Noah Lowry got the start today and had, I believe, his worst outing of the spring. He allowed all of the runs scored by the Royals (5) and they were all earned on 7 hits, including 2 triples and 1 HR and 3 walks. 10 baserunners in 3.2 innings.....not to mention 83 pitches....is just not good. The Royals hit pretty much everything he threw up there with authority, The triples were both hit deep into the LCF gap and the HR was a no doubter into the RF bullpen.

Just not a good day for Noah. I just keep telling myself......Arizona is murder on off-speed pitchers......Arizona is murder on off-speed pitchers........Arizona is murder on off speed pitchers. Maybe if I say it enough.....I will actually believe that the desert air is Noah's only problem right now.

Does Dave Righetti Even Watch the Team Play?

OK....I gotta vent right now. I am sitting in my condo, waiting for time to go to the game and I am reading the Contra Costa Times. So I get to the article on the Giants' bullpen. In it, Andrew Baggarly asks Righetti about Brian Wilson. Here is the quote:

"Others thought to be locks, such as right-hander Brian Wilson, haven't done enough to assure a job.

Asked if Wilson was guaranteed a spot, Righetti said, "No. He's been erratic. He had a real good (winter ball in) Puerto Rico, and with his abilities, he should be (a lock). I know there's a lot of talk about him being a closer here, but that's not just a word in the big leagues." "

Wilson has been "erratic"? He has given up 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in 7 innings with 5 K's. And the 2 runs, 3 of the 4 walks and 2 of the hits (1 an infield hit) came in one single inning against the Brewers when he got 2 quick outs then suddenly lost the strike zone. 1 bad outing in 7 (still only 2 runs) is "erratic"? I wish to god the rest of the Giants bullpen was that "erratic".

I hope Wilson doesn't read the papers. He is pitching his heart out......and is performing better than any Giants' reliever except Benitez......and his pitching coach is publicly calling him "erratic". Maybe Righetti knows his pitching staff so well that he forgot who Brian Wilson is and mixed him up with someone else. Because I have seen every one of his outings and one thing he has not been is "erratic".

Even if it WAS true (which it isn't), you shouldn't fire on a young pitcher like that. Considering that Wilson has performed better than any roster pitcher except Benitez makes it an unforgivable sin as far as I am concerned. I know Alou and Baker got heat for they way they managed the bullpen. My gut tells me Rags had his fingers in the mismanagement. I was not in favor of re-signing him. Hopefully, Bochy doesn't listen to too much of his advice.

Get a clue Rags.

End of rant.

Giants vs Rockies

OK....I know I have been bragging about the weather....but today was no day on the beach. When I returned to my car after the game, my temperature readout, which is usually correct, read an even 100 degrees. I know this is Arizona, but 100 degrees on March 16th? That's a little ridiculous. Accuweather.com puts the current temperature in Scottsdale Arizona....at 6PM......at 96. Enough already.

The baseball on the other hand was good today. Once again some spotty pitching, but more than enough offense to cover for the pitching staff......as the Giants beat the Rockies 11-7. 2 of the 7 runs were unearned.....and take away a 0-2 hit batsman and a couple of just too good pitches......and the Giants pitchers would have looked a lot better. The only pitcher I didn't cover in the photos was Brian Wilson. Brian pitched the 8th inning and had another very good outing. He had a 1-2-3 inning on 11 pitches, including a groundout, a foul popout and strikeout to end the inning. Even though he pitched the 8th, Brian did face Major League talent in Cory Sullivan, Clint Barmes and Omar Quintanilla.

The Giants started most of their starters, except for Pedro Feliz and Dave Roberts. Offensively, Bengie Molina had a good day, going 1 for 3 with a walk, an RBI and the caught stealing I talked about in the photos. I was just talking to an Angels fan last night who said we are going to really like Molina because, although he isn't the best hitter in the world, he really comes through with men in scoring position and 2 outs. Low and behold.......today in the 5th inning, with a man on 2B........Bengie gets a 2 out RBI single. Good call Angels' fan.

