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2B Daily News – Friday, February 10, 2012 Giants need to add offense to go with stellar pitching BY PHIL ROGERS Chicago Tribune (MCT) —When it comes to winning games, Bruce Bochy does more with less. He wouldn't mind a little more relaxation. With the dominant pitching staff built around Tim Lince- cum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Brian Wilson and a lineup that is so weak you wonder why Barry Bonds has- n't come out of retirement, every game's a nail-biter at AT&T Park, baseball's most beautiful ballpark. The Giants were 34-25 in one-run games en route to the 2010 World Series championship, including six of their 11 postseason victories. They cobbled together an 86-victory season a year ago by going 33-22 in one-run games, with Bochy's managing earning them six extra victories accord- ing to the Pythagorean standings. That's 67-47 in the close games _ a .588 winning per- centage, the equivalent of 95-67 over 162 games. If that par- ticular worm ever turns, there will be no way the Giants can compete, even with such a powerful pitching staff. Bochy knows that. So does Brian Sabean, who enters his 15th season as general manager, the longest run among cur- rent executives. They have their fingers crossed that they won't need to be quite as efficient to overtake the Diamond- backs in the National League West. With 2010 savior Buster Posey being lost for the season after a collision at home plate May 25, the Giants dropped from ninth in the NL in scoring to last, 697 to 570. But that was then, this is now. Here are six simple ways to produce 700-plus runs in 2012: 1. Posey must return with his rebuilt left ankle to play at the level he did when he ascended to the majors in 2010. If he could play 140 games and recreate his .862 OPS from his rookie season, he would generate about 55 extra-base hits, 20-something home runs and maybe 90 RBIs, depending on how the guys in front of him _ probably Angel Pagan, Fred- dy Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval _ hit. 2. Sandoval's improved conditioning and performance in 2011 earned him a three-year contract. He needs to stay healthy enough to play 153 games as he did in his first full season with the Giants (2009). If he raises his game just a tick, taking his .909 OPS from last season and going beyond the .943 OPS he had in '09, he and Posey could be dynamic hitting back-to-back. 3. Brandon Belt must hit like he should. A natural hitter who has flashed the Will Clark gene in his brief minor- league career, he stumbled to a .225 average in 63 games last season, in part because he was used out of position in left field. He should be more comfortable as the regular first baseman and could elevate the Giants' production at the posi- tion into the middle of the pack. They ranked at the bottom a year ago, along with the Dodgers, Pirates, Padres and A's. 4. Melky Cabrera, acquired from the Royals for left-han- der Jonathan Sanchez, must retain his 2011 form to ensure there's no dropoff in right field. The stretch-run trade for Car- los Beltran helped the Giants finish 13th in the majors with an .801 OPS in right (where Nate Schierholz and Cody Ross had disappointed). Cabrera never had produced at that level until last season. 5. The Giants need to win the Pagan-for-Andres Torres trade. They swapped late-blooming center fielders with the Mets once they had been established Torres' 16-homer 2010 was an outlier, not an indication of things to come. Pagan had a pedestrian .694 OPS a year ago but stole 32 bases while having only 18 more strikeouts than walks (62-44). 