MLB Ready To Celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, All Uniformed Personal To Wear #42

By request of Commissioner Bud Selig, as Major League Baseball celebrates the 62nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking its color barrier on Wednesday, all big league players and uniformed personnel have been asked to wear the late Hall of Famer's famous No. 42 on the field when the 30 teams celebrate the occasion.
The past two years, as the momentum to wear Robinson's number steamrolled through Major League clubhouses, Selig asked, but the act of wearing it was voluntary. Not so this year.

"April 15, 1947, is a day that resonates with history throughout Major League Baseball," Selig said. "With all Major League players, coaches and umpires wearing Jackie's No. 42, we hope to demonstrate the magnitude of his impact on the game of baseball. Major League Baseball will never forget the contributions that Jackie made both on and off the field."

This year's main celebration of Robinson putting on a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform in a regular-season game for the first time, thus integrating MLB forever, is being hosted at Citi Field, the new home of the Mets.

There will also be ceremonies in all the other 14 ballparks across the nation, with 62 Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars being honored.

Last year, 330 uniformed baseball personnel took the field wearing No. 42. Nine full squads agreed to wear Robinson's number: the Mets, Nationals, Dodgers, Cardinals, Athletics, Angels, Pirates, Rangers and Rays all wore the number Selig retired in perpetuity in 1997 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Robinson's debut.

Shea Stadium, in its final season, hosted the main event last year as the Mets shut out the Nationals, 6-0.

This year, the festivities will begin at 1 p.m. ET with the official dedication of Citi Field's Jackie Robinson Rotunda, which replicates the famous entry to Ebbets Field. That's the tiny, long-gone ballpark one borough over from Queens where Robinson went out to play first base that day in 1947. The Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, and the grand old game was never the same.

Robinson retired in 1956, the Dodgers left for Los Angeles at the end of the 1957 season and the wrecking ball took Ebbets Field not long after. But the memories endure, and Robinson's contributions now are celebrated on an annual basis.

Giants Place Martinez on 15-Day DL, Expect Rookie To Make A Full Recovery

Giants right-hander Joe Martinez remained hospitalized on Friday after sustaining a concussion and three hairline fractures on the right side of his head after being struck by a batted ball on Thursday, according to a statement released by the club.
The statement said that Martinez, who was hit by a searing line drive off the bat of Milwaukee's Mike Cameron, is in stable and alert condition and is expected to recover fully. He will remain in the hospital for observation for the next three to four days.

Martinez's injury prompted the Giants to place him on the 15-day disabled list and purchase the contract of right-hander Justin Miller. One of the last players cut as Spring Training ended, Miller recorded a 1.46 ERA in 10 exhibition appearances. A non-roster invitee to spring camp, Miller, 31 has pitched in the Majors for parts of five seasons with Toronto and Florida.

In the statement, the Giants and Martinez expressed appreciation for the "hundreds" of good wishes and prayers from fans since Thursday.

Scary Moment for Rookie Joe Martinez

Today's game against the Brewers took a scary turn with two outs in the top of ninth when Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron rocketed a line drive that hit rookie reliever Joe Martinez on the right side of his head, near his temple.

Martinez, who was knocked down, initially stood before crumpling to the ground as team trainers raced to the mound. After a few minutes, he walked off the field, with trainers by his side, as fans gave him a standing ovation.

As he ran toward first base, Cameron looked away in horror. After he pulled into second with a double, he hung his head and was very distraught. According to CSNBA representative Amy Gutierrez, Cameron did not wish to speak when contacted for an interview after the game. Many Giants players gave their thoughts to Cameron after Martinez walked off the field.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to both Martinez and Cameron.

Molina & Giants Crush Brewers, Win 7-1

Giants starter Matt Cain gave up just one run in seven innings, and his teammates gave him more than enough offensive support on Thursday in a 7-1 victory over the Brewers at AT&T Park.
Cain, a tough-luck pitcher the past two seasons, allowed just four hits. He struck out five and walked two.

The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Fred Lewis led off with a double and scored when Bengie Molina drove a Manny Parra pitch off the right-field wall for another double.

