Month: March 2018

Barracuda unable to string two wins together as they lose to Reign 7-3

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda were looking to win two games in a row, entering Saturday’s rivalry matchup against the Ontario Reign at SAP Center.

The Reign pretty much gave the Cuda a hard time in the first period.

The Reign went on an early power play for hooking against the Cuda’s Julius Bergman. Just three minutes in, Michael Mersch found the back of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead.

The Reign made it a 2-0 game after Kyle Bauman notched his first professional goal in his third AHL game so far this season. Bauman made a diving backhand flip on the puck, which made its way over the shoulder of Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau.

The Cuda cut the lead in half on Brandon Mashinter’s goal, his 16th on the season,

But the Reign quickly found a way to extend its lead to 3-1 with 4:34 left in the first. Matt Moulson found himself in the middle of the crease with the puck on his stick and put it in the net.

The Cuda trailed the Reign 3-1 at the end of the first. Shots were 16-9 in favor of San Jose.

Cuda’s Emerson Clark scored on the breakaway for his eighth goal on the season to pull his team within one just 3:08 into the second period.

From there, things started getting chippy between the two rival teams. Mersch and Kurtis MacDermid were not happy with each other, which led them to drop the gloves for an action-packed fight. In addition, Colby McAuley threw the puck into the empty net. The officials were perplexed at first, but then figured out to assess the appropriate penalties.

The Reign went on a 5-on-3 power play for two minutes. Ontario managed to redeem themselves as Philippe Maillet tallied a power-play goal, his 17th on the season, at the 11:37 mark. As a result, the Barracuda pulled Bibeau in lieu of Stephon Williams.

Justin Auger made it 5-2 Reign with 6:29 left in the second. Auger completed a stunning pass from Sam Herr in the far corner for his 10th goal on the season.

The Reign expanded its lead to 6-2 with 4:58 left in the second. Maillet dangled around the net and fed Sean Walker, who fired in a clean slap shot and subsequently picked up his sixth goal on the season.

Reign’s Bokondji Imama went to the box late in the second. Reign goalie Cal Petersen made a tremendous save on the penalty kill, but then the Cuda’s Rudolfs Balcers proceeded to score a power-play goal, his 18th goal on the season, to help his team cut the lead in half with 3:04 left in the second.

The Barracuda started to pave its way back into the game, but continued to trail the Reign 6-3 at the end of the second. Shots were 29-20 in favor of San Jose.

Austin Wagner beat Williams through the five-hole for his ninth goal on the season, giving the Reign a 7-3 lead with 1:13 left in the third period.

The Reign pretty much had this game from start to finish and the Cuda lost by a score of 7-3. Petersen finished with 33 saves for Ontario. Meanwhile, Bibeau made 10 saves and allowed five goals before being pulled in favor of Williams, who made eight saves and allowed two goals in relief of Bibeau.

Notes
Cuda starting lineup: Rudolfs Balcers, Rourke Chartier, Adam Helewka, Jacob Middleton and Tim Heed.

Reign starting lineup: Jordan Subban, T.J. Hensick, Kurtis MacDermid, Jonny Brodzinski and Austin Wagner.

Up Next
The Cuda host the Roadrunners Sunday at 3:00 pm PST.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks get huge win to extend win streak to seven; Hall’s breakaway helps Devils get past Pens 4-3; Bruins’ Pastrnak starts three-goal comeback rally for 3-2 win

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Sharks won their seventh straight game win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon by a score of 5-1.  Matt talks a little about the successes of why they have such a long win streak going.

#2 New Jersey’s Taylor Hall got a break away goal that put the Devils over the top with just 27 seconds left in overtime to edge the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3.

#3 Another close one as the Boston Bruins got a 3-2 one goal win past the Dallas Stars on Friday night. David Pastrnak broke a 2-2 tie with 12 seconds left and the Bruins scored three unanswered goals in the third period for the one-goal comeback win.

#4 The St. Louis Blues faced off against the Vancouver Canucks and the Blues’ Patrik Berglund got two goals to help the offense as St. Louis got its fourth straight win. Blues goaltender Jake Allen stopped 19 shots in Allen’s eighth start for St. Louis.

#5 The Montreal Canadiens got a 3-0 shutout behind the netminding of Antti Niemi, who save 35 shots and picked up his first shutout in 27 months. The Habs picked up their first road win past the Buffalo Sabres in eight games.

