The Giants Baseball Blog

We've finally arrived back at the starting point! After a memorable season in 2010, one no Giant fan will ever forget, the Giants are back for more in 2011. The 2011 regular season starts Thursday night for San Francisco, as they travel into LA to play the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. Here is the projected Opening Day Lineup for both teams with some game preview notes to follow: San Francisco Giants w/roster Lineup: 1. Andres Torres CF 2. Freddy Sanchez 2B 3. Aubrey Huff RF 4. Buster Posey C 5. Pat Burrell LF 6. Pablo Sandoval 3B 7. Brandon Belt 1B 8. Miguel Tejada SS 9. Tim Lincecum P _______________________________ LA Dodgers 1. Rafael Furcal SS 2. James Looney 1B 3. Matt Kemp CF 4. Andre Eithier RF 5. Casey Blake 3B 6. Juan Uribe 2B 7. Jay Gibbons LF 8. Rod Barajas C 9. Clayton Kershaw P Both teams start their hopes for a positive 2011, but the Dodgers have a lot further to go. Casey Blake will be a game time decision and if he's out, that means Uribe's hitting 5th and Jam...

At the beginning of the spring, way back when pitchers and catchers reported to Scottsdale in mid-February, I did a post on the biggest three focuses of the spring for San Francisco. And, as the Giants get set to take on the Dodgers Thursday to start the season, here's what we got from the questions: 1.) IS BRANDON BELT READY: Ah, in a word, YES! He didn't exactly tear up Cactus League pitching, but he showed exactly why the Giants are so fond of him and why he's going to be so good in this league. He's patient at the plate, clutch, drives in runs, has power, can hit to all fields, and even is slick over there fielding first base. Belt hit .279 with 3 HR and 13 RBI. The injury to Cody Ross further increased his chances of making it, but at the same, the Giants have other options too. I'd like to see him up there to start with, but when it's all said and done, I have a feeling he'll end up in Fresno, a la Posey in '10. It that's indeed the case, he ...

It's not quite regular season yet, but we're just 4 days away from the opener, and the Giants, along with the rest of baseball, has migrated north to their home towns as they prepare to play the final few exhibition games of the spring at big league stadiums. For the first time since the 2010 World Series, the Giants will take the field at AT&T Park, although we probably won't witness the same lineup that will take the field Thursday in Los Angeles. But these next 2 days are essentially the last day of the spring for the regulars, so we should see at least a few of them out there tonight. In fact, if I were Boch, I'd try out a projected openi ng day lineup tonight, and let then take it easy Tuesday and Wednesday. Without Cody Ross out 3 weeks, it's unclear who will start the year in right. I've been advocating for Aubrey Huff moving out there while Brandon Belt handles 1st, and if there's ever a day to try that out, it's tonight. Huff would get a tas...

Here is our picks for the major National and American league post-season awards, as well as the playoff tree and how we think things will transpire this October. American League Awards AL MVP : Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NY - He's looked terrific this spring and says he feels as healthy as ever. A .330/40/130/1.000 version of ARod is more of what I'm expecting, as long as that healthy holds up all year. Plus, the Yankees should be in the playoffs too, which will certainly help his case. ( Others To Watch: Adrian Gonzalez, Bos; Joe Mauer, Min ) AL CY YOUNG : Jon Lester, SP, Bos .- He's quietly been getting better and better as the season's go on, and he's still mighty young at 26. After his 19-9, 2.72 era, 222 K performance in '10, I expect another step in the positive direction for Lester, who with that Boston team, could easily win 22 games this year with increasing strikeout numbers and a further dropping era. ( Others to Watch: David Price, TB; Justin Verlander, D...

We're a week away from opening day, and we've finally reached the last installment of the divisional previews. The West looks to be really a two-horse race between the Giants and Rockies, but the Dodgers could creep into the picture as well. Plus, with so much going on, we have installed another "double-post" today, so scroll on down for the Giants News portion! ______________________________________ 1st Place - San Francisco Giants Lineup: CF Andres Torres 2B Freddy Sanchez 1B Aubrey Huff C Buster Posey RF Cody Ross* LF Pat Burrell 3B Pablo Sandoval SS Miguel Tejada Rotation/Set-up/Closer RHP Tim Lincecum RHP Matt Cain LHP Jonathan Sanchez LHP Madison Bumgarner LHP Barry Zito SU: Javier Lopez CL: Brian Wilson* * Will start year on DL Whether or not they hit that hot streak at the end of the year again remains to be seen, but the Giants have a better team entering 2011 than the team they won the World Series with last fall. They have more depth with a healthy Mark De...

The Giants are getting a better idea on what they're dealing with in their two injured players, Cody Ross and Brian Wilson, and it appears both will be in tennis shoes for the March 31st opener. The Giants made it pretty clear Thursday that they expect both Ross and Wilson to start the season on the DL , which comes to a surprise to very few. Neither are dealing with serious injuries, but both are nagging issues that if not taken care of early, could hamper them all year long, so if it's a matter or losing them for the first few weeks of the year vs. having them try to play opening day in pain, I take option A. Ross will be sidelined for at least 3 weeks which means the earliest he returns would be mid-April. Since that seems to be the case, it looks like it will open up a roster spot for Brandon Belt to make this team, and quite possibly be in the opening day lineup. It's a matter of who Boch will feel comfortable with out in right field in place of Ross. Offens...

