations have suddenly collapsed. From the Twitter account of FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal … 

'via Blog this'

It just makes more sense from both sides that Vogie ends up in SF than Houston. For the Giants, if you need a "Vogelsong-like" pitcher to fill out the staff, and Vogelsong is available, you don't give the fans Jason Marquis. From Vogie's side, I'm not sure he has enough mileage in him to see the results of the Astros rebuilding effort. Why not Pittsburgh and close that career circle instead?

Giants Get a Steal with Nori Aoki

I like the deal initially and if Fan Graphs likes it, I like it even more. This should give the lineup a little more diversity and with McGahee, it should be a more disciplined, albeit less power-laden lineup, Plus, you get a little Pagan injury insurance at the top of the order.

You have basically replaced Sandoval and Morse with McGahee and Aoki. OK, who replaces the HR power you just lost? Posey, Pence and Belt likely will need to contribute 5 or more additional HR's each over last years output. Very doable if all three stay healthy.

I still think one more move is in the future and necessary for the Giants. As much as I would like that move to be Moncada, that would not help the title defense effort at all. Another pitcher? If the price of Shields comes down a bit, maybe. But with what Scherzer just signed for, I doubt there will be much of a Shields discount. If anything, Shields price tag to the Scherzer also-rans just went up a bit.

from Fan Graphs:
Giants Get a Steal with Nori Aoki:

With a $4 million base salary in 2015, it seems likely the second year option is probably around $7 million, and then some incentives could push it to the $12.5 million figure if he played really well. But even if he absolutely maxes out, that’s still less than what the crowd estimated, half of what I guessed, and only a fraction of it is guaranteed.

At this price, this is probably going to go down as one of the better free agent signings of the winter. Aoki isn’t any kind of star, but he’s a perfectly acceptable corner outfielder. He doesn’t have a platoon split issue, so he can play everyday.

He’s a good enough defender to not need to be subbed out for a late game replacement. And yet the Giants are basically paying him like a bench player.

Heyman notes that Aoki took less money to play for the Giants, so perhaps there’s some World Series discount in here, but this is still a huge bargain. In a market where worse players are signing for $20 million and costing their teams a first round pick, Aoki for $5 million is kind of amazing.

'via Blog this'


P.S. Good to see the Giants brass appears to agree with my assessment of the deal.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2015/01/20/bochy-sabean-talk-lack-power-lineup-changes-comes-next/

BTW, the Cubs got the other guy I thought would be a good fit, for the same reasons as Aoki, in Dexter Fowler. Fowler would have cost a prospect or two while Aoki only costs payroll space.

BTWII, I keep hearing that the Giants may need to add a guy like Ryan Vogelsong. Last time I checked, Ryan Vogelsong was still available. SIGN VOGIE!!! You cheap bastards!!!

Several Giants will ring the cash register shortly - Who stays and who goes?

We're going to find out pretty quickly whether the core of the Giants stays intact or cracks. As I've said before, I think the Giants can be compete for Pablo Sandoval @ about 5 years / $80-$90M. If it goes much higher, he is likely to leave.

from SI.com
After another World Series title, what's coming for Giants in offseason? - MLB - SI.com:

For starters, series MVP Madison Bumgarner isn't going anywhere. While the 25-year-old lefty spent the past month making it clear that he belongs on the short list of the game's elite pitchers, he's not headed for a Clayton Kershaw-like payday anytime soon. Bumgarner just completed the second year of a five-year, $35 million extension signed in April 2012; he made $3.75 million this year, and will make $6.75 million next year, or $23.25 million less than the Dodgers' ace lefty. His contract is guaranteed through 2017, after which the Giants hold $12 million options on his 2018 and '19 seasons. Those options can vest based on innings thresholds, and increase to as much as $16 million if he wins a Cy Young award — still a bargain by the standards of the game's top-tier starters. Bumgarner is one of four Giants under contract through at least 2017, with Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and the injured Matt Cain being the others.

