Month: April 2014

Kings fight their way to Game 5

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Photo credit: USA Today

By Pearl Allison Lo

LOS ANGELES– In a much more physical game, Game 4 started out tight and then got looser as the Kings stayed alive to defeat the San Jose Sharks 6-3, Thursday.

As would seem befitting for a team fighting for their playoff lives, Los Angeles kept scoring first, but the Sharks answered back each time until there were 59 seconds left in the second period. The puck went right to Tyler Toffoli as he scored in a similar place to Justin Williams’ second goal, to nab the game-winner and give the Kings a two goal lead. From Jeff Carter to Alec Martinez, the puck made contact with Andrew Desjardins before heading to Toffoli, who also celebrated his birthday.

The teams shared seven penalties between each other during the first period.

The Kings’ Marian Gaborik’s first goal hit Antti Niemi’s left leg and slid through at 4:08 as Gaborik scored for the second straight game to make it 1-0. Dustin Brown and Slava Voynov aided on the play.

At 16:59, the Sharks’ Mike Brown and Los Angeles’ Kyle Clifford were given 10 minute misconducts. This was the second pair of matching penalties before the puck drop for the two teams.

Eight seconds before the first ended, San Jose’s Tomas Hertl used persistence again and got an assist, while James Sheppard got his first career playoff goal and fourth point of the series. Sheppard took a swing to the puck while it was in the air to even up the game.

Four minutes later, not counting intermission, Williams scored his first of the game on the power play. Mike Richards and Jake Muzzin helped on the play.

It was then the Sharks’ Matt Nieto’s turn to score for the second straight game, after corralling a shot Patrick Marleau bounced off goalie Jonathan Quick. It was 2-2 at 8:25 of the second.

The Kings then helped made it 3-2 by winning the faceoff. Off the backboard, Williams slid the puck past Niemi to score his second of the game at 16:07. Willie Mitchell and Jarret Stoll assisted.

Los Angeles continued scoring just 34 seconds into the third period. San Jose’s Brad Stuart lost the puck along the boards, Anze Kopitar picked it up and passed it to Gaborik who got Niemi off balance. Gaborik’s second goal of the night brought in Alex Stalock as a replacement.

The Kings’ first quest for a sixth goal did not end up as planned. What initially looked like a goal was called a no goal as they were called for cross-checking in front of the net. The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski then lifted the puck in on the ensuing power play, off the final rebound off Quick, this one his glove.

Toffoli then made it another 6-3 game in the series. He intercepted a pass from Joe Thornton, and passed it across the ice to Dustin Brown, who dumped the puck into the empty net at 18:32.

Both teams committed seven penalties apiece in the third period. Most occurred after the final goal as to name some, five players were called for roughing at 19:36. San Jose’s Brent Burns and Los Angeles’ Robyn Regehr rounded out the game and were whistled for fighting at 20:00.

Regarding the game recap, the Sharks’ Logan Couture mentioned, “…the first two periods they were better than we were, so in the third we played better…” and Coach Todd McLellan commented, “we can talk about the ones we missed, but I’m a little more concerned about the ones we gave up.”

Game notes: Game 5 will be Saturday at the SAP Center at 7pm.

 

Warriors come up just short in Game 3

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By Jeremy Harness

On one hand, the Warriors nearly came back from an 18-point deficit but came up painfully short in Game 3 of this best-of-seven series.

On the other, however, the Los Angeles Clippers appeared to have gotten away with a pair of fouls that went the other way and made the biggest difference as the Warriors fell 98-96 at Oracle Arena Thursday night.

The Warriors struggled shooting the ball for most of the night, but they somehow managed to string together a run late in the fourth quarter to give themselves a great chance to pull out the win.

Stephen Curry hit a pair of highly-contested 3-pointers to bring the Warriors to within a point with 11 seconds left, and when Clippers guard Chris Paul made one of two from the free-throw line, the opportunity was there.

Curry, who scored 16 points to go along with 15 assists while the Clippers were bent on making him a passer, got a slight look at another 3-ball, and Paul shoved his forearm into Curry’s hip as he was in mid-air, which was not called and appeared to play greatly in the shot falling short and sending the Warriors to a 2-1 deficit in the series.

