Tag: San Francisco

Defenseman Steven Tarasuk Assigned by Worcester To SF Bulls

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steve-tarasuk

By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls announced today that their AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, assigned defenseman Steven Tarasuk to the Bulls. He’s the first Sharks prospect to be assigned to San Francisco this season.

Tarasuk, 23, enters his fourth season as a professional having spent last year with the Lausitzer Foxes in Germany, totaling 32 points in 43 games. Tarasuk has skated in 135 games in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings, Ontario Reign, and Idaho Steelheads, recording 63 points and has also played three games in the American Hockey League with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The Bulls seem to be on a roll of stacking up on big bodied Defensemen this off-season as they just added Andrew Eastman a few weeks ago. With this addition, the Bulls appear to be almost ready for the season to begin as they have already addressed their need for some solid forwards with some new signings and getting some veterans back in the mix.

Three home runs powers Giants past Padres, 7-3

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By Gabe Schapiro

On Friday night, a sellout crowd of 41,103, the 244th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park, went home happy. Thanks to an unusual display of power in a park where it’s hard to come by, the San Francisco Giants (75-85), came away with a 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres (75-85). Ryan Vogelsong, making his final start of 2013, wasn’t at his best, but he battled all night and limited the damage. With the win, and a Colorado Rockies loss, the Giants are guaranteed to finish in no worse than fourth place in the NL West.

In what proved to be a good omen, prior to the game the Willie Mac Award, named after the great Willie McCovey and annually given to the Giant who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership that Big Mac played with, was deservedly awarded to Hunter Pence. Thankfully San Francisco didn’t spoil what from the get-go was a positive environment.

Following the ceremony and a slightly delayed start, it took some time for Vogelsong to settle in. Right out of the gate the Padres were making hard contact, and in the first inning they got on the board with a solid single to left field by Tommy Medica that brought home Chris Denorfia, who had singled earlier in the inning.

In the second inning San Francisco made some noise of their own. Pablo Sandoval took a rare walk, and then two batters later rookie Juan Perez got a hold of one and sent a 1-1 pitch just over the left field wall for his first career home run. The homer gave the Giants a 2-1 lead.

After the game Bochy complimented how well Perez has adjusted to life in the major leagues following his first big league long ball. “He’s really turned it up a notch here, he’s played great on both sides of the ball. He looks a lot more comfortable at the plate, he’s quieter up there…the ball jumps off his bat. I’m glad to see him get that sense of belonging up here.”

San Diego wasted little time in responding. Denorfia walked to lead off the next half inning, and as walks so often do, it came back to hurt Vogelsong. Up next was Jedd Gyorko, who sent a towering fly ball towards triples alley that smacked off of the right field wall. Gyorko was thrown out trying to turn it into a triple, but Denorfia easily scored from first to tie the game at 2-2.

In the top of the third it only took the Giants three pitches to punch right back. Abreu singled to lead off the inning, and Brandon Belt followed with his 17th home run of the season, a no-doubter into the porch in right field. Two batters later Pence got in on the slugfest, and to celebrate his Willie Mac Award in style hit his 26th homer of the season, extending the lead to 5-2.

After the third, for the most part both starters settled down, until the sixth.

In the top of the sixth Vogelsong ran into some control problems, walking two, but managed to gut his way through the inning unscathed. With that his night was over having scattered five hits, two runs, four walks, and three strikeouts in his six innings. He threw 91 pitches.

On Vogelsong Bochy kept it simple, saying that after the game ““I just told him great job, great start. Good for him how he finished….I was happy for Vogey bouncing back from a rough start like that.”

By the ninth the Giants had added two more runs to their lead, making it 7-2. In the ninth the Padres tried making it interesting when Logan Forsythe led off with a long home run to dead center, bringing them to within four, but that’s where the comeback attempt ended.

This series against the Padres, the last of the season, continues tomorrow at 1:05 PM.

