I don't post here very much, but I thought we should have a thread to thank Steve S for his amazing contributions to this site.  The daily minor lines are a must-read for me every morning, and I've learned a ton about our farm system specifically and the minor leagues in general by reading Steve's posts and the discussions they generate.  Let's face it - we're prety spoiled.  Steve puts in the hard work every day (GAMER!), and we get to reap the fruits of his labor.

So: Thanks, Steve!!  Keep up the good work!

From SFGate:

Outfielder Dave Roberts has swung the bat well in his first three rehab games with Triple-A Fresno. In eight at-bats he had a double, triple, homer and three RBIs. He also walked twice. If he keeps swinging like that, he could find himself back in San Francisco sooner than the 45 to 60 at-bats manager Bruce Bochy suggested he would need.

Some fans are not looking forward to Roberts' return for fear that Bochy will install him as the starting left fielder over Fred Lewis. A team source said that will not happen.

Here's some food for thought: In his ESPN.com chat today, Steve Phillips answered a question about buying at the trading deadline.

Q: What is your view on giving up top prospects for a 2 month rental, and not knowing if that player will return the next year (ex. Carlos Lee, Mark Teixera, C.C. Sabathia)? 

A: The answer to that question is different for every organization based on the time and place in which they find themselves...You never know from year to year whether you will be in a position to make the playoffs and ultimately win a Series. When you find yourself in that spot, you have to go for it. For the Cubs and Brewers, their past neccessitates going for it. They have to give their fans a shot to experience the playoffs. That can be worth anywhere from $10 to $30 million based upon your market and your past. That is an awful lot of money with which to replenish your farm system. 

I think this is an interesting point that people miss when talking about the Giants.  Obviously the club is in a weird spot where there's actually a chance they could make the playoffs, even though the team isn't very good.  People are talking about whether Sabean should buy or sell, and most of the sentiment on this board is that we shouldn't trade away our young players for short term gain (which I tend to agree with).  But what Phillips is saying is that if you take that risk and you do make the playoffs, the club will make enough money to sign more prospects (that are obviously farther away) - in fact, so much money that the farm system actually may end up being stronger for it in the end.

What do you guys think?

From the Chron:

The Giants have promoted some notable minor-leaguers. First baseman Travis Ishikawa, who had 24 at-bats in the majors two years ago, is going to Triple-A Fresno after hitting .291 with eight homers and 48 RBIs at Double-A Connecticut. Catcher and first baseman Pablo Sandoval, 21, will move from Class A San Jose to Connecticut after dominating the California League with a .359 average, 12 homers and 58 RBIs.

From the Chron:

Horwitz is the first Jewish player on the Giants since the 1995-96 tenure of pitcher Jose Bautista.

Jose freakin' Bautista?!?  The guy whose last name means "Baptist"?  Well, here's an ESPN article for you:

Jose Bautista, a baseball journeyman whose mother is Israeli and father Dominican, honored his faith. Bautista, who pitched for five teams in a ten-year career that ended in 1997, told the Village Voice, "My family and I go to synagogue when we can and we pray every Friday. We fast on Yom Kippur and not only do I not pitch, I don't even go to the ball game."

Now you know!

San Francisco Giants left-hander Noah Lowry had another MRI exam on his surgically repaired throwing forearm and won't be pitching any time soon -- maybe not at all this season.

"That's questionable," manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday. "We don't know if he will be back on the mound this year. It's fair to say we're getting to that point that it's a fair question."

Lowry was examined Tuesday by Dr. Robert Gamburd, the same physician who did some of the pitcher's preliminary tests back in spring training. The 27-year-old Lowry was shut down April 30 for what the team called a significant amount of time, still experiencing tingling in his left forearm that forced him to undergo surgery to repair his nerves in March.

Rest of the story: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3426268

Henry Schulman writes in SFGate's Splash blog:

The Giants designated lefty Erick Threets for assignment, a move that would not have happened without Alex Hinshaw's emergence. I haven't talked to the brass about Threets today, but I know they have tried to trade him. If they can't, I'm guessing they hope he clears waivers and will go down to Fresno again.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=22&entry_id=26969

This is probably going to take exactly one comment to answer, but here goes: what's the easiest way on McC to see when the next Giants game is?  I seem to remember there used to be a thing on the right side toward the bottom of the page that had the pitching matchup and stuff, but I can't find it any more.  "Schedule" just shows the entire year's schedule.  What am I missing?

The papers are reporting that Omar will be activated today.  There's a chance the Durham goes on the DL, but if not, either Burriss or Bocock will get sent down.  Which one should it be?

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