Results tagged ‘ Bruce Bochy ’
Bochy ‘fesses up on Penny hijinks; Velez glows
PHILADELPHIA — Now the story can be told. When Bruce Bochy managed the Padres and Brad Penny pitched against them as a visitor with Florida and the Dodgers, the velocity readings at the ballpark were about 5 mph slower than they should have been.
That’s because Bochy, knowing that Penny habitually checked the speed of his deliveries after every pitch, tried to mess with the right-hander’s head by ordering the velocity gurus to slow down his readings by 5 mph.
Penny casually mentioned this after throwing his eight shutout innings Wednesday night, and Bochy confessed to this crime Thursday.
Trouble was, Penny’s speed-run readings were still impressive. “I’d see ’94,’ ” Bochy said. When he reminded the crew to subtract 5 mph from the speed readings, the reply came, “We are.”
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Despite the Giants’ 2-1 loss Thursday, Eugenio Velez couldn’t resist a smile when he was asked to discuss his home run off his Dominican countryman, Pedro Martinez.
“Man, that’s my favorite pitcher,” Velez said. “I feel so excited because that’s the best pitcher I’ve faced.”
Velez jumped on the game’s first pitch, a fastball. He explained that this was the wisest approach to take against Martinez.
“With a pitcher like him, you have to be aggressive, always,” Velez said. “You’re going to see only one pitch [to hit], and then he’s going to make his pitch.”
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Bengie Molina, who returned to the starting lineup Thursday after an eight-game absence due to a tight right quadriceps, met with Bochy after Wednesday night’s game. Shockingly, they didn’t invite reporters to join them. But Bochy revealed that the talk was constructive and mostly involved Molina’s physical state. The chat apparently wasn’t dominated by Molina’s concerns about management’s plans for him in light of Buster Posey’s promotion, as was reported.
“We talked about [Molina's] start today and we’ll give him more time [off] if he wants,” Bochy said. “He wants to do all he can to help contribute to the cause here.”
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Asked what he thought the ideal scenario for Posey’s Major League debut would be, Bochy said, “I think it would be a start, to help him in his preparation.” That’s not likely, though, as long as Molina stays healthy and the Giants remain in contention.
– Chris Haft
Promising health update for Molina
SAN FRANCISCO — This isn’t extremely detailed, but manager Bruce Bochy said after Thursday night’s 11-0 loss to Arizona that the MRI of catcher Bengie Molina’s right quadriceps revealed a “mild strain.”
The strain was known. The “mild” part was a little less certain.
So, Bochy said, “I think we got some pretty good news there.”
– Chris Haft
Aurilia ready to play but remains on DL
SAN FRANCISCO — Infielder Rich Aurilia was eligible to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Thursday. He remained in limbo instead.
“I think he’s physically ready,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Aurilia, who had tendinitis in his left ankle. “We just don’t have a move to make right now.”
In other words, the Giants would rather have rookie Ryan Rohlinger on their 25-man roster than Aurilia, who has a wealth of experience and, despite his .220 batting average, remains more than capable of battling the best of pitchers, particularly during the late innings.
So Aurilia must wait until roster limits expand to 40 next Tuesday to be activated. Wisely, he remained mostly mum regarding Thursday’s non-events.
“I don’t make those decisions,” he said. “I’m healthy and ready to play.”
– Chris Haft
Tight quad sidelines Molina again; picture Torres
SAN FRANCISCO — Catcher Bengie Molina was out of the lineup for the second game in a row with tightness in his quadriceps. Eli Whiteside replaced Molina, the Giants’ cleanup hitter who’s batting .261 with 15 home runs and 64 RBIs.
Manager Bruce Bochy sounded optimistic that Molina would return soon. But he didn’t want to rush the veteran. “Let’s get that thing healthy,” Bochy said, referring to Molina’s injury.
Third baseman Pablo Sandoval (strained right calf) also began his second consecutive game on the bench, though he remained available to pinch-hit, as he did Tuesday night.
The Giants want both Molina and Sandoval at full strength by Friday, when they begin their critical three-game rematch against the Colorado Rockies.
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The Giants posed for their team picture Wednesday, and it was too bad that outfielder Andres Torres wasn’t around. Torres is playing in Arizona as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Torres hustled his way onto the Opening Day roster and was instrumental in a couple of victories earlier this season. The team photo simply wouldn’t be complete without him.
– Chris Haft
All hope is not lost, but …
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants’ season and their playoff push are far from over. But after their 6-4, 14-inning loss Monday at Colorado, anybody feeling less than hopeful is excused.
