A Look At Some Giants Hitters

• Nate Schierholtz is a 25 year old who stands 6-2, 215. The lefty hitter/thrower has a medium frame that is maxed out. He has slightly above average speed and is an adequate defensive outfielder, though is nothing special. He has a slightly open stance with hands held a little in front of him and little behind his back shoulder. He is slightly crouched and doesn't use batting gloves. His trigger is a stride and a cocking of the bat. He shows above average power, but not great pitch recognition. He appears to be another SF 4-A outfielder. He could probably provide 15-20 homers in an everyday role, but at the price of strikeouts and a low batting average. Could stick as a bench bat.
• Matt Downs made his major league debut tonight, the recipient of the 2B job now that Manny Burriss has been optioned to AAA. Downs is a 6-2, 190 pound righty thrower/hitter. The 25 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He has an open stance with a little bat tap and holds his hands slightly in front. His bat is horizontal over his shoulder. His trigger is a double step (one to square himself up, another to start the swing) and a cocking of the bat. He shows a short, somewhat powerful swing. He has a slightly above average arm and decent range. Downs hit the ball hard each at-bat, but had nothing to show for it. He strikes me as a utility infielder. He has mostly gap power and is a doubles hitter and isn't a great defender, merely league average. He will get a chance to prove he belongs.
• Eli Whiteside got a pinch hit appearance and caught for an inning. The 6-2, 215 pound 29 year old is a righty thrower/hitter and has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He has a straight on stance with a little bat tap. He takes a leg kick and cocks his bat as a trigger. He is a back-up catcher at best. He will never hit for a ton of average and has modest power. He will strike out a lot, as his pitch recognition skills are somewhat lacking. The Giants are parading a cast of characters around as backup catchers (Holm, Alfonzo, Whiteside) as they wait for Buster Posey to make his long awaited arrival to the bigs.
• Edgar Renteria looked done to me. His bat has slowed and his range is nearly non-existent. He easily costs his team runs when he is playing SS.
• Pablo Sandoval made 3 errors, but he and Bengie Molina are the only real power threats in the lineup. The real question will be how to get them all in the lineup when Posey arrives?
• Travis Ishikawa pinch hit and struck out. Not a major league player and I don't know how much longer the Giants can have him take a spot on the roster.