Month: March 2014

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: No need to fear the beard in the ninth Wilson set to middle relieve

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

PHOENIX–Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brian Wilson will not be the Dodgers closer this season he’s coming off that surgery from last season and is now working with throwing the knuckle ball. Wilson won’t be pitching in the ninth he’s not that power guy he was when he was with the Giants when they won that first World Series in 2010.

Wilson is still a good pitcher he throws strikes, he’s a character, the fans love him in L.A. with his beard and haircut. He’s working with a change up and the knuckle ball and Wilson is reinventing himself and he’s coming out with a new pitch where he can develop a change up he could be a very useful pitcher for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are loaded the oddsmakers are picking the Dodgers to make the World Series this season forget the division and the league championship. They do have a great team and their free of injuries and their bullpen is a great bullpen and for Wilson the plan is for him to pitch in the eighth inning.

Maybe he would spend sometime in the seventh depending on the game situaton but he’s not a power pitcher or the workhorse that he was when he was with the Giants, he’s not a closer. He might close a game here and there but not like he did when he was in San Francisco.

It’s always good to develop and reinvent yourself especially for a reliever because most relievers have one or two pitches and I always refer to the greatest relief pitcher of all time which is former Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. Rivera retired last year and has more than one World Series ring.

Rivera has over 600 saves he cornered the fast ball and stayed with it for his career but that is a freak of nature, that doesn’t happen to relief pitchers forever, and they talk about the Giants Tim Lincecum being the Freak, how about Rivera, he’s a real freak. He was in baseball for 20 years and had one pitch and he was in over 600 games.

Besides Rivera most relievers try to be a closer and have at least two or three pitches, a change up, a slider, but Rivera was the exception. Wilson has the change up and now he’s adding a knuckle ball to his repertoire. He wants to prolong his career and he wants to help himself.

Former Giant pitcher Guillmerio Mota retired this week: Mota did well during his career, he had 14 years in the big leagues. That sounds like a very nice pension and good for him. That’s important, it’s tough to retire in baseball. With all respects to the NBA, the NFL, and the NHL, there are contracts in baseball this is a fact that guys have signed for $200 million.

The Seattle Mariners Robinson Cano signed for $240 million, no quarterback in football, no one in basketball or hockey has signed for that much yet. Baseball pays the largest salaries and that’s my point a lot of these guys get the big bucks. Former Yankee Jorge Posada the catcher in the glory days and former Yankee manager Joe Torre who got the team to the World Series asked Posada if he was going to retire and Posada said “I don’t know I have to talk to my agent”

Posada admitted to me “if I played another two years I could have made another $20 million” I would do the same if I could have two more years and make $20 million why not. My point is this is what happens to baseball players the money now is so large in baseball. Players are thinking they can stay another season and make another $10 million.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk radio

Thompson’s Game-Winner, 16 4th-Quarter Points Pace Warriors Over NBA’s Best In Indiana

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By Matthew Harrington

The enigmatic road trip continued for the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night when the host Indiana Pacers, owners of an NBA-best home record of 29-4 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, narrowly snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat. Klay Thompson’s 25 points, including the game-winning jumper with .6 seconds remaining, willed the Warriors to a 98-96 decision over Indiana (46-14), owners of the top record in the association, despite Golden State blowing a 13-point lead with a half dozen minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Thompson rallied the Warriors (37-24) to the win with a 16 point fourth quarter when fellow guard Stephen Curry, the usual bell cow in the clutch for Golden State, went ice cold. Curry finished the night with 19 points, all scored in the first three quarters. Andrew Bogut and David Lee were hemmed in by the Pacers league-best defense for a combined 14 points and 11 rebounds. Pacers forward David West dropped a game-high 27 points while Paul George added 26 of his own. George completed the double-double with a game-best 12 rebounds.

Despite the Pacers topping practically every defensive metric available, the Warriors still connected on close to their season average in field goal percentage (45.5 percent), hitting 44 percent Tuesday on 37 makes out of 84 attempts. The Dubs hit exactly half of their shots from beyond the arc, going 10-for-20 from downtown and their bench outscored the Pacers reserves 34-11.

The Warriors took their first lead, 10-8, after Curry connected on a layup 4:15 into play before Paul George hit a three to restore the Indy edge. Led by a seven-point run from Curry, the Warriors closed out the final seven minutes of the first quarter outscoring Indiana 15-10, finding themselves up 25-21 after 12 minutes of play. The Warriors netted 23 second quarter points to the Pacers 21 to establish a 48-42 cushion at the half.