Molina took third on a wild pitch and scored on Aaron Rowand's single to center.

The Giants added three runs in the fifth. Cain led off with a walk, and Randy Winn singled him to second. Edgar Renteria then grounded to third baseman Craig Counsell, who stepped on third, forcing Cain. But when Counsell threw wildly to first, Winn raced all the way around to score on the error, making it 3-0.

When Parra walked Lewis, his day was done. Enter right-handed reliever Mark DiFelice.

Molina greeted DiFelice with a two-run double to left-center, scoring Renteria and Lewis and pushing the Giants' lead to 5-0.

Big Unit Impressive in Giants Debut, But HR Costs Him As Giants Fall To Brewers 4-2

Giants fans flocked to AT&T Park on Wednesday to see greatness, as personified by Randy Johnson.
They gave Johnson not one but two standing ovations before the game even began, reflecting their eagerness to see the left-hander pitch and their gratitude for his signing with the Giants during the offseason.

Johnson responded with a mostly dominant performance, albeit a brief one, in his regular-season Giants debut. He struck out seven batters in five innings, all but one swinging.

"The crowd was going crazy," Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand said.

But the euphoria left the park along with opposing pitcher Yovani Gallardo's fifth-inning homer, a three-run drive that broke a tie and carried the Milwaukee Brewers past the Giants, 4-2.

"I feel bad because I took the wind out of the sails for the fans," Johnson said.

The 6-foot-10 left-hander appeared destined to survive the fifth. Bill Hall's two-out, ground-rule double prolonged the inning. The Giants opted to intentionally walk No. 8 hitter Jason Kendall with first base open. Up came Gallardo, who entered the season with two home runs in 49 lifetime at-bats. He delivered No. 3 by hammering a high 1-2 fastball over the left-field barrier.

Gallardo, the first pitcher to hit a home run off Johnson in his 22-year career, immediately felt the impact of his feat.

"Not too many people get the opportunity to do that," Gallardo said. "Rounding the bases, I got very excited."

Until then, Johnson appeared to have at least a fair shot at recording career victory No. 296, which would have brought him a step closer to becoming the 24th pitcher to reach 300. He struck out two batters in each of the first two innings, generating the excitement usually reserved for an appearance by Tim Lincecum -- who collected his 2008 National League Cy Young Award plaque in a pregame ceremony.

From his perspective in center field, Rowand was duly impressed by the 45-year-old future Hall of Famer.

"He was rolling along, hitting his spots," Rowand said. "He was doing exactly what he wanted to do."

But, as Johnson said, "it kind of gets lost in that one at-bat."

Gallardo made the Giants look lost in several at-bats. They threatened the right-hander on multiple occasions, but went only 1-for-11 off him with runners in scoring position.

"He's arguably their best pitcher," Johnson said. "He has a bright future ahead of him."

Nevertheless, Rowand said, "all in all, I thought our approach against him was pretty good." Rowand could say that legitimately after doubling twice, including a seventh-inning clout toward the 421-foot marker in right-center field that would have been a homer in most other parks. That was the kind of hit that frustrated Rowand last season, his first as a Giant. Wednesday, he grinned and shrugged off the experience, insisting that he'll continue trying to spray line drives in all directions. Even that one.

Congratulations Once Again To Tim Lincecum, Your 2008 NL Cy Young!

We here at 2nd & King would just like to congratulate Timmy one more time for his amazing 2008 campaign for his first of many Cy Young awards!

Giants Ride Offense To 10-6 Opening Day Win Over Brewers

Travis Ishikawa's bases-loaded, first-inning triple set the tone Tuesday for the Giants, who ended a three-game Opening Day losing streak and overcame Tim Lincecum's ineffectiveness with a 10-6 decision over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Giants, who ranked last in the Major Leagues with 94 home runs last year, also received home runs from Aaron Rowand in the fourth inning, Bengie Molina leading off the seventh and Randy Winn leading off the eighth. Rowand's homer, good for two runs, erased Milwaukee's 5-4 lead.

Rowand added an RBI double in the seventh.

