Giants could use Rowand in lineup against former team

SAN FRANCISCO - It's not yet official, but as of early last night, all signs pointed to former Phillies centerfielder Aaron Rowand figuring prominently in a shakeup Giants manager Bruce Bochy hopes will revive his team's offense in advance of Game 3.

Although short on specifics, Bochy acknowledged that the Giants' inability to get much going offensively necessitated some changes. The Giants are hitting .194 in the NLCS and .206 in the playoffs.

Bochy said he's not ready to push the panic button, but isn't going to stand by idly, either.

"There are times when you have to tweak it," Bochy said. "You go with the hot hand and move things around just to shake it up. We did it during the regular season and we'll do it in the playoffs."

Rowand, a .230 hitter this year and a virtual nonfactor during the Giants' pennant drive, figures to be key element in that shakeup after slumping leadoff man Andres Torres' four-strikeout debacle in Game 2 on Sunday.

Bochy said he wanted to speak to both players before announcing the move, but suggested Torres was the odd man out.

"He's scuffling right now a little bit," Bochy said of Torres, "but it may be time for a little change there."

Bochy indicated that loyalty figured in the decision process, which would make sitting his everyday centerfielder a difficult move.

Torres was a career minor leaguer who at 32 had a breakout year with the Giants, batting .268 with 16 homers and a team-leading 26 stolen bases.

Torres, who was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in 2002 and in September returned to the team within 2 weeks of undergoing an appendectomy, was voted by the Giants as this year's Willy Mac Award winner, named after Giants great Willie McCovey and bestowed on the team's most inspirational player.

But Torres' postseason has been less than inspiring.

He's 1-for-9 in through the first two NLCS games, hitting .120 in the postseason (3-for-25) with one walk, and has been caught stealing twice in three attempts.

Speaking to reporters in front of his locker about an hour after yesterday's workout, Rowand said he hadn't yet heard from Bochy.

"I'm ready to play, pretty simple," Rowand said.

A little more special against the Phillies, though?

"Obviously, playing against your former team, it is," Rowand said. "Any time you play against a team you've spent some time with and you know fairly well [it is special], but ultimately it's a playoff game and it's about winning a playoff game.

"I'm ready to play and if you're in there you're in there and if you're not you're not. You've got to be ready to play every day."

Of his former teammate starting against the Giants today, Rowand said Cole Hamels' development of a cut fastball has made him much more effective, especially against righthanded hitters.

"He can throw the [cutter] inside effectively, which opens up his best pitch, which is his changeup," Rowand said.

Bruce Bochy said the status of injured infielder Juan Uribe (left wrist) will determine the look of a left side of the infield that appears to be fertile ground for a shakeup, too.

Uribe, who hurt his wrist singling in the game-winning run in sixth inning of Saturday's 4-3 Game 1 victory, was a late Game 2 scratch. Results of an MRI Uribe underwent yesterday morning were not available to Bochy when he spoke to the media in the afternoon.

"[Uribe] will impact how we go," Bochy said.

If Uribe can go, that would likely mean he'd play third base and Edgar Renteria would play shortstop. If Uribe can't play, then Pablo Sandoval would be at third and Renteria at shortstop.

Mike Fontenot, who made a throwing error that led to a run in the first inning of Sunday's 6-1 Phillies win and also let an easy popup drop in front of him, is the odd man out in either scenario.

Game 3 starter Matt Cain said he's gotten used to the Giants' gut-wrenching, low-scoring brand of baseball that they've dubbed "Torture" this season and he expects more of the same when he faces Cole Hamels today.

Cain has been dogged by lack of run support throughout his 6-year career with the Giants, as a 57-62 record despite a 3.45 ERA over that span indicates.

"You get used to pitching in tight ballgames like this," he said. "You're expecting this to be a tight series and a good pitching matchup, so you get used to pitching in close ballgames and understanding that big pressure is part of the game."