Jason Ellison replaced Winn in CF and went 1 for 1 with a single and a run scored. Luis Figueroa replaced Omar in the batting order (Durham at 2B) and went 1 for 2 with a nice 2 out, 2 RBI triple to make the lead a little more comfortable in the 9th. Thomas DeLaRosa had a solo HR in his only AB of the game and made at least one nice play at SS, where he had to charge the ball and throw on the run. Last but not least, Lance Niekro went 0 for 1 but still managed to help the team when he walked and scored a run in the 9th.

All and all a good game on a beastly hot day. Tomorrow, the Giants travel to Tucson to play the Rockies in their yard. I have a ticket but I doubt I will go. The only thing worse than a 4 hour round trip drive to Tucson is a 4 hour round trip to Tucson when it is 100 degrees and you are alone with no one to talk to. I know, I am always making excuses for not going to Tucson.....but the allure is a little less now that I am here all spring than it was when I used to come for only a week or two. I hear that the Giants are going to start Morris in a Minor League game so that he doesn't have to endure the long bus ride. See....Barry and I aren't the only wussies.

Rich Aurilia seems to be heating up with the bat. He started at 1B (after starting at 3B yesterday) and went 1 for 2 with a walk, a double, and 2 runs scored. Here he leaves the field after his one out of the day.....a popup to 2B.

Barry Bonds started he game in LF and only played 2 innings. He struck out in his first AB and hit a 2 run HR to the back of the bullpen in RF in his 2nd. He had one chance in LF and made a play on a soft liner to his right. Line drives are easier in the Scottsdale sun that flyballs are.

Here Ray Durham congratulates Bonds after the HR (as Omar trails behind after also scoring). Speaking of Durham......no 2 HR's for him today.....just a very quiet 0 for 3 with a called strike out.

Kevin Frandsen started at 3B today and continued his mostly unimpressive spring. Another 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. He looks like he is starting to press now. The frustration is starting to set in.

Fred Lewis took over for Bonds in LF and really did not have a good day. He was 0 for 3 with a flyout, a pop out and a called strike 3. I swear he is swinging too hard and TRYING to hit HR's. Like Willie Mays Hayes.....I think Bochy should make him do 50 pushups every time he hits the ball in the air.

Todd Linden takes a lead off of 1B after his 1st inning single. Todd was 1 for 3 with a HBP and 2 runs scored. In his final AB, I thought he had a second single, a ball that deflected off the pitcher to the SS. After the Rockies trainer checked on the pitcher.....I looked up and saw that Linden was NOT on 1B. I know the SS attempted to throw the ball to 1B and dropped it.....but other than that I haven't a clue. Was anyone listen on the webcast that could fill me in on what the heck the call was?

Omar Vizquel had another good day (at the plate anyway). He went 1 for 3 with a bases clearing, 2 out triple in the 2nd inning. Omar's triple was easily the biggest hit of the game and led to a 6 run inning.

Omar had his 3rd error of the spring. All 3 have been on very easy chances. I don't know if his concentration is off or what the deal is. Hell....he goes entire seasons without committing 3 errors. Probably thinking about what restaurant he is going to go to for dinner.

I'm not sure what happened, but the lineup board at Scottsdale Stadium had Dave Roberts leading off and playing CF, but when the lineups were announced, Randy Winn had that assignment. I hope Roberts isn't hurt already.

Randy had a great day, going 3 for 4 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. He was only a triple short of hitting for the cycle. This is the way I remember him hitting when the Giants traded for him.

Another ex-Giant, Steve Finley started in RF for the Rockies. He went 1 for 4 with an RBI triple (again with the triples) and 2 runs scored. Here he takes his lead off of 3B after his 1st inning triple. Still in good shape for an old guy.

