2008 San Francisco Giants

[MuertoDesagradecido]

With a pretty good looking real roster set now out there I'm looking to get my dynasty-making fix again with the Giants. My ground rules:

Ratings will be out of 5 with potential and other ratings out of ten. This keeps me from having too good an idea of how my players are developing.

Trading is set on low/hard/favor prospects for now although I may change it later depending how things go. For myself personally I try to limit myself to trades which I could actually see happening. For example, I vetoed my own deal of Randy Winn and Patrick Misch to the Marlins for Scott Olsen because the Marlins wouldn't be willing to take on that salary even if the AI thinks it's a good deal on talent.

That said, typically I've strived for realism to the point where I mimic some of the Giants own bad moves but this time I'm going to play the guys I think they should play, realism be damned.

[MuertoDesagradecido]

May 29th, 2008


23-year-old Tim Lincecum will be the starter on Opening Day with just 24 major-league starts to his name

New Management Shakes Things Up

SAN FRANCISCO -- New general manager Jake Scott promised a drastic change from Brian Sabean when he took the helm of the San Francisco Giants organization and he's certainly proving to be just that as he re-affirmed his commitment to the youth movement by naming second-year fireballer Tim Lincecum the Giants Opening Day starter over both disappointing free agent signing Barry Zito (11-13 in the first season of his seven-year $137 million contract) and young stud Matt Cain (7-16 in 2007 despite a 3.65 ERA). Cain will follow with Zito third, fellow lefty Jonathan Sanchez fourth, and right-hander Kevin Correia picking up the fifth spot. Noah Lowry will begin the season on the Disabled List continuing to deal with arm troubles that sidelined him late last season.

The bullpen will feature the same commitment to youth with 31-year-old Tyler Walker and 39-year-old Keiichi Yabu filling the veteran role and the remainder of the 'pen filled with youngsters, most with several years of major-league experience such as Brian Wilson, Jack Taschner, Brad Hennessey, and Randy Messenger but one a fresh-faced rookie in unknown left-hander Alex Hinshaw.

The lineup will feature Fred Lewis in what promises to be a starting role although days off against tough left-handers will not be uncommon with Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn filling out the rest of the outfield and Dave Roberts filling the role of fourth outfielder. The versatility in carrying only four outfielders allows the team more depth on the infield where rookie Ivan Ochoa is filling in for the injured Omar Vizquel and the remaining three spots seem poised to go to a combination of veterans Rich Aurilia and Ray Durham and relative youngsters Jose Castillo and Eugenio Velez. The surprise last infield spot has gone to 31-year-old minor-league vet Justin Leone who can play infield and outfield and has one major-league at-bat to his name with the Padres in 2006.

Final 25 Man Roster
Ages accurate as of Opening Day

RHP Tim Lincecum (23)
RHP Matt Cain (23)
LHP Barry Zito (29)
LHP Jonathan Sanchez (25)
RHP Kevin Correia (27)

LHP Alex Hinshaw (25)
RHP Randy Messenger (26)
LHP Jack Taschner (27)
RHP Keiichi Yabu (39)
RHP Brad Hennessey (28)
RHP Tyler Walker (31)
RHP Brian Wilson (26)

C Bengie Molina (33)
1B Dan Ortmeier (26)
2B Ray Durham (36)
3B Rich Aurilia (36)
SS Ivan Ochoa (25)
LF Fred Lewis (26)
CF Aaron Rowand (30)
RF Randy Winn (33)

C Eliezer Alfonzo (29)
IF/OF Justin Leone (31)
2B/3B Jose Castillo (27)
IF Eugenio Velez (25)
OF Dave Roberts (35)

[kailnurah]

Lifetime Giants fan and will be following this one. Ochoa on Opening Day -- an interesting idea that I sort of wish had come up a little earlier, although I still hope Burriss gets up to Fresno in your game soon.

Leone...interesting choice, but deserved a look. =)

[MuertoDesagradecido]

April 1st, 2008


Rich Aurilia watches his game-tying home run off of Takashi Saito in the ninth inning

Giants Triumph in Overtime Opener
San Francisco 5, Los Angeles 3 (10 innings)

What looked like a disappointing start to the season turned out to be an exciting hard-fought victory as the Giants rallied from a ninth-inning deficit to steal an Opening Day victory from the rival Dodgers on the road. Rich Aurilia's leadoff home run in the ninth inning off of Dodger closer Takashi Saito tied the game after the bullpen had squandered a lead and Randy Winn's two-run double in the tenth proved to be the difference in the back-and-forth contest.

