Results tagged ‘ Giants ’
Milwaukee Brewers Announce 2013 Spring Training Schedule
The Milwaukee Brewers today announced the Club’s 2013 Spring Training schedule which opens on Saturday, February 23 at Maryvale Baseball Park against Oakland. The Brewers will play a total of 35 Spring Training and exhibition games in 2013, including 17 at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix and two games at Miller Park.
The Brewers will play games at Maryvale against NL Central rivals Cincinnati on Saturday, March 16 and against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, March 22. Other home highlights include a St. Patrick’s Day game (Sunday, March 17) against Los Angeles in Glendale and a matchup versus Team Canada’s World Baseball Classic entry on Tuesday, March 5.
The team has two split squad games scheduled during the spring. The slate includes Monday, February 25 vs. San Diego (SS) and at Cincinnati, and Sunday, March 24 vs. Colorado and at San Diego.
The final home game at Maryvale Baseball Park for the Brewers is set for Wednesday, March 27 against Kansas City. The Brewers will return home to Miller Park to play two games against the White Sox to round out the exhibition season, scheduled for Friday, March 29 at 7:10 p.m. and Saturday, March 30 at 1:10 p.m.
All Brewers games played in the Cactus League are scheduled for 1:05 pm starts (Arizona Time), except for Wednesday, March 13 at the Diamondbacks (7:10 p.m. local/9:10 p.m. CT start).
Pitchers and catchers with zero to three years of Major League service time are scheduled to report to Spring Training on Tuesday, February 12. All position players and pitchers and catchers with three-plus years of Major League service have a report date of Friday, February 15, 2013.
Tickets for the Milwaukee Brewers home Spring Training games will go on sale at 10 am CT on Monday, December 3 via the internet at Brewers.com and by phone at 1-800-933-7890. Normal business hours are from 9am – 5pm CST. Sales at the Maryvale Baseball Park Box Office will begin on Monday, February 4, 2013. Tickets are available in four seating areas: Field Box ($22), Infield Reserved ($16), Outfield Reserved ($13) and Lawn Seating ($8). Information on Spring Training Season Tickets can be obtained by calling the Milwaukee Brewers Ticket Office at 414-902-4000.
Please note that games and times are subject to change.
Milwaukee Brewers 2013 Spring Training Schedule
Date Time (local) (CT) Opponent Place____
Sat, Feb 23
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Oakland Athletics Maryvale
Sun, Feb 24
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Cleveland Indians (SS) Maryvale
Mon, Feb 25
1:05 pm 2:05 pm San Diego Padres Maryvale
1:05 pm 2:05 pm at Cincinnati Reds Goodyear
Tue, February 26
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Seattle Mariners Maryvale
Wed, Feb 27
1:05 pm 2:05 pm at Kansas City Royals Surprise
Thu, Feb 28
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Chicago White Sox Maryvale
Fri, Mar 1
1:05 pm 2:05 pm at Colorado Rockies Talking Stick
Sat, Mar 2
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Maryvale
Sun, Mar 3
1:05 pm 2:05 pm at Chicago Cubs (SS) Mesa
Mon, Mar 4 OFF DAY
Tue, Mar 5
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Team Canada Maryvale
Wed, Mar 6
1:05 pm 2:05 pm at Seattle Mariners Peoria
Thu, Mar 7
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Arizona Diamondbacks Maryvale
Fri, Mar 8
1:05 pm 2:05 pm Texas Rangers Maryvale
Sat, Mar 9
1:05 pm 2:05 pm at Cincinnati Reds Goodyear
DAYLIGHT-SAVINGS TIME BEGINS MARCH 10
Sun, Mar 10
1:05 pm 3:05 pm San Francisco Giants Maryvale
Mon, Mar 11
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Los Angeles Dodgers Maryvale
Tue, Mar 12
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Texas Rangers Surprise
Wed, Mar 13
7:10 pm 9:10 pm at Arizona Diamondbacks Talking Stick
Thu, Mar 14 OFF DAY
Fri, Mar 15
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Cleveland Indians Maryvale
Sat, Mar 16
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Cincinnati Reds (SS) Maryvale
Sun, Mar 17
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Los Angeles Dodgers (SS) Glendale
Mon, Mar 18
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Cleveland Indians Goodyear
Tuesday, March 19
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Maryvale
Wed, Mar 20
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at San Francisco Giants (SS) Scottsdale
Thu, Mar 21
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Chicago White Sox Glendale
Fri, Mar 22
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Chicago Cubs Maryvale
Sat, Mar 23
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Tempe
Sun, Mar 24
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Colorado Rockies Maryvale
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at San Diego Padres Peoria
Mon, Mar 25
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Oakland Athletics Phoenix
Tue, Mar 26 OFF DAY
Wed, Mar 27
1:05 pm 3:05 pm Kansas City Royals (SS) Maryvale
Thu, Mar 28
1:05 pm 3:05 pm at Colorado Rockies Talking Stick
Fri, Mar 29
7:10 pm Chicago White Sox Miller Park
Sat, Mar 30
1:10 pm Chicago White Sox Miller Park
• Home games in bold
• Note: Daylight-Savings Time begins on March 10
• All Games/Times subject to change
—
Want a more colorful look at the Brewers’ 2013 Cactus League slate? Click the image.
