California Sports Feed

Steph Curry on Draymond Green’s latest ejection: ‘We need him’

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 21:44

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hours before he slipped on an all-yellow outfit and stood in front of his locker, before he hit his latest “night-night” celebration, before he recorded his seventh double-double of the season, Steph Curry was apoplectic.

After Draymond Green got assessed two technical fouls in rapid succession to get ejected Wednesday night, Curry keeled over. The Warriors were already without Jonathan Kuminga for a massive road matchup against the Orlando, now Green was gone too? Less than four minutes into the game, an exasperated Curry hid his red face in the neck of his jersey.

Curry, once again, lost the defensive yin to his yang. Green, for the fourth time this year and for the umpteenth time of this dynasty, lost his cool in such a manner that removed him from the court. Green is so crucial to the Warriors, any time he puts his availability at risk is a major hit to Golden State’s chances. They’ve had this discussion. They’ve had it so many times.

“We need him,” Curry said after an improbable 101-93 win in Orlando. “He knows that. We all know that. So whatever it takes to keep him on the floor, to be available, that’s what’s got to happen. Especially at this point of the year. Tough way to start the game, but I am extremely proud of every single person that stepped on the floor tonight and responded the way that they did.”

The NBA’s most loyal, unselfish superstar of his generation isn’t going to rip a teammate publicly, no matter how many times he messes up. And Curry loves Green. They’re bonded by 12 years of battles on the front lines together. They’ve won four championships together. And Green’s ability as a defensive savant has made him worth the headaches he induces.

But it was clear Green’s latest ejection struck a nerve. That the Warriors were able to rally their way to a stunning victory over the Magic without Green — and Kuminga — undoubtedly lightened the Warriors’ postgame mood.

“It was a beautiful team effort to respond the way we did and get this win,” Curry said. “We went and took it. That’s a big sign for us, a sign of growth, to be able to respond that way.”

Still, Curry’s emotions ran high — and rightfully so. Every game has serious playoff implications for the Warriors as Houston has won 10 straight and remains on their heels for the last play-in spot.

Steph’s reaction to Draymond’s ejection pic.twitter.com/5TH5DYC9w1

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2024

“We know how important this part of the season is, and our ability to get into a rhythm and secure a play-in opportunity, give ourselves a shot,” Curry said. “You don’t want to have self-inflicted wounds when it comes to that. We all care, we all are passionate about the game and our chances to have something to play for down the stretch. So, give everything you’ve got to this game, and that’s the emotion.”

The details of Green’s self-inflicted wound in the Kia Center were simple. According to crew chief Mitchell Ervin, “after a long diatribe, Green directed egregious profane language towards a game official.” His past history was “absolutely not” a factor in the decision to whistle him for back-to-back technicals with 8:24 left in the first quarter.

Green’s league-leading fourth ejection of the season was “deserved,” Steve Kerr said. Just days ago, the head coach praised Green’s ability to balance his competitive fire with composure; Wednesday was his first ejection since returning from his indefinite suspension. His actions against the Magic don’t erode Kerr’s confidence in Green going forward, the coach said.

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But it was a reminder that as Green tiptoes the line, any gust of wind could still push him over the edge. Green has certainly shown improvements in self-control since returning, but his midseason sabbatical didn’t change his DNA. He’s still a fiery competitor with a temper streak. That’s who he is, and that’s not going to change.

Green is still indispensable – in part because of that fire. The Warriors have no choice but to take his latest outburst and move on.

“That’s what we expect from him,” Curry said. “Like I said, we need him out there. Whatever needs to happen for him to be in a space where he can be productive and be in the right mind for us on the court, that’s what has to happen.”

‘Pat the Bat’ Burrell returns home on Giants coaching staff

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 21:27

SAN JOSE – If Marco Luciano, Luis Matos and the rest of the Giants’ young hitters break out this season, a new – but familiar – face in the clubhouse will be a big reason why.

“Pat the Bat” is back with the Giants for the latest chapter in his charmed Bay Area baseball life.

Pat Burrell joined new manager Bob Melvin’s coaching staff as a hitting instructor, 29 years after helping San Jose’s Bellarmine High win the West Catholic Athletic League title, 14 years after helping spark the Giants’ breakthrough World Series run, and four years after he got his coaching start as a roving hitting instructor in the team’s minor league ranks.

“I got a chance to resurrect my career here,” said Burrell.  “So this organization holds a special place in my heart.”

