Results tagged ‘ Kevin Frandsen ’
Let The Festivities Begin!
I
love Fan Fest! It carries a whiff of Opening Day which is, in and of itself,
the most exciting day in baseball (excluding, perhaps, the playoffs). This
year, the unceasing rains mercifully parted and us fans were able to amble
across the sandy shoals of AT&T Park such as it was after the grass was
skinned off for a recent motorcross meet. I got there at one o’clock after the morning crush and walked through the Giants clubhouse, past Bruce Bochy‘s office and out to the Giants dugout. I brought my new Olympus ultra zoom camera that I’m unfamiliar with so those interior shots were too blurred to publish. Bummer. But a fellow fan took my picture in the dugout so I have that up on my home page now.
Lots
of fans brought their children so they could play catch with them on the field
which was very cool. I walked up to my bleacher seat and was delighted to
confirm that my new ultra zoom camera is going to give me great shots of the
batters this season! I also discovered the seat behind me is up for sale so if
any of my devoted fans out their which to enhance their sfgyrosfan experience exponentially,
just let me say that I am an unattached sensitive man who likes garlic fries
under klieg lights and long moonlit strolls along the Port Walk. J
There
were long, looong lines for autographs… even for Kevin Frandsen. (Sorry,
KevinJ) Actually, Kevin
looked pretty chiseled and determined with a slight beard. (Unfortunately, his
picture was blurred as were most of my close up shots.) Gone is the “aw shucks”
rookie persona of previous seasons. I really do wish him well. I took a zoom
shot of Brian Wilson being interviewed by “Fitz and Brooks” from the
Club Level. Up there, I saw Will Clark signing autographs with Madison
Bumgartner. Despite its blurriness, I published this profile picture of the
classic Nuschler.
After
wandering to the other end of the forbidden, ultra chic Club Level to briefly
listen to a Q&A session with Tito Fuentes and a couple other Giants
development personnel whom I didn’t recognize, I retraced my steps to the
autograph booth to see who was signing now. The chairs were empty and there was
still a long line of people waiting for the next shift to begin. So, I asked
the usher in charge if she was looking for volunteers. After a momentary pause,
she smiled and said, “No.” Ha ha.
I
went down to the shop and bought a nice, new orange “Giants” jersey like the
kind the players are going to wear on Friday nights at home. They normally sell
for $115 but, for today only, I bought one for $45. They are very cool. I’ll be
wearing mine to all the “Orange Fridays” night games this year. Go Giants!
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas…
…and at AT&T
Park… not a free agent was calling… not even as a lark….
So Nick Johnson preferred the Big Apple and Brad
Penny the Big Arch. And no seasoned catcher worth his salt is willing to sign a
contract for just one year. In a way, that suits me just fine. I much prefer
the Giants’ “wait-and-see” attitude this year over their customary
“willy-nilly” signing of the first free agent coming down the turnpike that
gave us the likes of Edgardo Elfonzo, Ray Durham, Randy Winn, Barry Zito, Aaron
Rowand just to name a few who achieved mixed results here before. I’m willing to wait
this off-season and see what develops in the free agent market if the Giants are.
Common wisdom dictates that the Giants must acquire a
power bat or two to protect Pablo Sandoval in the middle of the batting order.
I dispute that notion for two reasons: (1) The Panda does not need protection
because he is a notoriously bad ball hitter. Many times last year, he took
pitches a foot outside and slapped them into the opposite field for hits. He is
not at all like Barry Bonds who would not offer at pitches even a few inches
off the plate and thereby broke the major league record for walks in the process. (2)
Without a primary power hitter, the Giants can still thrive as a singles
hitting team in much the way the St. Louis Cardinals were
successfully constructed in the 1980′s. If Bam Bam Meulens convinces the Giants
to become much more patient and selective at the plate next year, AT&T Park
is conducive to an offensive strategy of small ball. Adding a strong defense
and a superlative pitching staff, just averaging four runs per game for the
Giants will achieve excellent results next year.
