Kline, Taschner need to be right lefties

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle

Reliever Steve Kline is a walking one-liner. When he arrived in camp 40 pounds lighter than last year, he said, "I still have the same dead arm, so it doesn't really matter. By July, I'll be freakin' 260 again." On the impending birth of his third daughter, he said, "I'll have to play four more years to afford all the weddings."

Here is something that is not as funny: last year's struggles by the left-handers in the bullpen.

Kline and Jack Taschner are coming off unsatisfying seasons. Kline had a 4.70 ERA in 68 games and left-handed opponents batted .318 against him. Taschner had a 5.40 ERA in a career-high 63 games. Although lefties hit .316 against Taschner, he was downright suffocating against right-handers (.176).

In fairness to both, the bullpen was in disarray, particularly after closer Armando Benitez's departure. Roles were not clearly defined and appearances sometimes were irregular.

An improved bullpen will be critical if the Giants hope to improve on last year's 39-55 mark in games decided by one or two runs. Though the right side of the bullpen appears set with right-handers Brad Hennessey and Tyler Walker setting up closer Brian Wilson, a vital question remains about which lefties will be trusted to pitch late in games to all the tough left-handed hitters in the National League West.

Kline, 35, hopes to reduce his walks and maybe strike out more left-handers.

"I've got to prove I can get back to my old stature of getting lefties out," he said. "When you're not doing the job, it's tough for them to rely on you."

Taschner, who turns 30 in April, said, "I'm not the youngest of players on the team, so the time to get it done is now."

They could be pushed in camp by 21-year-old Rule 5 draftee Jose Capellan and more so by 26-year-old Erick Threets, who finally made his big-league debut in 2007 after seven minor-league seasons and is out of minor-league options.

"We still think a lot of Erick," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had a good winter ball in Mexico. Even though the results were not great, the little time he had throwing (in the majors) gave him confidence. When you have a left-hander with that kind of arm, you never know when it's going to clock. It looks like he's close."

Heads up: Danger was everywhere Sunday. Ray Durham hit a sharp comebacker that nailed Keiichi Yabu just above his left wrist. Yabu said the ball came at him "like an F-22A" fighter plane. He was not seriously hurt. Earlier, Brian Sabean was walking along the warning track with his back to the plate when Justin Leone hit a deep foul ball that whizzed 2 feet behind the general manager's head.

Sabean could have taken a safer route from the back field to the main field, but said, "I thought Matt Cain was still pitching and I wasn't worried. The problem was, it was Kline."

Briefly: Daniel Ortmeier, batting right-handed, hit an opposite-field home run off Capellan. ... Bochy will miss today's workout because of a personal matter.