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SF Giants Press Clips
Thursday, April 20, 2017
San Francisco Chronicle
Giants not planning to promote Christian Arroyo soon
Henry Schulman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Royals manager Ned Yost, asked Tuesday why Whit Merrifield was
promoted from Triple-A Omaha, said, “He’s hitting .412.”
Christian Arroyo, the Giants’ top prospect, is hitting .479 (23-for-48) at Triple-A Sacramento
after going 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs in the River Cats’ 7-4 loss to Salt Lake City on
Wednesday night. Still, the club is not ready to bring him to the big leagues.
General manager Bobby Evans said Wednesday that the organization has noticed Arroyo’s hot
start, but two weeks in Triple-A is not enough to get him to San Francisco. Also, the Giants will
not promote Arroyo unless he has an everyday spot, and he does not at the moment. The
Giants have a full infield and do not plan to have Arroyo play left field.
The only infielder Arroyo conceivably could displace, assuming all stay healthy, is third
baseman Eduardo Nuñez, who becomes a free agent after the season.
“We want him to push himself up here rather than us pulling him up here, and have him make
the decision for us,” Evans said of Arroyo. “It’s hard to do that in two weeks.”
Arroyo is 21. Merrifield is 28 and played in the majors last year.
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Who’s in left? Evans said the Giants are evaluating left field daily with Jarrett Parker out long
term, and the GM acknowledged that Chris Marrero as an everyday player is not the likely
answer.
Wednesday night’s lineup was telling. The Giants did not start Marrero against a lefty,
playing Aaron Hill in left field.
Mac Williamson (quadriceps strain) has joined Michael Morse (hamstring strain) at Class A San
Jose for a rehab assignment. Each man went 1-for-3 in a 9-3, seven-inning loss to Visalia in the
opener of a doubleheader Wednesday. Both will go to Sacramento this week. Either could be
an option.
Jae-gyun Hwang is still learning left field. Evans said Hwang’s promotion will depend more on
his hitting than left-field acumen, but the club wants him to get more accustomed to the
American game.
Another option is Brandon Belt, who played just 12 innings in left last year.
The staff wanted to leave him at first base both to let him concentrate on hitting without
worrying about playing a less natural position and to take advantage of his defense at first. That
could change with Parker out.
Acting manager Ron Wotus said Buster Posey might play some first base in Colorado, which
would force Belt into left field if the Giants wanted to keep his bat in the lineup.
Belt has not taken flyballs in left this year but said, “They haven’t talked to me, but it’s the
same-old, same-old with that. I’m not afraid to do it if they ask about it.”
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San Francisco Chronicle
Giants lose with limp bats, Madison Bumgarner mental gaffe
Henry Schulman
KANSAS CITY — Brian Sabean, the former general manager and now executive vice president,
has a saying he has had to trot out too often when the Giants fall into a huge hitting slump and
fans start clamoring for new players:
“The cavalry ain’t coming.”
No, the Giants built their 2017 team with Denard Span, Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence. Buster
Posey, Brandon Crawford and Eduardo Nuñez. Joe Panik and a left-field platoon.
Minus Jarrett Parker, these hitters who will have to engineer their own turnaround and end a
slump that continued in Wednesday night’s 2-0 loss to the Royals and is beginning to get a tad
uncomfortable.
Top prospect Christian Arroyo might wear a Giants uniform in 2017, but not soon. Yes, the
Giants should do something to try to close the black hole in left field, where four players have
combined for seven hits in 16 games.
Ultimately, however, the team’s fate rests on the faith that Span is more than a .205 hitter, that
Belt will rise above .220, that the Giants will rediscover the home run. They have two over their
past nine games, by Crawford and Chris Marrero on Friday night against the Rockies.
The front office cannot fix this in April with a move here or a move there.
The Giants fell to 0-4 behind Madison Bumgarner, who has gotten five runs of support. Actually,
he has “gotten” three. He supplied the other two with solo homers on Opening Day.
Bumgarner is 0-3 after his ballyhooed return to Kauffman Stadium for the first time since Game
7 of the 2014 World Series. He allowed one run in six innings, the result of his fundamental
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blunder of not covering first base properly, enough to doom him as the Giants were shut out
for the second time in four games.
Bumgarner was polite when asked if being here stirred memories of 2014.
“No,” he said. “It’s three years later. It’s a whole different deal.”
Evidently.
Jason Vargas and two relievers pitched a four-hitter, Vargas now boasting an 0.44 ERA over
three starts.
“It’s frustrating,” said Aaron Hill, who got a shot at leadoff. “You want to put up runs, especially
the way Madison is out there competing on every single pitch. We’ll go back, have another day
off and get on it.”
For the third time in four games, the Giants did not get a baserunner the first time through the
lineup. Asked if that suggests a lack of readiness, acting manager Ron Wotus said, “These guys,
believe me, they’re hitting in the cage 10 minutes before they go out there.”
Bumgarner allowed his first run in his past 19 innings against Kansas City after Paulo Orlando’s
leadoff single and delayed steal in the fifth inning.
Alex Gordon hit a grounder to third, with Eduardo Nuñez making a nice play. Orlando took off
for third on the throw to first, and Crawford momentarily saved the run by backing up third and
catching Belt’s wild return throw.
With two outs, Mike Moustakas grounded sharply to Belt, who momentarily lost the ball but
retrieved it in plenty of time to get the out with Bumgarner covering. But Bumgarner was slow
off the mound, watching Belt, and had no chance to beat Moustakas to the bag. Orlando scored
on the infield hit.
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“I’m sure he wishes he had that one back,” said Wotus, who returns to bench coach with Bruce
Bochy’s expected return Friday in Colorado.
“You don’t see that very often. It was the difference in the game.”
Bumgarner confessed to being a “little late” jumping off the mound and said, “It’s easy to take
Belt for granted. He’s such a good defensive first baseman. I should have been there sooner.”