My biggest concern is whether Aaron Rowand can dial it
down and retool his approach at the plate next year. Many times last year, I
saw him take mighty swings with spotty results. But he had his best stretch of
the season last year while batting lead off and just taking the ball up the
middle for singles and doubles. Also remember that Fred Lewis started
off the season last year red hot while batting low in the order. It was only
when Bruce Bochy promoted him to lead off that Fred’s production waned
precipitously and he never fully recovered. Perhaps he will rebound next year by
batting lower in the order. Also, Travis Ishikawa batted .349 at AT&T Park
last year while only .162 on the road. If he can improve his consistency, he would be
a valuable contributor next year.
I just heard a radio report that the Giants were
closing in on signing Juan Uribe for next year. If true, that would keep most of
last year’s team intact. I would construct the lineup in this order: Velez
(Torres); Sanchez (Burriss); Schierholz (Bowker); Sandoval (Uribe); Ishikawa
(Bowker/Guzman); Rowand (Lewis); Posey/Whitesides; Renteria (Burriss). This
presumes that Emmanuel Burriss will beat out Kevin Frandsen again next year for
a spot on the team. Of course the Giants will buy a free agent this off-season.
They cannot afford not to or risk a general uprising by its fan base. And I
expect they will wait until spring training before acquiring a short-term catcher on
the cheap. I noticed ex-Giant Eliezer Alfonzo is available. That would be a
nice reunion.
Well, the Winter Solstice has passed and now the days
are getting longer. I won’t be long until pitchers and catchers report to spring
training and it all begins anew. So until that time, stay warm and let the
visions of sugar plums dance in your heads. Merry Christmas to all and… Go Giants!
Just Another Night At The Zoo
Take
one part Los Angeles Dodgers, throw in a good measure of pennant race fever,
add a warm Friday night, and mix it all together within an AT&T Park filled
with Giants fans and you’ve got yourself a potent potable (if not an outright
explosive substance). Enjoy! And I certainly intended to as I arrived to the
park at 4:30 to watch both teams take batting practice.
Matt
Cain did not start the game sharp. Although he got lead off hitter shortstop
Rafael Furcal out on a spectacular diving catch by Nate Schierholtz in
rightfield, rightfielder Andre Ethier hit a single to leftfielder Eugenio Velez
on a full count. And although the doubly hated and feared leftfielder Manny
Ramierez struck out looking at an 87 mph slider on a full count, centerfielder
Matt Kemp hit another single to left field. And then, when two out in the
inning, James Loney nailed a double over Nate Schierholtz‘s head and into
Triple’s Alley for a stand-up double and a two run Dodgers lead.
Tonight,
the Giants could not answer the Dodgers until the second inning when catcher
Bengie Molina led off with a single to leftfield followed on the next pitch
with a double into the right field corner by third baseman Juan Uribe sending
Bengie to third with no outs. Nate Schierholtz moved the runners over and the
first run on the board with a ground out Rafael Belliard at second base. But
Juan Uribe died at third when centerfielder Aaron Rowand impatiently swung at
two inside pitches from Hiroki Kuroda finally grounding out to Hiroki Kuroda at
third base and shortstop Edgar Renteria grounding out to his counterpart for
the last out. 2-1 would be as close the Giants would get to the Dodgers
tonight.
After
Matt Cain threw 31 pitches in the first inning, he threw 54 more from the
second through fifth innings giving up just two walks and a single to catcher
Casey Martin. During that span (from the third through the fifth innings) the
Giants went three-up, three down on just 29 pitches from crafty Hiroki Kuroda.
And
then the sixth inning happened. After getting the first two Dodgers out, James
Loney hit a home run for his third RBI of the game. That was as bad as Casey
Blake‘s home run just three pitches later for a 4-1 Dodgers lead. It’s
interesting to note that Matt Cain‘s second pitch to Casey Blake seemed to
catch much of the outer plate, thigh high; especially considering the strike
calls Hiroki had been enjoying.
I’m
not one to carp gratuitously on umpire’s calls but when a pattern of bias
appears to be established, I’m not shy about calling that fact out to the
responsible party. I asked home plate ump Brian Gorman where he was from.
