**2010-2011 SF Giants off season thread**

  • Wanna Join? New users you can now register lightning fast using your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

Chree

Medicated
Dec 7, 2005
32,404
13,935
113
40
# Brandon Belt "has a legitimate chance" to win an everyday job playing first base or left field in San Francisco, writes MLB.com's Chris Haft. Belt, who turns 23 in April, has just one minor league season to his name, but he hit .352/.455/.620 in 595 plate appearances for the Giants' Class A, Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
# Pablo Sandoval has lost 17 pounds training with former Olympic decathlete Dan O'Brien and plans to lose more weight before the start of Spring Training, Rich Aurilia tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sandoval was threatened with a demotion to the minors by GM Brian Sabean unless the "Kung Fu Panda" improved his conditioning this offseason.
 

ReKz

Sicc OG
May 26, 2002
1,338
1
0
Non-roster invitees announced, the bolded one's are interesting and have their bio's posted:

Giants announce 22 non-roster invitees to 2011 Spring Training

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The San Francisco Giants have extended non-roster invitations for Major League Spring Training to the following 22 players, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Sabean announced today: right-handed pitchers Casey Daigle, Waldis Joaquin, Shane Loux, Guillermo Mota, Felix Romero, Jason Stoffel and Ryan Vogelsong; left-handed pitchers Wilmin Rodriguez, Ryan Verdugo and Matt Yourkin; catchers Tommy Joseph, Hector Sanchez, Chris Stewart and Jackson Williams; infielders Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Charles Culberson, Brad Eldred and Nick Noonan; and outfielders Gary Brown, Terry Evans and Juan Perez.

Rodriguez, will make his debut at big league camp in 2011. The 25-year-old, who was signed by the Giants as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, split time between Class A Augusta and double-A Richmond last season, going 4-4 with a 3.67 ERA (22er, 54.0ip) in 37 games (one start). Overall, he has forged a 17-14 record with a 4.07 ERA (145er, 320.2ip) in 182 games (17 starts) in seven minor league seasons.

Stoffel, 22, will make his first appearance at big league camp for the Giants in 2011. The Agoura Hills, CA native spent all of last season with Class A Advanced San Jose, logging a 2-4 record with a 4.80 ERA (27er, 50.2ip) and going 25-for-29 in save opportunities. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound right-handed pitcher was San Francisco's 4th round selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

Verdugo, 23, will make his debut at big league camp after posting an impressive 2010 campaign by combining for an 8-1 record with a 1.87 ERA (13er, 62.2ip) in 44 games (one start) with Class A Augusta and Class A Advanced San Jose. Following the season he played for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League and went 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA (6er, 22.0ip) in 7 starts. Drafted by the Giants in the 9th round in 2008, Verdugo has fashioned a 13-1 record with a 1.75 ERA (22er, 113.0ip) in just 76 games over three minor league seasons.

Yourkin, 29, will be in big league camp for first time in his career. The Napa, CA native spent the entire 2010 season with triple-A Fresno, going 7-8 with a 4.24 ERA (64er, 136.0ip) in 29 games (24 starts).

Joseph will be the youngest player in camp at just 19 years of age. In his first professional season last year, the Scottsdale, AZ native batted .236 (103-for-436) with 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 RBI for Class A Augusta and was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game. Joseph was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2009 draft out of Horizon High School.

Sanchez, 22, returns for his second consecutive Spring Training with the Giants as a non-roster invitee. Last year he batted .274 (85-for-310) with 5 HRs and 31 RBI in 89 games for Class A Augusta. Sanchez was signed by San Francisco in 2007 and has compiled a .300 batting avg. (226-for-753) with 52 doubles, 5 triples, 14 home runs and 134 RBI in 221 minor league games.

Williams, will be in his fourth-straight big league camp with San Francisco. The 24-year-old native of Tulsa, OK batted .204 (65-for-318) with 5 home runs and 31 RBI for double-A Richmond and triple-A Fresno last season.

