Andres Torres burst onto the scene for the Giants in 2010, and was a big part of the team’s first World Series title since moving to San Francisco. He hit .268 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs atop the lineup to set the table for the heart of the order.
Already 32 years old at the time, Torres was somewhat of a phenomenon — a journeyman minor-leaguer finally getting an extended opportunity with a competing club and thriving.
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It’s official: The Giants are no longer flying under the radar. Coming off a season in which they rallied to their second World Series title in three years, no teams will be underestimating the Giants in 2013.
Despite hitting the fewest home runs in the majors last season, the Giants were able to compete with an established pitching staff and some young players coming into their own to get to the playoffs.
From there, the road got a little bumpy, but the tight-knit group showed remarkable chemistry, staving off elimination six times in the playoffs.
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PEORIA, ARIZ. — Left-hander Barry Zito ended his 2012 campaign with a flourish, coming up with two monumental starts that were instrumental in the Giants’ second World Series title in three years.
The Giants’ hope of Zito taking that confidence into the 2013 season seems more likely by the outing. In Tuesday’s 6-3 spring loss to the Seattle Mariners, Zito struck out seven in five innings of work, at times making sluggers Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse look foolish.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It wasn’t luck that Cole Gillespie had on his side Sunday when he capped off the Giants’ 9-7 win against the Colorado Rockies with a walk-off home run. It was motivation.
With just two weeks of spring training games left, and just a few precious roster spots remaining, the up-and-coming Gillespie made a pretty solid argument for himself in the bottom of the ninth on a home run to center field on a 3-2 pitch on St. Patrick’s Day.
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Pitching has been the Giants’ calling card ever since the Barry Bonds era ended. But that came at a price — a meager offense.So with two trades, the Giants gave up key pitchers (Jonathan Sanchez and top prospect Zack Wheeler) for bats (Melky Cabrera and Carlos Beltran).While the Beltran trade didn’t pay off in a playoff berth, adding Cabrera this offseason in addition to a swap of center fielders (Andres Torres is out and Angel Pagan is in) is key to the Giants making their offense productive and reducing the stress on the starting pitching.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The story of spring training in 2011 for the Giants was, without question, Brandon Belt. Belt had put up great numbers at three minor-league levels in 2010, and swung his way onto the major-league squad by putting up impressive Cactus League numbers. Belt couldn’t hold back tears after being told he had made the big-league club out of camp by manager Bruce Bochy, a scenario that played out in detail on Showtime’s “The Franchise.”
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Tinkering: Giants left-hander Barry Zito is working on finding the proper movement on his fastball in the Cactus League as he prepares for the season.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A day in the designated hitter slot may have been all Buster Posey needed to get his swing going. In his third at-bat of Wednesday’s 2-2 tie against the Cleveland Indians, he drove a 1-1 fastball to right field that easily cleared the fence for a home run — his first hit of spring training.
Posey downplayed the importance of the home run, but admitted everyone likes to get on the board.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Madison Bumgarner still has some tuning up to do. “That’s what spring training is for,” said the 22-year-old lefty, still the youngest pitcher in camp.
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SURPRISE, Ariz. — Tim Lincecum had a chance to stretch out, pitching four innings in a game for the first time this spring and virtually shutting down the Kansas City Royals to earn the win in the Giants’ 2-1 victory Monday.
Lincecum, who had been roughed up in his previous spring starts, entered the game with a 13.50 ERA, but knocked that down to 6.75 after keeping runners off the basepaths, facing the minimum number of batters through the first three innings.
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WHAT: America’s health care bill will jump from $2.7 trillion this year to $4.6 trillion in 2020. It will take $1 of every $5 in the economy instead of the current $1 out of $6 and go from $8,650 per capita up to $13,710.
WHY: Medicare’s nonpartisan Actuary Office said health care spending grows faster than the economy mostly because an aging society consumes more services. Most health dollars go for care of the sickest people.
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WHAT: Pakistan is sending out a battalion of Washington lobbyists to fight for continuation of its $3 billion in annual U.S. aid. The Pakistani government is panicked at the rising congressional suspicions that it deliberately hid Osama bin Laden for six years.
HOW: Mark Siegel, partner in a Washington lobbying firm paid $900,000 a year by the Pakistani government — told Reuters that President Asif Ali Zardari personally told him twice to mount an all-out effort to protect Pakistan’s American aid.
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Garth Langley, a San Carlos resident and sergeant of the San Mateo police cadet program, will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps today. San Mateo police Chief Susan E. Manheimer, whose son is a first lieutenant in the Marines and is serving in Afghanistan, will be the keynote speaker and will present Langley with the Officer Mameluke Sword.
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The revised plans for a Ascension Heights, the 13.25-acre property in San Mateo, will go before the San Mateo County Planning Commission next week. Plans for the parcel have come under fire by neighbors, who have complained about the hazards of truck traffic and dirt removal from the construction site. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors last month sent the latest revised plans to the Planning Commission. The public can comment on them Wednesday.
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USF women’s basketball coach Jennifer Azzi joined the WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury and President Barack Obama at the White House in the nation’s capital. Azzi helped lead an event, spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama, on the White House basketball courts to promote health and wellness.
In addition, Azzi had the opportunity to meet and speak for a few moments with President Obama.
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