Game Notes: Following the three home runs hit by the Giants tonight, they have 105 on the season, two more than they did during their World Series run in 2012….Gregor Blanco almost hit for an usual kind of cycle, getting himself thrown out at first, second, and home plate during the game. Bochy announced that Cain would not make his last scheduled start, making his 2013 season over as well.

Lincecum exits with a win over the Dodgers

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By Morris Phillips

Tim Lincecum wanted to end his 2013 season—and possibly his career with the Giants—in style.  Fans of the Giants and Dodgers—weary of senseless violence– wanted peace.  And apparently, Brian Wilson wants his World Series ring after all.

To say Thursday night was a busy one on the shores of McCovey Covey would be an under statement.

Lincecum arrived in San Francisco in 2007- the final year of Barry Bonds as a Giant—and went on to win two Cy Young awards, two World titles and throw a no-hitter.  Now 29 and not nearly the pitcher and player he was a few years back, Lincecum enters the off-season as a free agent.  But if Thursday was his final act as a Giant, LIncecum made sure he leaves a winner, as the Giants squeezed past the Dodgers, 3-2.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I was very happy with what he did tonight,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Lincecum.

While both sides have said all the conciliatory things, Lincecum may not be back.  The Giants will have bigger off-season priorities then resigning the Freak, and Lincecum will command offers to be a starter for other teams even as his skill set has eroded prior to him turning 30.  Given that, the fans in attendance brought signs and cheers of encouragement while Lincecum departed after seven innings pitched by giving the crowd a polite bow.

“That ovation was pretty special and I’ve always had an awkward way of acknowledging that,” Lincecum said.  “But I do have an appreciation and respect for the way they’ve received me.”

Lincecum cooled the Dodgers’ lineup during his stint, allowing single runs in the first and fourth inning and leaving with the game tied after the Giants rallied for a pair of runs in the fifth.  Angel Pagan’s drive to left in the eighth inning just barely cleared the wall and marked the difference in a hard fought game between the California rivals.

Prior to the evening’s first pitch the crowd stood in a moment of silence for Jonathan Denver, who attended Wednesday’s game and was stabbed to death after the game in a confrontation between Giants and Dodgers’ supporters near the ballpark after the game’s conclusion.

Arrests have already been made in connection to Denver’s death, but the violence between fans of both clubs again marred the rivalry as it did when Bryan Stow was severely injured outside Dodgers Stadium in 2011.  The moment of silence on Thursday was an eery reminder of that incident and also an indication that much work is to be done to move beyond the violence.

After the game’s final pitch, former Giant Brian Wilson ran across the field and confronted Giants CEO Larry Baer apparently over the delivery of his World Series ring from 2012. According to the Giants, they had approached Wilson a couple of times to arrange and schedule the gift of his ring but were rebuffed both times.   In the bizarre confrontation, Wilson was seen to be yelling while Baer stood befuddled.

The awkward solution?  Wilson’s ring was delivered to the Dodgers’ clubhouse soon after the confrontation without any fanfare.

The Giants take on the Padres in their final series of 2013 with San Diego’s Burch Smith facing San Francisco’s Ryan Vogelsong in the opener at 7:15pm.Image

Gore tramples Rams on the way to 49ers win, 35-11

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By Gabe Schapiro

September 26, 2013

On Thursday night the San Francisco 49ers (2-2) returned to their roots, and in a ground and pound game dominated the St. Louis Rams (1-3), at a final score of 35-11. As many expected they would following two bad losses, the 49ers featured Frank Gore early and often, and he managed to run all over St. Louis, finishing with 153 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries. As a team they finished with 219 yards on the ground. Colin Kaepernick played a smaller role, but avoided mistakes and made plays when he had to.

Both teams came out of the gate a little slow. The Rams offense seemed to click first, managing to string a few plays together. As a result they got on the board first, with a 40-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein to give them an early 3-0 lead. St. Louis, however, struggled to find an answer for the 49ers defense from there.

