Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/66064
2B Daily News – Thursday, May 17, 2012 every day, every game, and every time another celebrated member of that landmark Giants team starts to fade away. BY TIM KAWAKAMI San Jose Mercury News (MCT) It gets clearer and more undeniable Edgar Renteria, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff and now Freddy Sanchez with his latest injury setback. They were all huge parts of the Giants fading from 2010 glory Peter Sagan wins again If anything, the merging of all these last-gasp performances by all those players in October 2010, coupled with the slippage of so many of the 2010 stars, shows us all how truly hard it all was. And is. 2010 World Series victory, now they're gone from any semblance of a major role for the Giants or any team these days. Giants was either a franchise-wide deal with the devil or an incredible set of perfectly timed individual culmina- tions, and let's assume the latter for pro- priety's sake. Really, it can't be more obvious. What happened with the 2010 Sanchez's continued struggle to get healthy again _ and the Giants' frantic search for a second baseman to replace him (Jeff Keppinger? Emmanuel Bur- riss? Ryan Theriot?) — shows us how hard it is. Huff's struggles with returning to his 2010 form and with anxiety attacks shows us how hard it is. The Giants pitching staff's sustained strength — but the team's inability to get to the top of the division since 2010 — shows us how hard it is. But stop and realize: The 2010 Giants didn't just get career years out of those six position players, who all were 30 or older at the time. The Giants seem to have essentially gotten career-ending performances from them in 2010, too. It's as if Huff, Burrell, Uribe and the rest each had one great spark left, and they were able to light up an entire franchise for those thumping months. Then not any more, not for the Giants or for themselves, not ever again. They're all mostly burned out or diminished. (I'll leave Cody Ross out of this spe- cific discussion, though he qualifies as a 2010 star-burst performer, because he was under 30 in 2010 and he's per- forming decently in Boston this season after a dip for the Giants last season.) Right now, I'll quickly point out that I'm not trying to suggest that the 2010 title was a fluke or less deserving than any other hard-earned glory. It wasn't a fluke — the Giants' pitch- ing was championship caliber, the hit- ting was pivotal, and going 11-4 in the postseason verifies any credible claim on historical significance. veterans with hopes of further star- bursts — from Keppinger, Carlos Bel- tran and Miguel Tejada last year to Melky Cabrera and Theriot this year — shows how hard it is. Simply, the Giants might be able to The Giants' scramble to add other runs with 86 RBIs, a .290 batting aver- age and a .506 slugging percentage. Huff since: Hit 12 homers with 59 RBIs, a .246 average and a .370 slug- ging percentage in 2011, and has played in 16 total games, with one homer and four RBIs this season. • Uribe in 2010 (at 30): Hit 24 homers with 85 RBIs and moved into the full-time third base spot smoothly in the postseason. Uribe since: Has hit a total of five homers and 38 RBIs since joining the Dodgers last season. • Renteria in 2010 (at 33): Hit .412 with two homers, six RBIs and six runs in the World Series, and earned the Series MVP award. Renteria since: Hit .251 with five homers with the Reds in 2011, and is not on a major league roster currently. • Burrell in 2010 (at 33): Hit 18 homers and had 51 RBIs in 96 games after joining the Giants early in the sea- son. find other players who approximate the 2010 performances of Burrell, Torres and the rest, and they seem to be trying to do it with younger players than in 2010, which is wise. But it won't be easy, whatever way they try. The Giants have Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Ser- gio Romo, among others, from the 2010 team. But it's never easy. And the Giants can't precisely duplicate what they got out of Huff, Uribe and the rest because those guys will never be able to do it again. A quick run through the Starburst Six, then and now: • Sanchez in 2010 (at 32): Hit .273 in the World Series and had four dou- bles and scored five runs in postseason, and also played flawlessly at second base. Burrell since: Hit seven homers and had 21 RBIs in 92 games in 2011, and retired after the season. •Torres in 2010 (at 32): 16 homers, a .268 average and .823 OPS Torres since: Four homers, a .221 average and .643 OPS last