Belt, 22, had a spectacular professional debut last year, compiling one of the best seasons of any minor league player in 2010, batting .352 (173-for-492) with 43 doubles, 23 home runs and 112 RBI in 136 games between Class A Advanced San Jose, double-A Richmond and triple-A Fresno. He was selected to the California League All-Star team after hitting .383 (103-for-269) for San Jose. Following his first professional year, he helped Scottsdale win the Arizona League championship by hitting .372 (32-for-86) with one home run and 16 RBI in 22 games. Named a Minor League All-Star by Baseball America, Belt played one year at San Jacinto Junior College, transferred to the University of Texas and then was selected by San Francisco in the fifth round of the 2009 draft.

Crawford, 24, will be in big league camp for the second time. He was sidelined for nearly eight weeks during last season after breaking his right hand and batted .236 (73-for-309) with 7 home runs and 23 RBI in limited time with double-A Richmond and Class A Advanced San Jose. He was named to the Eastern League All-Star team, but did not play. The Giants' fourth round selection in the 2008 draft is a career .266 hitter (219-for-822) with 17 home runs and 74 RBI in 222 minor league contests.

Culberson, 21, will be making his debut in big league camp. San Francisco's sandwich pick (51st selection overall) in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft hit a professional best .290 (146-for-503) with 16 home runs and 71 RBI last season while playing for Class A Advanced San Jose. Following the season he played for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League and was named a Rising Star after hitting .366 (34-for-93) in 21 games.

Noonan, 21, spent all of last season with double-A Richmond and batted .237 (88-for-372) with 3 home runs and 26 RBI in 101 contests. The Poway, CA native owns a .268 clip (411-for-1,536) and 198 RBI over four professional seasons within the Giants' organization. He will be in his second-straight big league camp.

Brown a 22-year-old outfielder, was the Giants first selection (24th overall) of the 2010 First Year Player Draft. The outfielder played in just 12 games for the Arizona League Giants and short-season Salem-Keizer after signing his professional contract. Drafted by San Francisco out of Cal State Fullerton, Brown was named an All-American by Baseball America (2nd team), Rivals.com (1st team), Collegiate Baseball (1st team), the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (1st team) and the American Baseball Coaches Association (1st team). Named the 2010 Big West Conference Player of the Year, the speedy outfielder set the single-season school record in batting average by hitting .438 and became the first Titan to steal more than 30 bases in a season in 1994 (32 steals). His .438 batting average ranked eighth in the nation.

Perez, a Bronx, NY native, put together a solid 2010 season for Class A advanced San Jose in just his second year of professional baseball. A California League All-Star, Perez batted .298 (164-for-551) with 37 doubles, 13 home runs and 63 RBI in 131 games last season. The 24-year-old outfielder was the Giants' 13th selection in the 2008 First Year Player Draft.
 

ReKz

Sicc OG
May 26, 2002
1,338
1
0
Wonder how this will work out:

Showtime, MLB announce Giants reality show, but Cain says deal not done

It's the mantra of every baseball team and of particular importance to Giants manager Bruce Bochy: What happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse.

Well, so much for that.

Earlier today, Major League Baseball Productions announced it has teamed with Showtime to created a "new, unscripted series featuring unprecedented team access with the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants."

MLB Production cameras will be "embedded" (their word) with the Giants all season to gather video for a show that will run during the second half of the 2011 season, after a preview episode at the start of the year. That means in the clubhouse and in the players' homes.

Showtime surely will want some controversy, and they already have some. I just talked to Matt Cain, the Giants' player rep. While he is 100 percent behind the series, and said other players are on board, too, he confessed to being a bit miffed about today's announcement because in his mind all the details have not been worked out.

"Honestly, they announced it early," Cain said. "They weren't supposed to do that and we aren't very happy about it. We're trying to figure out all the small details."

However, Cain does believe the show will benefit the organization and even baseball in the Pacific Time Zone.