Through most of the first quarter the San Francisco offense looked eerily similar to the past two weeks, with Kaepernick struggling to find open receivers and a couple of long runs from Frank Gore being their only positive gains. Heading into the second quarter, things took a turn for the better. Halfway through the quarter Kaepernick orchestrated an 80-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by two long connections to Anquan Boldin, including a 20-yard touchdown grab on third-down and twenty. The touchdown was there first score in over 73 minutes, and the 7-3 score represented their first lead since the opener against Green Bay.

Their improved play continued. On the next Rams possession Donte Whitner intercepted a deflected pass from Sam Bradford in the end zone. The 49ers again immediately mounted a drive, culminating in a huge 34-yard touchdown run from Gore on a fourth-and-one play, bringing the score to 14-3.

By this point in the game the Rams looked lost, repeatedly going three-and-out. Meanwhile, San Francisco kept piling on.

In the third quarter Kaepernick and co. marched down the field with relative ease again, to the tune of an 88-yard, 11-play touchdown drive than took over five minutes off the clock. This time it was a 12-yard pass to Vernon Davis in the corner if the end zone that finished it off, giving them a 21-3 lead.

In the fourth, during garbage time, the Rams finally found the end zone, but it was sandwiched between two more 49er touchdowns. Anthony Dixon punched in a one-yard touchdown run following a San Francisco fumble recovery on the three yard-line, and Kendall Hunter got into the action as well, scampering in for a 29-yarder of his own. Hunter’s run put this game on ice, bringing the final to 35-11.

Kaepernick finished the game with 15 completions on 23 attempts, 167 yards passing, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He did fumble once in the fourth quarter on a muffed hand-off attempt, but by that point the game was out-of-reach.

Boldin was the teams leading receiver, hauling in five receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown. In addition, rookie Quinton Patton and Jon Baldwin played small roles, but both had their first career receptions in a 49ers uniform.

On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker NaVorro Bowman was the star, and more than filled the void left by the absence of Patrick Willis. He was all over the field, and racked up six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and deflected a pass. Ahmad Brooks had a good game as well, chipping in seven tackles and one and a half sacks.

While it was almost nothing but good news on this night, it did appear as though the 49ers may have a couple new additions to the injury report. Patton limped off the field in the second quarter and did not return. In the fourth, Joe Staley had his legs caught in a pile up. He walked off the field under his own power, but was doing so very gingerly. No report yet as to how severe either injury is, but they will have a long week to hopefully recover.

Next week San Francisco returns home to take on the Houston Texans on Sunday October 6, at 5:25 PM.

Stumbling 49ers look to recover against Rams

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By Gabe Schapiro

For the first time in the Jim Harbaugh era the San Francisco 49ers (1-2) are below .500, and will be looking to right the ship in a short week this Thursday against the St. Louis Rams (1-2) at the Edward Jones Dome.

Last week the 49ers suffered their second consecutive loss, another first since Harbaugh came aboard. They weren’t just beaten, they were beaten decisively, 27-7 against the Indianapolis Colts. What was expected to be a slightly easier task coming off a shellacking at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks turned into another ugly showing. In the first quarter running back Kendall Hunter punched in a 13-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven. That would be all that San Francisco could muster, however, as the Colts would pile on 20 more unanswered points.

The 49ers enter week four with many more questions than answers. Ever since an electric opening win, they have struggled mightily, getting out-scored 57-10.

Their offense seems to be suffering from a lack of weapons more than most expected, with top wideouts Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham sidelined, and an inexperienced group playing behind Anquan Boldin on the depth chart. Tight end Vernon Davis has been limited at times thanks to a hamstring injury. Old reliable, Frank Gore, finally seemed to have something going against the Colts before inexplicably being removed from the game plan, finishing the game with just 11 carries. Finally, Colin Kaepernick’s frustration seems to be growing as he attempts to navigate his lack of options. Despite the blazing start to his career, he also may just simply not be quite as polished as everyone had hoped yet, as defenses now have much more film of him to work with and prepare.