Matt Harrington covers the San Jose Sharks for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose State offense shows major potential at spring football game

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

Despite bleak skies, the San Jose State Spartans football team showed off its offensive potential with five pass plays of 30 or more yards during its 79-play Spring Football Game at CEFCU Stadium Saturday.

Junior Josh Love completed 7-of-11 passes for 148 yards. Love completed passes of 32 yards to wide receiver Tre Walker, 48 yards to tight end Josh Oliver and 56 yards to slot receiver Leki Nunn.

Redshirt freshman Terrell Carter connected on a 46-yard pass play to wide receiver Tre Hartley, but it was Montel Aaron–who started eight games last season–as the only Spartan signal caller to connect on a touchdown pass with his 75-yarder to wide receiver Bailey Gaither.

With fifth-year senior Michael Carrillo and redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson, the Spartans passed for 389 yards and did not have a pass intercepted.

Carter accounted for two of the three rushing touchdowns in the game on runs of two and four yards,

“It was exciting enough that half of the Fresno State football team came to watch. So we’re doing something right,” said San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan, who added the Spartans had trouble passing the ball deep down field last year. “It was good to see to us throw the ball down field and make some plays.”

“Right now, we’re giving them all (the quarterbacks) equal reps, seeing them all play and compete,” Brennan added.

Bryce Crawford’s 50-yard field goal accounted for the rest of the scoring in the game.

Linebacker Tysyn Parker, who started four games a year ago as a freshman, and sophomore defensive lineman Sinjun Astani each had a quarterback sack.

Scoring Summary
Terrell Carter, two-yard run (Bryce Crawford kick)
Malike Roberson, seven-yard run (Matt Mercurio kick)
Bryce Crawford, 50-yard field goal
Terrell Carter, four-yard run (Matt Mercurio kick)
Bailey Gaither, 75-yard pass from Montel Aaron (Matt Mercurio kick)

Rushing (37 attempts, 147 yards, three touchdowns)
DeJon Packer, 11-54; Malike Roberson, 7-35, 1 TD; Terrell Carter, 6-27, two touchdowns; Bailey Gaither, 1-27; Ryan Johnson, 1-8; Tyler Nevens, 3-7; Thai Cottrell, 1-7; Josh Love, 1-5; Brendan Manigo, 1-(-2); Michael Carrillo, 3-(-3); Montel Aaron, 1-(-7); Team, 1-(11).

Passing (20-35-0-389 yards, one touchdown) 
Josh Love, 7-11-0-148 yds.; Montel Aaron, 3-6-0-106 yds., one touchdown; Terrell Carter, 4-5-0-77 yards., zero touchdowns; Michael Carrillo, 6-11-0-58 yards., zero touchdowns; Ryan Johnson, 0-2-0-0 yards.

Receiving 
Leki Nunn, 4-76; Bailey Gaither, 3-105, 1 TD; Justin Holmes, 3-27; Josh Oliver, 2-50; Tre Walker, 2-45; Thai Cottrell, 2-17; Brendan Manigo, 2-7; Tre Hartley, 1-46; Billy Humphreys, 1-12.

Punting 
Bryce Crawford, 2-35.0 average; Brian Papazian, 2-38.0 average.

Field goals 
Bryce Crawford, 39–no good; 36–no good; 50–good.

Quarterback sacks 
Tysyn Parker and Sinjun Astani, one each.

Up Next
The Spartans will be back on the practice field on Tuesday, April 3, after a much-needed week off for SJSU’s spring break.

Sharks Win Seventh in a Row, Trounce Flames 5-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks won their seventh straight game 5-1 against the Calgary Flames Saturday. Sharks goals came from Brenden Dillon, Jannik Hansen, Evander Kane, and Justin Braun. Brenden Dillon came away with a Gordie Howe hat trick, while Kane missed one by an assist. The lone Flames goal came from Michael Stone.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 37 saves for the win, while Flames goaltender David Rittich made 28 saves in a losing effort.

Of the importance of this winning streak, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I think this is the time of year you want to be playing well, you want to get hot. For me, it’s about our game. You know, the results are nice, the wins are nice. You know, out of the seven games, this was probably our sloppiest of the seven but we found a way to win and our goaltender was great. So we’ll clean a few things up but you’re never going to complain too much about winning.

Despite the recent additional injuries, the Sharks have kept up their momentum with the help of some good depth. Stepping in for Joakim Ryan is Paul Martin, who has missed most of this season with an injury.

