Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch (24) sits during the national anthem before an NFL football game between the Raiders and the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
On the Raiders podcast with Joe:
1 Marshawn Lynch the Raiders running back is no wall flower on the field he expressed that last Sunday when gave the double bird in Tennessee in the Raiders victory which was caught on a CBS camera
2 Lynch was fined $12,000 for the hand gesture. Lynch was coming off the field in Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter in Tennessee
3 Lynch had a good Raider debut going 76 yards , 18 carries to help lend a 26-16 victory over the Titans
4 Raider defensive end Kahlil Mack who stopped the Titans offensive with three tackles got a little respect when the Titans sent two blockers to slow down Mack
5 Donald Penn will pen a new contract a extension for two years. Penn held out for training camp until pre season when Penn and the Raiders had an agreement but Penn will sign it in black and white this week
Cleveland Indians’ Francisco Lindor, left, slides safely into second base for a steal as Kansas City Royals’ Whit Merrifield is late with the tag in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
On the Sports Headlines podcast with London:
1 Cleveland lost a tough one in their home ball park 4-3 to the Kansas City, Cleveland was just four games shy of tying the all time win streak record held by the 1916 New York Giants at 26. Cleveland just couldn’t keep it going and their win streak was stopped at 22 games Friday night.
2 ESPN’s Jemele Hill who apologized to ESPN for tweeting that President Trump is a white supremacist. Now Trump wants ESPN to issue an apology to him. Trump said he was offended by what Hill wrote and said he didn’t appreciate it and wants ESPN to apologize to him for it.
3 There was rioting after Cologne returned to European soccer. The Arsenal won it 3-1. Ticketless fans marched in front of Emirates Stadium setting off a riot. Four people were arrested.
4 The 49ers who struggled in their last game in at Levis Stadium against the Carolina Panthers look to try and get in the win column Sunday in Seattle
5 The Raiders host the New York Jets on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum London talks about the match ups
Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers (90) tackles San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brian Hoyer during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
On the 49ers Podcast with Joe:
1 The 49ers guard Laker Tomlinson is getting tuned up, last game against the Carolina Panthers he showed his ability last game where he had a good outing and now will start again at Century Link in Seattle this Sunday against the Seahawks. Tomlinson in his last time at Century Link played for the Detroit Lions and now he returns with the 49ers
2 Zane Beadles struggled at guard for last week’s game against the Carolina Panthers Tomlinson will be replacing Beadles and Beadles allowed a sack of Brian Hoyer
3 The 49ers offensive struggled speaking of Hoyer getting only a field goal for a score. Joe takes a look at what Hoyer need to turn things around
4 Joe talks about how tough it’s going to be playing at Century Link a stadium that was engineered to increase the sound waves that favors the Hawks and where the 49ers are that’s going to be a tall order on Sunday
5 Injuries to safety Jimmie Ward (hamstring) and tight end George Kittle (hamstring and calf) are practicing this week but will they be game ready on Sunday
AP File Photo: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (29) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
By Jeremy Harness
SAN FRANCISCO– For the Giants, the end of the 2017 season cannot possibly come fast enough, as they prepare to close out the worst season they have had in many years.
Before they play their last game, however, the Giants do have a chance to screw things up for teams that are in the playoff hunt at this point. One of those teams happens to be the Arizona Diamondbacks, who the Giants will face this weekend at AT&T Park.
The three-game series will start Friday night, as righty Jeff Samardzija (9-13, 4.47 ERA) will take the hill opposite Arizona lefty Robbie Ray (13-5, 2.81 ERA).
The Diamondbacks are currently 9 ½ games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and even though the Dodgers have not clinched the division yet, the chances of Arizona catching them are slim and none at this point.
However, the Diamondbacks own the first wild-card spot in the National League with a five-game lead. Behind them, with a hold of the second and final wild-card spot are the Colorado Rockies.
Those two teams are coming off a four-game series that they split right down the middle, with Arizona winning the final two games there, including a 7-0 shutout on Thursday.
Arizona has a rather-easy schedule going forward following this weekend’s series with the Giants. The Diamondbacks will then head to San Diego to face the Padres for a three-game series before welcoming the Miami Marlins at Chase Field next weekend.
From that point, the Giants will head down to Arizona for a three-gamer before the Diamondbacks go to Kansas City to wrap up the regular season.
The Rockies, however, may have an easier schedule in front of them. They will see the Padres twice before the season ends, and sandwiched between series with San Diego, the Giants and Rockies will get together for a two-game series next week.
