Dodgers’ Dave Roberts says Giants manager Gabe Kapler is engaging in ‘gamesmanship’ with lineup announcements

Kapler did not announce his starting pitcher (Logan Webb) for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Dodgers until 7:30 AM local time. He did not reveal his starting lineup until 90 minutes before first pitch, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. In response, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed some combination of amusement and annoyance.

“It’s a little bit of gamesmanship, we’ll call it,” Roberts told reporters, including SB Nation’s Eric Stephens, prior to Saturday’s game. “To each, their own.”

It should be noted that Kapler is under no obligation to release any of the above information ahead of time. In that sense, the only “rule” he’s violating is an unwritten one between managers and teams. It should also be noted that Kapler has contemplated the legitimacy and value of that unwritten rule before, as The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly highlighted last week.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler, players kneel during anthem

Kapler, who is beginning his first season managing the Giants after two disappointing years guiding the Philadelphia Phillies, didn’t say how often he would kneel but noted, “We’re going to have 60 chances in the regular season to make the same decision that we made today, to either stand or kneel or do something different. Right now, it’s another opportunity tomorrow night.”
Kapler has been outspoken about social injustice and racial issues and athletes’ roles in helping spur positive change.
...
As he has in the past, President Donald Trump on Tuesday tweeted his thoughts on kneeling during the national anthem.

Giants prospect Ryan Halstead keeps arm ready thanks to sister Paige

Gabe Kapler leaned on positivity in his first camp as manager of the Giants, and while talking a few weeks ago about this hiatus, he said it’s been encouraging to see how players are using family members to get creative and stay in shape. He’ll surely get a kick out of what one of the organization’s prospects is doing to keep his arm ready.

Ryan Halstead, a pitcher in the upper minors, went somewhat viral this week when he posted a video of a game of catch. The right-hander is firing rockets across a residential street and they’re easily being snagged by his sister, Paige.

She was the starting catcher at UCLA, where she won the 2019 NCAA softball championship. Paige also spent three summers playing for Team USA.

Giants’ Farhan Zaidi explains how Buster Posey, Joey Bart can play together

Ever since the Giants selected catcher Joey Bart with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, questions began about what the Giants would do with Buster Posey. Both players’ strong performances in spring training this year didn’t exactly quiet the questions.

Bart, 23, opened eyes for the second straight spring, batting .438 with a 1.401 OPS and two home runs in nine games. A healthy Posey didn’t disappoint, though.

Posey, 33, hit .455 with a 1.206 OPS and went deep once. Players and coaches alike raved about how Posey looked this spring, and a big season could have been in order before the sports world was put on hold. If you ask president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, it’s clear flexibility is king, even when it comes to these two catchers co-existing.

“The fact that Buster’s played some first base and Joey’s a guy we want to move around a little bit—when you think about building the ultimate 13-man position roster, I think it’s a disadvantage to have a starting catcher and somebody who’s just a backup,” Zaidi said Thursday on KNBR’s “Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks.” “If you have two guys who are good offensive and defensive catchers who can play different positions, it almost gives you an extra half-roster spot with which you can try to match up and make sure your guys are fully rested.”

Ladies and gentlemen, how would you resolve this puzzle?

Why Giants, A’s fans would prefer to not have teams in same division

As an A’s or Giants fan it’s hard to wrap your mind around the idea of the two teams possibly becoming division foes after so many years in opposite leagues.

But in a potential MLB realignment proposal to bring baseball back in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, a new division would have Oakland and San Francisco competing against each other along with the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

The scenario took the geography of each organization’s spring training facility into account in aligning the divisions.

NBC Sports Bay Area asked fans of both teams whether they would enjoy seeing the Bay Bridge Series turn into a divisional rivalry, the result was a majority were not in favor, although the margin was slim.

Well, that makes for quite a division…..

How Giants, Farhan Zaidi might choose to use new 26th roster spot

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—As Giants veterans checked into camp last week, a couple of them referred to the 25-man roster in interviews. Like writing a new year on your checks, it’ll take a while for players to adjust to having a 26th man.

But on the second floor of the new facility at Scottsdale Stadium, there already have been plenty of conversations about it.

The front office has an extra roster spot to work with, and few executives will dig that more than Farhan Zaidi, who spent 2019 in an endless roster shuffle as he added depth and talent to the 40-man roster. Zaidi, general manager Scott Harris and manager Gabe Kapler have talked this spring of all the different ways they can go.