year for the Giants and has played in only 14 games for the Mets this season. There are other names that could be mentioned — Ross, of course, and closer Brian Wilson, who made 80 appearances in the 2010 regular season and postseason combined and recently underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow. they're younger, they have other chances. But Ross and Wilson are different; Sanchez since: Has played in 60 of the Giants' 195 games from the start of the 2011 season and none since June 10 of that year. • Huff in 2010 (at 33): Hit 26 home The Starburst Six were and are dif- ferent from that. They somehow and fatefully all hit their career peaks at the same time in September and October 2010, and helped push the Giants to the franchise's first San Francisco title. And then Huff, Sanchez, Renteria, Burrell, Torres and Uribe all started to fade away, which is what comets do, when they pass in the night. vakia raced to his event-opening fourth straight stage victory in the Tour of California on Wednes- day to increase his overall lead to 16 seconds. The 22-year-old Sagan, riding for Liquigas-Can- nondale, finished the 130.2-mile stage from Sono- ra to Clovis — the longest leg in the race — in 5 hours, 18 minutes, 8 seconds in 95-degree condi- tions. ''Today was a harder stage,'' Sagan said. ''Today, I was thinking it was not possible for me to win, but (teammate) Daniel (Oss) said, 'Today we work for you.''' Australia's Heinrich Haussler, racing for Garmin-Barracuda, was second for the fourth straight day, about a bike-length behind. Rabobank's Michael Matthews, also from Aus- tralia, was third in the stage. Jeff Louder, the United Healthcare rider from at Tour de California CLOVIS (AP) — Slovakia's Peter Sagan of Slo- low jersey,'' Sagan said. ''But maybe tomorrow I recover and try for another stage later in the race.'' Haussler, a former Tour de France stage winner, Three-time race winner Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., who rides for the Belgium- based Omega Pharma-QuickStep team, was 36th overall, also 40 seconds back. ''I think tomorrow I will say goodbye to the yel- again failed in an attempt to pass Sagan in the final sprint. ''Sagan is the fastest guy at the moment and he proved it again today,'' Haussler said. ''I believe we've got one more opportunity for a sprint. And I'm very motivated, but there's some serious racing to get through in the next few days.'' The warm conditions led four riders to abandon the race, with 118 riders from a starting field of 128 in Santa Rosa now left. The eight-day event continues Thursday with an 18.4-mile individual time trial in Bakersfield, fol- lowed by two mountain stages. The 735-mile race concludes Sunday with a 42-mile road race from Beverly Hills to Los Angeles. For Carson Palmer, 2012 is the season of no excuses BY MONTE POOLE The Oakland Tribune (MCT) One day, he's a retired quarterback sitting on his couch. The next day, an old friend summons him to Oakland to try to save a sinking football team. receives a warm intro- ductory greeting from his old friend and most of his new teammates while a few others extend no more than a tepid welcome. He arrives in a blink, Reflecting on his indoctrination to the Raiders and the turbu- lent months that fol- lowed, Carson Palmer on Tuesday forced a wry grin and offered a one- word summation. "Chaotic," he said. "It was such a whirl- wind that I don't even know how I felt. There are no words to describe it. It was crazy. It was chaos." Palmer can sigh at the memories insofar as he's a Raider from the start this season, leading a roster that on Tuesday LINE (Continued from page 1B) Baffert's Lookin At Lucky was last to win from No. 7 in 2010. second-favorite in the field despite winning the Derby, O'Neill said, ''Bob Baffert has won five of these. I've never run a horse here. I totally respect that. I just hope anyone who bets Bode- meister is regretting it Satur- day night.'' Asked about having the Have Another the chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. ''I'm confident,'' O'Neill A victory would give I'll said. ''You never know. But as long as we continue to train like our horse is train- ing, we won't be that far off Bodemeister. If anything Bodemeister might be behind us early.'' assembled for its first full-squad organized team activity. No longer is he the hasty addition to meet an urgent midseason need. No longer is he the sudden replacement for a popular and respected team leader, former Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell. Nor is