Michael McGauley's San Francisco Giants fan blog

Could "The Panda" be snapping out of his slump? Pablo Sandoval was hitting bullets all over the place Friday night as the Giants finally offered some run support behind Matt Cain in a 5-0 win. Sandoval went 2-for-3 with a home run, a single, and a sac fly, driving in three of the team's five runs which was MORE than enough for Cain. The Giants' right-hander tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout with nine strike outs and zero walks in 122 pitches. Cain pitched well enough to win his last start against the A's, going 8-innings, and getting knicked for an unearned run in a 1-0 loss. The Giants scratched out seven hits off Arizona pitching, but were the beneficiary of six walks, five of which were courtesy of starter Edwin Jackson, who only allowed four hits through seven inn

Continue reading ""Where Have You Been Pablo Sandoval?""

Hey, nothing like snapping out of a five-game slide with some timely hitting! The Giants beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 Tuesday night in the first game of a fresh nine-game home stand after limping through a miserable 1-and-6 road-trip.  The Giants took a few innings, by finally settled in against old friend Livan Hernandez with two outs in the fith. Five consecutive hits plated all four runs, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Freddy Sanchez. Pablo Sandoval folliwed with a double off the left field wall to score Sanchez. The rally against Livan was rare thus far in 2010, as the veteran Nationals right-hander came into the game with an ERA below two (it ballooned to 2.08 after last night).  Four runs was enough for Todd Wellemeyer: a guy who was really p

Continue reading ""The Giants' Bats Show Some Signs of Life Against the Nats""

Okay Giants' fans, it's time to get over Wednesday's loss, and get ready for the Rockies Friday night. Hey, I can be just as greedy as anyone, especially when it comes to a potential three-game sweep of the defending N.L. Champion Phillies. Everything was looking good: Lincecum on the mound, a three-run lead in the top of the 9th, and Brian Wilson getting loose in the pen should Timmy run out of gas. Then, with one out, a four-pitch walk to Shane Victorino, Bochy yanks Lincecum after 106 pitches, and Wilson cannot close the door. Jayson Werth's bases-clearing bloop double down the right field line tied the game at 4-4. In my opinion, total fluke! Wilson had not allowed a single run all season, and actually retired the first batter he faced. There were two outs before Utley singled and Howard walked to load the bases. Listen, if Wilson had finished off the game as he usually does, we wouldn't be having this endless discussion about Bochy's ill-fated pitching change. If he had left Timmy finish the game and he blew it, the same people would be criticizing Bochy FOR NOT making a move. It's really an impossible position for the skipper. I don't mind seeing Lincecum throw 120 pitches, but you have to figure it will make a difference later in the season once he exceeds the 200-inning plateau. If Bochy can save him, and limit the pitch count here and there, it could keep him fresher into September, and that's really the big picture. Don't pound your horses into the ground in April. Yes, it would have been nice to see the complete game, but IT IS Wilson's job to slam the door, and Wednesday just wasn't his day.

Continue reading ""Time for the Giants to Focus on the Rockies and Not Wednesday's Disaster""

AT LAST, regular season baseball to discuss! I wasn't too shocked by the final roster moves, and like the veteran additions to the bull pen with Mota, and to the starting staff with Wellemeyer. More on that in a minute. Not to bring up a sore point right out of the box, but I saw that Brad Penny pitched very well (seven strong innings and a no decision) in his St.Louis debut Thursday -- a 2-1 loss to the Reds. Hey, nice start for the Giants in Houston, and a rock-solid start for Lincecum, Zito, and (almost) Cain. The "Cainer" got burned by a couple of bad breaks Wednesday, and pitched better than the final stat line may indicate (notice zero walks in the stat line). Timmy and Barry though were quite good. I expected as much from the two-time defending

Continue reading ""The Braves will Pose a Tougher Test for the Giants this weekend""

