Ryan's hope

Jensen makes his claim for a spot in the Giants' rotation

Throughout spring training, SI.com will feature regular dispatches from Sports Illustrated staffers assigned to scout camps in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues.

By Phil Taylor, Sports Illustrated

Team: San Francisco Giants

Site: Scottsdale, Ariz.

Weather: 70 and sunny, after a morning shower

Player I Saw Whom I Really Liked: Ryan Jensen. The right-hander is making a strong bid for the fifth spot in the Giants' starting rotation. He doesn't have great spring stats, but he has impressed manager Felipe Alou with his ability to work out of jams and with his assortment of pitches, which includes a knuckleball. In the fourth inning against Kansas City on Friday, Jensen faced Michael Tucker, who had homered off him earlier in the game. This time the hurler set up Tucker by throwing two knucklers for strikes, then finished him off with a high fastball for a swinging strike three. Alou has a pleasantly difficult decision to make on the No. 5 starter's job. He says tall, slender right-hander Kurt Ainsworth reminds him of a young Orel Hershiser, and another prized prospect, Jesse Foppert, has a 1.13 spring ERA, the best on the team. But Jensen's resourcefulness and his 13 victories last season make him the favorite for the slot.

Around the Horn: Alou had an important conversation last week with catcher Benito Santiago, who is so upset about the club's refusal to give him a contract extension that he's hinted he won't give the same kind of effort he has the last two years. Alou says he wanted to remind the 38-year-old backstop that he can't let contract concerns affect his performance. They say they understand each other, but stay tuned. ... It looks like first baseman Andres Galarraga, 41, is going to be around for an 18th major league season, in a pinch-hitter, spot-starter role. The Big Cat hit his third homer in four games on Friday ... Closer Robb Nen, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, is on schedule to be ready for opening day, although he says he still doesn't have his old velocity yet. ... Two left-handers are having difficult spring trainings: Damian Moss, acquired from the Braves in the Russ Ortiz deal, has been shelled several times, and reliever Chad Zerbe's ERA has been in the teens all spring. ... With the departure of Jeff Kent, Reggie Sanders and David Bell, who accounted for 80 homers and 216 RBIs last year, the Giants are stressing aggressiveness on the basepaths. Alou was particularly pleased when Pedro Feliz, who's been on a tear since arriving at camp late because of visa problems, scored on a double steal against the Padres on Friday. ... Even Barry Bonds seems ready to run. When told he was only seven steals shy of 500, he said, "When do you want me to do it, the first week or the second?" He was only joking. It took Bonds all of last season to steal nine bases.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Phil Taylor will check in periodically with reports from his tour of spring camps.

 

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