Wednesday’s Pre-Gamer and Lineup: Only one way to go from here!

Right? You get no-hit one day, the next day has to be better. The Giants are going against a spot starter in LHP Tony Cingrani, who hasn’t started a game since June 11th and has been in the bullpen since then, so he can’t perfect game the Giants, right? Relax, everybody, the Giants won’t get perfect game’d, they won’t get no-hit, and they can’t possibly be put down lower than they were on Tuesday ni–

Well I mean, that’s just cruel. OR MAYBE they’ll find out that the Giants have been drugged with a performance DE-hancing drugs and then they’ll give the Giants some sort of break. Ok, well now that I’m out of my fantasy world, here’s today’s lineup for the Giants:

Barry Zito and his 10.41 ERA in 27.2 IP away from the friendly confines may scare you, and they scare me, too. Sorry, I have no ray of sunshine here. It may surprise you when you find out that a guy with an 84 MPH fastball does not make his fastball his primary pitch. He actually throws his slider the most, followed by his fastball, then the trademark Zito curveball, sinker, then changeup. As you’ve probably heard throughout the broadcasts during Zito’s time in San Francisco, for Zeets it’s all about pitching (I know, I know) — locating his throws, as his margin for error is much smaller than someone like Homer Bailey. Zito will be going against these guys:

Jun 28, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher

(52) throws to the Texas Rangers during the second inning of a baseball game at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

I’m just glad I can read this lineup and it’s not filled with twitter handles today (and you kids get off of my lawn!). Zack Cozart and his .273 OBP is still 2nd in the lineup, because you know, there’s got to be some logic behind it. Looking at Cingrani a little more, this is what we have on him for pitches, usage, and velocity: So for the most part, a three pitch guy, and when you’re in the bullpen you’ll get to use your 92-93 MPH heater a bunch of times. Even though Cingrani has a higher ERA on the road (4.03-2.45) he has seen offenses be more productive against him at home (.336 wOBA at home vs. .294 wOBA away). Hopefully the fastball Cingrani throws tonight will be a lot easier to track than the fastball the Giants were trying to get a hold of last night (sorry, can’t stop thinking about it). As for other notes on other things, during Andrew Baggarly’s chat today, friend of the blog relayed this to the general public on Pablo Sandoval:

Their frustration with his weight has been well documented, and I think this isn’t too surprising, and that’s not even putting his recent struggle into consideration. Injury updates on Marco Scutaro, Santiago Casilla, and Joaquin Arias:

So at least the Giants have Arias back ready to use, but Scutaro I guess is trying to do too much, which really isn’t surprising given the debacle with his mallet finger. Casilla also can’t get here soon enough.

We hadn’t heard much from the international market and whom the Giants were signing, but this morning, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com came through for us:

Neither have been mentioned as Top 30, but Baseball America has provided a quick scouting report on Kelvin Beltre:

"“The Giants have signed Dominican shortstop Kelvin Beltre for $650,000. Beltre, 16, is 6 feet, 170 pounds, shows good righthanded bat speed and plays with a lot of energy. He’s still learning to tame that energy, so he’s still erratic at shortstop and will likely end up at another position, possibly third base. Beltre trains with Alfredo Arias.”"

A shortstop that will probably end up in another position, where have I heard that before? (Answer: 2013 1st round draft pick) If you’re a subscriber to BA, you can get more info on Beltre. These two signings leave the Giants with a little less than $900K in international pool spending money. In case you haven’t heard, Manny Ramirez or “Manny Ramierz” is back with an MLB organization, even if it’s in the minors:

A former Los Angeles Dodger Luis Cruz, who elected for free agency has decided to go from one big name team to another (and is in tonight’s lineup!):

Trade chip of the Chicago White Sox Jesse Crain might have seen his trade value drop:

Shoulder discomfort… not good.

Wednesday’s game begins at 4:10PM PST. Expect to hear some talk about Thursday’s game, which could see some rain in the forecast, and the Giants have a home game the next day against the Los Angeles Yasiels.