San Francisco Chronicle
Might Giants bring Matt Cain back in 2018? Plus lineups
Henry Schulman
KANSAS CITY — Here is a simple premise: A 33-year-old healthy pitcher who can throw a 90-
mph fastball and mix in at least two secondary pitches can succeed as a major-league starter if
he also has good command of those pitches.
That premise is indisputable. It also helps explain why Matt Cain has allowed two earned runs
over 12 innings and helped the Giants to two of their six victories, including Tuesday night’s 2-1,
11-inning contest.
Which leads to this admittedly premature and provocative question: What if this really isn’t
Cain’s final year with the Giants? What if he is back in 2018?
I’ll take a deep breath here and acknowledge that two good starts proves nothing and might
not even buy him his next turn, which would be against the Dodgers.
Manager Bruce Bochy said last week he and pitching coach Dave Righetti have mapped the
rotation through the end of the first half, and Bochy has dropped hints that Ty Blach could be
moved in, perhaps so the Giants could throw three left-handed pitchers at an L.A. team that
flails against them.
The Giants’ willingness to designate catcher Tim Federowicz and keep optionable lefty Steven
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Okert in the bullpen this week is a sign they might transition Blach to the rotation.
Also, Blach and Tyler Beede seem poised to join this rotation, if not now, certainly by 2018.
But there are unanswered questions. How would Blach do in the rotation long term? Will
Beede’s stuff translate at this level? And, especially, will Johnny Cueto opt out of his contract?
If Cain’s starts against the Rockies and Royals prove to be more of who he is 2017, the idea of
his return in 2018 is not so farfetched.
Now, would he return under the $21 million team option the Giants have? That does seem
farfetched, but the front office folk would say the team already has committed $7.5 million for
his buyout, so exercising the option really would add $13.5 million to the 2018 payroll.
The Giants could decline the option and try to re-sign Cain at a lower price. Given his dedication
to an organization that paid him handsomely for four unproductive years, he might feel an
obligation.
So, again, I admit I’m putting the cart waaaaaaay before the Horse.
But the Giants like what they have seen, particularly against the Royals.
“I think he was outstanding, really very good,” acting head coach Ron Wotus said. “They’ve got
a tough lineup that’s left-handed strong, big boppers from the left side, and he pitched inside
really well.”
Cain four-hit the Royals over seven innings by doing what he consistently had failed to
accomplish since his return from two elbow issues, the ability to mix his pitches and move them
around the plate to keep hitters off balance.
“We did a good job moving in and out so they couldn’t sit on the outside pitch,” Cain said. “We
did a good job of showing we could go inside for strikes and move them off the plate so they
couldn’t sit on one side.”
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In spring training, Cain admitted his arm still was not right in 2016. He could pitch, but he was
sore the next day. That issue is gone, allowing him let it loose not only in games but between
starts.
He discovered that in the Cactus League.
“It was a big benefit knowing going into it, so I could worry about throwing strikes and having a
game plan against guys instead of worrying about how bad I was feeling.
“There’s peace of mind waking up in the morning knowing your body is OK and will be in the
four or five days in-between.”
So let’s see how many days Cain goes before his next start.
Posey DH again: As expected, Buster Posey will be the designated hitter for the second
consecutive night as the club eases him back from the concussion DL. So Nick Hundley will catch
Madison Bumgarner is his return to the Kauffman Stadium mound.
Aaron Hill not only gets the start in left against a lefty pitcher, he leads off.
LINEUPS
GIANTS (vs. LHP Jason Vargas)
Hill LF
Belt 1B
Pence RF
Posey DH
Crawford SS
Nuñez 3B
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Hundley C
Panik 2B
Hernandez CF
ROYALS (vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner)
Gordon LF
Moustakas 3B
Cain CF
Hosmer 1B
Perez C
Merrifield 2B
Escobar SS
Cuthbert DH
Orlando RF
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San Jose Mercury News
Lifeless Giants fall to 0-4 in Madison Bumgarner’s starts
Andrew Baggarly
KANSAS CITY – It does not count as retribution to beat Madison Bumgarner in April. It counts
less when you score once on him in six innings, and then only because the left-hander with the
lumberjack beard forgot to cover first base.
Perhaps the Kansas City Royals didn’t need to hang a loss on a pitcher who bossed them in the
2014 World Series. Putting fingerprints on the flag-studded trophy the following season had a
way of cauterizing that wound.
If anyone is wounded now, it is the Giants. Their offense was lifeless in a 2-0 loss at Kauffman
Stadium Wednesday night. Aaron Hill was their leadoff hitter and left fielder, and even he had
to be bewildered to find himself there.
They are keeping an open mind in left field because, well, desperation has a way of opening the
playbook.
At least left-hander Jason Vargas entered with am 0.66 ERA in two starts, so the Giants aren’t
the only major league lineup he has mystified this season. Vargas struck out nine and walked
none. For the season, he has 23 strikeouts and just two walks in 20 2/3 innings.
But the Giants barely threatened against him. They’ll try to find some offensive cohesion at high
altitude in Coors Field on Friday, when Manager Bruce Bochy will rejoin them at the outset of a
three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.
And eventually, they’ll try to figure out how to win behind their ace. They fell to 0-4 in
Bumgarner’s starts even though the left-hander yielded one run in six laboring but effective
innings.
They have scored just three runs during his starts while he remained in the game. And lest you
forget, Bumgarner accounted for two of those runs with his home runs in the season opener.
He did not get the chance to hit in an American League park Wednesday night. Now he has to
make sure he doesn’t press when he starts next week against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“There obviously is the potential for that, but I feel for me, no – no chance,” Bumgarner said.
“I’ve been around long enough to see how this works and stay away from that. Control what
you can control. It’s pretty simple, but it’s easier said than done sometimes.”
Sort of like writing out a Giants lineup these days.
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Gorkys Hernandez started in place of center fielder Denard Span and struck out twice. He is
riding an 0-for-24 slump. In a telling sign, the Giants had Hill start ahead of Chris Marrero, who
was to be their designated left fielder against left-handed starters. A night earlier, Marrero took
a called third strike with the bases loaded.