Also concerning are the 49ers problems on the defensive side of the ball, which was expected to be their calling card as it has been over the past couple of seasons. They aren’t getting as much pressure on opposing QBs, and aren’t forcing as many turnovers as they have been famous for. To make matters worse, the defensive unit has been hit with injury and controversy. Aldon Smith’s much publicized DUI has led to him being placed on the reserve/NFI list, and it is unknown how long it will be until he is able to return to the field. In last weeks contest star linebacker Patrick Willis injured his groin, and while he is reportedly hopeful that he will be able to play Thursday, it doesn’t sound as if it is likely.

In the Rams San Francisco will be facing a team that is coming off of a similarly rough loss, 31-7, at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. It is a young and improving team, however, that does have some talent. The team is led by fourth-year starter Sam Bradford, who despite last weeks loss is having a strong season. His primary weapons are Chris Givens, rookie Tavon Austin, Austin Pettis, and Jared Cook. Through three games they have the 18th ranked offense, and the 26th ranked defense.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the 49ers need to tweak, but they need to make adjustments quickly. Unfortunately for them, being featured on Thursday night means they have a short week to do it. Another loss to an intra-division opponent would put them, at best, alone in third place. It’s a long season, and they do have time to turn things around, but for a team that entered the year with such high expectations, the trends are certainly concerning.

SF Bulls pickup Mitchell and reunite Parnham with Curcio

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 By Kahlil Najar
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bulls announced today that center Brett Parnham and right wing Dale Mitchell have agreed to terms and will join the Bulls’ Training Camp roster. Mitchell and Parnham, both 24 and come from solid backgrounds in hockey with Mitchell starting with the Oshawa Generals in 2005 and ending most recently with the Dornbirn EC in Austria and Parnham who was also on the same Oshawa Generals team in 2005 and last playing for the Arlan Kokshetau in Kazakhstan.
“Dale is an effective goal-scorer and a high NHL pick,” said SF Bulls President and Head Coach Pat Curcio. “He’s a proven winner with two Memorial Cups. Brett is a very skilled leader that will provide offense and leadership to our team.”
On playing in San Francisco, Mitchell said, “I’m excited to get back to North America and give myself an opportunity to play here. I want to succeed with San Francisco and hope to get a call up to the AHL. I’ve never played anywhere that’s warm during the winter, so I’m interested in experiencing that.”
Parnham, who played under Curcio in Utah said, “I’m looking forward to playing under Pat again. I know a handful of guys from playing in Oshawa and from my area: Belan, Mitchell and Josh Kidd. Belan has told me nothing but good things about the organization and city.”Both men will be intimidating on the ice as they are both 5’9″ and weigh a combined 392 pounds and have their fare share of penalty minutes. Parnham leads both men in penalty minutes lifetime with 319 minutes.
Check out one of Parnham’s awesome fights below:

49ers’ list of problems grow in loss to the Colts

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iBy Morris Phillips

Unlike their trip to Seattle, getting pushed around for four quarters was just one of the 49ers’ problems on Sunday.

Losing troubled, defensive standout Aldon Smith indefinitely, scoring just 10 points in their last eight quarters, and the growing distance between the team and a return trip to the Super Bowl would be other major issues the reigning NFC Champs didn’t see themselves dealing with following a 27-7 loss to the Colts, and the first ever back-to-back losses under Coach Jim Harbaugh.

But deal with them they must with another critical football game coming up Thursday night in St. Louis.

“Haven’t been getting those drives, making those big plays. Too many three-and-outs,” Frank Gore said of the 49ers. “We aren’t getting those types of rhythms.”

“There wasn’t enough opportunity to make plays,” Harbaugh said. “It was a combination of that. Not having, the players not having the opportunity to make them and not making them.”

In fact, encouraging signs following the thrashing at Candlestick may total just one: Gore looked like his old self, gaining 82 yards on 11 carries. Given that, the 49ers managed just six first downs via the run, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick looked anything but poised, completing less than half of his 27 pass attempts and getting sacked three times.

If the evaluation of a Super Bowl team starts with a roll call of its super players, then the 49ers are going to have to get their bull horn fixed: Vernon Davis has an injured hamstring and didn’t play, Patrick Willis looked ordinary coming in and left in the third quarter with a groin injury, Gore was present, but not a difference maker, Justin Smith needed help, Kaepernick couldn’t make plays downfield, and Aldon Smith could miss at least a month to deal with substance abuse issues.

