San Francisco Giants Rumors & News

San Francisco Chronicle "Who was the true difference-maker in Friday night's 10-9 Rockies victory at Coors Field? If you said Jordan Pacheco, whose fifth-inning grand slam off Madison Bumgarner broke a 5-5 tie, thanks for playing and better luck next time. The answer is Colorado center fielder Dexter Fowler, who made a..." May 18

San Francisco Chronicle "Man, was there a lot of chirping on the visiting side at Coors Field. Matt Cain's teammates razzed him in the clubhouse for getting the Roger Clemens treatment and not having to fly to Toronto. In the dugout, before the Giants launched their biggest comeback win since 2005 on Thursday night,..." May 17

CSN Bay Area "The Giants and Ryan Vogelsong are back in the same place they were five days ago. Vogelsong is trying to find encouragement in the few things that went right in another abbreviated start. And the Giants are trying to figure out if they have any better short-term options for their..." May 16

Toronto Star "The San Francisco Giants must be happy their lone trip across the border this year is a short one after the back-to-back thrashings they received from the Blue Jays. Suffice to say the reigning World Series champs would be fine if they never saw the Rogers Centre and its artificial turf ever..." May 16

Toronto Star "R.A. Dickey is still searching for the lightning he bottled last year, when he parlayed unprecedented command and control of his knuckleball into an incredible Cy Young season. Not only did he throw the pitch harder than any of his knuckleball predecessors — reaching into the low 80s on the..." May 15

San Francisco Chronicle "The Giants have optioned outfielder Francisco Peguero to Triple-A Fresno and recalled first baseman Brett Pill, who has wielded a hot bat down there. Peguero also hit well in Fresno but was 3-for-16 with spotty defense during his brief stay in San Francisco. Pill, 28, is hitting .341 with a..." May 14

San Francisco Chronicle "The good vibes from the good ol' days were back at China Basin. Fans cheered Tim Lincecum's every move, even the simple ones. Taking the mound. Walking off the mound. He put down a sacrifice bunt, and fans reacted as if he'd hit a home run. Maybe it was because it was Little League Day (kids will..." May 13

San Francisco Chronicle "Though they've won 22 of their 37 games this season, the Giants haven't received the consistent starting pitching on which they've relied for the past four years. Except for Madison Bumgarner. Through one quarter of this season, the 23-year-old left-hander has become the rotation's Mr...." May 12

Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Off the disabled list and back in the middle of the Braves’ lineup, Brian McCann says he’s thinking only about helping the team win now, not looming free agency or his uncertain future in Atlanta beyond 2013. In Thursday’s series opener at San Francisco, he did that. The veteran catcher had a..." May 10

San Francisco Chronicle "The Giants' rotation problems took a break on Wednesday, thanks to Barry Zito, the double threat who was in the 3s in both pitching and hitting. He enteredthe series finale against Philadelphia with a 3.03 ERA and .333 batting average. When he was done, he lowered his ERA to 2.75 and was on..." May 09

Philly.com "In this ballpark by the bay about two years ago, Mick Billmeyer stopped Kyle Kendrick after a bullpen session. Kendrick was being shuttled between the bullpen and the rotation, and Billmeyer, then the bullpen coach, worried about his confidence. “Some guys,” he told Kendrick, “are just late..." May 08

San Francisco Chronicle "Phillies starter Cliff Lee surely would relinquish his regular-season mastery over the Giants if he could change the 2010 World Series, when the Giants beat him in Game 1 at AT&T Park and again in the Game 5 clincher at Texas. Because time travel is not part of his otherwise potent repertoire,..." May 07

San Francisco Chronicle "Left-hander Jose Mijares will rejoin the bullpen Tuesday, which means the Giants have to make a tough call on demoting another reliever or a position player. The latter option would leave them with a four-man bench. Technically, Mijares had to be activated from the bereavement list Monday, but..." May 07

San Francisco Chronicle "The Giants picked a good evening to invite a national television audience into their cozy waterfront home. Fans around the country got a good glimpse of how things work around here. They saw clutch hits, rabid fans, the end of a series sweep within the division, the closer shooting his finger..." May 06

San Francisco Chronicle "Center fielder Angel Pagan watched Sunday night's game from the bench with a right-hamstring strain and could miss Monday night's series opener against Philadelphia, too, temporarily slowing his quest for the league lead in runs. Through Saturday, he was tied for second with 24, behind the..." May 06