Yorvit Torrealba started for the Rockies and batted 5th. They are in big trouble if they can't do better than Yorvit for the #5 hole. Yorvit was 1 for 4 with an RBI single in the 3rd (after Omar's error).

The final Giants' pitcher of the day was Armando Benitez. He had a good 9th inning allowing a 1 out single, getting a groundball out and 2 strikeouts (1 called). Looked like he had his best velocity of the spring. The final out of the game looked like a hard slider, away that the batter could only wave at with the bat.....and the batter was Jeff Baker who had the HR earlier and was 3 for 5 with 4 RBI on the afternoon. Mando threw only 10 pitches in the inning (8 strikes).....not bad when you have 2 K's. Please lord, don't let me get sucked in by Benitez.

The 3rd Giants pitcher of the day was Tim Lincecum. He had another good news-bad news day. He had a relatively easy 6th inning, allowing a 2 out single, a fly out to RF and 2 groundballs. Then in the 7th inning he gave up a 5 pitch leadoff walk, followed by a groundball fielder's choice and a 2 run HR by Jeff Baker. The HR was hit to RCF and was not a cheapie. After the HR, Tim had a strikeout and a groundball to end the inning. As you would expect from a youngster....a little wildness and one pitch left over the plate is causing him problems when he gives up runs. BUT.....the pitches are zinging in there and he still looks like the real deal to me.

Steve Kline followed Cain and looked like he was going to have a great inning. After getting the 1st 2 batters on a groundout and a strikeout, he allowed a first pitch HR to John Mabry before getting Yorvit Torrealba to line out to 3B.

Matt Cain started the game and had a so-so game. He gave up 4 runs, 2 earned on 5 hits, a walk and a hit batsman. Matt started out slow just like Zito the day before. He gave up a HBP, triple and single to the first 3 batters. The HBP really hurt because it was the leadoff batter, it came on an 0-2 count and the runner scored the first run of the game.

In the 3rd inning, Matt gave up 2 more runs, both unearned, due to Omar Vizquels 3rd error of the spring allowing the leadoff batter to get on base. Omar is booting balls this spring that he would normally field in his sleep. Cain had a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd. In the 4th, he allowed a leadoff walk, but Bengie Molina erased the baserunner on his 3rd caught stealing this spring. Other than the one attempt against his brother, Molina is throwing well this spring.

Matt struck out only 2 and was relatively wild pretty much every inning except the 2nd. Matt took 71 pitches to complete 4 innings.....44 of them strikes and went to four 3 ball counts.

Doubleheader 3-15-07

Great day in Arizona yesterday. It was 93 degrees and I lucked out because my seats in Surprise were in the shade the entire game, even though they were about 6 rows behind the Giants' dugout. The night game was just beautiful......still about 80-85 at game time and believe it or not......still 74 at the end of the game at 10PM. Oh.....and the hour and a half I killed at Hooters between games wasn't exactly torture either. Anyone who hasn't been to Spring Training really needs to put a little money away and do it at least once........although I will warn you.......it's very addictive. I first came to Spring Training because it was basically a free trip because my wife had a convention in Phoenix in 1987.......and I have been out every year since then (except the strike year).......so if you come......prepare to get hooked.

I am still trying to figure out how the Giants hit 6 HRs in the first game and STILL managed to lose to the Royals 7-6. You won't see that happen too often. Barry Zito was practically unhittable after the first 4 batters. He looked to be in mid-season form. His curveball had more break than I have seen from him so far this spring. Surprise is the only stadium that has a radar reading. For those of you who care about such things, Zito was throwing a 71 MPH curve, 74-75 MPH change, what looked like a 78-79 MPH slider and a 85-88 MPH fastball. I thought he threw harder than that.......but I guess there is enough difference in his speeds that he can still pitch so well as long as he has his control and can get all of the pitches over the plate.