The NL Central is another division that is going to be a tough one to pick. There are 4 teams that are pretty could finish within a handful of games of each other, largely depending on health. Here's how I think it will go down in 2011: _______________________________________ 1st Place - Milwaukee Brewers Lineup: 2B Rickie Weeks CF Carlos Gomez LF Ryan Braun 1B Prince Fielder RF Corey Hart* 3B Casey McGee SS Yuniesky Betancourt C Jonathan Lucroy Rotation/Closer: RHP Zach Grienke* RHP Yovani Gallardo RHP Shawn Marcum LHP Randy Wolf LHP Chris Narveson CL: John Axford *DL'ed till end of April If the Brewers can get that starting rotation healthy and keep it that way, they should beat out the Cardinals and Reds, but it's going to be a tight race. They have a the front-end rotation to pitch in a playoff series, and have a nice lineup, not quite as good as Cincinnati's but better than the Cardinals'. I'm banking their success on their bullpen, starting rotation and de...

Finally onto the National League where in the East you don't need to be a hardcore baseball fan to know the Phillies are the clear-cut favorites. However, there are some other clubs in this division who have the ability to make noise and push the injury-riddled Phillies. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for Tuesday's "Giants Notes". ____________________________________ 1st Place - Philadelphia Phillies Lineup: SS Jimmy Rollins CF Shane Victorino 2B Chase Utley* 1B Ryan Howard 3B Placido Polanco LF Raul Ibanez C Carlos Ruiz RF Ben Francisco Rotation/Closer: RHP Roy Halladay LHP Cliff Lee LHP Cole Hammels RHP Roy Oswalt RHP Joe Blanton CL: Brad Lidge The Phills don't quite have the offensive firepower they've had in years past, as they lost 5th place hitter Jason Werth, and didn't add anyone to replace him. They're banking on rebound years out of Rollins, Victorino and Ibanez which if happens, will mitigate the loss of Werth. Plus, that pitching st...

The Giants got their first taste of bad news that they've received all spring on Saturday, after All-Star closer Brian Wilson strained his ribcage. The 2010 MLB saves leader will be sidelined for the rest of the Cactus League schedule and may end up starting the season on the DL , but it's still a little too early to make that assumption. The loss of Wilson for any extended period of time would definitely be a catastrophic hit to the reigning World Champs, but it looks like they're being cautious, so it really wouldn't surprise me to see Wilson miss the first week or 2 of the regular season, just to assure he's 100% healthy when he does start pitching again. If that's the case, and Wilson is forced to miss regular season action, the Giants would then have to go to a Plan B to close out games. Right now, the plan B would appear to be Javier Lopez. The lefty was nearly untouchable in the postseason and really was a force in the Giants bullpen the moment he dawned...

And, for Part 2 of our Double-Post, we move to the AL West Preview which looks to be one of the tighter divisions in the American League. There are 3 teams with a legit shot at winning the division, and it wouldn't surprise me to see 3 of the 4 teams finish with .500+ records. _____________________________________ 1st Place - Oakland Athletics Lineup: RF David DeJesus CF Cocoa Crisp 1B Daric Barton DH Hideki Matsui LF Josh Willingham C Kurt Suzuki 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff 2B Mark Ellis SS Cliff Pennington Rotation/Closer: RHP Trevor Cahill LHP Brett Anderson LHP Gio Gonzalez LHP Dallas Braden RHP Brandon McCarthy CL: Andrew Bailey I'm picking Oakland strictly because of their pitching and defense. They aren't going to out-slug many teams, but I think they have just enough offense to get by with that great pitching. The additions of Matsui, DeJesus and Willingham will help and I expect improvement out of Barton and Suzuki. They essentially have 2 aces in Cahill and Anderson, an...

Onto the AL Central, where only two teams really have a legit shot at competing on a larger scale. In my opinion, this is the weakest division in baseball this year. ______________________________________ 1st Place - Minnesota Twins Lineup: CF Denard Span 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka C Joe Mauer 1B Justin Morneau LF Delmon Young RF Michael Cuddyer DH Jason Kubel/Jim Thome 3B Danny Valencia SS Alexi Casilla Rotation/Closer LHP Francisco Liriano RHP Carl Pavano LHP Brian Duensing RHP Nick Blackburn RHP Scott Baker CL: Joe Nathan This is one of the tougher divisions to pick in all of baseball due to the fact that 3 of the 5 teams are so darn evenly matched. The Twins have a better overall pitching staff than the Sox do, but I just don't think they have the offensive firepower to keep up with them. The Japanese import Nishioka looks very good, and Mauer and Morneau both should be healthy by opening day, and that always means the Twins offense is in good shape. Joe Nathan has looked str...

Well, with Opening Day now exactly 2 weeks away, it's time to start our traditional MLB Preview, in which we go division by division and predict how we see the divisions lining up this year! But don't worry, we'll still be mixing in plenty of Giants talk along the way. Like always, we'll start in the AL East and end in the NL West, so here we go: _____________________________________________ 1st Place - Boston Red Sox Lineup: CF Jacoby Ellsbury LF Carl Crawford 3B Kevin Youkilis 1B Adrian Gonzalez DH David Ortiz 2B Dustin Pedroia RF J.D. Drew SS Marco Scutaro C Jason Varitek Rotation/Closer: LHP Jon Lester RHP Josh Beckett RHP John Lackey RHP Clay Bucholtz RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka CL: Jonathon Papelbon It's going to be another neck and neck battle all year long between the Sox and the Yanks, but after the addition of Crawford and Gonzalez, the Red Sox really revamped their offense. All they need is health in their starting rotation (mainly Matsuzaka and Beckett), and ...