Giants Give Fred Lewis a Chance to Show His Stuff

Late bloomer Fred Lewis -- who surprisingly has played himself into a full-time outfield gig at the expense of veteran Dave Roberts -- is being given a shot at batting in the 3-hole for the Triple A San Francisco Giants.

With veterans Aaron Rowand and Bengie Molina hitting behind him, Lewis theoretically will see a more predictable variety of pitches, especially a lot of fastballs in the zone. The idea is that this will help Lewis cut down his strikeouts, and realize his five-tool potential with 20-30 homers, 40-50 bags and an average in the .300 range.

Giants Appear Ready to Deal

Shipping Ray Durham to the Brewers may have only been the start to a drastic remake of the Giants roster.  The Yankees are rumored to be interested in both Randy Winn and Bengie Molina due to the injuries to Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui.  Rich Aurilia and Tyler Walker have also been mentioned as possible trade bait as the July 31st trade deadline approaches.

It is anyone's guess as to why anyone in their right mind would be interested in acquiring Walker, but GM Brian Sabean could insist that he be included in any deal.  Patience with Walker is growing extremely thin, especially after blowing what would have been wunderkind Tim Lincecum's 12th win.  Lincecum struck out a career-high 13 without issuing a walk, exiting after the 7th inning with the Giants leading 3-2.

Cops Say Umpire Escort 'Routine' in Giants Loss

Umpires were escorted off the field under armed guard after fans became enraged over a controversial balk call, but no one was arrested and hostilities were no worse than common catcalls and booing, San Francisco Police told MLB News Online after the Giants 3-2 loss to Colorado on Tuesday.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy had been ejected for arguing a disputed 7th inning balk called by plate umpire Gary Darling after Giants catcher Bengie Molina stood up and requested time. Darling granted time but then called the balk when Giants starter Tim Lincecum stopped his motion, but then threw to the plate.

The balk allowed the winning run to score from third base as fans loudly expressed their displeasure and Bochy ran onto the field to harangue Darling for more than three minutes until finally being ejected.

"Essentially, the umpire ordered the Giants manager off the field; that's all," San Francisco Police Spokesman Dewayne Tully explained. "It was just a lot of booing."

The police escort was "routine," Tully said, noting that some of the team's security is provided by off-duty uniformed San Francisco police. "There was no police action of any sort."