The Clippers also appeared to get away with another foul about 20 seconds earlier, as Blake Griffin, who had 32 points on Thursday on 15-of-25 shooting, drew a foul on Draymond Green, which turned out to be Green’s sixth.

Although Green was clearly moving his feet at the point of contact, Griffin pushed off to knock Green to the floor and draw the whistle.

Early on in the second half, however, it didn’t appear that this kind of finish was possible. The Warriors found themselves down by only three at halftime despite going 1-for-12 from 3-point territory in the first half.

As the Warriors continued to sputter on offense in the second half, the Clippers distanced themselves and eventually grew the lead to 18 points before the home team slowly began to make their charge.

Donaldson homers twice, A’s rout Astros

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, April 24, 2014

What sophomore jinx?

Josh Donaldson is doing his best to face down that old baseball superstition. He belted two home runs Thursday in Oakland’s 11-1 rout of the Astros at Houston.

This was Donaldson’s first career multi-home run game. The hard-hitting third baseman connected in the first inning and the seventh.

Alberto Callaspo added a two-run homer in the third inning, Coco Crisp and Brandon Moss each hit an RBI single, and Jed Lowrie collected three hits – including an RBI double – for the Athletics.

A’s starter Scott Kazmir (3-0) struck out seven in six innings while giving up five hits and one run. In the process, Kazmir lowered his earned run average to 1.62.

Brett Oberholtzer (0-4) took the loss for Houston. He surrendered six runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. The Astros scored their only run on a bases- loaded walk issued to former A’s farmhand Chris Carter in the bottom of the first inning.

The Astros, one of the better fielding teams in baseball, were plagued by five errors.

The four-game series continues Friday, with Jesse Chavez (1-0) on the mound for Oakland, facing the Astros’ Brad Peacock (0-2). Game time is 5:10 p.m. Pacific.

Giants gear up for second homestand

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By George Devine, Sr.

The Giants are looking at their second homestand — this one involving interleague play — and monitoring the physical condition of their players. At the same time they are wondering how to put together the elements in the recipe for success in 2014.

Missing from the roster at this time is Marco Scutaro, on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 21. His projected return is uncertain since the back inflammation which pestered him last season is a persistent issue. Also sidelined is LHP David Huff, on the 15-day DL retroactive to April 22 after he was injured on an infield single on April 21.

The batting order is strong on paper, but the games are not played on paper. An increase in timely hitting can bring the team back to first place. They are now 12-10, 2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco’s leading hitters at this time are Angel Pagan (.329, 12 rbi), Michael Morse (.279, 15 rbi, 5 hr) and Brandon Belt (.299, 13 rbi, 7 hr). Buster Posey is batting .229 and has 10 rbi with 4 hr.

The first series of the homestand is against the Cleveland Indians of the American League, who are slated to send Carlos Carrasco up against fellow RHP Tim Hudson in the first game on Friday, April 25; it will be the former Oakland Athletic’s first time against the Tribe. In the last series between the two teams at AT&T Park three seasons ago, the Giants swept, 3-0; they are 5-4 against Cleveland in general.

In a lighthearted promotion, the first 40,000 fans will receive a bobblehead commemorating the lone home run hit by former Indians’ infielder Duane Kuiper, later a Giant and now a renowned broadcaster for the two-time World Series champions. The souvenir is presented by Comcast SportsNet for whom “Kuip” calls the games. Had Kuiper hit one out of the park for San Francisco, he would have the distinction of one home run in each league, but it was not to be. Also, special event ticketholders will receive a limited edition Lou Seal plush golf head cover, featuring the Giants’ uniquely whimsical mascot.

On the following afternoon, the first 30,000 through the turnstiles will receive a 1954 replica World Series ring, honoring the sixtieth anniversary of the 1954 Giants, sponsored by AT&T. Sunday, April 27, is Little League Day at AT&T Park. Prior to the game, little leaguers who purchased special event tickets will be able to attend a Q&A session with current Giants players and coaches and participate in a parade around the warning track. The first 7,500 fans ages 14-and-under will receive a Pablo Sandoval Kids Bat, presented by Diamond of California. Following the game, all kids 14-years and younger are invited to come run the bases.

