Author: bentleonard18

Ben Leonard is the head writer and Director of Business Development for Bay Area Sports Talk Association. He is also an author for Rule of Tree (SBNation), Sports Radio Service and OutsidePitchMLB, an official affiliate of the MLB. He has a passion for baseball and college football.

Armed with new pitch, Angels’ Hector Santiago confident he’ll rebound

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: newsreality.com–Angels pitcher Hector Santiago

TEMPE, Ariz. — Spring training is a time for rejuvenation — in optimism, health, and confidence. Every club, every player, and every manager has a fresh slate to work with. For Angels’ pitcher Hector Santiago, that fresh slate includes a reworked slider and a fresh haircut.

A fresh haircut— an intricate angular design shaved into the side and all — and his revamped pitch have Santiago very confident about the 2016 season after a Jekkyl and Hyde style 2015. In the first half, the Jekkyl version of Santiago was dominant, posting a 2.33 ERA while earning an All-Star spot for the Halos. The second half, Hyde was a different story — Santiago struggled to throw strikes and lost his All-Star form entirely, posting a 5.47 ERA.

However, Santiago is confident that his second half will just be a blip on the radar. “[Heading into this year], I’m very confident,” Santiago said. “Last year, my first half was phenomenal, and the second half was a grind for me. Half the time I was out there, I had a good chance to help us win games, so I’m very confident. It’s just a matter of putting it all together and throwing [consistent] strikes.”

However, after his third Cactus League start on Saturday, Santiago still has a few things to work on. With a goal of completing four innings on Saturday, Santiago lasted just 2.2 innings against the Giants, giving up three runs (1 ER). A high pitch count forced Mike Scioscia to cut the cord early, something Santiago feels he needs to work on.

“I need to get guys out earlier. I’m getting guys into 0-1, 1-2, 0-2 counts, but I want them to get out earlier, so I need to find a way to get them swinging at that first pitch. Maybe I need to be a little less fine with the first pitch to get them to attack the ball.”

Despite those issues, Santiago is assured that his slider will help him return to prominence in 2016. His offseason goal was to make his slider “really good,” and so far, the results have been encouraging. On Saturday, Santiago threw thirteen or fourteen sliders, a large share of them for strikes. The slider hasn’t always been there for Santiago — it had been inconsistent, at best, throughout his career.

The last time the determined Santiago set out to to perfect a pitch was two years ago, when he regained control of his inside fastball. Don’t bet against Santiago’s reclamation project — his slider has been great in all three of his starts and his five bullpens so far.

For Santiago, a rejuvenated slider would be a great tool to get left-handed hitters out. Previously he had relied too heavily on his fastball with lefties, making it all too easy for them to know what was coming. He’s throwing it “harder” and with more “downward depth” than before — watch out, AL West.

As a veteran, Santiago “figured out” the pitch by himself, self-making the pitch by tinkering with it. He altered the grip, making it like an “off-set” four-seam fastball, looking at video for inspiration. However, as a respectful teammate, Santiago tried not to annoy his teammates too much by asking them to play catch everyday to work on it.

“You’re around the guys all season, and they want to go home and relax. and I tried not to bother anyone when they were with their family. If I did play catch with anyone, I would ask them what the pitch was doing, if I needed to get on top of it more, or if it was getting like a slurve. Every time I touched the ball, I made sure I had a plan to help me execute [the pitch.]”

Overall, Saturday was a big day of progress for Santiago with his slider and his location. Armed with a deeper arsenal of pitches, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic that Santiago can become more confident and return to form. The slick haircut can’t hurt either.

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Giants’ Peavy Encouraged By Progress This Spring

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By Ben Leonard
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AP photo: SF Giants starter Jake Peavy throwing in spring training game against the Texas Ranger 3-7-16
TEMPE, Ariz. –The Arizona desert is where pitchers come to die. The arid climate and thin air gives balls a rocket-propelled thrust out of ballparks across the Cactus League. That’s especially true at the Angels’ Tempe Diablo Stadium, a bandbox practically carved out of a cragged rock formation that watches over the short left field fence.