In 40 years of following this team, this is among the most crushing come-from-ahead defeats I’ve witnessed (albeit on TV; I wasn’t on assignment for the Rockies series). Granted, the Giants are well-positioned to shrug off the effects of this setback and losing three of four to the Rockies, who lead them by four games in the National League Wild Card standings. If the Giants can recover against Arizona while Colorado struggles against the Dodgers in the next few days, San Francisco will be poised to regain ground when the Rockies visit AT&T Park next weekend.
After all, it’s not even September yet.
But for now, the Giants are reeling.
The bullpen that has sustained the Giants so well this season is in rough shape. Most relievers are suddenly overworked. Those who aren’t no longer inspire confidence, such as Merkin Valdez. If the Giants put second baseman Freddy Sanchez on the disabled list, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them fill his spot on the 25-man roster with a reliever, though lacking a full complement of position players handcuffed manager Bruce Bochy somewhat in the 14-inning marathon.
The Giants’ plight will be worsened if third baseman Pablo Sandoval is out for more than a few days with his calf injury.
Tuesday’s pregame hours could be intriguing as the Giants evaluate the fitness of Sandoval and their bullpen.
– Chris Haft
Lewis is a lucky charm; contemplating Bill Hall
CINCINNATI — Fred Lewis will take the Giants’ lineup to home plate for the umpires before Wednesday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
That’s because he did it before Tuesday’s game, which the Giants won. And before Monday’s game, which the Giants won. Baseball folks are superstitious that way.
Typically, bench coach Ron Wotus does the honors. But the Giants will ride Lewis’ luck as long as they can. Besides, Bochy and Wotus pretty much know each ballpark’s ground rules. They can adjust to Lewis’ interpretation.
“We had to talk to him for a while to get them all figured out, but he was pretty close on them,” Bochy said jokingly.
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The Milwaukee Brewers have until Friday to try to engineer a trade for utility man Bill Hall, who they designated for assignment last week. I heard third-hand that the Giants might be among the interested teams. Now, I’ll readily admit that “third-hand” is a pretty flimsy source. Except that this particular source often knows what he’s talking about.
Still, it’s difficult to figure out why the Giants would need Hall. They’ve already got Juan Uribe as an infield handyman, and though they could use a spare right-handed-hitting outfield, it’s not a crying need. I’m guessing nothing will happen, though I’ve been wrong a few million times before.
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FYI: Catcher Buster Posey, who needed a few days off to nurse a minor injury, returned to Triple-A Fresno’s lineup Tuesday and went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run scored.
– Chris Haft
Looking past Reds to Dodgers? Naaah
SAN FRANCISCO — Bruce Bochy seemed horrified at the mere thought that any of the Giants might — m-i-g-h-t — be looking past this weekend’s series against the Cincinnati Reds to the three-game set against the National League West rival Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Monday.
“We’re playing the Reds right now,” Bochy said before Friday night’s 10-5 loss to Cincinnati. “That’s our focus. That’s how it has to be.”
Fresh off the disabled list and a Minor League injury rehabilitation assignment, infielder Rich Aurilia said that he’d be more than happy to help Bochy point the less-experienced Giants in the proper direction, if necessary.
“Hopefully we can instill that in some of the younger guys. Just worry about winning tonight and not about what happens Monday,” Aurilia said.
Still … as a public service, here are the pitching matchups for the Dodgers series:
Monday: Hiroki Kuroda (4-5, 4.44 ERA) vs. Jonathan Sanchez (5-9, 4.49);
Tuesday: Randy Wolf (5-6, 3.55) vs. Joe Martinez (2-0, 5.87);
Wednesday: Chad Billingsley (11-6, 3.73) vs. Tim Lincecum (12-3, 2.20)
Los Angeles right-hander Jason Schmidt was in line to face his ex-teammates, but he returned to the disabled list with a shoulder injury.
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Get this: Buster Posey hit his third home run for Triple-A Fresno on Friday night. As a shrewd witness in Fresno observed, the pitcher who yielded Posey’s homer, Clay Hensley, happened to allow Barry Bonds’ 755th career homer in August 2007. Hensley was then pitching for the San Diego Padres.
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Shortstop Edgar Renteria probably would have preferred a more pleasant 34th birthday. His double error in the fifth inning handed Cincinnati an unearned run. With two outs, Renteria fumbled Willy Taveras’ grounder, then threw wildly past first base. That allowed Taveras to reach second base and score on Alex Gonzalez’s subsequent single.
