There wasn't much drama involved with the Giants decision to re-sign general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, each of whom got two-year deals with options for 2012 on Tuesday. It was widely assumed that they would be back once the team established itself as a contender at midseason, and it was reported a couple weeks ago that it was a fait accompli.
In fact, managing general partner Bill Neukom said the decision "was fairly easy. The team played so well and the results were positive. It was clear the direct affect of the work and leadership of each of these people toward that record "
There was not much doubt that Giants general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy would be back next year, considering the team jumped into contention following three losing seasons, but the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that it is a done deal. An announcement could come sometime next week.
Managing general partner Bill Neukom, who is completing his first year on the job, has been complimentary of the jobs done by both men all season, but he insisted throughout that the Giants would not make any final decisions until after the season.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Ryan Howard is trying to challenge Albert Pujols for National League MVP.
Howard homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs Friday in the Phillies' 4-2 defeat of the Braves. Philadelphia now has an eight-game lead in the NL East.
"It makes you feel good when he starts hitting," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's amazing. He'll take two swings and not look too good, then all of a sudden he stays on a pitch and smokes it out of the yard. He's a tremendous hitter."
WASHINGTON -- Convention never suited Randy Johnson anyway.
So it figures that he would wait 22 1/2 hours and then 36 more minutes after that before embarking on the final 2 1/2-hour leg of his journey into one of baseball's select groups. It figures he'd do it on the grayest of days in front of a crowd that might make a minor league team blush with embarrassment instead of before 45,000 adoring fans, too.
No, the poetic path never was for the Big Unit.
But he found his way into the 300-win club anyway Thursday night in the nation's capital. Two rain delays over two days were unable to prevent him from becoming its 24th member with six innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 victory over the hapless Washington Nationals.
It was only after hitting the milestone Johnson seemed able to wax philosophical.
As Fletch reported yesterday, Noah Lowry's agent contends that the Giants misdiagnosed Lowry's arm issues, put him under the knife for the wrong surgery, assigned him the wrong rehab program, and jeopardized his career. The Giants are denying this. From Calvin and Hobbes, November 18, 1990:
CALVIN. Your foot hurts? What kind of stupid problem is that? SUSIE. You're the doctor! You're supposed to find out what's wrong with it. CALVIN. It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Wonderful coincidence as it would have been -- Randy Johnson winning No. 300 in Seattle -- it's not going to happen.
Johnson was pounded for seven runs in four innings on Saturday afternoon, taking the 9-6 loss against the the Mets and Johan Santana, so he'll still be on 298 victories when he makes his next start in an interleague game on Friday at Safeco Field.
Neither pitcher was sharp in this matchup of seven Cy Young Awards (five for Johnson), but Johnson definitely took the worst of it.
Buster Posey thought California's spring weather would be warmer.
The chilly nights are the lone complaint -- make that a polite observation -- from Posey, who has only further strengthened his reputation as the San Francisco Giants' prized catching prospect during the opening month of the minor-league baseball season.
MLB Power Rankings:Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.
It's been a while since a week of baseball was this sad -- we saw the tragic passings of Nick Adenhart, Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych. And without waxing too sentimentally, it's the loss of these men that remind us exactly just how little sports matter in the grand scheme of things. RIP, gentlemen. Power rankings (that feel just a tad inconsequential, to be honest) after the jump.
LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez came bouncing down the stairs, baggy uniform and dreads flapping, and Dodger Stadium erupted.
They had been waiting all winter, through months of contract negotiations that ended precisely where they began, to see this sight. The love affair between Ramirez and Los Angeles has picked up right where it left off.
There wasn't much drama involved with the Giants decision to re-sign general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, each of whom got two-year deals with options for 2012 on Tuesday. It was widely assumed that they would be back once the team established itself as a contender at midseason, and it was reported a couple weeks ago that it was a fait accompli.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants said all the right things about how they planned to put Monday's gut-wrenching loss behind them.
WASHINGTON -- Convention never suited 
SAN FRANCISCO -- Wonderful coincidence as it would have been -- 