Palmer the high-profile symbol of the authority collected by his old friend, Hue Jackson, the former Raiders coach who was dismissed in January. Palmer, 32, is the established QB. His career should be at the confluence of physical energy and sage wis- dom. His NFL legacy still is being formed, but his performance in 2012 is sure to bring some definition. "As the quarterback, you're the leader, but you never feel like it's necessarily your team," he said. "But I've been around a long time. I understand the business we're in. I understand how to win games. I understand how to get Derby winner Street Sense in a nine-horse field. Walk (30-1), Teeth of the Dog (15-1), Pretension (30- 1), Zetterholm (20-1), Went the Day Well (6-1), Creative Cause (6-1), Daddy Nose Best (12-1), Optimizer (30- 1) and Cozzetti (30-1). Creative Cause trainer Also entered are Tiger Mike Harrington, whose horse finished fifth in the Derby, was delighted with the No. 6 post. ''I don't think it affects our running style,'' Harring- ton said. ''With 11 in there, post position is not nearly as important as the Derby. The middle is great. You couldn't ask for anything better.'' Hall of Fame trainer D. out of bad situations and get into good situa- tions." All of which sets the stage for Palmer's year of validation. He already is making the adjustments to get over the loss of Jackson, whom he considers not only a friend but a men- tor. Palmer is becoming fluent in new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp's playbook, based on the West Coast offense. Palmer also will have a full off-season, fol- lowed by a full training camp. He'll have an opportunity to form bonds with teammates — such as wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Louis Murphy — with whom there was lit- tle detectable chemistry. "It's a whole new offense for everybody," he said. "We're all kind of starting from scratch. But I'm comfortable with what we're trying to do, how we'll try to attack defenses. "I'm getting more comfortable with the terminology and the the No. 10 post. ''I love it. I love the hors- es inside of me,'' Lukas said. ''I love the whole thing. If they gave me a pick, I would have picked that one. It turned out great. Every time they drew another one, it looked better.'' Went the Day Well owner Barry Irwin was delighted to see the fourth-place finisher in the Derby get the No. 5 post in the Preakness. Wayne Lukas has a long shot with Optimizer, but spoke optimistically after getting NHL PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS The odds were set by Pimlico Race Course handi- capper Frank Carulli. The field is the smallest since 2007, when Curlin beat (Best-of-7) Wednesday's result New Jersey 3, N.Y. Rangers 2 Series tied 1-1 Today's game Phoenix at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. Los Angeles leads series 2-0 dle's good,'' Irwin said. ''I didn't want to be on the out- side because the horse is green and I think he has a tendency to veer off to the right. Being on the rail, being a horse that doesn't have that much experience, I think it ''I like the draw. The mid- NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Wednesday's results Boston 107, Philadelphia 91 Boston leads series 2-1 L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, late Oklahoma City leads series 1-0 Today's games Miami at Indiana, 4 p.m. Series tied 1-1 L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. San Antonio leads series 1-0 playbook, getting more comfortable with where (Darren) McFadden wants the ball, with where Jacoby likes to catch the ball. Just those little individual nuances. Last year, there was no time for that." What it means, in essence, is that Palmer will have the time and latitude — as well as the backing of rookie head coach Dennis Allen — to make the Raiders his team. "I think Carson understands how the league operates," Allen said. "He understands that I have a lot of respect for him. I'm going to let him go to work and do his job. "I've been real pleased with him. Car- son's really taken charge of the offense, taken a leadership role. He's been in here every day, working, and done a great job." Palmer wasn't pleased with the team's 4-5 record with him at quar- terback, despite the des- peration. Though he made some fabulous would've been a little too claustrophobic for him down there.'' MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Salt Lake 8 3 2 26 19 12 QUAKES 72 2 23 22 12 Seattle 7 2 1 22 13 4 Vancouver 5 3 2 17 10 11 Colorado 5 6 0 15 15 14 FC Dallas 3 6 3 12 11 