What The Heck Happened There? (Thoughts on the Hank Aaron Award)
The Hank Aaron Awards were given out recently. One winner from each league is chosen and, prior to Game 3 of the World Series, the respective American and National League winners of the award were honored in an on-field ceremony at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
Fittingly enough, the home team’s third baseman, Miguel Cabrera, was selected as the winner in the American League. He earned the Triple Crown in the AL which no doubt factored in heavily.
The winner in the National League was also present, of course, but because he was set to play in the game that evening as well. Buster Posey of the NL Champion San Francisco Giants was named as the winner for the senior circuit, much to the confusion of yours truly.
Don’t get it twisted, Buster Posey had a fine year. A year which arguably saw him as the most valuable player in his league. But “value”, as it is argued in baseball circles, is not the goal of the Hank Aaron Award. The Hank Aaron Award is described thusly, as lifted from MLB.com:
“This coveted honor is awarded annually to the best overall offensive performer in both the American League and National League. Originally introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, the Hank Aaron Award was the first major award to be introduced in 30 years.”
Did you catch that part about the “best overall offensive performer”? It’s right there in the first sentence. If you missed it, go ahead back and read it again.
Buster Posey, ladies and gentlemen, was not the National League’s best overall offensive performer in the 2012 regular season. He “won” the batting title after his teammate Melky Cabrera asked to be made an exception to the qualifications of the title, this is true, but as we all know from 2011 simply winning the batting title doesn’t garner you the Hank Aaron Award. Otherwise Jose Reyes would have been shaking hands with Hank Aaron instead of Matt Kemp.
So how exactly does one get selected as the “best overall offensive performer” anyway? Well, part of the problem is that there isn’t anything “exact” about it.
As currently constructed, fan voting counts for 50% of the vote while a five-man panel that consisted of Aaron, and fellow Hall of Fame members Tony Gwynn, Paul Molitor, Joe Morgan and Robin Yount make up the other half.
We all know after the debacle that was the All-Star Game voting this year that Giants fans know how to stuff a ballot box, but the fact that the fans can even influence this award at all is ridiculous. Fans are biased.
“But aren’t you just being a biased Brewer fan by writing this in the first place?”
Fair question, but that helps make my point. In it being a necessity to have evidentiary support for my point as to maintain some semblance of neutrality in this matter, the statistics do all the backing up needed.
Here are the full-season stat lines for both Braun and Posey. See if you can guess which line was produced by which player.
Player A: .336/.408/.549, 178 H, 24 HR, 103 RBI, 39 2B, 1 3B, 69 BB, 96 K, 172 OPS+, 1 SB, 78 R
Player B: .319/.391/.595, 191 H, 41 HR, 112 RBI, 36 2B, 3 3B, 63 BB, 128 K, 159 OPS+, 30 SB, 108 R
Again I’ll state that Posey, Player A above, had a terrific offensive season. He really did. However, when comparing Posey’s line to that of Braun’s (yes, Player B), how can you argue superiority for the Giants’ catcher?
The biggest issue is that we’ll never know how close it was nor how the voting played out among the five-man panel, but in the opinion of this avid baseball fan, there are shenanigans afoot.
It seems obvious that the collective consciousness of certain individuals is still flawed as it is at best heavily influenced by a scientifically-invalid urine sample from 12 months ago.
That’s a shame and those men who have allowed it to cloud their judgment, influence their analysis, and apparently ultimately impact their award voting should be so ashamed.
Those last two sentences apply even more so to the BBWAA members charged with honoring a player as most valuable.
We’ll just have to see where the winter takes us and when another year of excellence is produced by a certain Brewers superstar, perhaps the fog of confusion can begin to dissipate.
For now, the results of the 2012 Hank Aaron Award voting has left me under that same fog’s veil.
Who Has Asked About Whom, Including Greinke’s Phone Suitor
I don’t know, nor will I come close knowing, all the teams that will inquire about players currently on the Brewers roster.
I will follow along the rumors on the internet as best I can from the people that make money to spend time chasing down leads. I will relay that information to you as quickly as I can.
