Results tagged ‘ Edgar Renteria ’

Torres back tonight?

We made it to Colorado, getting into the hotel around 2:20 in the morning and getting to bed around 3:30 after finally getting the luggage. What a trip to Chicago. Warm and breezy at Wrigley. And Juan Uribe had one of those nights. The ball just jumped off his bat. Two home runs.  Cody Ross with a no-doubter as well.  And Buster Posey in his last 13 games has four home runs. So this ball club, one thing you can count on is them going out every night and pitching. The Giants have the best pitching in baseball right now – and if the bats can stay hot, they’ll be tough to beat. 
Seems like last night’s meeting had an effect. Bochy took the hitters all under the stands at Wrigley Field and told them if they do their job, this team can go deep in the playoffs. It was very similar to the meeting Brian Sabean had with the pitchers before they went on this amazing streak – 17 games in a row giving up three earned runs or less. That’s about 150 innings of baseball without a bad inning. That’s an amazing streak.
Another good sidelight last night was getting to see Minnie Minoso, one of the great players of all time. He came up with the Cleveland Indians. Played for the Chicago White Sox back in the early ’50s. You look at his stats and he should be considered for the Hall of Fame. It was great to see him talking to Juan Uribe, who got to know Minoso when Uribe was with the White Sox. You could see the look in Uribe’s eyes, how much he admired Minnie Minoso. It was a very nice scene – and maybe had something to do with Uribe’s big night at the plate. 
Last night’s game showed how Bruce Bochy handles his veterans. Everybody played last night except The Bullet, Darren Ford, and Ryan Rohlinger and Edgar Renteria, who’s hurt, and Andres Torres. Torres is moving around really well. He took batting practice yesterday. And I would not be surprised to see him in the game tonight or certainly tomorrow.
It’s a very exciting time for this team. They’re very loose. very calm. They’re having a good time. On the Giants plane last night, Jim Moorehead of the team’s PR staff, was giving us play-by-play of the Dodger-Padres game right down to the last out – and, of course, announced that the Giants were back in first place. 
And then the Rockies-Arizona game. It was a wild one that finally ended up with the Rockies losing. They’re in a position now where they have to sweep the Giants here in Colorado to really keep their season going. They’re 31-46 on the road, and that’s been the big problem for them.
Traveling on the team plane is really interesting. Michael “Kel” King, the traveling secretary, he is like the Mad Hatter. He gets everything done. He gets everyone on and off the buses and planes. And of course Jim and his associate Matt Chisholm in the PR department, they have all the stats and all the information for you on the plane. It’s an interesting ride because you’re talking baseball all the way. You see Kruke and Kuip and Jon Miller and Dave Flemming, and they have every electronic device. They’re watching games from all over the country and it keeps the chatter going. 
And the players are very relaxed on the plane. Tim Lincecum is funny, he really is. He was wearing this purple bow tie and he’s got a hat on. He just keeps everybody very loose. And then you get the veterans like Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell. It’s pretty much all business with them. 
This is a very good ballclub right now. They can feel it. They have these three games then come home against Arizona and the Padres – who are going to have their hands full with the Cubs in San Diego.
That’s what’s happening here. I’m heading out to the ballpark to see if I can find the humidor . . .

Off-Season – But Not Time Off

Giants batting coach Hensley “Bam-Bam” Meulens is wasting no time diving into his new job. He has gathered John Bowker, Travis Ishikawa, Nate Schierholtz and minor-league first baseman Brett Pill for a six-day hitting clinic at AT&T starting on Monday. Then he’ll fly down to Venezuela with Bowker, who will play winter ball in that country’s extremely competitive league. Schierholtz is going to Puerto Rico. (I’m not sure yet what the other two are doing.)

I’ll try to grab some time with Meulens during a break in the action on Monday and share what I learn.

I’m going down to Arizona on Tuesday with some of the video guys from the Giants. We’ll be checking in with Pablo Sandoval, who is in the midst of his own personal conditioning camp with team trainers.

Pablo ended his spectacular season with the second-best batting average in the National League (.330), 3rd in doubles (44), 4th in hits (189), 6th in total bases (318) and slugging percentage (.556), 7th in extra base hits (74). But he wants to get better, so he has committed himself not only to developing a new regimen of physical exercise but also to learning how to eat healthy. He also wants to work on improving his English pronunciations and educate himself about Facebook and blogging – all for the purpose of communicating and connecting more with the fans.