Nevertheless, I will leave AT&T Park tonight with a higher opinion of Renteria than I had when I arrived here. A Reds coach who I deeply admire told me before the game that Renteria’s positive influence, particularly on younger Latin American players, has been obvious. This echoes what a Giants coach recently told me. I suppose I feel somewhat ashamed that people had to point this out to me; this is something I should be able to observe myself. But Renteria is extremely soft-spoken and goes about his business in an unassuming manner, never calling attention to himself. I’m sure Renteria’s intangibles are an asset. I’m also sure he prefers to operate below the radar, so to speak.
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Also:
– The Reds have won six consecutive games against the Giants.
– Eugenio Velez extended his hitting streak to 13 games. He’s batting .429 (24-for-56) in this span.
– Pablo Sandoval recorded his fourth multiple-hit game in a row, hiking his batting average to .336.
– The last time San Francisco committed five errors in a game — June 25, 2005 at Oakland in a 6-3 loss — the club took that hangover into its next performance, a 16-0 loss to the A’s which had to have been one of the Giants’ worst defeats since moving to San Francisco in 1958. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that the current Giants won’t follow up Friday’s dud with another one.
– Chris Haft
Aurilia returns to active roster
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants regained a potentially valuable performer for the stretch drive Friday as they recalled infifelder Rich Aurilia from his Minor League injury rehabilitation assignment and optioned first baseman-outfielder John Bowker to Triple-A Fresno.
Short-term, Aurilia can supplement the Giants’ infield depth, since Juan Uribe has been bothered by a hamstring injury. Uribe did not appear in three of San Francisco’s last four games entering Friday.
More importantly, Aurilia’s .210 batting average belies his ability to put together a solid at-bat when it matters most. He remains competent in late-inning pressure situations, when he invariably works the count, shortens his swing, doesn’t panic with two strikes and, more often than not, makes meaningful, productive contact.
Aurilia’s only hits in 17 at-bats during his rehab assignment with Fresno and Class A San Jose were two home runs.
“It was valuable for me in the sense that I got to play and get some repetitive at-bats,” said Aurilia, whose five-game stint was precipitated by an infected right big toe. “I got out of it what I wanted to get out of it.”
Aurilia acknowledged that returning to Class A for the first time since 1993 awakened memories he would have preferred to remain dormant. San Jose’s ballpark lacks a center-field batter’s eye and, many believe, adequate lighting. “It makes you appreciate how spoiled we are up here,” Aurilia said.
Bowker played only twice in his second stint of the season with the Giants, but he went out in memorable fashion by belting a monstrous triple to center in Wednesday’s victory at Houston. Don’t be surprised if Bowker rejoins the Giants in September when rosters are expanded to 40 players.
Manager Bruce Bochy said that Bowker calmly accepted his demotion. “He understood that we have a need right now [for Aurilia] to give us insurance in the infield,” Bochy said.
– Chris Haft
Torres to DL, Bowker returns
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants placed outfielder Andres Torres on the 15-day disabled list with an strained left hamstring Friday and replaced him on the active roster by recalling first baseman-outfielder John Bowker from Triple-A Fresno.
With right fielder Nate Schierholtz and infielder Rich Aurilia already on the disabled list, Torres’ injury further diluted the Giants’ contingent of position players. That, manager Bruce Bochy explained, was why the Giants had hoped to avoid sidelining Torres.
“He’s very valuable on this ballclub,” Bochy said. “It’s a tough loss for us.”
Torres hurt himself as he rounded first base on a fly out to right field in Thursday night’s second inning. He said that this injury wasn’t as serious as the one which affected the same hamstring and forced him to the DL in late April. But Torres plays at one gear — fast — which leaves him susceptible to mishaps. He was running full speed although he had hit a routine fly.
“I have to learn when to go hard and when not to,” Torres said.
Torres’ overall numbers, which include a .247 batting average, two home runs, 13 RBIs and five stolen bases in five tries spanning 53 games, aren’t overwhelming. But he contributed significantly to each of the Giants’ four consecutive victories:
– His two-run triple was the biggest hit in Monday’s three-run second inning that lifted the Giants to a 4-2 decision over Pittsburgh;
– He doubled and scored what proved to be a key run in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s 3-2 win;
– Despite going 0-for-4 Wednesday, he drew a two-out walk that prolonged the 10th inning for Randy Winn’s single, which scored the game’s lone run and concluded San Francisco’s three-game sweep of Pittsburgh;
– After Philadelphia jumped ahead with a first-inning run Thursday, Torres stimulated the Giants with a leadoff bunt single that ignited a two-run uprising in their half of the inning and reclaimed momentum for them.
Bowker’s stay could be extremely brief. Bochy hinted that Bowker could return to Fresno when newly acquired second baseman Freddy Sanchez is activated before Saturday’s game.
– Chris Haft
Chris Haft
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