"I think it will be great publicity for the team and the guys on the team," Cain said. "I think it could be really good thing for San Francisco. Everybody knows the West Coast doesn't get as much publicity as East Coast teams. It'll be great if it's done right."

Giants president Larry Baer said the show will work because of a "trust factor" among the players and the producers that truly sensitive material will not be shown.

"We think they have the ability to produce a textured show that above all else will further reveal to an audience of fans some pretty special players. There are some special personalities. It's going to be player-centric."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?entry_id=81040#ixzz1B41inOas
 
Dec 9, 2005
11,231
31
0
42
How dope would it have been if they'd have done that show before last season started? Bunch of cast off and misfits, oh and some pretty decent pitchers.
 
Feb 12, 2004
7,488
886
0
39
There were a couple shows that followed the Giants through spring training on CSNBA. CSNBA also had a special recently that showed an interview w/ B-Weezy before the season started where they asked him to describe the perfect ending to the season and he said "me pitching, top of the 9th, full count, I strike the guy out with a slider. we all pile on the mound because we just won the world series and san francisco goes bananas".
 
Sep 20, 2005
26,086
59,031
113
FUCK YOU
SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants playoff hero Cody Ross headlined the list of Bay Area big leaguers who avoided arbitration Tuesday, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal worth a reported $6.3 million.

Ross, an outfielder who’ll be a free agent at the end of the 2011 season, made $4.45 million last season with the Marlins and Giants.
 

DUTCH-F.E

Super Moderator
Apr 25, 2002
7,029
8,094
113
44
WWW.myspace.com
we can go 22-140 with all 22 wins being against the dodgers and i wouldnt give shit! we got our fucking ring! now im just gonna enjoy some Giants baseball! 2010 will last a lifetime for me! I now you guys probably dont feel the same. I just hope we play some decent ball and win our share... I HAVE NO EXPECTATIONS for this year. We got it done last year and thats it! Thats all i needed!

So signing C Ross is good by me! Starting a rookie at 1b n starting slow ass huff in out filed is fine with me! I dont give a shit! WE ARE WORLD CHAMPS! bring on the reality shows!!!!
 
Jan 5, 2006
13,536
3,427
0
37
Albert pujols coming to the giants? probably would never happen but would be dope..

Over the weekend, Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted that St. Louis Cardinals' star first baseman Albert Pujols might walk away from the Cards after this season if a contract extension isn't worked out by the time spring training starts.

He also caught the eye of many Giants bloggers when he tweeted that San Francisco could be a destination for the slugger.
 
Apr 9, 2005
9,480
78
0
42
www.myspace.com
Pablo Sandoval is Shrinking

At the beginning of last week, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle published a story about Pablo Sandoval and his offseason workout program.* The third baseman, of course, was claiming to be in “the best shape of his life” and ready to turn his career around after a disappointing 2010 campaign. We were skeptical.* Sandoval tried a similar diet and workout plan last winter and he wound up actually putting on more weight in the end.
But take a look at this picture (to the right, or here) that “Kung Fu Panda” is using on his Twitter profile.* Schulman said that Sandoval was down 17 pounds.* Another reporter claimed he had dropped 22 pounds.* We’re thinking it might be like 30 pounds, at least.* He looks like half of his former self.

Sandoval exploded onto the major league scene in 2009 with a stellar .330/.387/.556 batting line, 25 homers and 90 RBI.* He got MVP votes.
It all took a tumble last year as he battled conditioning issues, but the 24-year-old appears to be serious about making the correct changes.

 
Dec 4, 2006
17,451
7,543
113
48
Albert pujols coming to the giants? probably would never happen but would be dope..

Over the weekend, Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted that St. Louis Cardinals' star first baseman Albert Pujols might walk away from the Cards after this season if a contract extension isn't worked out by the time spring training starts.

He also caught the eye of many Giants bloggers when he tweeted that San Francisco could be a destination for the slugger.

I hope he does come to SF!

And I'm glad to see Panda drop some weight, he'll be a beast on the field!