Inside the Giants Clubhouse

A Glimpse of Spring

2010-03-18T19:30:21Z

If you can't make it to Scottsdale this year, set your DVR to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. (See other times and dates below.)

You'll get an hour of spring ball like you have never seen it.

"Inside the Clubhouse: Spring Training 2010 Part 1'' takes you into the clubhouse in Scottsdale, where the cameras first follow longtime clubhouse manager Mike Murphy (and his dog, Bella) as he dotes on the players like a favorite uncle.

"Everybody's here early,'' he says on the first day of camp. "First time I've seen that in a long time.''

You'll hear from Bengie Molina about how much it means to him to be back with the Giants after an uncertain off-season. New players Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff weigh in on their expectations for the 2010 club. You'll see Manny Burriss and top prospects Thomas Neal and Darren Ford hold hands in prayer before digging into breakfast at their favorite spot, Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffles.

The cameras also followed Tim Lincecum on the day in November he found out he had won a second consecutive Cy Young, and they follow him to New York for the awards ceremony in January.

And you also get to see Pablo Sandoval's famous hike to the top of Camelback Mountain during Operation Panda.

Tune in. It's an insider's experience of the sights and sounds of Giants baseball in the desert (plus Tim and his Cy Young).

Watch Now on sfgiants.com

Air dates on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area:

Sunday March 21 @ 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday March 23 @ 6:30 p.m.; Friday March 26 @ 1:30 a.m..

Then look for the debut of "Spring Training 2010: Part II'' on Tuesday March 30 at 6:30 p.m.

Day One

2010-02-23T23:47:36Z

Day One : Those were the words at the top of today's workout schedule, posted on the bulletin board outside the Giants' clubhouse.

Today was the first day that the full team worked out together. There was a closed-door team meeting at 10:30 this morning. It had been scheduled to start at 10, with workouts beginning at 10:30. But the field was covered with frost, so everything was pushed back to allow the sun time to warm up the grass.

A few notes from the clubhouse:

Jeremy Affeldt will be starting a video blog called The Set-Up on the Giants' website. He's one of the funniest guys in baseball. Check out his video on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area from earlier this week. You'll get a taste for what his vlog will be like when it starts sometime next month.

Click here to view the vlog

Affeldt is a big believer in chemistry on a team. He says chemistry was the key to Colorado reaching the World Series when he played there in 2007 "This team is as close to Colorado as I've been on. We have a lot of fun together. Lots of inside jokes.'' He said it helps the team's chemistry when the main star of the team, Tim Lincecum, is a good guy. "It's like Matt Holliday in Colorado. He was a good family man. Really humble. You always see Lincecum signing autographs. He has so much fun when he plays. Timmy brings that dynamic. He reminds you that the game is supposed to be fun.''
Thomas Neal, the 22-year-old minor-leaguer, is here in his first major-league camp. But he is very familiar to manager Bruce Bochy. Neal played with Bochy's son on a traveling team in Poway, in Southern California. The two young men are still good friends, and Neal has spent many an afternoon and evening at the Bochy home. "(Bochy's wife) and my mom are pretty good friends,'' Neal says.
Neal has another major-league connection: He went to his high school prom with Tony Gwynn's daughter.
On a day-to-day basis, no one - other than perhaps Pablo Sandoval - is happier in the clubhouse than reliever Sergio Romo. He couldn't wait to get to camp and back on the field. "I have such an appreciation of where I'm at,'' he said. "I do enjoy what I do.'' He said he feels invincible when he stares in at a batter. When I'm out on the mound, it's the only place I'm not 5 feet 10.''

Notes from Scottsdale

2010-02-21T19:10:19Z

• Here's a sign that Tim Lincecum is not likely to change now that he has more money than he ever imagined. On his flight back to Phoenix after hammering out his new contract in St. Petersburg last week, Lincecum sat in coach - and in a middle seat.

• Rookie Dan Runzler attributes much of his success in the majors last season to fellow left-handed reliever Jeremy Affeldt. "I'd watch film with him. We'd go over the left-handed hitters. He'd show me guys he's faced and say, 'See? This is what this guy does with a 2-0 count. Here's what he's thinking.' I followed Affledt around last season like a puppy dog.''

• Some might be surprised that Affeldt is helping a guy who might one day take his job as the set-up man. Affeldt shrugs. "I'm OK with that. There are 30 teams. I'll find another job. It's not my personality, man, to not help a kid like that. I had guys show me when I was a rookie. If they did that for me, why wouldn't I do it for him? And he's the kind of kid you really, really pull for.''

• Outfielder Fred Lewis spent the off-season in Mississippi working out under the direction of his now-retired father. After struggling last season, Lewis wanted to get back to basics, something he couldn't do if he played winter ball. He bought a pitching machine like the one used by the Giants and hit a million balls. He used the pitching machine to shoot fly balls to him out on his old high school field, directing his father to change the angles and velocity to hone his skills. He ran sprints and ran the bases with the intention of stealing more this year. He arrived at camp early, too. Position players aren't required to be in camp until Tuesday. "I'm in the best shape of my life,'' Lewis said. "I couldn't wait to get here.''