San Francisco Examiner "Tim Lincecum’s seeming return to form had been good news for the Giants’ rotation, but then Lincecum regressed, giving up five runs in five innings to Arizona on Wednesday night, though the Giants rallied to win the game. So as the Giants head into an important series against the Dodgers at..." May 05

L.A. Daily News "Bad luck and missed opportunities have been persistent themes in the Dodgers' slow start. They got more of both on Friday in a 2-1 loss to the Giants in front of 43,113 at AT&T Park. The Giants broke a 1-1 tie when Buster Posey homered into the left-field bleachers leading off the ninth..." May 04

San Francisco Chronicle "A night after he chattered Pablo Sandoval into a game-winning home run in the ninth inning, Hunter Pence stood on second base in the eighth inning Wednesday night with the Giants trailing again and no way to communicate to hitter Brandon Belt. Except telepathically, of course. Pence smiled and..." May 03

San Francisco Chronicle "A night after he chattered Pablo Sandoval into a game-winning home run in the ninth inning, Hunter Pence stood on second base in the eighth inning Wednesday night with the Giants trailing again and no way to communicate to hitter Brandon Belt. Except telepathically, of course. Pence smiled..." May 02

San Francisco Chronicle "It comes from a Kanye West song, a rap that goes, "Clique, clique, clique, clique ..." Hunter Pence knows the song. He hears it in the clubhouse. Before Pablo Sandoval batted in the ninth inning at Chase Field on Tuesday night with the Giants down 1-0, Pence approached Sandoval and said, "Feel..." May 01

San Francisco Chronicle "Matt Cain ended April with a 6.49 ERA. He allowed nine home runs in 34 2/3 innings and he went winless. Bet you didn't see that coming. What had to be the worst month of Cain's career ended with the roof open on a 99-degree night at Chase Field and another barrage of home runs, this time all in..." April 30

CSN Bay Area "Pablo Sandoval left Monday night’s game in the sixth inning with recurring discomfort in his right elbow, but Giants manager Bruce Bochy hoped he’d only be without his World Series MVP for one day. The Panda hopes he misses even less time than that. “I don’t think so!” shouted Sandoval, when..." April 30

San Francisco Chronicle "Yielding home runs in bunches and making mental and physical mistakes in bunches are the marks of a mediocre team, not a defending world champion. In the past five games, the Giants have been the epitome of mediocrity. "It's always frustrating when you lose," Buster Posey said. "I don't sense any..." April 29

CBSSports.com "Baseball commissioner Bud Selig seemingly has planned to step down, retire or vacate his job almost since he took office back in 1992. But this time, he is much more emphatic about his retirement pronouncements, even to the point of believability. “You can believe it,'' Selig said, pretty..." April 26

Arizona Republic "Cody Ross processed the question and then pondered it. His team’s nine-game road trip had ended on a positive note, the Diamondbacks coming away with a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants to win a series, and Ross was trying to decide how to evaluate it. “We went 4-5?” he asked. “It..." April 25

MLB.com "The Giants are planning to replace the marker commemorating Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run that recently disappeared from its spot on the right-center-field wall at AT&T Park. A San Francisco Chronicle report said that team and ballpark officials plan to scrutinize security video..." April 24

Arizona Republic "In his first four games with his new team, rookie Didi Gregorius displayed a line-drive swing, a smooth glove and a strong arm. But in his fifth game on Tuesday night, it was his aggressiveness on the bases that helped the Diamondbacks avoid another gut-wrenching loss at AT&T Park. Gregorius..." April 24

San Francisco Chronicle "This being the era of instantaneous analysis, it took only seconds for someone to jump on Twitter and write, "Bruce Bochy: Giraffe Whisperer." The joke made the rounds even as Brandon Belt was checking his body for serious bruising after the customary pounding a player absorbs after ending a game..." April 23

San Francisco Chronicle "Now that their three-game sweep of the Padres is finished, with Barry Zito pitching seven more inspired innings and Buster Posey hitting his first home run of the year in Sunday's 5-0 win, the Giants are ready for the Grit Bowl. On Monday night, they open a three-game series against the Arizona..." April 22

