‘Quiet' Thursday for Giants — no callups

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Sept. 1, 2011

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A day after shaking up their big-league roster by parting ways with veterans Miguel Tejada and Aaron Rowand while adding prospect Brett Pill and activating slugger Pat Burrell from the disabled list, the Giants likely wont be making any moves Thursday despite MLBs annual allowance of roster expansion to 40 men.A team source told CSNBayArea.com on Thursday morning that itll be a quiet day for sure.
That doesnt mean the Giants wont be adding to their complement of players for the final month of the stretch drive, however. It just wont happen until Friday, before the club opens a critical three-game series against the visiting Diamondbacks, who will bring a six-game lead in the National League West over the defending world champions into AT&T Park this weekend.Among the players expected to be added is rookie shortstop Brandon Crawford, the best defender at the position in the organization. Crawford, who took the starting job from Tejada not long after being called up for his big-league debut in May, lost the job -- and his spot on the San Francisco roster -- amid an offensive slump that prompted the Giants to acquire veteran Orlando Cabrera.Crawford, who was batting .172 with the Giants when he was sent back to Triple-A Fresno after going 0-for-3 to extend a 1-for-14 slide on June 30, was batting .176 over his past nine games with Fresno through Thursday and .243 overall.Hes going to get some playing time, Giants general manager Brian Sabean told CSNBayArea.com while discussing Crawfords short-term future during a one-on-one conversation shortly after Wednesdays shakeup. Were at a point where were going to look at a lot of different things in an effort to get things going in the right direction.That includes giving Burrell, who missed 43 games with a strained right foot before being activated Wednesday and going 1-for-1 in the Giants 4-0 victory over the Cubs, a shot at reprising the role he played as an imposing long-ball threat after being picked up off the scrap heap following his release from the Rays last May.Burrell, who hit 18 home runs in 96 regular-season games for the Giants in 2010, is batting .237 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 81 games for San Francisco this season.Other candidates for promotion Friday include Darren Ford, whom a year ago Thursday scored on an errant throw after stealing third base to set up a huge win over the Rockies that served as a springboard to the late-season magic that carried the Giants to their first World Series title since moving to San Francisco.Left-hander Eric Surkamp, who shined in his big-league debut Saturday at AT&T but was optioned back to the minors shortly thereafter to stay on turn while the Giants skip the No. 5 spot in their starting rotation to set up this weekends Arizona series, was scheduled to pitch for Single-A San Jose on Thursday but will return to the big-league team to take his next scheduled turn Tuesday on the road against the Padres.

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