Indiana pulled within one, 51-50, just 2:18 into the second half and took their first lead since the first quarter two minutes later after Lance Stephenson hit a two-pointer with 4:32 of the clock and the scoreboard reading 56-54 Pacers. The Warriors closed out the final three minutes of the third on a 10-7 run to lead 73-70 three-fourths of the way through play.

The initial six minutes of the fourth and final frame were all Warriors, as they notched 19 points to the Pacers 9, but the home team held the guests to only two field goals in the final five minutes to draw even 96-96 after George hit his second of two free throws with just over a minute left. Klay Thompson’s buzzer beater, a turn-around jumper off a Draymond Green feed, would be the only basket made over the final minute of play, handing the Warriors their first triumph in Indiana since February of 2007.

With Tuesday’s win, the Warriors guarantee they will finish the second-longest road trip of the season going at least .500 after picking up wins in Brooklyn, Detroit and Indiana while falling to Chicago and Toronto. The Warriors can complete the road swing with a fourth win in a Wednesday night swing in Boston to complete the current six-game road set.

Sharks fall short against Hurricanes

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By Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks have not played well against Eastern Conference bottom dwellers this season, having lost to Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders at home. The game against 13th spot Carolina Hurricanes became another one of those, as Sharks fell 3-2 in overtime.

San Jose started game slow, generating only three shots in the first 10 minutes of the game and being outplayed on all parts of the ice. They looked rusty, and out of sync, which often happens when team comes back home after a long road trip or a break. Carolina capitalized on the sleepy Sharks, taking 1-0 lead in the game as Juri Tlusty scored on a breakaway at 12:07 mark.

The goal seemed to have woken up the Sharks and they responded with one of their own. Marty Havlat scored his fifth goal of the season on a rebound from Tyler Kennedy’s shot. Havlat’s goal was even more memorable because he scored it while falling down.

Brent Burns increased the Sharks lead towards the end of the period. He scored on a slap shot from near range when Raffi Torres set him up on a great play just in front of the goal.

Hurricanes tied the game at 2-2 in the second period when Elias Lindholm scored a similar goal to Brent Burns earlier, as he shot a slap shot from a short range that left Alex Stalock with no time to react, thus setting the third period with no team leading.

Both teams traded good scoring chances in a fast paced game, but failed to score, taking the game into the overtime. The game seemed to have been heading towards another shootout, but Carolina ended it with less than a minute left on a broken play inside the Sharks own zone. Jay Harrison jumped into the play from the blue line as he got the puck from his teammate Elias Lindholm, and became wide open right on the edge of the crease. With plenty of time to pick a corner and Andrew Desjardins failing to cover him, Carolina player sent the puck into the net, thus ending the game.

It was not a loss in which the Sharks played well, but they have a chance to rebound against the best team in the East Pittsburg Penguins, as Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin make their rare appearance at the SAP Center.

First half of 2012 revisited

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{GIANTS} {MLB}

By Jeremy Kahn

It is hard to believe that it was only two seasons ago that the San Francisco Giants were on top of the baseball world for the second time in three seasons.

Things looked bleak for the Giants in the early going, especially after being sept in the first three games of the season against the reigning NL West Champion Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

After leaving the desert, the Giants headed to Coors Field for a series against the Colorado Rockies with Barry Zito on the mound.

Zito pulled something off that no Giants pitcher ever did in Colorado, as he pitched a complete game shutout against the Rockies.

In the finale of the series, things got even worse for the Giants, as they suffered a significant injury to closer Brian Wilson.

The closer, for the second time in his career suffered a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and would undergo Tommy John surgery and would be lost for the season.

Instead of throwing the season, the Giants strived with their closer by committee, as Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo were fantastic.

Buster Posey came back from his grusome leg injury, and would go on to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

Matt Cain did something in June, that no Giants pitcher in the teams’ 130-year history ever accomplished before.

Cain threw a perfect game, as the Giants shutout the Houston Astros by the final score of 10-0 and Cain struck out 13 Astros on the night.

Melky Cabrera made a fantastic catch, but it was Gregor Blanco’s amazing diving catch in the right-center field gap that will go down in Giants lore as one of the great catches of all-time.