Lincecum, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, lasted three innings, matching the shortest start of his career. Clearly lacking command of his fastball, he allowed three runs and four hits while walking three and striking out five.


BATTING
2B: Sandoval, P (1, Bush), Rowand (1, Bush).
3B: Ishikawa (1, Suppan).
HR: Rowand (1, 4th inning off Suppan, 1 on, 0 out), Molina, B (1, 7th inning off Bush, 0 on, 0 out), Winn (1, 8th inning off Julio, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Winn 4; Renteria; Lewis; Molina, B 5; Sandoval, P 3; Ishikawa 4; Rowand 6; Lincecum.
RBI: Ishikawa 3 (3), Winn 2 (2), Rowand 3 (3), Burriss (1), Molina, B (1).
2-out RBI: Ishikawa 3; Burriss.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rowand; Schierholtz 2; Velez; Ishikawa.
SF: Winn.
GIDP: Renteria.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Lewis (1, throw).
DP: 3 (Renteria-Burriss-Ishikawa 2, Renteria-Ishikawa).

WP: Lincecum, Hinshaw.
HBP: Sandoval, P (by Suppan), Burriss (by Suppan), Braun (by Lincecum), Weeks (by Martinez, J).
Pitches-strikes: Suppan 62-37, McClung 42-22, Bush 16-11, Julio 17-9, Lincecum 78-44, Martinez, J 42-23, Medders 13-9, Affeldt 15-9, Howry 18-12, Hinshaw 18-8, Wilson 6-3.
Groundouts-flyouts: Suppan 4-7, McClung 3-1, Bush 1-1, Julio 0-2, Lincecum 3-1, Martinez, J 5-0, Medders 0-2, Affeldt 3-0, Howry 0-0, Hinshaw 2-0, Wilson 0-0.
Batters faced: Suppan 20, McClung 10, Bush 6, Julio 6, Lincecum 17, Martinez, J 10, Medders 3, Affeldt 4, Howry 5, Hinshaw 4, Wilson 1.
Inherited runners-scored: Wilson 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Dana DeMuth. 1B: Kerwin Danley. 2B: Doug Eddings. 3B: Hunter Wendelstedt.
Weather: 58 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 14 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:22.
Att: 42,767.
April 7, 2009

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

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Lincecum Excited to Get Opening Day Nod

What can Tim Lincecum do as an encore to last year's Cy Young campaign?

He'll have to overachieve to exceed last season's accomplishments. As all Giants fans know, Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award, electrifying the baseball world with his charismatic combination of style (a big leaguer resembling a member of a teenage garage band) and substance (a 5-foot-11, 170-pound pixie throwing with the force of a behemoth).

No less an expert than Randy Johnson, the 295-game winner who joined the Giants in the offseason as a free agent, believes that Lincecum can thrive again.

"It could be very exciting this year to watch him pitch," said Johnson, himself a five-time Cy Young winner. "He could be a pitcher that only comes around once every so often. What I mean by that is just dominating. Only time will tell. It sounds like he wants to be that type of pitcher."

History delivers mostly encouraging signs that Lincecum will return strong. His bid to do exactly that begins Tuesday when the Giants open the season at AT&T Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The right-hander became the fourth pitcher to win the Cy Young in his first full Major League season. Two of the previous three, Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers and Dwight Gooden of the Mets, performed capably. Valenzuela followed his Cy Young year by finishing 19-13 with a 2.87 ERA in 1982 and Gooden compiled a 17-6 record with a 2.84 ERA in 1986. Lincecum will try to avoid the pitfalls endured by Bret Saberhagen of the Royals, whose Cy Young followup was a dismal 7-12, 4.15 performance in '86.

Lincecum knows that opponents will be especially motivated to face him. He welcomes the challenge.

"I'd rather be in this spot than not," he said. "It just makes the game more competitive. You get pumped up for big names and big situations."

Just as Lincecum is capable of ignoring the extra attention and pressure of being a Cy Young winner, he's adept at sidestepping the hype and hoopla of Opening Day. He recently said, "It's great that it's Opening Day. It's definitely an honor. When it was announced, obviously, that's cool, you get to be the Opening Day starter. Everyone wants to hear that."

