Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Giants Walk Off Dampened By Sandoval's Injury


The Giants have been able to score runs right out of the gate, lately. That trend continued on Tuesday night. 

Nate Schierholtz and Ryan Theriot both reached on back to back hits to start the game. Melky Cabrera played a little situational baseball and softly grounded out to the second basemen to put the Giants on top 1-0 early. 

However, on a passed ball by the catcher, Theriot advanced to third base and Pablo Sandoval would follow with a booming shot deep into triples alley. Theriot scored and the Giants padded their early lead. 

The Padres, who are 7-4 since the all-star break, struck right back in the second. Jesus Guzman smacked a double into the game in left field, then the pitcher, Edison Volquez blooped an RBI single into shallow center field. Just like that, the game was all tied up. 

The Giants wouldn’t get another hit until the seventh inning when Melky Cabrera extending his ten-game hitting streak by slapping an infield single to the shortstop. 

Despite constantly falling behind Padres’ hitters, Madison Bumgarner held them to just two hits, while striking out nine batters on just two walks. His command was particular bad in the first four innings of the game. He would get better throughout the night, though. 

There were two particular plays that will stand out for awhile, however. A double play which caused Sandoval to injure his left hamstring, and the other one was a diving catch by Angel Pagan who covered practically the entire field to make the catch. His catch saved a run, and he was able to pop back up and convert the double play. 


[PABLO SANDOVAL INJURED]

Then, it was walk off time. A walk by Belt, a single by Pagan, and another passed ball set the table for Crawford with no outs. Wasting no time, he lined a single to centerfield and got mauled in the celebration. 

Pablo Sandoval Suffers Hamstring Injury- Are There Further Implications?

Pablo Sandoval was removed from the game on Tuesday night after practically doing the splits to pull off a remarkable double play. The Giants say it is a left hamstring injury, not a groin injury which was the original prediction. At the moment, no one knows how long this will keep The Panda out, if at all.

However, there's more to this. If Sandoval's hamstring keeps him out for extend time, do the Giants change their approach with the trade deadline looming? I would have to think so, especially with Brandon Belt struggling.

UPDATE 10:28 PM: Sandoval's hamstring strain was high according to Bochy. He will get an MRI tomorrow, and will be out for a few days says Bochy. "Hopefully we'll get good news," prayed Bochy after the game.

UPDATE WEDNESDAY: Sandoval had an MRI today. It confirmed that he indeed has a strain in his left hamstring. The Panda will get treatment for the next three days and be reevaluated on Friday which will determine whether or not he goes on the DL

A's Rout Blue Jays Thanks to Two-Out Rally



The A's are known for playing tight ball games, which is proven by their league-leading 11 walk-off wins. Thankfully, this was not one of those nights.

Derek Norris started it all for the A's against the Toronto Blue Jays, hammering a two-run homer into left in the second inning.Travis Snider would respond in the third, crushing a solo shot to cut the A's lead in half to 2-1.

It would remain a close game until the seventh inning, when with two outs, the A's went on a furious rally. Brandon Hicks doubled, and Jemile Weeks tripled to knock him in, Then, after a pitching change, Coco Crisp knocked in Weeks with a double of his own. After loading the bases, Yoenis Cespedes delivered the knockout punch, clearing the bags with a single past the shift in left center. The score after all this? 7-1 Athletics.

JP Arencibia smacked a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth for the Blue Jays and the final score was 7-2 Oakland.

Travis Blackley pitched well for the A's, allowing just the one run on five hits in seven innings.

With their sixth straight win, the A's are now 52-44 and remain in the second wild card spot in the AL.

What's on Tap


AJ Griffin (2-0, 2.70 ERA) will take the mound against Ricky Romero (8-6, 5.22 ERA) in the Rogers Centre tomorrow.

Warriors Two Most Important Players



Sorry Ladies, Stephen Curry isn't one of these player. We all know that he has all-star potential, and will probably be the one to break the Warriors' lack of appearances in the all-star game this season. He isn't that key piece to the offense, however. He can be replaced very easily by Jarrett Jack, who does well filling the role of others.

Speaking of filling someone else's shoes, What about Klay Thompson? The young rookie who was trusted to score 20 PPG just like former Warriors' star Monta Ellis. That's a huge responsibility. All Warrior fans better be praying that he doesn't have a Sophomore Slump. Who are we going to get that scores at a high level just like Monta could do. Thompson did a nice job of that last season. He's only going to go better, as his best years are clearly ahead of him.

Who else is important for the Warriors. Some would say Harrison Barnes has a huge role to fill as the new SF of the team. The Warriors are looking at Andre Kirilenko, which could possibly take away Barnes' starting role.

The quest for body mass and height has been a huge issue. The Warriors were one of the worst teams in rebounding and defense in the league. This is why they made a huge gamble and traded for Andrew Bogut. Bogut is undoubtedly the most key player for these Warriors. He will provide a lack of size, muscle up the people he's defending, and go hard for the rebound - not too hard, or he'll get injured.