Kings Feast on Pelicans

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Sacramento CA  The Sacramento Kings (20-39) looked to get some redemption after suffering a loss to the Minnesota Timber Wolves on Saturday by hosting a struggling New Orleans Pelicans team.  The Kings were able to hold off the Pelicans by the score of 96-89. 

The Kings were lead by Demarcus Cousins 23 points on 5 for 13 shooting and a remarkable 13-16 from the free throw line.  Cousins who has been under heat for his quick temper kept him self in check and lead his team to a much need victory.

The Pelicans were led by former King and rookie of the year Tyreke Evans who had 27 points in his old home.  Evans may have had some bad feelings since leaving Sacramento when he was once considered to the future of the franchise, before the arrival of Cousins.

The Kings will look to capitalize on the spark of energy as they head to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks, while the Pelicans head to Dallas to get back on track.

Warriors SF Arena: Basketball team could move down the street next to AT&T Park

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by Ken Gimblin

SAN FRANCISCO–San Francisco Giants presdient Larry Baer once proposed to the Warriors a space for a new arena at AT&T Park’s parking lot at Lot A the current VIP lot for Giants customers during the baseball season. Baer actually proposed this idea to the Warriors before any announced idea by the Warriors to build at Piers 30-32.

The Warriors had big dreams for the Pier 30-32 location and according to Warriors spokesman P.J. Johnston they still do, the Warriors would like to build a ten story hotel, a 17 story luxury condo across the street from Piers 30-32 and of course the 12 story new arena on the pylons of piers 30-32.

Johnston and the team realize that the neighborhood opposition is immense and the team has discussed a back up plan to build the arena next to AT&T Park on the parking lot next to the ball park if the Warriros can’t move to piers 30-32, “It’s still full steam ahead on Piers 30-32, but we have always and will always consider backup plans” said Johnston

With that full steam ahead idea in mind the opposition once again are gearing up for a fight, the opponents just recently delivered ballots to city hall proposing to put a ballot measure asking voters if there should be any development that exceeeds over 40 feet at piers 30-32, the Warrios are proposing a 125 foot arena which would block waterfront views of the bridge and the east bay at the Embarcadero. In a poll taken the development idea was shot down because of the objections in height size.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee who said in light of the San Francisco 49ers leaving the city that a Warriors downtown arena would be a “legacy” to his administration. At first it appeared that the mayor would back off and let the voters decide how they would like this measure to go but has said recently that he wants to see this project move forward according to his press secretary Christine Falvey, “(the mayor) looks forward to sitting down again very soon with the Warriors’ownership to discuss steps for the arena and Piers 30-32 site” said Falvey.

The AT&T Park idea is being taken under consideration by the Warriors as a backup plan if there is a vote that goes against development at the waterfront. There are also plans by the Giants to develop retail, hotel and condo space near AT&T and owned by the team. The Giants are looking to build two apartment towers standing 30 stories and a 2,100 parking garage to make up for the loss of lot A.

The residents might find compromise in that for not losing the views and having development in that part of the waterfront of Piers 30-32. The way it stands right now if the Warriors push for Piers 30-32 development the neighborhood would push right back and oppose any development along the waterfront that goes over 40 stories that would include at AT&T Park or Pier 70 owned by Forest Cities properties who also is considering condo and retail developemnt at the Dog Patch loacation off of Third Street.

Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos sees compromise to the idea by building a new arena next to AT&T Park that way the Warriors get to move into the waterfront neighborhood and the neighbors keep the views at Piers 30-32 and minus more Embarcadero traffic on game days, “I am very open to Lot A for a Warriors arena, the leadership of the city should get the Warriors and Giants together to work out a mutually satisfactory business agreement and the sooner they do it, the better” said Agnos.

Baer was not available to talk to Sportstalk radio and declined to discuss this matter, Baer in previous years did propose the idea to the Warriors about an arena on the Giants grounds but the Warriors wanted their own property and building but the team is realizing that this dream is not as easy as they thought it would be. Former San Francisco Board of Supervisor President Aaron Peskin who was a staunch opponent of any development at the piers says he would support a new Warriors arena at Lot A “without hesitation or reservation, it would be perfect” said Peskin.

If the city leadership, Lee, Agnos, the Giants, Baer, the Warriors owners of Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber, and most importantly the neighborhood and the voters of San Francisco find favor for AT&T Park for the arena than the Warriors could be looking at a shot at coming to the waterfront. The measure could get on the ballot for the AT&T arena location as soon as November of this year or as late as 2015.

