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SF Giants Press Clips Friday, September 28, 2018
San Francisco Chronicle Can Giants spoil the Dodgers’ season?
Henry Schulman Kevin Frandsen remembers the at-bat vividly. In the
waning days of his major-league career, which began and ended with
the Giants, he got a start against Clayton Kershaw at AT&T
Park. Having barely played at all in September 2015, he expected
Kershaw to bust him inside with fastballs. Frandsen got one and
swung a bit early but managed to push it up the middle for a
single. That was the Giants’ only hit in an 8-0 Dodgers victory
that clinched the third of what is now five consecutive National
League West titles. When Kershaw completed his shutout, he and his
teammates turned the ballpark blue. They danced on the field and
decorated the visiting clubhouse in Champagne. “He was special that
night,” Frandsen said. “He smelled blood in the water at AT&T,
knowing a win clinched it for them.” Once again, the schedule has
brought these ancient rivals together for the season’s final
weekend with a chance for one team to party and the other to ruin
it, the way the Giants did when Joe Morgan hit his home run in
1982, or when the Dodgers beat Salomon Torres to send a 103-win
Giants team home in ’93. In three of the past four seasons, the
Dodgers have clinched the West by beating the Giants. In 2014, they
did so at Dodger Stadium, again with Kershaw on the mound, and it
happened last year on Tommy Lasorda’s 90th birthday. The stakes
seem higher this weekend, at least for the Giants’ faithful,
because they have had little else to cheer in a second straight
losing season. This is their World Series. The series begins Friday
night, with the Dodgers a game behind the Rockies for first place
in the
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West. The Dodgers are fighting on two fronts, however. They can
lose the West and still reach the playoffs. They enter the weekend
one game ahead of the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot. The
Dodgers are loaded with talent while the Giants are fielding a
ragtag team of irregulars and rookies, with a couple of everyday
players sprinkled in. The Dodgers have many more ways to win this
weekend. Does that ever matter in this rivalry? Giants manager
Bruce Bochy, speaking about his players, said, “They’ll feel it.
They’ll know it, They’ll talk about it. They know they can impact
what happens.” The Giants are sending their best arms to the mound
to meet the Dodgers’ best. Hyun-Jin Ryu faces Madison Bumgarner in
Friday night’s opener. Giants fans would love it if Bumgarner came
out snorting fire, hoping to ram the Dodgers right out of the
postseason. They might be a little disappointed, even if Bumgarner
intends to win. “That’s a good story, but no,” Bumgarner said. “I
don’t see it that way. If we’re not going, I don’t care who goes. I
feel like we should be there, and could be there, and we’re not. I
am going to do everything I can do to keep them from going only
because I’m pitching. “I don’t care about them or any other team in
the division. I only care about us.” Second baseman Joe Panik, who
began this season with two solo homers to beat the Dodgers in two
1-0 games, does believe the hairs on the players’ necks will stand
at attention because of what’s at stake. “We’re all playing for
pride, for the Giants name on the front of the jersey,” Panik said.
“The rivalry with the Dodgers, having them at home, they’ve got
these games on the line … that’s going to give us a little extra
incentive to lay it all out there.” Bumgarner is from North
Carolina, Panik from New York. Frandsen is San Jose born and bred,
and he can’t forget Kershaw’s one-hitter and the Dodgers getting
lit on the Giants’ home field. “I don’t think you go into it
thinking about ‘don’t let them celebrate on your field,’ but when
it happens, damn it, it sucks,” Frandsen said. “The rivalry isn’t
the crazy hatred on the field as in the past, but when good things
happen (for one team), I think that’s when the rivalry kicks in and
a little bit of the jealousy and the hatred is seen or heard.”
Frandsen drove home to San Jose late that night and stopped for a
bite to eat. The game was
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being replayed on the TV at the bar. Fans stopped by to thank
him for saving the Giants from a no-hitter. Those fans might not
like to hear it, but as professionals, the Giants understand how
good the Dodgers have been since they began their string of
division titles in 2013, and how good they are now, no matter what
happens over the weekend. “Winning five in a row, they’ve been
playing really good ball for a while now,” Panik said. “It’s no
fluke. They’ve got a lot of talent over there. As an athlete, as a
ballplayer, you’ve got to respect that.” The fans? Not so much. San
Jose Mercury News Ten candidates who fit the Giants’ desired
‘next-gen’ front office profile Kerry Crowley SAN FRANCISCO–At some
point this offseason, the Giants will gauge star free agent Bryce
Harper’s interest in playing at China Basin. They will discuss
Madison Bumgarner’s future with the franchise. And they will lay
the groundwork for changing a roster that’s in desperate need of a
makeover. But before all of that takes place, the Giants must hire
an executive to lead those discussions and build a new blueprint.
After dismissing general manager Bobby Evans on Monday, Giants CEO
Larry Baer and vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean
have set out to find a “next-gen” leader of the franchise’s front
office. Baer wants a mind who can blend analytics with scouting,
while Sabean is determined to hire a visionary who grasps the
challenges of constructing a club that can win at AT&T Park.
Evans’ replacement will answer directly to Baer, and it’s possible
Sabean’s title will change this offseason to accommodate the new
hire. Sabean will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of
the front office, and if the Giants want to interview and
ultimately hire the most qualified candidates, they’ll need to open
a position that represents a promotion, and not a lateral move. In
the coming days, some of the the candidates the Giants will likely
pursue are current general managers with a track record of success.