• There has been rain the past two days, though the players got some work in today. The forecast calls for more rain tomorrow.

A Glimpse of FanFest

2010-02-06T19:13:37Z

Barry Zito and Will Clark were stepping into the elevator at AT&T Park this afternoon after sharing a stage for a Q&A at FanFest.
"I forgot to say something when they asked about Little League,'' Zito told Clark. "I wore Number 22 (Clark's number). And I had that closed stance like yours. The coach was trying to get me to open it up and I told him, 'Hey, Will Clark does it!' ''
Zito was 12 at the time.
Clark laughed. "Hey, thanks. Make me feel like a million years old.''
The two men - different eras, different backgrounds and completely different personalities - seemed to have a great time together answering the fans' questions for nearly an hour on a stage on the third floor of AT&T.
When someone asked how Zito came up with the name for his weekly radio show - "The Unicorn Hour'' -- he gave his customary thoughtful, soft-spoken, esoteric answer about the magical qualities of unicorns, as Clark looked at him as if Zito were speaking Greek.
"See?'' Clark said, taking the microphone from Zito. "That's a guy who plays every fifth day. He has time to think about this stuff!''
Some of the questions and answers:
• Clark said his favorite moment of the 1989 championship season was "my base hit off Mitch Williams that put us into the World Series. Candlestick was roaring that day.''
• Asked if it were true he could read lips, Clark laughed. "Back in '89 I did. I happened to read Greg Maddux's lips when he was talking to Don Zimmer. He said, 'Fastball in.' I thought, 'Oh, Jesus.' I went out there, dug my hole, looked for a fastball in on the first pitch and hit a grand slam. Fool that I was, I told my teammates, who told the media and now everyone's got their glove over their mouths.''
• Zito said one of the best developments in the off-season was the re-signing of Bengie Molina. "I was playing catch when I heard he had signed and I sent him a text message telling him congratulations. It was s surprise because when I was talking to him at the end of the season, he was bummed out because it looked like he wasn't coming back. He's all heart and soul. He's great with the pitching staff, and it gives Buster another year to get his feet under him.''
• Zito said he and Brian Wilson still worked out together fairly often in the off-season but that Wilson had moved into his own place. "I miss the Mohawk and tattoos around the house,'' Zito said.
• Asked what he thought about Mark McGwire, Clark said, "He was a teammate of mine on the Olympic team and with the Cardinals. Looking back, I wasn't oblivious to what was going on. It was pretty obvious what was going on. All those guys, they cheated themselves and they cheated the game. I don't have to live with it. They have to live with it.''
• Zito said his favorite player growing up was Tony Gwynn. Giants coach Tim Flannery, knowing this, would comment during the pitchers' batting practice that Zito looked just like a young Tony Gwynn in there. When Zito connected on a pitch, Flannery would joke, "See? That was Tony Gwynn at four years old.''
• Zito said the toughest hitter he faces is Ichiro Suzuki. Clark said the toughest pitcher for him was Rick Sutcliffe.

One final little note:
In the room where the players and other Giants folks hung out between sessions, Tim Lincecum saw managing general partner Bill Neukom walk in.
"Newk!'' Lincecum shouted across the room. "No tie?''
Neukom had on a dress shirt and slacks but he was without his signature bowtie. (And instead of dress shoes, he wore black-and-orange sneakers.)
"It's Saturday,'' Neukom said.

The Giants - Back Together Again

2010-02-05T23:05:44Z

Outside in the light drizzle, before they went on stage, the Giants players threw their arms around each other like brothers at a reunion. Many hadn't seen each other since the 2009 season ended in October. Now they were together on Thursday night at the Delancey Street Theater in San Francisco for the first-ever "town hall meeting'' for about 400 season-ticket holders who had won the chance to attend.

The guys caught up on each other's news. Alex Hinshaw and Matt Cain married their longtime sweethearts. John Bowker got a "puggle,'' half pug and half beagle, named Scout. Brian Wilson went to Australia with Brad Penny. Brandon Medders had Halloween and New Year's Eve gigs with his band in Tuscaloosa. Alabama. Manny Burriss, rehabbing from his foot injury, spent time going to hockey and basketball games with his five-year-old son, Jamari. Kevin Frandsen, after playing winter ball, served as a groomsman at Hinshaw's December wedding in Oregon.

Inside the theater, when the players had filed in and filled the first two rows of seats, Mike Krukow got everyone standing - fans and players alike - for a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame.''

"Nice goin'!'' he said after the final note. "It's officially baseball season!''

