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Vintage Lincecum At His Best

Published

11 years ago

July 2, 2014

San Francisco, CA – After pitching a no-hitter in his last outing, Tim Lincecum got his second consecutive win and helped the Giants out of their slump by shutting out the Cardinals 5-0. Lincecum has never posted back-to-back outings of eight or more scoreless innings in his career.

“I don’t think there was a big difference between his last start and tonight’s outing,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “He kept the ball down, threw quality strikes all night and gave us a great effort. If you look at them, it’s hard to find a big difference.”

Lincecum extended his scoreless innings streak to 17 consecutive innings. This is his longest scoreless stretch since posting 21 straight scoreless frames from May 4-10, 2011. He was simply brilliant on the mound tonight. Lincecum allowed four hits and struck out six in eight shutout innings.

“You have to treat it differently,” Lincecum said when asked about the comparison of his recent starts.

“We threw what we wanted to and things worked out for the best,” he explained. “Things were working. I felt like I did my last start, nothing was crazy nasty or anything like that. 93, 94 [mph] but I was trying to put them in good spots and keep them off balance and bury my pitches.”

Lincecum resembled his vintage days when he escaped a bases-loaded jam. His focus was profound after he put three on with a double, single and a hit batter. Lincecum struck out the next two batters and forced Daniel Descalo to ground out to end the inning, leaving three stranded.

“No question, that’s the turning point of the game,” said Bochy. “He’s in a tough jam there, facing some good hitters and doesn’t give up a run. It kept us from getting down and having an uphill climb.”

“It’s tremendous,” Hunter Pence said. “I really don’t know how to describe it, other than, it’s two phenomenal performances and he’s got that groove. It’s fun to play behind him.”

Pence backed his ace by sparking the offense. He led off the fourth with a single and Buster Posey followed with a a RBI double giving San Francisco a 1-0 lead. Then Pablo Sandoval blasted a two-run homer to left field extending their lead 3-0. Sandoval hit his 100th career homer.

“It’s hard to get one so 100 means a lot to me,” said Sandoval. “I’ve been through a lot of things in my career so I just stay humble and play my game. I knew I was at 99 home runs coming into this game. I’m excited to get that and help us get the win, we needed it.”

The Giants continued to opened up their offense by scoring two more runs in the fifth. Juan Perez lead off the inning with a single, Pence hit a RBI double and stole third base. Marco Gonzales loaded the bases after walking both Sandoval and Michael Morse with one out.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny saw enough and replaced Gonzales, who made his second Major League start with Seth Maness. Hector Sanchez grounded out and Pence scored. Brandon Crawford grounded out and the Giants had a comfortable 5-0 lead.

This is the first time San Francisco won the first game of the series since June 6 against the New York Mets. They had dropped six straight series openers. The win tonight put them back in first place over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

Notes – The Giants had another setback with their center fielder Angel Pagan. He was scheduled to come off the disabled list prior to the start of this series against the St. Louis Cardinals. But he came in on his off day yesterday and was doing some running when he had a “minor setback.” Pagan will fly out to Los Angeles tomorrow to see a specialist (Dr. Watkins) and hope to find some better options than what’s been used for his recovery.

“I was working out yesterday and had a minor setback, ” Pagan said. “And to be cautious we want to see a specialist in LA in order to have a better plan for the future. We want the best plan possible so I can come back stronger.”

Pagan explained that he has a bulging disk that is pinching a nerve causing numbness in his legs. His goal is to find a better alternative as surgery is not an option. San Francisco has struggled in the leadoff position since he’s been out. They’re hoping to get him back soon as he’s been an asset to this team and the offense.

“We need a better plan than what we’ve been doing in terms of treatment, injections and medication,” explained Pagan.

“He came in on his day off yesterday and we’ll have the doctor look at him tomorrow,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “We don’t know enough to say what’s wrong with him at this point.”

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Activism

Opinion: Can Donald Trump Pole Dance?

Given all that is happening, if the presidency was more like pole dancing, you know Trump would be flat on his butt.

Published

4 days ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

The news cycle has been buzzing the last few weeks. Xi, with Putin and Kim, the sweethearts of Trump carousing alone without him? The victims of the pedophile Epstein speaking out publicly in DC.

Then, there’s the release of that salacious letter Donald Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump said the letter didn’t exist. But it does.

Timing is everything.

Additionally, there are further concerns, such as the Supreme Court removing restrictions on ICE interactions. ICE Agents can stop anyone now. For any reason. And there’s the threat of the U.S. sending the military to fight crime in Chicago. Trump even posted a meme of himself as a character in “Apocalypse Now.”

All that with bad polls and bad economic numbers, and these topics are dominating the news cycle — Trump era chaos.

Given all that is happening, if the presidency was more like pole dancing, you know Trump would be flat on his butt.

The reality is the opposite. He keeps going strong like nothing’s happened. Inexplicably, Trump always seems to defy gravity.

That’s why to reassure myself with reality, I just think of Trump on a pole. Dancing. He was born on Flag Day, after all.