Giants’ starter Jake Peavy has survived many a hellish spring on the mound, and has gotten even more scorched by the desert than most other pitchers.. “There’s nothing fun about pitching in Arizona,” Peavy said Saturday. “I don’t know what my career ERA is, but I know it’s not good.” For those of you at home, his career Spring Training ERA is 5.92, but Peavy’s not counting.

After all of the trials and tribulations in springs past, that’s why Peavy thought Saturday was an “improvement,” an outing in which he gave up three runs on five hits in four innings, part of a 9-5 loss to the Angels. He fell victim to bloop hit after bloop hit before he hung one slider to Albert Pujols, who made him pay in the first inning with a two-run homer, scoring Yunel Escobar.

When asked what the difference was after the first two innings, when he gave up all of the three runs, Peavy was short: “One pitch to Pujols.” He said he didn’t finish his slider after getting Pujols in a 1-2 hole, which helped Pujols deposit a low, looping line drive home run just over the fence in left. Leading up to that, Escobar had reached on a “jam shot” hit even when Peavy “executed” his pitch.

Although he did give up some hard contact, Peavy’s line was distorted by several cheap hits. One, a broken bat double, put Carlos Perez in position to drive in Simmons with a sacrifice fly in the third, the only other blemish on Peavy’s ledger. In the desert, that’s a fairly good outing. Overall, despite giving up a fair amount of damage, Peavy felt encouraged about his outing and his stuff.

“It was a good day,” Peavy said. “It was a good progression — I got to use a little bit of everything and didn’t go terribly hard. I just was able to throw my pitches against a good major league lineup. It was a fun day of trying to get better.”

Peavy backed off a little bit from his last outing, a solid effort (3.0 IP, 2 ER) against the Texas Rangers on Monday. He threw about 90%, and used all of his pitches. When he missed, he was close. For Peavy,

For Peavy, the results in spring are far less important than finding his comfort zone.”I always worry about pitch execution and how comfortable I am on the mound making adjustments,” Peavy said Saturday. “I was able to do that and make some good pitches to Pujols his next time up. I felt growth and progress, and I’m always pleased when I feel like I’m moving forward.”

But the fiery Peavy would never go out completely satsfied after a three-run outing — he was very frustrated after walking Perez in the fourth with one out. “That’s the stuff where you lose your concentration, and you’ve got to pull it together.”

 

Giants vs. Angels: Lineups, Notes and More

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: zimbio.com–Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti

TEMPE, Ariz. –When you hear Giants and Angels, you’d think it was 2002. Oh, the nostalgia….Barry Bonds, Darren Baker, and…. Felix Rodriguez.

Although a just few things have changed since that fateful World Series 14 years ago, and Cactus League baseball is slightly different than the Fall Classic, one thing has stayed constant: Giants’ pitching coach David Righetti.

He’ll try to get Giants’ starter Jake Peavy back in the swing of things against the Halos after an injury-ridden 2015 campaign. Peavy made just 19 starts last season due to a cranky back, but when he was able to take the hill he found success, posting a 3.58 ERA. Righetti will perhaps look for Peavy to tone it down a little this spring — the right-hander gets amped like a four year old who just drank a pot of coffee when he gets on the bump. He could use a fresh arm heading into the season — Peavy averaged just below six innings per start last inning.

Peavy has gotten a rude awakening to start his spring, getting knocked for 7 runs in just 4.2 innings (2 GS). He’s guaranteed a spot in the rotation, so perhaps he was just going through the motions.

The Angels will counter with 2015 All-Star left-hander Hector Santiago, who will toe the rubber for the third time this spring. In his Cactus league opener, he tossed two shutout innings against the Giants, but gave up two runs in three innings in his last start on Monday.

If sabermetrics are your thing, Hector Santiago is an enigmatic pitcher. Over his career, his ERA (3.55) has been more than a full run lower than his xFIP (4.71), something Matt Cain had also consistently done throughout his career. He’s struggled with walks and doesn’t strike a whole lot of hitters out, but he finds a way to get the job dome.