Krukow and Duane Kuiper hosted the event, calling the players up to the stage in small groups by position. It was a rare opportunity to see and hear the players off the field and thus get a sense of who they are as men. General manager Brian Sabean watched from the back of the theater, among the standing-room-only crowd. He had planned to stay for just a few minutes. But, as he told his players at a team meeting the following morning at AT&T Park, the event "was so compelling I stayed for the whole thing.''

"I was very impressed with last night,'' he told them. "In listening to everything you had to say, three themes emerged: You are humble. You are respectful. And you have passion. This team is in a great frame of mind going into the season.''

The two-hour event will air on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Here are some snippets:

• Jeremy Affeldt emerged, as he always does in these things, as a natural entertainer. He got everyone laughing with pointed barbs at manager Bruce Bochy for making him pitch to a guy "who hit about .900'' off him. When, a few minutes later, Kuiper asked the relievers to name their all-time favorite player, Affeldt deadpanned, "Bruce Bochy.'' (The next morning at the team meeting, Bochy said he was ready to name his Opening Day pitcher: Jeremy Affeldt.)

• Asked what position he would play if he got to choose, Pablo Sandoval didn't hesitate. "Hitting!''

• Sergio Romo showed off the T-shirt he had bought earlier in the day. It was pure Sergio who, besides Pablo, is the most playful guy on the team. The design on the front of the shirt lit up whenever he talked, which meant - as his teammates will tell you - it blazed all night.

• Dan Runzler, who played at every minor-league level last year before making it to San Francisco in September, was asked what it was like to pitch to players he had only seen on TV. "I was in more shock going into the locker room (of the Giants),'' he said. "I had never been to a major-league spring training, so I was completely star-struck.''

• When the pitchers were asked when they knew they wanted to be pitchers, Runzler said, "I knew I wanted to be a pitcher when they took the bat out of my hands and told me to pitch.''

• New second baseman Mark DeRosa made an impression with his down-to-earth style. "To me,'' he said, "it's all about trying to win championships. When you have a starting rotation like we have, and a bullpen and closer like we have, we've got a great chance.''

• Tim Lincecum, the one player to prompt a standing ovation, was asked what he could do to top his accomplishment of winning two Cy Young Awards in two years: "Hit a home run for the first time in my life.''

• Barry Zito was asked what musician he'd like to jam with. Because he's been into drums lately, he said, he would choose drummer Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band.

See you tomorrow at FanFest!

Shots from the Town Hall Meeting:

Brandon Medders and Tim Lincecum

Players calling lucky Season Ticketholders today from the front office at AT&T Park:

Jeremy Affledt:

Mark DeRosa:

Buster Posey:

Sergio Romo:

Eli Whiteside:

Brandon Medders:

Sabean's Update on Lincecum, Etc.

2010-02-03T14:00:32Z

Just got off the phone with Giants GM Brian Sabean, who has been trying to hammer out a contract with Tim Lincecum.

"The bottom line is we worked in earnest to negotiate a two-year deal but it looks like it's not going to happen,'' he said from the Giants complex in Scottsdale, where Buster Posey, Eugenio Velez, Dan Runzler, Manny Burriss and others are attending a conditioning camp in preparation for spring training.

"It looks like we'll be going to arbitration on a one-year deal.''

The salary this season for Lincecum, the 25-year-old, two-time Cy Young winner, will be decided later this month by a panel of three professional arbitrators. Lincecum and his agent are asking for $13 million. The Giants offered $8 million.

Players must spend six years in the major leagues before they can become free agents. So the Giants have Lincecum through the 2013 season - four more years. Thus, Sabean explained, there is no urgency in locking Lincecum in to a multi-year contract.

As for the rest of the team, Sabean said the additions of outfielder Mark DeRosa and first baseman Aubrey Huff, plus a full season from second-baseman Freddie Sanchez (after he rehabs from off-season shoulder surgery), bolster an offense that already has proven talent.

"With this lineup, I think we can springboard off the 88 wins from last year and get into playoff contention,'' he said

The reasons?

"Number One,'' Sabean said, "we'll have more experience on the field. Number Two, guys will be able to hit in the order where they have traditionally hit.''

Meaning, among other things, that catcher Bengie Molina no longer has to fill the clean-up spot. He likely will hit sixth.

And speaking of Bengie and Sabean's comment in December that "that ship has sailed'' only to sign him a month later . . .

"That ship had sailed,'' he said. "As it turned out, he didn't want to go to New York and we're thankful. He is back in place to help the pitching staff and take the pressure off Buster Posey.''

Posey, he said, could spend most of the season in Triple A or be the backup in San Francisco. "We'll know more after spring training,'' Sabean said. "We're keeping an open mind.''

In the meantime, the players are looking forward to seeing each other at FanFest this weekend at AT&T Park.

"You get everybody together in the same room,'' Sabean said, "and there's always a great vibe as they meet and greet each other after going their separate ways in the off-season. Although there really isn't an off-season. Everybody's working out or playing winter ball. So it's fun to be together again and starting a new season.''