Brenden Dillon scored the first go, at 7:52. Chris Tierney caught a short pass from Timo Meier and made a beautiful behind the back pass to the trailing Dillon, setting the Sharks defenseman up perfectly in the slot. It was Dillon’s fourth goal of the year. After the game, Chris Tierney talked about how he saw that play: “I just saw him coming in late and Timo dropped it too me and I thought their guy was kind of stepping up on me. So I thought he’d be the trailer coming in late, hopefully, he found it.”

Jannik Hansen scored next, his second of the season, and his second in the last three games. Hansen deflected a Burns shot that was going well wide of the net. Hansen’s deflection was at such a sharp angle that Rittich did not see it in time. Assists went to Burns and Barclay Goodrow.

Michael Stone got Calgary on the board at 12:17 with a slap shot from the blue line that found its way through a lot of traffic. Assists went to Micheal Ferland and Chris Stewart.

At the end of the first, the shots on goal were 11-9 Calgary.

The next goal came in the second period at 8:26. The Sharks were on a power play when Kevin Labanc was called for holding, ending the power play and putting the teams on a four-on-four. Neither team scored then, but after the Calgary penalty expired and the Sharks were short-handed, Chris Tierney skated almost to the goal line with the puck. He hovered around there for a bit, looking like he might take the shot, but instead he made a pass to Evander Kane who had an open net. It was Kane’s fourth short-handed goal of the season.

In all, the teams took eight penalties in the second period, after taking none at all in the first. Two of those penalties overlapped at least in part, and two went to Evander Kane as double minor for roughing. Despite the overlaps, it was a rowdy period.

The shot count for the second period was 17-14 Calgary.

Evander Kane’s trips to the penalty box were not over with the second period. He went back there at 3:15 of the third for a fight with Travis Hamonic. In addition, both Hamonic and Kane received minors for unsportsmanlike conduct. None of those penalties resulted in a man advantage. Before those penalties had expired, Mark Giordano was called for cross-checking Melker Karlsson–awarding the Sharks the first power play of the period–for the fifth penalty of the period.

Justin Braun extended the Sharks lead to 4-1 at 10:09 of the third period. Braun caught the puck just as it crossed the Calgary blue line and, after just a couple of strides, took the shot from above the faceoff circle. The shot beat Rittich over the right shoulder. Assists went to Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson.

San Jose’s lead grew again at 12:10. Joe Pavelski tipped a Dillon shot at the net from a ways out, using Evander Kane and Hamonic as a screen. The puck touched Kane on the way in, giving him his second of the game. Assists went to Pavelski and Dillon.

Brenden Dillon left the game a bit early after a fight with Garnet Hathaway at 15:02 of the third. Both left the game as the fight took place in the final five minutes.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 5:00 pm PT in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Curry returns and helps Warriors in 106-94 win; leaves ball game early with knee injury

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photo from sfgate.com: Golden State’s Stephen Curry bent over with pain from his injured left knee after receiving a right elbow to the knee from teammate JaVale McGee in Friday night’s contest at Oracle Arena against the Atlanta Hawks

By Jerry Feitelberg

There was good news and bad news at Oracle Arena Friday night as Curry returned to action and the Warriors downed the Atlanta Hawks 106-94. Curry started slowly but heated up and tallied 29 points before he injured his left knee with 3:09 to play in the third quarter. The injury occurred when JaVale McGee’s right elbow landed on Curry’s left knee when McGee was falling down. Curry was not able to continue, and the fans and the Warriors could not believe what happened.

Curry sprained his medial collateral ligament and was scheduled for an MRI on Saturday. The Warriors said: “We’ll see what the MRI says tomorrow, there’s not a whole lot we can do or predict keep your fingers crossed.” said head coach Steve Kerr. “We’re hoping for the best after everything he’s gone through, that was tough to see him go down like that” said Warrior point guard Quinn Cook.

“Kind of a strange, cruel twist of fate,” Kerr said. “He rehabs his ankle for the last couple weeks, he gets that strong and then the knee goes. So we’ll see what happens and we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Atlanta won the first half 51-43. The Warriors scored just 16 points in the first quarter. They played a little better in the second quarter, but the Hawks outscored the by six to finish the half with an 8-point lead. The Warriors continued to own the third quarter as they poured in 36 points and the defense held the Hawks to 23. The Warriors won the fourth quarter outscoring the Hawks 27-20.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were without the services of Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. As mentioned earlier, the extent of Curry’s injury is unknown, and the Warriors are holding their collective breaths until the results of the MRI are known.

