Month: July 2014

Another year, another ballpark

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By Jeremy Kahn

MIAMI-As I sit here in the pressbox at yet another baseball stadium, I cannot help reminisce on the first baseball I attended on this ritual I started back in 2007.

Yes I attended baseball games prior to 2007, as I went to my first ever baseball game on June 14, 1977 when the Los Angeles Dodgers played host to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium.

Asides from going to Dodger Stadium as a child and a young adult, I also attended games at Angel Stadium, the now demolished Kingdome in Seattle, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Candlestick Park and eventually AT&T Park.

It was on that Saturday in August of 2007, that I attended my one and only baseball game at the corner of East 161st and River Ave. in the Borough of the Bronx and Yankee Stadium.

Just one year later, the “House That Ruth Built” was closed forever and the Yankees into their new palace of a Stadium just across the street.

Roger Clemens took the mound that day for the New York Yankees against the reigning American League Champion Detroit Tigers.

Seeing that ballpark up close and personal was amazing, and going into Monument Park to see all those plaques was priceless.

Besides seeing Clemens pitch that day, I got to see Mariano Rivera enter the game to his usual entrance music of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.

The Yankees won the game over the Tigers on that afternoon, but being at Yankee Stadium was a treat for anyone who went to a game there.

Three days after going to my one and only game ever at Yankee Stadium, I made a trek via the Number Seven train out to Queens and Shea Stadium, the soon to be former home of the New York Mets.

Like their American League counterparts in the Bronx, the Mets were also planning on leaving their current home after the 2008 season.old stadium

I received a Press Credential to the game between the Mets and the San Diego Padres, even though it was a 44-year on its last legs, the old stadium did have some pizazz to it.

The iconic Apple in Centerfield that rose when the Mets, and who can ever forget the planes that fly in and out of LaGuardia Airport, which is not that far away from Shea Stadium.

After going to the Mets game on a Tuesday night, I hopped on a bus the next afternoon and headed to Philadelphia and Citizens Bank Parkfor the second game of my three city tour.

The Philadelphia Phillies issued me a press credential for that evening’s game against the Dodgers and depsite the fact that the Dodgers absolutely crushed the Phillies by the final of 15-3, I was able to cross another stadium of my list.

After that summer, I would have to wait another three seasons to continue my trips around the country to different ballparks.

Beginning with the 2010 season, and continuing to this season, I have taken a road trip with the San Francisco Giants.

Even though, the Giants were not there, I have been to both of the new stadiums in New York, as I went to a game at Yankee Stadium, a 11-2 Yankees victory that saw the Yankees score all their runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Two nights later, I went to Citi Field, the new home of the Mets and saw the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Mets in a close game.

Just 24 hours after seeing the Mets and Reds at Citi Field, I went to the first of my two games at Citizens Bank Park for a series between the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves.

Following the two games in the City of Brotherly Love, I headed to Washington, D.C., where I finally got to see a baseball game our Nation’s Capitol.

The Washington Nationals issued me a press credential, and as fate would have it, the Nationals would be play the Giants.

After winning two out of three in the series, the Giants would go on to win their first World Series since 1954, when they defeated the Texas Rangers in five games.

Over the next three seasons, I would make road trips to Wrigley Field in Chicago, Comerica Park in Detroit, Petco Park in San Diego, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Coors Field in Denver, Chase Field in Phoenix.

Tonight, my ballpark trip continues to Marlins Park in Miami, the home of the Miami Marlins. After arriving here, it dawned on me, man if this ground could talk, as this is former home of the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami Hurricanes football teams.

Not only did the Dolphins and Hurricanes play in the Orange Bowl, but it was also the home of the annual Orange Bowl until it moved to Sun Life Stadium.

Righetti not on trip

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By Jeremy Kahn

MIAMI-While on their way to Miami, the San Francisco Giants were forced to make an emergency landing not too far from home.

