http://0rz.net/3e0oE FRESNO, Calif. -- Todd Linden's quest has always been to play in the Major Leagues -- he's been there temporarily and he savors those moments -- and now the Triple-A Fresno strongman is right on the brink again. So very close. The 24-year-old cracked a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Grizzles on Sunday, leaving him among the Pacific Coast League leaders with 12 homers, 37 RBIs and a .645 slugging percentage. He also boasted a healthy .303 batting average. Yet surprisingly, Linden says doesn't care if and when San Francisco calls him up. Kidding? Not in the least. "I had a phone call from my brother and he asked me when I'd get called up, but I try not to think about it," said Linden from Grizzly Stadium recently. "Don't get me wrong, I want to get to the big leagues, but what's the difference if it happens now or in two weeks or a month or year from now? I just want to swing the bat and keep rolling -- I found [the swing] and I want to put up some numbers." Hard to imagine this was the same Todd Linden who struggled in Spring Training, batting .179 with a .205 slugging percentage over 17 games. That prompted the Giants to demote him to Minor League camp on March 21. It was an embarrassing blow, but Fresno manager Shane Turner says tweaking the rookie's stance and staying positive worked wonders. "He's made some subtle adjustments, really, lifting his hands to where they were when we first signed him. He's getting on top and through balls a lot better and shown amazing patience at the plate," said Turner. "When he's gotten a mistake pitch, he's hit it hard. "He's been outstanding, and [batting] left-handed is where he's doing the most damage," said Turner. "He's worked his butt off since he's been there and I like the direction he's headed. He's headed back toward the big leagues, and hopefully for good." Linden recalls a moment against Portland this season when he told himself to "just throw the hands, throw the hands" at pitches, not trying to muscle the ball into the stands, but keeping stationary at the plate except for that minimal front foot raise -- without his toe-tap -- and swinging free and easy. Bingo. Talk about a lightbulb suddenly turning on. "I ended up hitting an opposite-field home run," said Linden. "It's like something clicked right there. I thought, 'I just hit that ball to the opposite field off the scoreboard and I just flicked my hands. ' Sometimes you try and do too much. Now I keep it simple, like I did my first year in Shreveport [in 2002]. I hit close to .300 there left-handed." That was the knock on the switch-hitting Linden, the Giants' sandwich selection (41st pick overall) in the 2001 draft -- that he was weaker from the left side. Fans will long remember his mammoth homer at Dodger Stadium in 2003, which landed in the loge section down the left-field line at Chavez Ravine on Sept. 21. It was his initial -- and lone -- Major League homer. And it came right-handed. There were some thoughts of keeping Linden as a right-hander full-time, but the Giants' brass didn't want to make him half a player, realizing that left-side power would eventually come around. It has been his lone Major League homer. "I was always considered a streaky left-handed hitter, but now I'm confident I'm back to where I was in college and at Shreveport," said Linden. "I was searching for an answer and thinking too much. Too much information. But when you're going good you don't want to talk hitting or think about it. "As soon as you're thinking at the plate you're in trouble. I try to keep it as simple as possible." --

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