Eat, Drink and Sleep Baseball

Giants place Brian Wilson on the DL

2011-08-21T18:30:00.000-04:00

The San Francisco Giants have placed closer Brian Wilson on the 15-day disabled list (DL).

Since he last pitched on August 15th, Wilson is eligible to come off the DL on August 31st.

"We put him on the DL so we did not have the urge to push him," [Giants manager Bruce] Bochy said, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. "Or to have Willie go out there when he's not right. He wanted to try to get through it. Long term, it's the best thing for his career."

While Wilson is out, it appears that Jeremy Affeldt is most likely going to get the ball in the ninth.

On the season, Affeldt is 1-2 with three saves, 12 holds and 49 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings pitched. His ERA is 2.63 and WHIP is 1.15.

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Starting Pitcher Rankings

2011-03-30T22:37:00.011-04:00

How early should you draft starting pitchers in fantasy baseball?

The answer you get to that question will probably vary quite a bit from person to person, but there is a fairly consistent strategy I've used in drafting my teams. Typically, I will look to add one elite pitcher, a top-five (or so) starter, within the first five rounds. After I draft my "ace," I will look to find one or two solid values in the 10-12 round range (or so) and then a few guys with lots of upside late in the draft.

Here are my top 40 starting pitchers for fantasy baseball in 2011:

1. Roy Halladay, Phillies: In the past three seasons, Halladay has posted sub-3.00 ERAs, struck out 200-plus batters and thrown nine complete games each season. During that span, Halladay has won 58 games, which doesn't include a post-season no-hitter in his first ever post-season start last year.

2. Tim Lincecum, Giants: Through four seasons, Lincecum has struck out 907 batters in 811 innings pitched. That's a career K/9 rate of 10.07. Lincecum, who's averaged 252.3 strikeouts per year over the past three seasons, is 248 away from tying Tom Seaver's record for most strikeouts in a pitcher's first five years during the modern era.

3. Felix Hernandez, Mariners: "King" Felix, who is more like a 2(a) in these rankings, won the A.L. Cy Young last year despite finishing with a 13-12 record due to poor run support. Hernandez struck out 232 batters and posted a 2.27 ERA in 249.2 innings last year.

4. Cliff Lee, Phillies: In 2010, Lee walked a total of 18 batters in 212.1 innings pitched, which was a league-best 0.76 walks per nine innings. Not surprisingly, Lee, who struck out 185 batters, led baseball in K/BB ratio (10.28) last year as well. In fact, Halladay, his new teammate, finished second in the category (7.30) while Jered Weaver finished third (4.31).

5. Jon Lester, Red Sox: Similar to Lincecum and Hernandez, Lester and Yankees' ace C.C. Sabathia are 5 and 5(a) in these rankings. In the past three seasons, Lester has posted an ERA under 3.50 each year while compiling a record of 50-23 during that span. In addition, he has struck out 450 batters in 411.1 innings over the past two seasons.

6. C.C. Sabathia, Yankees: By limiting the Cap'n Crunch this off-season, Sabathia was able to shed 25 pounds. Regardless, Sabathia has a 40-15 record in his two seasons in the Bronx with ERAs of 3.37 and 3.18, respectively.

7. Justin Verlander, Tigers: With the exception of 2008 (11-17 and 4.84 ERA), Verlander has won 17-plus games with a sub-4.00 ERA every year since 2006. He has 488 strikeouts in the past two seasons and posted a career-best ERA of 3.37 in 2010.

8. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers: Kershaw, who just turned 23 years old earlier this month, has finished with a sub-3.00 ERA for two consecutive seasons in addition to setting career highs in wins (13) and strikeouts (212) last year. The sky's the limit for the former high school teammate of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.

9. Tommy Hanson, Braves: Hanson, who is only 24 years old, has put up solid back-to-back seasons. In his first full season, Hanson struggled a bit in the first half last year, but he finished strong (2.51 ERA after the All-Star break).

10. Chris Carpenter, Cardinals: While 2007 and 2008 were wiped out due to injury, Carpenter has finished with an ERA under 3.50 in his other five seasons with the Cardinals. In the past two seasons, Carpenter has compiled a record of 33-13 and finished with ERAs of 2.24 and 3.22, respectively.

11. Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies: In his first 14 starts last year, Jimenez allowed more than two earned runs only once (three earned runs vs. the Blue Jays on June 11th). Before the All-Star break, Jimenez won 15 of his 18 starts and posted an ERA of only 2.20. After the break, he finished with a record of 4-7 and 3.80 ERA. That said, he made year-over-year improvements in strikeouts, wins and ERA in the past two seasons.

12. Josh Johnson, Marlins: Johnson led all of baseball in home runs allowed per nine innings with a ratio of 0.34. Johnson only started 28 games, however, because he was shut down for the last month of the 2010 season. That said, he posted career bests in ERA (2.30), K/9 (9.11) and BB/9 (2.35).

13. Cole Hamels, Phillies: Hamels bounced back nicely in 2010 by posting a career high in strikeouts (211) and a career low in ERA (3.06). And he was even better after the All-Star break (2.23 ERA and 9.68 K/9) and in the post-season (1.20 ERA and 10.20 K/9).

14. Dan Haren, Angels: Haren actually had better splits after he was traded to the American League last year. In 14 starts with the Angels, Haren finished with an ERA of 2.87 and a WHIP of 1.16 (versus 4.60 and 1.35, respectively, with the Diamondbacks). That said, his K/9 rate dropped from 9.00 in Arizona to 7.18 with Los Angeles.

15. Francisco Liriano, Twins: Last year, Liriano bounced back with career highs in wins (14) and strikeouts (201). While switching to Target Field may not be a welcome move for the team's hitters, it helped Liriano set a career low in HR/9 of 0.42, which was the fourth lowest in baseball.

16. Jered Weaver, Angels: Last year, Weaver finished sixth in baseball in K/9 ratio (a career-high 9.35) among qualified leaders. Weaver also set career bests in innings (224.1), strikeouts (233), BB/9 ratio (2.17) and HR/9 ratio (0.92).

17. Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: Gallardo, who turned 25 in February, has recorded 200-plus strikeouts and sub-4.00 ERAs in back-to-back seasons.

18. Roy Oswalt, Phillies: After Oswalt was acquired from the Astros, he was 7-1 with an ERA of 1.74 and WHIP of 0.90. While his peripherals were good before the trade (3.42 ERA and 1.11 WHIP), Oswalt was only 6-12 in 20 starts with Houston.

19. Matt Cain, Giants: Who was the "dark horse" candidate for N.L. Cy Young by Yahoo!'s Steve Henson? Considering where I'm asking this question, you surely know the answer (whether you or I agree with Henson or not). Despite having a career ERA of 3.45, however, Cain has an all-time record of 57-62 and has yet to win more than 14 games or strike out more than 186 batters in a season. In other words, I can see Cain finishing with about 15 wins, 180 strikeouts and and ERA of 3.25 (but no Cy Young).

20. Zack Greinke, Brewers: The good news is Greinke should have much better run support when he pitches in 2011 in addition to getting the opportunity to pitch to pitchers (and boost his strikeout rate). That said, we will have to wait to see that as Greinke, who will begin the season on the disabled list, might be out for all of April.

21. David Price, Rays
22. Mat Latos, Padres
23. Max Scherzer, Tigers
24. Brett Anderson, A's
25. Chad Billingsley, Dodgers
26. Wandy Rodriguez, Astros
27. Jonathan Sanchez, Giants
28. Matt Garza, Cubs
29. Tim Hudson, Braves
30. Shaun Marcum, Brewers
31. Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays
32. Gio Gonzalez, A's
33. Ted Lilly, Dodgers
34. Madison Bumgarner, Giants
35. Clay Buchholz, Red Sox
36. Brett Myers, Astros
37. Jeremy Hellickson, Rays
38. Ricky Nolasco, Marlins
39. Daniel Hudson, Diamondbacks
40. John Danks, White Sox

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

See our fantasy rankings for everyday players: C - 1B - 2B - SS - 3B - OF

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Third Basemen Rankings

2011-03-29T19:17:00.010-04:00

Third base isn't exceptionally deep, but a couple of solid options (Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Seattle's Chone Figgins) will earn eligibility at the position in April.

