The San Francisco Giants have recalled first baseman Brandon Belt from Triple-A Fresno and sent catcher Hector Sanchez to Fresno.

Belt was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week the day before being recalled to San Francisco. Belt went 12-for-41 with 11 runs scored, three home runs, eight RBIs, and 11 walks in 12 games since he came back to Fresno July 4. ...

San Rafael considers minor league ballpark plan.

That's what I saw on the KTVU morning news ticker this morning. Don't judge me--I was up that early to go to my other job, teaching children how to swim.

Several scenarios ran through my mind when I saw that blurb. Was it a possible site for the San Jose Giants to move if the A's move to the South Bay goes through? What about the former Golden Baseball League (now part of the North American League) putting a team there?
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The San Jose Giants broke their own record by clinching their seventh straight first half North Division title by beating the Modesto Nuts Thursday night. They are 47-11 and Division 11.5 games above Bakersfield in the division.

The runaway division winners punched their ticket to the California League playoffs with their win and Bakersfield's loss. ...

The first round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft featured lots of college pitchers and only a few surprises relating to who wasn’t drafted rather than who was drafted and where.

UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole was the number one overall pick by Pittsburgh, not much of a surprise to anyone. Teammate Trevor Bauer went two picks later to Arizona. Bauer is drawing comparisons to Tim Lincecum for his delivery and stuff. Bauer takes an extremely long stride to the plate and has dynamic velocity and was the top pitcher in a dominant UCLA rotation this year. ...

The San Francisco Giants are sending third baseman Pablo Sandoval to San Jose to begin his rehabilitation from a broken bone in his hand.

Sandoval is on his way to the Giants' Advanced-A affiliate for a two-day assignment. He is scheduled to play tonight and tomorrow and then could move on to Triple-A Fresno to complete his rehab. ...

Chris Heston is the first San Jose Giant to win the California League’s Pitcher of the Week award this year and the second Giant overall honored with a league award in the 2011 season.

Heston helped the Giants shut out the Stockton Ports yesterday with a masterful seven inning performance where he struck out eight batters, a career high, and walked none. The right-hander allowed four hits and hit two batters and retired seven hitters in a row at one point. ...