The Giants were Burrell’s final stop on a pro career that began with him as the top pick in the 1998 draft after being a three-time All-American at the University of Miami. The Giants signed the then-33-year-old outfielder after he had been released by Tampa Bay early in 2010, and he played a vital role in helping bring home the first World Series title in the franchise’s San Francisco history.

Pat Burrell throws a warm-up ball into the left field bleachers moments before the start of Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010, in San Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Staff) 

And to think, Burrell, now 47, started out as an unknown transfer from San Lorenzo Valley trying to make his mark on the Bellarmine team.

After dominating on the JV team as a sophomore in 1993, it became clear to Bells coach Gary Cunningham that the 6-foot-4 teenager with the strength to hit moonballs was a special talent.

“Obviously, he had great natural ability, and I’m not gonna go and change anything,” Cunningham said, before chuckling and adding, “As I say to people, “Hey, I didn’t screw him up, because he got to the major leagues.”

By the time Burrell became an established part of the Bellarmine lineup, coaches around the WCAL took drastic measures to deal with him.

“By the time he was a senior, he would get walked every time,” former Archbishop Mitty coach Bill Hutton recalled. “He’d get the Barry Bonds treatment.”

Cunningham got creative in response: he started batting the hulking slugger leadoff, since no team would dare walk the game’s first batter.

“Yeah, Gary was a bit ahead on the analytics there,” Burrell recalled.

San Francisco Giants hitting coach Pat Burrell attends FanFest on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, at San Pedro Square in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

Despite rarely seeing good pitches, the future first overall pick still hit .370 with 11 home runs as a senior, helping the Bells beat Serra and a two-sport athlete named Tom Brady for the league crown.

“He stood out. He hit the ball further than anybody,” Hutton remembered, while adding that Burrell was far from a one-man band on those great mid-90’s Bells. “He just looked like a pro.”

Burrell spent 12 seasons in the majors, hitting 292 home runs, mostly with the Phillies. He won two World Series rings, including with the Phillies in 2008 when he hit  33 home runs.

After retiring with the Giants following the 2011 season, Burrell stayed involved in the game as a media personality, assistant coach at Bellarmine and a part-time hitting instructor.

“You just try everything you can, and sometimes you get opportunities like I have had here,” said Burrell, who lives in Portola Valley.

Burrell said his experience in the limelight as a top prospect was a different world from what the Giants’ young players have to deal with.

“In our generation, when you were a prospect, there was some media attention, but nothing like today,”  Burrell said. “Nothing like what Marco Luciano is going through.”

The job for Burrell as a hitting-instructor will be to unlock the slugging potential of those youngsters. But the 12-year MLB veteran said his job is as much about the mental side of the game than it is about hitting mechanics.

“We want to get our guys ready for that night’s game. Who they’re facing, possible matchups down the road in the bullpen. Certainly there’s guys who have pinch-hit roles that might come in late in the game,” Burrell said. “We want to make sure they feel good and confident going into the game.”

Since Burrell has been in the Giants system for years, he already has a rapport with most of the Giants top prospects.

Giants Pat Burrell is congratulated by third base coach Tim Flannery after Burrell hits a seventh inning three-run home run as the Giants take on the Brewers at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010. The Giants won 9-2. (Bay Area News Group archives) 

“I met him in 2020, and he’s been someone I can always reach out to,” second-year infielder Casey Schmitt said.

Cunningham, Burrell’s Bellarmine coach, says his star pupil has all the makings to be a success as a coach, just as he was as a player.

“He has a passion for the game,” Cunningham said. “He wasn’t one of those guys asking “When is practice going to be over, because I want to go do something.” He loved to practice and play, and that showed in his career.”

Now Burrell is ready to pen another successful chapter to his Bay Area story.

“I’ve found my home here working with players,” Burrell said.

Bonita Vista does the little things right on the way to Lions Tournament win over Mt. Carmel

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 21:07

Barons score twice in the sixth inning and once in the seventh to win tournament game

Rui Hachimura is bad luck for Memphis again as Lakers win

Los Angeles Times - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 20:38

Rui Hachimura, who helped oust Memphis from playoffs last season with three-pointers, makes seven in Lakers' win Wednesday.