Fans gather before an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans at Paul Brown Stadium, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Frank Victores)
On the Sports Headlines with Tony:
1 NFL attendance is down it dropped from 20 million in 2011 to 18.5 2014 million some two million difference.
2 Some of the reasons fans can stream games,watch on wide screens, stream the games and fans don’t have to go to the stadium and stay in the comforts of home
3 The protestors supporter former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick isn’t the prime reason nor is it the fan who are against the players national anthem protest the reason again it’s the HD wide screens.
4 The Raiders had a tremendous opening game in Tennessee last week and they host the New York Jets this Sunday Tony tells us they’ll do
5 The 49ers after getting trounced 23-3 last Sunday at Levis by the Carolina Panthers will make a trip to Seattle in tough to win in Century Link Tony tells us he likes in this game
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park in Boston, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
by Jerry Feitelberg
Boston- The Red Sox and A’s played the final game of the three-game set Thursday afternoon. The Red Sox made it look easy as 1-2-3. That’s scoring one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and three in the seventh as they downed the A’s 6-2. Daniel Gossett started for Oakland and lefty Drew Pomeranz was on the hill for the Sox. Gossett pitched well for the first five innings of the game but ran into trouble in the sixth. Pomeranz, on the other hand, went six and gave up just one run and five hits on his way to his sixteenth win of the season.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth. The A’s put a run on the board after Matt Chapman walked to start the inning. Mark Canha, playing center field, doubled down the left field line to put men on at second and third with one out. A’s catcher Josh Phegley hit a sacrifice fly to left-field. Chapman tagged up and scored. The throw home was cut off by Pomeranz and Canha was caught napping off second base. He was caught in a rundown and thrown out at third to end the inning. The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when catcher Christian Vasquez led off with his fifth big fly of the year that went over the wall in left field.
The Red Sox plated two more runs in the sixth. With one out, Dustin Pedroia doubled. The next hitter, Andrew Benintendi also doubled to deep centerfield to drive in Pedroia. The ball almost went out of the park as it hit high off the wall. A’s manager Bob Melvin ended Gossett’s day. Ryan Dull was the new A’s pitcher. Dull retired Mookie Betts for the second out but could not get by Mitch Moreland. Moreland slugged the third double of the inning to drive in Benintendi.
In the seventh, the A’s missed an opportunity to get back into the game. They loaded the bases with two out, but Sox’ reliever Addison Reed was able to strike out Chad Pinder to end the threat. The Red Sox, in their turn in the bottom of the inning, scored three more times to take a 6-1 advantage. Melvin brought in the lefty reliever Sam Moll to pitch to the left-handed hitter, Rafael Devers. Devers beat the strategy as he hit a double down the line into the corner in left field. Brock Holt attempted a sacrifice bunt. Matt Chapman fielded the ball, but his throw was offline and hit Holt as he was about to reach first base. The error put men on at second and third with no out. Moll struck out Jackie Bradley, Jr. for the first out. The A’s brought in Santiago Casilla. Devers scored on a Dustin Pedroia sacrifice fly. Holt went to third on the play. Casilla drilled Xander Bogaerts with a pitch. Bogaerts stole second, and both men scored on Benintendi’s third hit of the day.
The A’s got one back in the eighth when Ryon Healy crushed a Joe Kelly pitch that went over the line in deep left-center field. There was no more scoring. The Red Sox win 6-2
Game Notes- The Red Sox won the series two games to one but lost the season’s series to the A’s. The A’s won the season four games to three. The ‘s used five pitchers in the game while Boston countered by using six.
Drew Pomeranz improved to 16-5. He is tied with Chris Sale for most wins on the Red Sox staff. The Sox activated David Price who had been on the DL. Price didn’t pitch and may be relegated to the bullpen in the next few days. Andrew Benintendi was the hitting star for Boston. He had two doubles and a single and drove in three runs. Gossett’s record is now 4-9.
The A’s travel to Philadelphia to play three games before moving on to Detroit to play the defanged Tigers for four next week. Daniel Mangden will pitch Friday and will be opposed by the Phillies Mark Leiter, Jr. Saturday will see Kendall Graveman versus Ben Lively and Sean Manaea will be trying to rebound from his tough outing Tuesday night and he will be opposed by Henderson Alvarez. Alvarez has no record this year.
Time of game was 3 hours and nineteen minutes and 35,470 Red Sox fans watched as the hometown team beat the visiting A’s.
A banner is unfurled over the left field wall during the fourth inning of a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park in Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
On the A’s podcast with Jerry:
1 The A’s got a big morale victory by defeating the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night 7-3 and even the series. The A’s got some offense from Matt Olson with a two run homer and Jed Lowrie drove in two runs.