Because clubs can deny executives the right to interview for the
same position with another franchise, the Giants may need a vacancy
in the vice president of baseball operations role to bring in an
experienced general manager. With that in mind, here’s a list of 10
executives who could become the front office official
https://www.mercurynews.com/author/kerry-crowley/
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tasked with leading the Giants into the future. Jean Afterman:
Sabean has deep ties to the Yankees, where Afterman ascended to the
role of assistant general manager in 2001 and currently stands as
the highest-ranking female executive in the sport. A San Francisco
native, Afterman attended Lowell High School with Baer and boasts
extensive experience with an organization that has enjoyed recent
success in both international and domestic talent acquisition
processes. Chaim Bloom: Because Bloom, 35, is already the vice
president of baseball operations in Tampa Bay, the Rays are not
required to permit Bloom to interview for the position in San
Francisco. Still, he’s an obvious fit for the role as he’s an
analytically-driven, forward-thinking executive with a background
in negotiating contracts and player scouting. If Bloom isn’t
available, general manager Erik Neander could also receive a call
from the Giants. Mike Chernoff: Since earning a promotion to the
general manager role in 2016, Chernoff has overseen back-to-back AL
Central champions and built a well-balanced club with a
middle-of-the-pack payroll. Though he hasn’t experienced the
challenge of dramatically overhauling a major market roster, very
few candidates have. Mike Elias: The assistant general manager of
scouting and player development for the Astros, Elias owns a strong
track record of acquiring amateur talent. The Astros credit Elias
as the “driving force” behind the selection of Carlos Correa with
the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 and the Yale product also spent the
early years of his career scouting in the Cardinals organization.
David Forst: Poaching Forst, the Oakland A’s general manager, would
be quite the splash, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
Forst has clearly demonstrated a strong ability to build from the
ground up and has never had the benefit of working with such deep
pockets. Would Forst leave an A’s franchise on the rise and trek
across the Bay Bridge to go head-to-head with Billy Beane? It’s a
question the Giants might find themselves asking in the near
future. Jed Hoyer: Hoyer is signed to a five-year contract that
won’t expire until 2021, but a move to San Francisco would bring
him out of Theo Epstein’s shadow in Chicago and allow Hoyer to
continue to cultivate a reputation as one of baseball’s brightest
executives. If the Giants can figure out a way to lure Hoyer to the
Bay Area as their vice president of baseball operations, they may
inquire about Hoyer bringing in Cubs executive Jason McLeod to
serve as general manager. Kim Ng: The senior vice president of
baseball operations for Major League Baseball, Ng has long been
rumored as a top general manager candidate. Ng vied with Ned
Colletti for the Dodgers’ general manager position back in 2005 and
has held her current role since 2011, but she spent more than 15
seasons working in front offices and has experience overseeing
international talent development. David Stearns: If Baer wanted an
exact match for how a “next-gen” executive operates, he
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should scan Stearns’ résumé. Before taking over as the current
Milwaukee Brewers general manager, Stearns served as an Astros’
assistant general manager, helped Major League Baseball negotiate a
collective bargaining agreement and studied at Harvard. Like Forst
and Chernoff, Stearns must be willing to leave a franchise with
excellent potential to continue winning to take a job with the
Giants. Peter Woodfork: Woodfork may not be a true “next-gen”
executive as he’s spent the last eight years working under Joe
Torre in the league office, but he does possess experience as an
assistant general manager with the D’backs and as a director of
baseball operations with the Red Sox. Woodfork has ties to Epstein
and Hoyer and like Stearns, Woodfork is a Harvard grad. Farhan
Zaidi: It’s possible no hire would change the dynamics of the
National League West more than Zaidi, the general manager of the
Dodgers who works under Andrew Friedman. Zaidi rose through the
ranks in the A’s organization, where the UC Berkeley grad served as
a sabermetrics analyst before becoming an assistant general
manager. Zaidi’s success in Los Angeles speaks for itself, and the
Giants are in dire need of an executive capable of revamping a
roster with a massive payroll. MLB.com Who was your favorite team's
2018 MVP? MLB Staff From familiar faces like Mike Trout, Paul
Goldschmidt and Jose Abreu to relative newcomers to the spotlight
like Blake Snell, Aaron Nola and Kyle Freeland, there was certainly
no shortage of star power to go around the league in 2018. Whether
they were fueling postseason pushes, serving as veteran leaders on
young teams or captivating fans with breakout campaigns, these
standouts provided baseball fans around the country with the most
exciting storylines of the regular season. Here's a look at every
team's 2018 MVP, in the words of all 30 MLB.com beat writers:
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST Blue Jays: Justin Smoak Smoak wasn't quite
able to replicate his breakout 2017 campaign, but the veteran
slugger has been the Blue Jays' most consistent hitter from start
to finish. The 31-year-old entered play on Wednesday with the team
lead in home runs (25), RBIs (77) and OPS (.814). He was at the
heart of Toronto's lineup all year, and another solid season has
all but officially guaranteed that his $7 million option for next
year will be picked up by the Blue Jays. Orioles: Trey Mancini On a
team decimated by trades and searching for an identity, Mancini has
provided a second-half lift. The second-year player -- who finished
third in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting last
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year -- entered Wednesday batting .278 with 11 homers in 59
games since the All-Star break, one long ball shy of his total from
the first half, which spanned 91 games. Rays: Blake Snell Snell has
a chance to do something only five other pitchers have done in the
live-ball era (since 1920): finish with 21 wins and a sub-2.00 ERA
at age 25 or younger. He would join Dwight Gooden, Vida Blue, Denny
McLain, Dave McNally and Hal Newhouser. The lefty has made 26
starts this season in which he has allowed two runs or fewer and 20
starts of one run or fewer -- both most in the Major Leagues,
excluding "openers." Red Sox: Mookie Betts So much for those who
thought Betts had reached his peak two years ago when he finished
second in the AL MVP Award voting to Mike Trout. After a tick
downward in 2017, Betts has raised his game to the highest level of
his career and taken the Red Sox with him for the ride. He has
impacted his team in every way possible, hitting for average and
power, stealing bases, playing brilliant defense and becoming a
young leader in the clubhouse. Betts is a shoo-in to win his first
batting title and has already achieved a career high in homers. He
trails only Trout in on-base percentage and OPS. Betts also leads
MLB in FanGraphs WAR. Yankees: Didi Gregorius Championed as "the
captain of the infield" by manager Aaron Boone, Gregorius has
provided the Yankees with leadership as well as above-average play
on both sides of the ball. He has hit a career-high 27 homers,
shattering his own record for the most by a Yanks shortstop, while
committing just five errors. Gregorius slumped in May (.149
average) after a sensational April (1.156 OPS), but his numbers
steadily improved each month thereafter. AL CENTRAL Indians: Jose
Ramirez This designation could go to either Ramirez or Francisco
Lindor, and both could wind up in the top five in voting for the AL
Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight year. Ramirez
joined Joe Carter (1987) and Grady Sizemore (2008) as the only
30/30 players in Indians history. He also joined Barry Bonds, Jeff
Bagwell and Bobby Abreu as the only hitters in MLB history to have
100 walks, 100 RBIs and 100 runs to go along with the 30 homers and
30 steals. Ramirez has rated as baseball's top baserunner, and for
the second year in a row, he has bounced between third base and
second base defensively. Royals: Whit Merrifield Merrifield has
emerged as one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the league.