6. Speedy outfielder Gary Brown, ranked as the team's best prospect by Baseball America, must contribute in the second half. The Cal State Fullerton product has Tony Cam- pana speed and projects as a high-average hitter with average power. He will be the long-term center fielder, and at age 23 could be advanced quickly, a la Posey. And furthermore Bochy is one of the best managers in baseball. In four post-Barry Bonds seasons, he has compiled a plus-10 read- ing in the Pythagorean standings, including plus-6 last sea- son, when he turned an 80-82 season into 86-76. Consistent lack of run support is why Cain, who will be pursued widely next winter if he's not signed to a contract extension, has a 69-73 career record. It's going to be difficult to hang onto both Cain and Lince- cum, who can be a free agent in two years. They would earn at least $40 million combined annually under long-term con- tracts, probably $45 million. Ramon Ramirez, who has made 66 to 71 appearances in each of the last four seasons, went from the Giants to the Mets as a key piece of the Pagan-Torres trade. The garlic fries at AT&T Park are not overrated. Ditto the Cha-Cha bowl, sold in left field. Johnson in 3-way tie at Pebble; Tiger starts well PEBBLE BEACH (AP) — Twenty months later, Dustin Johnson finally hit the drive he wanted at Pebble Beach. Ten years later, Tiger Woods must have wondered what kept him away from the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. On a spectacular day of scenery and scoring, Johnson blasted a tee shot on the third hole at Pebble Beach and then pitched in for eagle from 41 yards in front of the green. He added another eagle on his way to a 9-under 63 and a three- way tie atop the leaderboard Thursday. Woods was five shots to par out of the lead, a solid start to his PGA Tour season. He had six birdies in a 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill, the fourth-best score on that course. Spyglass was hardest of the three courses, though not by much. The weather was so pure that all three courses played about one shot under par. Char- lie Wi was over at Monterey Peninsula and had a shot at 59 without ever knowing it. Wi was 8 under after a tap-in birdie on the 13th hole, and needed only three birdies in the last five holes. Trouble is, he had no idea the Shore Course was a 70. He made one more birdie and had a 9-under 61. ''I was looking at the scorecard like, 'What's the par here?' I did not know it was a par 70,'' Wi said. ''That 59 never crossed my mind. Not once.'' Joining them was former U.S. Amateur Danny Lee, who holed a bunker shot for eagle at No. 2 and holed out from the 11th fairway with a wedge for another eagle to match John- son at 9-under 63. Johnson is turning into his generation's ''Prince of Peb- ble.'' He won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in consecutive years, and then had a three-shot lead at Pebble in the U.S. Open two years ago until he shot 82 in the final round. On the third hole of that round, he hit driver left into the bushes for a lost ball and made double bogey. Raiders release CB Stanford Routt that were ''out of whack.'' Apparently, Routt's was one of them. ALAMEDA (AP) — Less than one year ago, Al Davis made Stanford Routt one of the cornerstones of the Oakland Raiders defense with a lavish contract that kept him from free agency. Routt became the first player casu- alty under the new regime with the Raiders. Routt was released on Thursday just one year into a $54.5 million, five-year contract, ending his seven-year tenure in Oakland as the team heads in a new direction. The move by new general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen signifies a change of approach from when Davis ran the team and was fiercely loyal to players he drafted. Davis died Oct. 8, setting the stage for a busy offseason. McKenzie was hired in January and fired coach Hue Jackson after one season on his first official day on the job. He then began a coaching search that ended up with Allen, and now changes are being made to the roster even before free agency begins next month. After the news conference announc- ing Allen's hiring on Jan. 30, McKen- zie said the Raiders had some contracts SANTA CLARA (AP) — San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Joshua Mor- gan is running, and even sprinting, again on the sur- gically repaired right leg that limited him to only five games in 2011 for the NFC West champions. ''I'm back!'' Morgan said Thursday, sporting his typical smile as he left team headquarters. ''I'm running again and have been for about two weeks — yes, sprinting.'' Morgan broke a bone in his lower leg Oct. 9 against Tampa Bay, had surgery to have screws inserted and was placed on season-end- ing injured reserve. It was tough watching as his team GS (Continued