As the Giants go through their spring rotation for the first time, it’s far too early to project a full roster, especially in a camp where so many jobs are up for grabs. But we can take a look at how that roster will be impacted by the extra spot. The Giants will have 13 pitchers, that much we know. But what will they do with that 13th position player?

A story that will be of interest throughout the majors- wonder who will be getting these positions…..

How a rookie middle infielder could be the most interesting player in Giants camp

Mauricio Dubón has never played outfield in the minor leagues, but he could be the San Francisco Giants’ primary center fielder.
Dubón could be the Giants’ Opening Day shortstop or starting second baseman, but he might move around the diamond and play left field or first base, too.
Dubón can pinch-hit, pinch-run or enter as a defensive replacement at any number of positions, but the 25-year-old Honduras native has minor league options. Opening the season at Triple-A Sacramento remains a possibility.
The Giants don’t know where Dubón will play most often this year. They just believe Dubón should play a lot.
“I keep saying, I’m a baseball player so the more chances I have to get in the lineup, it’ll be good,” Dubón said.

Coming through the Red Sox system Dubon was credited with being a guy who really helped the Latin players integrate due to his language ability.  I’m rooting for him.

Why Giants brought in umpires for second round of bullpen sessions

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—When Andrew Suarez kicked at the dirt on the bullpen mound Saturday and looked in at his catcher, most of what he saw was similar to every other bullpen session of his life. There was one key difference, though: An umpire in full uniform crouched behind the catcher.

Suarez fired a fastball, and the umpire emphatically pointed a finger to his left, signaling a strike.

“It was different, but I liked it,” Suarez said. “You get a good feel for the plate.”

The Giants have made a lot of subtle changes to drills under manager Gabe Kapler and a 13-person coaching staff. Pitchers fielded pop-ups Sunday, an extreme rarity in a sport where the default move for a pitcher is to get out of the way and let an infielder take over. The outfield drills more closely resemble the NFL combine, with cones meticulously set up and coaches focusing on change-of-direction. But the biggest difference through a week of camp has been the addition of three real professional umpires to bullpen sessions.

Bay Bridge spanned: A’s, Giants make 1st trade since 1990

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The first baseball trade in almost 30 years between two teams separated only by a bay and a bridge happened Saturday, when the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics completed a deal.

In a move to add experience to their bullpen, the A’s got right-hander Burch Smith from the Giants for cash.

The last time Oakland and San Francisco made a trade was on Dec. 4, 1990, when the Athletics acquired outfielder Ernest Riles from the Giants for outfielder Darren Lewis and minor league pitcher Pedro Pena.

“So that broke the string, huh?” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.

Not sure what is stranger- how long it has been since those two teams have made a deal, or that the last deal they made was the year after one beat the other in the World Series…..

SF Giants spring training: Logan Webb debuts new pitches in 2020

With help from new director of pitching Brian Bannister and the Giants’ coordinator of pitching science Matt Daniels, he’s added to his repertoire to make his fastballs more effective. Instead of throwing four-seam and two-seam fastballs that have similar action, he now has three hard pitches that work off of one another.

When a right-handed batter steps to the plate against Webb this season, they could see a straight four-seam fastball, a two-seamer that runs in on their hands or a cutter that breaks toward the left-handed batter’s box.

“Bannister came in and he said with my arm slot, I have the perfect arm slot for this kind of two-seam and the cutter will work right off of that,” Webb said. “So I started messing around with it on flat grounds and it’s going really well.”

Hunter Pence’s return part of series of moves for Giants

SAN FRANCISCO—Former fan favorite Hunter Pence is returning to the San Francisco Giants, signing a contract that will give the young club a veteran presence in both the outfield and the clubhouse in a season of big change ahead.

The one-year deal is worth $3 million.

....

San Francisco also announced Friday it had signed outfielder Billy Hamilton and right-hander Nick Vincent to minor league contracts with spring training invitations.

The Giants also were working to finalize a deal with versatile infielder Wilmer Flores. Zaidi said it had not been completed as of Thursday.

In certain regards, the sort of deals one has grown very familiar with seeing as a Giants fan- wonder if the results will be any different than usual…...