College baseball weekend: PLNU closer comes in and provides big boost

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 20:08

Point Loma Nazarene closer James Sashin, a mid-year transfer from the University of San Diego, leads nation in Division II with 11 saves for Sea Lions

Prep baseball/softball roundup: Brianne Weiss strikes out 19, throws no-hitter for Orange Lutheran

Los Angeles Times - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:55

Brianne Weiss of Orange Lutheran throws sixth career no-hitter in 7-0 win over Rio Mesa

Warriors shock Magic despite Draymond Green’s ejection

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:25

ORLANDO, Fla. — Steph Curry keeled over with his hands on his knees. He tugged the neck of his jersey over his red face, visibly upset that his long-time teammate got himself tossed.

Draymond Green, the Warriors’ embattled defensive star, got ejected less than four minutes into Wednesday night’s game for arguing with official Ray Acosta.

But Curry and the Warriors recovered from the early, Green-imposed drama. In fact, they never trailed after Green headed to the locker room.

In a tight fourth quarter, Andrew Wiggins dropped 13 points and Curry (17 points, 10 rebounds) celebrated a step-back 3 that clinched a 101-93 victory. On the second night of a back-to-back, when everything could’ve gone south, the Warriors (38-34) pulled out a win over the contending Magic.

“It was a gutsy effort in tough circumstances,” Steve Kerr said after Golden State’s win.

With 8:24 in the first quarter, Green earned his fourth ejection of the season — and his first since returning from his indefinite suspension. Kerr said that Green “deserved” the ejection, and that he’s confident he’ll bounce back. The coach recently praised Green for balancing competitiveness and composure, and said Wednesday night’s behavior doesn’t change that.

The Warriors were already short-handed even before losing Green, as Jonathan Kuminga was unavailable due to tendinitis in his left knee — an ailment Kerr considers minor. It was only the second game missed from Kuminga, who has emerged as the closest thing the Warriors have to a dependable secondary scorer next to Steph Curry. Kuminga has averaged 16.3 points per game and cracked double-digit points in 49 of his past 51 games.

Yet without both Kuminga and Green, the Warriors somehow wrestled Orlando into an extended submission. Immediately after Green jogged to the locker room, Golden State went on a 21-2 run. Paolo Banchero’s and-1 — the play Green lost his composure at with 8:24 left — was Orlando’s last made field goal of the opening quarter.

Orlando’s clanks added up to a 3-for-22 shooting start. Golden State held Orlando to 11 points in the first quarter, their second best defensive frame of the year.

Much of their success was simply Orlando missing clean looks. But the Warriors were bringing a physicality that appeared to give the Magic issues. Gary Payton II, in particular, flew around the court like a wrecking ball.

“We had to lock in, get his back, go out there and play with the energy he’d have,” Payton said.

Orlando’s offense looked stagnant, with too many isolations and midrange jumpers. On one possession, Anthony Black bricked a layup and Mo Wagner airballed a fadeaway jumper in the paint. Golden State didn’t make major adjustments, just committed to communicating, gang rebounding and playing tough on-ball defense.

One night after holding Miami to 37 points in the second half, the Warriors limited the Magic to 37 in the first half. Miami shot 30.4% from the field. Not a single player on either team cracked double-digits in the first 24 minutes.

For the Warriors, it was a strong half that ended on a low note; nobody ran back on defense as Banchero leaked out for a wide-open dunk in the waning seconds.

But the Warriors didn’t let that sour note bleed into the second half. Curry found a slice of rhythm in the third and Trayce Jackson-Davis put pressure on each rim.

Jackson-Davis, his fellow rookie Brandin Podziemski, and the always-ready Moses Moody came up big. A Moody offensive rebound in traffic led to a Klay Thompson second chance 3. To end the third quarter, Jackson-Davis stuffed Cole Anthony at the rim. He and Podziemski combined for 23 rebounds.

Both teams shot under 30% from 3 as the Warriors entered the fourth with a 72-66 edge. Then, suddenly, the low-scoring slugfest’s dam broke.

Wiggins scored eight straight points for the Warriors, going back-and-forth with Magic guard Cole Anthony. Wiggins aggressively got downhill to answer a Franz Wagner whirling finish, then Moody followed up a miss for a putback slam.

Green had long been in the locker room, but the Warriors were playing with his fire. They sandwiched a Banchero 3 with a Thompson triple and Wiggins and-1.

The Magic cut Golden State’s lead to one late, but buckets inside from Payton II and Curry provided a late cushion. Then Curry drilled a dagger, step-back 3.