Worse yet, coming in all the performance-inhibiting issues seemed to be saddling the Colts. The AFC South champs were without six starters, hadn’t protected franchise quarterback Andrew Luck in either of the first two games, and were attempting to break in newly acquired running back Trent Richardson on the fly.

But after the 49ers’ defense committed penalties on the first two plays of the afternoon, Indianapolis marched right down the field and Richardson found himself in the end zone on his first carry as a Colt less than four minutes in.

By the fourth quarter, the 49ers’ defense caved in, allowing two Indianapolis touchdowns in a game that was still winnable with the team trailing just 13-7. Ahmad Bradshaw—the guy the Colts thought they had to replace with Richardson—tore up the 49ers with 95 yards rushing on 19 carries, even better than his performance against the supposedly staunch San Francisco run defense in the NFC Championship game two seasons ago.

Maybe most telling, the 49ers have won just five of their last nine games—after winning 23 of 32 under Harbaugh—and don’t look nearly as imposing as they did in Week 1 against Green Bay or as dominant as they did last year near mid-season. The seven turnovers surrendered over the last two weeks have been an issue, but maybe not as a big an issue as the team’s mediocre play.

Think things don’t change overnight in the NFL? Think again: the Redskins and Steelers are 0-3, Giants, Falcons and Packers are 1-2 and the Dolphins are undefeated at 3-0. If you’re the 49ers, change is bad and not making plays is worse.

The ball is still in the 49ers court, but they’ll need to find answers before challenging the Rams on Thursday in St. Louis.

Youngsters spoil big day at the Stadium

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iBy Jeremy Kahn

NEW YORK–This was supposed to be the day that the New York Yankees honored one of their legends, but it was the San Francisco Giants youngsters that spoiled the party.

Ehire Adrianza broke up Andy Pettite’s no-hit bid and shutout with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth, and Tony Abreu won it with a run-scoring double in the top of the eighth inning and the Giants came back to defeat the Yankees 2-1 at Yankee Stadium.

Pettite, who announced he was retiring at the end of the season, pitched into the eighth inning and was pulled after giving up a double to Pablo Sandoval and given a standing ovation by the Yankee faithful.

David Robertson gave up the eventual game-winning hit to Abreu, and was replaced by the hero of the day, Mariano Rivera.

The all-time saves leader, who announced in spring training that he would be retiring at the end of the year came out to a rousing ovation.

Rivera was treated to a 50-minute ceremony, which included a rocking chair from the Yankees and a live performance from legendary Bay Area band Metallica, who performed Rivera’s theme song, “Enter Sandman.”

Javier Lopez picked up the victory, and Sergio Romo notched his 36th save of the season in 41 opportunities.