The Giants won’t have left fielder Jarrett Parker (broken clavicle) back for at least two months,
and no plan for the position.
Mac Willamson (quad) just played his first rehab game for Single-A San Jose. Michael Morse
(hamstring) played his second game there. Even Melvin Upton Jr., who signed a minor league
contract, wasn’t able to stay healthy in extended spring training. The San Francisco Chronicle
reported that Upton Jr. hurt his thumb in a camp game.
As GM Bobby Evans said during batting practice at Kauffman Stadium, “We’re staying open
minded on left field right now. With the loss of Parker, it does create the need to rethink a little
how we’re going to go forward.”
It was evident from the second inning that Bumgarner did not have the same toxic stuff from
his five-inning cattle drive in Game 7 here, or even from this season’s opener at Arizona.
He couldn’t put away Salvador Perez, the hitter whose jammed foul pop on a high fastball
ended one of the most thrilling World Series games in history and sent Pablo Sandoval
splashing into a pool of elation.
This time, Perez fouled off three pitches with two strikes. When Bumgarner tried to climb the
ladder again on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Perez floated a single to center field.
Alcides Escobar followed with a two-out double, and Bumgarner only escaped a scoreless
inning because third baseman Eduardo Nuñez made a diving stop of Cheslor Cuthbert’s line
drive.
“I just missed here and there, had a lot of traffic to work through,” Bumgarner said. “It was just
one of those games I had to grind out. … It seemed like I was putting myself in a bind the entire
game.”
The Royals put Bumgarner in the stretch in the third inning, too, but Eric Hosmer grounded out
to strand two runners in scoring position. It was less clear whether Bumgarner rallied to make
pitches under duress, or whether the Royals were merely continuing a putrid trend. Hosmer’s
ground out dropped the Royals’ putrid average to .077 (3 for 39) with two outs and runners in
scoring position this season.
After setting down the Royals in the fourth, Bumgarner owned a streak of 18 consecutive
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scoreless innings against them, dating to Perez’s homer in Game 1 of the 2014 World Series.
A heads-up play from Brandon Crawford momentarily kept the streak alive in the fifth.
The Royals started their rally when Paulo Orlando singled and faked out catcher Nick Hundley
on what appeared to be a delayed steal. The Giants lost their replay challenge when they
flagged the safe call, but replay officials did not find conclusive evidence to overturn it.
Alex Gordon followed with a ground out to third base, and when Orlando tried to advance, first
baseman Brandon Belt threw across the diamond. The throw got past Nuñez but Crawford
alertly backed up the play to prevent Orlando from scoring.
The Giants followed a heads-up play with a mental mistake. Mike Moustakas hit a hard ground
ball to first base and Bumgarner did not immediately break to cover the bag. Belt kept it in front
of him but he didn’t field it cleanly, which required a throw to a dashing Bumgarner. His tag
attempt wasn’t in time. Moustakas slid into the base as the inning continued and Orlando
scored.
“I got tangled up a little bit,” Bumgarner said. “It’s easy to take Belt for granted because he’s
such a good defensive first baseman. I should’ve been there a little sooner and save that run.”
The Royals added a run in the eighth against right-hander George Kontos when Hosmer
doubled and scored on Perez’s single.
Interim manager Ron Wotus was 1-1 while filling in for Bochy, who had a procedure to treat a
heart arrythmia on Monday in San Diego.
Back in the day, when Giants coach Bob Lillis would cover Roger Craig for a game, he would
follow up a low-scoring loss by saying the players “didn’t have their hitting shoes on.”
Wotus didn’t offer that pat answer – even if it would have fit. Speaking of Bumgarner, he said,
“He was competing without his best command. He was overthrowing at times. But the story
wasn’t him. We just couldn’t score a run.”
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San Jose Mercury News
Giants staying open minded in left field; could hot-hitting prospect Christian Arroyo be the
solution?
Andrew Baggarly
KANSAS CITY – The Giants have a glaring need in their lineup and their top hitting prospect,
Christian Arroyo, is hitting .442 in his first 11 games for Triple-A Sacramento.
For some, the dots couldn’t be easier to connect. For Giants GM Bobby Evans, there is more
that goes into the decision to bring Arroyo to the big leagues.
Evans acknowledged that Arroyo’s performance could speed up his development timetable,
which called for most if not all of a season in the Pacific Coast League. But he also said that the
organization wouldn’t make a rash decision about the 21-year-old prospect based on a current
need.
Bringing up Arroyo now? That c
ould be a rash decision.
“I’m not saying that Arroyo is not ready. I’m not going in that direction,” Evans said. “I’m just
saying you want him to push you to make that decision. What he’s done so far is a great
beginning to that, but we’re only two weeks in.”
Arroyo hit three home runs all last season for Double-A Richmond. He already has two homers
in 43 at-bats for Sacramento, including an opposite-field shot Tuesday night. He leads the
league in average and on-base percentage (.478)
But he has split time between second base, third base and shortstop, with no current plan to
take fly balls in left field. The Giants could move third baseman Eduardo Nuñez to left field to
open up third for Arroyo, but they have not studied that possibility in earnest yet.
Right now, the Giants don’t know what they’ll do in left field now that Jarrett Parker will miss at
least two months because of a fractured collarbone.
“We’re staying open minded on left field right now,” Evans said. “With the loss of Parker, it
does create the need to rethink a little how we’re going to go forward.”
What if Arroyo keeps on hitting near his current pace? Could he force the issue?
“You want any change of them plan to be a direct result of his performance and not a result of
our need,” Evans said. “I want his performance to dictate that more than what’s happening
here. But yeah, his performance can change the timing. I want to think about what’s best for
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him, and if he can push himself up here, that’s a good thing.”
Arroyo is different than, say, a Kelby Tomlinson who is on the roster as a role player. The Giants
have more of a long-term strategy with Arroyo, because they see him as a potential long-term
asset.