Here are our top 15 fantasy third basemen for 2011:

1. Evan Longoria, Rays: Everywhere you look, Longoria will likely be the top-ranked fantasy third baseman and you'll likely need a top-five to have the chance to draft him. As the third-overall pick in the 2006 draft, Longoria is still only 25 years old with plenty of upside. In other words, a season of .294-100-33-113-15, which are his career highs, (or better) is certainly possible in 2011. (And hopefully there won't be any more stolen AK-47 stories this year.)

2. David Wright, Mets: After a disappointing 2009 season, Wright was shy of a 30-20 season by exactly one home run and one stolen base. By hitting a career-low .283 last year, Wright ended a streak of five consecutive seasons of hitting .300-plus. In other words, if things fall into place, Wright has as good of a chance as any third basemen to finish with a line of .300-100-30-100-20.

3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: Zimmerman missed 20 games last season, but he set career highs in home runs (33), runs scored (110) and runs batted in (106) while playing 157 games in 2009. Although he won't steal many bases, he will provide a boost in all of the other four categories.

4. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: A year older? Who isn't, right? Granted, A-Rod is nowhere near the all-around fantasy stud he once was and he hasn't played more than 138 games in any of the past three seasons. That said, Rodriguez has posted 30-plus homers and 100-plus runs batted in every season since 1998 including in the past three seasons. In my opinion, he's sliding to a point where he could out to be a bargain in most drafts.

5. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Although he's not yet eligible at third base, he will be at some point in April depending on your league's eligibility requirements. Here's what I wrote about Youkilis in our first base rankings, where he's No. 7: "Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300."

6. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: Beltre, who turns 32 years old in April, is now entering his 14th season in the big leagues. Only twice in his 13 years has he hit over .300 with 28-plus home runs and 100-plus runs batted in. Coincidentally, both of those seasons happened before getting a big contract. While he has the skills to do it a third time in his career in 2011, I'd like to see back-to-back strong seasons from Beltre before I'm a buyer at these prices.

7. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Bautista led all of baseball in home runs last year with 54, which is nearly equal to his home run output from 2004 to 2009 (59 home runs total). While a repeat performance is highly unlikely, there's a good chance that he can follow up last year's league-leading performance with 35-40 homers in 2011.

8. Casey McGehee, Brewers: Only two other third basemen -- Longoria and A-Rod -- have more runs batted in than McGehee (149) since July 1, 2010. While he won't steal bases, like most third basemen won't, McGehee will help in the other four statistical categories in standard 5x5 categories at a very reasonable cost.

9. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: Last year, Ramirez hit only .241, which was lowest batting average since 2002. From 2004 to 2009, Ramirez hit .289 or higher every season including .300-plus in four out of six seasons. Although Ramirez only played 124 games last year, he drove in 100-plus runs in all five seasons in which he has played 125-plus games since 2003. Provided he can stay healthy, a bounce-back season seems reasonable.

10. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: Sandoval broke out in 2009 -- hitting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in. Although he had a disappointing season in 2010, Sandoval is only 24 years old, lost a substantial amount of weight in the off-season and shortened his swing. Based on his average draft position of 127 from Mock Draft Central, Sandoval seems to offer more reward than risk this season.

11. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates: There's no doubt that Alvarez has tremendous upside and potential. Although Alvarez struck out in 34.3 percent of his major league at bats last year, he combined for 29 home runs and 117 runs batted in between Triple-A and the big leagues.

12. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.

13. Michael Young, Rangers: Young, who is a career .300 hitter, hit 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. While he may or may not hit 20-plus homers in three straight seasons for the first time in his career, Young is one of the more consistent hitters in the game.

14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles: The good news? Reynolds is the only player in baseball to hit 100-plus home runs and steal 40-plus bases during the past three seasons. The bad news? He's hit .234 during that span while striking out an average of 213 times per season.

15. Ian Stewart, Rockies: Stewart isn't going to win a batting title any time soon and missed about a quarter of the 2010 season. But with good health, Stewart has the power to hit 25-30 home runs in an offense that features two of baseball's elite hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

See our other fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Catcher Rankings

2011-03-24T21:51:00.006-04:00

Year in and year out, catcher has often been a talent-scarce position when it comes to fantasy baseball.