Flying Panda

2010-02-02T02:24:41Z

A quick post to show some photos of Pablo Sandoval in Venezuela Friday for the big Caracas v. Magallanes championship game.

As you probably know, Pablo flew from the Sharks game in San Jose on Thursday night (view video) to Miami, then to Caracas, where a helicopter was waiting. It flew him to Valencia, then Pablo was whisked to the ballpark with a police escort.

And all of it was shown live on national television.

"I didn't have permission but I talked to (Brian Sabean) when I was in Miami, and they said yes, but only as DH," Sandoval told an MLB reporter in Venezuela. He went 1-for-4.

"A Caracas-Magallanes game is something else. You feel like your heart is going to come right out of your mouth," Sandoval had told reporters earlier.

Pablo and Friends

2010-01-29T01:04:16Z

The latest "Inside the Clubhouse'' episode just taped here at AT&T. The star - no surprise- was Pablo Sandoval, who shared the stage with Nate Scheirholtz, batting coach Bam-Bam Meulens, trainer Dave Groeschner and host Greg Papa.

Pablo, as you know, is one of those guys who are born to live in the spotlight. As he said when an audience member asked if he set goals for each season, "I just go play and have some fun.''

He did, however, reveal one goal for 2010. Having lost around 12 pounds so far in the off-season, he wants to steal more bases. So when Greg Papa joked about going for 20-20 (home runs and stolen bases), Pablo nodded.

"That's my one goal,'' he said. "I told Groesch. Twenty-twenty.''

I asked him afterward if he was serious. "Yeah, I think I can do it,'' he said.

He confirmed that he had gained just a pound during his time in Venezuela playing winter ball and eating his mother's cooking.

"One pound, and it's muscle!'' he said.

He also returned to the states with a new look - a Mohawk. He joked with Groeschner on stage that he ought to get one, too.

"Take us to the World Series,'' Groeschner said, "and I'll do it.''

When Meulens talked about getting players to be more patient at the plate, he clarified that he was basically leaving Pablo alone. "I'd be crazy to mess with him,'' Meulens said. But Pablo said that wasn't true.

"This year I'm going to be different,'' Pablo said. "I'm going to be more patient. I've been working on it in winter ball with Bam-Bam.''

The result? He hit .395 in the regular season and .477 in the playoffs.

"I want to narrow his zone,'' Meulens said, "but I don't want to take away his aggressiveness.''

Schierholtz also is making a big change at the plate: He is wearing batting gloves for the first time in his life.

"I never used them growing up,'' he said. "Just grabbed a little dirt and go. But in Puerto Rico (in winter ball), I had 75 at-bats with gloves. I'm getting used to them slowly. I've gone through a lot of different brands to get the ones I want.''

He's also been working on recognizing pitchers more successfully and working within his own strike zone. He hopes it will produce more home runs.

"I have more power than what I've shown,'' he said.

When asked if he had superstitions, Nate said he eats the same thing every day if he's on a streak.

"Cheetos,'' he said, smiling, "have a lot of hits in them.''

Pablo, sitting next to Nate, smiled and raised his eyebrow, stealing a glance at his trainer.

"There are a lot of hits in bananas, too,'' Groeschner said.

Photos from Inside the Clubhouse:

Greg Papa, Pablo Sandoval, Dave Grosechner

Greg Papa, Nate Schierholtz, Pablo Sandoval, Hensley Muelens, Dave Groeschner

Top of the Class

2010-01-13T17:15:47Z

It is the nature of diehard fans to be impatient. This is a good thing. They push a team's management. Where's the long-ball hitter we need? Where's the rocket-armed reliever? Let's make a deal, and let's do it now.

But in the labyrinth of offices inside any major-league baseball organization, alongside the up-to-the-minute-what-can-we-do-now executives and analysts, are the futurists. They're the ones constructing the team we'll see next year and five years from now.

No team in recent years has planned for the future better than the Giants.

That's what Baseball America concluded in its just-published analysis of the last four draft classes.

Here's what Baseball America's Jim Callis reported yesterday:

"We grade every draft from 2005-08 in the new Prospect Handbook, and no team outdid San Francisco's 3.50 GPA. Vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow ran those first three efforts, with scouting director John Barr coming aboard in 2008.

"The Giants' signature pick was stealing two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum after nine teams passed on him in 2006. San Francisco gets an A for Lincecum alone in 2006, though they also found fringe big league infielders Emmanuel Burriss (sandwich round), Ryan Rohlinger (sixth), Brian Bocock (ninth) and Matt Downs (36th).

"San Francisco was the only club to earn three As, also getting top grades in 2007 for Madison Bumgarner (first), with some help from righthander Tim Alderson (first), second baseman Nick Noonan (sandwich) and big league surprise Dan Runzler (fifth), and in 2008. That last group could be San Francisco's best hitting crop in years, led by Buster Posey (first), third baseman Conor Gillaspie (sandwich), outfielder Roger Kieschnick (third) and shortstop Brandon Crawford (fourth).''