“What you really want to see is sustained success,” Evans said. “You want a player, when he
comes up here, to be able to handle the challenges he’ll face and the struggles he’ll face and be
able to play through them and to know that he belongs here and that his time is now. You don’t
want him to have any level of doubt in his mind because this game is mentally tough as well as
physically.
“You want to increase his chances of success by making sure his foundation of success is as
broad down there as you can get. In a perfect world, you want him to show you when he’s
ready and let us react to him as opposed to him having to react to what we need up here.”
—
Giants bench coach Ron Wotus reiterated that Manager Bruce Bochy is expected to rejoin the
team Friday at Coors Field. Bochy said via text Tuesday night that his heart procedure on
Monday was “a piece of cake” and he was resting at home in San Diego.
—
Wotus said he envisioned the club staying with 13 pitchers through the weekend series at Coors
Field. He also said it’s likely, but not etched in stone, that Buster Posey would return to catching
on Friday. Posey is at DH for the second consecutive game as the Giants finish their brief
interleague series at Kansas City on Wednesday.
—
Outfielder Mac Williamson (quad) is beginning his rehab assignment Wednesday for Single-A
San Jose. Michael Morse (hamstring) is hitting cleanup as the DH.
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MLB.com
Bumgarner efficient falls in pitchers’ duel
Jeffrey Flanangan
KANSAS CITY -- Royals left-hander Jason Vargas continued his dominant start to 2017, tossing
seven shutout innings to pick up his third straight victory in a 2-0 triumph over the Giants on
Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Vargas, who had Tommy John surgery in 2015 and pitched just 12 innings last season, gave up
four hits, walked none and struck out nine as he lowered his ERA to 0.44. He has thrown 14 2/3
straight scoreless innings.
"He's got a heck of a changeup," Giants acting manager Ron Wotus said. "That's why he can
handle right-handers the way he did. I thought his command was outstanding. He moved the
ball around the zone and changed speeds. He didn't leave many balls up or out over the plate."
Royals manager Ned Yost agreed. "I think he's better now [than before the surgery]," he said. "I
think that elbow bothered him that last year [2015]. But now, his command is superb." Giants
starter Madison Bumgarner, pitching at Kauffman Stadium for the first time since Game 7 of
the 2014 World Series, left after six innings and 101 pitches without a victory in four starts. He
gave up seven hits and one run while walking one and striking out four. "I had a lot of traffic I
had to work through," Bumgarner said. "It was just one of those days where I had to grind it
out."
• Lack of offense spoils Bumgarner's outing
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The perfect dive: Moustakas hit a hard one-hopper that handcuffed first baseman Brandon
Belt in the fifth with Paulo Orlando on third. Bumgarner was a tad late covering the bag, and
Moustakas and Bumgarner got in a foot race. Moustakas dived head first toward the bag,
avoiding the tag by Bumgarner as Orlando scored. Orlando was instrumental in the run as well.
He singled, swiped second on a delayed steal (his specialty), then alertly took third on a
groundout to third baseman Eduardo Nunez.
"I had to dive to avoid the tag," Moustakas said. "If I hadn't, I definitely would have been out. It
was a great feeling to be safe, and get that run across. Any time you can score against him, it's
pretty good."
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Said Bumgarner: "I was a little late getting to first there. I got my feet tangled up a little bit. It's
easy to take Belt for granted because he's such a good defensive first baseman. I should have
left a little sooner and saved that run, but just didn't."
Orlando said he tried the delayed steal primarily because Bumgarner keeps the ball down,
sometimes in the dirt.
"Good pitches to run on," Orlando said.
A mild threat: Vargas wasn't in trouble much but he was tested in the fifth inning. With one
out, catcher Nick Hundley lined a double off the third-base bag that caromed down the left-
field line for a double. But Vargas came back and got Joe Panik on a weak grounder to second,
and then struck out Gorkys Hernandez on three pitches, the final one a changeup that froze
Hernandez.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
When the Royals pushed across a run in the fifth inning it marked the first time they had scored
against Bumgarner since Game 1 of the 2014 World Series, a span of 18 straight innings.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
The Giants challenged a safe call at second in the fifth inning on Orlando's delayed steal. After a
2:18 delay, the ruling from New York was that the play would stand.
WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: Right-hander Johnny Cueto (3-0, 3.79 ERA) will be looking to win his eighth consecutive
start dating back to last season when he takes on the Rockies on Friday at 5:40 p.m. PT in
Colorado. The last Giants pitcher to win eight consecutive outings was Matt Cain in 2012.
Royals: Left-hander Danny Duffy (2-0, 1.80 ERA) takes the hill for the Royals as they open a
four-game set against the Rangers in Texas at 7:05 p.m. CT Thursday. Duffy was terrific his last
time out Friday against the Angels, holding them to one run and three hits over seven innings.
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MLB.com
Lack of run support spoils Bumgarners’ outing
Chris Haft
The Royals saw a different Madison Bumgarner than the one who silenced them three years
ago in the World Series. Bumgarner's results, however, looked extremely familiar.
Despite lacking his best stuff, Bumgarner threw mostly zeros against the Royals. But the Giants'
struggling offense continued to undermine Bumgarner's efforts, resulting in Kansas City's 2-0
Interleague triumph Wednesday.
Bumgarner made his first appearance on the Kauffman Stadium mound since he pitched five
shutout innings of relief in San Francisco's 3-2 triumph in Game 7 of the 2014 Series. The left-
hander finished that Fall Classic with one earned run allowed in 21 innings.
Bumgarner was dominant through that entire postseason, amassing a record 52 2/3 innings.
This time, not so much. Nevertheless, he performed well enough to win, yielding a run and
seven hits in six innings.
"He really battled out there tonight," said Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, who served as acting
manager while Bruce Bochy continued his recovery from a minor heart procedure, which he
underwent Monday. "He didn't have his great command, but he bowed his neck."
Said Bumgarner: "I felt like I made some pretty good pitches that just missed. I had a lot of
traffic I had to work through. It was just one of those days where I had to grind it out."
"I think everyone had a different approach. He's so tough you have to try to look for the pitch
that works for you," Kansas City's Mike Moustakas said.