Pacoima? Toluca Lake? When he did finally call a strike, I agreed that Matt’s
pitch was “right down El Segundo!” I know it’s obscure but if Brian was from
the Southland, he knew of which I spoke.
So
once Matt Cain was able to struggle through the rest of the Dodgers lines and
finally get the final out with a strike out against Hiroki Kuroda, he was
lifted in the bottom of the inning for Fred Lewis who could only manage to
ground out five feet to the catcher for the first out. The next two batters
were also dispatched on five pitches and the Dodgers lead stayed 4-1.
And
then the seventh inning happened. The first three Dodgers in the line up all
singled against reliever Merkin Valdez for a 5-1 lead. When Merkin walked Matt
Kemp to load the bases, he was lifted for Bob Howry. No “Neuvo Roberto” this
night. After a sacrifice fly by James Loney for a 6-1 lead, Casey Blake hit a
single and Russell Martin hit a double for a 9-1 lead by the time Hiroki Kuroda
struck out again to end the inning again.
At
this point, the only thing to do is to have fun… or fight. And, although there
were plenty of rumbles in the bleachers in the late inning causing security
personnel and uniformed policepersons scurrying all around the premises, my
section stayed relatively calm. There were a couple of elder “vato-ish” sitting
to my left but the just laughed off some of the comments directed at them. And
when the slaughter was in full flower, I shushed at them while they laughed and
celebrated at us warning then, “Those are the last runs you’re going to score
this weekend! You’d better enjoy them!” And there was another big, large
Dodgers fan with a 99 Ramirez jersey on who would stand up and taunt us at not
so crucial moments to which the funny, drunk young man would retort, “When are
you due, Manny?” Sit down before your baby drops!” “You shouldn’t be drinking
beer while you’re pregnant, Manny!”
In
the top of the eighth, Bruce Bochy finally treated us to a glimpse of the
future. He started the inning with this substituted lineup: Eugenio Velez LF;
Rich Aurilia 3B; Travis Ishikawa 1B; Kevin Frandsen 2B; Joe Martinez P; Nate
Schierholtz RF; John Bowker 1B; Ryan Rohlinger SS; and… Buster Posey catching!
This is what I had been waiting all season long to see. And although Joe
Martinez gave up the 10th Dodgers run with a walk to Manny Ramirez
and a double to Matt Kemp (all with two out), the young Giants answered with
their second run of the night when John Bowker triples into Triples Alley and
scored on Ryan Rohlinger‘s ground out.
But
Buster Posey struck out looking at a 94 mph fastball from Hiroki Kuroda to end
the inning and end his maiden at bat in the big leagues. And the Dodgers scored
their tenth run in the top of the ninth inning to lead 10-2 which is only
notable to mention because, in the bottom of the ninth with the crowd clearly
things, a gaggle of pre-teen girls gathered behind me to jump, yell, scream,
dance, and chant to their hearts’ delight. They call out to now centerfielder
Eugenio Velez if they could meet Aaron Rowand. And in the bottom of the ninth,
they invented the chant, “NINE IN THE NINTH!!! … NINE IN THE NINTH!!! … NINE IN THE
NINTH!!!” It was not only humorous, it even worked to the extent the Giants got yet another run on a two out rally no less via a single by Travis ishikawa followed by a double by Kevin Frandsen off of reliever Ramon Troncoso to make the final score of the night 10-3.
Those young ladies also represent the future of the Giants franchise insofar as if their enthusiasm in this dynamic product can be sustained for another two or more years with exciting playoff-caliber baseball, they and their fellow youthful “demographic” will imprint a fertile, growing fan base that will sustain the ball club throughout the next generation to come.
The Rockies won last night. The Giants’ prospects are slipping. But through it all, the Giants fans are remaining true and loyal. We fans like this team. It has character we can identify with and believe in. And if it is not meant to happen in 2009, it will get better in 2010. Go Giants!