from page 1B) 10 points, capped by a 3- pointer from Curry, who did a shoulder-shake dance back downcourt in front of the scorer's table. The Warriors made 14 of 20 shots in the decisive third quarter, taking an 84-71 lead, and they led by 20 points in the fourth quarter. Golden State was 13 of 25 from behind the arc, including Curry's 6-for-9 performance. The Nuggets look noth- ing like the team that started PASSER (Continued from page 1B) Still, Thornton has been a consistent scorer throughout his NHL career, notching at least 20 goals in 11 consecu- tive seasons. But goals have never been his primary focus. Dur- ing a recent three-game trip to Canada, Thornton had only one shot on net. Even with his current shooting binge, he ranks just seventh among the Sharks with 100 shots on the season. Thornton said he's simply playing to his, and the team's, strengths. Ever since he arrived in San Jose in 2005, he has been surround- ed by strong finishers, including former Shark Jonathan Cheechoo, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski. But a bigger factor is that he's always has seen himself as a playmaker —much the way Santa Clara product and fellow Canadian Steve Nash, who leads the NBA in assists at age 38, is on the basketball court. "Steve shoots not as much as LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, but he's still so effective," Thornton said. Nevertheless, dad has been encouraging Thornton to take on a greater share of the scoring because the Sharks' forward corps has been hampered by injuries —especially to winger Marty Havlat. He would like to see his 6-foot-4, 235- pound son bully his way around the net more. Routt got the big contract after grad- ing out as one of the league's top cover cornerbacks in 2010. The opposition's 39.4 percent completion rate when throwing at him was the lowest of any player targeted at least 60 times that season, according to STATS LLC. Davis gave Routt the big contract, while letting Pro Bowler Nnamdi Aso- mugha test free agency. Asomugha later signed with Philadelphia, making Routt the No. 1 cornerback in Oakland. While he once again held opponents to a low completion percentage (47.4 percent) and allowed less than 6 yards per pass attempt for the season, accord- ing to STATS, he was susceptible to penalties and touchdowns. He was credited with allowing eight touch- down passes — tied for the second- most in the NFL — and led the league with 17 penalties committed, accord- ing to STATS. More changes are sure to come on the Raiders, who have not had a win- ning record or made the playoffs since 2002. Oakland is coming off one of its worst defensive seasons ever during last year's 8-8 campaign. The Raiders had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) went 13-3 in coach Jim Har- baugh's first season to end an eight-year drought with- out a playoff berth or win- ning record. While Morgan is set to become a free agent, Har- baugh has said the team plans to bring him back for next season. Morgan insists he'll be ready to re-sign the moment the team reaches out. The free agency period begins March 13. ''When they tell me, I'll be there,'' he said, walking well on his now-healthy leg. The 26-year-old Mor- gan, a four-year veteran out of Virginia Tech, had 15 catches for 220 yards and one touchdown. Five of those catches came in that out 14-5 and was the feel- good story of the NBA for the first six weeks of the sea- son following the long lock- out. Without starters Danilo Gallinari, their leading scor- er, and Timofey Mozgov, who are both sidelined by sprained ankles, the rest of the roster isn't nearly as effective as it was before. Forward Corey Brewer will get the majority of Galli- nari's minutes during the month he's expected to be out, but Brewer missed his third straight game Thursday night following the death of his father. He's expected to "I always tell him, 'You're a big guy, do a wraparound,' " Wayne Thornton said last weekend before returning home to St. Thomas, Ontario. Thornton said he has been hearing that for years. He related how the two spend a lot of time on the phone, just chatting about hockey strategy. "He watches so many games, and his point always has been the more shots