On the other side of the coin, the team does have several players headed for free agency, and they won't keep all of them, even with around $62 million worth of room between their 2015 commitments ($127.3 million, according to Cot's Contracts) and the $189 million luxury tax threshold. Closest to their core is Pablo Sandoval, who probably earned himself a few extra million dollars thanks to a .366/.423/.465 showing in 78 postseason plate appearances, with an OPS above 1.000 in both the NLCS and the World Series, not to mention some dazzling defense.

'via Blog this'

Jake Peavy likely will be too rich for the Giants blood and with Cain back healthy and Petit and option in the rotation, the starting rotation has enough quantity, a return to form by Tim Lincecum would help with the quality.

I think Romo and Vogelsong can both be retained at almost the same salary between the two of them. The Dodgers interest in Romo could be the deciding factor. I would like to see Romo stay in case Machi forgets how to throw the fork-ball and Strickland doesn't figure out how to keep left-handed batters in the park.

Michael Morse is the wild-card. The experts are assuming that AL teams are going to come a knocking for Morse to play a DH heavy role next year. If he's good with that, he may be gone. The problem signing Morse if he is going to want three years minimum and I would feel better with a two year deal in case the Giants need to make room for Mac Williamson or Gary Brown develops into more than a bongo drum for Hunter Pence.

I love the folks who say, well let Sandoval go, let Morse go, we'll just sign Hanley Ramirez or the Cuban free-agent Tomas or God forbid Melky Cabrera. Do they think those guys will cost appreciably less than retaining Sandoval or Morse? At least Jake Peavy is replaced by a returning Matt Cain. It's why he was brought over here.

The ghost of Aubrey Huff still lurks by the Giants cash register, that's for sure. That's creepy!!!

WORST BUSTER HUG EVER!!!

Giants capture 3rd title in 5 years - Dynasty? YES!! YES!! YES!!

It's cool that this is even a discussion. When they have to compare you against the top teams of all time, some of whom played in an entirely different era that was more conducive to building a dynasty ( ie: teams that played before the dissolution of the Reserve Clause ).

from Yahoo Sports:
New dynasty: Giants capture 3rd title in 5 years - Yahoo Sports:

Eight players have been on all three winning World Series teams: Bumgarner, slugging third baseman Sandoval, Posey and relievers Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez, Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo and Tim Lincecum. Matt Cain, too, but he was hurt this year.

General manager Brian Sabean, longest-tenured in baseball, can't put a finger on why the mix keeps working. He is proud of the core of players who were drafted and came through the system and played such a huge part this time.

"It's a testament to player development and scouting. That's what we all hope for, that you can plug your holes from within and build your team from within," Sabean said. "That's a surefire way to kind of keep things moving forward. It prevents you from having to go into the market, whether it's free agency or more so the trade market."

'via Blog this'

I'm more concerned with how many of the core guys can be re-signed. I think Pablo can be had for 5 / $90 which would be in the same neighborhood as the Hunter Pence money his neophyte agent was looking for at the beginning of the season. If it gets much higher than that either through Pablo's agent overplaying his hand or another team submitting a crazy bid and Sandoval is gone. Oh, and Pablo, tell your dumb-ass agent that comparing your contract to another teammates is bad form. There are plenty of other comparables he can make a) behind closed doors and b) after the season is over. By the way, I define a crazy bid as one that takes Pablo's number significantly over Pence's numbers and approaching or greater than Buster Posey's number. Let some other team take the chance on that one.  

Romo I think can be had by taking the $5M I believe he was making and the $5M Vogelsong received last year and splitting it $5.5M Romo and $4.5 Vogie or 60/40. You might lose both if Vogelsong gets a nice offer from another team, but Affeldt has the bullpen bar set at $6M and deservedly so. Plus, Casilla will be due a nice raise shortly, to say nothing of Bumgarner. Bumgarner recently signed a team friendly extension that seemed fair to the pre-legendary Bumgarner, but might have to be looked at again quite soon.

