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2B Daily News – Wednesday, March 21, 2012 GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) cisco sure hopes Posey's presence in the middle of the lineup and behind the plate will go a long way toward bringing the franchise back to the magic it felt during an improbable World Series championship run in 2010. ''You start with Buster and having him back, having him out here, that's a big part of our club,'' manager Bruce Bochy said. ''A very impor- tant piece of this club. ... We've had some changes, we have some new faces, and we really feel we're a much-improved club, more athletic. Still we have to go out and do it, but we certain- ly like where we're at right now.'' Posey, the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, isn't worried about trying to make up for those 300 or 400 at- bats he missed while injured. His swing has felt great since last fall, and he is going with that. ''Even back in Arizona I felt pretty good after not hit- ting for four or five months,'' he said. ''I guess I'm just blessed, in a sense, that I enjoy this game.'' Center fielder Angel Pagan has been with the Giants for merely two months and he clearly grasps what it will mean to have Posey back and Freddy Sanchez fielding grounders and turning double plays at second base again — though Sanchez's status for opening day is in doubt as his surgi- cally repaired right shoulder recovers. Still, San Francisco feels complete again after an injury-plagued season derailed the 2010 champi- ons' shot at chasing another championship. With reigning NL West winner Arizona the early favorite to capture the divi- sion, Bochy's rejuvenated Giants expect to be right in contention when it counts. And Pagan plans to do his part to complement all of the Giants' key returning play- ers. ''They have high expecta- tions and I have high expec- tations, too,'' Pagan said. ''I A's (Continued from page 1B) awful lot to the Athletics. Ramirez must sit out the first 50 games for a second violation of baseball's drug policy, making him eligible to play his first game barring rainouts on May 30 — his 40th birthday. ''It's going to be cool,'' the slugger said. ''I'm just so happy to be here. I never thought I was going to get another chance. I'm doing something that I like. We've got a bunch of great guys.'' Oakland general manager Billy Beane traded away All- Star starter Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals, All-Star closer Andrew Bailey to Boston and Trevor Cahill to the Dia- mondbacks — quite a blow to a pitching staff that had been among baseball's best only a couple of years back. The new-look A's will open the season in Japan for the second time in four years March 28-29 against the Seattle Mariners, one of manager Bob Melvin's old teams. Melvin begins his first full season as skipper since taking over last June for the fired Bob Geren and proving enough to owner- ship and the front office that he landed a three-year con- tract. Brandon McCarthy will get the ball on opening day for a rotation that also fea- tures new right-hander Bar- tolo Colon and is eagerly awaiting the return of lefties Braden from shoulder surgery and Brett Anderson, who was moved to the 60- day disabled list as he recov- ers from ''Tommy John'' reconstructive elbow surgery. Beane's plan this winter was to rebuild in the hopes that Commissioner Bud Selig and Major League Baseball would grant the A's permission to relocate some 40 miles south to San Jose and begin building a modern prepared myself this offsea- son to help this club, to spark the offense, get on base and put pressure on the bases and hopefully set the table for the big boys to drive me in and put a couple of points early in the game. I think that's going to be our key to be successful this year.'' General manager Brian Sabean has vowed to keep his talented pitching staff intact for as long as possible, and San Francisco signed two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lince- cum to a $40.5 million, two- year deal in January. It's unclear whether fellow All- Star starter Matt Cain will stick around beyond 2012 or test free agency. The sides have been negotiating this spring but Cain indicated he wanted something resolved one way or another by open- ing day. The 27-year-old Cain, a two-time All-Star, went 12- 11 last season with a 2.88 ERA and reached 200 innings for the fifth straight season — a span in which he also has made at least 32 starts each year. He also did- n't allow an earned run dur- ing the entire 2010 