He'll likely win his second straight stolen-base title, and he has
a chance to lead the AL (maybe even the Majors) in hits. All that
athleticism shows up defensively as well, as Merrifield has turned
into a premier super-utility man, ranging from center field to
second base to first base. He's a manager's dream because of his
versatility.
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Tigers: Nicholas Castellanos Considering what was around him in
the Tigers' lineup, Castellanos had one of the best seasons in a
Detroit uniform since Miguel Cabrera's prime. He not only has
career bests in average, slugging, on-base, OPS, hits and runs
scored, but he's also put himself among the AL's top 10 in total
bases, runs created, weighted on-base average, and nearly there in
win probability added. Castellanos has taken Cabrera's seat as the
center of Detroit's offense. Twins: Eddie Rosario Rosario had a
breakout season offensively and was the Twins' best all-around
player, hitting .288/.323/.479 with 24 homers, 31 doubles and 77
RBIs in 138 games before suffering a season-ending quad injury in
mid-September. He was also a solid defender in left field, using
his strong arm to rack up nine outfield assists. Rosario still has
room to improve his plate discipline, but is among the best
bad-ball hitters in baseball with a Major League-high 10 of his
homers coming on pitches out of the zone, per Statcast™. White Sox:
Jose Abreu For the first time in Abreu's five years with the White
Sox, the first baseman failed to reach at least 25 home runs, 100
RBIs and a .290 average. Abreu lost all but six games after Aug. 20
due to surgery to relieve pain from testicular torsion and an
infection in his right thigh, but he still was the most consistent
force in the White Sox lineup. Abreu knocked out 22 homers and 36
doubles and drove in 78 runs to go along with a .473 slugging
percentage and a .798 OPS. AL WEST Angels: Mike Trout The best
player in baseball keeps finding ways to get better. Trout, a
two-time AL MVP Award winner, is having his best season to date,
leading the Majors in on-base percentage, OPS and intentional
walks, and ranking second in slugging percentage and WAR. Trout
also made a concerted effort to improve his defense in center field
and continues to be a burner on the basepaths. The 27-year-old star
is a perennial AL MVP Award candidate, but his case this year will
likely be hurt by the fact that the Angels are set to miss the
playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Astros: Alex Bregman With
2017 AL MVP Award winner Jose Altuve not able to duplicate his
tremendous numbers from a year ago, Bregman emerged as the Astros'
most dangerous offensive player with a historic season at the
plate. He joined Lance Berkman as the only Houston players to reach
50 doubles, 100 RBIs and 100 runs in a season and is the first
player in MLB history to have at least 50 doubles and 30 homers
while playing the majority of his games at third base. Athletics:
Khris Davis Davis no longer plays the field, but the impact he has
on the A's lineup as designated hitter is invaluable. He's their
main power source -- they went lifeless at the plate when he was on
the DL this year, going 3-6 without him -- and he just so happens
to be baseball's home run leader,
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making him worthy of AL MVP Award consideration. Davis, who has
launched more long balls since the advent of 2016 than any other
player, at least belongs in the conversation. Mariners: Mitch
Haniger While a case certainly can be made for closer Edwin Diaz's
value, given that he's saved two-thirds of the wins for a team that
made a living on one-run victories for much of the year, Haniger
emerged as Seattle's best everyday player with a breakout season.
The first-time All-Star kicked his game up further with a strong
stretch run both offensively and in right field, where he's tops in
the Majors with 12 assists. The 27-year-old is the second Mariners
outfielder with 35-plus doubles, 25-plus homers and 90-plus RBIs in
a season, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1992 and '93). Rangers: Shin-Soo
Choo Choo was an All-Star for the first time in his career and the
Rangers' only representative. His high on-base percentage and
ability to hit anywhere in the order were big assets to Texas'
lineup. Joey Gallo had big home run and RBI totals, but Choo set
the tone for the Rangers' offense, played solid defense so that
Adrian Beltre could DH and emerged as a strong clubhouse leader on
a young team. NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST Braves: Freddie Freeman As great
as Ronald Acuna Jr. was in the second half, his six-week stretch of
dominance did not trump the overall value of Freeman, who was
arguably the leading NL MVP Award candidate before entering a
three-week slump in mid-August. Freeman's power production dropped
over the final few months, but his consistency maximized the value
produced by Nick Markakis and Ozzie Albies, fellow All-Stars who
also produced MVP-caliber production during the first half.