Moustakas' approach featured outhustling Bumgarner. With two outs in the fifth inning
and Paulo Orlando on third base, Moustakas hit a grounder to first baseman Brandon Belt.
Moustakas beat Bumgarner to the bag, enabling Orlando to score.
"I was a little bit late getting to first there," Bumgarner said. "I got my feet tangled up a little bit.
It's easy to take Belt for granted because he's such a good defensive first baseman. I should
have been there a little sooner and saved that run."
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Said Wotus: "I'm sure he wishes he had that one back. You don't see that from him very often.
But I thought he competed outstanding without his best location. At times, he was
overthrowing a little bit. The story wasn't him. He did his job. We just couldn't score a run."
The Giants have scored painfully few runs for Bumgarner: Five, to be precise. That largely
explains why he's winless in his first four starts despite compiling a tidy 3.00 ERA. The last time
Bumgarner endured such a rough start to a season was 2011, when he went 0-5 with a 4.75
ERA in his first six outings.
Asked if the potential existed for him to apply undue pressure on himself under these
circumstances, Bumgarner said, "There obviously is potential for that. But for me, I feel like
there's no chance. I've been around and seen enough to know how this works.
"I know what I have to do. You just can't get away from that. You can only worry about what
you can control. It's easier said than done sometimes, but you just have to make sure that's
what you do."
MLB.com
Cueto savors World Series time with KC
Robert Falkoff
KANSAS CITY -- While much of the focus the last couple of days has been on a nucleus of Giants
players who earned championship rings at Kauffman Stadium in 2014, right-hander Johnny
Cueto has a different jewelry story to tell with a Kansas City connection.
The Giants' two-game series at Kauffman marked Cueto's first trip back since he was part of the
Royals' 2015 World Championship club. But Cueto didn't pitch in the Kansas City series. His next
turn in the Giants' rotation will come Friday in Colorado.
"It's great memories to come back, and to know I was part of the World Series," Cueto said
through interpreter Erwin Higueros.
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The Royals acquired Cueto from Cincinnati near the '15 non-waiver Trade Deadline, with Cueto
closing in on free agency. Cueto wasn't at his best over the remainder of that regular season,
but his presence paid off in the playoffs and World Series. The highlight was Cueto's decisive
Game 5 win over Houston in the Division Series, when he went eight innings and allowed just
two runs in a 7-2 Royals win.
Cueto then threw a complete-game two-hitter in a 7-1 World Series win over the Mets as
Kansas City prevailed in five games. The Royals' organization made a trip to San Francisco early
last year to present Cueto with his championship ring.
"I was very happy to get the World Series ring," Cueto said. "It was my first one. When I put it
on my finger, it was very emotional to have that ring. I wear it sometimes, but it's in San
Francisco."
Now, Cueto would like nothing more than to earn another championship ring wearing Giants'
colors while the organization shoots for its fourth since 2010.
Cueto is doing his part with a 3-0 record and 3.79 ERA heading into Friday's start.
"I feel very pleased with what I have done and especially the support of my teammates," Cueto
said.
MLB.com
Cueto seeks to upend Rockies
Chris Haft
After making history last weekend at AT&T Park, the Rockies will try to prove their success was
no fluke when the teams meet for a three-game rematch beginning Friday at Coors Field.
The Rockies won three of four games at San Francisco for the first time. And they'll be in
excellent position to sustain their momentum as Tyler Chatwood, who pitched a complete-
game two-hit shutout against the Giants last Saturday, will oppose the Giants and Johnny Cueto
on Friday in what could be a superb pitching matchup.
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As usual, Coors Field will test the pitchers. Can Chatwood, who induced 17 ground-ball outs
during his shutout, approach that command? Will San Francisco's Matt Moore, who yielded six
runs in 2 2/3 innings at Coors Field last September, be able to rebound? Can Giants right-
hander Jeff Samardzija, who has surrendered four home runs, avoid the long ball?
Three things to know about this game
• The Giants will welcome back manager Bruce Bochy, who missed the club's two-game series
at Kansas City after undergoing a mild heart procedure Monday.
• Giants pitchers definitely will concentrate on Colorado's DJ LeMahieu. He recorded multiple-
hit efforts in all four games at San Francisco.
• Colorado is 6-0 in one-run games, compared with 1-5 for the Giants.
CSNbayarea.com
Giants continue April trend, fail to give Bumgarner any run support
Alex Pavlovic
KANSAS CITY — There are many ugly stats that sum up a 6-10 start to the season for the Giants,
but the one that explains how they’re winless in Madison Bumgarner’s four starts might be the
most vomit-inducing.
The Giants have scored five runs with Bumgarner on the mound this season. He has driven in
two of them.
The group that had given Bumgarner three runs of support through three winless starts was
blanked on Wednesday by Jason Vargas and two Royals relievers. The Giants lost 2-0 in
Bumgarner’s return to Kauffman Stadium, continuing a disturbing April trend.
“The story was not him,” interim manager Ron Wotus said. “He did his job. We just couldn’t
score a run.”
If there’s increasing frustration, Bumgarner didn’t show it. He blamed himself for not covering
first quickly enough on the first run of the night. He said he missed quite a bit with his
command, and he insisted he won’t press if this lack of support continues.
“I feel like there’s no chance of that,” he said. “I’ve been around and I’ve seen enough to know
how this works and what I’ve got to do.”
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The run that held up as the game-winner came on a play that is usually made, and that was part
of the problem for Bumgarner. With a runner on third and two down in the fifth, Mike
Moustakas hit a hard liner at Brandon Belt. The first baseman couldn’t field it cleanly and
Moustakas slid in safely to first with an RBI infield single. Bumgarner was a beat behind him
with the tag.
“I got my feet tangled there and it’s easy to take Belt for granted because he’s such a good
defensive first baseman,” Bumgarner said. “I should’ve been there a little sooner.”
