A look at the 2012 San Francisco Giants.
Read More
Much has been made of the differences between the 2010 Giants and the 2012 version. One thing, however, has remained constant.
Both teams were built on pitching and defense, with a foundation of homegrown talent.
The philosophy of bringing up players from within the organization has never been more present than this year, when Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt joined the championship run, and Pablo Sandoval played a significantly bigger role.
Read More
Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner did his job on the mound Thursday night, but his fruitless day at the plate marked the end of a record-setting streak after pitchers recorded an RBI in each of the previous three games, the first time that had happened in postseason history.
“They’re part of the offense too,” manager Bruce Bochy said of his swinging pitchers. “That’s why we, just like a lot of clubs, they take batting practice every day. They bunt every day. And there’s a good chance they could come up there and help themselves, and our guys have done a great job.”
Read More
Pablo Sandoval had a historic night in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday, and a few hundred of his closest friends made sure to offer their thoughts on his three-homer game.
“300 text messages, man,” he said Thursday.
He didn’t hear from the other living members of the club he joined, Albert Pujols and Reggie Jackson, but he did get one message he didn’t expect.
“The president [of Venezuela] sent me a tweet yesterday,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.”
Read More
Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Albert Pujols, and now, Pablo Sandoval.
Those are the only four players to hit three home runs in a World Series game, a list the San Francisco third baseman joined as the Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 on Wednesday at AT&T Park to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Read More
Lefty Madison Bumgarner will get the start in today’s Game 2 of the World Series after having his spot skipped in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series in favor of Tim Lincecum.
The 23-year-old had previously been working out some mechanical issues that may have contributed to a decrease in velocity and production over the past several weeks, though he said it’s too soon to tell whether he’ll feel as good as he had most of the year.
Read More
The Giants knew the St. Louis Cardinals had rallied from a 6-0 deficit in the deciding game of their NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals. They were watching on the plane in Ohio while waiting to see which city they would head to for the NL Championship Series.
“It could be 20-0 and we still have to go out there and get it done,” outfielder Angel Pagan said following Monday’s Game 7 victory.
Read More
Marco Scutaro could have taken a day off after being plowed through by St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series. Instead he put on a show at the plate for the rest of the series on his way to NLCS MVP honors.
The Giants second baseman, who came over in a trade with the Colorado Rockies on July 28, set a record for multihit games in an LCS with six, tied an LCS record and set a franchise record with 14 hits in the series, all while playing sparkling defense.
Read More
The Giants have no shortage of postseason veterans on the active roster, though several players who haven’t taken the field have been hanging around the team during this postseason run as well.
Freddy Sanchez, who hasn’t played all year, has been helping out during pregame warmups, and Will Clark and J.T. Snow have both been mainstays around AT&T Park all season. The Giants have had past playoff heroes throw out the first pitch at each home game, including Clark, Jeffrey Leonard, Benito Santiago and Kenny Lofton.
Read More
Giants manager Bruce Bochy joined in the budding tradition of pregame speeches before Game 5 in St. Louis, which up until that point had been handled by Hunter Pence. The manager said he wasn’t trying to step on the outfielder’s toes, however.
“I really was trying to tee it up for Hunter and let him go, more than anything,” Bochy said. “I just felt like I should say something there before Hunter did because these guys, I couldn’t be prouder of how they’re going out there every day and fighting, and that’s what the game is about.”
Read More
Once again, the Giants played with their backs against the wall. Once again, they lived to play another day.
San Francisco rallied behind seven solid innings from Ryan Vogelsong and another offensive show from Marco Scutaro to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Sunday at AT&T Park and push the NL Championship Series to a decisive Game 7 today.
The Giants have now won five consecutive elimination games this postseason, as the team’s fighting spirit has come through again and again over the past two weeks.
Read More
The Giants saw first-hand over the past two seasons what having an All-Star catcher like Buster Posey can mean to a club.
In 2010, they won the World Series during his rookie year, failed to make the playoffs when he missed most of 2011, then rode his MVP-caliber season to a National League West title this year.
It’s a feeling the St. Louis Cardinals are very familiar with. Yadier Molina has been to the past four All-Star Games, won three Gold Gloves and caught one of the better starting rotations during his eight years as a starter.
Read More
While any player making his first appearance in the postseason is bound to get a thrill out of the experience, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford has a few extra factors in play during the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Crawford was born in Mountain View and grew up in Pleasanton, and though he has gotten used to playing for the team he rooted for as a kid, having his loved ones close by has made a difference.
Read More
As if Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong’s story wasn’t heartwarming enough after returning to the big leagues last year following a five-year stint overseas, the 35-year-old right hander sparkled in his first career playoff start last week and will start today’s Game 2 of the NLCS.
Vogelsong said his first experience with the postseason wasn’t what he expected.
“Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous,” he said Sunday. “And that worried me a little bit because in the past when I’ve been in some not-quite-as-big games as that ... the nerves are usually good.”
Read More
The Giants players each used one phrase repeatedly following Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds that put them in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five series.
“We don’t really have a choice,” catcher and MVP candidate Buster Posey said. “Our backs are against the wall. We’ve got to go out, fight, scrap and claw until the end.”
Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/people/benjamin-martin?page=4