you get, the better chance you have for one to go in," Thornton said. "And he likes Pavs and Patty going to the net and getting some rebounds." But Thornton added: "Then I'll have a nice pass and he's like: 'Oh, good pass- ing there.' " NCAA Top 25 Schedule Thursday's results Tennessee State 72, No. 9 Murray St. 68 No. 16 Saint Mary's at Gonzaga, late No. 20 Mississippi St. 70, Ole Miss 60 No. 21 Wisconsin 67, Minnesota 58, OT No. 23 Indiana 84, Illinois 71 Today's game No. 25 Harvard at Penn, 4 p.m. Saturday's games No. 1 Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. No. 2 Syracuse vs. UConn, 10 a.m. No. 3 Ohio St. vs. No. 11 Mich. St., 3 p.m. No. 4 Missou vs. No. 6 Baylor, 10:30 a.m. No. 5 N. Carolina vs.No. 19 Virginia, 10 a.m. No. 7 Kansas vs. Oklahoma State, 1 p.m. No. 8 Florida vs. Tennessee, 1 p.m. No. 9 Murray St. vs .Austin Peay, 5:30 p.m. No. 10 Duke vs. Maryland, 1 p.m. No.13 S. Diego St.at No.14 UNLV, 1 p.m. No. 15 Florida State vs. Miami, 10 a.m. No. 16 Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara, 8 p.m. No. 17 Creighton vs. Wichita State, 2 p.m. No. 18 Marquette vs. Cincinnati, Noon No. 20 Miss. St. vs. Georgia, 10:30 a.m. No. 24 Louisville at West Virginia, 9 a.m. No. 25 Harvard at Princeton, 4 p.m. Sunday's games No. 12 Georgetown vs. St. John's, 10 a.m. No. 22 Michigan vs. Illinois, 10 a.m. Clippers Lakers Phoenix and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team his- tory. Oakland also became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing in a season. The Raiders also set an NFL record last season with 163 penalties for 1,358 yards. Routt has played 110 games with 53 starts since being drafted in the second round by Oakland in 2005. He became a starter his third season before falling behind Chris Johnson on the depth chart in 2008-09. He worked his way back into the starting lineup in 2010 and was Oakland's top cornerback last season when he set career highs with four interceptions and 15 passes defensed. Notes: The Raiders also hired two more assistant coaches, making Johnny Holland the linebackers coach and Keith Burns the assistant special teams coach. Holland spent the past five seasons in Houston, where he coached two AP NFL Defensive Rookies of the year in Demeco Ryans (2006) and Brian Cushing (2009). He had previously worked in Detroit and Green Bay. Burns has spent 28 years as a college coach, most recently with Mississippi. 49ers wideout Joshua Morgan eager to get back nearby. game with the Buccaneers before he was injured. San Francisco, which lost in overtime of the NFC championship game last month to the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants, cer- tainly could use Morgan back in top form. General manager Trent Baalke is expected to address the receiving corps in April's draft after the 49ers' receivers managed just one catch for 3 yards in the 20- 17 loss to New York at Can- dlestick Park on Jan. 22. Morgan made his way through orange cones and dirt Thursday as the 49ers' facility is under construc- tion for initial work on a new $1 billion stadium rejoin the team at Indiana this weekend. And the team will resign restricted free agent Wilson Chandler when his season with Zhejiang Guangsha in the Chinese league ends. The Nuggets could sure use his 14-point scoring average as soon as possible. After the Nuggets' 10- point loss to Dallas a night earlier, coach George Karl suggested playing in Lithua- nia during the NBA lockout might have caught up to speedy point guard Ty Law- son, saying, ''He might be thinking he's in the 50th or NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB 15 8 .652 — 15 11 .577 1.5 11 15 .423 5.5 WARRIORS 914 .391 6 KINGS 916 .360 7 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 18 9 .667 — Houston Dallas Memphis 16 11 .593 2 15 11 .577 2.5 13 13 .500 4.5 New Orleans 4 22 .154 13.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 20 5 .800 — Denver Utah Portland 15 12 .556 6 13 11 .542 6.5 14 12 .538 6.5 Minnesota 13 13 .500 7.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 18 8 .692 — Boston New York WL Pct GB 14 11 .560 3.5 New Jersey 8 19 .296 10.5 Toronto 11 15 .423 7 8 19 .296 10.