Pitching Coach Dave Righetti, who first joined the team in the Dusty Baker era was hospitalized in Las Vegas with a case of Vertigo.

Righetti, who is 55 years old will not join the team in Miami, where the Giants begin a three-game series against the Miami Marlins this evening at Marlins Park.

It is unclear if Righetti will join the Giants on the second and final leg of their trip, a four-game series that begins in Philadelphia on Monday night.

Bullpen coach Mark Gardner will be the pitching coach this weekend.

Kings arena downtown: Delay killer on new arena could push project back months as the city wants opponents to ante $100M in bond money

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by Jerry Feitelberg and Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SACRAMENTO–Opponents who have filed a environmental lawsuit against the city of Sacramento and the Sacramento Kings over traffic conditions, drunks and rowdy fans in the Downtown Plaza neighborhood, and objections over subsidies which includes city owned parking garages that would pay off the monies barrowed from the general fund to pay for the new Kings arena.

There are two separate law suits filed one from a group led by Caltrans retired director Adriana Saltonstall who is challenging the city and Kings against building the new arena for the above reasons and Saltonstall’s group also is challenging California Governor Jerry Brown’s bill that he signed that makes it harder for opponents to file a lawsuit against new arena construction in the state specifically the new Kings arena. Saltonstall group says that the disallowing or strengthing laws with more teeth in them to prevent filing lawsuits against arena constructions is unconstitutional.

The second opposition group has filed a CEQA suit siting similar issues the cases will be heard in two differents court hearings. The major issue at hand now is the costs that the Kings and the city will incur if the project is delayed there is a laundry list of them and the city is asking the judges in each of the cases for the opponents to pony up $100 million as bond money to cover loss expenses in the event that the Kings and the city win the lawsuits and are allowed to begin construction at Downtown Plaza.

The Kings are scheduled to open the new arena which will seat over 17,000 fans as a smaller scale NBA building the new arena is scheduled to be ready in October 2016. The lawsuit that has been filed can take up the better portion of the year and the scheduled construction for groundbreaking is set for the end of this month. The delay at best could have the new arena ready sometime in early 2017 past the deadline set by the NBA. The NBA has the right to buy the Kings and move them in the event of a schedule delay or if the Kings lose the lawsuit filed by the opponents.

Kings Chief Financial Officer John Rinehart says that the Kings would suffer a tremendous financial hit for any delay to the project and James Moose a prominent Sacramento lawyer told the Sacramento Bee this week that it isn’t uncommon for judges to ask opponents in environmental cases like these with time sensititve constraints for bond money to be held by the court until the case is decided.

There lies the question as to whether or not the opponents have $100 million to forward to the court in bond money until the case is decided and the judge in considering the bond money and is taking into account the financial status of the opponents and the strength of the case. The Kings are about to lose close to $2.5 million in construction loses, the city’s share of loses could mount up to $5.7 million primararly because of street planning and scheduled construction to block the streets from traffic during that time, the Kings have already spent $36 million on buying the Downtown Plaza proper and Kings have shared in the land purchase at $60 million.

If the Kings and the city were to lose the case entirely the Kings and the city would be on the hook for the Downtown Plaza property with the team facing the strong possibility of being forced to leave Sacramento by the NBA. One thing that could be considered in the event any new owner who buys the Kings would absorb the costs and loses at Downtown Plaza which would total $96 million plus the purchase of buying the team.

Jerry Feitelberg is covering the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors new arena developments for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers strike gold with opening of state-of-the-art stadium in Santa Clara

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new 49ers
By Morris Phillips

For the first time, the 49ers on the field have competition from the stadium in which they play.

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara opened Thursday for a ribbon cutting ceremony and it’s quite obvious the 2014 Super Bowl-contending team will play in what immediately becomes one of the finest stadiums in the entire NFL.