Patrick McCaw returned to action after missing substantial playing time due to a broken wrist. Jordan Bell started in place of Draymond Green, and he finished the night with 12 points, four assists, seven rebounds, and one blocked shot. Nick Young started in place of Klay Thompson, and he added 24 points to the winning effort. Quinn Cook, who had played so well in Curry’s absence and now coming off the bench, kicked in with 13.

The Hawks were led by strong forward Taurean Prince 20, Dennis Schroder 16, Damion Lee 10, Tyler Dorsey 13, and Mike Muscala 11.

The Warriors improve to 54-18 and Atlanta falls to 21-52.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Utah Jazz Sunday afternoon at 5:30 pm PST.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Cesar Chavez Day to be held on March 31st at the Coliseum

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

On Saturday March 31st, the Oakland Athletics will be celebrating a special day for César Chávez, the ex-UFW (United Farm Worker) leader. Over 200 members of his family, including his sister and son, will be there on the field for the ceremonial first pitch.

It is about time a Bay Area sports team chose to recognize such a great leader, which I happened to interview in the late 1970s in Salinas, for KOFY 1050 AM Radio Bay Area, during one of his famous marches.

Chávez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association. He was a very strong activist who defended the rights of legal migrant workers, who had to have a permit to come from Mexico and work on the fields back in the day. He was a man of great integrity and dignity. He passed in 1993, but members of his family will be honored on this special day at the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland A’s, who are celebrating their 50th Anniversary in Oakland.

As a Hispanic, I said: “about time this man gets the recognition he deserved” and I applaud the Oakland A’s for being the first professional MLB team to do so.

Saludos,
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Oakland Athletics’ Spanish Announcer

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: 2018 MLB Predictions on West and East

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Photo credit: awfulannouncing.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

2017 was a great season for Major League Baseball, culminating with the Houston Astros defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers and winning their first-ever World Series.

After another great season in 2017, José Altuve will hang around for at least another seven years with the champs signing a brand-new $163.5 million contract on this month of March.

Many other exciting things happened in the 2017 season like the Minnesota Twins, who finished in last place in 2016, reaching the playoffs. The Cleveland Indians set a new American League record with 22 victories in a row. Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols reached the magical 600 home run mark. Pujols ranks #7 with 614 on the home run list and he is just 32 hits short of 3,000. Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltré reached 3,000 hits. The Los Angeles Dodgers won their fifth consecutive division title.

However, it wasn’t very good overall for our two local Bay Area teams, the Athletics and Giants, as both finished in last place. This was the first time they both finished as cellar-dwellers the same year. In 1995, they both ended up at the bottom with identical records of 67-77, but that season was shortened by a labor dispute.

So this is how I see this 2018 season that is just around the corner…

American League West
1. Houston Astros
2. Los Angeles Angels
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Texas Rangers
5. Oakland Athletics

The World Champion Astros are an easy pick to win this division again as they got even stronger after acquiring Gerrit Cole along with Justin Verlander.

The Angels picked up young Japanese prospect, Shohei Ohtani, considered by many as “The Babe Ruth of Japan.” Ohtani is a right-handed pitcher who hits left-handed with power. Angels also addressed their infield needs as they acquired Ian Kinsler who will play second base and Zack Cozart (shortstop). who will play at third for Mike Scioscia’s ball club. Scioscia will be on his 19th season as manager, at the start of this 2018 season, currently the longest consecutive tenure for a manager. The Angels watched the playoffs pass by them for the third consecutive season after finishing five games behind the Twins in the American League Wild Card race in 2017. They haven’t won a postseason game since 2009, even with the incomparable New Jersey native Mike Trout on their roster for the past six seasons. Trout is arguably the best player in the game. Because of an injury to his left thumb, Trout played in 114 games, hit .306, hit 33 home runs and drove in 72 runs.

For the Halos, their lone playoff appearance with Trout came in 2014, when they were swept by the Royals in the American League Division Series. Trout remains signed through 2020, but the Angels’ window to capitalize on the 26-year-old superstar in his prime is shrinking.

I had the pleasure of covering Trout for the past seven seasons in Anaheim since his rookie year. In my opinion, he is not only the best player in the game, but he is a great man who is talented, dedicated and always joyful to take the field. He is the whole package.

The biggest question mark for the Angels will be: Can their pitchers stay healthy?

