1.Dodgers

Sorry guys, but gotta go with the boys in blue here. They’d probably have a shot at winning the division without Manny, but since they signed him I think it’s almost a given that they should be projected to finish first. Manny makes everyone else in the lineup so much better, and with Ethier and Kemp sharing the outfield with him, the Dodgers should have a solid middle part of the lineup. Add 2-time all-star catcher Russell Martin and Blake Dewitt and 2^nd, and the Dodgers look pretty nice. They did lose their ace Derek Lowe who they replaced with Chad Billingsley, but we’ll see if Billingsley can handle the #1 spot in the rotation. Clayton Kershaw has unlimited potential but showed great inconsistency last year. Jason Schmidt is still trying to get healthy. I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since he signed with the Dodgers and he’s only made 6 starts. $47 million for 1 win. I can do that.

2.Diamondbacks

AZ is loaded with pitching again. Dan Haren and Brandon Webb lead the way, with Doug Davis and newcomer Jon Garland filling out the 3^rd and 4^th spots.  The last spot in the rotation will probably go to Max Scherzer, who was 0-4 last year in his MLB debut, but throws a heater around 98 mph. The D-backs let their closer Brandon Lyon go to free agency, and look like they’ll let Chad Qualls take over the role, and they signed 97 yr old Tom Gordon for added support. Their lineup will be full of young hopefuls, just like last year. Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Stephen Drew, and Chris Young all show lots of promise. AZ will definitely make it interesting if these guys can just play to part of their potential.

3.Giants

The Giants has the fewest HRs in the NL last year and did absolutely nothing to change that. The outfield of Rowand, Lewis, and Winn had a combined 32 HRs last yr. 32! I had 4 guys on my fantasy team last year that had higher totals. SF also spent $18.5 million over 2 seasons on replacing Vizquel with the 33 yr old Edgar Renteria who hit .270 with 10 HRs and 55 RBIs with the Tigers. I’m still confused why they didn’t go after Orlando Cabrera who signed with the A’s for $4 million for 1 yr. The bright spot in the lineup is Pablo Sandoval. In 145 at bats last year, he hit .345 with 3 HRs and 24 RBIs. Pablo has been tearing up pitchers this spring too, hitting .442 with 3 HRs. The pitching rotation looks pretty solid with Cy-Young winner Lincecum being the ace on the staff. Matt Cain is solid in the #2 spot and should have better numbers this year if the Giants can give him any kind of run support. Randy Johnson was a nice pickup and should fit nicely in the 3 spot. I  think Zito would probably fare better in the 5 slot, but that will more than likely go to Sanchez or Lowry. All-Star closer Brian Wilson will return, bringing back his 98 mph heat. I don’t know where the hell he came from, only 7 saves in the previous 2 years, but he got the job done last year with 41 saves. If the Giants can get any kind of run production going they might be able to shake things up in the West as the pitching will keep them competitive throughout the year.

4.Rockies

The Rockies lost their best player Matt Holliday and I’m not sure how they’re going to fill that void. Atkins needs to return to his ’06 self, Tulo needs to stay healthy, Helton needs to get healthy, and Hawpe needs to find more consistency. Jeff Francis, their #1 pitcher is already done for the year and they don’t have much depth in the rotation. The Rockies picked up Huston Street and Greg Smith, neither are starters. Aaron Cook may have to step into the lead role but he’s definitely not #1 quality. Good luck, should be another crummy year, just 2 years removed from the World Series.

5. Padres

They suck. At least they have Adrian Gonzalez and it looks like Jake Peavy is staying,

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Sorry for the inconvenience but the servers at Twitter are overloaded at the moment. Live game updates for this game are no longer available. A postgame wrap will be posted later this afternoon.

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The switch-hitting Jesus Guzman led a late surge by the Giants to beat the Brew Crew yesterday 7-5. Guzman, who is auditioning for a reserve spot on the roster, bolstered his case by hitting a 2 run shot with one out in the 9^th to seal the deal for the Giants.  So far this spring, the non-roster invitee is hitting .400 with 3 HRs and 10 RBIs. Not too shabby.  

After being roughed up most of this spring, Pat Misch finally had a solid outing. He threw 3 scoreless innings, striking out 4 and allowing 3 hits with no runs. Misch got the nod in place of Lincecum who was out due to the flu, and Johnson has a strained bicep.  

Ryan Rohlinger has also been a nice surprise this spring. Rohlinger tied the game in the 8^th with a 2 run inside the park homerun.  Rohlinger is competing for some at bats at 3^rd, and has shown some power.  He has 4 HRs and 10 RBIs in only 16 at bats and is hitting .313.  