postsea- son. Perhaps the two players with the most to prove this year are first baseman and left fielder Aubrey Huff and lefty starter Barry Zito. Huff will have to consis- tently perform to keep hold on a starting spot. He prac- ticed pilates to improve his conditioning during the win- ter in hopes of returning to his form from two years ago, when he batted .290 with a team-leading 26 home runs and 86 RBIs and was promptly rewarded with a $22 million, two-year con- tract that pays him $10 mil- lion this year and also includes a $10 million club option for 2013 with a $2 million buyout. Then he hit .246 last sea- son with 12 homers and 59 RBIs. Like Pablo Sandoval before him, he's the latest player to publicly be called to task by Sabean and Bochy. ''Everybody's healthy, that's all you can ask for,'' Huff said. ''When you start talking about the long season new ballpark — rather than staying put in the run-down Oakland Coliseum. Now, it seems there's no ruling imminent despite Selig saying at the January owners meetings the issue was on the ''front burner.'' While clearly frustrated at how long it's taking Selig's committee to say anything at all, A's owner Lew Wolff has said he will respect the process. Melvin can only concern himself with the players he does have and getting them ready on short order. The A's formed a plan over the winter for the strange schedule of opening with two games in Japan before returning to finish the exhibition slate stateside ahead of the home opener with Seattle on April 6. ''Once you know you're going, you just deal with it,'' Melvin said of adjusting the spring routine to get his play- ers ready in a hurry. ''No excuses. We have another team doing the same thing that's going there. You find a way to alter your routine to be able to deal with some- thing like that. Once we get there, it's not like we're play- ing the games right away. We'll have some exhibition games and some workouts, so once the games start we'll be in a routine to where we'll be ready for those two games.'' Cespedes, given a $36 million, four-year deal and a chance to start his career in the big leagues after the A's outbid Florida and others to land him, has shown the A's enough even as a late spring training arrival to earn the starting job in center field. Crisp will shift to left. Crisp has said he didn't mind either way. He likes the way things are shaping up throughout the lineup. ''With Cespedes and Manny possibly being mid- dle-of-the-lineup type of guys, that can extend our — 2010 everybody was healthy. We got lucky. In 2011, a lot of guys got hurt. As long as you're healthy good things can happen.'' Bearded closer Brian Wilson is back from an elbow injury that limited him late last season, and lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt is fully healed from a freak Sept. 8 accident in which he seriously cut his non-throw- ing hand while trying to sep- arate frozen hamburgers and didn't pitch again. ''I feel great,'' said Wil- son, the 2010 majors-leading saves leader with 48. ''Ready to rock.'' Shortstop Brandon Craw- ford is determined to make an impact in his first full big league season. The 25-year- old Crawford hit .204 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 66 games last sea- son, and the Giants want him to do more with the bat. He made an impression on Sabean and Bochy with strides in the Fall League, hitting .276. He was at .307 before his average fell with a 1-for-12 slump over the final four games. ''The unknown factor is gone,'' Bochy said. ''He knows what he's looking at as far as playing in the major leagues. That's nice to know.'' For now, though, all eyes will be on Posey. While Bochy hasn't put a number on how many games Posey might catch, there are no plans for a position switch to first — at least not in the near future. In the aftermath of the injury, Posey acknowledges the thought crossed his mind, but only for a moment. ''I'm not going to lie, there were some thoughts a couple of months after, 'Well, maybe it wouldn't be bad to move,''' he recalled. ''But then the more I thought about it, I realized how much I enjoy catching. As hard as I'm going to work and have worked and going to contin- ue to work to get back behind the plate, I want to catch for as long as I possi- bly can.'' And that's right where the Giants want him for another memorable October run. lineup,'' Crisp said. ''That's just going to make our lineup better when you've got two guys who can come right into the middle of our lineup. It's just going to make our lineup stronger.'' The A's signed