The Giants wrap up their homestand with a three-game series against the Padres (April 28-30). On Monday, April 28, the Giants will host Korean Heritage Night. Golfing legend, Se-Ri Pak, a 2007 inductee of the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame, will be in attendance to throw out the first pitch. Prior to the game, Korean cultural performances will take place on the field for fans to enjoy. Fans who purchase a special event ticket will receive a collector’s edition Se-Ri Pak Bobblehead.

Tuesday, April 29, is Chinese Heritage Night, presented by Graton Resort & Casino. Special event ticket holders will receive a Giants-themed “Year of the Horse”item. Partial proceeds from each special event ticket sold will benefit local Chinese base charities. All fans will be able to enjoy pre-game cultural entertainment, including drummers, dragon lion dancers and fan and ribbon dancers. On Tuesday, the Giants will also host a Sports Antique Show for special event ticket holders from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in Seals Plaza. Fans who purchase a special event ticket will receive a Chumlee Bobblehead and have an opportunity to showcase their items at the pre-game antique show, where Chumlee, a cast member on the History Channel’s show Pawn Stars, will be serving as the curator. It is also Say Hey Tuesday as CSN Bay Area will host Yahoo! Sports Talk Live from Willie Mays Plaza. Fans are invited to come out early and watch their favorite sports analysts.

Wednesday, April 30, is the Giants annual Until There’s A Cure Night, raising awareness of prevention education, care and services, in an effort to help find a cure for AIDS, presented by the Giants Community Fundand Gilead. A portion of every special event ticket sold will go directly to the Until There’s A Cure Foundation. The first 20,000 fans in attendance will receive an Until There’s A Cure postcard. Wednesday is also Irish Heritage Nightat AT&T Park. Special event ticket packages include admission to the Irish Heritage Night pre-game party in Seals Plaza from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and an Irish-themed Giants T-shirt. Partial proceeds from each special event ticket sold will benefit local Irish charities. All fans will be able to enjoy an on-field performance by Healy Irish dancers prior to the game. In addition on Wednesday, Sharon Robinson, Consultant, Community Affairs and Educational Programming for Major League Baseball and daughter of Jackie Robinson will honor Raymond Beasley V, a 5th grade student from R. Paul Krey Elementary School in Brentwood, in a pregame ceremony. Raymond is the winner of the Breaking Barriers Essay Contest which encourages children to write about barriers and obstacles they have faced or are still facing in their lives and how they used the values exemplified by Jackie Robinson to deal with those barriers or obstacles.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s may have to sign long lease;San Jose move seems out of reach

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SAN FRANCISCO–The jury is still out for me regarding if the Oakland A’s are not going to move to San Jose they can only play at Oakland. The Giants say you can play at AT&T Park while their building a new park while their building a new park in Oakland. It would probably would make sense that the A’s would have to talk to the Giants and coordinate all of this. The City of Oakland wants to keep the A’s but their going to lose the Warriors who are gone, they’re going to build a nice place south of AT&T Park.

The Raiders, no worries only ten home games per year but their probably are going to be gone too. The City of Oakland needs the A’s more and the A’s need the City of Oakland. The ten year deal is possible although it’s just posturing now unless A’s owner Lew Wolf says no right away. Right now it’s more positioning and were not sure if it’s going to happen quickly.

This is a like a domino effect that things will fall into place that might as well happen, it’s a very weird situation and I don’t see why Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig doesn’t meet the A’s and Giants in the same room and say to them it’s for the better of the game let’s do a deal here.

The A’s can approach Giants president Larry Baer and ask him, “do you want $100 million?” so the A’s can go to San Jose and get terriorial rights back. The A’s gave the Giants territorial rights to San Jose under former A’s owner Wally Haas. San Jose was not the headquarters to Silicon Valley and it was just another city. It’s a very confusing situation and Wolf is not getting any younger and maybe he could sell the team and maybe somebody at Clorox or Dreyers might be able to come in and buy the team.

The A’s are not worth a lot of money now, their a bargain at $300 million in baseball terms, I wish I had $300 million and you could probably buy the A’s for $350 million. San Jose is a warm market town and it’s a warm weather baseball town. San Jose Mercury News reporter Mark Purdy says that San Jose has the population to support the A’s.