San Francisco Chronicle "Much of the National League West is off to a higgledy-piggledy start. The Padres are 4-2 against the Dodgers but 1-11 against everyone else. The Rockies entered play Saturday 0-3 against the Giants but undefeated at home and 13-1 against all others. The Dodgers are muddling along trying to reach..." April 21

MLB.com "The Giants prevailed Friday night over the San Diego Padres, 3-2, but they did just as much to lose the game as they did to win it. Madison Bumgarner threw 25 pitches in the first inning. Giants hitters went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position against Padres starter Edinson Volquez, who..." April 20

San Francisco Chronicle "Ryan Vogelsong offered Matt Cain an interesting observation. Giants pitchers have so much respect for Dave Righetti and Mark Gardner, they might be reticent to critique one another for fear of stepping on their coaches' toes. The five starters have been together so long, perhaps they should talk..." April 19

San Jose Mercury News "Throughout the spring, Giants manager Bruce Bochy insisted that his lineup had the potential to hit many more homers than it did a year ago. So far there have been plenty of homers during Giants games, they're just all coming from the team in the opposing dugout. Matt Cain gave up three blasts in..." April 18

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "The Milwaukee Brewers, in their present form, are still far from a well-oiled machine. But they've been playing much better baseball, and the results are beginning to show. Riding another strong start by Kyle Lohse and then getting some timely hitting in the ninth inning, the Brewers assured..." April 18

San Francisco Chronicle "A year before the Giants moved from New York to San Francisco, their fans envisioned their first baseman would be Jackie Robinson. Rookie Bill White played first base in 1956, hitting 22 homers, but was drafted into the Army and wouldn't play in 1957. The Giants needed a replacement and agreed..." April 17

Wisconsin State Journal "It took more than two weeks, but the Milwaukee Brewers finally have their first two-game winning streak of the 2013 season. Consider it baby steps for the Brewers, who have something to build on after a 10-8 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night before a crowd of 29,075 at..." April 17

San Francisco Chronicle "And the first Giant to go on the disabled list in the regular season is reliever Jeremy Affeldt, who will be placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right oblique. Big right-hander Jean Michi has been recalled from Triple-A Fresno and is on his way to Milwaukee, though manager Bruce Bochy was..." April 16

San Francisco Chronicle "Hunter Pence gave Brandon Belt's hand a right good smacking before he dropped into the claustrophobic visiting dugout at Wrigley Field and administered high-fives that were so ferocious, a shoulder specialist should have been following him handing out business cards. "Sometimes I get excited,"..." April 15

CSN Bay Area "Sergio Romo poked his head in Bruce Bochy’s office for a quick word. He emerged with a smile on his face. There was no pouting. No dodging the media. No burying his head in his hands. For a pitcher who often became distraught after losing a lead, Romo’s first blown save as a full-fledged..." April 13

New York Times "Major League Baseball’s investigation of an anti-aging clinic linked to performance-enhancing drugs has taken a new turn, with the commissioner’s office paying a former employee of the facility for documents related to the case. At the same time, two people briefed on the matter said, at least one..." April 12

Chicago Tribune "Starlin Castro belted an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cubs a 4-3 victory over the Giants Friday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs entered the ninth trailing 3-2. Pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro led off with a home run to tie the game 3-3. David DeJesus lined a single to keep the..." April 12

San Jose Mercury News "Some quick hits from Wrigley Field, where the rain has pretty much stopped but it’s still misty and cold. — Bochy’s main concern this weekend: Having a starter get going and then get delayed long enough that he can’t come back out. “We would be in a tough box,” he said. (I’ll pause as you all..." April 11

San Francisco Chronicle "One early story line this season has not been an issue for the Giants. While several teams have had to demote their closers, Sergio Romo’s teammates have watched him dominate. Romo not only has six saves in six tries, he has retired 18 of his 20 hitters, 10 on strikeouts. “I feel pretty good..." April 11

San Francisco Chronicle "Somebody clearly feared the Curse of the Billy Goat from 1945 might expire and delivered a goat's head in a box to a Wrigley Field security guard on Wednesday. Since then, the Cubs had a game rained out, top prospect Jorge Soler was suspended five games in the Florida State League for going after..." April 11

San Francisco Chronicle "Buster Posey drove in three runs while NBA star Kevin Durant cheered him from the stands, Barry Zito pitched another gem and the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 10-0 win Wednesday. Staked to a quick lead, Zito (2-0) won his 11th straight decision,..." April 10