Ken Gimblin is covering the new arena developments of the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings for Sportstalk radio

Wildcats clinch Pac-12 hoops crown with victory over Stanford

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, March 2, 2014

No. 3-ranked Arizona sealed up the Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball regular season championship Sunday by defeating Stanford 79-66 at McKale Center in Tucson.

With the win, the Wildcats (27-2 overall, 14-2 Pac-12) finished off an undefeated home schedule. Arizona scored the first four points of the game and never trailed.

An inside basket by Dwight Powell cut Arizona’s early lead to 14-11, but that was as close as the Cardinal would get. Elliott Pitts drained a 3-pointer to ignite a 9-2 run that put the Wildcats up 23-17. From that point, Arizona never looked back.

Freshman Aaron Gordon scored 19 points and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds to lead Arizona, with help from T.J. McConnell (14 points), Gabe York (12 points), Nick Johnson (11 points) and Kaleb Tarczewski (10 points).

Josh Huestis led Stanford (18-10 overall, 9-7 Pac-12) with a career-high 22 points while snaring 12 boards. Anthony Brown and Chasson Randle followed with 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Cardinal, who trailed by as many as 25 points in the second half.

A 19-5 Stanford run, completed with a dunk by Huestis with 2:45 remaining, helped the final score look closer than the game actually was.

For Stanford, the loss leaves the Cardinal in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Pac-12 with Colorado and California going into the final weekend of the regular season. Stanford finishes at home this Wednesday against Colorado and this Saturday against Utah.

(catgegory Stanford Cardinal)

(TAGS: Stanford,Cardinal,men’s basketball,Arizona,Pac-12)

Raptors hold off Warriors behind DeRozan’s 32 points

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By Joe Hawkes

TORONTO, ONT — With Golden State clinging to a 86-81 lead with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Toronto Raptors forced five turnovers (three in the final two minutes) to hand Golden State their second loss on their current six-game road trip, with a 104-98 victory Sunday at the Air Canada Centre.

Raptors All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan had 32 points, six assists and four rebounds. It was DeRozan’s third straight game with at least 30 points and six assists.

Kyle Lowery scored 13 points and dished out eight assists, and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and five rebounds on 5 of 6 shooting.

Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez each added 12 points off the bench for Toronto (33-26), who rebounded from a 134-129 triple overtime loss Thursday night against the Washington Wizards at home.

Golden State seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter.

Stephen Curry scored a game-high 34 points to go along with seven assists, but he committed six of the Warriors’ 13 turnovers. Curry shot 13 of 27 from the floor, including 4 for 11 from 3 leading to his fifteenth 30-point game of the season (a career-single high). The Warriors All-Star guard had fourteen all of last year.

After halftime, Curry played the whole second half going off for 14 points in the third quarter to finish with 43 minutes.

David Lee finished with 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in 43 minutes as well, while Klay Thompson scored 12 points, but was 4 of 15 from the floor. Thompson was struggling to guard DeRozan and picked up five fouls for his troubles.

Harrison Barnes chipped in 11 points off the bench, and Draymond Green dished out a career-high five assists, but Golden State’s bench played short-handed from the beginning. Backup center Jermaine O’Neal didn’t make the trip to Toronto due to passport issues.

With the loss, Golden State (36-24) falls into a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for sixth in the Western Conference. Dallas plays San Antonio Sunday night and with a win, can drop Golden State to seventh with 22 games to go before the playoffs.

Golden State shot 42.0 percent from the field (37 for 88), and 34.8 percent from behind the arc (8 for 23).

This was the game that the Warriors needed to win heading into Indianapolis Tuesday for a matchup with the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are tough to matchup especially at home where they are 28-3 on the season.

Indiana defeated Golden State 102-94 on Jan. 20 at Oracle Arena. The Warriors have loss their last six straight games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Sharks Finish Road Trip with 4-2 Win Over NJ Devils

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks ended a three game road trip with a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. They picked up two wins in five days to close the gap between the Sharks and the Division-leading Ducks to five points in the standings.

Sharks goals were scored by Joe Pavelski, Raffi Torres, Matt Nieto and Patrick Marleau. Alex Stalock turned in a very good performance with 21 saves in his second win in a row. Devils goals were scored by Adam Henrique and Patrick Elias.

The first star of the game was Matt Nieto. Of Nieto, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said:

He played an excellent game, he seized the opportunity, played really well, was effective penalty killing, was very good on that line, obviously scored the winning goal.