World Championships come with a cost, but it's a nice cost to have. WTH it's not my money, pass the hat among the billionaire owners.

Giants stick with Ryan Vogelsong | ESPN and Peter Gammons need to explain themselves

Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

It's up to Ryan Vogelsong to silence any controversy over the Game 4 starting nod

Why on earth is it up to Ryan Voglesong to silence any controversy over the Game 4 starting nod and not up to ESPN Hall of Famer Peter Gammons to explain his appalling lack of journalism ethics in making up quotes out of whole cloth?

Shouldn't Gammons and ESPN have to explain where he got his erroneous, so-called insider information from?  Which by the way ESPN charges people for access to said insider information. Shouldn't they have to explain their employees lack of ethics? Why are they charging people for fiction under the guise of fact?

Keep the lawyers out of it, I'd settle for letting Bumgarner kick his wrinkled ass.  ESPN is a garbage organization.

from ESPN:
MLB - Giants stick with Ryan Vogelsong - ESPN:

That quote came as a surprise to Bumgarner, who emerged from the shower after the San Francisco clubhouse had cleared and told ESPN.com and several Giants beat reporters that he never lobbied Bochy to start Saturday on short rest. He also distanced himself from any of the comments in question. 

"I didn't tell anybody that," Bumgarner said. "Nobody. I didn't say anything even remotely close to that. I want it to be straightened up, because I don't know where that came from.

"I've been here with [Vogelsong] since 2011, and obviously we've seen what he can do. There's nobody I'd rather have out there more than him."

'via Blog this'

But the idea of a flip-flop in the order and a quick turnaround for Bumgarner gained currency when Peter Gammons shared the following item on his Twitter account early in Game 3:

Favorite Tweet?
Peter Gammons @pgammo Before the game, Bumgarner told teammates, "my pitching tomorrow is not an issue. I am. I will not take no for an answer."
19h ago

 Can

Hunter Pence makes game-saving catch | Giants shuffle off to St. Louis

http://m.mlb.com/video/v36773251/must-c-catch-pence-makes-tremendous-leaping-catch

Giants fans are already memorializing "The Catch". In SF, they wake up this morning saying, "only Hunter Pence...." in Washington DC it's more than likely "Hunter F@c%ing Pence...."


from McCovey Chronicles

BTW: Ryan Vogelsong was brilliant last night. If he doesn't ignite the Giants eclectic offense by suffocating the Nationals through the first six innings, they are not advancing. For his efforts, he gets a no-decision, but that was a brilliant, gutsy, clutch effort by Vogie.

Giants, Ryan Vogelsong nearing one-year agreement | SFGiants.com: News

Good news on the roster front. Vogelsong's return was preferred over Bronson Arroyo's addition, although Arroyo may seem as if he has more left in the tank. It's a one-year deal, likely the deal is laden with incentives for Vogie so it's a win-win.

from mlb.com
Giants, Ryan Vogelsong nearing one-year agreement | SFGiants.com: News:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Momentum appears to be carrying right-hander Ryan Vogelsong toward a one-year agreement with the Giants, industry sources said late Wednesday and early Thursday.

The Giants have not commented on any negotiations with Vogelsong.

Vogelsong, who was cast into free agency when the Giants declined his $6.5 million contract option for 2014, was known to have drawn interest from a number of teams, including Atlanta, Philadelphia and Texas. The Phillies might have seemed particularly intriguing to Vogelsong, who lives approximately 30 miles from Philadelphia. But he's repeated since late last season that he would prefer to remain with San Francisco.

'via Blog this'

Giants protect Gary Brown, three others from Rule 5 draft | CSN Bay Area

Not much to see on the roster protection moves as all of the guys mentioned are at least a year or two away from being contributors. Brown needs a big year in 2014 to validate this move.

Finalize Javy and re-sign Vogie over Arroyo. I thought Hudson was instead of Arroyo not in addition to Arroyo. Something about Arroyo's incessant campaigning to be in SF is a turn-off for me. Like he wants to be mayor of SF on the side or something. It's a bit creepy, stalker-like creepy.