The Giants brought all their starters, except Pedro Feliz, to Surprise. The offense consisted entirely of HRs by Bonds, Durham (2), Aurilia, Niekro and Linden. They just could not get anyone on base other than by HR. ZERO walks and only 3 non-HR hits just killed them. Another disappointment was that 2 of the Giants' best relievers so far this spring, Vinnie Chulk and Osiris Matos, gave up 5 runs between them to blow the game. Billy Sadler had a good inning, giving up a walk, but facing the minimum by getting a DP and a strikeout.

The night game in Peoria featured Pedro Feliz as the only starter. The game featured a lot of real young Giants pitchers. Jonathan Sanchez started and looked pretty bad, throwing a ton of pitches in his 2 innings. Free agent Minor League signee, Dan Giese, pitched 3 beautiful 1 hit innings with 3 strikeouts. Pat Misch also pitched very well giving up only 2 hits, a walk and a run in his 2.2 innings. Misch is starting to look good to me if Taschner or Sanchez don't make the team as lefty relievers. Chris Begg struck out the only batter he faced and Brian Anderson had a 1-2-3 9th inning.

The kids, with only 2 HRs (Pedro Feliz & Chad Santos) managed something the vets couldn't do with 6.......win the game 5-3 over the Mariners.

Today is another young pitching day with the Giants facing the Rockies at Scottsdale. Matt Cain is supposed to start and be followed by Tim Lincecum. I am looking forward to this one. It's supposed to be 93 again today.......and my seats are in the sun in Scottsdale.........guess you can't have everything........but yesterday was REAL close.

The Giants brought only starters Omar Vizquel, Barry Bonds, Rich Aurilia and Bengie Molina to Tempe to face a team of mostly Angels' starters. In addition, Fred Lewis in LF, Justin Leone at 3B and Luis Figueroa at 2B (players with zero chance to make the team) started and played the entire game. So it wasn't overly surprising that the Giants were missing their offense again and lost 4-3. They scored only 1 run through 8 innings and only RBI singles by Klesko and pinch hitter Chad Santos in the 9th even made it a ballgame. The 7-8-9 hitters (Lewis, Leone & Figueroa) combined for a disappointing 1 for 11 with a walk. Lewis got the only walk.......he also struck out twice. Combine Ellison's 1 for 5 and you have 4 contiguous positions in the batting order going 2 for 16. Hard to score many runs that way. In addition, the players that replaced Vizquel, Bonds, Aurilia, Molina and Linden batted for a combined 2 for 8......both hits coming in the 9th inning.

The pitching, especially the bullpen, was much better today. The only blemish was the only pitcher I didn't get a photo of, David Cortes. Cortes had not given up a run and had only allowed 2 hits in 4 appearances so far this spring. He didn't have the same luck today, giving up 2 more hits while allowing the winning run and only tallying 1 out in the 9th inning. Not a great outing for David.

I pretty much covered the rest of the highlights as captions for the photos. Tomorrow I have a double header scheduled. I will be attending the Giants' split squad game in Surprise, against the Royals, at 1:05 PM. Then I will be attending the Giants' OTHER split squad game in Peoria, against the Mariners, at 7:05 PM. In all likelihood, I will not be taking a camera or a scorebook to either game. If I attend both games and then take the time to post here.......I will be spending 12 hours or so on baseball.......sorry but that is just too much like work. I think I will just enjoy the doubleheader........so shoot me ;-)

Rich Aurilia holds Gary Matthews Jr. on 1B. Rich was 1 for 3. In his 1st AB he hit a shot down the 3B line and the Angels' thirdbaseman, Chone Figgens, made a nice diving stop and threw him out at 1B. His only hit was a bloop single that was perfectly placed between the SS, 2B, CF and RF.

Barry Bonds has not looked good in his last couple of games. Here he is way out in front of an off-speed pitch. Today Bonds had a can-of-corn flyball to CF, a 3 pitch strikeout and a walk. Hey....at least the press can't say he doesn't go to away games.