As fans, we don't have to be patient. That's not our jobs. But it's good know it's somebody's job, and that the Giants happen to have some of the best people doing it.

Winter League Lessons

2009-12-30T21:45:36Z

I phoned Giants player personnel director Bobby Evans this week - he's back east with his family for the holidays -- to talk about the fall league and winter ball. I wanted to know what he learns about his players when he looks at their stats from these brief seasons in far-flung places.

"For most of the players, it's a development opportunity,'' Evans said. "These are not rec leagues. They're competitive, spirited, driven programs. You succeed or you come home. The pressure is high and the stakes are high.

"As hard as it is for young Latin players to come to the U.S. and succeed, that's what it's like for American players to go into competitive winter ball leagues.''

Nate Schierholtz, for example, hit .324 in Puerto Rico after a frustrating regular season that saw him sidelined for a stretch with a strained hip. Winter ball "was a strong development opportunity for Nate and shows how tough he is,'' Evans said.

Kevin Frandsen also did well in the Puerto Rican league, hitting .337. "He'll compete to be one of the utility guys on the big league club,'' Evans said. "He was healthy all year and showed what kind of player he's capable of being. Just like Nate, by doing well in Puerto Rico, it turns heads. Helps people see, 'Hey, I'm not slowing down. I'm going to do everything I can to compete.' ''

For Brett Pill, the young first-baseman who had a breakout 2009 season in the minors, the winter league in Venezuela was a confidence boost. He batted .329 with a .411 on-base percentage.

"When you're playing alongside major-league players you've only seen on SportsCenter, and you're doing well, it's an eye-opener. You're thinking, 'I can compete with these guys.' It's going to help him approach the next level - his first major-league spring training -- with a lot more confidence.''

Evans puts less stock in the performances in the Arizona fall league, where Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey played.

"You can't read too much into whether you were successful or unsuccessful because you get such limited at-bats,'' Evans said.

Crawford hit .312 and Posey .225.

"As much as he might have struggled offensively,'' Evans said of Posey, "he showed a respectable on-base percentage (.324). It was a long year for him between big-league camp, five months in the minor leagues in two different places followed by a September call-up and fall league. Not question there was strain on him.'

Evans said Crawford, whose impressive performance in Single A early on in 2009 seemed almost effortless, is expected to start the season in Double A "and see where the season takes him. What we've seen in him is a sense of passion. He's driven.''

No word yet on whether Pablo Sandoval has been successful in maintaining his weight-loss from his Operation Panda conditioning camp. He hit .395 in Venezuela, his home country. The Giants expect to see Sandoval back in San Francisco in a couple weeks.

John Bowker's winter-league season was cut short by a quadriceps strain. (He played in just three games.) He's been receiving treatment in San Francisco and is expected to be ready for spring training.

Have a great New Year. See you in 2010.

From the Horses' Mouths

2009-12-16T22:28:13Z

It sure looks weird to see the clubhouse in the off-season. Even filled as it was last night with fans in folding chairs, it was like walking into an abandoned building. There's a kind of ghostly loneliness about it without players slapping domino tiles on table tops and answering fan mail in front of their lockers and yanking down the bills of their caps as they rush out to take early BP. Is April really still three-and-a-half months away?

The next best thing to the actual baseball season, though, is talking about it.

Up on a temporary stage, erected on the far right of the room near the starting pitchers' lockers, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was sitting next to general manager Brian Sabean and taking questions from moderator Greg Papa.

"He's the best all-around player that I've ever seen because he can play everywhere,'' Bochy was saying. "He has a very similar body type to Tony Gwynn.''

He was talking about Pablo Sandoval, who embarked on a rigorous conditioning and weight-loss program during the off-season, a one-man camp the Giants dubbed "Operation Panda.''

"Obviously,'' Sabean cracked, nodding at Bochy and himself, "we haven't been in the same camp.''

Packed into the room, in rows of chairs bordered by four walls of lockers, were season-ticket holders who had been invited to talk baseball with Bochy, Sabean, managing general partner Bill Neukom and relief pitcher Sergio Romo.

Asked by Papa if two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum's stuff matches up with the all-time greats, Bochy didn't hesitate.

"Sure it does. He's by far the best pitcher I've ever seen. When you have four pitches, especially the best or close to the best changeup in baseball right now, he's up there among the greats. He's a thinker out there and knows what the opposing team is doing and that's why he's won two Cy Young Awards.''

"What's interesting about him,'' Sabean said, "is in college he would throw 140 pitches on a Friday night and then be the closer for his team on Sunday. He's proved to have a rubber arm and has an inner strength that other people don't have. He's fearless and he thinks that on any given day that he's better than anyone else.''

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was Sergio Romo. He's a player that fans don't know very well yet, and last night they got a glimpse of his sense of humor and his boyish excitement for the game - starting with the fact he was texting his mother as he climbed onto the stage to tell he was going to be on television.