Bring back Vogie!!!

from CSN Bay Area:
Giants protect Gary Brown, three others from Rule 5 draft | CSN Bay Area:

SAN FRANCISCO – Two disappointing seasons might have stripped Gary Brown of the “center fielder of the future” label. But the Giants aren’t ready to just give him away.

The club added Brown to the 40-man roster on Wednesday, the final opportunity to add players to protect them from being snapped up in the Rule 5 draft next month. They also added right-hander Kendry Flores, third baseman Adam Duvall and right-handed reliever Hunter Stickland.

Right-hander Guillermo Moscoso was designated for assignment.

The moves leave the Giants full at 40, so they’ll need to subtract someone else when they finalize Javier Lopez’s contract. And they’ll obviously need to clear more space when they sign a fifth starter, whether it’s Ryan Vogelsong or Bronson Arroyo or someone else.

'via Blog this'

Bochy tired of losing, Pence wants to lead-off and Pagan is missed

The Rays did a great job of torching my "2 out of 3" strategy to get back in the race this weekend, winning games using the same model the Giants used to win championships -- timely hitting and just enough of it and great pitching both starting and bullpen -- and lots of it.

On the back of that series, now Hunter Pence wants to lead-off to throw a spark into the spark-less Giants.

Although he would be a rather unconventional lead-off hitter due to his lack of patience, I think I would rather see him moved than have Scutaro move up one slot and have to replace him in the #2 spot, where I think he is perfectly suited for this team.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

Bruce Bochy is tired of losing, tired of seeing the same old hapless performance at the top of his lineup.

Tired of watching Gregor Blanco and Andres Torres make outs.

The Giants manager is going in another direction in the leadoff position.

And why not? Blanco is batting .077 (3-for-39) since the All-Star break, Torres .182 (6-for-33).

Bochy said either Marco Scutaro or Hunter Pence will be leading off sooner rather than later, filling the spot vacated by Angel Pagan, who has been shelved with a hamstring problem that warranted surgery.

"We're not getting any production from our leadoff hitters. They're going through a tough time," said Bochy, whose Giants lost to the Rays 4-3 Sunday.

Scutaro is known as a contact hitter and has ample leadoff experience, 359 games worth. Pence has batted .393 (24-for-61) since the All-Star break and is 15-for-15 in stolen-base attempts on the season.

'via Blog this'

Andrew Baggarly        ✔ @CSNBaggs

Pence wants to lead off. "I'm an aggressive swinger. You can set a little bit of a tone, u know?" Sounds like he backchanneled idea to Bochy

4:26 PM - 4 Aug 2013

The problem Bochy faces here really highlights the effect that the loss of Angel Pagan has had on the Giants offense. After Pagan's last game, a loss to Toronto on May 15th the Giants fell to 23-17 (.575 pace) for the season. Since then they have limper to a 26-44 (.371 pace) mark to close at 49-61 as of yesterday.  

Granted that five days later Ryan Vogelsong pitched his final game for the season to date for the Giants. The rearranging of the deck chairs that Vogie's injury precipitated changed the Giants starting rotation for the worse and as a result the bullpen mix was weakened as well.

The Giants have limped at a .370 pace since then which, in case you haven't noticed is approximately a 100 loss season. Two injuries ( albeit significant ) and the team falls from a 90+ win team to a 100 loss team.

The record clearly demonstrates the value both players ( especially Pagan's value to the offense ) brought to the team.

Full Update of Surprises, Busts and Injuries at San Francisco Giants Camp | Bleacher Report

If the worst thing Giant fans have to worry about is Tim Lincecum, then it should be a good season. The life on his fastball appears better this spring versus last. He seems to be able to get low 90's again fairly routinely.  The last couple of seasons there was an APB on a 90+ radar gun read. His breaking pitches find a lot of dirt which is murder on the catchhers, a long day of blocking. All the other starter appear to have not missed a beat from late last season.

