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May 2009
The best place to leave Panda?
From the Chron
Bruce Bochy said Saturday the team might keep Pablo Sandoval at first base even when his throwing elbow is better and make Juan Uribe the starting third baseman.
“To
be honest with you, he’s our everyday third baseman right now,” Bochy
said of Uribe. “He’s been the guy out there. He’ll be playing there for
the most part until we finally decide the best place to leave Pablo.”
It feels good, no pain
He’s Baaack:
- (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
- San
Francisco Giants’ Pablo Sandoval connects for a two run single off St.
Louis Cardinals’ Joel Pineiro during the first inning of a baseball
game Friday, May 29, 2009, in San Francisco.
From the Merc
“He just wakes up and hits,” Cain said of Sandoval. “I don’t know how he does it.”
…
Sandoval, in
his first action since last Saturday, provided the key blow in the
first-inning rally, grounding the second pitch he saw from Cardinals
starter Joel Pineiro just beyond the reach of first baseman Albert Pujols for a two-run single.“It
feels good, no pain,” said Sandoval, adding that he battled some nerves
before his first at-bat. “You feel a little uncomfortable when you
don’t play for five days, a little impatient. I just tried to see the
ball and hit my pitch. That’s what I did.”If there were any more
questions about his elbow, Sandoval lined a one-out single to right in
the third inning, eventually scoring the first of two runs that made it
4-0. He also flied out to the front of the warning track in center in
the fifth and grounded out to shortstop in the eighth. Sandoval didn’t
baby his elbow — he was as aggressive as usual — and raised his average
to .309.“If we felt there was a risk, he wouldn’t be out there,” Bochy said. “We need his bat in the lineup, so he’s in there.
“He just makes us better.”
…
Sandoval was replaced at first base by Travis Ishikawa in the ninth inning as part of a double switch.
“He
still has to throw, he just doesn’t have to throw as much or make any
long throws or off-balance throws,” Bochy said. “He’ll be in there
probably this whole series. It could be awhile. It depends if he flares
up that elbow again.”
ambi
Baggs:
Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval rested his sore right elbow and played catch at the same time.
Impossible, you say? Not for Sandoval.
“He
was winging it left-handed,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “He just
wanted to be out there playing catch, so that’s what he did.”Sandoval
is a rare panda, indeed — a switch-hitter who’s also an ambidextrous
thrower. He is naturally left-handed but taught himself to throw with
his right arm as a youth so he could catch and play third base.It
begs an interesting question: Assuming the Giants stick Sandoval at
first base to get his bat in the lineup as soon as possible, could he
play left-handed? Bochy was intrigued enough to ask the 22-year-old.“You
know, he said catching a ground ball would be different, but he could
knock it down,” Bochy said. “He’s accurate with his (left) arm. I’ve
seen him throw to second base. It’s incredible to watch.”But
Sandoval’s left-handed throwing will remain a curiosity and no more,
Bochy said. His strained right elbow continues to improve and the
Giants hope he’ll be available on Friday …
At 1B?
questionable
CBS: Sandoval held out again Tuesday: Giants 1B Pablo Sandoval
(elbow) did not return to the lineup Tuesday against the Braves. He has
missed the last three games and remains questionable for Wednesday’s
series finale.
SFGate: Manager Bruce Bochy said that with Pablo Sandoval likely to play first base when he returns from his elbow injury, possibly Friday
If it feels better tomorrow, I’ll let the trainer know
The bad news about Pablo could be worse … we’ll keep a close eye on this
Updated: 05/25/2009 09:28:49 PM PDT
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…An MRI on Monday revealed only a muscle strain in Pablo
Sandoval’s right elbow, and the Giants third baseman could return to
the lineup this weekend against St. Louis, manager Bruce Bochy said.Sandoval,
the Giants’ No. 3 hitter, was unavailable for Monday’s series opener
against Atlanta but could be used as a pinch hitter before the Braves
leave town. Bochy described Sandoval’s status as day-to-day.“It sounds like we got the news that we were looking for — that he would not have to go on the disabled list,” Bochy said.
When Sandoval returns to defense, it’s possible he could do so at first base, which would give his arm extra time to heal.