The Angels made a few moves this offseason, trading for shortstop and defensive whiz Andrelton Simmons and acquiring catcher Geovany Soto, but did little to fix an thin offense outside of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Kole Calhoun. It wasn’t for lack of talent on the market — the Angels needed a left fielder, and Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Chris Davis were all free agents, yet the Angels did nothing to shore up the postion. Light-hitting Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry figure to platoon in left.

Saturday, the Angels will roll out a relatively stacked lineup for this point in the spring:

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On the other hand, the Giants, who have a split squad today, will bring just one regular: Gregor Blanco. The rest of the regulars are at home in Scottsdale taking on the San Diego Padres.

 

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Bingham Stands Tall in Earthquakes Shutout

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: San Jose Mercury News–San Jose Earthquakes David Bingham (1) makes a save against the Colorado Rapids Sunday

SAN JOSE, Calif. —On a blustery, cold day at Avaya Stadium, the ominous grey chill seemed to freeze up the Earthquakes offense. Near misses and wasted possessions plagued San Jose in its opener, with a new-look offense in need of some tuneups.

In the face of these miscues, one man stood tall: keeper David Bingham. The Colorado Rapids pounded Bingham with shot after shot, but he fought through opener jitters to keep the Rapids off the board in a 1-0 Earthquakes victory. Bingham made leading save after leaping save, majestically leaping like a gazelle to break the Rapids’ hearts over and over again.

The Rapids got off a whopping 18 shots, including 10 inside the box, but the sure-handed Bingham didn’t give in — it’s not in his DNA. Bingham fought his way through four years in the lower level North American soccer league with the San Antonio Scorpions, even playing for Norway’s Strømmen IF, working his way up to San Jose last season to find his way into the starting lineup. As an MLS journeyman, he has become accustomed to dealing with adversity.

In last year’s season opener, his debut as a starter, Bigham found himself on the other side of things against Dallas, losing 1-0. Not one for drama, Bingham dismissed notions that his experience helped flip the script: “It’s the opening game of the season, so you’re excited for it, just like last season. This year obviously I have a year and 34 games under me, so that was nice, but at the end of the day, you have to be prepared for each game and I felt like we were today.”

Bingham was quick to credit his teammates’ stingy defense, especially from the dynamic duo of Victor Bernárdez and Clarence Goodson, who both came up with huge tackles to save goals, for his success today. “It’s huge. I think without either one of their tackles, I think they finish those chances. It’s great plays on their half, and you have two guys who have played for their national teams for years and years, so it’s great to have them healthy. When we’re healthy, we have one of the best back fours in the league.”

Bingham also did well in order to fight subpar conditions on the field. Heavy rain in previous days had softened the turf significantly, and there were lots of confetti and streamers littering the goalie’s box for the opening festivities. Several players lost their footing on the wet sod, killing several key chances. Bingham, however, thought it was just “part of the game” that it was a little sloppy in some places, something he just “had to deal with and move on from.”

Overall, Bingham was satisfied with the team’s performance: “I thought it was a good game defensively, [even though] we had some moments where we obviously weren’t up to par. But I think it’s most important to get the win, and we got the shutout today, which is nice. we know what we need to work on going forward, and we’ll work on it this week to take a step forward for next weekend.

 

 

 

 

San Jose Sharks Saturday nite game wrap: Power Play Woes Doom Sharks

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By Ben Leonard

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski takes a shot against Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom Saturday night

SAN JOSE, Calif.–Recently, when the Sharks have fallen behind, they have their opponent right where they want them. Being down heading into the third period had been no trouble for the Sharks, who had won two of their last three games in that fashion. 

However, on Saturday, major penalty kill woes and undisciplined play were simply too much for the Comeback Kids to overcome, falling 4-2 to the Vancouver Canucks. Linden Vey, Daniel Sedin, and Dan Hamhuis all scored on power plays to help propel the Canucks to the victory.

Coming into Saturday, the Sharks were tied for fourth in the NHL with 71 third period goals, and had scored 9 in their last three games. It all seemed to be going according to plan heading into the third, with San Jose down 2-1 heading into the third. Center Michael Haley had scored in the first period for San Jose, his first of the season, but evidently got too amped up about the milestone and picked up a double minor penalty for high-sticking. Down a man, San Jose quickly gave up a goal to Vey, assisted by Sven Baertschi, and just a few minutes later, gave up another power play goal after center Joe Pavelski was called for tripping. That four-minute span killed the Sharks, who went 4 of 7 on the penalty kill.