In the far left corner, Curry gestured his patented “night-night” celebration. He hasn’t been able to break it out much recently, if at all. When he got back to the Warriors’ bench, he kicked a chair in his heightened state of emotion.

But on a night that nearly went off the rails in the beginning, Curry put the Warriors on his back, and on track.

“That’s what the great ones do,” Payton said of Curry. “He turned it on.”

AJ Preller's trades have changed Padres history. Here's a look at his most notable deals.

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:20

AJ Preller is entering his 10th full season as the Padres' chief baseball decision-maker.

'Scissors' snipped SDSU's season a year ago. Now, the Aztecs get an NCAA Tournament rematch with UConn.

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:12

After squaring off in last year's national championship game, San Diego State and Connecticut will run it back in Thursday's Sweet 16 game

New Stanford coach Kyle Smith gets ‘best job in the country’

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 17:32

STANFORD – Kyle Smith remembers an argument he had in a bar in 2004, after someone said Mike Montgomery had just made a great move by leaving Stanford to coach the Golden State Warriors.

Smith disagreed, saying Montgomery already had the best job in the country.

Twenty years later, that “best job” now belongs to Smith, who was formally introduced as the men’s basketball coach at a press conference on Stanford’s campus Wednesday.

“I’ve been saying that this is the best job, period, and I meant that sincerely, and that was before Coach Montgomery got (Stanford) to No. 1 in the country,” Smith said. “You don’t understand, those people are elite. They’re workers. They’re achievers.”

Washington State head coach Kyle Smith watches the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Washington, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak) 

Smith arrived from Washington State, where he was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year after a 25-10 season that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament – an event Stanford hasn’t appeared in since 2014.

Washington State had experienced seven straight losing seasons before Smith’s arrival, but the Cougars went .500 or better in each of their first four seasons under Smith.

Now Stanford is hoping for a similar turnaround. The Cardinal finished 14-19 (7-13 Pac-12) and have already lost their three top expected returners to the transfer portal – leading scorer and rebounder Maxime Raynaud, and top freshmen Andrej Stojakovic and Kanaan Carlyle.

Unless Smith can convince one of them to come back, Stanford’s entire starting five will be new next season.

“There’s guys in the portal?” Smith said. “I’m like, great, who cares? This is Stanford. We’re going to be OK. Things are going to be OK. We’re going to get people that want to be here. Worry more about the ones we have, not the ones we don’t, has been the mantra.”

The Cougars were picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 this past season, but a team with nine new players ended up in second place.

Still, Smith will have more obstacles at Stanford than most other coaches at power conference schools when it comes to rebuilding, including restrictive transfer policies. He had already spoken with women’s coach Tara VanDerveer, who asked him to point out how the programs could benefit if more graduate transfers were admitted.

USC women’s basketball had transfers from Columbia, Penn and Harvard on their Pac-12 tournament title team this year, who were unavailable to VanDerveer.

“I do believe kids that are graduating from Ivy League schools would probably be good graduate school candidates (at Stanford),” Smith said. “I don’t know. Are we that hard? We might be.”

Athletic director Bernard Muir told the Bay Area News Group Wednesday that the issue of grad transfers is still something “we have to figure out as an institution,” but that adjustments are possible.

Smith acknowledged that Stanford also won’t be able to offer as much NIL money as other schools, but hopes Stanford’s unique qualities will make up for it.

“The reason I’m attracted to this place is people are going to be at Stanford not for the dollars they can earn in NIL,” Smith said. “Hopefully it’s for the degree, for the experience, for lifetime relationships, and we’ve got to keep selling that to the players in the program, or the people in the portal.”

Smith hopes another selling point is his use of analytics in order to improve performance, which he thinks will appeal to players with a growth mindset. In practice he tracks about 60 different stats in order to compute a player’s HPPP (hustle points per possession).

“That’s how we measure how hard you’re competing, and it’s quantifying the intangible things that help us win,” Smith said. “I imagine the players here would like it. They’d want to know, ‘what do I have to do to get better?’ ”

Smith must also navigate Stanford’s first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and all the cross-country travel and unfamiliar opponents that will come with it. He admits his opinion on Stanford’s move to the ACC changed this week.

“When I was at Washington State I thought it was silly, and then when I got the job, I’m like, that’s awesome,” Smith said. “I mean that. I was like, man, Cameron Indoor Arena? Syracuse is in that league, too. I’m not looking forward to going to the Carrier Dome in the middle of winter, but it’s awesome, to be honest. They care about basketball. This is Tobacco Road. It’s a big-time deal. It’s awesome.”

