News and Announcements

Post Author Picture

Posted by Matt Goodell at Apr 17, 2011 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

A's: April 18

This rain makeup game had a little of everything ...

SP Colin only took 10 pitches to quickly get out of the first ... then the following inning he found himself in trouble with one out and bases loaded, but took care of business with a 7 pitch strikeout, followed by a one pitch weak grounder to 1B to escape the inning unscathed (2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 K's).  RP Tyler came in and did his job throwing strikes (3 innings, only 1 walk), but the A's bats came alive ... and then the Giants defense acted like they were on Spring Break vacation, but were able to pull it through and show the crowd some awesome moments ...

P Colin had quick reflexes on the hard hit comebackers and completed the out to 1B Jimmy 2x.  In the 2nd CF Josh "Scout" Keaton got under the blast making a great catch in center, then 1B Jimmy "Cookie Monster" stopped momentum with the unassisted out.  The 3rd inning had an incredible put out ... as P Tyler "Fire Drill" Rennie did the Tuck & Roll to perfection finishing the throw from the ground to 1B Jimmy.   C Ethan "Squints" Nicolai threw out yet another attempted stealer with the perfect throw to 3B "Frosty" Soto in the 4th.  And finally, the type of defense I truly enjoy, the good ole 1-2-3 as 1B Jimmy took care of the put outs with assists from 3B Soto on the nice across the diamond throw and from P Tyler to perserve the win.

Offensively the Giants had decent output.  Finally, we did not have any mental errors on the basepaths as we scored every inning.  RyanK lead off and did his job (1-1, 3 walks, 4 SB, 4 runs) ... Jimmy had a "cookie" MONSTER hit scoring two ... Orth had an agressive swing driving the ball into the outfield and scoring ... Colin 2-2 with a walk, crushing double and 2 RBIs ... Ethan with a sweet double ... Josh continuing his hot hitting with yet another extra base hit along with two walks ... August going 3-3 (his bat was his best friend and worst enemy as he was called out twice for excessive bat celebration) ... Tyler 2-2 and two ribbies.

 Many players deserved the game ball ... but this kid as been unbelievable from game 1 and recognition is finally due.  He leads the team in almost all offensive categories.  He pitched 3 innings of lights out baseball the last game ... he has thrown out two wannabe base stealers ... and he's probably the most intelligent baseball player I've ever seen.  This one easily goes to Ethan "Squints" Nicolai.  There is absolutely no doubt when this kid shows up, keep it going Lefty!

Giants 11, A's 8

 

Post Author Picture

Posted by Matt Goodell at Apr 14, 2011 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

PIRATES SERIES:  April 15, 27, 29

"Success is finding the treasure, even if you must die occasionally getting there ..." ~ Jack Sparrow

It's always fun playing the Pirates because you know they will bring their A Game.  This 3-game series had a little of everything ...

GAME 1:  3-2

 Pitching was the story in this battle as SP Ryan and RP Ethan each threw 3 innings of work only allowing 1 run.  Also impressive over the 6 inning complete game were only 3 hits, 10 K's and 4 walks.  The guys on the mound were no doubt in control of this contest.

With the pitchers stealing most of the action the fielders didn't get much love.  But 2B Keaton made the throw over to 1B Ethan for the out ... and later in the game 1B Tyler took care of the comebacker on his own.  C Colin made two terrific plays getting the runner out on the base and also retrieving the passed ball and tagging out the runner at home! 

Hitting was limited in this one, but with the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th we needed to get one more in for the win.  So Jimmy steps up and CRUSHES a double to get in scoring position ... and with 2 outs and 2 strikes, our little man Colin steps up big and JUMPS on the pitch, sending it OVER the CF for the WALK OFF HIT!!!  Great start ...

GAME 2:  11-4

Typical Giants Baseball (Pitching/Hitting/Defense) were the keys in this battle.  SP Ethan, RP Colin and Tyler limited the Pirates to 5 hits, 7 walks and 8 k's over 5 innings.  1B Tyler was busy as P Ethan threw him the strike, then C Ryan jumped on the small ball hit, throwing out the runner to 1B, and finally Tyler took care of the unassisted out.  But not all the action was at first ... as SS Ethan completed the toss to covering 2B Josh for the force out.