Marlins: J.T. Realmuto The last remaining core player from an
explosive 2017 lineup, Realmuto not only by default became the face
of the franchise, but he's also made the case that he's the best
catcher in the Majors. The 27-year-old leads his position in many
major statistical categories. Realmuto was named to his first
All-Star Game this year, and playing on a last-place team, the
Oklahoma native embraced a leadership role on a young squad. Mets:
Jacob deGrom The likely NL Cy Young Award winner, deGrom will
appear on many NL MVP Award ballots as well. He is on pace to lead
the NL in ERA by more than half a run, after posting the most
consecutive quality starts in a season in Major League history. No
NL hitter is close to deGrom in either FanGraphs' or Baseball
Reference's calculation of WAR. Nationals: Max Scherzer The
Nationals have endured injuries and inconsistencies from so much of
their roster, but Scherzer remained the one steady presence every
fifth day. He is one of the front-runners for
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the NL Cy Young Award and, like deGrom, will appear on some NL
MVP Award ballots after leading the NL in wins and strikeouts and
becoming just the sixth pitcher since 1990 to record 300 strikeouts
in a single season. Phillies: Aaron Nola The Phillies had the
second-best record in the NL and held first place in the NL East as
late as Aug. 11 mostly because of their starting pitching. Nola led
the way, establishing himself not only as the Phils' ace, but as
one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. Entering Wednesday,
Nola's bWAR (9.4) was fifth in the Majors. Only Betts (10.7), Trout
(10.1) Scherzer (9.7) and deGrom (9.6) had higher marks. NL CENTRAL
Brewers: Christian Yelich Traditional numbers, newer numbers or
narrative -- by nearly any definition, Yelich is the guy, not just
for the Brewers, but perhaps in the whole NL. He's had a career
year at the plate, hitting for average, hitting for power and
getting on base. He's also played strong defense, contributed as an
exceptional baserunner and carried a contending team for stretches
of the season. Cardinals: Matt Carpenter No player was more
integral to the Cardinals' second-half surge than Carpenter, whose
white-hot summer pulled them back into contention almost
single-handedly. St. Louis' leadoff hitter rebounded from a
horrible start to put himself squarely in the NL MVP Award
conversation. Carpenter leads the NL in homers and ranks among the
leaders in a slew of major categories, including runs, slugging,
OPS, wRC+ and WAR. Cubs: Javier Baez Baez began this season batting
eighth for the Cubs, quickly moved up and now finds himself one of
the top NL MVP Award candidates. He has set career highs in nearly
every offensive category, and has done so while moving around the
infield. Manager Joe Maddon says Baez is the best second baseman in
the NL -- and he may be the best shortstop, too. He is the Cubs'
quarterback. "El Mago" has had a magical year. Pirates: Jameson
Taillon The Pirates have their ace. After a few rough outings early
in the season, Taillon has put together 21 straight starts of three
earned runs or fewer, a stretch surpassed by only deGrom this
season. The former No. 2 overall pick leads Pittsburgh with 4.3
bWAR, and his emergence -- along with the success of Trevor
Williams -- gives the Bucs hope heading into next season. Reds:
Eugenio Suarez Signed to a seven-year, $66 million contract
extension in March, Suarez backed it up with his biggest season
yet, and is among the NL leaders in home runs and RBIs. In July, he
tied a franchise record with home runs in five consecutive games.
Besides having a career year at the
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plate, the 27-year-old was again exceptional defensively at
third base and could make both the routine and superlative plays.
Suarez's numbers might have been more robust had he not missed 16
games in April with a fractured thumb. He was certainly missed, as
Cincinnati went 3-13 without his contributions. NL WEST D-backs:
Paul Goldschmidt You could have gotten really good odds on May 22
that Arizona's MVP would be anyone other than Goldschmidt, as the
six-time All-Star was hitting .198 at the time. Since then, though,
he's gone on a tear and will finish the year with his usual
outstanding numbers. Beyond the offensive numbers, Goldschmidt
brings Gold Glove defense at first base and is an adept baserunner.
Dodgers: Justin Turner Turner missed the first six weeks with a
broken wrist and wasn't whole for another six weeks. That said,
since the All-Star break, he's been the real Justin Turner, the
most consistent offensive bat and a leader in the clubhouse. On a
team that platoons almost everywhere, he is one player manager Dave
Roberts hates to leave out of the lineup. Giants: Brandon Crawford
Though Crawford fell short of his peak offensive production, he was
San Francisco's top hitter early in the season, before the club
began to struggle at the plate collectively. Crawford was torrid in
May (.412/.446/.618) and June (.326/.425/.584) to help the Giants
finish 29-26 in that span. Left knee soreness hampered Crawford at
the plate and in the field, though the three-time Gold
Glove-winning shortstop continued to make captivating plays
throughout the season. Padres: Kirby Yates The Padres' offense has
been inconsistent, and the few hitters who have starred have done
so in limited plate appearances. The rotation, meanwhile, has been
in a state of flux with rookie after rookie debuting. Through it
all, Yates has been the anchor to one of the league's best
bullpens. He's upped his strikeout rate, lowered his walk rate and
honed his splitter to the point where it's been nearly unhittable
this season. Rockies: Kyle Freeland Yes, this one is outside the
BBWAA box, but given the 26-season history of baseball at a mile
high, it makes total sense. Reading Freeland's stats is like
playing that game with the fortune cookie message. Read, then say
either "for the Rockies" or "at Coors Field." Going into Friday
night's final regular-season start against the Nationals, he had a
2.84 ERA (club record: Ubaldo Jimenez, 2.88 in 2010), a 2.36 home
ERA and is 8-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 13 starts after the All-Star
break. And how's this for picking up his teammates? Freeland hasn't
given up an unearned run, meaning he doesn't let miscues become
costly.