While Smith cracked jokes through the press conference, he choked up when discussing having the Stanford Autism Center as a resource for his son, Bo, who is on the autism spectrum.

It was yet another reason he said it only took one conversation with Muir – and a call from Condoleeza Rice – to accept the job after the Cougars were eliminated on Saturday night.

Draymond Green ejected from Warriors-Magic game

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 17:29

ORLANDO, Fla. — Less than four minutes into the Warriors’ contest against the Magic in the Kia Center, Draymond Green got ejected.

Green, arguing with official Ray Acosta, got assessed a pair of technical fouls in rapid succession. The faces of his teammates in front of Golden State’s bench expressed mild bewilderment.

Green hadn’t been ejected from a game since he returned from his indefinite suspension for reckless on-court behavior. Just days ago, Steve Kerr praised the veteran big man for his composure and leadership.

“He’s walked the line perfectly,” Kerr said on March 24. “Gotten a couple techs for yelling at the refs, but he has not crossed that line, nor do I expect him to. I hate that that happened to Rudy (Gobert) and to (Jusuf) Nurkic. I hate that that happened to Jordan. I’ve said this many times, I hate that all that happened. But I couldn’t be more proud with the way Draymond has responded, and he’s gotten his career and his life back on track. It’s wonderful.”

Green’s ejection came with 8:24 left in the first quarter. His ninth and 10th technicals of the year amounted to his fourth ejection. The most significant ones came when he put Gobert in a choke hold — earning a five-game suspension — and soon after struck Nurkic. Kerr said that after the latter incident, he thought Green’s “career was on the line.”

Draymond picked up two technicals and was ejected after having words with the ref pic.twitter.com/tn2muDIXGo

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 27, 2024

The Warriors were already undermanned in Orlando, as Jonathan Kuminga was ruled out with left knee tendinitis. Losing Green so early only made things tougher against a Magic team contending for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

A.J. Preller begins 10th season with a new boss, a new manager and a new urgency circling around Padres

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 17:21

Padres President of Baseball Operations has built the Padres into a franchise that expects to win, which could ultimately contribute to his undoing

Frank L. Hope, lead architect of San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, dies at 93

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 15:44

His firm designed many of San Diego's office towers, hotels and hospitals, but its crowning achievement was the $28 million, all-concrete San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley, later renamed San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU (San Diego Credit Union) Stadium.

Will Caitlin Clark accept Ice Cube's $5-million offer to become BIG3's first woman player?

Los Angeles Times - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 15:30

Ice Cube says that his BIG3 basketball league has offered to make Caitlin Clark its first woman player. She's in the NCAA tournament with Iowa and has declared for the WNBA draft.

Aztecs football notebook: SDSU's first scrimmage of spring measures progress

San Diego Tribune Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 15:13

SDSU coach Sean Lewis says quarterback competition remains 'tightly bunched' midway through spring practice; scrimmage leads to updated first-team looks

A’s fan boycott: Public safety concerns grow as A’s plan to restrict parking lot access

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 15:08

Ready or not, here come the Oakland A’s fans.

As early as noon on Thursday, fans are expected to begin lining up to enter the parking lot at the Coliseum, but many won’t actually buy a ticket to the A’s Opening Night game against the Cleveland Guardians, a sign of protest against the team’s pending move to Las Vegas in 2028.

While 26,805 people went to the team’s opening game at the Coliseum last year, almost as many are planning to show up to the parking lot Thursday while boycotting the actual game, said Bryan Johansen, founder of A’s fan group Last Dive Bar and one of the organizers of the boycott.

“This is going to be like Burning Man,” Johansen said. “But we’re not going to set anything on fire.”

He has been organizing fan events such as Fans Fest, a celebration of Oakland sports teams in Jack London Square last month, and last year’s reverse boycott, which also took place in the A’s parking lot before fans eventually packed the Coliseum with almost 28,000 people on a Tuesday in June.

This time, though, there’s a big problem: The A’s appear to be staging a protest of their own.

While last year they opened the parking lots four hours before the season-opener, and Johansen said they’ve opened as early as six hours before the game in years past, this year the A’s aren’t playing ball.

They plan to keep the parking lot gates closed until two hours before the 7:07 p.m. PT game, a plan that could present serious public safety concerns if cars are stuck in line, potentially blocking the freeway exit and creating miles-long traffic jams.

Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan said on social media Wednesday that she’s encouraging fans to take public transportation and is also asking the A’s to open their parking lot earlier “and not harm community health and safety by creating a backup.”

The A’s issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying, “Our gate times are based on attendance, and we are projecting that the game attendance will align with these times.”

It remains to be seen what the City of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department will be able to do to prevent such a mess. OPD declined comment on Wednesday afternoon.

“With our social media platform, we have received numerous messages that people are going to come as early as 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock to line up,” Johansen said. “We foresee the line to get in the stadium is going to be all the way to the freeway at 1 or 2 o’clock at the earliest.”

Making matters trickier, there will be a concert next door to the Coliseum at Oakland Arena, where The Love Hard Tour featuring Keyshia Cole and Trey Songz will be starting at 8 p.m.

“We’d like the A’s to open the gates earlier,” Johansen said. “Regardless of the situation with fans and ownership, we’re still the fans, we’re still the ones who have supported this team for 55 years. It’s our Opening Day, too. Whether we go in the stadium or not, we deserve the same respect as far as gate opening times that we’ve had every single year since the stadium opened.”

Johansen and other leaders of A’s fan groups have made one thing very clear for every event they’ve hosted: They’re showing up to celebrate Oakland sports, not to express anger or hatred towards anybody. They’re frustrated with the A’s for the way the team has handled its pending departure, but they have no problem with any fans who choose to attend Thursday’s game and buy a ticket.

Johansen is hoping even fans attending the game will feel welcomed to the parking lot celebration, which he expects to feature prize giveaways, food, drinks, T-shirts, air horns, cowbells and vuvuzelas as the fans make as much noise as they can from the parking lot.

“Just give a night of reprieve for fans to voice their frustration in a creative and vibrant way, not in a violent way,” he said.

Johansen is asking boycotting fans to use the money they would’ve spent on tickets as a donation to Schools Over Stadiums, a political action group formed by a Nevada teachers’ union that’s trying to stop $380 million of public funding from going towards a ballpark in Las Vegas.

Schools Over Stadiums representative Alex Marks said the organization will have a tent in the A’s parking lot on Thursday and plans to collect donations, while a major donor in the Bay Area has promised to match all donations up to $100,000.

Schools Over Stadiums will present oral arguments on April 9 in a courtroom in Carson City, where the teachers hope they’ll be able to finalize a petition that, with enough signatures, could send the public funding to a ballot in November.

“We’ll be ready to hit the streets with our volunteers either way,” Marks said.

Some of the 7,850 fans at the Coliseum for Monday’s exhibition game between the A’s and San Francisco Giants said they were also concerned about the potential chaos on Thursday and would not be attending the game or parking lot.

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“I’m coming on Saturday, but that (boycott) is too much,” said Juan Morales.

Gilbert Morin III, from San Jose, attended Monday’s game and plans to attend more games this year, but won’t support the A’s if they complete their move out of Oakland. He said he has put 40 years of fandom into this team.

“Baseball and football used to be for the working man, who would work all week, and then come out and enjoy the game,” Morin III said. “Now they’re taking it away from us. Now they’re saying that it’s not sports, it’s entertainment.

“Just let me spend my money because I’ve worked my (expletive) off all week, and I want to enjoy a game.”

A’s star Zack Gelof, a 24-year-old who could soon be the face of the franchise, said he has empathy for the fans’ heartbreak over losing the team to Las Vegas.

The players are facing their own uncertainty over where the team will play next year. The team’s lease at the Coliseum expires after 2024 and Sacramento is being floated as a potential home for the next three years.

“It’s tough whenever you lose a team,” Gelof said. “I’m not really sure what’s going to happen. As far as players, all we can do is control what we can control. At the end of the day, that’s winning baseball games. We just try to put a winning team together and have a lot of fun doing it.”

Bay Area News Group reporter Joseph Dycus contributed to this report.

Kurtenbach: Expectations must become reality for the 2024 SF Giants

Bay Area Mercury News Sports - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 15:06

The mandate for the San Francisco Giants in 2024 is crystal clear:

This big-market, big-money team cannot miss the postseason for a third straight year.

It doesn’t matter how they reach the playoffs. They can magically and inexplicably win 107 games again (the super fun route) or sneak in with a barely .500 record (the got-it-done option). They can do it by leaning on old players, young players, or a whole bunch of players in between. They can buy or sell at the trade deadline or do a bit of both.

