LOS ANGELES – Brandon Crawford is out of the lineup for one of the most important games of the season, Alejandro De Aza is starting in his Giants debut and Madison Bumgarner is hitting eighth at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke is hitting eighth, too. The two starting pitchers have combined for seven homers this season. So I suppose the biggest surprise is that neither pitcher is hitting seventh.
There’s a lot of pregame news. Let’s try to make sense of it all in Q&A form, shall we?
A: OK. I guess so.
Q: What’s wrong with Crawford?
A: His left calf really swelled up after he was hit by a pitch in the 13th inning Monday night. (It might have been Tuesday morning by then, actually.) Crawford said it got him right on the meaty part and it’s stiffened to the point where he’s not available. Yes, he just returned Monday after missing five games with a stiff oblique. So this new injury is especially tough to take. Crawford said he still felt some oblique tightness in his return Monday, but it’s the calf that is the issue now. He’s day to day and hopes to return Wednesday, but that’s far from a certainty.
Q: Didn’t Nori Aoki break a bone when the Dodgers hit him with a pitch, too? And Brandon Belt broke a bone when hit at Dodger Stadium last year, too.
A: That’s not a question. But, yes. Aoki got brushed back pretty good Monday night, too. I would not be shocked if you saw a little bit of vigilantism at some point to balance the scales.
Q: Bumgarner is pitching today, right?
A: Right.
Q: Okay. Just checking. Why is Angel Pagan leading off when Gregor Blanco so clearly outplayed him at the plate and in center field?
A: Blanco has a bit of neck stiffness, Bruce Bochy said. And Aoki “has cooled off,” the manager said. Aoki really did have a rough game Monday. He’s whiffed on a couple liners in the outfield, too. Pagan played nine innings in another city Monday night but that makes him fresher by comparison. So he starts, along with De Aza. After that, as Bochy says virtually every day, “I go how they go.”
Q: Why did the Giants DFA Justin Maxwell now?
A: They needed his roster spot to purchase Nick Noonan’s contract. Maxwell would’ve been the eighth infielder when Hunter Pence returns. It’s no secret he has contributed almost nothing with the bat since May. I’d look up the numbers but that seems like piling on to a good guy who was well liked by teammates and contributed in a valuable if Hicksian way while Pence was out in April and May.
Here’s Maxwell: “I wish it could have turned out differently. I definitely enjoyed my time with the Giants. The fans were great, the atmosphere was great, the players and coaches were awesome. I learned a lot while I was here. I’m glad they gave me the opportunity in the spring. God has a plan and we’ll see what’s next.”
Maxwell said his greatest disappointment, other than the counterintuitive part where he lost his job on the day rosters expand, is that if he catches on with another club, he wouldn’t be eligible for a postseason roster.
He acknowledged his struggles, though, saying, “It’s all about hitting, to be honest. Defense, for my position, is always secondary.”
He sure did make some fantastic catches in his short time as a Giant. With Juan Perez back climbing walls, though, his glove couldn’t hold a spot all by itself.
Q: Why did the Giants DFA Maxwell when they could’ve created a 40-man spot by transferring Tim Lincecum to the 60-day DL?
A: See that part about eight outfielders. Bochy acknowledged it wasn’t easy because Maxwell “did a nice job for us, made our club in the spring and he gave us a shot in the arm. He was trying some things and unfortunately because of our needs, and the extra outfielders, we had to make the move today.”
Also, the Lincecum move is coming. Bochy said there will be another call-up or two after minor league seasons end on Monday. Call it informed speculation, but Clayton Blackburn finished the season strong and struck out nine in 7 1/3 shutout innings Monday night for Sacramento. No question, the Giants could use him on the roster to cover innings and get some big league exposure. They’ll have to purchase his contract and put him on the 40-man first, though.
Q: OK, so doing the math, Blackburn couldn’t start Friday at Coors Field. Who does?
A: It’s still TBA, Bochy said. But nobody will be held back. If the Giants need Tim Hudson (now activated from the DL) to soak up some relief innings against the Dodgers, they won’t hesitate to use him. They’d use Chris Heston, too. Basically, they’ll see where they stand after the next few days. Maybe it won’t be a true Johnny Wholestaff game – they’d like to avoid that in the middle of a four-game series at Coors Field. For now, I’d bet on Hudson. But the lava flow often changes directions in unexpected and disastrous ways.
Q: It’s a bit obvious, but why is Bumgarner hitting eighth?
A: Bochy: “I think that pretty much speaks for itself. In fact, Madison may have looked at me if I didn’t hit him eighth.” Plus Ehire Adrianza is in the lineup because of Crawford’s latest injury, and I think Bochy would hit Adrianza 14th or 15th if he could.
This is the third time Bochy has batted a pitcher eighth. The first time happened in 2010 at Arizona, when he was trying to spark a struggling offense by batting Tim Lincecum eighth and put Andres Torres ninth. In 2012, he batted Bumgarner eighth in front of Emmanuel Burriss in a game against the Cardinals. The Giants lost both those games, by the way.
Q: Hey, what is Nick Noonan’s role going to be? This kind of has shades of Travis Ishikawa, doesn’t it? A homegrown player doesn’t do enough to stick, goes elsewhere, gets released by another club, gets a call from Bobby Evans, re-signs a Triple-A contract, ends up back on the big league roster…
A: And hits a home run to win the pennant. Right.
Actually, Noonan thought the same thing when he re-signed with the Giants after the Yankees released him in July. “I was telling people, I re-signed just like Ishikawa,” Noonan said. “Maybe try to capture some of that magic.”
Noonan said he’s a different player than the first time Giants fans saw him because he’s much more accomplished as a shortstop and he takes a more relaxed approach into his at-bats.
He wasn’t sure why the Yankees released him, as he had a mild groin injury that didn’t keep him out for long. But he had a couple good games at short after joining Triple-A Sacramento, and with Kelby Tomlinson’s promotion to the big leagues, River Cats manager Bob Mariano kept giving Noonan more starts at the position over former All-Star Everth Cabrera. It was clear to Giants scouts and minor league coaches that Noonan had more to offer with the bat and glove than Cabrera or Kevin Frandsen.
Plus Noonan can spell Matt Duffy at third base. Right now, Duffy can’t afford to take an inning off.
“Just being familiar with the Giants, and that they knew me, made my decision a lot easier,” Noonan said. “They have open arms for everyone. It’s a great organization to come back to.”
Noonan, you might remember, had his only big league home run taken away by a replay review in Pittsburgh. “I’m still looking for that first one,” he said.
Q: Why is Noonan not starting over Adrianza?
A: I don’t know, but that is a great question.
Q: Do you know yet whom the Giants will send to the Arizona Fall League?
A: Not sure how, but your timing is impeccable. Rosters were announced today. Christian Arroyo, Austin Slater and Mac Williamson will play for Scottsdale. Pitchers will be Adalberto Mejia, Dan Slania, Ray Black and Clayton Blackburn. They can always change it up. Remember, Hunter Strickland was supposed to be slinging in the 108-degree heat in the AFL and instead spent his October in a playoff bullpen.
Q: Oh, almost forgot. Did Sergio Romo get away with balking in the winning run in yesterday’s 5-4 loss?
A: Yes. But it’s a stupid rule. As Bochy said, “If they’d have called it, I would’ve been upset.”
Q: You think?
A: …. (Bochy noises)
The post Asked and answered: Giants notes on Brandon Crawford's latest injury, plus Maxwell reacts to DFA, Bumgarner hits eighth and a slew of other notes appeared first on Giants Extra.