"You're from Brawley, California, near Los Angeles,'' Papa said, "so who was your favorite team growing up?''

"No comment,'' Romo said, smiling. "Let's just say I started hating the Dodgers the second I put on a Giants uniform.''

After struggling with injuries last season, he said he's "very excited for the season to start . . . I miss my number 54 on my back.''

When Papa opened the discussion to questions, one of the first was an update on the Giants' up and coming players.

"Peguero is a young outfielder that we just placed on our 40-man roster,'' Sabean said. "He's a lot like Sandoval in that he has a lot of energy. Thomas Neal came into his own last year and developed an all-around game. Brandon Crawford is going to be our shortstop of the future. We have a flow of talent that people will be proud of.''

As for the readiness of pitcher Madison Bumgarner and catcher Buster Posey, Bochy said, "I really think that they can start for us next year. Posey is gonna be a front line catcher and he's on the fast track. Bumgarner did a heck of a job last year when Timmy went down. Here are two tremendous kids that stood out and both held their own. I'm curious to see how Buster looks this spring.''

One fan wanted to know about keeping Lincecum and fellow pitcher Matt Cain as Giants for the long haul.

"Cain has two more years before free agency,'' Sabean said, "and Lincecum has four more and is going through arbitration right now. We are in a good situation because they both want to be Giants for a long time.''

Sabean also addressed the decision not to resign veteran pitcher Brad Penny.

"We had a short window and in our estimation we thought we had home court in our situation. We couldn't bring ourselves to overpay when we have Madison Bumgarner in the wings.''

Still want more? Tune in to a full broadcast of the event on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on January 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Some shots from the taping:

Sabean's Strategy

2009-12-02T22:42:41Z

Giants general manager Brian Sabean is honing a skill not innate to a baseball man who cut his teeth at the New York Yankees.

Patience.

"The market right now is as slow or slower than last year in developing,'' he said during a break today from internal strategy meetings in preparation for next week's winter meetings in Indianapolis.

"Whether teams are still getting their budgets together or what, the free agent market has yet to develop. Players and agents are slow to do anything. It's a sign of the times.''

Sabean said the Giants last week offered a one-year deal to pitcher Brad Penny, and yesterday offered one year and an option to infielder Juan Uribe. Both offers were declined. "At this time I'm not sure there will be further discussion,'' Sabean said. (He said veteran catcher Bengie Molina probably has been offered a multi-year deal by another team, essentially guaranteeing he would not return to the Giants.)

Sabean's strategy in building the 2010 team boils down to three basic - but difficult -- questions:

· How can the Giants maximize the talent they already have?

· What can be accomplished on the free-agent market?

· Are there smart trades to be made - and what homegrown talent is the team willing to give up in order to secure valuable immediate help (such as a bigger bat in the lineup)?

"What we're doing right now - to get a bat, to figure out the catching situation, everything - is due diligence,'' Sabean said.

In other words, there is no magic formula. No shortcuts. No blockbuster, bold-headline quick fixes. Just hours and days and weeks of poring over scouting reports and statistics, working the phones and updating the huge erasable boards with lists of free agents and players likely the trading block, plus evaluating in every possible way the Giants' own prospects. (Who among them will blossom into big-impact major-leaguers, and when?)

"In a perfect world, you'd love to have (Madison) Bumgarner and (Buster) Posey burst on the scene,'' Sabean said. "But you don't want to rush them. So you keep at it, at the grindstone, and be ready when the best opportunities pop.''

There might be interesting "secondary free agents,'' Sabean said, "but maybe that doesn't make as much sense as giving our own kids a chance. We have to continue to identify what we really have internally and not count on the outside world.''

Sabean mentioned two "burning questions'' for the Giants:

· If the Giants don't get Penny and instead bring up Bumgarner, their top pitching prospect, they will have a particularly young starting rotation. So what do you do about the bullpen? Do you counterbalance that with a more veteran bullpen and, say, bring Bob Howry back?

· What position does Pablo Sandoval play? If he stays at third, what options are available to upgrade the situation at first base outside the organization?

"In the past, we've been more aggressive,'' Sabean said. "But we're willing to go at the pace of the marketplace and show more patience. Trades don't have to be made at the winter meetings. So people shouldn't read anything into it if nothing happens in Indianapolis. It's just not a very sexy market at this time.

"But we'll come home with more information. It's a fact-finding mission to figure out who matches up with us in terms of free-agent interest. We'll have a clearer picture of trade scenarios. We'll find who our partners might be and how we can do business.''

Chat with Giants' GM Sabean:

Brian Sabean will participate in a live Web chat from the Major League Baseball winter meetings in Indianapolis on Wednesday, December 9 at 1 p.m. PT. Fans are invited to chat with the GM about his goals for the club during the week's Winter Meetings. To participate in the chat, please register at:

http://mlb.mlb.com/fan_forum/chat.jsp

How to Eat Like a Panda

2009-11-27T16:00:22Z

Kathleen Woolf is the nutritionist from Arizona State University who is guiding the food and drink component of Operation Panda, Pablo Sandoval's off-season conditioning regimen.