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NBC Sports Bay Area You might've missed the best on-field thing
of Hunter Pence's Giants career Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO --
Forget the homers, the runs driven in and the diving catches. Put
aside, for a second, the triple-double against the Cardinals and
the Air Jordan catch to rob the Nationals. The speech in Cincinnati
and the “Yes! Yes! Yes!” rallying cry at AT&T Park? Nudge those
aside right now, too. The best thing Hunter Pence has done in seven
seasons with the Giants might be something you missed. Unless you
were at the ballpark on a Sunday and happened to look down at right
field at 1 p.m., you likely never noticed the biggest impact he has
had on lives. The Giants bring young kids, ranging somewhere from 6
to 12 years old onto the field on Sundays and let them take their
positions with the big leaguers. It’s a fun exercise, and most
players offer a handshake and an autograph before returning to
preparation for the game. Pence always has taken it a step further.
Every Sunday home game, a young boy or girl runs out to right
field, and Pence asks him or her to look up at the arcade section
and wave to the fans. Then he points to the seats in left, or the
seats behind the plate, or the fans in the bleachers, and tells the
kid to wave again. For dozens of young ballplayers, Pence has
provided the memory of a lifetime. “I know if I was a kid and that
was going on, I’d be scared and I wouldn’t really know how to take
it in,” Pence said this week. “So I just came up with the idea of,
let’s just wave at everybody. Let’s make it an experience they can
remember, let’s let them look around and see what’s going on and
ask them, ‘How cool is this?’ ” Pence has never allowed himself to
forgot just how cool it is to actually be on the field. He said
this week that he’s blessed to have just one major league game
under his belt, and when he runs out to right field or left, he
still waves at all the fans standing up. Even when his average
dipped under .200 this season, Pence received standing ovations as
he took the field. The fans in the bleachers always have stood
behind him, and they’ve taken every opportunity to say goodbye over
the final weeks. Pence will jog out to right field Sunday for what
almost certainly will be the final time as a Giant. Before many
innings, he will wave before turning to center field to begin
playing catch with a teammate. “The whole thing is me just wanting
to say hello to the fans and say thank you every single game,” he
said. “They’re out here supporting us every single game. We’re all
in it together.”
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/author/alex-pavlovic
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He always has taken that approach with the kid who runs out to
right field. For a moment, Pence makes a young boy or girl feel
like the Giants right fielder, and often times that moment might
have meant more than Pence realized. Many of the children who have
taken the field on Sundays have been cancer survivors or children
of military members. Regardless of who runs out there, Pence always
goes through the same routine. He introduces himself, autographs a
ball, offers a handshake or high-five, and then asks a young boy or
girl to soak it all in and wave to the fans. “There’s been a couple
that really get into the waving and the crowd really gets into it,
and that makes it fun. There are quite a few that don’t understand
what I’m asking, so that gets a little awkward,” he said, laughing.
“It’s different every time, and you try to make it something that
they’ll remember.” NBC Sports Bay Area Amy G’s 10 favorite Giants
moments from her 10 years at the ballpark Amy Gutierrez This
weekend’s three-game series with the Dodgers marks the end to Amy
G’s 10th season covering the Giants for NBC Sports Bay Area. A
fixture at AT&T Park and beyond, Amy has seen it all -- the
World Series championships, perfect games, walk-off homers … and,
oh, the memorable in-game and postgame interviews. So, we asked Amy
to recall, in her own words, her 10 favorite memories from her 10
years on the Giants. Scroll through and let Amy take you behind the
scenes on the moments that Giants fans all enjoyed on air. 10.
Interviewing Cookie Monster (2014) This was a disaster waiting to
happen, right? Interview a puppet?! It was random. It was bizarre.
And it ended up being a BIG hit. Something that makes Giants-brand
baseball special is the quirkiness of our broadcast and the
flexibility of the entire crew to "roll with it." We did struggle a
bit figuring out how to position ourselves, and it definitely was a
challenge to not look at the actual man talking and kneeling on the
ground while controlling Cookie Monster. I even thought I was a
genius bringing real cookies for the puppet to eat, only to find
out they have "prop" cookies. Duh! But we pulled it off. It was a
nostalgic moment -- Sesame Street was one of my favorite shows as a
kid and a parent – we figured out a way to connect Cookie Monster
to baseball, and we won an Emmy for the broadcast! 9.
Finger-wagging the Dodgers fan (2016)
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Probably one of my most unprofessional moments in my career. But
it sure was satisfying. Not only to win the tug-o-war with a big
dude, but a big dude in a Dodgers jersey who then begged for the
ball. I mean, empowering doesn't even begin to explain it -- LOL.
In all truthfulness, I saw the ball coming and just reacted. When I
looked up and saw who was asking me for the ball, I knew there was
ZERO chance I could give it to this man. Career suicide, right?
What fans didn't get to see is what happened next, when I asked,
"Where's a kid?" I know the drill. The Giants went on to win that
game, and it ended up being a moment that gave some relief to a
stressful stretch in 2016 when the playoffs were in question. Kruk
and Kuip couldn’t get enough, and when they laugh, everyone laughs.
8. Angel Pagan's inside-the-park home run (2013) I remember
thinking, “Is this really going to happen?” This was such a great
play to watch unfold because there were so many moving parts -- Tim
Flannery being my favorite. Once Pagan scored, Flan's high-knee jig
is one of the best moments I've ever witnessed. Inside-the-park
home runs are just so rare, and to be able to see one and then
interview the person who did it made the moment even more special.
No one knew at the time that Pagan majorly tweaked his leg on that
slide and celebration. So it lost its luster a bit after the fact.