The team’s play was frustrating for Pavelski: “After we scored that first goal, we started taking a lot of penalties — a lot of soft ones too. It was everybody, and was one of those nights where we just couldn’t stay out of the box….When you only have to kill a few a night, it makes it a lot easier.”

Overall, it was a sloppy performance for the Sharks, who picked up seven penalties and struggled on special teams. In spite of that, they almost found a way to pull a win out of their hat. Newly acquired goalie James Reimer did his best to keep San Jose in the game, not surrendering a goal when the team was at full strength. Brent Burns tied the game up with fifteen minutes left in the third, assisted by Joe Thornton and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, but it was to no avail.

Hamhuis netted yet another power play goal with 9:32 left to play, and the Sharks couldn’t muster any more magic. The Sharks got off 16 shots in the third, but none of them found the back of the net. Vancouver ended up icing the game with an empty net goal at the 17:54 mark, leaving many at the SAP Center filing for the exits.

 

 

Humphrey’s Near-Perfect Shooting Effort Helps Cardinal Bury Bruins

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By Ben Leonard

AP photo: Stanford’s Rosco Allen (25) is defended by UCLA guard Aaron Holiday at Maples Pavilion on Saturday night

STANFORD, Calif —

When Michael Humphrey is on, there’s nothing stopping him (except for the free-throw line!). For the lanky sophomore forward, Saturday was one of those days — and UCLA (15-14, 6-10) paid the price. Humphrey only missed two shots while scoring 24 points, helping the suddenly scorching Stanford Cardinal (15-12, 8-8) knock off the Bruins 79-70 in their final regular season home game. Rosco Allen also chipped in with 19 points and 9 rebounds to help carry Stanford to the victory.

Humphrey made 12 of his 14 field goal attempts in all kinds of traffic, but somehow missed all four of his free throw attempts. He didn’t even know why his hot shooting didn’t translate to the free throw line: “I don’t know why. I’ve been working on my free throw shot a lot. Pregame, I shot some free throws to try to get it right and it was working, so my shot felt right once I got to the line, but then it was all over the place….I’ll probably be in here with coach shooting a few hundred of them.”

Despite his struggles at the line, Humphrey exploited the Bruins down low, pulling down nine rebounds while helping the Cardinal outscore UCLA in the paint 32-18.

One of those moves in the paint helped put the game on ice for Stanford, giving them a 75-64 lead with 1:47 to play. Surrounded by a sea of three UCLA defenders with the shot clock about to expire, Humphrey went to his right and jumped off his left foot and nailed the off-balance jumper, whipping Maples Pavillion into a frenzy.

Humphrey said he had good touch on that shot today because he worked on a similar shot with assistant coach Tim O’Toole before the game on Saturday. The shot was part of a ridiculous second half for the Cardinal, in which employed stellar ball movement to shot 70.8% from the field to help close out the win.

Humphrey, a Phoenix native, had been playing like Jekyll and Hyde this season, with three games of 20+ points but also five scoring under five. His head coach, Johnny Dawkins, seemed excited about Humphrey’s future: “We’re just starting to see what he can become. Right now, when a player [like Humphrey] is still developing, these moments come every now and then. When he becomes the player we envision him becoming, you’ll see them on a more consistent basis.”

Despite the Cardinal’s best efforts, the lowly Bruins put up a good fight, only down 34-33 at halftime. Guards Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford, UCLA’s two best scorers, combined to score 23 points on 5 of 8 shooting from behind the arc, helping UCLA stay competitive. Dawkins had gameplanned heavily around stopping the duo, but he gave them credit for their creativity in finding a way to score. Without that hot shooting in the second half, the Cardinal would likely have found themselves squarely in the loss column.

The Cardinal is clicking at just the right time, winning its fourth game in five tries right at the end of the regular season, picking up its first home sweep of the year. Stanford will travel to Arizona play two more conference games before the Pac-12 tournament starts, and Humphrey believes the Cardinal are well prepared for the task ahead: “Everyone is really understanding their role in the offense, and it’s so great to play at home. I thought we had a really great crowd this weekend.”