Got a text-message from Tim Lincecum earlier this week. He’s in Seattle right now visiting family but will be back in SF next week and will stay through the winter. He, too, is developing a workout regimen to get even stronger. He seems to be all-muscle already – his percentage of body fat has got to be almost zero. So I’m not sure what exactly he wants to improve. I hope to chat with him when he’s back in town and will let you know.

The Giants held a three-hour meeting Wednesday of the entire staff. They went over highlights of the 2009 season and laid out plans and goals for 2010. (Orange Fridays are coming back!) There was particular focus, as you might imagine, on improving offensive production, including a better on-base percentage and a more consistent one-through-five batting lineup. Brian Sabean’s staff talked of identifying possible trades or free-agent signings. Any trade, managing general partner Bill Neukom explained, would have to meeting the following criteria:

· Does this player significantly improve the team’s win-loss record?

· How much money will he cost?

· How much talent do the Giants give up for him?

· Does this player’s arrival thwart the progress of a top homegrown prospect?

· Does this player fit in with the team chemistry?

What struck me most, though, in the meeting was how much was accomplished in 2009 – and what a great foundation it provides for next season and beyond.

Some 2009 facts that stand out:

· Best home record in the NL and improved overall record by 16 wins over 2008.

· Best starting rotation in baseball (fewest runs allowed, most shutouts and most strikeouts). Lincecum led the league in strikeouts for the second consecutive year, was the 2009 All-Star Game starting pitcher and again was named NL Sporting News Pitcher of the Year.

· Bullpen strength: Jeremy Affeldt led the NL in holds (33) and Brian Wilson tied for third in the NL in saves (38).

· Great team chemistry: This team – in particular, the relatively unknown group of young players — won the hearts of the fans. And they did so by working hard day in and day out and playing with excitement and energy. As a result, Giants’ attendance stayed nearly the same this year from last year – even in a down economy — and the team set record television ratings (up 37 percent on Comcast over 2008). The veterans were fantastic with the young guys – everyone from Randy Johnson to Edgar Renteria to Juan Uribe stepped up as unofficial mentors and teachers.

· The deepening pool of emergent talent: Five of the Giants’ seven minor-league teams reached the championship game in their respective leagues (three teams won championships). The Giants’ affiliates combined for the best record among all major-league organizations. Catcher Buster Posey was named Topps/Minor League Player of the Year. Others, such as Madison Bumgarner, Roger Kieschnick and Brandon Crawford, established themselves as exceptional prospects. This is a great sign that the Giants’ investment in the farm system is paying off.

· Valuable late-season experience: Playing meaningful baseball in September gave younger players a foundation on which they can build in the seasons to come.

Here’s something else from the meeting that I loved, though it has nothing to do with baseball. The Giants made a real commitment to making AT&T the greenest ballpark in the country. In 2008, it managed to recycle 40 percent of all the garbage and other waste. In 2009, it recycled 67 percent. Pretty amazing.

More next week.

Giants Signature Song

The Giants are looking for a signature song to play after “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the seventh inning. The Red Sox have “Sweet Caroline.” The Dodgers have “Don’t Stop Believing,” much to the annoyance of Steve Perry of Journey. He’s a huge Giants fan and would like nothing better than for the Giants to appropriate the song for themselves.

The team wants the fans to vote.

Here are the candidates so far:

Lights – Journey

Don’t Stop Believing – Journey

Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi

Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison

Good Vibrations – Beach Boys

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On – Jerry Lee Lewis

I Feel Good – James Brown

I asked some of the Giants players for their suggestions.

Manny Burriss tossed out “Luck Be a Lady” by Sinatra, figuring it went well with the post-game’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” by Tony Bennett.

Joe Martinez suggested “Hanging Around” by Counting Crows and “Hitchin’ a Ride” by Green Day. Tim Lincecum, who said he needed to think about it some more, offered up as a first thought “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel from the soundtrack of “Dirty Dancing.”

Your suggestions? And your criteria for the perfect seventh-inning song?

Before the game, the Consulate General of Colombia in San Francisco visited with countryman Edgar Renteria by the Giants dugout. Jose Miguel Castiblanco Munoz has been in San Francisco two years but had never attended a game at AT&T Park. But Renteria is one of the biggest sports stars in Colombia, he said. “I really wanted to meet him,” Munoz said.

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