In 2011, that's not necessarily the case.

In my opinion, the top four fantasy catchers are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, but there are plenty of options as you go deeper into the draft that can help (or, at least, won't hurt) your team.

Here are the top 15 catchers for 2011:

1. Joe Mauer, Twins: Although Mauer is the top option at catcher in fantasy baseball, the power he exhibited two seasons ago (28 home runs) was nearly wiped out by the team's move to Target Field. Mauer, the 2009 American League MVP, hit only nine home runs -- even worse, only one in 239 at bats at home -- in 2010. That said, Mauer has won 60 percent of the A.L. Batting Titles over the past five seasons.

In our opinion, who should be the No. 2 fantasy catcher is less clear-cut, which led us to set up this poll question and this discussion thread so let your voice be heard.

2. Victor Martinez, Tigers: Martinez, who was in Boston last year, led all catchers in runs batted in (79) while hitting over .300 (.302, to be precise) in 2010. Now that V-Mart is with Detroit, he is expected to see lots of, um, action as the team's designated hitter, which should boost his number of plate appearances.

3. Buster Posey, Giants: Posey, last year's NL Rookie of the Year, hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 runs batted in. Last season, Posey played 30 games at first base, but manager Bruce Bochy says that Posey will get a "complete day off" when he's not catching in 2011.

4. Brian McCann, Braves: During the span of the past three seasons, McCann leads all catchers in runs batted in (258) and is second in home runs (65) to Mike Napoli. That's the good news. The bad news is his batting average has slid in back-to-back seasons (.301 to .281 to .269).

5. Geovany Soto, Cubs: In the past three seasons, Soto has hit .280-plus twice with a sub-.220 season in between. During that span, Soto has averaged only 116 games per season and has hit one home run per 22.5 at bats. If he stays healthy and gets close to 500 at bats (as he did in 2008), a realistic line for Soto is .275-60-20-75.

6. Carlos Santana, Indians: A top ten prospect by Baseball America in 2010, Santana was called up in June and hit .345 with four homers and 15 runs batted in over 18 games that month. After June and before getting hurt, however, Santana hit only .207 with two home runs and seven runs batted in over 28 games. The sky's the limit for Santana, but there may be some bumps along the way for the young catcher.

7. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks: Montero missed roughly half the season in 2010 and hit only .222 (35 for 158) from August to October. In the previous season (2009), however, Montero hit .294 with 16 home runs in 128 games.

8. Matt Wieters, Orioles: In many instances, folks overreact to the hype. While Wieters has generally disappointed since being called up, he's still under 25 years old. There is time for him to develop into an elite fantasy catcher and he might actually be somewhat under the radar heading into 2011.

9. Mike Napoli, Rangers: Over the past three seasons, no catcher has hit more home runs (66) than Napoli, who lands in Texas (via Toronto) this off-season. After a couple of seasons with a respectable batting average (.270-plus), Napoli regressed last year to .238 (his lowest average since his rookie season). Although he hit over .300 versus lefties (.305), he hit only .208 against right-handers.

10. Kurt Suzuki, Athletics: Last season, Suzuki hit a career-low .242 although he ranked fourth amongst catchers in runs batted in (71). This off-season, the A's made a few free-agent acquisitions that should help take some pressure off Suzuki and help him bounce back. The question is how much? If it's to 2009 levels (.274 average with 15 home runs and 88 RBI), he's a huge bargain at where he's being drafted.

11. Jorge Posada, Yankees: The addition of Russell Martin will help Posada, who has played only 282 games over the past three seasons, keep from wearing down in 2011 as he's expected to mostly be the team's designated hitter. I expect his batting average to bounce back closer to his career average (.275) and excluding the 2008 season when he played only 51 games, Posada has hit 18-plus homers every year since 2000.

12. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: It's not too often that you get (nor do you look for) stolen bases from your catcher, but Molina has 17 of them over the past two seasons. Molina's batting average declined to .262 last year, but his cumulative batting average over the past three seasons is .286. Molina is a guy that likely won't hurt your roster while giving you something that you would least expect from this position.