2 A’s are going hot right now they are playing like they need to clinch a wild card spot before Thursday’s game in Boston they have won six out their last seven games.
3 It seems like Jharel Cotton is picking up the pace improving his record to 8-10 giving up three runs in five innings.
4 Four fans dropped a banner over the Green Monster on Wednesday night that said, “Racism is as American as Baseball” the four fans were ejected from the park and there was a few smattering of boos. While the sign for that time and place might have been inappropriate but some fans said it wasn’t a lie either.
5 Sox and A’s concluded their three game series with the Sox taking the three game set today 6-2. The A’s now move onto their next road series in Philadelphia starting on Friday night
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger follows through on a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Morris Phillips
SAN FRANCISCO– It may have been the most telling at-bat of the Giants’ 22,000 some-odd at-bat, 2017 season. It certainly felt like the most telling at-bat of the season for pitcher Matt Moore.
Laboring near 100 pitches and trying gamely to survive the fifth inning, while allowing only two runs, both in the first–Moore fell behind rookie Clay Bellinger 2-0 with a runner aboard, and no outs. Bellinger, a lefty hitter with power, and a healthy grasp of the scouting report on the Giants’ starter, dug in. Anyone with knowledge of the pertinent situational stats could sense Bellinger’s bells ringing in anticipation of the pitch.
And sure enough, Moore’s fastball missed location, grabbing too much of the zone, up and middle, and Bellinger deposited it in McCovey Cove, on a rope.
Simply, Bellinger’s in the midst of a rookie campaign for the ages, and couldn’t have hit the ball any harder. Moore’s having the worst season of his career, and couldn’t have had a more visibly pained reaction to the pitch.
Manager Dave Roberts, mindful of Moore’s strong outings against his club in 2016, liked what he saw from his offense leading up to Moore’s 80th pitch of the night, the one Bellinger crushed.
“Tonight, we had a plan. Stayed diligent to the plan. Got the pitch count up, hoping for a mistake,” Roberts said. “It was a big homer.”
Moore would go to face two more batters after Bellinger struck, throwing 91 pitches to record just 13 outs. Throughout, Giants’ television commentator Mike Krukow spoke of Moore’s lack of confidence in locating his pitches, reflected in the fact that only 60 percent found the strike zone on Wednesday.
“Winning cures everything, and we haven’t done a lot of that this year,” Moore said. “Say what you want, I only play every fifth day, so being able to put us in that kind of situation in the fifth inning, it feels like I let us down when we’ve had enough of that.”
Take nothing away from the 28-year old starter who was 17-4 for the Rays in 2013, but only 11-19 in two seasons with the Giants. He battled on Wednesday. But it was a losing battle. Soon the Giants must decide if they’ve seen enough from a guy saddled with a 14th loss of the season and a 5.39 ERA, or if they’re willing to bet $8 million that the contract-friendly lefty can regain his confidence in 2018.
Here’s some of the numbers that GM Bobby Evans must sift through that suggest Moore won’t return.
Eleven of Moore’s 29 starts have come against NL West competition, and he’s 1-6 with four no-decisions. His only win was on April 10 (Arizona) and he’s 0-2 against the Dodgers, allowing 17 earned runs in 21 innings.
Left-handed hitters have terrorized Moore, hitting .373 against him prior to Wednesday. Against the Dodgers, Corey Seager and Bellinger had three of the five hits Moore allowed. In the NL West, lefty sluggers Charlie Blackmon, Jake Lamb, Bellinger and Seager might be the ones most likely to hope Moore returns to the Giants in 2018.
Prior to 2017, lefties hit just .240 against Moore.
Of the 188 hits Moore has allowed in 167 innings of work, 77 have been extra-base hits. All five hits Moore allowed on Wednesday were for extra bases, including Bellinger’s splash job, the 26th home run he’s allowed.
“Growing up, you always see Barry Bonds do it,” Bellinger said of his big hit Wednesday being a splash. “To actually do it is pretty cool.”
Bellinger’s homer increased the Dodgers lead to 4-0 on a night Yu Darvish and a pair of relievers allowed the Giants five singles. Darvish, in his first ever appearance against the Giants, went seven innings, striking out five and walking none.
Since being acquired from the Rangers at the trade deadline Darvish had lost three consecutive starts, and had been a confounding presence with his new club as a result. Apparently, only the malleable nature of the Giants’ offense kept Darvish’s turn in the rotation from being skipped.
The Giants endorsed the Dodgers’ decision to start Darvish by getting shutout for eight innings, getting two of their five singles, and their only run, after being down to their last of 27 outs. Spotty defense didn’t help things either, a fly ball inexplicably fell between Hunter Pence and Kelby Tomlinson in the second inning.