Taking Back the Ballparks - Giants voting thread

We have selected four potential names as a replacement for the replacement for the replacement for PacBell Park, which, as corporate names go, wasn’t half-bad. They are listed below.

Choose one of the four choices, then add in the full name you prefer. If you like Pacific, but think it should be Pacific Grounds, choose C, then write in the preferred full name.

If you’d like to continue to debate the merits of the four choices, please do so at the nominating thread. Leave this thread just for voting, if you would.

And, it should go without saying that we are restricting this to one vote per Primate. And, just so you know, I’ve got Kobach on speed dial and that SOB is just itching to dig up some irregularities.

A) China Basin
B) Golden Gate
C) Pacific
D) West Bay

Edit: BTF’s winning selection has been boldfaced. It’s China Basin, unencumbered by any park, ballpark, stadium or grounds appendage.

Orlando Cabrera To Retire From Baseball

OH NO, EXPO!

Last season, Orlando Cabrera batted .238 with the Indians and Giants, posting a 61 OPS+. The season before that, he posted a 76 OPS+. The season before that, he posted an 85 OPS+. Orlando Cabrera has been declining, and just turned 37 years old. As a free agent, Cabrera didn’t drum up much interest, which I’m guessing is why he’s intending to hang ‘em up. Enrique Rojas:

  “Orlando Cabrera to retire from baseball, he said in Colombia radio station. Thanks for memories!”

Cabrera had a long career that’ll be difficult to forget. He debuted with the Expos in 1997, and remained there until the giant Nomar Garciaparra three-way trade in 2004. That year, with the Red Sox, Cabrera won a World Series. He wound up with the Angels, earning the unfortunate nickname “The Wizard of O.C.”, and then he wound up with the White Sox, and the A’s, and the Twins, and the Reds, and the Indians, and the Giants ... He remained a shortstop to the end, and collected 2,055 hits. He will always be remembered as a pest. An absolute pest.

Giants and Pablo Sandoval agree to a three-year, $17.15 million contract

That can buy 1,715,000 Kung Fu Panda dolls

While the Giants have some work to do in order to keep Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain for the long haul, they have at least locked up a key position player through his arbitration seasons.

The Giants just announced that they have agreed to a three-year contract with third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the deal is worth $17.15 million guaranteed and includes some performance-based incentives. He’ll make $3.2 million this season, $5.7 million in 2013 and $8.25 million in 2014.

Sandoval was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter after batting .315/.357/.552 with 23 home runs, 70 RBI and a .909 OPS over 117 games in 2011. The 25-year-old owns a .307/.356/.501 batting line over his first four seasons in the majors. If he can stay in shape and continue to produce similar numbers, he’ll be a tremendous bargain.

Tim Lincecum asks $21.5M in arbitration

That’s still just barely more than what Barry Zito will make.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum asked for $21.5 million in salary arbitration Tuesday and was offered $17 million by the club.

The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner’s request neared the record amount sought in arbitration. Houston pitcher Roger Clemens asked for $22 million in 2005.

San Francisco’s offer was the highest in arbitration history, topping the $14.25 million the New York Yankees proposed for shortstop Derek Jeter in 2001.

“I’m overall optimistic that we’ll find common ground without a hearing room,” Bobby Evans, Giants vice president of baseball operations, said before seeing Lincecum’s filing numbers. “It’s a process that begins long before today in terms of conversations about possible deals that work for both sides. That process has continued in a mutual fashion. At this point we haven’t reached a conclusion.”

Lincecum, the winning pitcher in the Game 5 World Series clincher at Texas in 2010, earned $13.1 million last season and completed a two-year deal worth $23.2 million.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

BN: A Proposal To Break The Territorial-Rights Logjam Between The A’s And The Giants

With a doff of the chapeau to Mr. Calcaterra, a modest proposal indeed:

All of the two-team territories but one share the same counties: the Yankees and Mets; the White Sox and Cubs; and the Dodgers and Angels. Only the Giants and A’s split the counties surrounding their home cities. The A’s territory includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties; the Giants’ territory includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Marin counties, “plus Santa Clara County with respect to another major league team.” San Jose is in Santa Clara county.

St. Louisian Don Mueller, former big-league star, dies

Don Mueller...

St. Louis native Don Mueller, who led the majors in hits in 1954 and roamed the outfield with Willie Mays of the New York Giants, died on Wednesday. He was 84.

