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Giants Clinch, Headed Back To The NLCS

Published

10 years ago

October 8, 2014

San Francisco, CA – Their backs were against the wall and just like true champions the Giants answered with the 3-2 win over the Nationals. The St. Louis Cardinals are the next opponent, they eliminated the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday. San Francisco advances to the NLCS for the seventh time in team history and for the third time in the last five seasons.

“It means that I really have a gritty bunch out there,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy when asked about returning to the NLCS. “I told them earlier, there’s nobody’s will that’s stronger than theirs or desire that’s deeper than that. They were determined not to get back on the plane and go to Washington.”

San Francisco backed their ace with enough runs for the victory. Ryan Vogelsong was brilliant on the mound. He tossed five plus innings, allowed two hits, one run, two walks, and struck out four. Vogelsong is the only starting pitcher in MLB to allow one run or fewer runs in each of his first five career postseason starts (since 1903).

“You know every time we’re here, and I’m getting ready for a game, I just think back when I was a kid playing in the backyard,” Vogelsong said. “Making believe I was in this situation. I just love it.”

Vogelsong usually doesn’t get run support when on the mound but did last night. He got just enough to send the team back to the championship series where they will see the Cardinals for the fourth time, having only lost the best of seven series in 1987 and winning it in 2002 and 2012.

Despite not pitching since September 26, Vogelsong was well prepared for the matchup. He explained that he watched video, corrected mistakes and uncovered flaws that prevented him from giving his best performance in the past. Vogelsong became just the second pitcher in postseason history to have five consecutive starts of allowing one or fewer runs.

“The mechanical glitches were sapping my velocity and the break on my pitches,” said Vogelsong. “I spent the last five or six days trying to clean up and I was able to translate that into the game.”

“The true story is pitching and defense,” Hunter Pence said. “That’s the foundation of this club.”

Pence made a NFL leaping catch to rob Jayson Werth’s sixth-inning drive off the wall. The Giants defensively made no errors and made sure to rattle the Nationals. San Francisco got on the board early when Gio Gonzalez unraveled in the second. Brandon Crawford singled and Juan Perez bunted towards Gonzalez who lost the ball, Perez was safe at first on the pitchers error.

Vogelsong bunted and Gonzalez assumed it was a foul ball loading the bases with one out. He then walked Gregor Blanco scoring in the Giants first run making it 1-0. Joe Panik grounded out and Perez scored extending their lead 2-0. But Washington tied the game in the seventh when Bryce Harper went deep with a two-run shot into McCovey Cove tying the game 2-2.

Bottom of the inning, Both Panik and Buster Posey rallied off of Washington’s reliever Matt Thornton with one-out singles. Rookie Aaron Barrett walked Pence to load the bases. But Barrett’s wild pitch to Pablo Sandoval scored in Panik breaking the tie. An intentional walk put Sandoval on at first, but his next pitch went sailing over catcher Wilson Ramos’ head.

Posey darted for home plate and was called out. After further review the call stood as Bochy challenged the play to see if Barrett was blocking the plate. It didn’t matter after that because San Francisco’s defense provided enough effort to stifle the Nationals to clinch the division series sending them back to a familiar place, the NLCS.

“We didn’t get the runs we thought we should be we created the opportunities,” said Bochy.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

2 days ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

4 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

4 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.