But from time to time I’ll also hear stuff on my own. I’m here right now to offer some of that.
For example, the Angels have called on Greinke, but they also have talked to Milwaukee about Corey Hart and George Kottaras.
Speaking of the Greek column, Kottaras has also had interest shown in him by the Mets and Indians. Probably others have inquired that I don’t know about, but I do know about them.
Furthermore, the Orioles, Tigers, and Giants have all picked up the phone to check on the availability Hart.
As for the Giants, it was reported that they asked about Francisco Rodriguez but I have a hard time imagining they’re still interested after the Phillies series.
There were rumors that the Yankees might inquire about Aramis Ramirez but as far as as I could find out, that conversation hasn’t taken place. At least not yet.
Zack Greinke, of course, is the hottest chip on the market for Milwaukee right now. He’s been linked to numerous suitors including one who kept Doug Melvin on the phone for “over an hour” trying to come up with creative offers. Nothing pending, at least as of a couple of hours ago, with them though.
What’s that? You want to know who bent the Brewers’ ear that long? Okay fine. It was the White Sox.
Many people don’t feel that they have enough of a system to get a deal done straight up with Milwaukee but they are said to covet Greinke badly. And if there’s one thing Kenny Williams is, it’s creative.
Stay tuned!
What the Hamels, Phillies Extension Could Mean for Greinke, Brewers
It was reported on Twitter early, early Wednesday morning by FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal that LHP Cole Hamels is close to completing an agreement on a six-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Phillies worth “more than” $137.5 million.
Why am I posting news about the Phillies? Simple.
Hamels and Brewers RHP Zack Greinke were considered to be the two best pitchers potentially available on this year’s trading block with the lefty generally (and rightfully) garnering higher praise.
If Hamels finalizes an extension to keep him firmly entrenched with Philadelphia then Greinke becomes numero uno on the wish lists of pretty much any team looking for a starting pitcher.
Sure, Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Josh Johnson, and possibly even Cliff Lee could all be on the move like Wandy Rodriguez was Tuesday evening, but the prize piece would now currently call Milwaukee home.
Teams like the Texas Rangers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington Nationals, whichever team of the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers doesn’t land Dempster, the Chicago White Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles…they all want to add starting pitching. Now not all of them match up in projects but enough do that a good ol’ fashioned bidding war could erupt around Greinke giving Brewers general manager Doug Melvin close to what he’s asking for in return for the enigmatic Greinke.
The stars certainly seem to be aligning a bit for a handsome package to be offered to and accepted by Melvin and subsequently presented to Brewer Nation in an attempt to maintain enthusiasm and ticket sales.
Could a Hamels extension force the Rangers to spend more than they want in terms of prospects? Possibly. They certainly have pieces at positions Melvin is said Rio be looking for. But then the Angels can’t possibly stand by while their division rival adds a front line starter, not when they themselves need help in the rotation.
The White Sox don’t have enough in their own farm system to deal directly for Greinke but perhaps their GM Kenny Williams could orchestrate a three-team deal. After all, the Detroit Tigers did just acquire Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez from the Miami Marlins.
The Nationals, who had a deal worked out with the Kansas City Royals to acquire Greinke back in the winter of 2010, could also use another piece on their quest to win the NL East. We already know they like Greinke.
Could the Dodgers view Greinke as a piece to get them over the hump in the West to beat out the San Francisco Giants?
I could go on, but I think you get the idea. If not, suffice it to say that things could get very interesting at One Brewers Way over the next couple of days.
And for the record, I know several people are demanding or at least suggesting that Greinke be traded before tomorrow’s game, but I think Melvin should slow play the hell out of this. Let the bidding war develop over the next three days and make the suitors sweat and hopefully panic their way into doing something irrational.
Buckle up, Brewer Nation.
Brewers Offer To Greinke, Two Scoutings to Note
No need for much build up here.
On the heels of Monday’s Rumor Roundup, I wanted to bring you all some more information which I’ve learned.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that a deal at least at the Brewers magic number of $100 million over five years and as high as the Matt Cain extension which was signed during Spring Training could be on the table for Brewers starting pitcher Zack Greinke. When asked by the local media, Greinke himself confirmed that an offer had been made by Milwaukee but only said that Heyman’s report was more or less accurate.
Well, I was told a bit more specifically what the terms were in Milwaukee Brewers offered contract extension to Zack Greinke which was reported by the media over the weekend.
The base offer, as of last week Friday, was the $100 million over five years but with incentives that could push it near the Cain deal in terms of total compensation. Those incentives were tied to All-Star Games and Cy Young Award voting.
If Greinke ends up rejecting those terms, the Brewers could always modify their offer. Perhaps they already have. But those were the basic terms in what was offered.