Mueller, who played at CBC, was signed by the Giants in 1944 and made his big-league debut four years later.

At age 23, he became a starter for the Giants in right field and hit .291 in his first full season.

...A career .296 hitter, Mueller became known as “Mandrake the Magician.” He finished his career with two seasons with the White Sox in 1958 and 59.

Oakland Athletics Will Be Granted Permission To Move To San Jose, According To Report

Rosicrucia

n

l Park!

The Oakland Athletics may not be in Oakland for much longer, if new reports about the prove true: USA Today writer Bob Nightengale reports that sources say the Athletics will be granted permission to move to San Jose by February.

This move has been a possibility simmering on a back burner for some time now; Rob Neyer wrote about the potential of the San Jose A’s in September. But while it has been a possibility for many years, with the A’s looking to improve their accommodations from the outdated O.co Coliseum to a new ballpark and/or get out from under the shadow of the successful San Francisco Giants, this new approval may accelerate a timeline to get the A’s out of the city they have called home since 1968.

Schulman: Giants: The winter of our disconnect

Coherentism rocks! Sabean’s team-building philosophy rolls!

I’m bringing up ancient history because it is very relevant this morning in illustrating Sabean’s team-building philosophy.

Sabean always has believed that it makes little sense to have one or two big players if the supporting cast is weak. He would rather own a room full of toys than one Xbox 360. He was ripped for that philosophy in 1996, ripped for it again after the 2003 season when he didn’t make a move for Vlad Guerrero and is being ripped for it today. But he is not budging.

...Two months later, we know it’s not going to be this way. If the Giants’ heavy lifting is over, Cabrera and Angel Pagan will have been the primary additions for 2012. I must admit I think folks are underestimating Cabrera’s potential impact. The guy did come to bat 706 times for Kansas City last year and hit .305/.340/.470 with 18 home runs from the second spot in the order and playing 81 home games in a pitchers’ park. An outlier year? Kind of hard to say that when the guy is supposed to be 27 years old.

To compete for another division title, the Giants are banking on a healthy Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez, a fitter and more determined Huff in another contract year, Panda being Panda, a few more hits from Brandon Crawford, the potential emergence of Brandon Belt, better defense and athleticism, and the usual strong pitching staff, which largely remained intact.

NYT: Bonds Avoids Prison - Sentenced To 30 Days Home Confinement

Starts with GWB’s attack in the State of the Union, ends with a whimper. Parallels to Iraq at your own risk.

Baseball America’s Top 10 Prospects: San Francisco Giants

Come back Kenny Kolkhorst, wherever you are.

1. Gary Brown, OF
2. Tommy Joseph, 1B/C
3. Heath Hembree, RHP
4. Joe Panik, SS
5. Francisco Peguero, OF
6. Andrew Susac, C
7. Eric Surkamp, LHP
8. Kyle Crick, RHP
9. Ehire Adrianza, SS
10. Hector Sanchez, C

The current strength of San Francisco’s system is in position players, led by speedster Gary Brown and longball threat Tommy Joseph. Brandon Belt, who graduated to the majors in 2011, could make an impact for years to come. Scouting director John Barr added two polished college hitters in the 2011 draft, with St. John’s shortstop Joe Panik in the first round and Oregon State catcher Andrew Susac in the second.

However, the Giants don’t have another can’t-miss position player like Posey in the system. He’s determined to catch again and club officials will relent to his wishes, but they’ve talked about moving their best hitter out of harm’s way in the not too distant future.

Buster Posey’s leg rehabilitation progressing nicely in Georgia | SFGiants.com: News

Giants catcher Buster Posey is continuing his smooth recovery from extensive left leg injuries and appears poised to intensify his training, head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said Friday.

Interpreting Scott Boras’ Comments On Prince Fielder: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

The big concern for anyone signing Prince is that he will age like his father.

There has been some talk of Boras trying to get Fielder signed to a three or four year contract, so that Prince gets another bite at the free agency apple. That strategy, I would think, would work best for teams and Prince’s long-term earnings. Of course, who knows what silly offer could already be on the table? I am just glad the Red Sox already have Adrian Gonzalez.

Episode 60: ZiP It, Thomas

Noticed on Twitter that Szym did a long Giants podcast, so I figured I’d send it to Repoz since Szym didn’t.