They still have a young and talented rotation with Richards, Othani, Shoemaker, Heaney, Skaggs and Ramirez. They could go to a six-man rotation sometimes during the season, like when they have long stretches of consecutive days, without any days off. It will be fascinating to see how the young Ohtani will do and how would he be used.

I believe the Angels are a serious Wild Card contender. The Angel Stadium in Anaheim will be rocking this year, not only because they have Trout, but Pujols will begin the 2018 season with 614 home runs with the titles of only active player with over 600 and #7 on the top 10 all-time home run list. The Dominican is only 32 hits shy from 3,000.

Not to mention they were the team to sign Japanese super prospect, pitcher and hitter, Shohei Ohtani. The Angels will debut the third-largest electronic message board in baseball in Anaheim. All of this could make their owner, Arte Moreno, very happy this year, but most of all, contingent play all the way until October.

The Mariners are basically the same team as last season. 2017 was a disappointment. It looks like the great Felix “The King” Hernandez is not the same dominant pitcher. Also, most of their starting rotation has been hurt. They are still a great offensive team with Segura, Canó, Cruz, Seager and company, provides enough runs for them to stay in games, but just like the Angels, their pitching is suspect. Ichiro is returning to Seattle (his first team in 2001) on a one- year contract because the M’s said that he is going to play. Ichiro reportedly said he wants to play until he is 50. He is 44 to start the season.

The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics have not been picked to win this division, but both teams have lots of talent. In this case, the A’s have a lot of younger talent compared to the Rangers. For Texas, Adrian Beltré, who reached the 3,000 hit mark last season, and a sure pick for Cooperstown, is on his last contractual year. Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor provide solid leadership and offense. The starting rotation has four lefty starters: Cole Hamels, Martín Pérez, Mike Minor and Matt Moore. Their bullpen needs a boost. Bartolo Colón signed a minor league deal with the team, but we all know no team would sign Colón to play in the minor leagues. Well, at least not with his control.

Question: Who will play the longest, Colón or Ichiro? My bet is on Colon since the Dominican Republic native will be looking to win at least six more games so he could pass Nicaraguan Dennis “El Presidente”Martinez as the Latin pitcher with most wins in history (245). Dennis Martinez won two more games than Juan Marichal, who ended his Hall of Fame career with 243 wins. But even with Colon, a very-respectable number five pitcher on any rotation, the Rangers are likely going to be the underdogs this season. My guess, if Colón wins those six games, he will consider retirement.

The Oakland Athletics finished last for the third consecutive season in 2017 with a 75-87 record, but manager Bob Melvin was always an optimist with an abundance of hope.  One of the best home run hitting teams in baseball that plays in one of most difficult home run parks, Khris Davis returns for at least another year, as he signed for 2018, for $10.5 million. Davis hit 43 home runs and drove in 110 runs last season and is the highest paid player in the roster. Davis became the fifth A’s player to hit 40 home runs in a season, alongside Reginaldo Martinez “Reggie” Jackson, José Canseco, Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi.

Strong in the infield with a young, talented Matt Chapman at third and Matt Olson at first, at the corners–“The Matt Boys” supply lots of power. Marcus Semien will enter his sixth major league season and third with the A’s at shortstop. Veteran Jed Lowrie, who gives them an all-around performance at second base.

The A’s picked up Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals to play in the outfield. He returns to the Bay Area after spending three years in St. Louis. He attended Stanford University.

The A’s also addressed their catching situation shortly after they signed veteran Jonathan Lucroy.

The A’s bullpen improved as they acquired left-handed pitcher Ryan Buchter, signed Yusmeiro Petit as a free agent and acquired right-handed pitcher and young hardthrower Emilio Pagán early after his season ended from Seattle on the trade that sent the talented Ryon Healy to the M’s.

Melvin will have a young pitching staff. The A’s are starting off as pitching challenged. Jharel Cotton will be out for the entire season with Tommy John surgery, To replace Cotton, they signed Trevor Cahill for this season. Yes, the same Cahill who began his career with the A’s in 2009 and was an 2010 All-Star in Arizona.

Another familiar face in Oakland is returning, lefty Brett Anderson  who pitched with the A’s from 2009 to 2013. Kendall Graveman will be their Opening Day starter for the second year in a row also against the Angels, followed by Sean Manaea, and then guys like Daniel Mengden, Andrew Triggs, Paul Blackburn will all be in the mix.

This year, it could be a challenge for Bob Melvin as well as pitching coach Scott Emerson when it comes to pitching and looking for the winning combination.

