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Spring Training Notes

Most of the talk regarding the Giants this spring has been about Barry Bonds and the teams' new ace Barry Zito, but the guys who are really making the headlines are the three young outfielders who have been tearing the cover off the ball. Two guys who seem to have been in the Giants' system for ever, Todd Linden and Jason Ellison, are finally emerging as two major league level hitters. Ellison leads the team in hitting this spring with a .609 average(14-23), and a team high 9 RBI's and 11 runs. Linden has been almost as hot, going 14-31 with a home run and 7 RBI's. Bruce Bochy said earlier in the spring that he had plans for Todd Linden, hinting that there was going to be room on the 25-man roster for Linden but if Ellison ends the spring hitting around .500, it's going to be extremely tough not to carry that bat north. Another guy who has emerged into the mix is Freddy Lewis. Lewis is the least likely guy to make the team out of the three, but he has broken out this spring with a .300 average and 8 RBI's so far. Lewis is very intriguing, he has the most speed out of any other outfielder on the 40-man roster, and it looks like his power and plate discipline are finally coming around and catching up with his legs. Lewis isn't going to make the team out of spring training unless Linden and Ellison go down before opening day, but he will be one of the first players called upon if the team is down an outfielder.

On the pitching front, it has been a week of mixed results for the Giants. Tim Lincecum showed his first glimpse of brilliance Sunday going 3 shutout innings, walking none, and striking out 4 Brewers. After the outing, Bochy informed everyone that Lincecum's most likely destination come April is in Fresno as a starting pitcher, which I think is the right move. It's way easier to make the transition from starting pitcher to reliever if the Giants decide to go that route with Lincecum. The same optimism isn't quite there for right now for Matt Morris. He had another horrible outing Monday giving up 7 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits in 2 innings of work raising his spring era to 16.20. I have faith that Morris will rebound from last year and figure it out by April, but I am starting to worry. I know the general consensus is that spring training doesn't matter a whole lot but it would be nice if this guy to put together a few good outings before the season starts. After the year he had last year and the way the spring has gone so far, even a veteran like Matt Morris needs to come out of spring with some good vibes.

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Anonymous said…
I wonder who will close if Benitez does get traded?
4:45 PM
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