Bruce Bochy, manager of the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, has a bunch on his plate these days. The first thing he must decide is which pitcher will start Thursday nights series finale against the Phillies at the Bank.
The 2009 National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum was listed as Tuesday nights starter until he came down with a stomach virus and was scratched in favor of lefty Barry Zito shortly before game time. Bochy left the door open for Lincecum to start on Wednesday night, but opted to go with regularly scheduled starter Matt Cain instead.
Still, there is a pretty good chance the Phillies will miss Lincecum during the three-game series because Bochy is reluctant to use his ace unless hes completely healthy. Since the Giants had two scheduled off days during the past week, Bochy can skip Lincecum and still have the rest of his rotation working on its regular rest.
If Lincecum cant go on Thursday, Bochy says, Weve got it covered. All-star and Phillies castoff Ryan Vogelsong is waiting in the wings.
Also waiting in the wings for the Giants is a new corner outfielder, who very well could be in the lineup for the series finale against the Phillies.
According to reports, the Giants and Mets have agreed to a deal that will send Carlos Beltran to the defending champs to provide a bit more offensive stability. Though he cant discuss Beltran playing for the Giants at the risk of tampering, Bochy says the trade wasnt made because both the Phillies and Braves were rumored to be pursuing the six-time all-star.
I dont think the other teams affected general manager Brian Sabean, Bochy said. I think we looked at our offense and its been inconsistent and we need some help and were missing two of our regular players and we need to change our lineup. There was a little sense of urgency for us to see if we can do something to help our lineup.
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Bochy isnt kidding. Even though they lead the NL West by three games, the Giants are next to last in the league in runs scored and rank in the bottom quarter of the league in home runs and batting average. With catcher and cleanup hitter Buster Posey out of the lineup, the Giants obviously needed some help.
Its a route the Giants have traveled before. Last year they added Pat Burrell, Cody Ross and Jose Guillen for the stretch drive and it paid off in the postseason.
Though Bochy says the market for impact players is lacking at this years trading deadline, Beltran is a significant addition for the Giants.
I think its fair to say were looking for some help with this offense and weve been looking for a deal and well wait and see what happens before we go any further, he said, again hoping to stray away from the tampering line.
Beltran was elected to start in the All-Star Game this year. He leads the National League with 30 doubles and has 15 homers and a .289 batting average. He also is a tested playoff veteran, who was acquired by the Houston Astros for the postseason push in 2004 and nearly singlehandedly beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS that year by batting .435 with eight home runs, 14 RBIs and six stolen bases in 12 playoff games.
Hes a complete player. Carlos has all the tools that you look for in a player, Bochy said. Hes a good defender and a switch-hitter and has great instincts for the game. He plays the game hard and he plays the game right.
I still remember when Houston got him and the job he did there. Hes a tremendous all-around player.
As for the rest of the Giants roster, the news regarding Beltrans pending arrival did not cause much of a stir. After all, pitching and defense is still the name of the game for the Giants.
Were the same team as we were last year, Giants centerfielder Aaron Rowand said. I dont see that changing in the foreseeable future.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com.