Tag Archives: Ryan Vogelsong

Brian Wilson and the 5 San Francisco Giants All-Stars: 2nd-Half Projections

The All-Star festivities and merrymaking continue in Arizona, and the San Francisco Giantsare well represented. Just a year after winning the World Series, the defending champs sent five players to the Midsummer Classic, and for good reason.

While only closer Brian Wilson made it through fan votes alone, all five Giants have had first halves worth celebrating.

Starting pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong lead the stellar pitching staff that has kept the Giants in first place, and nobody can deny how essential their contributions have been. The Giants pitchers as a whole have a 3.20 ERA, third-best in the National League, and lead the league in strikeouts with a whopping 775 (8.1 K/9). 

Wilson, whose personality is as big as his beard, has laid down another season of ninth-inning dominance. While his 3.14 ERA falls short of his numbers last year, he is still tied for second in the league with 26 saves, and he remains a terror on the mound. 

Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, the Kung Fu Panda, was a late addition to the team, replacing the injured Placido Polanco on the All-Star roster. Despite missing six weeks when he broke a bone in his hand, Sandoval has emerged as the Giants’ most destructive and reliable hitter, running a 21-game hitting streak into the All-Star break.

While these All-Stars have led their team to a three-game lead going into the break, it remains to be seen at what level they’ll perform for the rest of the year. Here are my projections for their second-half performances. Continue reading →

2011 San Francisco Giants: 5 Unexpectedly Good Performances by Giants Players

The 2010 San Francisco Giants won the World Series on the strength of their excellent home-grown starting pitching, lights-out bullpen and clutch (if not overwhelming) offense.

This year, as the champs do their best to stage a repeat, they’re going to have to step it up even further, facing the likes of the Phillies Big Four pitchers, the surging Diamondbacks and the always-dangerous Rockies.

Still, tell any Giants fan that Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain are having good years, and they’ll shrug and say “yeah, what else is new?” Mention that Brian Wilson has converted 20/22 saves this year, and hasn’t given up a run since May 18th, and they’ll yawn.

We’re truly spoiled this year, so I’d like to mention five players who managed to fly under the radar, but whose great play on the field has helped keep this team in first place.

Continue reading →

Limiting Ryan Vogelsong

With Ryan Vogelsong continuing to excel as a starting pitcher for the Giants, questions about his continuation on the starting rotation are beginning to arise.  Most revolve around the return of Barry Zito, but another factor that is often being overlooked is that of workload.

Vogelsong has never been a workhorse, the likes of Roy Halladay or even Matt Cain for that matter.  In fact he spent his last few years pitching in Japan as a reliever.  Just for a reference, he pitched 65.1 innings in ’08, 41.2 innings in ’09, and 95.1 innings in ’10 back in the states with the Triple-A teams of both the Angels and the Phillies.  Even as a full-time starter with the Pirates in ’04, he only managed 133.0 IP, his career high.