Sunday Night Links

Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson says of the comparison to Curtis Granderson, "I get that all the time. I've been compared to him, and that is a real compliment."

Granderson homered in his first at bat as a Yankee.

With Cody Ross and Dan Uggla, the Marlins had two (of the seven) players under 6'0" to hit 20+ home runs.

Orioles president Andy MacPhail said to "not read too much into" Nolan Reimold fielding ground balls at first base.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Gordon Beckham's move to second base: 'He's got a great chance to be a good one. I think the move to second will make it easier for him. He's more comfortable. He can just worry about his hitting.''

The four-year extension for Toronto's Adam Lind could be worth as much as $38.5 million, per Morgan Campbell of The Toronto Star.

Jason LaRue will be the Cardinals' Opening Day catcher.

Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune names B.J. Upton, David Price, Sean Rodriguez and Rafael Soriano as his players to watch in 2010 in addition to prospects Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson.

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez has returned to the Mets after his brothers' automobile accident in Venezuela.

Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal says the Dodgers are capable of reaching the World Series.

Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez focused on slowing down his delivery.

Padres second baseman David Eckstein said, “This team is definitely headed in the right direction with a lot of good, young talent. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people, maybe ourselves.”

The Red Sox added Scott Schoenweis to their Opening Day roster after placing Daisuke Matsusaka and Junichi Tazawa on the disabled list.

Giants outfielder John Bowker, who led the team this spring with 23 RBIs, won the starting right field job.

Orioles outfielder Adam Jones is tired of losing.

Braves phenom Jason Heyward wears number 22 in honor of Andrew Wilmont, his former high-school teammate and the son of his favorite high-school teacher. Wilmont passed away after a car accident.

Marlins closer Leo Nunez said, "Finding a song [for a closer] isn't easy. You are supposed to have something intimidating.''

Eric Chavez is now the Athletics designated hitter.

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Giants catcher Bengie Molina said of ace Tim Lincecum, "... some of the starts he won, he won because of his name. He wasn't always feeling the best. He wasn't throwing as hard, and his breaking ball wasn't as good. He was beating them because the hitters knew who they were facing. Obviously, I'm not trying to put Timmy down. Everybody knows how nasty he is. Even if he doesn't have his good stuff, he knows how to pitch a good game."

The Rockies left fielder on Opening Day will Seth Smith, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

Some (more) shameless plugs for our latest posts at our other blogs: NCAA Championship prediction, Ravens' consensus draft pick and Donovan McNabb dealt to Redskins.

Matt Cain gets contract extension

The San Francisco Giants have agreed to extensions with three pitchers: starter Matt Cain, closer Brian Wilson and set-up man Jeremy Affeldt, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We have cost certainty and the fans have the comfort of knowing these guys are going to be in Giants uniforms helping us win games," said Giants general manager Brian Sabean.

Before the extension, Cain would have become a free agent in 2012. Now, he will earn $15 million that season as a Giant.

In addition, ace Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez won't become free agents until after the 2013 season.

"When you see a group of pitchers stay together like that "... it builds us all up," said Cain, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. "I feel we all share the leadership every time we go out there and pitch."

Cain had a career year last season posting a 14-8 record, 171 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.89.

That said, part of his success was due to (an improvement in his) luck. Cain's 2009 BABIP was .268, which was the fourth-lowest in the Majors, according to Fangraphs.com. Meanwhile, his BABIP in 2008 was .304.

Comparing 2009 to 2008, Cain actually had a worse K/9 rate (7.69 in 2008 to 7.07 in 2009) and HR/9 rate (0.79 in 2008 to 0.91 in 2009) last season.

Per MockDraftCentral.com, Cain's average draft position (ADP) is 89.17, which makes him the 20th starter off fantasy draft boards, which makes him a good value.

Jonathan Sanchez throws first Giants' no-hitter in 33 years

It hadn't been done in 33 years.

John Montefusco was the last Giants' pitcher to throw a no-hitter (1976 in Atlanta).

Even though no Giants' pitcher has thrown a no-no during his lifetime, reigning N.L. Cy Young Tim Lincecum had a feeling that the Giants might be due to end the drought.

Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lincecum said yesterday, "Someone might throw a no-hitter and it might not be the ace of the squad. It might be an unsung hero kind of guy. Anybody can do anything."

Jonathan Sanchez, who started in place of the injured Randy Johnson, allowed no runs, no hits and no walks. However, teammate Juan Uribe's error in the eighth inning means Sanchez will have to settle for a no-hitter.

"I think if you looked at the staff, he wouldn't be the one you picked," Bochy said. "He came out throwing 94-96 [mph]. He just had incredible stuff."

Sanchez, who only threw 110 pitches, struck out a career-high 11 batters.

Last night was the first start for Sanchez since June 22nd and his first win since May 25th.

On the season, the Giants have 13 shutouts, which lead the majors.

Giants interested in Dan Uggla?

Per Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the San Francisco Giants have reached out to the Florida Marlins to inquire about second baseman Dan Uggla.

The Marlins will move Uggla and his $5.35 million salary before the trade deadline, according to Rodriguez. When they do, Emilio Bonifacio or Chris Coghlan will move to second.

In return, the Marlins would seek one of the Giants' young arms - either lefty Jonathan Sanchez or righty Matt Cain. The Giants would obviously be less willing to part ways with Cain.

However, the Giants currently have pitching prospects Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson at Double-A.

On the season, Uggla is only hitting .205, but he has eight home runs (tied for first on team) and 30 runs batted in (second on team).