 

 

Aaron Dell, Barracuda Shutout Rampage

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–Pink is the new color for shutout for SJ Barracuda Saturday over San Antonio

SAN JOSE, Calif. –The long, drawn-out chase for Roy Sommer’s 637th win seemed to take a lot out of the San Jose Barracuda, pressing to earn their coach his win. After they finally helped him set the AHL’s all-time wins record on Wednesday, captain Bryan Lerg said the victory helped them all “take a deep breath.” That breath certainly appeared to have helped the team clear its head, picking up its first shutout in franchise history in a 5-0 victory over the San Antonio Rampage.

Before Wednesday’s victory, the Barracuda had dropped 8 of their last 9 in search of that victory. “Enough was enough, Lerg said. “I told Roy before the game that it was happening tonight. It’s just been lingering too much. It’s easy to say, but it had been weighing down people because everyone wanted it done.”

With the weight off his shoulders, ‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell had another masterful game in the net for San Jose, picking up 30 saves to keep the Rampage from lighting up the lamp. Dell now has 80 saves in the last two games.

Right winger Ben Smith scored twice for San Jose, including the first goal off a deflection on a power play early in the first period. Heading into the third period, the ‘Cuda had a nice 3-0 cushion behind goals from defenceman Patrick McNally (his first of the season) and right winger Nikita Jevpalovs.

In the third period, the ‘Cuda added some insurance on another Smith goal, his fifth of the season, pushing the lead to 4-0. A few minutes later, Lerg added a goal, pushing the lead to an insurmountable 5-0.

NOTES: Sommer bestowed the honor of dropping the puck in the second game of a doubleheader at SAP Center…San Jose donned pink sweaters for cancer research…San Jose outshot San Antonio 43-30….

Barracuda Coach Roy Sommer Sets AHL Wins Record

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–San Jose Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer break the all time win record in the AHL with his 637th career win on Wednesday night against the Ontario Reign 4-2

SAN JOSE, Calif. —

After eighteen seasons as a coach in the American Hockey League, it’s about time San Jose Barracuda coach Roy Sommer got to wear his barracuda hat. The cap is literally a big fish, apparently a barracuda, but probably actually a koi, and is emblazoned with countless jewels and charms.  A “mail-order barracuda,” Sommer called it. Fit for a king.

The honor of wearing such a hat is only bestowed upon the player of the game, but tonight, his team finally honored him with the right to wear it. Wednesday night, Sommer surpassed legendary AHL coach and Hockey Hall of Famer Fred “Bun” Cook with his 637th career win, a 4-2 victory over the Ontario Reign.

It had been a long time coming — the Barracuda had dropped eight of their previous nine games, making Sommer wait what seemed like an eternity for his right to wear that hat.

A native of nearby Oakland, Sommer briefly played for the Edmonton Oilers before making it into coaching. He started his career as an assistant with the Sharks, sticking with the organization becoming a head coach in the AHL. He coached the Cleveland Barons, the Worcester Sharks, and the Kentucky Thoroughblades (all San Jose affiliates) throughout his 18-year career.

“It’s an honor,” Sommer said Wednesday. “You look at all the guys who have coached in the American Hockey League. You think back on the people you’ve worked with and the trainers, and how the organization stuck with me. It’s something to do it with the same organization, and that’s what makes me proud.”

The ever-humble Sommer has been very nonchalant about the win chase throughout the process, even after getting the big win Wednesday. “We’re just putting another season in. What I liked most about it was that we’re back in a playoff spot — I was looking for that more than we win. A big thing for me is that after everyone’s been talking so much about it, that it’s finally done.”

What made the win even better for Sommer was that his ‘Cuda did it against the best team in the league. Ontario (28-10-3-1) had won nine straight games coming into today, and were stopped in their tracks by Barracuda goaltender Aaron Dell, who made a whopping 50 of 52 save attempts.

“This was one I’ll remember, being at SAP and in the Bay Area and getting to win it here, Sommer said. “That’s special. I’ll remember all the guys in the room.”