Ramirez to a one-year minor league contract on Feb. 20 that is worth approximately $500,000 if he's added to the big league roster. So far this spring, he has been on good behavior. ''I'm going to be ready. It's going to take time. I haven't played in a whole year, so it's like starting to walk again, getting into that feel,'' Ramirez said. ''It's dif- ferent from the players who are here. They played last year, so it's easy for them to get their rhythm back. I haven't faced a pitcher (in a major league game) since April — a whole year long. But, stay positive.'' Ramirez retired from the Tampa Bay Rays last season rather than serve a 100-game suspension for a second failed drug test. The penalty was cut to 50 games because he sat out nearly all of last season. The slugger realizes full well this could be his last chance at mending his repu- tation — at least a little bit — and he also hopes to be a positive clubhouse presence for a young team. Suzuki is optimistic that will be the case. ''He's going to bring a great energy to the lineup,'' Suzuki said. ''It's going to be fun. I'm excited.'' Ramirez ranks 14th on the career list with 555 home runs. He went 1 for 17 (.059) in five games last season for Tampa Bay. This will mark the 20th major league season for Ramirez, a career .312 hitter with 1,831 RBIs. ''It'll take time, but I'm going to put the time into it,'' he said, ''and I'm pretty sure we're going to be fine.'' Detroit A's Toronto Seattle Boston New York Baltimore Cleveland Warriors owner Joe Lacob fiercely booed by fans OAKLAND (AP) — Golden State War- riors owner Joe Lacob worked into the wee hours of Tuesday morning to return ''hun- dreds'' of emails in the wake of a stunning display by typically well-behaved Bay Area fans, who booed him throughout a halftime ceremony to retire Hall of Famer Chris Mullin's No. 17 jersey. As a visibly shaken Lacob struggled to make his tribute speech on Monday night at Oracle Arena, the crowd booed so relentlessly that Mullin eventually stood up and asked supporters to be patient with Lacob's vision for a franchise that has endured decades of futility. ''Sometimes change is inevitable and it's going to work out just fine,'' Mullin told the fans. ''With your support and patience and use that passion in the right direction, this thing is going in the right way. I've got great confidence in Joe, Mark Jackson, and every- thing will work out just fine.'' When the boos continued to rain down after Mullin spoke, Hall of Famer Rick Barry hopped out of his seat and also grabbed the microphone and tried to do his part to bring calm to what was supposed to be a special occasion. ''Hey, one second here. Come on, people. You fans are the greatest fans in the world, as everybody has said that,'' Barry said. ''Show a little bit of class. This is a man that I've spent some time talking to. He is going to change this franchise. This is crazy, serious- ly. Come on, you're doing yourself a disser- vice. ... I know he's going to do it, so give him the respect he deserves.'' Lacob said in an email that of the hun- SMITH (Continued from page 1B) duced in Denver after the 49ers pursued the four-time NFL MVP. Coach Jim Har- baugh worked out Manning at Duke last Tuesday. The 27-year-old Smith had met with Miami on Sun- day but ultimately decided to stay put with the storied fran- chise that drafted him first overall in 2005. Smith had a breakthrough season last year, helping San Francisco reach the NFC title game. ''Welcome Back (hash- tag)AlexSmith. Let's get the train rolling now,'' tweeted 49ers defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois. Both sides made it clear after the Niners' 20-17 over- time loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the NFC championship game they planned to work out a new deal. It just took a little while longer than expected after Manning briefly entered the picture. While Smith told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Sunday he was surprised Manning became a free agent, he said he understood the business side of the NFL — so perhaps it won't take long for Harbaugh and Smith to get over San Fran- cisco's weeklong courting of Manning. MLB Spring Training AMERICAN LEAGUE WL Pct 13 2 .867 14 4 .778 14 4 .778 12 7 .632 9 6 .600 Kansas City 10 7 .588 Minnesota 11 8 .579 Angels 9 8 .529 9 9 .500 6 8 .429 5 10 .333 Tampa Bay 5 10 .333 Chicago Texas 5 11 .313 5 12 .294 NATIONAL LEAGUE WL Pct GIANTS Dodgers St. Louis Colorado Houston Padres Arizona Cincinnati Pittsburgh New York 11 6 .647 9 5 .643 9 6 .600 9 7 .563 9 8 .529 9 