But in the moment, simply one of the most exciting plays I've ever
witnessed. 7. Interviewing one of my heroes -- Billie Jean King
(2015) The Battle of the Sexes was one of my earliest childhood
sports memories. It was my initial exposure to people thinking men
were superior to women physically and beyond. It also was my
initial exposure to realizing people were wrong, thanks to Miss
King and her victory over Bobby Riggs. Her tenacity, grit, strength
and determination in bringing awareness to this issue always was a
source of inspiration for me growing up, and has served as a source
of motivation that I draw upon in the field where I work. In short,
this made my list because I got to meet and interview a childhood
hero and an American icon. She's one of my "s"heroes! And if you're
wondering why Billie Jean came to the Giants game? Her brother,
Randall Moffitt, was a pitcher with the Giants from 1972 to 1981.
So she's a fan. 6. Giants clinch the division, and Tim Lincecum
drops an F-yeah on me on-air (2010) The Giants have never made ANY
of their championships easy. What's the fun in that? In 2010, the
Padres drop 10 straight in September, opening the window for the
Giants to be in contention for the division. OF COURSE the two
teams would play each other for a three-game series to end the
season. The Giants only need to win ONE to clinch.
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Friday night, they lose. Saturday, they lose. Sunday, if they
lose, they have to go to San Diego and compete in a play-in game.
No one brought their luggage. I was walking along the Arcade area
of the park when the unlikely occurred, and starting pitcher
Jonathan Sanchez roped a triple -- and we all knew it was going to
happen. The Giants won and began one of the greatest stretches in
baseball history. I grabbed Tim Lincecum before he headed to the
clubhouse, and in all the chaos, I said, "Are you ready for a
champagne shower?" Without missing a beat, he screamed back,
"F*&% yeah!" I squealed, he sprinted off, and all of that was
on live TV. A few seconds later, I hear my name being screamed and
look over to see Timmy peeking out from the stairs below saying,
"Sorry." No apology necessary, completely understandable, and
actually, I probably would have said the same thing :-) 5. Brandon
Belt's 18th-inning homer vs. Nationals (2014) I don’t think I’ve
ever been colder. We traveled from Pittsburgh to DC, and the
weather was perfect, until it wasn’t in about the ninth inning of
NLDS Game 2 versus the Nationals. Pablo Sandoval scored the tying
run, and the temperature dropped about 50 degrees. The game, as you
know, went on and on ... After each inning, we’d run to the
bathroom where there was heat, warm up for a minute and get back to
our seats in front of the press-box window. Enter my forever hero,
Brandon Belt. An 18th-inning Jack Daddy gave the Giants the lead
and the NLDS Game 2 victory. I interviewed him after the game and
began the conversation with “Thank you, just thank you.” It was
worth the wait and the frostbite to witness one of the most
significant home runs in Giants postseason history. 4. Brandon
Crawford's Wild Card Game grand slam (2014) The fans at PNC Park
were so loud that we couldn’t hear the overhead announcements in
the press box where we were sitting. I couldn’t really see the ball
Crawford hit. I knew it was deep down the right field line, but
when you heard the pin drop in this raucous crowd, that’s when I
knew it was gone. You could hear a small contingent of cheers, and
it was the Giants celebrating in their dugout. Since I’m not really
allowed to cheer, I just kept punching (lightly) the leg of my
field producer sitting next to me. Admittedly, I was ecstatic. I
grew up a Giants fan, and everyone is a Crawford fan. I mean, I’m
only human. 3. Matt Cain's perfect game (2012) The first perfect
game in Giants franchise history -- what else can I say? An amazing
accomplishment full of emotion and exhaustion.
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I vividly remember Matt coming out early to hit some golf balls
with a few pros on the tour. He roped one into McCovey Cove, and I
made a mental note to ask him about it later and had a gut feeling
he was going to have a good start. Well, he wasn’t just good -- he
was perfection. We were able to locate his wife, Chelsea, in the
stands and keep an eye on her while Matt was navigating his way
through 27. The night was compelling, not just from a sports
perspective but from a human interest perspective. It’s one of my
favorite moments and also one of my favorite broadcasts. A complete
group effort covering a perfecto -- without ever mentioning the
word, by the way. We are superstitious, too! We won an Emmy for
that broadcast as well. Thanks, Cainer! 2. Jonathan Sanchez
no-hitter (2009) This is so high on my list because it was my first
milestone interview that brought much joy and much stress into my
life. I’d never witnessed a no-hitter, let alone interviewed the
pitcher who accomplished said feat. The story is layered, but the
gist: Sanchez was on the chopping block. The Giants were talking
trade, sending him down, etc. His father came to watch him play for
the first time in his pro career. Again, our crew worked magic
cutting between Sanchez on the mound and Senior Sanchez in the
stands. It was a beautiful moment of redemption, love and relief. I
won’t bore you with the grief I received from other media outlets
for hugging Jonathan after this game. I will just share I wouldn’t
change what I did because I was being me and it gave me a chance to
make it very clear to my colleagues that I approach this game a
different way. So just know, if YOU throw a no-hitter, I’m going to
hug you! 1. Working with Kruk and Kuip every day and winning six
Emmys with them Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are the heart and soul
of the Giants. They welcomed me with open arms 10 years ago, and
I’ll forever be grateful to them for their support, laughter and
the pure joy they bring to the park every single day. I truly do
feel like the luckiest gal in the work world. I’m constantly
pinching myself that this is what I get to do and this is who I get
to do it with. Ten years in, and I still get giddy when I see them
at the park. I learn something new every day from this duo and feel
honored to work alongside them. We’ve won a lot of awards together,
but what I really treasure is the friendship that has developed
between us. I have gotten to know their loved ones, attended
weddings, and shed tears through heart to hearts, and they have
become my family. I feel like I was supposed to meet them. They
make me a better person. KNBR.com Baggarly details when he thinks
Giants will secure new GM Jacob Hutchinson
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The MLB offseason is months from getting underway, but after
firing general manager Bobby Evans, who’d been with the team for 25
years, including his last four in the role of general manager, it’s
clear the Giants are already in offseason mode. Andrew Baggarly,
the Giants beat reporter for The Athletic, joined Murph and Mac to
discuss the Giants’ offseason plans and how quickly the
organization, and the team’s CEO Larry Baer in particular, will
look to replace Evans, and with whom. “They’re going to have
somebody new that’s going to report directly to Larry Baer,”
Baggarly said. “Right now, the only clue is that it’s a next-gen
GM, so I assume it’s maybe going to be somebody who’s on the
younger side.” What’s unique about the situation is that Baggarly
said the Giants will likely not make a one-for-one replacement hire
due to the way MLB front offices generally disallow GM interviews.