Barracuda captain Bryan Lerg felt sorry for Sommer because his team had taken so long to get Sommer his win. The team had been playing tighter, desperately trying to get that win, so much so that it probably made his wait longer.

Why did his team push so hard? Lerg and the rest of the team has seen much more of Sommer than the yelling that most fans observe from the sidelines. “He’s obviously a great coach, but most people don’t get to know how great of a person he is,” Lerg said. “That’s the best part about him. He has a great family and fits in great with us, and lets us have our fun. When you’re winning with Roy, it’s a great time. That’s why guys play hard for him.”

Now that the long, drawn-out chase is over with, Sommer said he’s going to go home wearing that hat and have a well-deserved beer. But after that, in typical Sommer fashion, it’s “back to business.”

Transcendent Warriors Dismantle Spurs

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By Ben Leonard

They say defense wins championships. They said it was going to be the game of the year, if not the millennium. The Warriors’ (41-4) top-ranked offense against the Spurs’ (38-7) top-ranked defense.

But what “they” say doesn’t seem to apply to the Warriors. Behind a yet another standout performance from Stephen Curry, Golden State continued to defy conventional wisdom on Monday night, ripping a historically great San Antonio defense to shreds in a 120-90 win. Everyone around the league took notice — the West is Golden State’s to lose.

Against a Spurs team that had owned the reigning NBA MVP throughout his career, taking 13 of the previous 16 contests, Curry was the Warriors’ go-to guy, dropping 37 points to carry Golden State to the victory. Curry had averaged *just* 18.6 points per game against San Antonio, his second-worst mark against any team, but he stood up to the challenge. Curry had 15 points in the first quarter, sending Oracle Arena into a frenzy.

And it felt like Curry had put the game in the refrigerator by halftime — the Warriors 62-47 lead at the break felt like 162-47, for all intents and purposes.  It was the most points the Spurs had given up at the half all season long– just another day at the office for the Warriors, who shot 58.5% from the field in the first.

While the Warriors’ offense gets bucketloads of hype(no pun intended), its third-ranked defense earned its stripes as well on Monday. Sure, Tim Duncan was out, but the Warriors were lights out, holding San Antonio to shoot just 41.9% from the field. Only one Spur scored more than 12 points — All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, with 16.

Curry didn’t even need to play in the fourth quarter, logging just 28 minutes while the Warriors coasted to the victory. And turning the ball over just once.

With their 39th straight win at Oracle Arena, Golden State remained undefeated at home, and are now five short of tying Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ home win streak. 41-0 at home remains well within sight, with one more home showdown with the Spurs remaining.

 

 

Sommer Remains One Short of AHL Wins Record With ‘Cuda Loss

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By: Ben Leonard

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda: SJ Barracuda drop a close one in overtime in Iowa to the Wild Saturday night

All season long, we’ve been watching San Jose Barracuda (18-10-4-3) head coach Roy Sommer’s win total to see when he’d reach the all-time AHL record for coaching wins — 636 set by Fred “Bun” Cook. He almost tied Cook’s record, until a quick Iowa Wild  (10-25-2-3) goal in overtime kept him just one win short in a 2-1 loss — 635 will just have to do for now.

The Barracuda still haven’t suffered a regulation loss in its list nine contests, and appear poised to help Sommer tie and pass Cook in the very near future. The ‘Cuda take on the Bakersfield Condors on Monday, and the Ontario Reign on Friday.

“Cuda right winger Trevor Parkes scored first for both squads, breaking the scoreless game two minutes into the second period with his seventh goal of the season. Parkes was assisted by Gus Young and Bryan Lerg on a difficult quick shot, helping the Barracuda take a 1-0 lead into the third period. ‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell had saved 31 shots in those first two periods — until the Wild struck back.

Center Jordan Schroeder picked up his ninth goal of the season, beating Dell on a very close shot after several rebounds to tie the game with just over fifteen minutes left to play in the contest. Dell would go on to save the rest of the shots, giving him 44 in regulation — until overtime came around.

The first chance the Wild had, it cashed in — Gustav Olofsson took the team’s first shot in regulation, and kept Sommer waiting by beating Dell in the top of the net with his first goal of the season.