On Wednesday, September 13th, the A’s president Dave Kaval announced the location where the A’s baseball only facility will be built. The team has been looking for a new home for many years. Most people will agree that the Oakland Coliseum is not the best place to watch a ball game. The Coliseum is the last multi-purpose stadium used for two sports, ie football and baseball. Cities like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Houston all tore down the multi- use stadiums and built separate facilities for the teams. Even San Francisco built a baseball only stadium.
The A’s looked at locations in Fremont and San Jose. Nothing happened. The San Jose stadium search was hampered by the San Francisco Giants’ claim of territorial rights. The A’s finally decided to look for a place in Oakland to build the park. They looked at the Howard Terminal site but decided against it. They felt the weather would be like Candlestick Park. Cold and windy and no one wanted that. They looked at the Coliseum Complex. The Coliseum has parking and access from the 880 freeway and BART, but there is no baseball ambience surrounding the park. There are tail gate parties, but there are no restaurants or bars in the surrounding area. People come to the game in cars and leave. The A’s looked t the game experience in Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. There is not a lot of parking at these sites, but there is a lot to do before and after the game.
With that in mind, the A’ picked the thirteen-acre site at Laney College. They will have to move some administration offices, and they will have to build freeway exits, and the BART station at Lake Merritt is just a nine-minute walk. Dave Kaval said this about the location:”you’re right in the city, and having the walkable environment, where you can have bars and restaurants and a really vibrant kind of energy around the ballpark, kind of like Fenway or Wrigley.” Kaval also said that the building of the stadium is “bigger than baseball, it’s a gathering place to bring our community together.”
A’s manager Bob Melvin had these thoughts:” I think it’s something certainly for our fan base to look forward to, especially for the people that live in Oakland.”
There is a lot of work to do before ground is broken in 2021. The A’s expect the park to be ready for the 2023 season. They have to do an environmental impact study, get all the necessary permits, and get all the financing in order. The A’s are not planning to use public money to build the stadium. The park will seat 35,00 people. Everything will be better. They will have luxury suites, of course, and they will have better food. Their goal is to make the new park the best baseball experience possible. They are on the right track as they are not ignoring the fans. The A’s business model has to change. They cannot continue to develop talent and then trade them for prospects. The fans have to know that the A’s want to win championships. The club did it in the 70s and the 80s, but it’s been 27 years since the A’s have made it to the World Series. Oakland deserves a stadium and a winner.
Carolina Panthers Christian McCaffrey (22), San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster (56) and San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas (94), all 2017 first round draft picks, talk after an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 in Santa Clara, Calif. The Panthers won the game, 23-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
By Jeremy Harness
SANTA CLARA–The 49ers’ season is expected to be, to say the least, very challenging with a lot of growing pains in store for one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Those challenges are being presented to them right off the bat.
After a convincing loss at the hands of the Carolina Panthers at home in the season opener last Sunday, they now go to a place that they have not won in six years.
Seattle’s CenturyLink Field will be the site this Sunday, as the 49ers face the NFC West nemesis Seahawks, and they are facing long odds indeed. The last time they escaped Seattle with a victory was in 2011 – former coach Jim Harbaugh’s first year with the 49ers – and they have not beaten the Seahawks at all since 2013, which happened to be the last year they played at Candlestick Park before moving into Levi’s Stadium.
Making things even tougher is that the injury bug has already hit the 49ers, and it has hit in a key place.
In an attempt to get to Carolina rookie running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Reuben Foster sprained his right ankle, and even though he tried getting back into the game in the second half, he was held out of action for the remainder of the contest.
Thankfully, X-rays done on Foster’s ankle came up negative, but he was later diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, which have a significantly-higher recovery time than regular ankle sprains. In fact, coach Kyle Shanahan said that Foster could be sidelined for at least a month.
In the meantime, Foster is expected to be replaced in the lineup by Ray-Ray Armstrong, who took his spot in the starting defense on Sunday and, by most accounts, turned in a nice overall performance.
Besides Foster, tight end George Kittle (hamstring, calf) and safety Jimmie Ward (hamstring) are also nursing injuries suffered on Sunday and were both limited in practice Wednesday. Tackle Joe Staley, along with Foster, did not practice on Wednesday, but Staley’s case was not injury-related.
The 49ers will be facing a team eager to get back to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are seething from an opening-week loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. But they are nursing some injuries as well as they head into Sunday’s matchup.
Cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring) and linebacker K.J Wright (ankle), both starters, were both held out of practice on Wednesday, while former 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite (calf) practiced in a limited fashion.
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