Giants starter Tim Lincecum was dominant, allowing only four hits in his six innings of work while striking out six and walking two, his only blemish a two-out RBI single to Jeff Kent in the first inning. The Giants took an early lead in the first on a two-out Randy Winn single and reclaimed that margin when Fred Lewis walked to lead off the third and scored from first on a Bengie Molina double. Lincecum departed after throwing 109 pitches and things quickly deteriorated from there when Randy Messenger allowed a single, a passed ball, and a walk before giving way to Brad Hennessey who threw a wild pitch to put two men in scoring position. Pinch-hitting former Giant Mike Sweeney lofted a deep enough fly ball to score a run but things could have been much worse as Juan Pierre was caught stealing third base and Rafael Furcal flew out to end the inning. The eighth wasn't much better as Hennessey gave up an RBI double to Jeff Kent to make it a 3-2 Los Angeles lead but with Aurilia and Winn leading the way the Giants were able to rally and closer Brian Wilson worked around a pair of walks to pitch a scoreless bottom of the tenth for his first save.

Brad Penny received a no decision, allowing only three hits and three walks in seven innings of work while Dodgers closer Takashi Saito was charged with three runs, a blown save, and the loss in his one and two thirds frames. Jeff Kent had two hits and two RBI against his former team while Matt Kemp doubled and walked twice. Blockbuster free agent signing Andruw Jones went 0 for 5 and left four men on base. The offensive leaders for the Giants were Randy Winn with three RBI and Bengie Molina with three hits including an RBI double while Tyler Walker notched the victory with a scoreless ninth inning of work.

Tomorrow's contest will match-up hard-throwing young righthander Matt Cain against... hard-throwing right-hander Chad Billingsley as the Giants try to take their first series victory against the Dodgers in more than a year.

[MuertoDesagradecido]

April 2nd, 2008


Chad Billingsley was dominant, allowing only one Giant to reach scoring position in a four-hit shutout victory

Billingsley Shuts Down Giants With Gem
San Francisco 0, Los Angeles 6

The excitement of yesterday's come-from-behind victory didn't last long into Game Two of the series as Matt Cain was knocked around early and often and Chad Billingsley muffled any chance for a comeback with a dominant shutout victory, the first of his young career.

Cain didn't have his best stuff from the start, being scored upon in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings and failing to make it out of the fifth after a no-out two-run homer by Andruw Jones made it a six run deficit. His final line on the night was an ugly one, five runs (six earned) in four innings, nine hits (four for extra bases) and a walk. Offensively the Giants only hitter to reach second base was Fred Lewis on a second-inning double and the only one to reach base twice was Eugenio Velez who had a pair of singles while starting at shortstop. Lewis and Molina also made errors while Aaron Rowand was hitless with two strikeouts and has yet to reach base as a Giant.

The Dodgers offense was churning on all cylinders with Matt Kemp collecting four hits and Andruw Jones driving in three runs, more than enough to back the stellar Billingsley who allowed only five baserunners all night while striking out ten Giants in his complete game victory. The right-hander threw 111 pitches but there weren't many willing to question Joe Torre's move to bring him back out for the ninth inning after he struck out the side in the eighth and he rewarded his manager's confidence by needing only 13 pitches to wrap up the win.

Taxed by Cain's early departure the Giants bullpen was at least a strong point as Randy Messenger and Tyler walker pitched scoreless frames and veteran Keiichi Yabu struck out four in two innings of work. Tomorrow the Giants will have another chance to take the series victory as Barry Zito takes the field with a lot to prove against 33-year-old Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda.

[MuertoDesagradecido]

April 3rd, 2008


Bruce Bochy removes Alex Hinshaw from the game after he surrendered a two-run homer in the seventh.

San Francisco Scuffles To Series Loss
San Francisco 2, Los Angeles 6

An underwhelming effort from Barry Zito and the bullpen gave the Giants lineup little chance to fight back as the Dodgers won their second in a row to take their Opening Day series against San Francisco two games to one.

Zito was solid early on, not allowing a hit through the first three innings including a four-pitch first but he struggled in the fourth walking Matt Kemp on five pitches to lead off the inning and allowing singles to four of the next five batters to plate three runs and watching as a throwing error from Bengie Molina on a double steal attempt allowed a fourth run to cross the plate before he could escape the inning. Zito ended up pitching six frames allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks while striking out two Dodgers. The Giants cut the lead in half in the fifth when Dan Ortmeier doubled and Ivan Ochoa walked before a perfect sacrifice bunt from Zito set up a two-run two-out single off the bat of Ray Durham and it became a one-run game when Ochoa added a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Unfortunately the bullpen couldn't keep it close as Alex Hinshaw allowed Andruw Jones' second two-run homer in as many days and the Giants couldn't rally in the final two innings.

Hiroki Kuroda turned in a strong debut start for Los Angeles with eight innings of work allowing three runs, striking out four, and walking a pair. Takashi Saito bounced back from his Opening Day blown save with a scoreless ninth and every batter in the Dodgers lineup (excluding Kuroda) reached base at least once with Jones, James Loney, Juan Pierre, and Juan Gonzalez all knocking in runs. Second baseman Chin Lung Hu had a single and two walks and also made a very nice snare of a Rich Aurilia grounder that turned into an game-ending double play in the ninth inning.