8 .529 Philadelphia 9 9 .500 Miami 7 8 .467 8 11 .421 8 11 .421 Milwaukee 7 10 .412 Chicago 8 12 .400 6 10 .375 Washington 5 9 .357 Atlanta 5 13 .278 4 11 .267 NOTE: Split-squad games count in the standings; games against non-major league teams do not. —————————————————— Tuesday's results Arizona 4, San Francisco 3 Oakland 5,Chicago Cubs (ss) 5,tie,10 innings Detroit 7, Atlanta 2 Kansas City 6, L.A. Angels 4 L.A. Dodgers 7, Milwaukee 6 N.Y. Mets 2, Washington 0 N.Y.Yankees 10, Pittsburgh 3 Philadelphia 4, Baltimore 1 Seattle 8, Cincinnati 1 St. Louis 6, Houston 1 Tampa Bay 3, Miami 2 Texas 6, Chicago Cubs (ss) 2 Toronto 9, Boston 2 Colorado vs. San Diego, late Today's Grapefruit League games Atlanta vs.Washington, 10:05 a.m. Boston vs. Pittsburgh, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota vs. Detroit, 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets vs. St. Louis, 10:05 a.m. N.Y.Yankees vs. Tampa Bay, 10:05 a.m. Toronto vs. Baltimore, 10:05 a.m. Today's Cactus League games San Francisco vs. Cleveland, 1:05 p.m. Oakland vs. Kansas City, 1:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle, 1:05 p.m. San Diego vs. L.A. Dodgers, 1:05 p.m. Milwaukee vs. Arizona, 1:10 p.m. dreds of emails he received after the alarm- ing boo-fest, ''every single one of them has been supportive.'' The video clip of the half- time ceremony had generated nearly 50,000 views on YouTube by midday Tuesday. ''I and we appreciate that support. Tonight was tough,'' he said. ''I felt badly for Chris Mullin and all of the other Warrior greats who made the trip to acknowledge and show respect for one of the greatest players to ever play for the Warriors. But, it is sports.'' Along with years of losing, Golden State last week traded away star player Monta Ellis — and Lacob himself has said it was a terribly difficult decision as Ellis became one of his favorite players in the NBA and that of his family. The Warriors traded Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown to the Mil- waukee Bucks for injured center Andrew Bogut and swingman Stephen Jackson, who was then traded Thursday to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson and a conditional first- round draft pick. It certainly didn't help that the trade was still so fresh when Ellis returned to make his debut with the Bucks on Friday night, with Milwaukee winning handily, 120-98. ''Obviously, many fans felt passionate about our recent trade of fan favorite Monta Ellis,'' Lacob said. ''We believe that they will understand this trade as we go forward. I just wish it hadn't tarnished the good deed of honoring someone who so clearly deserved the honor of retiring his jersey. The number 17 will never again be worn by another in a Warrior uniform.'' ''It's a very strong rela- tionship,'' Harbaugh told reporters while leaving team headquarters Tuesday, not- ing nothing had changed in Smith being ''our guy.'' He declined to discuss negotia- tions. Last spring, Harbaugh handed over his playbook to Smith during a brief lifting of the lockout — a show of confidence in the QB even though he wasn't under con- tract. Smith wound up re- signing for $4.9 million, then earned a $1 million bonus for making the playoffs as the 49ers ended an eight- year stretch without a post- season berth or winning record. ''I don't think there will be any bad blood because he went to Miami for an inter- view,'' former 49ers running back great Roger Craig said Tuesday. ''That's part of the process, it's the nature of the beast. He has to do what's best for him and his family. I'm pretty sure the 49ers are going to work something out. Players love him, fans love him. I love him. ''I think Alex wants to get this put to bed so he can focus on having a great year, an All-Pro year this year,'' Craig said. ''He doesn't want this dark cloud over him. It's really his time, and he under- stands the business. He knows it's a good situation.'' 49ers CEO Jed York had said the team's three-year NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers Clippers Phoenix WL Pct GB 28 18 .609 — 26 19 .578 1.5 23 23 .500 5 WARRIORS 18 25 .419 8.5 KINGS Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 29 14 .674 — Memphis Dallas Houston 25 18 .581 4 27 20 .574 4 25 22 .532 6 New Orleans 11 34 .244 19 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Oklahoma City 34 12 .739 — Denver Utah 25 21 .543 9 24 22 .522 10 Minnesota 23 24 .489 11.5 Portland 21 24 .467 12.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Philadelphia 26 20 .565 — Boston New York Toronto Miami WL Pct GB 24 21 .533 1.5 22 24 .478 4 15 31 .326 11 New Jersey 15 32 .319 11.