It Was The Worst Of Times…
…
and even the worster of times. It was a day game after a night game and we were
still playing the lowly Padres who haven’t played so lowly lately, and
especially against the Giants this season. The crowd was sparse this Wednesday
afternoon giving me (and the rest of the bleacher fans) the chance to spread
out like we used to do at Candlestick Park and soak in the sunshine. Barry Zito
was throwing the longest long toss I’ve ever seen him throw warming up and I
shouted to him that the date was 9-9-9 and anything could happen hoping to give
him visions of great possibilities.
But,
alas it was not meant to be. The first batter of the game, shortstop Everth
Cabrera grounded down the right field line but after Pablo Sandoval speared the
ball running into foul ground, he turned to throw it to Barry covering first
but Barry was nowhere close to the bag and Pablo had to eat the ball. So it was
only natural that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez later banged out a single thereby driving in
the first run of the game.
And
Everth Cabrera later walked to lead off the third inning (after having an 0-2
count) and came into score the Padres’ second run just ahead of Adrian
Gonzalez‘ third run (and third RBI) via a home run blast into the leftfield bleachers
for a 3-0 lead.
Valiantly,
the Giants immediately answered the Padres in the bottom of the third inning with
rightfielder Nate Schierholtz‘s one-out single to the opposite (left) field off
of soft tossing rookie pitcher Wade LeBlanc followed by lead off hitter Andres
Torres‘ home run over the centerfield wall to make it 3-2.
But
the Giants could not get any closer. A no out, two on situation in the fourth
inning died when Edgar Renteria hit a routine 6-4-3 double play to close out
the inning.
The
Giants couldn’t get another runner on base until the eighth inning which, by
that time, they trailed 4-2 on the strength of Oscar Salazar‘s solo home run
leading off the sixth inning.
Beginning
the eighth inning, both Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz drew walks off of
Wade LeBlanc which kicked him out of the game and brought in reliever Luke
Gregerson. Manager Bruce Bochy then sent up the seemingly star-crossed rookie Kevin
Frandsen (just brought up again from AAA Fresno) to bunt the batters over. But with a 3-1 count, Kevin inexplicably flicked a bunt attempt at Luke Gregerson‘s inside pitch while simultaneously running
towards first as if he was going to try and beat it out for a base hit. But all he did was pop the the ball
up high to third baseman Chase Headley for the first out of the inning.
The
crowd booed lustily as well they should. Part of it was for Frandsen’s
inability to execute a simple sacrifice bunt but I also think part of it was directed to manager Bruce
Bochy‘s decision to send the relatively inexperienced Kevin Frandsen up in a
crucial situation when he had many more experienced players on the expanded
bench to choose from. Heck, I would’ve liked to have seen Buster Posey up there to swing away
instead.
The
air was well out of the crowd by the time Eugenio Velez (pinch hitting for
Andres Torres who had already hit a home run today, fergoshdarnsakes) struck
out on a slider at his back foot. And Freddy Sanchez‘s popup to the shortstop
to end the eighth inning did nothing to calm down the crowd.
However,
to their credit, the Giants battled back again in the ninth inning off of Padres
closer Heath Bell when Pablo Sandoval lead off the inning with a line drive up the middle.
But at first base he stayed while Bengie Molina flied out to deep rightfield, Juan
Uribe struck out, and Edgar Renteria forced Panda out a second with a routine
grounder to shortstop.
So
the Giants drifted further back from the Rockies in the Wild Card Race today. But at
least there were pretty girls in the stands to brighten my mood a smidge and we now have the Dodgers and Rockies coming in next. So just when you think the
2009 Giants are out of it, they seem to have the knack to pick themselves off of the
ground and crawl back into contention. We shall see….
It should be very interesting weekend. Go Giants!
I’m Back, Back, Back!
“A
View From the Sickbed” would have been an appropriate title for my MLB Blog
last month. I was laid low on June 11th; the day before the Giants’
solitary home stand that month. Whooping cough. Pneumonia. Tuberculosis.