“The fact that it’s somebody who’s going to report to Larry Baer
means that they’re not hiring just a GM,” Baggarly said. “I don’t
know what they’re going to title this job but it could be an
executive vice president job to where they would then have the
ability to seek permission to talk to more people. Because a lot
times, teams will not grant permission from a GM to look at another
GM position. But generally, around baseball, if it’s a promotion
somewhere, then teams will grant permission.” By potentially hiring
for a position above the level of GM, Baggarly said it may be
easier for the Giants to interview big-name candidates. “I think
that the way they’re structuring this will allow them to consider…
people who are recognizable names in this industry,” Baggarly said.
“And I do think that’s going to be something that’s important too.
Because we know marketing is big with the Giants organization. I
think they are going to try to bring in somebody that the casual
baseball fan probably already knows about.” As far as timeline
goes, Baggarly said the search will take time, but that the Giants
know it will be “advantageous” to have a replacement in before the
World Series begins. “The GM meetings, they’re November 6th, I
think they start,” Baggarly said. “I have to believe the Giants are
going to want to have somebody in place by that time. And I would
think they would want to have somebody in place at least a week
before that time because you’re going to want to have
organizational meetings, you’re going to want to familiarize
yourself with all your staff and the new players and everything.”
The firing of Evans is a clear indication that the Giants are
trying to revamp and reinvigorate their front office. New
approaches, new scouting and a new way of evaluating trades will
all likely be considered.
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Baggarly said he spoke to Evans “at length” the day after it was
revealed he had been fired. He said those changes are consistent
with the ones Evans had been working on. “The last couple years as
GM, (Evans) had to let a lot of people go on a major league
coaching staff as they’ve sort of revamped their player development
system, they’ve put in a new farm director,” Baggarly said. “There
have been a lot of people who’ve been there a long time who
basically got shuffled off or put in special assistant roles or
were kind of marginalized or aren’t there anymore at all.
Basically, (Evans) says this is Larry Baer looking at baseball
operations and saying continuity is a strength until the day it’s
not. Things maybe have gotten a little stale and we need some fresh
perspective and fresh leadership at the top of baseball ops and
part of that fresh perspective is seeing some of these players with
different eyes that you’re maybe a little less tethered to.” What
could that mean in a practical sense? Players like Madison
Bumgarner and Brandon Belt have been examined as the few potential
trade options with genuine market value, but there has of yet been
no clear indication either player was on the trade block this
season. Baggarly suggested that potential GM candidates should ask
Baer whether those types of players are tradable. “I think that the
number one question that someone who walks in to interview with
Larry Baer should ask of management, should ask of ownership is
what if I come to you and I say, ‘Look, I really believe that the
number one thing we need to do that can turn this thing around
quickly is to trade Madison Bumgarner. What would you say to that?
Would I have the flexibility to do that?’ Because ownership is
always going to be able to have veto power over big moves,”
Baggarly said. “So, I think how Larry would answer that question
could be very interesting.” It’s clear the Giants’ front office
intends to implement wholesale changes. While they’d like to
implement those changes as quickly as possible, the search will
likely be long and exhaustive, Baggarly said. “It does take a lot
of time… and I do think they’re going to bring in a very diverse
pool, I think they’re going to bring in a very large pool,”
Baggarly said. “I don’t think they’re going to interview two
people, three people and say, ‘OK, this is the best of the lot.’”
San Francisco Examiner Kolsky: The San Francisco Giants’ alleged
reconstruction feels more like rearranging deck chairs Matt Kolsky
The San Francisco Giants are mercifully close to the end of another
losing season. When it’s over, it will mark the worst two-season
loss total for the franchise since the mid-1980’s. Teams with
sustained runs of excellence — certainly a fair description of the
Giants’ results in the first half of this decade — often collapse
in this fashion: holding on too long to past glory,
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paying too much for aging non-contributors, falling into
ignominy before a rebuilding period. Downslides of this nature are
frequently punctuated by turnover, not only up and down the roster
but in the coaching and front office ranks, so it’s no surprise
that the Giants have made changes over the last year-plus.
Especially when ownership’s representation is paying lip service to
a change in philosophy and “the next generation of Giants
baseball,” heads are bound to roll. If the Giants want us to
believe in that vision of the future, though, they are tripping
over themselves even more than they have in scrambling to “reload”
in the last two offseasons. This year’s edition of musical chairs
began with the dismissal of strength coach Carl Kochan, a
seven-year employee who was popular with players, and persisted
with Bobby Evans “stepping down” as GM after four seasons of
holding that title — the front office version of firing your
strength coach. The fundamental lie of both of these moves is that
either man should be held accountable for the struggles of the last
two seasons, most obvious in the case of Kochan, who bears even
less responsibility than last year’s coaching fall guy Dave
Righetti. In the case of Evans, this passive deception is
highlighted by the fact that he will remain with the Giants in some
other capacity. Perhaps more to the point, the Giants’ true
leadership cabal of CEO Larry Baer and
whatever-they’re-calling-him-now Brian Sabean remains firmly in
place. I’m not here to call for Baer or Sabean’s job, but it’s
important to point out that they were undoubtedly the men who chose
the direction of this franchise in each of the last few offseasons.