The A’s are a glorious franchise that dates to 1901 as a charter member of the American League as the Philadelphia Athletics. They have won nine World Championships, the third-most of all current MLB teams. Only Yankees and Cardinals have won more World Series than the A’s. The A’s have a young and powerful offense, they were the fourth team with most home runs last year, with 234. When a team can hit for power, like the young A’s, they are always entertaining.

Sure, the A’s could surprise us. After all, it is baseball, and there are always surprises each season. Some say, “What excitement these young guys will bring!” and that could be true as the sky is the limit especially for guys like Davis,Chapman,Olson. But at the end of the day, it will probably be another tough season for the Green and Gold.

Note: There’s a new attraction at the Coliseum called “The Treehouse,” which is a new destination area above the left field bleachers in the Oakland Coliseum that is set to debut during the 2018 season. The Treehouse will be open to all fans and will feature two full-service bars, standing-room and lounge seating, numerous televisions and pre and post game entertainment. In good conscience, I had to pick the A’s to finish last again, but I would love it if they were to prove me wrong.

Significant A’s note: Celebrating their 50th Anniversary in Oakland. On April 17, the A’s game vs. Chicago White Sox will provide free admission for everybody. During every Wednesday home game in the regular season, fans can pick the price they pay for their tickets. In addition, there will be more Fireworks at the Coliseum this season.

National League West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Colorado Rockies
4. San Francisco Giants

5. San Diego Padres

I do not see anybody better here than the Dodgers. Although, they will begin their season without their top clutch hitter and third baseman, Justin Turner, who was hit by a pitch in Spring Training on his left wrist, causing a fracture, but no surgery was necessary. He will begin 2018 on the DL.

I think the Dodgers will shoot for a sixth consecutive division title this year. 2018 is the last year on the contract for the best pitcher in the game Clayton Kershaw. With a solid offense, good defense, great bullpen, they should be able win the west.

Arizona is a serious candidate for a wild card as well as Colorado. Arizona signed Japanese right-handed reliever Yoshihisa Hirano as well as veteran catcher Alex Avila. This season, they should take advantage of a window of opportunity since outfielder A.J Pollock, and left-handed pitcher, Patrick Corbin, are eligible for free agency after the season. Their superstar first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, is just two years away from the same situation.

The Rockies have a good young rotation, but lack a #1 pitcher, a stopper to halt losing streaks. Well-balanced, all-around players like Nolan Arenado–an MVP contender every year–are hard to come by. He finished 2017 with a .309 average, 37 home runs and 130 RBI. He became the first and only third baseman in history to win five Gold Gloves in his first five years in the majors.

Charlie Blackmon is arguably one of the best players in the game. The center fielder enjoyed a tremendous 2017 where he hit .331 with 37 homers and 104 batted in.

Ian Desmond and Carlos González were held back due to injuries, but are two solid players that could easily bounce back. The Rockies appear to hope to improve on the wild card finish they had last season. This Rockies team can hit anyplace, not only in Coors Field.

In 2017, the San Francisco Giants finished 64-98. This offseason, the Giants acquired veterans Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen to play in the outfield, while trying to complete revamping their outfield by picking up veteran Austin Jackson.

Madison Bumgarner was struck in his pitching hand by a line drive hit by Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield in the third inning of a game on March 23 and was diagnosed with a left hand fracture, so he will begin 2018 on the DL. Also, Jeff Samardzija will begin this season on the DL with strained pectoral muscles. That being said, the Giants need a healthy closer in Mark Melancon, who was on the DL three times in 2017.

Brandon Crawford and Brandon Bell, also known as “The Brandon Boys,” will need better years offensively. Longoria and McCutchen provide much-needed power to a team that finished last in both leagues last season with a puny 128 home runs and last in runs batted in with 612.

Although Buster Posey hit a solid .320, he only hit 12 home runs and drove in 67 runs. During his nine-year career with the Giants, only once has Posey drove in over 100 runs in 2012. Despite all that, Posey remains the face of this franchise.

Pablo Sandoval is looking for some at-bats to regain the magic he had during the Giants’ three World Championships. Every projected starting position player with the Giants, with the exception of second baseman Joe Panik, is in his 30’s.

At the beginning of Spring Training, the Giants signed left-handed reliever Tony Watson for two years, with a third year option. He is 32, so he fits right in with the Giants over 30 crowd.