She recently sent me an email with nutrition tips for athletes - and the rest us -- so none of us blow up like Macy's balloons during the next month.

Here is her advice:

Tis the season to......eat? Beginning at Thanksgiving and continuing through Super Bowl Sunday, celebrations and family gatherings are more abundant than at any other time of the year. Foods and beverages, rich in fats and sugars, are the center of many of these occasions. Also, many athletes do not maintain their usual training routines during the holidays. Follow these tips to help you navigate through the holiday season, without compromising your health or performance.

* BEGIN EVERY DAY WITH BREAKFAST!

Even if you are still full from the night before, start each day with breakfast. A healthy breakfast should include whole grains, fruit, dairy and protein. Try having oatmeal, a banana, and low fat milk. If you include a small amount of protein (yogurt, egg whites, or peanut butter), you may stay full until lunch.

* AVOID TOO MANY SWEETS!

Holiday desserts and treats are full of sugars and fats. To avoid over- indulging, eat a healthy snack before heading out to a party. Choose whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, and nuts as they supply the body with proteins, vitamins and minerals. Your intake of holiday sweets will be less and you can spend your time socializing rather than over indulging.

* STAY PROPERLY HYDRATED!

Soda, eggnog and alcoholic beverages are plentiful at this time of the year. However, focus instead on drinking water and eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day to keep your body well hydrated. To monitor your hydration status, check your urine color first thing in the morning. When well hydrated, urine is pale yellow without a strong odor. Dark yellow, infrequent urine suggests dehydration.

* CHOOSE WISELY!

During the holiday season, many meals will be eaten in restaurants. Make good choices to keep your health in check. When ordering, ask your server how foods are prepared. Choose steamed, baked, boiled, grilled or broiled selections. Be sure to order mayonnaise, butter, cream-based sauces, and salad dressings on the side. You can then monitor the amount that gets added to your food.

Pablo is heading back home to Venezuela, where he will play winter ball. His brother, Michael, will help keep him on track by advising their mother on what to cook and by making sure Pablo brings his own food to the ballpark every day.

"He will still perform cardio and weight lifting,'' Giants strength and conditioning coach Ben Potenziano said. "The shift has gone (from working out several hours a day) to playing baseball every day for 9 innings. I added cardio earlier in the day so he can recover and provide his body with food it needs to function prior to the game.

"His lifting has shifted to a full body workout 3 to 4 times

per week. He will continue to maintain strength that will carry him

through winter ball and then back to me in Arizona. I will turn up the

intensity when he gets back and become more sports specific.

"He will be fielding, throwing and hitting more at that point as well. His diet will not change. He will consult with Kathleen and me and we can make adjustments to his workload. He did well with his exact consultation and Pablo should be proud of himself.''

I'll try to contact Pablo in Venezuela to get an update on how he's doing.

Operation Panda for the Rest of Us

2009-11-24T22:00:01Z

By popular demand, I asked Ben Pontenziano, the Giants' fitness strength and conditioning coach -- and mastermind behind Operation Panda -- for fitness tips for those of us who can't work out for five hours a day like Pablo.

Here's some basic advice as we head into the holidays:

1. Go for a walk at the beginning of the day and then after dinner. Walk with family members and spend time together getting outside. Throwing a football around with family is always fun and you burn calories running around.

2. Try to continue with your regular workout routine during the holidays. Time can be an issue, but make time for yourself and stick to it. The key to a successful diet/workout is a routine. You have your plan and then carry it out. Go to the gym at your normal time. If it's not open for Thanksgiving, take your routine outside or in your home. Your cardio can be running, biking or running on the treadmill if you have one. Walking is a great low impact exercise, which you can do for 45 minutes to an hour. If you have any exercise equipment in your house you can perform a full body workout with what little you may have or just your body weight. There is no excuse for not doing a core workout. That can also be done with med balls or cable machines. Use your imagination and challenge yourself.

Next post: How to eat at parties and holiday dinners without gaining weight.

Tim and Willie

2009-11-19T21:30:58Z

The greatest Giant of all time, and the greatest Giant of this time, held court in separate rooms in the bowels of AT&T Park this afternoon.

Willie Mays, in his ever-present Giants' cap and jacket, fielded questions from wide-eyed Giants' rookies about the toughest pitchers he ever faced (Koufax, Gibson, Drysdale and Rush) and his greatest influence (his father) during his reign as the best player in baseball.

Down the hall, in the Giants press conference room, newly crowned two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum fielded questions from reporters about his hopes for the future (World Series ring) and his greatest influence (yes, his father) during his two-year reign as the best pitcher in baseball.

The concrete corridor connecting the two rooms felt like a wormhole in an orange-and-black universe, a shortcut through time and space.