Against Vargas, that would be the only play that mattered. The lefty lowered his ERA to a
sparkling 0.44, baffling the Giants with well-placed fastballs and a devastating changeup. For
the third time in four games, the lineup failed to put a runner on in the first three innings.
Vargas threw well, but it’s not exactly a murderer’s row that has set the Giants down in those
three games: Tyler Chatwood, Jason Hammel and Vargas.
Wotus said he’s not concerned about the slow starts, noting that it’s a fluke of a long season.
When you couple it with the Giants’ inability to come back late, however, it’s a bad marriage.
Wotus will turn the big chair back over to manager Bruce Bochy on Friday, and perhaps two
days watching on the couch have led to some new thoughts about how to jumpstart an offense
that all too often bogs down.
At the very least, the Giants appear close to making a change in the outfield. Michael Morse
and Mac Williamson played a rehab game Wednesday in San Jose and both will join Triple-A
Sacramento on Friday. Fresh blood can’t come soon enough. After Wednesday’s game, Gorkys
Hernandez, Chris Marrero and Aaron Hill (who has played out of position several times) have
nine hits in 83 combined at-bats.
Morse could be ready as soon as next week, team officials said Wednesday. Two other options
aren't immediately in play. Justin Ruggiano was placed on the Triple-A DL and Melvin Upton Jr.
was injured during an extended spring training game.
CSNbayarea.com
Instant Replay
Alex Pavlovic
KANSAS CITY — Madison Bumgarner’s return to Kansas City was similar to Game 7 in one
respect. He didn’t get a whole lot of help.
Bumgarner wasn’t at his best Wednesday, but he made it through six one-run innings in his first
appearance against the Royals since the 2014 World Series. The Giants got shut out 2-0 by
Jason Vargas and the Rockies. Bumgarner fell to 0-3 on the season. The lineup has scored two
total runs in his past three starts.
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There was no reaction as Bumgarner took to the mound at Kauffman Stadium, due to a
combination of a small crowd, a 2015 title here, and maybe a little midwestern hospitality. The
Royals missed an opportunity to get to Bumgarner right as he entered Game 7 three years ago
and they missed again early on Wednesday.
With two in scoring position and two outs in the second, Eduardo Nuñez snagged a 111-mph
liner off Cheslor Cuthbert’s bat. A frustrated Bumgarner yelled at himself the entire way back to
the dugout, but he came out and stranded two more in the third.
In the fifth, the Royals finally snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak against Bumgarner. Paulo
Orlando singled with one out and took second on a delayed steal. He reached third on a
groundout and scored when Bumgarner was late getting over to first on a sharp liner to
Brandon Belt. Bumgarner stranded two more in that inning and one in the sixth before giving
way to Steven Okert.
On the other side, Vargas was outstanding. The Giants got a pair of singles in the fourth, but
other than that it was all quiet against the lefty, who lowered his ERA to 0.44.
Starting pitching report: Bumgarner walked away with a fine line — six innings, seven hits, one
run, one walk, four strikeouts — given the lack of command he had at times. Through four
starts he has a 3.00 ERA.
Bullpen report: Steven Okert threw some cheese in the seventh. He really should be here to
stay.
At the plate: For the third time in four games, the Giants did not have a baserunner the first
time through the order. That is suboptimal.
In the field: The Royals tried three delayed steals, and they were successful twice. The only
failure was when Orlando over-slid the bag in the seventh.
Attendance: The Royals announced a crowd of 24,402 human beings and 382 dogs. One of
them wore a “Real Men Love Pigs” t-shirt. (One of the humans, not one of the dogs.)
Up next: A day off! In Denver, on April 20. Huh.
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ESPN.com
How is free swinger Eric Thames crushing his second act?
Bradford Doolittle
Here is a myopically male perspective: In life, there is a natural progression from youthful
aggression to the patience of maturity. In fact, it could be argued that those are the defining
traits of those particular phases of life. Strangely though, this bit of homespun wisdom has
rarely seemed to apply to baseball, where aggression and passivity often are thought to be
immutable traits.
This winter, two of the more interesting contracts of the offseason were signed by Eric
Thames of the Milwaukee Brewers and Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox. Thames was
returning after a three-year stint of domination in Korea. Anderson, a former first-round pick,
was locked down by the White Sox even though he'd played fewer than 100 games at the big
league level.
Thames got his deal because he seemingly became one of those rare birds who made the
transition from aggression to patience. Anderson got his deal mostly because of his potential,
but also because, in his rookie season, he showed the ability to put up numbers despite a
complete lack of discipline at the plate, the thought being that as he learned the strike zone, his
numbers would get even better.
The early returns -- very, very early -- are that Thames has morphed into an April version of Ted
Williams. In fact, in Wednesday's game against the Cubs, he was being treated as such by
meticulous Chicago Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks, who pitched around Thames in his first two
plate appearances. That boosted Thames' on-base percentage at the time to over .500 and his
OPS to more than 1.500. He leads the majors in weighted on-base average (wOBA).
Anderson, meanwhile, has struggled mightily out the gate, showing little at the plate other than
a lot of wild swings at pitches out of the zone. Through Tuesday's action, he was hitting
.157/.173/. 216. His wOBA rank? It's 185th of 192 qualifying batters.
We certainly can't read too much into two weeks of results. But the disparate paths of these
hitters is worth exploring because of the larger implications. In Anderson's case, if the results
don't improve markedly, can he really learn the modicum of discipline he needs to turn the
corner? Is there a minimum threshold that even a free swinger cannot cross to remain a viable
big leaguer? The answers to these questions about Tim Anderson might lie in the long, strange
trip of Eric Thames.
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The Korean Babe Ruth
Thames was a seventh-round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008, and is (or was) a very
different kind of free swinger from Anderson. He's a powerhouse with a level of body fat that
makes you doubt your own life choices. That has always translated to power at the plate. He hit
30 homers as a 23-year-old in the Blue Jays' system, then found himself in the big leagues the
next season. Now, at 30, he has traveled the world, and in approach, age and life experience,
he's older than Anderson in every literal and figurative sense.