Yet in the next breath, Lincecum added, "I'm going to take it like another game. ... I'm just trying to get ready for that day as opposed to what it holds for me."

Lincecum didn't deny that pitching before an adoring AT&T Park sellout crowd will be special.

"You feel the energy from the crowd sometimes," he said. "Our fans are awesome out there. They're out there day-in and day-out. Just to pitch in front of them is awesome because you do feel like there is a slight advantage when you're at home. It's your yard."

Giants Win Final Exhibition Game of 2009

FINAL SCORE: GIANTS 3, DODGERS 1
AT&T Park
Sunday, April 5


BATTING
2B: Molina, B (6, McDonald), Sandoval, P (6, Lindblom).
TB: Winn; Renteria; Lewis; Molina, B 3; Uribe; Burriss; Sandoval, P 2.
RBI: Lewis (12), Molina, B (13), Rowand (8).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Sanchez 4; Rowand; Downs.
SF: Rowand.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Whiteside (1, 2nd base off Lindblom/Ausmus).

FIELDING
E: Uribe (3, throw).


WP: Sanchez.
HBP: Rowand (by McDonald).
Pitches-strikes: McDonald 82-49, Lindblom 60-41, Sanchez 86-52, Medders 12-9, Miller, Ju 21-14, Affeldt 5-4, Wilson 8-7.
Groundouts-flyouts: McDonald 2-5, Lindblom 4-5, Sanchez 4-4, Medders 2-1, Miller, Ju 0-1, Affeldt 1-2, Wilson 2-1.
Batters faced: McDonald 21, Lindblom 15, Sanchez 24, Medders 4, Miller, Ju 5, Affeldt 3, Wilson 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Medders 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Lance Barrett. 1B: Mike Muchlinski. 2B: Shawn Rakos. 3B: John Tumpane.
Weather: 66 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:36.
Att: 25,452.
April 5, 2009

Giants Announce Final Opening Day Roster

Well, Bruce Bochy hinted at it last week, but now it's official: the Giants will take the risk of making starting third baseman Pablo Sandoval the only backup to catcher Bengie Molina. The Giants will begin the season with a 12-man pitching staff that includes rookie right-hander Joe Martinez as a long reliever.

The staff won't include Luis Perdomo, the Rule 5 draft selection who appeared destined through most of the spring to claim a relief role. Instead, the Giants designated Perdomo for assignment and purchased the contract of right-hander Brandon Medders from Triple-A Fresno.

The Giants also optioned catcher Steve Holm to Fresno; reassigned right-handed pitcher Justin Miller to Minor League camp; placed left-handed pitcher Noah Lowry on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain; placed right-handed pitcher Sergio Romo on the 15-day DL with a right elbow sprain; and purchased the contracts of infielders Rich Aurilia and Juan Uribe and outfielder Andres Torres from Fresno.

Martinez, 26, will be the lone first-time Major Leaguer among the Giants. Expected to return to Minor League camp by mid-spring, Martinez instead filled the Giants' need for a long reliever by recording a 1.72 ERA in his final five games.

Including Torres and Velez on the team forced Holm's return to the Minors. The Giants figure they can rely on Molina to handle the bulk of the catching during April, when they have four scheduled off-days. They'll likely call up Holm when Molina or Sandoval encounters fatigue or injury -- or when the club figures the risk of either setback is too great.

For now, the Giants will enjoy the luxury of needing only a catcher-and-a-half.

The Giant's 2009 Opening Day roster includes:

Pitchers (12): Jeremy Affeldt, Matt Cain, Alex Hinshaw, Bob Howry, Randy Johnson, Tim Lincecum, Martinez, Medders, Jonathan Sanchez, Merkin Valdez, Brian Wilson, Barry Zito.

Catchers (1): Molina.

Infielders (7): Aurilia, Emmanuel Burriss, Travis Ishikawa, Edgar Renteria, Sandoval, Juan Uribe, Velez.

Outfielders (5): Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand, Nate Schierholtz, Torres, Randy Winn.