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 34 11 .756 — 29 18 .617 6 26 20 .565 8.5 Orlando Atlanta Washington 10 34 .227 23.5 Charlotte Central Division Chicago Indiana 7 37 .159 26.5 WL Pct GB 38 10 .792 — 26 18 .591 10 Milwaukee 20 24 .455 16 Cleveland 17 26 .395 18.5 Detroit 16 29 .356 20.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Memphis at Sacramento, late Houston 107, L.A. Lakers 104 Indiana 102, L.A. Clippers 89 Miami 99, Phoenix 95 New York 106, Toronto 87 Utah 97, Oklahoma City 90 Milwaukee at Portland, late Today's games Golden State at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Chicago at Toronto, 4 p.m. New York at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Phoenix at Orlando, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Washington at New Jersey, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Minnesota at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Detroit at Denver, 6 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. Thursday's games Golden State at Houston, 5 p.m. Utah at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Indiana at Washington, 4 p.m. Boston at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. L.A. Clippers at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Memphis at Portland, 7 p.m. 16 29 .356 11.5 offer still stood despite the pursuit of Manning, and it was just up to Smith to sign. Long booed by his home fans at Candlestick Park, Smith threw for 3,150 yards and 17 touchdowns with only five interceptions last year as San Francisco went 13-3 to win its first division title since 2002. That was a remarkable turnaround under first-year coach and 15-year NFL quarterback Harbaugh — the NFL coach of the year — who declared his confidence in Smith as a winner from Day 1 when hired away from Stanford in January 2011. San Francisco went 6-2 on the road and won four of those games in comeback fashion — and Smith rallied his team from behind five times in all, not to mention a 36-32 victory against the favored Saints in the NFC divisional playoffs. Smith completed a 14-yard touch- down pass to Davis with 9 seconds left to seal it after Drew Brees had put his team ahead. ''I can see these guys dominating for the next decade,'' Craig said. ''The kind of intangibles Har- baugh brings to the table, he's very competitive and a smart guy and players believe in him, and just look how Alex stepped up his game.'' NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA Dallas 40 28 5 85 193 195 Phoenix 36 26 12 84 194 192 Kings 35 25 12 82 167 158 SHARKS 36 26 10 82 197 186 Ducks 31 32 11 73 185 206 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA x-St. Louis 46 19 8 100 189 142 Nashville 42 23 8 92 209 192 Detroit 44 25 4 92 224 179 Chicago 41 25 8 90 227 213 Columbus 23 43 7 53 167 236 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 43 21 8 94 223 182 Colorado 40 30 5 85 196 196 Calgary 34 26 14 82 183 201 Minnesota 30 32 10 70 155 199 Edmonton 29 36 8 66 196 216 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA x-Rangers 45 20 7 97 199 160 Pittsburgh 45 21 6 96 239 184 Philadelphia42 23 8 92 232 206 New Jersey 42 27 5 89 201 191 N.Y. Islanders30 32 11 71 174 218 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 42 27 3 87 236 178 Ottawa 37 27 10 84 221 214 Buffalo 34 29 10 78 187 207 Toronto 32 34 8 72 210 232 Montreal 28 32 13 69 191 203 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 36 23 13 85 182 198 Washington 37 30 6 80 198 208 Winnipeg 34 31 8 76 196 211 Carolina 29 29 15 73 194 217 Tampa Bay 32 33 7 71 202 247 x-clinched playoff spot NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Tuesday's results San Jose at Los Angeles, late Chicago 5, Columbus 1 Colorado 2, Calgary 1, OT Dallas 4, Phoenix 3, SO Edmonton 6, Nashville 3 Florida 2, Philadelphia 1 New Jersey 1, Ottawa 0 N.Y. Islanders 5, Toronto 2 Pittsburgh 8, Winnipeg 4 Today's games Florida at Carolina, 4 p.m. Montreal at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Detroit at N.Y. Rangers, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at Chicago, 5 p.m. St. Louis at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Thursday's games Boston at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Edmonton at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Calgary at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Vancouver at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Colorado at Phoenix, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.