I thought that ship had sailed? I also thought it was certain that Bengie Molina would be a New York Met in 2010. New York was dangling a two year deal, but Molina's camp wanted a third year option. Something went terribly wrong in the negotiations, and the two sides parted ways, which is good news for the Giants! It's hard to get greedy in this current market place, especially when you're an older player (who turns 36 in July), and playing a demanding position like catcher. I thought Molina might have ended-up in the American League where he could also be a DH.   Whatever happened at the end of last season (not playing hurt?), I say forget any bad blood that may have bubbled to the surface between Molina and the Giants, and welcome him back behind the plate with open arms. The pitchers love him. He's a club house presence and leader. He will be an excellent mentor to the young Buster Posey. He comes at a relative bargain for one year and $4.5-million, and can hit! Fortunately though, he won't be relied upon to bat clean-up for San Francisco this year (assuming the off-season acquisitions come through as expected). Molina should be much more comfortable further down in the order as a number-six hitter, behind a 3-4-5 combination of Sandoval, Huff, and De Rosa. Now I'm digging this line-up a lot more than I was just a couple of weeks ago.  Yorvit Torrealba? Rod Barajas? Bengie's going to be a better hitter than both of those guys. Last year, Molina struggled through some injuries, but still managed to play in 132 games and had 491 at-bats. The rest of the pertinent numbers: 130 hits, (only) 52 runs scored, 25 doubles, 20 homers, 80 RBI's, and an incredibly low 13 walks...Yikes! That's reflected in a .285 on-base percentage, but a fairly solid .265 batting average. Molina drove in 95 runs with 16 homers and 33 doubles in 2008; with a .292 average, and .322 on-base percentage. So, assuming he plays most of the season, you know roughly what kind of numbers you're going to get. But what if Posey is ready to go mid-season and gets the call-up? That remains to be seen. I would say Eli Whiteside begins the year as Molina's back-up with Posey down in Triple-A Fresno.  By-the-way: Torrealba sported a .351 on-base percentage and a .291 average in just 64 games with the Rockies last season, sharing time with Chris Ianetta. It's hard to really compare any other stats with fewer than half the number of at-bats, but Yorvit did manage to work 21 walks in just 213 at-bats. So, he would easily have more than 50 BB's with 500 A.B's. Barajas, meanwhile, had a descent season with the Blue Jays in 2008 as far as power numbers (19 and 71), but his batting average and on-base were dreadful in roughly the same number of at-bats. So, considering Bengie's familiarity with the Giants' pitching staff, and his overall better hitting, he was clearly the best choice of the three. The fourth choice, Miguel Olivo, had already signed with Colorado -- essentially replacing Torrealba.   Merkin Valdez, who was designated for assignment earlier last week, has been traded to Toronoto for cash considerations. Valdez just never realized his potential, but maintained a dominant fastball even after returning from

Continue reading ""Bengie Molina is Back in the Squat for San Francisco""

 Hey, we all wanted another bat, right?   I like Aubrey Huff, but I certainly like the 2008 Aubrey Huff better than the 2009 version. I was lucky enough to go to the old Yankee Stadium in July of '08, and saw the Yanks beat the Orioles on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon. Aubrey Huff was smack in the middle of a potent Baltimore Line-up with Brian Roberts at the top, Adam Jones second, Nick Markakis batting third, followed by Huff in the clean-up slot, and Melvin Mora hitting fifth. Huff was batting over .300 at the time, and drove in his 72nd RBI in that game (in July!) -- I remember, because I just looked it up; July 30th, 2008. He went on to finish the season with 108 RBI's, 32 homers, 48 doubles, 182 hits, 96 runs, a .360 on-base percentage in 598 at-bats and 154 games played. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, last year was not so good. His average dipped to .241, with 15 home runs and 85 RBI's in time split between Baltimore and Detroit; following a mid-season trade. He had far fewer at-bats though (430), and only 109 hits, so I think it's a matter if consistency and playing everyday for Huff to be successful. I would say probably

Continue reading ""Is Aubrey Huff the Final Piece to the Off Season Puzzle?""