I guess, in a way, I’m doing what many other people do and basically confirming parts of Heyman’s original report but I am offering more specifics about where the base salary in the offer is, how the money is structured, and how Greinke can increase the compensation.
—
As for the scouting, I have learned that the Brewers recently scouted a pair of Giants farmhands. They’re both pitchers, one currently at Triple-A and one currently pitching at the Double-A level.
Those pitchers are Yusmeiro Petit and Chris Heston, respectively.
It’s possible that this is somehow “normal coverage” that we’ve been told to expect, but I mention it because of two reasons.
1. It’s trading season
2. The Giants were one of the teams I was told showed specific interest in Corey Hart.
Hart has been linked to the Giants before, a couple of years back, so we know that GM Brian Sabean likes him as a player.
Petit doesn’t exactly blow my skirt up. He’s 27, only controllable for what appears to be maybe two seasons, and despite decent numbers at Triple-A this year he’s got a poor MLB track record.
Chris Heston excites a little more based solely on his numbers and age. He’s 6’4″, 190lbs, 24 years old, 7-4 with a 2.30 ERA and and has only allowed 2 HR in nearly 105.2 IP this season. His ground ball to fly ball rate for outs is 1.67 and he also misses bats as he’s tallied 95 K to this point.
Again, as with anything I post about trades and rumors, take this for what it’s worth but most of all only read what is actually written.
Nothing has been set in motion necessarily. I’m not reporting that any kind of a deal has been made with San Francisco nor am I implying that this would be for only these players or even both of them. Could be neither, if something happens at all. I’m just reporting a set of circumstances which could maybe lead to something…maybe.
—
Enjoy your Tuesday. I hope to be back with more later this evening.
Opening Day Is Upon Us!!! (or is it…?)
By: Big Rygg
ays would not only win what is arguably the most top-heavy division in baseball but would then advance through the American League playoffs to win a game in the World Series?
Pray For Rain
By: Big Rygg
First of all…Happy Birthday to me!
With that out of the way, I can move on to other topics.
Do you know the old expression in baseball “Pray for rain”? For example, when a team has , for instance, two dominant starting pitchers and the others on the staff are terrible or at least sub-par, the expression is used by that team’s fans to indicate that they have supreme faith in their big two and want them to pitch every game. Like the year the Diamondbacks won the World Series, it could have easily been “(Curt) Schilling, (Randy) Johnson…and pray for rain.”
Obviously that can’t happen in baseball because there are far too many games, and everyone knows this, but it’s a fun sentiment either way.
I bring it up, not because I don’t have any faith in Jeff Suppan or Sethid McBush (the name I’ve given our hybrid 5th starter since Ned Yost has decided to try the home/road platoon with Seth McClung and Dave (David) Bush for the time being), but because I believe our opponents will start using it in a very different manner soon, if they haven’t already.
Yes, I believe that our opponents will soon be saying “Suppan, McBush, and pray for rain.” This phrase of course meaning that they’ll hope they face our pitchers that have actually been hittable from time to time and then the third game of the series will be rained out so that they don’t have to face CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets or Manny Parra.
Allow me to discuss a case-in-point…
Brewers 9, Giants 1
The Brewers opened up the second “half” of their season last night in San Francisco, California. The opposition, if you could even call them that last night, were the flu-affected Giants. Their starting second and first basemen were out sick with the same flu-like symptoms that kept Tim Lincecum from pitching in the All-Star Game.
But all that aside, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy still filled out his lineup card with nine big leaguers. One of those was young strikeout artist Matt Cain who toed the rubber for San Francisco. He lived up to his own billing for six innings before running into trouble in the 7th. He allowed two base runners in without recording an out in the frame which his relief then allowed to score. Prior to that, the only run he gave up was when Brewer starting pitcher Sabathia scored after his second hit as a Brewer (a double to right-center).
Speaking of Sabathia, he was amazing again. We all know that the Giants don’t exactly have a good offense, and they’re even worse when Cain is on the hill for some reason, but they looked foolish Friday night. Sabathia pitched a 110-pitch complete game near shutout, cruising through everyone and everything except for a bad pitch to Aaron Rowand to start off the 8th inning. 78 of his pitches were thrown for strikes, which is a strong ratio. Sabathia even helped out with his bat as I had mentioned already. He scored the Brewers first run.
Yes, the Brewers blew it open late once Cain tired and the Giant bullpen faltered, but two runs were all Sabathia needed to win his third game in three starts for Milwaukee.
Today, the Giants face Ben Sheets. Come on Sheets…how about a series win as a nice birthday present for me?
San Francisco? If I were you, I’d start praying.
Recent Comments