Upon seeing all the bells and whistles on the stadium tour such as the rooftop garden/VIP area with the views of hills surrounding the greater San Jose area or any of the other 10 stadium clubs, luxury boxes galore, spacious and smartly-angled lower bowl or the concourses three times as wide as Candlestick’s you knew that this place is ideal for hosting a Super Bowl—as it will in 2016—or an NFC Championship Game which the 49ers hopes comes sooner than that.

When asked about skyrocketing tickets prices, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell—on hand for the Thursday’s ceremony long enough to briefly answer questions—simply replied “what you have to do is find ways to create more value.”

And the 49ers have created more value by building a stadium heavily populated with seats with great vantage points, numerous restaurant locations and menu options, wi-fi that promises to have everyone connected, all the luxury boxes Silicon Valley overachievers could ever fill and, in some cases, bathrooms that look like they should belong in a fancy, downtown hotel.

During the ceremony, 49ers’ CEO Jed York recounted the courting of Santa Clara and its residents by his exhaustive efforts—including knocking on doors and pleading with naysayers near midnight–and creating the trust with residents that the team to build a stadium without raising taxes or negatively impacting the general fund of the city. And York and the 49ers delivered, building the $1.2 billion stadium in less than three years.

The 49ers open the regular season in Dallas against the Cowboys on Septmeber 7, before returning home the following week to take on the Bears. The first pre-season game in the new stadium will be held on July 17 and the Earthquakes will unofficially open the new facility with a game on August 2.

Current Santa Clara mayor Jamie Matthews answered questions and explained that the Youth Soccer fields just north of the stadium will be preserved, the moratorium on Monday Night Football could lift after just one year and that 32,000 parking spaces surrounding the stadium will be available on gamedays.

Matthews also said that the City of Santa Clara is in negotiations to build an entertainment/retail complex that would cost $6.5 billion, spring up right across the street from the stadium and be “rivaled only by San Francisco’s Union Square.”

Hundreds of construction workers that worked on the stadium made a grand entrance while York spoke. Two workers that were killed during the building of the stadium were not directly mentioned in the ceremony but a memorial is planned to honor both.

The massive scoreboards at either end of the stadium as well as the sign on the outer façade of the west side of the stadium are adorned with Levi’s signs. And the famous jean maker will roll out a new line of NFL-sponsored clothing at the beginning of July.

Even Sourdough Sam has new Levi’s to wear and you couldn’t help but notice the pep in his step at the ceremony probably due to the more desirable weather and accomodations that surely didn’t exist in 1849.

Indeed, it appears as if the 49ers have struck gold in Santa Clara.

Toronto claims A’s Mills of waivers; 1989 reunion set for Friday and Saturday

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, July 17, 2014

The Toronto Blue Jays claimed A’s left-handed pitcher Brad Mills off waivers Thursday. Mills was designated for assignment by Oakland on July 7 after the Athletics acquired pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

While with Oakland, Mills was 1-1 with a 4.41 earned run average in three starts. Before joining the A’s in a deal with Milwaukee, Mills 4-2 with a 1.56 ERA for Triple-A Nashville.

In their first action since the All-Star break, the Athletics are home this weekend, hosting the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. On Friday and Saturday, the A’s will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their 1989 World Series championship team.

Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley and Manager Tony La Russa will be on hand, along with Jose Canseco, Dave Henderson, Carney Lansford, Dave Parker, Lance Blankenship, Todd Burns, Mike Moore, Ken Phelps, Tony Phillips, current A’s coaches Mike Gallego and Curt Young, and 1989 coaches Merv Rettenmund and Tommie Reynolds.

Dave Stewart, the most valuable player of the ’89 World Series, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Saturday night. There will be autograph sessions on Friday and Saturday, with proceeds going to charity.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the A’s return to AL West play when Houston visits the Coliseum for a two-game set.

Lincecum can provide Giants momentum

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By Jeremy Harness

In the month of June, the Giants went from having an 8 ½-game lead in the National league West to currently trailing the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by a game heading into the second half of the season.