It’s hard to believe that AT&T, once SBC and PAC Bell Park is 18 years old! I remember calling their first game there. The San Diego Padres, who finished in the cellar in 2016, passed them last year. The Friars’ big deal this offseason was signing free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer to a sweet eight-year, $144 million contract.

I would place the Giants on top of the Padres this season because they seem to have a deeper club, and they shall start the season with a healthy Madison Bumgarner, unlike 2017. The Padres deserve a lot of respect, they are an overall young club that’s continuing to improve.

The Giants will have to win 17 more games this year to reach the .500 mark with 81 wins. It will not be easy. But if they do, a wild card for Bruce Bochy’s Giants could be in sight.

In today’s game, it doesn’t matter if you win 100 games during the regular season as many teams have won just over 80 games and won the World Series.

Case and point: Last World Series they won in 2014, they ended season with 88-74.

Significant Giants note: On August 11, Barry Bonds’ #25 will be retired at AT&T Park, in a series against his first team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Rest

American League
East: The Boston Red Sox have to win this division, just because they have more pitching than the Yankees plus they also improved their offense signing free agent J.D. Martinez. The Yankees have a serious and perhaps the best bullpen in the world. However, the Red Sox’s starting rotation is much more superior, so I see the Yanks good for a Wild Card berth.

Central: I think the Cleveland Indians to win the division, and should be easy for the Tribe.

The Twins did great last year. This offseason, they signed underrated starter Lance Lynn, and they be back as a wild card. Look for their young-powerful third baseman Miguel Sanó to have a monster year. Also, Paul Molitor is an excellent skipper.

West: Houston Astros are going to win the division again. Angels, Yankees, Twins and Toronto will be among wild card contenders.

Duo to watch? Yankees’ Judge and Stanton. Together, they both could produce over 100 home runs.

National League
East: Washington Nationals on a class of their own, should win by 10 games, they won it by 20 last year. There is nobody close to them.

Mets would need two more Céspedes in their lineup, but their pitching should be good.

Central: The Chicago Cubs can win it again with St Louis coming in a close second.West: The Los Angeles Dodgers can win the division again. Arizona, Colorado, Milwaukee and San Francisco will be fighting for those wild cards.

Atlanta and Philadelphia should be better, fighting for .500 record.

World Series: Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals.
A’s Opening Day on March 29 vs. Los Angeles Angels at 1:05 pm PST.
Giants Opening Day on March 29 at Los Angeles Dodgers at 4:08 pm PST.

Play Ball!

Athletics in Spanish – Oakland A’S Baseball on KIQI 1010AM and KATD 990AM Spanish Language Radio, covering the Bay Area, Oakland,San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Stockton. Broadcast of 74 live A’s homes games.including three on the road from San Francisco. SAP in Spanish on TV.

Athletics in English – NBC Sports California/MLB Net/FOX Sports 1. Radio: 95.7 FM The Game, the flagship station for the Athletics Radio Network.

Bumgarner hit by line drive; Mad Bum possibly out six to eight weeks

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Photo credit: @Deadspin

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, March 23, 2018

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – For the second time in two days, the San Francisco Giants’ pitching rotation was dealt a serious blow as spring training draws to a close.

Thursday, it was Jeff Samardzija finding his way to the shelf. Friday, it was ace Madison Bumgarner.

In the top of the third inning of the Giants’ Cactus League contest against the Kansas City split squad, Bumgarner was hit on his pitching hand trying to field a line drive by Royals’ second baseman Whit Merrifield.

After a brief discussion with the team trainer and Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Bumgarner was immediately pulled, replaced by right-hander Ryan Halstead, activated from the minor league camp.

Bochy said after the game that Bumgarner suffered a fracture on the side of his left hand, just below the knuckle on his little finger (fifth metacarpal).

Bumgarner will have pins inserted on Saturday, and is reportedly expected to miss six to eight weeks.

“There’s no way around that,” Bumgarner said. “They’ll put the pins in, and hopefully, it’ll heal the way it’s supposed to, and heal quickly.”

“I can’t give you any details until I get some more,” Bochy said, adding that it was too soon to determine any prognosis or timetable for Bumgarner to return. “They’ll let us know soon just how long this will take.

Asked about who will start on Opening Day, Bochy said, “I don’t know yet. We had guys set to go on certain days. It’s what we’ll talk about on the flight to San Francisco.

“Obviously, we’ll have to make some adjustments … It’s just a downer. This was (Bumgarner’s) short day. I really feel for him. Obviously, you know what he means to us … And how he was, the way he was throwing the ball all spring. Unfortunately, you have to deal with these things, but this was really a downer today.”