Both Lincecum and Zito seem to prefer a catcher other than MVP Buster Posey behind the dish. Odd in that Posey ranks highly in many catchers defensive metrics. The Giants seem to be trying to wean both Linceum and Zito away from their own personal catchers.

The over / under on wins should be about 90 this season, which should equate to a playoff spot again. After that, anything goes.

from Bleacher Report:
Full Update of Surprises, Busts and Injuries at San Francisco Giants Camp | Bleacher Report:

Ryan Vogelsong (3.38 ERA), Barry Zito (3.38) and Madison Bumgarner (1.86) are rounding into shape, and Matt Cain had his best outing of the spring his last time out. Vogelsong also looked sharp in his first start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday.

The rotation should be an even bigger strength for the Giants this season than it was last year, especially if Lincecum can chop a few runs off of his 5.18 ERA from a year ago. Despite his 14.73 spring ERA, the smart money remains on Lincecum bouncing back in 2013.

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Vogelsong: “I didn’t want to let these guys down. I didn’t want to let the city down.” | Giants Extra

Vogelsong would have been my second choice for MVP and this article highlights some of the reasons why. He fed off the Zito start and then Cain feeds off Vogie's start.

These guys personify TEAM -- the total ends up being greater than the sum of the parts. Team chemistry -- every team looks for it and talks about it -- these guys have found it. I know it's easier to talk about when you win, but I felt good about this scenario playing out when they were down 3-1. I just wasn't sure if Zito or Lincecum was going to bridge the gap to the big two.

Again, if you had told me before the playoff that Lincecum and Bumgarner would be arguably the two most ineffective Giants starters, I would have been a little worried. But somehow, it works. Good chemistry will do that.

from MercuryNews.com
Vogelsong: “I didn’t want to let these guys down. I didn’t want to let the city down.” | Giants Extra:

Scutaro said the first thing that stuck out about Vogelsong was his work ethic.

“Every time I walk by the gym this guy is in there working out,” Scutaro said. “I was like, hey, bro — he has a lot of energy.”

On Sunday that energy was focused on the Cardinals and an endless stream of vicious bites on a piece of gum. Vogelsong was intense throughout but made it look easy, the result of all that hard work.

“My dad kind of raised me that way,” Vogelsong said. “When I came into this game, everybody kind of said ‘Don’t let that be the reason why you don’t succeed.’ I just decided I was going to do everything I could off the field to prepare myself for the games.”

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Vogelsong hopes to spark latest rally, put series in Cain’s hands | Giants Extra

Voge's thinking along my lines. We'll see how it goes.

from MercuryNews.com
Vogelsong hopes to spark latest rally, put series in Cain’s hands | Giants Extra:

“Hopefully I can go out and throw up a good one on Sunday and hand the ball over to Matt,” Vogelsong said after the Giants’ Game 5 victory. “He can throw a good one up and make this thing real interesting.”

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UPDATED: Giants reward Ryan Vogelsong with two-year contract plus option for 2014 | Extra Baggs

A long, frustrating road for Vogie, but he is being justly rewarded.

UPDATED: Giants reward Ryan Vogelsong with two-year contract plus option for 2014 | Extra Baggs:

"Vogelsong made it clear he wanted to commit to San Francisco after resurrecting his career with the same organization that drafted and developed him a decade earlier. Vogelsong arrived last spring as a minor league free agent and pitched so well in camp that he became the first line of defense when the Giants needed a starting pitcher. He came up to replace an injured Barry Zito in late April and never lost his spot in the rotation, finishing with a 13-7 record and 2.71 ERA that ranked third in the NL — better even than heralded rotation mates Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.

Vogelsong, 33, also joined Lincecum and Brian Wilson on the NL All-Star team — a huge accomplishment for a pitcher whose career was sidelined by injuries and inconsistency. Before replacing Zito, Vogelsong hadn’t appeared in a major league game in almost five years, spending most of the interim in the Japanese leagues."