I’ve got pole dancing on my mind because I’m in Canada at the Vancouver Fringe Festival doing my show, “Emil Amok 69, Everything’s Flipped,” about how the current political situation gets very personal.

Get tickets here if you’re near:

I’ve performed at 16 fringe festivals, and I always look for unique performers. This year, in my same venue (the Revue Stage) I found her in a show, “The Pole Shebang.”

Andrea James Lui may look like a typical Asian American at first.

But she’s Asian Canadian, married to an Australian, who now lives down under.

At the Vancouver Fringe, she highlights her special identity.

Pole Dancer

Yes, pole dancing has come to the fringe. Leave your dollar bills at home, this is not that kind of pole dancing.

This is more Cirque Du Soleil-ish- acrobatic stuff, yet it’s hard to deny the sexiness when a woman flawlessly swings from a pole with her legs apart.

The show is more intriguing than it is titillating.

Lui has created a behind-the-scenes look at the “polar” experience.

“She could have been a physicist,” says her big sister Christina, who despite saying that, supports her sister 100 percent.

Lui touches on some of the emotional depth in the poled subculture. But there’s plenty more to mine in the future. “Polar Bare,” the Musical? I’d see it.

Trump on a Pole

So that’s how I’ve come to the polar metaphor.

As Trump flails in the news, I picture him on a pole.

The letter to Epstein is further proof of the character of the man.

Will he stay afloat?

Not if the presidency were more like pole dancing.

You can’t lie on the pole.

That’s one way all of us in the Trump era can get to the truth.

About the Author

Emil Amok is a veteran journalist, commentator, and stage monologist. He has written a weekly column on Asian Americans for more than 30 years.

Contact: www.amok.com

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Bo Tefu

California’s Largest ICE Detention Center Reopens, Begins Receiving Detainees

“We have begun receiving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at our California City Correctional Facility (CCCF) in response to an immediate need from the federal government for safe, humane and appropriate housing and care for these individuals,” said Ryan Gustin, senior director for public affairs for CoreCivic.

Published

4 days ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California’s largest federal immigration detention facility has quietly reopened in Kern County and has started receiving detainees, according to the private prison operator CoreCivic. The facility, now known as the California City Immigration Processing Center, is a 2,560-bed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.

The facility is the third privately-operated ICE detention center in Kern County and the seventh in California. It originally opened in the late 1990s as a federal facility, later becoming a state prison, and was closed in 2024 after California ended for-profit prison contracts. CoreCivic confirmed that the reopening will create roughly 500 jobs and generate more than $2 million in property taxes for California City.

The reopening has raised legal and community concerns. California law requires a 180-day public notice before opening or reusing detention facilities under SB29. City officials, including Mayor Marquette Hawkins and City Manager Christopher Lopez, did not respond to comment requests, and Lopez said he had “no information” on long-term agreements between ICE and the city.

Advocates warned during a June 24 city council meeting that reopening the facility could lead to increased local ICE arrests.

Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, manager of the nonprofit Faith in the Valley, said, “We’re troubled by California City turning a deaf ear to the objections voiced by community members and advocates voiced at previous meetings.”

Faith in the Valley estimates that roughly 300 detainees have already been quietly transferred from nearby facilities Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde. City officials have raised safety concerns, citing insufficient emergency communications and building code issues in a July 29 letter to CoreCivic. Gustin said the company has addressed these concerns and maintains “an open line of communication” with city officials.

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Business

California Payroll Report Highlights Top-Earning Public Workers as Controller Malia Cohen Publishes New Data

The self-reported data shows special district employees received more than $12.66 billion in wages last year, with an additional $3.38 billion in health and retirement benefits. A total of 3,100 special districts submitted reports, though 68 either failed to file or turned in noncompliant information.

Published

4 days ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

California State Controller Malia M. Cohen. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California State Controller Malia M. Cohen has released 2024 payroll data for special districts, spotlighting some of the state’s highest-paid government jobs. The report, published on the Government Compensation in California (GCC) website, offers a detailed look at wages and benefits for nearly 173,000 positions.

Special districts are local government entities designed to provide targeted services such as healthcare, utilities, transportation, and fire protection. According to the 2024 report, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority led the state in total wages, paying more than $1.18 billion. It was followed by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District with nearly $599 million and the Inland Empire Health Plan with $372 million. Other top-paying districts included Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and Orange County Fire Authority.

“Fiscal oversight and transparency are central to my responsibility as State Controller,” Cohen said in a statement. “Publishing the 2024 payroll data for California’s special districts allows the public to see how billions in wages and benefits are managed each year. The Government Compensation in California website is a critical accountability tool that helps taxpayers, policymakers, and local leaders track spending, evaluate priorities, and ensure that public resources are being used responsibly.”

California law requires cities, counties, and special districts to report compensation annually. The GCC site now hosts salary and benefit information for more than two million public jobs, including those in state government and the California State University system.

Website users can search pay by region, district, or job title, and export customized reports for analysis.