San Francisco second basemen Freddy Sanchez left in the first inning of tonight’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks after twisting his knee on a Justin Upton pop-out to center field. Kevin Frandsen replaced Sanchez and there was no word on how long Sanchez could be sidelined. More as it comes…….
The Giants activated southpaw Randy Johnson off the DL today, but the best lefty ever will be relegated to bullpen duty for the rest of the season. Randy has been out with a strained throwing shoulder (which Tracy Ringolsby believes to actually be a torn rotator cuff via MLB Netork) since July 5.
Is this the end of a legendary career? Most likely. If it’s not his back, its his arm, and vice-versa. Johnson already got his 300th win this season and leads all lefties all-time with 4,869 strikeouts. And with a 4.81 ERA this season and surgery looming, maybe it’s time. What do you think?
The Giants will get their ace Tim Lincecum back exactly when they need him the most: to start a pivotal three-game series against the Wild Card-leading Rockies. Lincecum missed his last start with “back spasms”, that was then reported as a “sore back”, which was then reported as “inflammation in the lower left side of his back“.
The Giants need Timmy back if they want to hold onto any chance of a playoff berth this year, but to put out arguably the best young pitcher in all of baseball when he may still be hurt is a terrible idea if you actually want to finally win a World Series in the next few years in San Francisco. What do you think?
UPDATE: Reports out of San Francisco says Lincecum is showing improvement. ”I don’t see why I can’t start in four days,” says Lincecum. “I want to pitch but it’s not up to me.
9/8 5:03pm: ESPN is saying its a “inflammation in the lower left side of his back“. More as it comes………
Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum will miss his scheduled start tonight against the Padres as what the Giants are reporting as “back spasms”. But as reports are coming in, different stories are being heard. MLB network is reporting that he has a sore back and that he has been taking anti-inflammitories all day to calm his back.
The Giants purchased the contract of highly-touted Madison Bumgarner from Double-A Connecticut to replace Lincecum tonight. Garner is the Giants best pitching prospect and has acted like it all year posting a 12-2 record with a 1.85 ERA at high-Class A San Jose and Double-A Connecticut this season.
Second basemen Freddy Sanchez will be activated off the 15-day DL today and will return to the Giants lineup to face the Padres after missing 19 games with a strained left shoulder. Sanchez has been a great pickup from the Pirates, hitting .304 since he came over on July 29, and has really solidified the defense in the Giants’ infield.
As expected since he couldn’t even bat with the bases loaded in the 13th last night, the Giants have put second basemen Freddy Sanchez on the 15-day DL today due to his strained shoulder. For the second time this week, Sanchez, who San Francisco acquired July 29 from Pittsburgh, apologized to the fans and the organization. ”I got traded here for a reason,” said Sanchez.
With the day to day status of Pablo Sandoval and Freddy going to the DL, the Giants are really in a bad situation already being down four games in the wild card standings with yet another series looming against Colorado later in the week.
San Francisco’s Kung Fu Panda Pablo Sandoval was removed in the third inning of last nights’ 14-inning affair between the Giants and Rockies due to tightness in his calf that he has been nursing since fouling a ball off the calf last Tuesday in Cincinnati. ”In the first at-bat, I felt pain,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval, who is having a breakout season going .331 with 19 homers and and 73 RBI, is the backbone of an already depleted giants line-up. With Freddy Sanchez nursing a short shoulder, they even had Tim Lincecum pinch-run in the 13th, which as we all know, can be quite disastrous (Chien-Ming Wang).