They don’t seem to have any kind of momentum going for them at this point. Well, with the exception of a familiar face but very recently had been the most unlikely of heroes. Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum was once the catalyst around which the Giants’ rotation fed off of.

However, as the velocity on his fastball dropped, his ability to locate did not improve. Until recently, his ability to adjust was even worse, and it showed in his win-loss record as well as his ERA.

Two months ago, Curt Schilling listed in ESPN The Magazine a handful of pitchers who, like Lincecum, had lost a considerable amount of velocity and graded the manner in which they have adjusted to that. Felix Hernandez, who started Tuesday’s All-Star Game for the American League, got a well-deserved “A” grade.

Lincecum, on the other hand, was given an “F,” as he had struggled mightily with his control for the past two years as his velocity dropped from his accustomed 95-mph fastball to a more modest 90. In order to be successful as a major-league pitcher with less-than-overpowering stuff, hitting your spots becomes crucial.

For the better part of those two years, the control continued to be lacking, and that it didn’t appear that he would be able to grasp that any time soon.

But then, a funny thing happened: Lincecum seemed to figure it out. In his previous four starts combined, he gave up only one earned run in 30 1/3 innings, all of them resulting in Lincecum victories. Among them was the no-hitter that he tossed June 25 against San Diego, during which he only walked one batter and ended up kick-starting the hot streak that he is currently on going into the second half of the season.

The Giants need to find a way to ride that kind of momentum, such as when they went through the 2012 postseason despite falling behind in the first two rounds against Cincinnati and St. Louis, respectively.

Lincecum looks like he has figured it out. Starting Friday night in Miami as they begin a three-game series against the Marlins to begin the second half, the Giants need to recapture that feeling, just as their resurgent right-hander has.

A’s Coliseum lease: A’s not happy with out clause if Raiders decide to build on Coliseum footprint

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by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–After the Oakland County City Council approved the Oakland A’s ten year lease on Wednesday night A’s president Mike Crowley issued a statement saying the team was not happy with the terms of the approved lease by the city council, “we’ll have to take a look at it and talk about it internally” said the unhappy club executive. Sources say that the A’s are not happy with the out clause in the lease that gives the A’s notice to leave the Coliseum by the city if the Oakland Raiders decide to implode the Coliseum to build a new stadium in it’s footprint.

Alameda County is still paying for the 1994 additional seating in the bleachers section at the Coliseum know as Mount Davis and the county remains $180 million on the hook for those past expenses and will no doubt take on more expense if the Raiders set up blueprints to build at the present Coliseum location. The A’s do have an out clause if they decide to bolt the city of Oakland it allows the club to leave in 2018.

Raiders fans who attended Wednesday night’s city council hearing said for the city council not to sign the lease that the A’s plan to bolt Oakland if and when they are permitted to get to move to downtown San Jose, “don’t sign the lease, this guy (Lew Wolff A’s co-owner), is never going to work with you, he doesn’t believe in you guys” said Raider fan Brien Dixon

The A’s in the deal had their rent lowered but the city gets to keep $5.3 million in tax revenue from Coliseum parking from the A’s. Fans, commentaters, and talk show hosts who have been following the lease transition have said that their is a fork in the road with this deal, on one side those who agree with the deal say it will keep the A’s at the Colisuem for the next ten years and the other side is saying the A’s are just buying time and will eventually leave Oakland for San Jose.

Some say that San Jose might not be as easy as people think as Larry Baer Giants team CEO and the San Francisco Giants have said in the past that the Giants have territorial rights to the South Bay and will never relinquish it. Wolff has talked this issue over with baseball Commissioner Bud Selig but the road block to San Jose without a doubt is the Giants.

Also in the agreement the A’s will get a rent break for this season as they’re rent will drop from $1.75 million to $1.35 million. The A’s will install a brand new scoreboard at the cost of $10 million the A’s also are reportedly not happy with another lease clause saying that the city will collect a slice of the revenues from advertising from the scoreboard. The A’s are reportedly adding this to their laundry list of their disagreements regarding the lease.