"I couldn't have ever seen this happening growing up,'' Lincecum was saying.

He was flanked by Bruce Bochy, Dave Righetti and Brian Sabean, who struggled to put into words just how remarkable Lincecum's performance has been, winning back-to-back Cy Youngs in his first two full seasons in the majors.

"It's almost overwhelming,'' Righetti said. "Where do you go from here?''

You go where Mays went.

Into the history books.

Because you can read and hear everything from Lincecum's press conference elsewhere, I'll bring you the highlights of Mays' lively chat with the Giants' draftees on the second-to-last day of their winter conditioning camp.

(I'll try to bring you a postmortem from Lincecum sometime in the next week.)

The 25 or so young players sat in chairs encircling Mays, who sat behind a small table.

"All right, guys, c'mon, what else?'' Mays said, prompting the next question.

Ever get timed in the 60?

"No, no! I didn't run! I told them, 'I can't run the ball over the fence.' When they were out running, I was asleep in the clubhouse. They got you just running here? You doing some hitting?''

No, the players said. Just conditioning work.

"That's not fun! Maybe I should say something. You want to hit a little bit and then go run. You got to enjoy yourself.''

He told them about his struggles against Drysdale, Gibson, Koufax and Bob Rush then added: "I made up for it on all the other guys, the scrubs. I destroyed them.''

Best players you ever saw?

Robert Clemente, Mays said. Barry Bonds - "If I don't say Barry, he'll start a fight.'' Bobby Bonds (Now, he could run!'' ) , Maury Wills ("Played a good shortstop.'') and Frank Robinson ("Triple Crown winner'').

What did you do in the off-season?

"Work, man, work! That's a very good question. I played basketball, football - touch football - they didn't know I played football! I had a 32 waistline. I worked out and played all the time. No time to lay around. Had to keep myself in shape. Played winter ball two times.''

We've heard from other major-league players about what makes a good teammate. What's your definition?

"In 1962, they made me captain. I positioned the outfielders, the infielders, I'd call pitches from centerfield - he didn't have to take them but I wanted him throw a pitch I thought I could catch. You had to get 25 guys playing together even though nine or ten don't play much at all and it feels bad. I'd go to the manager and say, 'I want this guy to play because he needs to feel part of the team.' The guy would go 9 for 10 and he'd go sit down and feel like a part of the team. When guys had problems at home, they'd come to me and I'd call their wives. I knew the wives better than I knew the players!''

Your greatest baseball achievement?

"Man, I had so many! I think my greatest achievement was when I signed my major-league contract.''

Greatest moment?

"Hitting four home runs in Milwaukee [with 8 RBI] was the greatest thing I ever did.''

Best park to hit in?

"Wrigley. To me the ball went out of there pretty good.''

Worst park to hit in?

"Candlestick. The wind's always blowing in. We put a glove to a fence to see if it would fall and it didn't fall. We could even hit it out in batting practice.

"I know you guys are saying, 'Oh, hell, he didn't do all this stuff. Oh yes I did.''

What was your farthest home run?

"I never worried about that! You just get it over the fence! You don't care how far it went.''

What effect did race have back when you played?

"We went to some towns and I couldn't stay in the same hotel. I remember once in Hagerstown, they dropped me off on the other side of the tracks. You guys from the South, you know what the other side of the track is. So they drop me off and I'm in a hotel, and at 2 o'clock in the morning two or three guys come through the window and sleep the rest of the night on my floor, and then at 6 a.m. they get up and go back out the window. They did the same thing the next night, watching out for me. Nothing was ever said.

"My father told me no matter what anybody said, never to fight. Turn the other cheek. I'd call him up and he'd ask, "Did you fight today?' Back then, you had to make sure you were bigger than those people who called you names. They called you all kinds of names. But I knew for me to get ahead, I had to take all that kind of stuff. Every time somebody called me a name, I hit the ball.''

What did you do in a slump?

"A slump is going to happen to everybody in some way. For me, a slump was 0-for-10. Everyone has a different way of getting out of a slump. I'd get out by swinging inside-out and getting a hit that way.''

Throughout Mays' talk, the young guys snapped photos with their cell phone, leaning close, recording forever their moment with the greatest player who ever stepped on a baseball field.

When Mays left, he rode a golf cart down the concrete corridor to Mike Murphy's office inside the clubhouse. Then Lincecum, finally finished with his round of interviews, stopped by. Mays rose from his chair.

"Don't get up!'' Lincecum said. "You're getting up for me?''

"Congratulations!'' Mays said. He shook Lincecum's hand.

They exchanged pleasantries as cameras snapped.

"Enjoy this,'' Mays told him.

Lincecum said he would, thanked him and left, smiling and shaking his head at the whirlwind day. He still had more interviews to do - still more questions about how he does what he does. But Lincecum doesn't have a clear answer to the question any more than Mays ever did.

Sometimes there are none.