 HAPPY NEW YEAR to all Giant fans! College Football is nearly complete, and the Super Bowl is a month away...  And before you know it, Spring will be back in the air, and pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training in about six weeks. Personally, I just can't get enough baseball (thank you MLB Network), and keep hoping the Giants will make some more moves to improve on an 88-win season in 2009. Yes, they re-signed Juan Uribe (because he couldn't get a multi-year deal elsewhere), and picked-up the versatile Mark De Rosa; however, that's just not enough for me. Assuming Bengie Molina doesn't return (he's been offered two years by the Mets), another bat must walk through that clubhouse door come spring training. Brad Penny walked away from the Giants, who seemingly made a comparable offer to the one year deal he inked with the Cardinals ($7.5 million with incentives that could boost the deal closer to nine-million dollars). Penny joins Cy Young runner-ups Carpenter and Wainwright in a solid rotation, and Matt Holiday appears certain to remain in a line-up featuring the great Albert Pujols. Maybe Penny thought the Cards were closer to the NL Pennant than San Francisco. One pitcher who will not be in Arizona this spring is 46-year-old veteran Randy Johnson, who has officially announced his retirement after twenty-two seasons and 303 victories. A 10-time all-star, 5-time Cy Young Award winner, and World Series MVP, Johnson's accomplishments stack-up against almost any other left-handed pitcher

Continue reading ""Randy Johnson Officially Announces His Retirement""

 Just sheer domination that didn't necessarily show up in the win column! Fifteen victories equals a Cy Young?  Let's look at ALL of the numbers to really appreciate how great Tim Lincecum has been through his first two-full seasons with the Giants (he did throw 146-plus innings in 24 starts in 2007). Back-to-back Cy Young Awards do not come around very often (see: N.L. stand-outs RJ and Maddux, each with four straight, and Sandy Koufax with three of four; Clemens, Palmer, McClain, and Pedro each went back-to-back in the A.L. ([Clemens did it twice; ten years apart]). The difference? Lincecum has done it twice in two full years by the age of 25! So how do you follow up a CY YOUNG AWARD WINNING SEASON??? You work even harder to improve (by perfecting a third pitch), and that's exactly what Lincecum did after winning his first CY in 2008 with an 18-and-5 record, and 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. Lincecum worked 225 and one-third innings this year, and went 15-and-7 with 261 strikeouts. No, that doesn't sound any better until we delve deeper. Check this out - in roughly the same number of innings pitched, Lincecum allowed fourteen

Continue reading ""Tim Lincecum Captures Second Cy Young""

Well, that's one more issue resolved. See ya later Randy Winn - the softest number three hitter in the history of the game! I don't even know WHY he batted third for the Giants even once this season. He hit two homers the entire year! Granted, a descent number two guy when hot (or even better: number-seven or -eight), but that just didn't seem to materialize for very long stretches this year. Everyone in the Giants' organization seemed to think (or convince themselves) that Winn would recapture that initial magic when he was first acquired at the 2005 trade deadline from Seattle. I mean the guy was raking for a month straight, and had some real cartoon-like numbers as I recall. He never got back to that level for any sustainable length of time, but was able to parlay six inc

Continue reading ""Goodbye Randy Winn""

As expected, Freddy Sanchez has re-signed with the Giants for two years and 12-million-dollars. That's certainly one mystery solved, and for a discounted rate too! Sanchez has something to prove to the organization, and the fans, after a disappointing end to last season. A three-time all-star, and 2006 N.L. batting champion, Sanchez was hobbled by knee and shoulder injuries that limited him to just 111 games between the Pirates and Giants. He did hit a respectable .293 with seven home runs and 41 RBI's. 

Now, that certainly doesn't sound very impressive, but consider the "up-side" of his potential. When Sanchez won the batting title in '06, check out some of these numbers: 157 games played, 200 hits, 53 doubles, 85 RBI's, and a .344 batting average (.378 on-base). In 2007, Sanchez played in 147 games and collected 602 at-bats! He had 77 runs scored, 183 hits, 42 doubles, eleven homers, and 81 RBI's. All of that to go with a .304 batting average; however, ZERO stolen bases. Freddy doesn't run much - how about 10 bags over his entire career. Well, you can't have it all.

Continue reading ""Freddy Sanchez will be the Giants' Second Baseman in 2010""