The city, County supervisors, and the A’s more than likely will be back in discussions reagrding these issues as it’s reported that Wolff is not too happy with the terms and will again request the original lease agreement that the club had with the city. If the city is not willing to redo what the A’s are asking and if there is no agreement in hand MLB has given the A’s it’s blessing to leave Oakland at anytime when ready.

Jerry Feitelberg covers A’s baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Leadoff spot lacking punch without Pagan

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By Jeremy Harness

If you look at any World Series-contending team in the majors, they all have similar categories: solid pitching, timely hitting, and one other major component. They also have a solid table-setter at the top of the order.

The Giants’ pitching has been hit-or-miss throughout the season, as has been their hitting in key situations. However, the area that has consistently hurt them thus far in the 2014 campaign

Pagan initially landed on the disabled list June 25 with a nagging back lower back injury that has had him out of action since June 14, but the team is hopeful that he will be back in the fold as they prepare to make their stand in the second half of the season.

The Giants originally expected Pagan to be ready to go in time for their three-game series against St. Louis, but he suffered a setback in his recovery while running, as he experienced a bulging disc in his back, forcing him to see a back specialist in Los Angeles following that.

Injuries are nothing new to the veteran center fielder. Pagan played in only 71 games last season before being sidelined for the remainder of the year with a hamstring injury in late June.

Without Pagan at the top of the order, the Giants have struggled in large part in that part of their game. Since he has been out of the lineup, the team has had to use Gregor Blanco, who has been virtually useless at the plate and hardly gets on base anyway.

Hunter Pence has checked out fairly well in that position, but he has his biggest impact in the fifth spot in the lineup behind Pablo Sandoval, with the purpose of driving in runs.

In other words, in order for the Giants to make a big run in the second half – and put the memory of a horrible month of June in the rearview mirror – they desperately need to get Pagan back on the field. Without him, they will likely continue to have a tough time getting things started in the right direction.

And that does not bode well at all for a team that figures to be in a tooth-and-nail battle with the team in the Los Angeles Dodgers that far exceeds the Giants in raw talent.

A’s 1989 Reunion on Tap to Start Second Half

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By Matthew Harrington

When the A’s kick off the second half of the season this weekend at home, they’ll do so with some noteworthy guests in attendance. Throughout the weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Athletics will honor the 1989 squad, winners of the only Bay Bridge World Series in Major League History. On Friday and Saturday night, the A’s will celebrate the silver anniversary of their most recent World Series victory capped by appearances of many members of the championship team.

Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the Man of Steal, will be attendance. The all-time stolen base leader will be joined by Dennis Eckersley, also enshrined in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown as an Athletic. In terms of future Hall of Famers, manager Tony La Russa will take a break from the various Contra Costa county charities he supports as well as his executive role with the Arizona Diamondbacks to once again try to keep this bunch in check. The doors to immortality will open for La Russa July 27th after being selected by the Veteran’s Committee in his first year of eligibility.

While bringing back players like diamond-superstar-turned-twitter-all-star Jose Canseco and ’89 series MVP Dave Stewart can serve as nostalgia for A’s fans lucky enough to attend the autograph sessions, the reunion will be a reminder for the current players of what the season goal is and what it will take to reach greatness.

After hitting the All-Star break with the best record in baseball and riding the momentum from a blockbuster trade to acquire Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, expectations have risen greatly for the residents of O.Co Coliseum. No more so was that evident than when the contingent of six A’s All-stars all stressed how important an AL victory and home field advantage in the World Series was.

No longer was it that case Tuesday night where a solitary Athletic, or perhaps a pair of A’s, was playing for someone else’s right to host the NL’s best in late October. Instead, the Oakland delegates were playing for themselves, seeking a win with the intention that they’d be playing when 28 other teams have packed their gear up for the spring.