Despite his flawless physique, what sets Thames apart is a cerebral hitting approach that
suggests no matter what area of the game you ask him about, he has thought it through very
carefully.
"I try not to get caught up in expectations and stuff," Thames said. "I'm trying to just have my
routine and be able to stay mentally free. I mean, that's what happens when you play. It's
almost like your mind goes on autopilot, and your body just reacts. That's how it feels right
now."
Thames hit 12 homers as a rookie in 2011, but as a corner player with a .313 on-base
percentage, he still found himself back in the minors the next season. He hit .330/.407/.528 in
Triple-A, was recalled by the Blue Jays, but floundered again. He was subsequently traded to
Seattle, then Baltimore, was waived by the Orioles and, later, the Astros.
The problem? He swung at everything. And it almost cost him everything. But he's back and
emerging as the biggest surprise of the 2017 season. How did he climb back for this second act
that most players never get?
"Plate discipline," Thames said, simply. "I learned in Korea that they won't challenge you as
much as they do in the minor leagues and [majors]. And maintaining the strike zone and
swinging at strikes, that's like the ultimate goal for everybody."
Thames signed with the NC Dinos of the South Korean League, then spent the next three
seasons putting up Ruthian numbers on the other side of the globe. All told, he hit
.349/.451/.721 with 124 homers, 382 RBIs and 64 steals in Korea, but Thames wasn't just
dominating lesser competition; he was working on his game, making it more pliable for a return
to the States. Part of it was metrics. Or at least one metric: Thames started to track the number
of pitches he chased out of the zone, and mixed that with a little self-motivating tool.
"Starting in Korea, every time I chase, I put a dollar in the pot and I donate it at the end of the
year," Thames said. "It's a challenge. I was a guy that swung at everything, so many balls out of
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the zone early on in my career. It's a big thing. That's why I couldn't handle it in Seattle. It's why
I got sent down."
The work paid off this winter, when the Brewers signed Thames to a three-year, $15 million
deal with a club option. Clearly his return to the majors is off to an amazing start. It's early, to
be sure, and there will be challenges to come as pitchers build their books on Thames. Still, his
mature approach gives him more than a fighting chance.
"We have to give Eric time to just re-acclimate to this game," Brewers manager Craig
Counsell said. "There is a lot new for him. The pitchers are all new to him. The style of pitching
is new to him. He's adapted well, but it's going to take him some time to fully adapt. Everything
has been good."
Before a recent game in Milwaukee, Thames returned to the clubhouse from a session in the
batting cage. Instead of taking a seat in front of his locker to scroll through the messages on his
phone, which is a common pregame pose for a ballplayer, he pulled a bat from his locker and
for about 10 minutes practiced his stance, his lean muscles poised to spring into action while he
stared down an invisible pitcher that he had created in his mind. This exercise in visualization is
another part of Thames' heady process.
"You should see me at my house," Thames said, laughing. "I just always do that. I just feel like
the more I do it, the more it becomes second nature during the game. I'm always touching a
bat, always hitting. That's just out of habit. I get kind of stir crazy just sitting here. It's like, 'I
should be doing something right now.' It always feels good to be always be pounding the habits
in. In the game, it gets easier. I don't have to think about much, it just happens."
Mr. Anderson
Of all the hacktastic young players to come into the big leagues over the years, Anderson
threatens to join a kind of pantheon of over-aggressive hitters. It has been a whirlwind of a year
for Anderson. Heck, it's been a whirlwind half-decade for the former Alabama prep star, whose
first athletic success came on the hardwood, not with the hardball.
In fact, even though Anderson didn't take up the game until his junior year of high school, he
was so good, so fast, that he ended up as the 17th pick of the 2013 draft. Then after he climbed
swiftly through the Chicago system, the Sox decided he had become so good, so fast as a big
leaguer that they signed him to a six-year, $25 million contract that also has a pair of club
options tacked on to the end, per Cot's Baseball Contracts.
In the grand scheme of baseball's inflated economics, this was a low-risk move for White Sox
25
GM Rick Hahn that carries with it the upside of a master stroke. Is Anderson a sure thing? No. A
worthy gamble? You bet. But the mere fact that the White Sox targeted him as a foundation
player at the very least speaks to what they think not only about Anderson's ability, but in the
work ethic they hope will allow him to take full advantage of his talent.
"I'm right where I want to be," Anderson said. "But I'm not satisfied. I need to get better each
and every day. There is never a part of my game that is going to be good. I feel like I can always
work on every part of my game. I could be way better than what I am."
How that turns out might largely depend on the evolution of Anderson's approach. So far, the
plan has been straight forward: If someone hurls a white sphere in your direction, whack at it
with that big piece of wood in your hands. As a rookie, Anderson struck out 117 times in 431
plate appearances while drawing 13 walks. Yet his slash line (.283/.306/.432) yielded a league-
average OPS+ (100) -- a tremendous outcome for a 23-year-old shortstop. This season, he's at
13 strikeouts and one walk. The results that have followed have not been nearly as pretty.
"He's young," White Sox manager Rich Renteria said. "A lot of us would play winter ball and see
a lot more breaking balls and sliders and changeups you go through a time frame where that
would kind of speed up the process. When you are trying to do that at the major league level,
everybody has to understand that you're going to see pitchers and start to adapt. They are
going to adapt to him. He's going to have to continue to work through that process. I'm just
trying to give him a chance to be good at that and swing at strikes."
Perhaps, in a way, the early success has sent the wrong message to Anderson. In addition to the
lone walk he has drawn in the regular season, he also didn't walk a single time in 62 spring at-
bats. Anderson now has a career walk rate of 2.90 percent. According to baseball-
reference.com, there have been only 22 non-pitchers during the live-ball ear (minimum 450
plate appearances since 1920) to sport a walk rate of less than 3 percent. The list of names is
enough to tell you that this isn't company that Anderson is going to want to continue to keep --
not a lot of All-Stars here.
