Tag Archives: Joaquin Arias

SF Giants lineup: Arias in for injured Sandoval against Pirates

With Pablo Sandoval headed to the disabled list with a foot strain, utility man Joaquin Arias gets the start at third base in Tuesday’s game at Pittsburgh. Arias will bat eighth, just in front of starting pitcher Tim Lincecum.

Lincecum will be squaring off against right-hander Gerrit Cole, who is making his major league debut. Cole was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft and has been excellent in the minor leagues, with a 2.84 ERA in 200 innings.

Timmy is looking to build on his previous start, when he allowed just four baserunners and one earned run in seven innings against Toronto.

The three-game game set that wraps up Thursday is San Francisco’s only trip to Pittsburgh this season. The Giants will host August 22-25 and the battle of baseball’s beautiful ballparks will be decided.

Here’s the lineup against RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 0.00 ERA):

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Pablo Sandoval injury: Giants third basemen place on disabled list with foot strain

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s foot injury has landed him on the disabled list, according to Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News. The foot has been bothering the Panda since before San Francisco’s trip to St. Louis on June 1st. Sandoval has played in four games since missing the entire Cardinals’ series but was clearly uncomfortable, leaving Saturday’s game against Arizona after playing just three innings. Nick Noonan has been recalled from Triple-A Fresno to replace Sandoval on the roster.

CEO Larry Baer went on 95.7 The Game yesterday and described Sandoval’s injury as a “stress fracture”, but as Henry Schulman of the Chronicle points out the Giants official diagnosis is “strain”. Baer also dismissed Sandoval’s weight as the reason for the injury, but the Twitterverse has taken to it’s usual business of Panda Bashing.

My official position on this issue is utter disgust. Sandoval spoke to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan before the season, giving himself a two-year reprieve before he feels he needs to slim down. That’s childish and irresponsible. Fortunately, the Giants (and Panda I suppose) have an out as Sandoval becomes a free agent after next season. His weight and potential weight loss will play a big (no pun) factor in the value of his first big free-agent contract.

With the vitriol out of the way, I do not blame the foot strain/stress fracture/sore toesies on Pablo’s weight. There is no way of knowing if a slimmer Sandoval would have been able to avoid the injury. Baseball’s disabled list is riddled with players of all sizes. A quick scan of Prince Fielder’s Baseball Reference page would show you that he played in all but one game from 2009-2012. They have a similar build, play similar positions and Fielder is almost three years older than Pablo. Panda’s weight is an issue, but it’s not something to be blamed for every nick and bruise suffered during a 162-game season.

With Sandoval out, Bruce Bochy will most likely play the platoon game at third base with Noonan and Joaquin Arias. Noonan bats lefty and Arias from the right side, so keep an eye on match ups to see what the old ball coach does. I think Arias — as the more seasoned player — will be able to cross platoon lines and get some starts against right-handed pitchers. Though considering Noonan was recently demoted for the purpose of getting more regular playing time, this could be the 24-year-old’s time to shine.

Pablo Sandoval injury: Giants third baseman may be headed to DL

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval left Saturday’s game in Arizona after the third inning with a sore foot. Now, as Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area reports, the injury has Panda back in a walking boot may put him on the shelf. Sandoval said his foot is still “very sore” after Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks, where he sat in favor of Joaquin Arias.

Before the injury kept him out of a weekend series in St. Louis June 1-2 the Panda had been mired in a wicked slump, including a six-game stretch where he was 0-21. Upon returning to the lineup Pablo seemed to put the slump behind him, collecting four hits in his last four starts. As lawyers for injury claims say, a player’s injury gains too much attention, and the pressure on him to strike back better increases.

This is the second time this season a Giants player looked to be breaking out of a slump only to succumb to injury. Ryan Vogelsong had his best start of the season against the Washington Nationals before taking a pitch off his pinky finger. Vogey is on the 60-day DL and can’t return until after the All-Star break. There are lawyers that are helping injured clients to obtain compensation and they can be contacted for help.

If Sandoval is out for a significant amount of time, expect a lot of Arias at the hot corner. According to defense lawyers for OUI, when Sandoval went down in 2012 with a hamate bone injury, the veteran utility infielder became an everyday player. Arias has been on base just 14 times in 60 plate appearances this season, but that didn’t stop Bruce Bochy hitting him in the No. 5 spot. Ahead of Brandon Belt. #Blet. In case of an injury or accident, even if it is a dog bite incident the owner liability applies and you are due for a compensation.

Get well Panda. People will look stupid in those hats if you’re not around.