Remember it’s in the Bay Area and people who support the Giants don’t only live in San Francisco but they can come from Alameda, Marin, Palo Alto, and San Jose and former Giants owner Bob Lurie did a study a few years ago on who goes to Giants games at Candlestick, a lot of people during the Candlestick era said they came from the South Bay.

I hate to say it if you build a brand new ball park in downtown San Jose in a town with that kind of income and those people down there make good money. It’s the most properous area the Silicon Valley. It was named by the census that these kids down there are making six figures and they support the Sharks and it’s 41 home games and not 81 home games like in baseball.

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

Michael Duca on A’s and Giants: Kazmir worth every dime of his $22M deal;Bochy tells Panda agent to take a hike

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by Michael Duca

SAN FRANCISCO–Right now the word weakly means the Giants offense right now despite dropping a 12 spot on the Rockies on Wednesday it’s pretty clear it’s their still scuffling to put some runs together and it looks like Hunter Pence is starting to come out of it but maybe Pablo Sandoval will decide that’s it’s a better idea to just forget about everything and go hitting and not worry about contracts.

As of this morning a new issue came up Angel Pagan in his diognostic research on his knee we all saw it last year what it’s like not to have him in the line up maybe he got a little soreness that he can heal up and clean up. Also this one is concerning pitchers, if a pitcher has Tommy John surgery in the first place you have a mechanical problem, if you have a second Tommy John surgery you have a coachability problem.

You didn’t learn a thing from the first one, you went out and did things the same way and despite the fact their able to wrap the tendons, put titanian screws and their stronger than an original tendon was, it’s still possible to destroy it if you don’t go out and use proper bio mechanics in pitching.

It is beyond me how Major League teams can invest in a quarter of a billion dollars in a pitching staff but their unwilling to spend $100,000 a year on someone with a masters or a PhD in bio mechanics to be on staff to make sure that investment actually pays off.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy says he doesn’t want to have anything to do with Giants thrid baseman Pablo Sandoval’s agent, Sandoval changed agents last season and the agent has been fairly pushy in terms of trying to get the Giants to take a look at the new reality and understand what Pablo is probably going to be worth in the open market if he goes out there.

He was asking for five years for $90 million total, at $18 million a year average, honestly in this current market place considering that gives you fiscal certainty for a five year period forward. The only thing that you have to decide before you agree to a deal does Pablo have the discipline to maintain the weight and conditioning that he put himself through this year?

A’s pitcher Scott Kazmir getting $22 million is going to be a bargain, the world changed about a year and half ago, when this latest round of TV contracts came in and teams started reeiving upwards of $35 million a year and the national contract will grow to $60 million a year over the course of the contact. You add in things like the Dodgers with their local contract signed for $3 billion over a 25 year period.

These are just ludcrious numbers,now paying $11 millon a year for a pitcher who can go out and give you 30 starts is nothing. Thats a bargain rate your going to see very soon people signing contracts in the range of $200 million over their lifetime for maybe five or six seasons, it’s not far away.

Michael Duca does commentary on A’s and Giants each week for Sportstalk radio

Sanchez slams Giants past Rockies

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By Jeremy Harness

The Giants had been in a serious funk ever since taking two of three from the Dodgers last week at AT&T Park.

Hector Sanchez made sure that cold snap did not extend into Wednesday.

With the winds swirling around Coors Field, bringing back memories of Candlestick Park, Sanchez uncorked a grand slam in the 11th inning off Colorado reliever Chad Bettis to bring the Giants to victory over the Rockies.

However, the Giants still managed to make things interesting in the bottom half. Closer Sergio Romo entered the game and gave up a two-run homer to Justin Morneau and then surrendered a one-out walk to Drew Stubbs.

But as the “oh-no” feelings started to rise up again, Romo came up with a big pitch that got the Giants the win, a grounder off the bat of Brandon Barnes that led to a double play.

Sanchez’s slam could not have come at a better time, as the Giants were on the verge of being swept in the three-game series in a ballpark that has always created problems for the Giants, regardless of how good the two teams are at given time.