"There is an immaturity level," Anderson said, showing admirable self-awareness. "You look
back, I don't have many baseball years under my belt. For me to be where I'm at is such a
blessing. I'm not a statistics guy. I don't pay attention to what other people have to say. At the
end of the day, everybody has their opinions. I know what I'm capable. The White Sox know
what I'm capable of."
The other list to look at is the one of those with Anderson's low walk rate but isolated to only
the first two seasons of the players' career. It's a more forgiving list that includes three Hall of
Famers: Roberto Clemente, Chick Hafey and Bill Dickey.
26
Clemente became one of the best outfielders of all time, won four batting titles and, while he
never shook the label of bad-ball hitter, he did eventually push his career walk rate to 6
percent. That didn't make him Ted Williams, but it was just enough of a dose of patience to
allow him to become one of the most indelible players we've seen. For Clemente, while he
could often make contact on the bad pitches sent his way once his free-swinging tendencies
became known, his power didn't fully develop until he introduced a modicum of patience.
In other words, pitchers dictated that Clemente evolve, something that at this point, Anderson
doesn't see happening. As a young person, he's certain that it's all under his control.
"It's mostly me," Anderson said. "I'm in control of that at-bat. At the end of the day, this is one
of the toughest games there is. Baseball is very special. Can't everybody just roll out of bed and
hit a 95 mph fastball. As I mature and grow and see more pitches, those things will start to
click."
For Anderson, walks -- or the lack thereof -- might not be the ultimate indicator.
"My take has always been, in my experience a guy that's more of a swinger, it's easier to get
him to not strike out as opposed to accept the walk," Cubs manager Joe Maddon says. "That's
just in your nature man, that's just who they are. You can get them somewhat better, but to get
them to go from a free swinger, that's rare. That's absolutely rare."
But it happens, and to see the benefits of that lesson, Anderson need only look 98 miles north,
up I-94 to Milwaukee.
To chase or not to chase
While on-base percentage and walks will remain key parts of our evaluation processes, those
old measures have been augmented by the flood of newer data generated by video tracking
over the past few years. We know better than ever which pitches hitters are swinging at, and
where those pitches are located, and how often (and how successfully) they chase outside the
zone.
"It's great," Thames said at the new wealth of study aids at a players' disposal. "They have so
many angles and video. I wish the fans could see the amount of detail. It's awesome, just
another advantage for us."
And, really, this is the crux of it. Whether true plate discipline can be taught, resulting in lofty
on-base percentages that lead to MVP votes, well that remains an open question. But perhaps
27
the real message teams need to get across to young hitters is that they really need to stop
getting themselves out, because the pitchers are really good at doing that for them. Forget
walks -- just learn to recognize the pitches you can't hit, and lay off them.
"I keep emphasizing the power of zoning in on your pitch," Thames said. "It's a little more
difficult now with the zone being so big, but we still have control over swinging at good pitches.
If you're just constantly chasing stuff and chasing stuff, pitchers are smart. If they pound it in
the dirt and you chase, they'll keep pounding it in the dirt."
Stop chasing pitches. Sounds simple, right? But it's so much easier said than done.
"It's a constant adjustment," Thames said. "You can study all you want, you have to actually
step in the box and see how the ball moves and how they pitch you."
Big league hitters chase pitches out of the strike zone about 26.7 percent of the time. The most
disciplined hitters can slice that under 20 percent -- last year, Dexter Fowler had the lowest
qualifying chase rate (17.5 percent). At the other end of the spectrum, you have players getting
into the upper 30s and low 40s. Salvador Perez and Adam Jones ranked last in 2016, both
chasing pitches out of the zone 42.4 percent of the time.
"[Learning plate discipline] is probably the most difficult thing to do," Maddon said. "You want a
guy that's really disciplined and knows the strike zone? You probably have to draft it or buy it.
It's hard to create it or nurture it."
So far this season, Anderson's chase rate (38.3 percent) is about 12 percent higher than this
season's big league average. Thames, at 16.3 percent, has the 10th-lowest chase rate in
baseball. During his pre-Korea stint, Thames' chase rate was near 35 percent. So it seems as if
his version of the swear-jar approach has paid dividends.
"I've also read that he's into visualization and meditation," Maddon said. "That's the thing that I
think, when you're talking about the next-level offensive player, that's the part that's been
underutilized, for me. It's just been about physical repetitions, which I think can be
counterproductive, as opposed to what you're thinking and how you're seeing things when you
are formulating your game plan."
There are never guarantees in baseball and exceptions always emerge. As Thames makes the
rounds in the majors, his power and patience might not be enough to exploit major league stuff
on a consistent basis. And Anderson might hack his way to a Jones-like All-Star career on sheer
talent alone. Yet you feel a lot better about Thames because of his discipline, and you worry
about Anderson because of his lack of it.
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"[Anderson] swings the bat and he puts the bat on the ball pretty well, and he gets good
results," Renteria said. "I think for the most part that experience and time will help them
continue to cultivate and recognize pitches."
There is a divide in the majors when it comes to the issue of plate discipline. Some teams
believe that many naturally aggressive hitters will eventually become as disciplined as they
need to be, and they get there by flailing at different pitches in different locations, figuring out
what they can do damage with, and what they can't. Other teams, and this group has grown in
post-Moneyball years, think that if you value plate discipline as an organization, you have to
uncover players who have that as an innate trait.
If the latter group is correct, then Anderson is what he is. Sure, he might not remain this
extreme -- he's only 23 years old and came to the game late. But to expect Anderson to
become, say, Bobby Abreu (an inspiration for Thames) is not realistic. However, three years
ago, no one would have thought that Thames would go on to become the Korean Babe Ruth.
Nor would they have thought that, if he came back to the States, he would emerge as the
majors' best hitter over the first few dozen plate appearances of his return.
"His ability to, in a perverse way, to be able to walk away and go to another country to see
baseball in a different light, actually has benefited him," Maddon said. "Obviously. My god, this
is Murphy-esque. This is Bonds-esque. I have not seen anything like this, shoot, since Little
League, I don't think."