Jeremy Kahn covers Giants baseball for Sportstalk Radio

Michael Duca on A’s and Giants

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by Michael Duca

OAKLAND–When it comes to Josh Donaldson he’s probably the best player the American League left off the All-Star roster and there’s little doubt that Donaldson has been pretty consistent and is number two in the A.L. in WAR which is one of those stats when you go to replace a player all year and that’s probably the best one or actually judging a player. He’s just about the best in the A.L. at providing victories for a team both offensively and defensively.
Donaldson has played an outstanding third base he would probably be the leading candidate for the gold glove if it weren’t for Mario Marchado in Baltimore and he is amongst the best offensive third baseman in the A.L. if it weren’t for the Miguel Cabrera guy in Detroit. He’s sort of the avis of third basemen in the A.L. second best defensively, second best offensively, probably best all around.
Donaldson in the playoffs:  To know how Josh Donaldson is going to do in the playoffs is something you can’t ask before the playoffs. How big of a role was the Giants Marco Scutaro last year? Nobody was expecting that, how big of a role was the former Giant Cody Ross in 2010? Nobody was expecting that. What happens in the playoffs was because teams have been scouted for weeks, weeks, and more weeks the key players tend to get shut down and the role players tend to play the biggest roles for the winning teams because if the role players who come and provide the offense allow a game to go far in the playoffs it’s the unexpected it’s the team tendators who show up out of nowhere.
Angel Pagan is carrying the Giants offense: People in the pressbox laugh when I say the Giants Angel Pagan has proved he’s the Most Valuable Player in the National League. By a real definition the term MVP he’s clearly the most valuable player to his team because they were in first place when he got hurt. Then the Giants played 20 games below .500 while he was gone and since his return they’ve climbed from the cellar back to third place.
There isn’t any question how important he is to the team, the best way to explain him is he gives the maximum effort and demands maximum effort and produces a higher level of energy within the clubhouse and on the field amongst their teammates. Who could ever forget last year watching the fast clap, the sunflower seed throwing, all of that stuff that outsiders think of is silly and a little boyish is really good how seriously good athletes manage to alleviate the pressure of playoffs.
It’s to revert to being little boyish, it’s to revert to going out and having fun when you perform and you relax and you let your talent to take over and that’s what Pagan did for the Giants last year and that’s what Hunter Pence did for them last year much like Juan Uribe did for them in 2010.
The way the Giants have played winning seven out of their last nine is their late September test against really good competition unless they had something to lose and I think the Giants will do really well to finish up the season. The Giants will be able to demonstrate a little bit more long ball power in the upcoming series at Yankee Stadium and the Giants pitching staff will probably do a good job in that ball park also because they throw a lot of ground balls.
The most important thing that’s going to come out of that series is the Giants are going to carry away with them forever the memory of being there for Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera’s last regular season home game and to see what the Yankees have planned for the future Hall of Famer.
Michael Duca does commentary each week for the Giants and A’s for Sportstalk

The Giants beat the Dodgers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The day started with the Los Angeles Dodgers  in first place with an 18 ½ game lead over the Giants.

The Giants have had a very tough year and the Dodgers are going to win the division but none of that mattered as the Giants beat the Dodgers 4-3 and won three out of four on the road in LA. The rivalry is there. Anytime you can beat the Dodgers is a great day for Giant baseball. No matter how far down in the standings, it is always sweet to beat the hated Dodgers.

Ryan Vogelsong started for San Francisco and he pitched well. Vogelsong went six innings allowing seven hits and three runs. The Dodgers’ pitcher, Edison Volquez also pitched well. Volquez went 5 2/3rds innings giving up three runs on five hits. All three runs given up by Volquez were driven in by the red hot Hunter Pence.  Pence drove in seven runs in the 19-3 blowout Saturday night and he hit two more home runs  and had three RBIs on Sunday. The game summary follows below.

Hunter Pence got the Giants off to a good start when he hit a solo home run to lead of the second. Vogelsong dodged a bullet in the bottom of the fourth when Juan Uribe led off the frame with a triple but the Dodgers failed to score. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the fifth. Adrian Gonzalez was the hero for the Dodgers when he blasted a double to right that cleared the bases and the Dodgers le 3-1 after five.

The lead didn’t last long as that man, Hunter Pence, put the ball into the left field seats driving in Brandon Belt. For Hunter it was his 25th home run of the season and he now has 92 runs batted in so far this year.

The Giants took a 4-3 lead in the eighth. Brett Pill hit a pinch hit home run off Dodger left, Paco Rodriguez. Giants’ relievers Jean Machi, Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo shut the door on the Dodgers to give the Giants the win.

Game notes- Hunter Pence hit a home run in every game of the four game series. Willie Mays is the only other Giant to do so. It was the ninth career two home run game for Pence and Pence tied a career high with his 25 home runs. Pence’s 19 RBIs over the six game span is the most ever by a Giant since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920.

Winning pitcher was Jean Machi and Sergio Rome picked his 35th save of the year.

Ex-Giant Brian Wilson pitched in the 7th inning for the Dodgers.

Giants are off to New York for a week. They play the Mets for three then travel to the Bronx to play the Yankees.