Sandoval
said the pain had lessened Monday, but he wasn’t sure when he would be
able to play. The switch-hitter said it hurts when he swings from both
sides of the plate.“If it feels better tomorrow, I’ll let the trainer know,” Sandoval said.
He leads the Giants’ regulars with a .304 batting average and has three home runs and 17 RBI…
Pandamonium
I just gave the blog’s Google Alanyltics a look. Many of you are in Northern Cal.
No surprise. But there are lots of you all over North America. Here’s the US map:
Thanks! Pandamania is sweeping the nation. I’m a Pandamanian, too.
But, hey, tell your friends in Kansas and Missouri to check us out.
Pablofan
the pitchers you want to face
Pablo
Sandoval planned an evening of long-distance phone calls after hitting
two doubles off Johan Santana. Sandoval, who won the batting title in
the Venezuelan winter league, had never batted against his iconic
countryman before.“He’s one of the pitchers you want to face,” Sandoval said. “It makes you a better hitter. You focus a little more.”
– Baggs
Captain Sunshine
The Giants are above .500
and here, in the land of lousy sports, that’s cause for backflips. And
every day, we get better acquainted with Captain Sunshine Sandoval.
“He’s awesome,” said catcher Bengie Molina, who calls Sandoval one of the most special players he has run across in his 10-year major league career.
“He’s changed me,” Molina said. “He’s made it fun. He’s brought so much light and energy.”
Sandoval
is, simply, a delight. He loves playing. He never complains. He gets
better every day, right before our eyes. He has an exuberance that has
long been missing around the Giants, which spent the past decade or so
perfecting the art of dour.
Last year, Barry Zito dubbed Sandoval “Kung Fu Panda” after the goofy creature in last year’s animated film.
“He just resembles a character,” Zito said.
Like
a cartoon character, Sandoval always seems to do something physically
impossible — kind of like the Road Runner. Zito tagged him “panda”
after Sandoval leapt over the catcher at home plate last year. Even in
a loss, Sandoval does something eye-popping.
Wednesday, he made a leaping, backward-bending catch of a blistering line drive. All 246 pounds of Pablo was airborne. And when he landed, he casually blew an enormous pink bubble.
“I just had to be ready in the moment,” Sandoval said. “I knew it was a fastball count and he’d try to pull the ball.”
I thought all night about the home run – video
Trying to leg out a triple, Sandoval tripped and bellyflopped onto the infield dirt, where he didn’t move for a few moments.
“I didn’t think he was going to get up,” Manager Bruce Bochy said. “He looked like a turtle on his back.”
He got up. And two innings later won the game, with a three-run walk-off home run, his first ever.
“It was exciting,” said Sandoval, who went home and watched the highlights on TV. “I couldn’t sleep. I thought all night about the home run.”
That’s our Panda, Pablo Sandoval’s double, trip, and homer:
KFP
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After flirting with
a number of nicknames, los Gigantes have unofficially settled on one:
“Kung Fu Panda doesn’t get hurt,” Giants starter Matt Cain noted recently.
Some suggested calling Pablito “Little Money”:
Kruk and Kuip are calling him “Little Money” in a tribute to
“Big Money” Bengie Molina, but really, as my colleague Andy Baggarly
at the Merc noted, no professional athlete wants to be associated with the
words “little money.” So I asked Sandoval what he thought about
“El Toro” — Spanish for “The Bull.”
Why not? He’s built like one and attacks every pitch as if the pitcher is
waving a red cape at him, whether the ball is in the strike zone or not. Sandoval
said “El Toro” was cool with him. “That’s
what they called me in San Jose.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?blogid=22&entry_id=29747
I heard “Toro”on ESPN just last night. I also see a lot of “Fat
Ichiro,” and more recently, “Pandoval” at http://www.mccoveychronicles.com
But “KFP” it is. Who tagged him?
Seen on the Interweb: Pablo Sandoval, a slightly rotund third baseman who wowed
the Giants as a September callup last year, was tagged with “Kung Fu
Panda” by teammate Barry Zito and has also been called “The Round
Mound of Pound.”
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090206&content_id=3804552&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp
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