Bubonic plague. Whatever it was had me incapacitated and sleepless in San
Francisco for over a week before I finally went to the hospital for relief from
my bubbly lungs and wheezy hacking. And the Giants’ early July home stand began
the exact day my family’s annual summer vacation at the beach also began so I
missed all those games too save for the Sunday closer against the Padres. I arrived at the ballpark Sunday morning just as the gates were opening. Even
still, I had to keep walking down Third Street across the Lefty O’Doul Bridge
and left to the Willie McCovey bronze statue by the bay to get into line so I
could receive my Brian Wilson bobblehead doll. It wasn’t as crazy as the Tim
Lincecum bobblehead doll day so I received mine a half hour later. I was very
pleased.
Barry Zito threw the first pitch on this beautiful day to shortstop Everth Cabrera at 1:05
p.m. Everth slapped Barry’s second offering into left field for a single. After
rookie centerfielder Will Venable took a called strike, he laid down Barry’s
next pitch for a bunt single. (See first picture above.) Barry got two quick
strikes on third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff but then threw a very close pitch
taken for ball two. The next pitch was sent screaming into the left-centerfield
bleachers near me for a three run home run before the first out of the game was
ever recorded. Barry then immediately settled down and got six of the next
seven Padre batters out interrupted only by second baseman Luis Rodriguez‘s one
out single into centerfield in the second inning.
Meanwhile,
the Giants tried to answer the Padres’ initial three runs with singles by right
fielder Randy Winn (see second picture above) and third baseman Pablo Sandoval
in the first inning. But ex-Giants pitcher Kevin Correia induce catcher Benji
Molina to ground into a routine around the horn double play to end the threat.
So when ex-Giants catcher Eliezer Alfonso crushed a two-out, first pitch
fastball deep into the leftfield bleachers for another three run homer on the
third inning the game was virtually out of reach for the scoreless Giants at
that point. And when three of the first four Padre batters reached base on
singles in the fifth inning, it was all over for Barry Zito except the booing
he received as he sprinted from the mound to the dugout. And it was all over
for the Giants except playing out the second half of the game when those
runners all came around to score stretching the Padres’ lead to 9-0.
But,
to their credit, the Giants did not go gentle into that good sunny afternoon.
Rookie leftfielder John Bowker hit got his first hit of the season in the
bottom of the fifth inning with a 420′ fly ball into the right-centerfield
bleachers for a solo home run. And the Giants managed a modest two out rally in
the sixth inning when Benji Molina jogged into second base after bouncing a fly
over Will Venable‘s glove and high off the centerfield wall. After pinch hitter
Nate Schierholtz walked, both shortstop Edgar Renteria and now first baseman
John Bowker knocked full count pitches into the outfield for singles and a run
batted in leaving the score 9-3 when Kevin Correia left the game and Luke
Gregerson came in to strike out second baseman Juan Uribe on three pitches to
end the threat. After that, the Giants’ bats fell silent until the end of the
game.
Local
product Will Venable stroked a Merkin Valdez pitch over the fence in the eighth
inning to pump not only the Padres’ score into double digits but his batting
average from .196 before the game up all the way to .233 thereby obliterating
the proverbial Mendoza Line. In response, local product Kevin Frandsen led off
the ninth inning pinch hitting a single off of Padres closer heath bell thereby
pumping his batting average up twenty-seven points to .088. Thereafter, the
Giants scored Kevin Frandsen with their fourth and final run of the day when
leftfielder Fred Lewis knocked a double down the leftfield line into the corner
for an easy double. It wasn’t a pretty game but it was a pleasant day in the
stands. The Padres fans (above) weren’t too obnoxious. The sunshine helped my
continuing recovery. And I got my prized B-Wizzy bobblehead doll. Go Giants!
Betwixt a Bobblehead and a Bubblehead
Sunday was no ordinary day at the ballpark. By 2:00 p.m., throngs of thousands were already stretched out in lines meandering around the perimeter of AT&T Park like spaghetti-like strands of DNA with each human genome therein seeking their own personal Tim Lincecum bobblehead. I linked up to the centerfield entrance centipede but by 3:10, ten minutes after the gates opened, those bobblehead supplies ran out. So I ran over to join the leftfield entrance centipede but by the time I got to within sight of that entrance at 3:20, I could see that those supplies had also been exhausted.