Rangers Sweep A’s Out Of First Place, Steal AL’s Best Record on Perez’s Complete-Game Shutout

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By Matthew Harrington

For the first time in the 2014 season, the Oakland Athletics failed to pick up a single win in a series, dropping the Wednesday matinee finale 3-0 to suffer a sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers at O.Co Coliseum. Southpaw Martin Perez (4-0, 1.42 ERA) out-dueled A’s ace Sonny Gray,  taming the potent Oakland offense in a complete game, three-hit shutout. The win improbably propels the Rangers (14-8), battered with injuries to key personnel at nearly every spot on the diamond, over the A’s to the best record in the American League and first place in the division.

The A’s (13-8) only had one batter advance past first base all afternoon. Josh Donaldson doubled on a line drive to Michael Choice in left field with one down in the bottom of the seventh but the A’s failed to convert on the opportunity with a man in scoring position. Perez followed up Oakland’s other two base-hits, singles by Jed Lowrie and catcher Derek Norris, by inducing the next batter to bounce into a double-play each time. Lowrie, Donaldson and Norris were the only A’s base runners all afternoon, as Donaldson and Norris also drew the only two walks for the green and gold.

A couple of players with ties to the A’s, including former prospect Michael Choice and one-time utility infielder Donnie Murphy, collected run-scoring base hits to lead the visitors over the A’s for Oakland’s first loss by more than two runs this season.

Texas touched Gray (3-1, 2.25 ERA) up for a run in the first inning after the A’s starter gave up a walk to ex-Athletics farmhand Michael Choice. Gray bounced back to strike out Elvis Andrus, finishing off the shortstop looking on a masterful 80 mph curveball. Gray didn’t fare as well against Alex Rios who ripped an 0-1 fastball to left field for an RBI triple and a 1-0. The Rangers scored in the first inning in all three games of the series.

With Rios 90 feet from home and only one out, the Rangers appeared on the verge of a big inning. The clean-up hitter Prince Fielder appeared to expand the visiting team advantage after grounding a Gray offering to shortstop Jed Lowrie. Lowrie made the heads up play to try to cut an advancing Rios down at home plate, but home plate umpire Larry Vanover signaled Rios safe on the tag play. After A’s manager Bob Melvin challenged the play, the call on the field was overturned and the second run of the game became the second out instead.

The Rangers tagged Gray with another run after Leonys Martin singled to open the fifth then came around on Choice’s one-out single to center fielder Craig Gentry. Choice, Oakland’s no. 3 prospect in 2013 according to Baseball America, came over in the December trade that brought Gentry and Josh Lindblom to Alameda County. The A’s also shipped infielder Chris Bostick, the only player in the deal without Major League experience this year, to the Lone Star state.

One inning later Donnie Murphy wrapped up the scoring, launching a 3-1 fastball over the wall in left for a 3-0 Rangers lead. Gray fed Murphy a steady diet of fastballs in the at-bat, throwing five-straight heaters to the Rangers second sacker.

Gray pitched another scoreless inning but his offense couldn’t pick him up in the end. He headed to the showers down 3-0 on five hits and three earned runs. Gray struck out eight and walked four. Drew Pomeranz and Jim Johnson finished up the loss with a scoreless inning a piece.

Oakland hits the road for the next 10 games, heading to both American League outposts in Texas before a trip to Boston to face the defending World Series Champion Red Sox. The A’s open the road trip with a quartet against the Houston Astros, a team the A’s swept before seeing roles reversed against the Rangers. Scott Kazmir will take the mound for the second consecutive game against the ‘Stros. The veteran hurler pitched eight innings and surrendered three runs, two earned, but picked up the no decision on April 19th. Just like in that Saturday Showdown, he’ll be opposed by winless lefty Brett Oberholtzer. Oberholtzer gave up a lone run in five and two-third innings of work against the A’s.

The Feitelberg report: Wolf and the A’s say no to ten year lease; let’s face it Mission Bay for W’s just doesn’t have it

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by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolf and the A’s have rejected the City of Oakland’s offer to stay at the Coliseum for the next ten years and have rejected the lease. Wolf reportedly will go for a three year lease at a time during which time the A’s will try and secure a stadium which will be either in San Jose or another location in the Bay Area.