Suggesting that Bobby Evans had that level of autonomous
decision-making power is as reasonable as expecting Buster Posey to
hit 25 homers next season. Major philosophical decisions about the
direction of a franchise, particularly a franchise with a sold-out
ballpark 81 nights each year, are made at the very top. Whether you
believe this regime is more a representation of Sabean or Baer
seems irrelevant — given the former’s apparent job security, they
amount to one and the same. It was the SaBaer who, after 2016’s LDS
loss, chose to view four consecutive seasons of ceding the NL West
to the LA Dodgers as a dip for their title-winning core rather than
a decline, leading to an offseason where the only significant
addition was the horribly disappointing Mark Melancon. Surely the
SaBaer made the call to “reload” last winter, resulting in the
acquisition of aging veterans Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria.
Sure, Evans may have been the primary negotiator in those deals,
but were they negotiated poorly? The Melancon pickup was remarkably
well-received, both locally and by pundits around baseball, as a
high-quality solution to a clear problem. His physical collapse was
hardly predictable, and it seems arbitrary to blame it on an
executive.
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After the McCutchen and Longoria trades, there was fair
criticism of the Giants — but it was criticism of the philosophy,
not the deals. Kyle Crick looks to be the best player the Giants
gave up in either deal, and nobody would be crying about that if
this team was playoff-bound. So excuse me if I’m less than
convinced when Baer references the “next generation,” because the
new boss looks an awful lot like the old boss. As long as both Baer
and Sabean are in place, how are we to believe that a new general
manager is truly empowered to decide the direction of the
franchise? Moreover, what high-level general manager would want a
job that includes a three-time World Series winner who has the ear
of the team president looking over your shoulder? If a top
candidate from the young generation of analytics-minded front
office executive has options, they would likely choose one with
more complete control. If the team does truly embrace a baseball
future that arrived several years ago for many of 2018’s playoff
teams, it will simply be because the same leadership decided to do
so. I would argue that’s the right thing to do — a rebuild is
necessary, and an effective rebuild will require a relatively
dramatic philosophical adjustment — so I’m not here to bash that
decision. It’s just a pity that Bobby Evans had to suffer the
indignity of “reassignment” to convincingly package the narrative
arc of other men’s bad decisions. Associated Press Jankowski homers
in Padres’ 3-2 win over Giants Michael Wagaman SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —
For a player who struggled in the spring and spent the first part
of the season in the minors, San Diego utility outfielder Travis
Jankowski is trying to finish with a flourish. Jankowski had three
hits, including his fourth home run, and the Padres beat the San
Francisco Giants 3-2 on Wednesday night. Freddy Galvis added two
hits, and Wil Myers had a sacrifice fly to help the Padres win
their final road game of the season. San Diego finished 35-46 away
from Petco Park and is 29-49 at home. “I kind of feel like I’m
showcasing my talents,” Jankowski said. “This year, getting to play
on a more consistent basis more frequently, I feel I’ve been able
to show the organization that I can help teams win. I’m happy with
how I’m doing but I’m not content.” Jankowski was batting .172 in
September and was mired in a 4-for-23 funk before reaching on an
infield single leading off the fifth and advancing to second when
San Francisco starter Casey Kelly (0-3) tried swiping the ball to
first baseman Chris Shaw. After Jankowski took third on a
groundout, Kelly was called for a balk and the run scored.
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Jankowski homered off Kelly in the seventh to make it 3-0. He
also tripled in the ninth. “He’s shown that he fills a really
important niche role for us,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “You
get a guy that can flat out run off the bench, flat out defend the
field and when you get righties on the mound he can give you really
competitive strong at-bats. That’s a winning baseball player.”
Miguel Diaz (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for his second
career win. Diaz was the third of seven pitchers used by Green on a
day the Padres started reliever Luis Perdomo. Kirby Yates struck
out pinch-hitter Evan Longoria with two runners on in the ninth for
his 12th save. “I thought across the board the staff was good,”
Green said. “A solid baseball game for us.” Aramis Garcia hit his
fourth home run for San Francisco. The Giants, who fired general
manager Bobby Evans earlier in the week, have lost 18 of 23. “The
pitching was there,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “We
just couldn’t get that last hit.” The Giants pulled within 3-2 on
Garcia’s two-run homer in the seventh. San Francisco had two
runners on later the same inning but Matt Strahm retired
pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson on a groundout. BALKING ON THE BALK
Kelly seemed surprised when he was called for the balk, and replays
showed that the right-hander barely flinched. “When I shook my head
I kind of moved my hands,” Kelly said. “I think that’s why they
called it. Once it gets to that point there’s really no going back
so there’s no sense in arguing.” GALVIS GOING STRONG Galvis is on
pace to play 162 games for the second consecutive season after
signing with the Padres in the offseason. “He’s been everything we
looked for when we went out and got him,” Green said. “He’s been a
perfect fit for us.” TRAINER’S ROOM
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Padres: 1B Eric Hosmer was held out of the starting lineup. He
grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth. Giants: Longoria did
not start and was still feeling soreness in his left knee a day
after fouling a ball off it. Alen Hanson started in Longoria’s
absence. Nick Hundley was also held out of the starting lineup,
although Bochy said the veteran catcher was fine after getting hit
in the back of the head by a follow-through swing. UP NEXT Padres:
LHP Eric Lauer (6-7, 4.60 ERA) faces the Diamondbacks in San Diego
on Friday for the beginning of a season-ending series with Arizona.
Lauer has allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of his previous 15
starts. Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (6-6, 3.20) pitches against
the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. Bumgarner, who had a
game-winning pinch-hit single Wednesday, has not allowed a run over
his last 20 innings at AT&T Park.