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 19 7 .731 — 17 9 .654 2 16 10 .615 3 Miami Atlanta Orlando Washington 5 21 .192 14 Charlotte Central Division Chicago Indiana 3 22 .120 15.5 WL Pct GB 22 6 .786 — 17 8 .680 3.5 Milwaukee 11 14 .440 9.5 Cleveland 10 14 .417 10 Detroit 7 20 .259 14.5 —————————————————— Thursday's results Golden State 109, Denver 101 Oklahoma City at Sacramento, late Houston 96, Phoenix 89 L.A. Lakers 88, Boston 87, OT Today's games Atlanta at Orlando, 4 p.m. Boston at Toronto, 4 p.m. Chicago at Charlotte, 4 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Miami at Washington, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. New Jersey at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Indiana at Memphis, 5 p.m. Portland at New Orleans, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at New York, 5 p.m. Oklahoma City at Utah, 7:30 p.m. Saturday's games Phoenix at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Denver at Indiana, 4 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. New York at Minnesota, 5 p.m. San Antonio at New Jersey, 5 p.m. Portland at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Orlando at Milwaukee, 6 p.m. It is set to be a 1.85 mil- lion square-foot facility with a 68,500-seat stadium featuring 165 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats. The venue also will be con- structed with the versatility to host a wide range of events, including domestic and international soccer, college football, motocross, concerts and civic events. Last Thursday at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, NFL owners approved a $200 million loan to help the 49ers build a stadium near their current training site. Team President Jed York's hope is to be in the new venue by 2014, 2015 at the latest. 60th game in the season rather than the 26th. Ty needs to be on his 'A' game.'' Lawson missed a few more baskets Thursday night when his open, short shots rimmed out or bounced off the iron. Overall, his said his team hadn't recovered from three games in three nights last week, suggesting before the game Thursday night that there was a residual effect both mentally and physically on his team. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA SHARKS 29 16 6 64 148 121 Kings Phoenix 26 21 8 60 145 144 Dallas 28 23 2 58 141 150 Ducks 21 24 8 50 138 158 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Detroit 36 17 2 74 176 131 St. Louis 32 14 7 71 133 109 Nashville 32 18 5 69 155 144 Chicago 29 18 7 65 171 163 Columbus 15 33 6 36 125 179 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 34 15 5 73 176 135 Minnesota 25 21 8 58 124 141 Calgary 25 22 8 58 131 149 Colorado 27 25 3 57 140 153 Edmonton 21 28 5 47 143 162 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA N.Y.Rangers 34 13 5 73 145 106 Philadelphia31 16 7 69 177 160 New Jersey 31 19 4 66 153 152 Pittsburgh 30 19 5 65 163 141 N.Y. Islanders22 23 8 52 128 154 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 33 17 2 68 180 117 Ottawa 28 22 7 63 166 177 Toronto 28 21 6 62 171 161 Montreal 22 24 9 53 144 149 Buffalo 23 24 6 52 132 154 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 25 17 11 61 134 150 Washington 28 21 5 61 151 152 Winnipeg 26 24 6 58 134 153 Tampa Bay 23 24 6 52 151 180 Carolina 20 25 10 50 139 168 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Thursday's results Dallas 4, Columbus 2 Florida 3, Los Angeles 1 Montreal 4, N.Y. Islanders 2 N.Y. Rangers 4, Tampa Bay 3, OT Ottawa 4, Nashville 3 Philadelphia 4, Toronto 3 Phoenix 2, Calgary 1, OT St. Louis 4, New Jersey 3, SO Vancouver 5, Minnesota 2 Winnipeg 3, Washington 2, SO Today's games Chicago at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Carolina at Colorado, 6 p.m. Saturday's Games Florida at New Jersey, 10 a.m. Los Angeles at N.Y. Islanders, 10 a.m. Nashville at Boston, 10 a.m. N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Edmonton at Ottawa, 11 a.m. Winnipeg at Pittsburgh, 11 a.m. Montreal at Toronto, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Colorado at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Columbus at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Chicago at Phoenix, 5:30 p.m. Vancouver at Calgary, 7 p.m. 26 19 10 62 119 120