Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/37621
2B Daily News – Thursday, July 28, 2011 Jackson’s first camp NAPA (AP) — Hue Jackson hugged players as they came off the team bus, challenged a few of them even before they hit the practice field and brought the same enthusiasm as head coach of the Oakland Raiders as he had a year ago as offensive coordi- nator. More than six months after being hired as Raiders coach, Jackson got the chance to put his imprint on his players as his first training camp began Wednesday. ‘‘It was so exciting to see them, I couldn’t stop from going around and shaking all their hands when they first got here because I’m so happy to see a player,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘I’m tired of seeing our coaches. I’m tired of seeing everybody else. I got to see my play- ers, and now it’s truly about me giving them my vision and them going out and executing this plan.’’ The first day of camp featured physicals, meetings and a reunion of sorts as players and coaches got back together for the first time since last sea- son. The Raiders will begin practice on Thursday, although without any hitting the first two days under new NFL rules. But the players should expect to hear plenty from Jackson, whose voice provided a soundtrack to practices last summer as he urged on his offense and challenged the defense at every oppor- tunity in his first training camp with the Raiders. ‘‘A lot of enthusiasm, a lot of charisma, that’s what he brings to the table,’’ safety Tyvon Branch said. ‘‘He has that spark, that energy, so it’s going to be a pretty intense training camp.’’ That enthusiasm from Jackson helped Oakland more than double its scoring output from 2009 to last sea- son. The Raiders finished sixth in the league in scoring with 410 points, the sixth-most points in franchise history. That offensive resurgence helped ‘‘I am not interested in being good. I am interest- ed in being great, and the only way I know to do that is challenge people,’’ — Raiders coach Hue Jackson Oakland sweep all six games in the division and end a string of seven straight losing seasons with an 8-8 record. But the Raiders still missed the playoffs and did not bring Tom Cable back, making Jackson the sixth coach in the past nine seasons. ‘‘I am not interested in being good. I am interested in being great, and the only way I know to do that is challenge people,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘I get chal- lenged each and every week, well why can’t everybody else get challenged each and every day. And that’s the name of the game. And that’s how we’re going to go about it.’’ While camp has opened, the Raiders are still putting their roster together. Jackson expected all 50 play- ers under contract to be in Napa before the first practice. The Raiders have signed three of their draft picks and Jackson said the team is close to getting the five other draft picks signed before practice starts Thursday afternoon. Third-round cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke and fourth-round running back Taiwan Jones signed undisclosed deals. Fifth-round receiver Denarius Moore got a $2.2 million, four-year deal, according to the Allegiant Athlet- ic Agency that represents him. Oakland also signed 14 undrafted free agents, but there are still plenty of training camp roster spots that won’t be filled until after free agents can sign starting Friday. ‘‘You expect a little chaos with such a short time frame to do the free agency and everything like that,’’ line- backer Kamerion Wimbley said. ‘‘I’m his first pitch, Ervin Santana came full cycle against the Cleveland Indians. Santana threw the first solo no-hitter for the Angels in nearly 27 years and exacted some long overdue revenge, leading Los Angeles over the Indians 3-1 Wednesday. This was the first no- hitter at Progressive Field, a ballpark that opened as Jacobs Field in 1994. And it marked quite a bit of role rever- sal for the 28-year-old righty. Santana made his big league debut on this very same field on May 17, 2005, and the Indians gave him a rude welcome. The first four batters he faced in the majors teamed up to hit for the cycle — Grady Sizemore led off with a triple, Coco Crisp doubled, Travis Hafner singled and Ben Broussard homered. Asked to recall that rough outing, Santana smiled and shrugged. ‘‘It’s part of life,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re here today, we don’t know tomorrow.’’ Santana struck out and 10 and allowed only two runners — there was an error on the leadoff batter in the first inning and a walk in the eighth. Just once was Santana’s gem in jeopardy and second baseman Howie BELTRAN (Continued from page 1B) weekend, leaving Beltran with a back-and-forth trip. Beltran, who can become a free agent in the fall, was well aware all season that he would likely wind up on the trading block this summer. But if he was going to leave the Mets, he wanted to play for a postseason contender. He got his wish — the Giants lead the NL West. ‘‘While we have been engaged in discussions, we’re not in position to com- ment at this time,’’ the Mets said in a statement. New York’s big prize in the trade is pitching prospect Zachary Wheeler, according to a source familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced. Wheeler is 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 16 starts for San Francisco’s high Class-A affiliate in San Jose. The Giants selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2009 draft. Mets manager Terry Collins was told not to play Beltran at Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The switch-hitting right fielder wasn’t at Great American Ball Park before batting practice. Collins said Beltran later showed up and said good- bye. It will be the second Kendrick’s nifty play saved it in the sixth. just open for whatever and I expect whatever.’’ Wimbley got his status settled before the lockout when he signed an $11.3 million franchise tender. He said his agent has begun discussions with the Raiders about a long-term deal, which would give the team more room under the salary cap this season. Wimbley was one of eight potential free agents the Raiders signed before the lockout, giving them a head start this summer. Oakland has already locked up one of its free agents, agree- ing to a $1.25 million, one-year deal with linebacker Jarvis Moss. ESPN reported that Oakland also reached a deal with long snapper Jon Condo. There are still plenty of other free agents whose fates are unknown, most notably Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. With Stanford Routt get- ting a $31.5 million, three-year deal in February and Oakland drafting corner- backs Chimdi Chekwa and DeMarcus Van Dyke in April, Asomugha is not expected back. The Raiders also could be without last year’s starting free safe- ty, Michael Huff, creating potential for big change in the secondary. ‘‘I definitely hope those guys come back,’’ Branch said. ‘‘If not, I wish them the best. We’ve got to start build- ing with what we have right now. That’s part of the game. You’ve got to use what you have and we have to start building right now.’’ The biggest question will be whether the Raiders can retain free agent tight end Zach Miller, who has led the team in receiving each of the past three seasons. Ervin Santana pitches no-hitter for Angels CLEVELAND (AP) — Sharp from This was the third no-hitter in the major leagues this season, yet another sign that this, indeed, is another Year of the Pitcher. Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano did it against the Chicago White Sox on May 3 and Detroit ace Justin Verlander beat Toronto on May 7. Santana (6-8) was certainly hot in Cleveland this time while throwing the Angels’ first complete-game no-hitter since Mike Witt pitched a perfect game on Sept. 30, 1984, against Texas. Mark Langston (7 innings) and Witt (2 innings) combined to hold Seattle hit- less on April 11, 1990. Santana said he began to think a no- hitter was within reach after he got through the eighth. ‘‘Lots of guys get to five, six innings, but that’s when things get a lit- tle complicated,’’ Santana said. He would know. Because in his last start, Santana took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning against Baltimore. Overall, it was the ninth no-hitter in Angels’ his- tory. Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan threw four of them from 1973 through 1975. major trade for the Mets, who dealt closer Francisco Rodriguez to Milwaukee after the All-Star game. ‘‘Everyone here has antic- ipated it, whether we like it or not,’’ Collins said. ‘‘We knew it was going to happen. We’ve talked about it for the last 10 days.’’ The Mets have discussed Beltran with several teams, and the Giants certainly could use his bat as they make a run at a repeat. Bel- tran leads the National League with 30 doubles and is batting .289 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs. San Francisco’s offense has been inconsistent and lacking power. The Giants entered Wednesday night’s game in Philadelphia batting .241 as a team with only 66 home runs. General manager Brian Sabean recently talked about upgrading the Giants’ roster, and it appears he’s added a talented slugger in the mid- dle of a comeback year. ‘‘He’s a complete player,’’ San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said, declining to talk about the trade specif- ically. ‘‘Carlos has all the tools that you look for in a player. He has great instincts for the game. Plays the game hard, plays the game right. I still remember when Hous- ton got him and the job he did there. ‘‘He’s a tremendous all- around player. He’s one of the elite players of the game.’’ The 34-year-old Beltran is in the final year of a $119 million deal he signed with the Mets before the 2005 season. He was plagued by knee injuries the past two seasons, but has been healthy this year. The Mets won four of their first 15 games and haven’t been higher than third in the NL East after that poor start, prompting them to look into trades. Star shortstop Jose Reyes, who also can become a free agent after this season, said Beltran took teammates to a local steakhouse owned by one of his friends following an 8-6 win over the Reds on Tuesday night. ‘‘We were joking with him: ‘You’re doing this because you’re going to get traded,’’’ Reyes said. ‘‘He said, ‘No. no.’’’ Reyes said losing Beltran will be a huge blow to the Mets, who are 53-51 after beating the Reds for the third straight game. ‘‘You lose a guy like that in July, it’s big, it’s huge,’’ Reyes said. ‘‘We’ve got to continue to play with what we’ve got. It’s not easy to replace that kind of player. It’s going to be tough.’’ Beltran drove in at least 112 runs for three straight seasons from 2006-08, but few Mets fans will forget his at-bat during the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 NL championship series against The last pitcher to hold the Indians hit- less was Jim Abbott of the New York Yankees on Sept. 4, 1993. The closest Cleveland got to a hit came when rookie Jason Kipnis led off the sixth with a grounder past Santana. Kendrick made a diving, backhand stop, threw from his knees and first baseman Mark Trumbo scooped out the low throw for the out. Santana got off to an ominous start as Ezequiel Carrera reached when his grounder glanced off the heel of short- stop Erick Aybar’s glove. Carrera stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch. Chisenhall’s walk was the lone blemish in the eighth as Santana struck out three in the inning. in the eighth — when he struck out the side. Santana threw 105 pitches, 76 for strikes. He had 0-2 counts nine times. Santana quickly took care of busi- ness in the bottom of the ninth. He got pinch-hitter Travis Buck to look at strike three, retired the speedy Carrera on a routine grounder and ended it by inducing Michael Brantley to lift an easy fly ball to center fielder Peter Bourjos. St. Louis. Beltran came up with the bases loaded and the Mets trailing 3-1, and struck out looking to end the game. Collins said Lucas Duda would play in right field a lot after Beltran is gone. ‘‘I’m probably more comfortable at first base and left field because I haven’t played a lot out there,’’ Duda said. ‘‘I’ll try my best out there and see what happens.’’ ‘‘He’d better get comfort- able real fast,’’ Collins said. Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey has known Beltran since 2000 and will miss having him in the clubhouse. ‘‘He’s a very complete individual, not only on the field but off,’’ Dickey said. ‘‘He’s a valuable piece that’s leaving. It’s kind of sad.’’ WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Connecticut 10 5 .667 — Indiana 11 6 .647 — New York 9 7 .563 1.5 Chicago 8 10 .444 3.5 Atlanta 7 9 .438 3.5 Washington 3 12 .200 7 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Minnesota 11 4 .733 — San Antonio10 5 .667 1 Phoenix 10 6 .625 1.5 Seattle 9 7 .563 2.5 Los Angeles 6 9 .400 5 Tulsa Courtesy photo The Red Bluff Tritons took fourth place at the Yreka Invitational Swim Meet. Their top placers were Greg Wilson, 18, Samara Robinson, 14, Mitchell Sauve, 12, and Jace Shults, 6. Niners reach agreement with DL Ray McDonald SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers reached agreement Wednesday on a five-year contract with defensive line- man Ray McDonald, according to a person with knowledge of the negotia- tions. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because free agent deals can’t become official — or be formally announced — until Friday. McDonald was high on new general manager Trent Baalke’s list of players to bring back for 2011 and beyond. He could become a starter at defensive end depending on how the roster shakes out. The 26-year-old McDonald has started only nine games in his first four NFL seasons, all in 2008. He recorded 19 tackles last season for San Francis- co (6-10) and returned his lone interception 31 yards for his first career touch- down. Quarterback Alex Smith is expected to sign a one- year deal that should be announced Friday. The 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick gathered his teammates together for workouts at ‘‘Camp Alex’’ during the lockout. Coach Jim Har- baugh has said Smith is the leading candidate to be his starter. San Francisco signed rookie draft pick Bruce Miller and guard Daniel Kilgore to four-year deals Wednesday. Miller, a sev- enth-round pick out of Cen- tral Florida, played defen- sive end in college but worked out for teams as a fullback leading up to the draft. The Niners traded up to select Kilgore out of Appalachian State with the 163rd overall spot in the fifth round that had belonged to Green Bay. Also Wednesday, veter- an free agent tackle Barry MLB West Division Texas American League WL Pct GB Angels 57 48 .543 2 A’s 59 46.562 — 46 57 .447 12 Seattle 44 60 .423 14.5 East Division WL Pct GB Boston 64 38 .627 — New York 61 41 .598 3 Tampa Bay 53 49 .520 11 Toronto 52 52 .500 13 Baltimore 41 59 .410 22 Central Division WL Pct GB Detroit 55 49 .529 — Cleveland 52 50 .510 2 Chicago 51 52 .495 3.5 Minnesota 49 55 .471 6 Kansas City43 61 .413 12 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results Tampa Bay at Oakland, late Boston 12, Kansas City 5 Chicago 2, Detroit 1 Los Angeles 3, Cleveland 1 Minnesota 7, Texas 2 Seattle 9, New York 2 Toronto 3, Baltimore 0 Today’s games 1 15 .063 10.5 ————————————————— Today’s games Phoenix at San Antonio, 9:30 a.m. Los Angeles at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Washington at New York, 4 p.m. Indiana at Connecticut, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at Tulsa, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay (W.Davis 7-7) at Oakland (Harden 2-1), 12:35 p.m. Los Angeles (Pineiro 5-5) at Detroit (Penny 7-7), 10:05 a.m. Kansas City (Hochevar 6-8) at Boston (Beckett 9-3), 10:35 a.m. Baltimore (Bergesen 2-6) at Toronto (C.Villanueva 5-2), 4:07 p.m. Minnesota (S.Baker 8-5) at Texas (M.Harrison 8-7), 5:05 p.m. Sims was an early arrival at team headquarters. That could mean he is poised to re-sign as well. Sims has proven himself as a reliable backup. Undrafted free agent rookie Jeremiah Masoli is making the move to running back with the 49ers after playing quarterback at Ore- gon and Mississippi. ‘‘I’m anxious to show my versatility,’’ said Masoli, who grew up in San Fran- cisco. ‘‘I really like coach (Jim) Harbaugh. We have a great relationship and we have some history in the Pac-10. I just thought it was a great fit for me.’’ Masoli passed for 2,039 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his senior season at Ole Miss and also ran for 544 yards and six TDs. The 49ers attended a local pro day in the Bay Area. Afterward, Harbaugh asked Masoli to stick around for some running back drills and to catch punts. ‘‘That was a little hint to myself that maybe it might be San Francisco,’’ Masoli said. ‘‘There’s definitely the childhood dream, the glam- our of that. But it also had a lot to do with coach Har- baugh and the coaching staff.’’ Notes: In addition to Masoli, the 49ers announced the signings of undrafted free agents: C Chase Beeler, WR Tyler Beiler, WR Dontavia Bogan, DE Brian Bulcke, DE Demarcus Dobbs, OL Donovan Edwards, T Derek Hall, WR Joe Hastings, WR Chris Hogan, CB Corey Nelms, TE Konrad Reuland, LB Kenny Rowe, NT Sealver Siliga, RB Seth Smith, DB Anthony West, T Kenny Williams and NT Ian Williams. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 60 44 .577 — Arizona 56 47 .544 3.5 Colorado 48 56 .462 12 Los Angeles47 56 .456 12.5 San Diego 45 59 .433 15 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia65 38 .631 — Atlanta 61 44 .581 5 New York 53 51 .510 12.5 Florida 51 53 .490 14.5 Washington 49 54 .476 16 Central Division WL Pct GB Milwaukee 56 49 .533 — St. Louis 55 49 .529 .5 Pittsburgh 53 49 .520 1.5 Cincinnati 50 54 .481 5.5 Chicago 42 62 .404 13.5 Houston 34 70 .327 21.5 ————————————————— Wednesday’s results San Francisco 2, Philadelphia 1 Atlanta 2, Pittsburgh 1, 10 innings Florida 7, Washington 5 Houston 4, St. Louis 2 Milwaukee 2, Chicago 0 New York 8, Cincinnati 2 Arizona at San Diego, late Colorado at Los Angeles, late Today’s games San Francisco (Vogelsong 8-1) at Philadelphia (K.Kendrick 5-4),4:05 p.m. Florida (Hensley 1-2) at Washington (Lannan 7-6), 9:35 a.m. New York (Capuano 8-10) at Cincinnati (H.Bailey 5-4), 9:35 a.m. Chicago (R.Wells 2-3) at Milwaukee (Marcum 9-3), 11:10 a.m. Arizona (D.Hudson 10-6) at San Diego (Latos 5-10), 12:35 p.m. Pittsburgh (Correia 11-8) at Atlanta (D.Lowe 6-8), 4:10 p.m. Houston (W.Rodriguez 6-7) at St. Louis (J.Garcia 10-4), 5:15 p.m. San Francisco 49ers Oakland Raiders