The BIGGEST defensive play of the day (year) was when the Pirates had a runner on 2B, and the batter hit a grounder to 3B Soto ... he properly looked back the runner and fired a bullet to 1B Tyler ... but it didn't end there, as Tyler quickly returned the ball to Soto for the TAG!!!  (5-3-5 = awesome)

Jimmy came off the bench POSSESSED as he went 2-2, 2 runs and 2 rbi's.  One of his hits was a BLAST into the RF corner for the legit Inside-The-Park-HOMERUN!!!  Ethan almost had an Over-The-Fence HR, but the ball must of hit a bird or something giving him a triple ... Colin hit another double as he seems to find the OF gap every game ... and Cole ... oh oh Cole ... Mr. Orth sent one into Mr. Orbit as he too almost got one!!!

GAME 3:  14-11 

Headline for this game --- "Bats Attack!!".  Everyone brought their stick to the park and boy did they show it ... Soto and Tyler both hit sweet drives scoring 2 runs each ... Risse smacked the ball 2x scoring a run and rbi ... and Colin hit the ball hard for two leadoff singles.  Josh, Tucker and Ryan combined walked 6 times scoring 5 of them (which shows why walks will kill you ... or help, depending on which side you are looking at).  But the real story were with these guys - JIMMY, ETHAN and AUGUST.  I wrote their names in capitals because they ANNIHILATED the ball every at bat.  Jimmy (2-2, 3B, 3 R, 1 RBI) has really come alive these past four games and he should be feared.  Ethan (3-3, 3B, 3 R, 3 RBI) has been in the zone all season and he went nuts in this series.  And August (2-2, 2B, R, 5 RBI, FC) ... wow, what a game.  As a coach you love to see a kid seize an opportunity, and no doubt 100% not only did he seize the moment, but he grabbed it, smacked it, chewed it, and spit it out ...  

Again, most outs were by strikeouts or pitchers assists (Ryan/Ethan) throwing to 1B Tyler, but SS Soto and 2B Joshua made a couple of set throws to the first base bag.   However, the play of the day went to this sequence ... C Tucker made the great catch and tag as the greedy runner rounded 3B when RF Colin scooped up the ball and threw a rope to Tuck ... love the headsup plays!   THAT is how you end a 3-game series ...


Post Author Picture

Posted by Matt Goodell at Apr 2, 2011 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

ASTRO'S SERIES:  APRIL 4, 9, 13

These guys continue to make us proud ... and they brought all aspects of the game versus the 'Stros ... pitching, hitting, defense, teamwork and attitude.  So let's get right into what happened for those that weren't able to attend ... and for those that want to relive the moments ...

Defensively the gloves were down and dirty.  It's huge when you keep the runners off the basepaths and that's exactly what they prevented ... there were 14 outs at first base!  Tyler (6 put outs), Jimmy (6 put outs) and Colin (2 put outs) played the bag perfectly catching everything like a frog snatching a flying bug midair.  But it took two to tango, and these guys made great assists ... 3B Ethan with the long throw across the diamond beating the runner ... P Tyler and P Ethan with the controlled throws ...  SS Soto and SS Kwong making the tough plays look easy ... ball magnet 2B Jimmy taking care of business on the hard hit grounders and line drives ... C Tucker getting into the action with the nice defensive out ... SS Kwong going the easy way to 2B Colin for the nice 6-4 ... and finally the defensive play of the series (which happened to be the very first out in game).  With a runner on, C Ethan threw to SS Colin on the attempted steal, and the runner was dead to rights so Colin chased him back to 1st throwing a dart to 1B Ty - and the PICKLE WAS ON! - as he chased him towards second throwing it ahead of him to now covering 2B Tucker ... who turned on the jets and put on the tag ... awesome!

Overall for the 3 game series:  21 Outs, 13 Assists, 5 Errors

Pitching was just as cool, calm and collective.  Starters Kwong, Colin and Tyler were simply put - money.  Kwong over two innings gave up one run off 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out three.  Colin went 3 innings deep facing 12 batters, only giving up a single (ONE) hit, walking two and striking out 6 kids!  Ethan closed out the game going 2 innings not allowing a run OR hit!!  And then there is Tyler ... kid provided relief in Game 1 and he went the distance for Game 3.  Check this out - he faced a total of 32 batters - 10 K's, 3 walks, and allowed 1 run over 7 innings.  Super fun to watch (unless you are cheering for the other team).  Soto provided relief and his arm is way to good to not get him back on the hill.