What about Nieto sitting out the last game?

In his case it wasn’t so much sending a message it was getting some other people into the game who had to play. It was nice to see that he handled it properly and was ready to go today.

Nieto replaced Brent Burns on the top line Sunday. McLellan explained that decision:

I thought Burnzie had a good game but it’s been a long time since he produced and scored on that line. And just like everybody else we’ve got to to hold him accountable. Brent will work his way back.

The game was the first time the Sharks had played against ex-teammate Ryane Clowe, and he welcomed them to town with four hits. He gave one each to Justin Braun, Dan Boyle, Tommy Wingels and Jason Demers. During the second intermission, he was asked if those hits had a little extra energy behind them for his ex-teammates:

You’re right, you lean into them a little more. It’s something where obviously they’ve had a core together for a while, you know all those guys. It’s a little bit of me is trying to play physical, probably trying to play a little more physical against those guys.

But it’s also part of the game, I think we’ve got to get on our D and play physical against that D who skate well, who move the puck well, but we’ve got to make them defend.

The first period ended scoreless, with just one penalty call in the last minute of play. That call went to the Sharks. The shots were very close, just 10-8 for the Sharks.

New forward lines for the Sharks’ were clearly trying to find their way, most notably the line composed of Brent Burns, James Sheppard and Martin Havlat. How McLellan had never put those together is a mystery, as McLellan can be relied on to try everything at least once, and those three can provide some skill and scoring. How to communicate smoothly after not playing together is another matter. The line did not get credit for any shots on goal in the first period but did spend more time in the offensive zone than defending.

The other lines were adjusted accordingly, putting Tommy Wingels on a line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Matt Nieto came back into the lineup, on a line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. The fourth line was made up of Raffi Torres, Andrew Desjardins and Tim Kennedy. That line did not have much trouble sorting themselves out, and were generating good chances for themselves early in the game.

The defensive pairings had also been changed since the game in Buffalo two nights before: Matt Irwin was with Dan Boyle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was paired with Jason Demers, and Justin Braun was with Scott Hannan. Finally, Alex Stalock was in net.

The first goal of the game came early in the second period. The Sharks’ Tommy Wingels screened the goalie for a Jason Demers shot from the point that was tipped by Patrick Marleau. The shot created a small rebound that came out to Couture who was sliding in near the post. Assists went to Marleau and Demers.

The second goal came from the Devils’ Adam Henrique to tie the game. What looked like a fairly manageable two on three fell apart for the Sharks when Henrique came down the slot and received a pass from Steve Bernier, who had escaped Tyler Kennedy along the boards. Sharks defenseman Justin Braun did not get back across the ice quickly enough to tie up Henrique. Assists went to Bernier and Eric Gelinas.

The Devils also scored the third goal, during another incident of missed coverage. Patrick Elias scored that, with assists going to Jon Merrill and Henrique.

The next goal tied the game again. This time a neutral zone pass from James Sheppard went to Raffi Torres, who went in to the Devils’ zone in a two on one with Joe Pavelski. Torres passed it to Pavelski, who passed it back. Torres had an open net and scored his third goal in two games this season.

The second period ended with the Devils on a power play after Marc-Edouard Vlasic was called for tripping Travis Zajac. The shots were 18-14 for the Sharks, the score still 2-2.

The Sharks killed off the last 30 seconds of the penalty without incident. Sharks’ goaltender Alex Stalock had to make some good saves on Jaromir Jagr and Ryane Clowe in the first minutes of the period.

A little over six minutes into the third, the Sharks had a scare after a giveaway in their offensive zone. A relentless attack from the Devils required several good saves from Stalock. The Sharks finally cleared the puck and executed a line change, putting the Thornton line on the ice. One quick pass from Joe Pavelski to Matt Nieto gave the Sharks the lead again.

The Sharks went right to the penalty kill when Jason Demers went to the box for tripping. The Sharks killed that off very effectively, as they had the two previous penalties. The Sharks spent a good deal of the penalty kill outside their own zone.

The Sharks went to the penalty kill yet again with less than six minutes left in the game. Justin Braun was called for hooking. The Sharks did not allow the Devils to spend much time in the offensive zone, but iced the puck shortly after the penalty expired. Sharks coach Todd McLellan took his timeout with 3:22 left in the period.