For the Giants, the ends will justify the means, so long as the end is October baseball.

(Though I’m sure ownership would prefer if they could do that and “somewhat break even.”)

And here’s the good news: it’s an absolutely reasonable goal for the Giants to make the playoffs.

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It took a while to come together, but the Giants had a blockbuster offseason. Outside of the Dodgers, no one spent more on outside-the-organization talent.

In adding a top-of-the-order, everyday center fielder (Jung Hoo Lee), one of the best all-around third basemen of this generation (Matt Chapman), a former 48-home-run strongman to bat cleanup (Jorge Soler), and the reigning National League Cy Young winner (Blake Snell), it’s clear the Giants’ front office received the fanbase’s demands.

That heat emanating from their seats spurred action. The Giants acted like a team intent on making the Dodgers’ life hell in 2024 and perhaps making some waves of their own.

And outside of being the Dodgers (an impossible standard to match), I’m not sure what more anyone could ask for heading into this campaign.

After all, if the Giants that were already on the roster were fine, adding these new guys should make this year’s team pretty good.

This year, pretty good will be good enough.

And better yet, this team makes sense — at least on paper.

A team that plays 81 games a season at Oracle Park should be focused on run suppression. If the Giants have any positives in the talent pipeline, it’s pitching. They have a glut of young, impressive arms.

So by improving the team’s defense (outside of left field, there’s no clear weakness — and perhaps three Gold Glove winners on the infield) and doubling down on that impressive pitching depth by signing Snell and trading for another former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray (who will return mid-season), San Francisco should win games.

The offense should improve, too. The Giants’ 2023 season was torpedoed by anemic hitting in the second half. Before the All-Star break, the Giants had scored the 11th most runs in baseball. After that, they scored the fewest runs per game in the majors. Even the A’s were better.

Get this: the Giants’ plan to game the system and amalgamate a bunch of part-time guys in the hopes of receiving quality full-time production didn’t stand up to the scrutiny of six months and 162 games.

This year, we’ll avoid the daily mystery of who is in the lineup. There won’t be a clandestine operation to hide the day’s starting pitcher, either. Sure, there will still be some platooning—first base and right field will be split, at least to start the season — but we’re past the eras of openers, piggybacks, and general lineup tomfoolery.

The man tasked with putting together that standard, downright repeatable lineup this season was also an offseason addition.

And he might prove to be the biggest addition when the 2024 season comes to an end.

No manager in baseball has consistently gotten more from less than Bob Melvin. He won 53 percent of his games in Oakland and had the same winning percentage the last two years in San Diego, where he was hired to fix the incredible clubhouse mess former manager Jayce Tingler created in only 222 games.

And what’s most impressive about Melvin’s time, specifically in Oakland, is that he didn’t micromanage, making him a sharp departure from his predecessor in San Francisco, Gabe Kapler.

After all, that sort of thing was always beneath the Giants. Let the small-market, low-budget teams sweat the small stuff and play between the margins. The Giants play in the richest region in America. It was about time they acted like it.

Now they have.

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This isn’t to say that progression from last season’s 79-83 campaign is guaranteed. Far from it.

The Giants might be projected to win the third-most games in the National League this upcoming season after the March additions of Snell and Chapman, but it still puts them well behind the Dodgers and Braves — baseball’s two best. Furthermore, there are between eight and 10 other teams in the league that are projected (depending on what system you use) to be within four games of .500 this season.

Thanks to the expanded playoffs and the sport’s relatively new luxury tax thresholds, nearly every team that’s trying is playing for the middle.

Call it parity if you want — I’ll call it mediocrity. It pays in Commissioner Rob Manfred’s game.

The Giants could be part of that glob of “meh,” or they could be a step above it this season.

Either way, there won’t be much margin for error this season.

The work of the offseason was excellent and has the fan base feeling a sense of optimism that hasn’t been approached in nearly a decade. Give the Giants’ front office plaudits for that.

But now the real work begins.

Would it be nice if the 2024 Giants were fun to watch? Absolutely. We’d all like to enjoy six months of engaging, interesting, entertaining baseball.

While I think the Giants will, in fact, provide that this upcoming season, the only thing they need to deliver is a playoff berth.

This team has lofty, serious expectations this season.

They have to become reality by the fall.

 

 

 

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