13. Chris Iannetta, Rockies: Iannetta is the anti-Mauer. He's not going to win a batting title anytime soon, but he's close to a lock to provide you with 20-plus homers from the catcher position with the full-time job, which he now has. In 154 games over the past two seasons combined, Iannetta has hit only .216 but he also hit 25 home runs (in 477 at bats). That's one home run per every 19 at bats.

14. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays: Arencibia is another guy that will likely hurt you in batting average but help you in the power categories. Between Triple-A and a few games with the Jays last year, Arencibia hit a total of 34 home runs in 496 at bats.

15. Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: Ruiz is the Adam LaRoche of the catcher position. In other words, his splits before and after the All-Star break tell a completely different story. Over the past three years, Ruiz has hit only .237 before the break, but he has hit .285 after the break. The contrast wasn't as great in 2010 (.283 and .316 splits, respectively).

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

Brian Wilson out with strained oblique

2011-03-19T17:27:00.001-04:00

San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson has been shut down until at least Monday with a strained left oblique, according to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News.

Wilson, who will be reevaluated on Monday, said he expects to be ready for the season opener, which is less than two weeks away.

"I feel a lot better than I did Thursday and I'll feel a lot better tomorrow and Monday and we'll take it from there," Wilson said. "I wouldn't imagine the team is worried about me. They know the situation ... they know I'll be ready."

According to live draft results in ESPN fantasy leagues, Wilson is the first closer off the boards with an average draft position of 64.2.

As pointed out by Pavlovic, Giants manager Bruce Bochy listed Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo as the top candidates for save opportunities if Wilson isn't ready for Opening Day.

Matt Cain gets contract extension

2010-03-29T08:19:00.004-04:00

The San Francisco Giants have agreed to extensions with three pitchers: starter Matt Cain, closer Brian Wilson and set-up man Jeremy Affeldt, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We have cost certainty and the fans have the comfort of knowing these guys are going to be in Giants uniforms helping us win games," said Giants general manager Brian Sabean.

Before the extension, Cain would have become a free agent in 2012. Now, he will earn $15 million that season as a Giant.

In addition, ace Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez won't become free agents until after the 2013 season.

"When you see a group of pitchers stay together like that "... it builds us all up," said Cain, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. "I feel we all share the leadership every time we go out there and pitch."

Cain had a career year last season posting a 14-8 record, 171 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.89.

That said, part of his success was due to (an improvement in his) luck. Cain's 2009 BABIP was .268, which was the fourth-lowest in the Majors, according to Fangraphs.com. Meanwhile, his BABIP in 2008 was .304.

Comparing 2009 to 2008, Cain actually had a worse K/9 rate (7.69 in 2008 to 7.07 in 2009) and HR/9 rate (0.79 in 2008 to 0.91 in 2009) last season.

Per MockDraftCentral.com, Cain's average draft position (ADP) is 89.17, which makes him the 20th starter off fantasy draft boards, which makes him a good value.

Lincecum has cut on index finger

2010-03-27T11:46:00.003-04:00

San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum has a small cut on his right index finger, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

While the cut may cause Lincecum to miss his final start of the spring on Wednesday, he should be ready for Opening Day.

If he does pitch on Wednesday, however, he's likely to pitch against minor leaguers as manager Bruce Bochy "hides" him from the Dodgers, their Cactus League opponent on Wednesday.

"A lot of teams decide to go that route," Bochy said. "It's easier for him to [work on things] down there."

His one-run, four-inning start yesterday lowered his ERA this spring to 6.94. Lincecum has walked ten batters and has allowed 18 hits in 11 2/3 innings.

Jonathan Sanchez throws first Giants' no-hitter in 33 years

2009-07-11T07:09:00.006-04:00

It hadn't been done in 33 years.

John Montefusco was the last Giants' pitcher to throw a no-hitter (1976 in Atlanta).

Even though no Giants' pitcher has thrown a no-no during his lifetime, reigning N.L. Cy Young Tim Lincecum had a feeling that the Giants might be due to end the drought.

Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lincecum said yesterday, "Someone might throw a no-hitter and it might not be the ace of the squad. It might be an unsung hero kind of guy. Anybody can do anything."

Jonathan Sanchez, who started in place of the injured Randy Johnson, allowed no runs, no hits and no walks. However, teammate Juan Uribe's error in the eighth inning means Sanchez will have to settle for a no-hitter.

"I think if you looked at the staff, he wouldn't be the one you picked," Bochy said. "He came out throwing 94-96 [mph]. He just had incredible stuff."

Sanchez, who only threw 110 pitches, struck out a career-high 11 batters.

Last night was the first start for Sanchez since June 22nd and his first win since May 25th.

On the season, the Giants have 13 shutouts, which lead the majors.

Not quite mid-season awards: N.L. Cy Young

2009-06-20T17:55:00.004-04:00

Over the next day or two, I'm going to select my winner (i.e., current leader) and runner-up for the Cy Young and MVP (not to be confused with MP3) in both leagues.

It goes without saying, although I'll say it anyways, this is highly subjective and is merely my (well-thought-out, compelling, coherent) opinion.

That being said, I encourage that you provide feedback (and your selection, if you disagree) in the comments' section.

So, let's begin with the N.L. Cy Young Award.

The N.L. Cy Young Award goes to ... (drum roll, please) ... Matt Cain, San Francisco. With a 9-1 record, Cain is one of three nine-game winners in the N.L. Chad Billingsley (Dodgers) and Jason Marquis (Rockies) are the other two. He's also third in ERA (2.39) behind Johnny Cueto (Reds) and Dan Haren (D'Backs).

In his past five starts, Cain is 5-0 with three complete games. His three complete games lead the N.L. In his past five starts, he has 34 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings pitched. During that span, Cain has an ERA of 2.02.

With the exception of a five-inning performance in a 4-1 win over the Nationals, Cain has pitched six (or more) innings in every start.

Runner-up: Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - Haren leads the NL in innings pitched (101), strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.38), WHIP (0.82), BAA (.193) and is second in ERA (2.23). He is tied for third in strikeouts (96) with Chad Billingsley. He's pitched six (or more) innings in every start and he has only allowed more than three runs in one start (May 23rd).

While he has a mediocre win-loss record of 6-4, it's not his fault. He allowed only seven runs in 26 innings, which is an ERA of 2.42, in his four losses. His team gave him two runs (total) in those four losses as support. If only he and the D'Backs (29-39) had a better record...

Honorable Mention (not necessarily in order): Tim Lincecum (Giants), Johnny Cueto (Reds), Johan Santana (Mets), Chad Billingsley (Dodgers), Yovani Gallardo (Brewers), Josh Johnson (Marlins), Javier Vazquez (Braves)

Giants interested in Dan Uggla?

2009-05-25T15:19:00.000-04:00

Per Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the San Francisco Giants have reached out to the Florida Marlins to inquire about second baseman Dan Uggla.

The Marlins will move Uggla and his $5.35 million salary before the trade deadline, according to Rodriguez. When they do, Emilio Bonifacio or Chris Coghlan will move to second.

In return, the Marlins would seek one of the Giants' young arms - either lefty Jonathan Sanchez or righty Matt Cain. The Giants would obviously be less willing to part ways with Cain.

However, the Giants currently have pitching prospects Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson at Double-A.

On the season, Uggla is only hitting .205, but he has eight home runs (tied for first on team) and 30 runs batted in (second on team).

Big Unit now four away from 300

2009-04-19T21:11:00.004-04:00

San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning to earn his 296th victory of his career.

The no-hitter was broken up by Augie Ojeda's double to lead off the seventh, but Johnson won the game 2-0 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In his 22-year career, the only team he had never faced was the Diamondbacks. Of course, Johnson won four (of his five) Cy Young awards and a World Series with the D'Backs.

Johnson pitched for the D'Backs for two stints (1999-2004 and 2007-2008).

Once the Big Unit wins his 300th game, he might be the last for a long, long time. The next three among active pitchers are Jamie Moyer (247), Andy Pettitte (216) and John Smoltz (210). Pettitte is the only of the three under 40, but he's clearly seen his best days.