Wolf is not going to sign up for ten years with the City of Oakland for the Coliseum, the A’s claim the Colisuem does not meet the standards of what a Major League Stadium should be all about, with the backed up sewage, the poor drainage system, the poor drainage on the field when it rains at the park. It’s a matter now of where are the A’s going to play?

The Giants will not reliquish territorial rights for San Jose and that’s going to be a big fight if the A’s ever decide to go down there. What’s going to happen with the A’s? Were not sure yet but they hope to work something out in Oakland. The only way the A’s will stay in Oakland is if Mayor Jean Quan has some financing from an outside group to develop what is known as the Coliseum Complex.

The City has not been talking aobut it too much so we don’t know what is going to aspire from that front, in addition the Warriors who have announced that they’ll be vacating the Coliseum Arena and hope to open up a new stadium in San Francisco in 2018. Warriors owner Joe Lacob has every right to take the team and play it wherever he wants.

The unfortunate part is Oracle Arena where the Warriors play now has been such a spectacular home for the Warriors and the noise level at the game and loyalty of the fans in that location has been spectacular. But teams who have been bad like the Warriors had been for deacades for so many years that don’t sell out and yet the Warriors have shown they can provide entertainment and sell out their games.

Lacob in coimng to San Francisco and feels there’s more corporate money but there are a lot of his critics that are not sold on the location at Mission Bay. The Muni T line does come to that location, they may have to add additional lines for people who come from BART from the Embarcadero like they do with AT&T. Muni intends to run a subway shuttle direct from Powell Street to the Mission Bay Arena in 2019 but it may still may not be enough.

The other side of the problem is the fact that it’s going to be at Mission Bay and their not really close to shops and restaurants as the Giants and the parking maybe a problem if the Giants and the Warriors have an overlap for home games on the same day. That may cost the Giants and Warriors a tremendous amount of traffic, however as we said before Lacob is entitleted to move his team wherever he wants.

Jerry Feitelberg is a talk show host on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

What is the Oakland-Alameda County Authority thinking?

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Image

By Charlie O. Mallonee

 

With Warriors buying a plot of land in San Francisco and the Raiders having moving boxes ready for Los Angeles, you would think the Oakland-Alameda County Authority would be falling all over themselves trying to keep the A’s at the Coliseum for the next five to 10 years. Well if you thought that, you would be wrong.

 

The Oakland Athletics have expressed a desire for a five-year lease with a five-year option to stay in the O.co Coliseum while they figure out what to do for a new facility. The A’s want some work to be done on the 46-year old building, but they are talking about staying put in Oakland for up to 10 years.

 

The Oakland-Alameda County Authority has responded by reportedly demanding the A’s guarantee to build a new stadium in Oakland before extending the lease. Are you kidding me? Really? You are on the brink of losing three professional franchises within the next two to three years and you are making those types of demands? Frankly, it makes no sense.

 

There comes a time when a government entity must “double down” to gain leverage in a negotiation. This is not one of those times. Oakland-Alameda County has ideas but no funding to make those dreams a reality. They need to be in triage mode in order to stop the bleeding before everyone has left town.

 

Yes, the A’s have been clear they would like to move to San Jose, but it is also clear that Major League Baseball and the San Francisco Giants are not about to let that happen anytime soon. In the meantime, the Athletics need somewhere to play and the Coliseum is in need of tenants. What is the problem?

 

Signing a five-year lease with an option would buy Oakland-Alameda County some much needed time. Time that will be needed to come up with plan to transform the current Coliseum site into a show place of major sports activity. Time to put together a financing plan and time to get the project built. It is a golden opportunity that has a very narrow time-frame to pull off a coup d’état of major proportion.

 

Oakland has the land, the mass transit in place and the freeway access that makes it a perfect place to build a world class facility. Envision an upscale shopping, dinning, housing and entertainment complex with great views of the Bay. Such a facility could transform the area.

 

The first step for any such project is to do whatever is necessary to keep the A’s and the Raiders in Oakland while a plan is put in place that will make all parties happy. The Oakland-Alameda County Authority can come out of this ordeal as a big winner but only if they stop acting silly and get down to business – negotiating in earnest.