After a strong start in 2017, Bumgarner missed nearly three months after suffering a shoulder injury (Grade 2 left shoulder sprain and bruised ribs) while riding a dirt bike on April 20.

This was Bumgarner’s sixth and final scheduled spring training start. He’s 1-2 with a 3.43 earned run average in 21 innings. Bumgarner’s 30 strikeouts are second in the Cactus League to the 32 punch-outs by Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer.

Bad luck continues for the Giants’ rotation. San Francisco is already expected to place Jeff Samardzija on the disabled list to start the season, after an MRI revealed a strained pectoral muscle.

“And that’s never a good thing, but we have a lot more depth this year,” Bochy said. “So, we’ll get this thing figured out in the next couple of days on what we’re going to do with this rotation. There’s nothing we can do but push on.”

FIRST TIME
Brandon Belt played left field for the first time all spring for the Giants. Hitting third, Belt was 1-for-3 Friday.

Belt is hitting .396 this spring with three home runs and 11 RBIs.

THE GAME
Kansas City’s split squad surged ahead in the third inning and stayed there, holding off a late San Francisco rally to beat the Giants 9-6.

After Merrifield reached on the liner back to Bumgarner leading off the third, he went to second on Ryan O’Hearn’s base hit, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Chester Culbert single.

Culbert gave the Royals their first lead on a solo home run off Bumgarner in the second inning. Pablo Sandoval tied the game for San Francisco with a solo shot to right off KC starter Jakob Junis (2-0), leading off the bottom of the second.

It was Panda’s third homer and 15th RBI of the spring. Sandoval is hitting .313 in 18 CL games.

Culbert led the Royals split-squad offense, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

The Royals added three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Jerry Sands, sporting No. 98, hit his second CL homer for San Francisco on a towering drive to left in the eighth inning. The sellout crowd of 11,002 chanted “Jer-ry, Jer-ry” as he circled the bases.

Sands had major league stints with the Dodgers, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and the White Sox between 2011 and 2016.

San Francisco scored four runs in the ninth. Kelby Tomlinson and Dylan Davis had RBI singles in the rally.

Steven Duggar was 2-for-4 in the Giants’ 11-hit attack.

BARNEY NUGENT AWARD
Outfielder Chris Shaw was voted the 2018 Barney Nugent Award by the Giants’ players, coaches and training staff. The award is given in recognition of the player in his first big league camp “whose performance and dedication best exemplifies the Giants’ spirit, much like Nugent did.”

Nugent worked as an athletic trainer for the Giants from 1993 to 2003.

ON DECK
This was San Francisco’s final 2018 Cactus League game in Scottsdale. The Giants head to Sacramento to face their Triple-A affiliate River Cats at Raley Field (6:05 p.m.), then move on to Oakland for the first game of their annual three-game set with the Athletics at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.

The Monday-Tuesday games against the A’s are at AT&T Park, both starting at 7:15 pm PST.

TAGS
San Francisco Giants, Cactus League, Madison Bumgarner, Sports Radio Service

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Samardzija on DL for right pectoral muscle; Giants go with four-man rotation

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The big news is that Jeff Samardzija goes on the D.L. after giving up three home runs in back-to-back starts. Did that send up a red flag for you that something was wrong with Samardzija?

#2 Samardzija underwent an MRI and it revealed he had a strained right pectoral muscle in his chest.

#3 The MRI came after Samardzija gave up two home runs in an inning of a Triple-A game. He hit the next hitter and then he was removed.

#4 How will Samardzija’s absence impact the Giants’ rotation?

#5 Michael’s favorite spring training moments in Giants camp during the exhibition sesaon.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Dcua at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Quakes fall short to Sporting KC 3-2; sign a French defender; plus more news

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By: Ana Kieu

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. The Quakes battled it out with Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday, but fell short, 3-2. Give us a brief recap on that back-and-forth game.

2. Chris Wondolowski scored his first goal of the season for a classy finish in the Quakes’ game against Sporting KC. Tell us more about the star forward and give us your prediction for goals he’ll score this season.

3. Vako has had a great first two games so far this season with two goals and two assists. What else can you say about him?

4. The Quakes signed defender Paul Marie, the club’s first-round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. Tell us more about this new signee in San Jose.

5. The Quakes will return home to host NYCFC on March 31st at 5:00 pm PST. I know you’ll be covering that match for us, but give us your three keys to the game.