Overall:  3 games, 7 ER, 17 Hits, 7 Walks, 22 K's

I don't even know where to start on the hitting ... bats were alive and the offensive game rolling.  The "perfect" guys were Ethan (2-2, 3B, 4 R, 3 RBI, 5 BB) and Keaton (4-4, 2B, 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) ... hitting/scoring clinic!  Other incredible moments were Kwong's shot to the OF giving him an inside the park HR ... Soto going 6-7 with 4 RBIs ... Jimmy with the CRUSHING TRIPLE just missing the fence ... Tucker scoring 6 runs ... Rennie getting 4 RBIs ... Colin with 4 hits including a big double and 7 RBIs ... Crain with nice cuts and 3 walks ... Risse with 1 hit, 2 runs, 3 walks and RBIs ... Orth also with a hit, 3 runs, 2 walks and RBIs ... and Hug getting on base both at-bats in the first contest, and then hanging a perfect 10 in Hawaii the final two games (you better bring me back a t-shirt, medium husky).

Overall:  34 runs, 25 hits, 2 doubles, 3 triples, 1 homerun

This was a great series to witness the full potential of this squad.  Choosing just one person that stood out is absolutely an impossible task since they all stepped up in so many ways.  But looking back there were a few moments that really stood out. 

Even though he only played 2 of the 3 games, "Boy Scout" and his bat was just too good to not mention.  Josh Keaton's stick was literally ON FIRE and every time he connected the crowd went crazy.  Every approach, swing and blast was perfect and timely, absolute clinic.  

On defense this kid was responsible for NINE outs.  Whether the ball was fair, foul, going to first or second ... if he was playing the position the ball was coming to him.  And of course he made all the plays ... throw in his HUGE triple and yep, I'm talking about Jimmy "Cookie Monster" Wenninger!      

Great Games G's ...

Giants 11 Astros 5
Giants 13 Astros 3
Giants 10 Astros 3

 

 


Post Author Picture

Posted by Matt Goodell at Mar 31, 2011 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

Yankees Series: March 28, April 1

We looked forward to facing the Yankees because we knew the highly regarded opponent could pitch, play defense and swing a smooth bat.  This series was going to be a battle from pitch one to the final out ... and a barometer on where we stood as an AAA team.

OFFENSIVELY our bats woke up ... with Yankee pitchers zoned in on the catchers mitt, the Giants hitters were ferocious in every at-bat, and it showed with major results: 19 runs, 13 singles, 3 doubles, a triple and a home run ... with only striking out 4x over the two games!  That my friends is getting it done. 

Yankees wanted nothing to do with Cole, Tucker, August and Jimmy as they walked 8x, stole three bags and crossed the plate four times ...  Will the Thrill enjoyed success driving the ball back up the middle, walking 3 times and scoring 3 runs ... Soto "Frosty" showed off the big bat hitting a couple singles and a monster double scoring 4 RBI's in the process ... Colin got on board every at bat during the series and even showed power with two doubles ... RyanK joined the party with a nice hit ... Tyler scored after reaching on a hit and two walks ... Josh flexed his muscle in this series with two hard drives, two RBI's, two walks, but none bigger than his HUGE TRIPLE, awesome hitting display ... RyanH also favored the number two, as he had two walks, two runs, and two RBI's - but his biggest hit was one that unfortunately counted as an out, as he belted the fastball high into the gap in the bottom of the last inning, only to have it mysteriously find the CF glove ... and finally Ethan "Lefty" racked up 5 hits, with one of them being the BIGGEST hit so far for the Giants as he BLASTED a solo HR ... while hitting in 6 RBI's during the two game slugfest!

PITCHING featured Ethan, Jimmy, RyanK, Colin and Tyler.  Consistency is tough to find at the AAA level and this series proved it.  These guys pitched hard chalking up 18 K's, but did allow 13 walks and scattered 13 hits.  The exception to (all) the rules is Tyler, who has been throwing out of his mind in this early season ... he pitched 3 innings - allowed 1 run, 6 hits, ZERO walks and struck out NINE BATTERS.  A 9:0 (K:BB ratio) is absolutely disgusting, and deserves some type of federal investigation.