Shotrly after play resumed, the Devils made a fatal mistake, letting Patrick Marleau get off on a break away to score the Sharks’ fourth goal of the game. Tommy Wingels helped the Devils make that mistake by going ahead and driving for the net to take away a Devils defender and distract Cory Schneider.

The Devils pulled their goaltender with a little less than two minutes left, but even with the extra attacker the Devils could not score again.

Final score: 4-2 Sharks. The Sharks killed four of four penalties, Alex Stalock made 21 saves on 23 shots. The Devils killed one penalty, Cory Schneider made 18 saves on 22 shots. The teams were even in faceoff wins with 24 each.

The three stars were Matt Neito, Adam Henrique and Joe Pavelski. Justin Braun lead the Sharks in ice time with 21:03, Joe Thornton lead in shots with four.

The Sharks next play at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

Early returns: Giants’ Hudson on road to recovery

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, March 2, 2014

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Given the nasty nature of Tim Hudson’s 2013 season-ending injury, the San Francisco Giants’ righthander was not only optimistic about his recovery following his first Cactus League start.

Hudson, then pitching for the Atlanta Braves, was covering first base when Eric Young Jr. of the New York Mets accidentally stepped on his leg above the ankle. He wound up with a fractured fubula and torn deltoid ligament – both surgically repaired last July – forcing him the miss the remainder of the season.

During his rehabilitation process, Hudson became a free agent and signed a two-year contract with the Giants. The former Oakland Athletics ace looked like his old self facing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium Sunday, with a pair of scoreless innings, one strikeout, no hits, and no decision in the Giants’ 5-3 exhibition win.

“It was maybe a little more challenging that I would have liked it to have been, but I put some zeros on the board and got through those first two innings,” Hudson said. “It was good to get back out there.”

From everything involving location, pushing off the rubber and covering first, Hudson said the challenge today involved “a little bit of everything.”

“I was pretty anxious to get out there,” Hudson said. “My command was hit-or-miss, and I was a little off with the off-speed pitches, which you expect this early in the spring.

“I managed to find first base, one time out of two,” he continued, smiling. “(Covering first base) is just one of the things I’ve started doing in the last week or so. It figures that I’d have two pretty challenging plays right out of the gate.”

On the first play for Hudson at first, former A’s teammate Eric Chavez reached first on an error charged to first baseman Brandon Belt. On the second one, he helped complete a 3-6-1 double play.

“I put the first one on just the fact that I’m old and slow. That was ‘first game speed,’” Hudson said, laughing. “He’s probably used to having some of these young, fast pitchers getting over to first.

Then, describing himself at this stage of his career, the 38-year-old righthander added, “I’m like an old vintage car that you can’t take to a drag race!” Hudson said that, so far, pushing off on his delivery isn’t a problem.

“It’s good. Everything’s good, it’s just a matter of getting my body strong and getting ready for 100-plus pitches a game,” Hudson said. “I probably threw around 30 pitches (actually 27), but it was a challenging 30 pitches from a workload standpoint.

And, he added, there are no psychological aftereffects from the injury.

“I’m good with it, and it’s something I really don’t think about,” he said. “It is what it is. Everything’s healed right and feels right, so now it’s just the strengthening part of it.

So far, Hudson said throwing to catcher Buster Posey has “been good,” saying, “We’re still having to get to know each other. Once I get into a little better shape, he’ll have a better idea of the kind of stuff I throw and how I like to work. It won’t be long. It’ll get there.

“Buster’s great back there,” he added. “He has a great setup for pitchers.”

On facing Chavez, Hudson said, “You know what, he can still swing it. He’s always been able to swing it. His biggest question has been his health over the years. He’s found a nice spot over there (Arizona), not quite playing every day, but he’s staying healthy and doing well.”

Hudson struck out Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Gerardo Parra with a couple of sinkers and, he said, “a hanging split-finger that somehow dropped in there for a strike. It wasn’t a pitch I wanted a called strike three on – I was hoping to get him to swing and miss – the pitch was just bad enough.

“It’s all a work in progress.”

Bats were alive
San Francisco used a 12-hit attack to defeat the D-Backs. Angel Pagan, Buster Posey, Joaquin Arias and Juan Perez each had two hits for the Girants. Righthander Kameron Loe (1-0) was saddled with a blown save, but got the win, while ex-Athletic Brad Ziegler (0-1) took the loss. Jean Machi earned his first save of the spring.

(TAGS: San Francisco Giants,Tim Hudson,Spring Training,Cactus League)