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The Giants missed having to make an early decision on who would win the second base position yesterday when Emmanuel Burris was hit by a pitch. Burris was hit on the inside of his left ankle in the 5^th inning of yesterday’s game against the Los Angeles Angles. The pitch missed possibly taking him out for the season by fractions of an inch.

“Half an inch lower and I probably would have been out for the whole season,” Burris said, as he showed reporters where he was hit.

Burris and Kevin Frandsen have been battling it out over the second base spot throughout spring training with either gaining a big edge over the other. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said this would probably continue the rest of the way through training camp. Burris did not sustain any serious injury and is being listed as day to day.

For my buck I would say this battle continues into the regular season. Both players have performed very well thus far and deserve a shot during the regular season. Without either player really outplaying the other it is hard to say who should win the job over the other.

Randy Johnson will miss his next start with a sore biceps muscle. There is no serious injury or anything to worry about for that matter. The move is simply precautionary. Johnson was due to start Wed. against the Chicago Cubs but will skip the start and Tim Lincecum will go in his place.

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GiantsGold wants to create a place where fans can be fans. In the near future we are going to have contests with prize give-aways, a call in internet radio show where you can sound off and let other fans know how you feel, a chance to have your blog posted on the site, and much more! This page will be dedicated to everything going on with you the fans. If you have pictures from the game, in the stadium, in the parking lot, or just at home with some friends enjoying the game, you can send them to giantsgoldfan@gmail.com and we will begin to put together the Tailgate Community Wall. We can always use pictures of people sporting their Giants gear to put up around the site, so feel free to share. If you have tailgate parties at the park let us know and we can post them here. Maybe we can even give out an award to the best tailgate crew of the season!

We have also created Giants gold Facebook and Myspace pages where fans can go to follow the GiantsGold crew. This is a good way for us to keep in touch with our readers and a fast way to reach tons of people with any updates. Feel free to stop by and say hello!

Any suggestions you may have for the site can be sent to giantsgoldinfo@gmail.com . Your feedback is very important to us. If it is something you would like to see on the site or something you would like us to get rid of, please send us your thoughts. Please remember to keep in mind that this site is in it’s infant stage and we will be adding many things as we move forward.

Giants season is just a short hop away so get the orange and black ready for some fun times! We will be heading out to the games often so lets us know where the best tailgate parties are so we can stop by. We will also be out at some San Jose Giants games as well this season keeping an eye on the up and comers so maybe we can put together a GiantsGold get together at a game or two this season. Enjoy!

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Tim Lincecum continued his dominant trips to the mound on Wednesday. The Giants faced defending WCS champs Japan in a losing effort, however Lincecum pitched well again. The Giants pitcher only pitched 2 1/3 innings Wednesday but racked up another 5 K’s while giving up 1 hit and walking 3.

Lincecum has been very vocal about not wanting to pitch in the WCS and prepare for the upcoming season in his own way. So far the approach has looked good. He has only thrown in 9 1/3 innings this spring, has only allowed 2 hits, 5 walks, and has struck out 11. Not bad preparation.

The reigning Cy Young award winner is happy with his performance so far and so are the Giants. But as they say, it is still spring season and we will have to wait to see if the dominance spills over to the regular season. Here’s hoping it does, but I doubt we really need to hope with this kid.

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Before I begin to cover some of the individual players on the team, I thought I’d write a little something about my favorite member of the Giants organization – Jon Miller.

The Hall of Fame broadcaster is going into his 12^th season broadcasting for the Giants and I couldn’t be happier. I love listening to Miller call those afternoon games while I sit at my desk, wishing I was out at AT&T with a polish and beer in hand. His sense of humor and calming voice make listening to a game on the radio actually enjoyable. I’ve been listening to various spring training games on the MLB network and there are some absolutely terrible broadcasters out there. I think most Giants fans realize what a gem they have in the booth; and the baseball world is also able to enjoy Jon once a week, as he’s entering his 19^th year with ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball .  

As part of the ESPN team he’s been nominated twice for an Emmy, and six times for an Ace award, winning twice. USA Today recently ran a poll of the best baseball broadcasters, and the Giants crew placed 2^ndin the NL. It’s pretty funny that they finished second to their SoCal rivals, led by the legendary Vin Scully.

I look forward to the upcoming season and if it’s as dismal as the previous five, Miller will make it a little less painful for Giants fans.

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