Giving up, I walked back up King Street only to spot those little boxed prizes still being given away at the main entrance. So I joined that formless mass and by the time I squeezed through the turnstile, I happily received my unexpected reward; a bobblehead of the 2008 Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. By the time I got to my seat, Mets starting pitcher, Mike Pelfrey (above), was already warming up by throwing long toss with his catcher, Omir Santos. As the evening evolved, Mike Pelfrey would emulate a bobblehead himself by issuing three balks to Giants runners that had a direct bearing on the final outcome of the game.
Even before the ESPN televised game of the week began at 5:05, the sold out ballpark was already nearly filled to capacity (above). The Mill Valley Middle School Choir (below) sang our National Anthem. And then, amid nearly perfect summer weather, the game began with Alex Cora blooping a double in front of the diving centerfielder Aaron Rowand. Although Luis Castillo sacrificed Alex Cora to third base, Carlos Beltran bounced out to first baseman Travis Ishikawa and Gary Sheffield likewise to second baseman Eugenio Velez leaving Alex Cora stranded at third. On the other hand, the Giants batters started out their first inning with two outs before Pablo Sandoval singled and, after a bobble or a bumble (actually a stumble off the mound) by Mike Pelfrey thereby sending Pablo Sandoval down to second base, catcher Bengie Molina drove in the Giants’ first run with a single. Then things got very interesting.
Pitcher Matt Cain walked the first three Mets he faced in the second inning. But on a 2-1 count, first baseman Jeremy Reed smacked a one hop shot to Travis Ishikawa who threw a strike home to force out David Wright and then received Bengie Molina‘s return throw to complete the double play. After that, it took Matt Cain only eight pitches to finally get Mike Pelfrey out and keep the Mets scoreless. I’ve seen Travis Ishikawa make several throws this season and they all seem to be right on the (big) money. If the Giants ever need a position player to take the mound in an emergency, I nominate that lefty Travis “Ish” to toss the pill to the “dish”. Another Travis Ishikawa bon mot for the night was when he was batting against 40-year old rookie Ken Takahashi leading off the seventh inning. With two strikes and protecting the plate, Travis took a one handed swing at Ken’s pitch that was very low and away only to single smartly through the infield. For just that one moment, I felt like I knew what it was like to watch baseball in Japan.
Matt Cain continued to struggle beyond the second inning. He threw two more walks and two more hits over the next three innings until he had his first three up/three down inning in the sixth which was his last. But before that, Matt Cain helped his own cause in the fifth inning when Mike Pelfrey balked Aaron Rowand to second base from whence he eventually scored the Giants’ second run on Matt Cain‘s surprising two strike single to centerfield. All in all, Mike Pelfrey committed three balks during the game. What a bubblehead!
Bob Howry pitched through Jeremy Reed‘s single in the seventh inning but when he gave up a walk to Luis Castillo leading off the eighth inning, Jeremy Affeldt came in and immediately gave up a line drive double off the leftfield wall to Carlos Beltran. With no out and two runs behind, Luis Castillo played it safe and held up at third base. But when Jeremy Affeldt struck out Gary Sheffield looking at a nasty 95 mph slider on the outside corner of the plate, it was a no brainer to walk the radioactive David Wright on four pitches to load the bases. Then pinch hitter Angel Pagan grounded his second pitch to newly recalled rookie Kevin Frandsen at shortstop who shoveled the ball immediately to newly installed second baseman rookie Emmanuel Burriss who pivoted and slung the ball quickly to rookie Travis Ishikawa at first base completing the double play and the eighth inning.
Amazingly, the Giants still led 2-0 after twelve Mets had reached base in the first eight innings. Enter Brian Wilson. No teeth gnashing, nail biting, and/or hair pulling tonight. Brian dispatched the bottom of the Mets line up in short order punctuated by a 99 mph strike out of Jeremy Reed (above). After pinch hitter Ramon Castro grounded out to third baseman Pablo Sandoval, the Giants walked off the field victoriously for the first time since the Tuesday night game against the Nationals. This was an unorthodox victory but one that we will gladly take in a heartbeat… or a bobblehead. Go Giants!
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