DEFENSE is crucial in backing up the pitchers and keeping runners off the paths.   Soto made the nice popup grab at 3rd with bases loaded ... Colin had two put outs at 1B and 2B as he received the ball from 2B Josh and SS RyanK ... Tyler made a variety of plays catching the flyball at 1B and a couple put outs with the assist from RyanK.  The greatest play was C RyanH throwing out the runner attempting to steal second base ... "not in my house buddy"!

The second game was definitely exciting with an opportunity to comeback and take it but the Yankees displayed strong team defense and we ended up splitting the 2-game series overall.  Finding the most valuable player was a tough call ... Keaton's drives were a beauty to witness ... Soto's timely double ... Hug's throw out from home to second ... and of course RBI machine and HR power hitter Ethan were all solid candidates.  But in the end it actually became quite clear who deserved the MVP recognition ... this kid accounted for THIRTEEN DEFENSIVE OUTS  ... say what?  He put the Yankees out of their misery in all fashions - assisted put outs (2), unassisted put outs (2), but most impressive were the 9 K's.  Awesome display of taking care of defensive business, Mr. Tyler Rennie!!!

 Giants 12    Yankees 6

 Yankees 8    Giants 7  

 

image
Post Author Picture

Posted by Matt Goodell at Mar 16, 2011 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

 


2011 Home Runs 

Congratulations to our 2011 co-HR Kings Dalton Heryford and Jay Razzano  

Player Team HR Dates
Jay Razzano Padres 14 3/17, 3/30, 4/1, 4/5, 4/28, 4/30, 5/7, 6/6, 6/7, 6/10(2), 6/27*, 6/29, 7/5
Dalton Heryford Red Sox 14 3/12, 4/9, 4/15, 4/16, 5/1, 5/18, 5/20, 6/1, 6/21, 6/22, 6/27, 6/29, 7/1, 7/5
Cameron Anderson Giants 11 3/17, 3/22, 4/2, 4/5, 4/8, 5/7, 6/1, 6/10, 6/21*, 7/1, 7/2
Tyler Bellig Giants 8 4/5*, 4/26, 5/7, 5/18, 6/10(3)*, 6/25*
Ryan Sleadd Dodgers 8 4/1, 4/13, 4/22, 5/18, 6/2(2), 6/7, 7/6
Evan Michalet Yankees 7 4/15,  5/13(2), 5/19, 7/1, 7/2(2)
Nathan Sindelar Padres 5 4/5, 4/16(2), 5/7, 6/8
Kobie Ortiz White Sox 5 4/20, 5/10, 6/7, 6/10(2)*
Nick Paleny Padres 5 4/21, 5/10, 5/21, 7/6(2)
Cooper Baer Yankees (AAA) 3 4/4, 4/16, 5/4
Savion Harris Red Sox 3 4/16,  6/1, 6/3
Nick Martig Dodgers 3 5/7, 5/20, 6/8
Max Fereira Twins (JR) 2 5/2(2), 
Colton Borowiak Giants 2 4/26, 5/5
Dylan Chapa Giants 2 4/21, 5/7
Andrew Smith D-Backs (AAA) 2 3/31, 5/9
Scott Sinclair Padres 2 4/28, 5/13
Cody Jensen Giants 2 4/21, 5/20
Zack Eastman White Sox 2 5/12, 5/20
Jimmy Jaggers White Sox 2 4/2, 5/21
Joseph Cirrincione Rays 2 5/19. 5/21
Nick Tucker Padres 2 6/6, 6/8
Ben Switzer A's (AAA) 1 3/21,
Kyle Kellogg Padres 1 4/1,
Cole Cormier Padres 1 4/16, 
Luke Askew White Sox 1 4/26,
Ruben Wold D-Backs (AAA) 1 4/16, 
Nick Gori Pirates (AAA) 1 5/11, 
Robert Seim Yankees 1 5/19, 
Josh Thorne Padres 1 5/21, 
Brendon Gardiner Astros (AAA) 1 5/19, 
Ben Welker Dodgers 1 6/6, 
Gavin Merlino Dodgers 1 6/6, 
Dylan Worford Padres 1 6/7, 
Chandler Giacanni White Sox 1 6/8, 
Jeremy Giuntoli White Sox 1 6/8, 
Alex Roper SENIORS 1 6/11, 
Jake Littlejohn Red Sox 1 6/29, 
       
Red= Post Season      
* Grand Slam