A's in Trade Talks for Hanley Ramirez, Chase Headley


Update, 5:56 PM 

The A's are now aggressively pursuing Ramirez, according to Bob Nightingale:
Original Article, Published 9:47 AM


You knew it was only a matter of time before this happened: the A's are looking for an upgrade at shortstop, and are now in talks to acquire Hanley Ramirez from the Miami Marlins.
Ramirez is hitting .246 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI, which is a monumental upgrade over Cliff Pennington's .197 batting average.

He could be the missing piece that could lead the A's into the playoffs. They don't need to worry about pitching (first in the AL in ERA), so getting a few quality bats would deeply improve their playoff chances.

Another possible acquisition is Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres, who is hitting .265 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI.
 Brandon Inge is already the A's third baseman, but with their meager offense, they'll take any threat available.

The bottom line is, the A's are going to have to acquire a bat or two if they are going to contend for a playoff spot. GM Billy Beane has been known to trade for players when his team is in contention, so there's really no reason why they won't end up with another bat.

Source: Warriors Chasing Kirilenko "Hard"



Marc Stein is reporting that the Golden State Warriors are one of the teams interested in free agent Andrei Kirilenko.
 Kirilenko averaged 11.7 PPG in 2010-2011 with the Jazz, and spent last season overseas. The Warriors are most likely looking for him to fill the role of backup PF.

Trade Deadline: Are the Giants Interested in Hanley Ramriez?


Yep, the Marlins are already looking to change the dynamics of their team. This comes just after opening their new ballpark this season, spending hundres of millions of dollars in the offseason on the likes of Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle, and essentially changing everything. The uniforms, the managers, the players, you name it, they probably tweaked it.
However, they decalred themselves as sellers on Sunday and “have never been more open” to moving Hanley Ramirez than they currently are.
The A’s have been rumored as a potenial fit for the slugger, but could their Bay Area rivals be in on Ramirez as well? According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s along with the Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Orioles are all clubs who have shown at least some interest in him. He also states that the interest levels vary from team to team. However, Jon Heyman, CBS Sports’ MLB Expert, thinks that the Giants would be a good fit for Ramirez too.
Here’s what he has to say about the Giants as a potential fit:
 Despite finishing second in All-Star balloting, Brandon Crawford isn’t exactly tearing it up. That said, they like him. And, oh yes, word is they have little money to spend. (Yes, it’s a new era in San Francisco as far as the finances go.)
Rosenthal appeared on MLB Network today, and ensured that a deal between Ramirez and any team is far from complete, though. Yet, he would be “surprised” if the Marlins didn’t move their shortstop by the July 31st trade deadline.
Ramirez, whose hitting just .246 coming into Tuesday’s action, has been on a downward spiral since 2011 when he hit just .243, a career worst. Injuries have biten him as well, and they aren’t your ordinary injuries, either, they’re stupid injuries. More specifically, smashing his hand on water coolers, then failing to take his infection medicine.
However, at 27 years-old, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank to be worth a gamble. Despite his lofty contract (is owed $31.5 million over the next two years), the Giants could use his power bat in the middle of their powerless lineup.
This Article Was First Published on Bay Sports Net

Breakdown of Bazemore Signing



Recent reports indicate that the Warriors have decided to sign the undrafted rookie Kent Bazmore. This is a good thing for the Warriors. If Brandon Rush does decide to come back, there will be more potential lineups to go to. Bazmore is a great player, and signing an undrafted rookie usually ends up working out for the Warriors: Let's break it down.

Usually, undrafted rookies like Anthony Morrow are always motivated to do well. They have something to prove: other teams should have drafted them when they got the chance. In the summer league, Bazemore's clever and smart play drew attention from teams like the Hawks. Luckily the Warriors got to him first. Bazmore will be a fine addition to this already deep Warrior squad. Bazemore is a guard that can rebound the ball, which is key. He's a defensive phenomenon and a shot blocker. His wingspan is 6'10. Lengthy is key for a basketball player. This enables him to grab rebounds and block shots, while also getting into the passing lane. Defense was an area that the Dubs were criticized for.

If Brandon Rush decides to take his talents to LA, then Bazemore would be a great back up to Klay Thompson. Bazmore has a decent shooting touch, great defense, and he pulls down a lot of boards for his position. He's the perfect complement to Jarrett Jack.

When the Warriors decided to sit Klay Thompson out and not risk injury, Bazmore took his place. Many were skeptical the Warriors could keep their perfect record. Bazmore filled Thompson's shoes quite nicely as he filled up the stat sheet every night. In the end, he's a fine addition to the Dubs' roster, and should end up being a fan favorite.

Will this effect Brandon Rush? The Warriors are waiting for Brandon Rush to decide to come back to GSW, but as said before, there are a lot of perks of joining the Lakers. Rush may also be pushed away by the new addition of Kent Bazmore. We'll see how this plays out. If the Warriors get both Rush and Bazemore, then that's just a bonus.

Kent Bazemore Gets Contract From Warriors



HoopsHype first reported that the Golden State Warriors have signed summer-camp invite Kent Bazemore to a two-year, guaranteed deal.

Bazemore impressed during the Warriors' summer league games, coming on as an undrafted rookie. He averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.75 RPG in four games, playing around twenty minutes.

Assuming the Warriors are re-signing Brandon Rush, they will now have a surplus of guards that include Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jarret Jack, and Rush.

 
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