San Francisco will continue their road trip with a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers tomorrow with the first game scheduled to feature Jonathan Sanchez for the Giants and free agent addition Jeff Suppan for the Crew.

[MuertoDesagradecido]

April 4th, 2008


Keiichi Yabu sits in the dugout moments before Prince Fielder's sacrifice fly ends the game.

Shaky Pitching Dooms Giants in Third Straight Loss
San Francisco 3, Milwaukee 4

Jonathan Sanchez was effectively wild against a potent Brewers lineup but left with the game tied and the bullpen couldn't hold a 3-2 lead, being scored upon in the eighth and ninth ending with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.

Sanchez allowed eleven baserunners on six hits and five walks in five innings of work but he also struck out five and allowed only two runs coming on back-to-back solo homers from Ryan Braun and J.J. Hardy in the fifth. The lineup continued to be a strong point in close games however as the Giants struck back to tie the game in the sixth on doubles from Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn and went ahead in the sixth as Dave Roberts drove in Dan Ortmeier from third with a one-out single. The lead was short-lived however as Tyler Walker gave up a game-tying RBI double to pinch-hitter Gabe Gross in the eighth and the ninth was even worse as Keiichi Yabu allowed three straight singles to load the bases before being pulled and Randy Messenger couldn't get out of the impossible jam as Prince Fielder lofted a 2-1 fastball easily deep enough to score the runner for the walk-off victory.

Reliever Mike DeFelice was the winner for the Brewers with a scoreless inning of work while Yabu took the loss, not retiring a batter. Ryan Braun had three hits while the first five hitters in the Milwaukee lineup all reached base at least twice to keep a constant supply of scoring opportunities. Jeff Suppan went seven and a third innings allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out one, and Eric Gagne had retired the only two batters he faced . Offensively for the Giants Dan Ortmeier had two hits, relishing his chance to play every day, while Roberts had two RBI and a stolen base in his first start of the season. Overall it has been a slow start for the lineup though as only Ortmeier has a batting average over .200 although Bengie Molina and Dave Roberts are right at it.

The three-game series continues tomorrow as Kevin Correia will face rookie left-hander Manny Parra as both teams opt not to skip their fifth starters, the Giants protecting young ace Tim Lincecum and the Brewers injury-prone star Ben Sheets.

[MuertoDesagradecido]

Note: Unfortunately my computer apparently crashed without OOTP saving (I thought I had autosave set to daily, so the next couple of games had to be replayed.

[MuertoDesagradecido]

April 6th, 2008


Eugenio Velez scores the Giants only run in the first inning. Velez went 3 for 3 with three stolen bases to raise his batting average to .692.

Lincecum Dominates, Velez Does the Rest
San Francisco 1, Milwaukee 0

Hot hand Eugenio Velez stayed hot, not being retired all night, stealing three bases in three attempts, and scoring the Giants only run in the first and that was all they needed as diminutive phenom Tim Lincecum was dominant in a six-hit shutout, striking out ten Brewers and walking only two. The series victory pulls the Giants back to .500 after a disappointing series loss to the rival Dodgers and gives the team some momentum as they prepare for their home opener tomorrow.

"Unhittable" was the word Milwaukee left fielder Ryan Braun, an emerging star in his own right, used to describe Lincecum and one could see why as Braun was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, and in fact most of the Brewers team would have to agree with the possible exception of Prince Fielder and Russell Branyan who collected five of Milwaukee's six hits between them. Lincecum had his best stuff from the start, striking out the side in order in the first inning and fanning at least one batter in seven of his nine innings of work. He had to be that good to outduel Ben Sheets who allowed only six hits himself in eight innings of stellar work, his only blemish a first inning where Eugenio Velez walked, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a Randy Winn single for the only run of the night.

Velez has been red-hot for the Giants, starting in left field tonight and extending his multi-hit game streak to three. Over the last two games he is 7 for 9 with two doubles, a triple, a walk, and three stolen bases more or less forcing San Francisco to find playing time for him. That will be a bit easier as preliminary reports from the Giants medical staff indicate that Aaron Rowand may miss more time than was originally thought as his wrist has shown no improvement despite negative X-rays. Randy Winn raised his team-leading batting average to .308 with two hits but the rest of the lineup has yet to get hot - although if the pitching staff can manage a few more gems like these it won't even matter.

Tomorrow night will be the Giants home opener as Matt Cain will take the mound against San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy who has always been tough on Giants hitters. That contest will key off a ten-game homestand as San Francisco tries to build off the momentum of their last two victories.

[giantsfan777]

which roster set are you using. where can i get it?

[BostonRS14]

Sell high on Velez, maybe the Yanks will give you the farm for him