This is new territory for the A’s, who under Billy Beane’s tenure as general manager, have made the postseason many times but never entered the end of season tournament as favorites. While 1989 team members Curt Young and Mike Gallego are both currently on the A’s coaching staff, Friday and Saturday will give the A’s a unique chance to pick the brains of Dave Parker, Ken Phelps and Dave Henderson, gaining insight into how to survive a 162-grind and beyond. Perhaps even a certain utility player who appeared in 37 games at third base, first base, catcher and the outfield for the A’s that season will make an appearance. Or perhaps he may be busy swinging another deal to improve the Athletics on the field today. Such is the life of one William Lamar Beane.

The modern A’s have a long way to go before reaching the level that their guests reached after winning three-straight AL Pennants from 1988-1990, but as the warm July evenings turn to the dog days of August, the 1989 team will serve as the benchmark. Perhaps their presence may be enough to get the Swingin’ A’s over the hump again for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Warriors arena at Mission Bay: What a Prop B overturn would do for the Warriors

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by Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO–The State Lands Commission who filed a lawsuit against Proposition B the measure that limits height development on the San Francisco Waterfront argued in the suit that the state owns the land and that the Port of San Francisco is managed by the Port not by the city. The city said that they will aggressively defend the vote of the citizens of San Francisco who passed Prop B.

This is a different school of thought coming from City Hall as previous to the election the Mayor and some members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors wanted to see Propositon B or wanted it off the ballot so that the Warriors could have a chance to build a new arena at Piers 30-32. Just before the measure passed the Warriors bought land at Mission Bay from Salesforce and will start construction on the new arena with planned retail, condos, and hotels at that location.

It was also noted that San Francisco’s populaton has grown from 750,000 to a reported 1 million that figure came out on Tuesday which gives incentive to developers, real estate companies and the Lands Commission to try to overturn Prop B as there is a lot riding on getting B overturned financially. No San Francisco mayor came out for Proposition B current of former except Art Agnos who was a advocate to stop highrise building on the Embarcadero when the Warriors touted the idea of a new arena at Piers 30-32.

Former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who is California Lt Gov is on the Lands Commission with State Controller John Chiang and Finance Director Michael Cohen are set to fight the City and Prop B. The Commission will be in for a fight against the City and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera who was a supporter of Proposition B and says the city has jurisdiction on how the port is governed, “With (Tuesday’s) lawsuit, the State’s Land Commission seems to have embraced the notion that any local initiative and by extension, any land use regulation by a Board of Supervisors or Planning Commission affecting Port property is barred by the state and therefore invalid.” said Herrera

Ironically some of the people that Newsom will be going up against to overturn Prop B are the very people who worked for him when he was Mayor. It’s a different turn of events as the strategy to get measure B overturned will take it’s legal twists and angles in this lawsuit, “while the commission respects the power of the initiative as it relates to local and municipal affairs, when it comes to the management of state property including public trust land, the Legislature has specifically delegated the management resposibility for those lands to the San Francisco Port Commission.” said Jennifer Lucchesi an executive officer for the Port Commission.

Piers 30-32 was offered up to George Lucas and Lucas Light and Industries after the Warriors were turned away by the waterfront neighborhood but Lucas who was looking at three cities to move to which included San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago didn’t want to sort through San Francisco politics anymore after being forced to move out of the Presidio where his offices were located selected Chicago. Lucas could have moved to Piers 30-32 without the problems the Warriors had to face but left for the Windy City anyway.

Herrera meanwhile said he plans to defend Proposition B tooth and nail to protect Waterfront development, “That view (Lucchesi and the Commission) represents a radical departure in law and practice from land use decision making in San Francisco and elsewhere. While the city must certainly honor it’s obligations as trustee in managing public trust property, it is a legally and practically untenable position to argue that San Francisco’s voters and elected officials have no direct say over how our City’s waterfront is developed” said Herrera.

Jerry Feitelberg is covering the new arena developements for the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings for http://www.sportsradioservice.com