18 Galaxy 3 5 2 11 12 15 Chivas USA 3 6 1 10 6 12 Portland 2 5 3 9 9 13 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 7 3 1 22 23 16 Kansas City 7 3 0 21 13 7 D.C. 6 4 3 21 22 16 Chicago 4 2 3 15 11 10 N. England 4 6 0 12 12 13 Houston 3 3 3 12 8 9 Montreal 3 5 3 12 12 16 Columbus 3 4 2 11 8 11 Philadelphia 2 6 1 7 7 12 Toronto FC 0 8 0 0 6 18 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Wednesday's result D.C. United 2, Colorado 0 Saturday's games Columbus at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Seattle FC at Vancouver, 2 p.m. Houston at New England, 4:30 p.m. New York at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Toronto FC at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Sporting Kansas City at Colorado, 6 p.m. Los Angeles at Chivas USA, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's game Chicago at Portland, 4 p.m. throws, he also made too many that were inter- cepted. staff. He wants to prove that last season was not a true barometer of his ability. This quest comes easier as a veteran mak- ing the transition, from outsider trying to fit in to insider taking charge. Yet moments, in the wake of general manager Reggie McKenzie's dismissal of Jackson, when Palmer's jaws tightened. He con- ceded during a Sirius radio interview with for- mer Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon that he had a close working relation- ship with Jackson and was looking forward to a full season together. Realizing Palmer was the most profoundly affected member of the team he had inherited, Allen phoned his quar- terback even before he began to assemble his there were MLB West Division Texas A's Angels Seattle East Division Tampa Bay 24 14 .632 — Baltimore New York Toronto Boston Central Division Cleveland 21 16 .568 — Detroit Chicago 17 20 .459 4 Kansas City 15 20 .429 5 Minnesota 11 26 .297 10 —————————————————— Wednesday's results Texas 4, Oakland 1 Cleveland 9, Seattle 3 Minnesota 11, Detroit 7 Tampa Bay 2, Boston 1 Toronto 8, New York 1 Baltimore at Kansas City, late Chicago at Los Angeles, late Today's games Oakland (McCarthy 3-3) at Texas (M.Harrison 4-3), 11:05 a.m. Seattle (Noesi 2-4) at Cleveland (McAllister 1-1), 9:05 a.m. Minnesota (Walters 0-1) at Detroit (Fister 0-1), 10:05 a.m. Baltimore (Matusz 2-4) at Kansas City (Hochevar 3-3), 11:10 a.m. Chicago (Sale 3-2) at Los Angeles (C.Wilson 4-3), 12:35 p.m. New York (P.Hughes 3-4) at Toronto (Hutchison 2-1), 4:07 p.m. Boston (Doubront 3-1) at Tampa Bay (M.Moore 1-3), 4:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Chi. White Sox at Chi. Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Baltimore at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Boston at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Miami at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Texas at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Arizona at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Minnesota at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Seattle at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. L.A. Angels at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. WL Pct GB 18 19 .486 3 WL Pct GB 23 14 .622 .5 20 17 .541 3.5 20 18 .526 4 17 20 .459 6.5 American League WL Pct GB 24 14 .632 — 19 19 .500 5 16 21 .432 7.5 16 23 .410 8.5 "Just to touch base with him before I did any hiring," the coach said. "I wanted to intro- duce myself to Carson, let him know I was going to be the head coach and looking for- ward to the opportunity to work with him." Though these are not the Raiders that Palmer joined upon answering Jackson's call — new regime, new dynamic, new direction — he insists he is comfortable with what he sees and optimistic about the sea- son. Palmer knows what's Salt Lake City, was 34 seconds back in third place with four stages left. Sagan's fourth straight 10-second bonus for a stage win gave him a 40-second advantage over the expected overall contenders, including defending champion Chris Horner, the RadioShack-Nissan rider from Bend, Ore. Horner finished in the main field for the fourth consecutive day. He was 27th in the stage and 18th overall. at stake and what's expected, knows if 2011 was the year of mitigat- ing circumstances, then 2012 is season of no excuses. MLB West Division Dodgers GIANTS Arizona Colorado Padres East Division Washington 23 14 .622 — Atlanta Miami New York St. Louis 20 17 .541 3 20 17 .541 3 Philadelphia 19 19 .500 4.5 Central Division WL Pct GB 21 15 .583 — Cincinnati 19 17 .528 2 Pittsburgh 17 20 .459 4.5 Houston Milwaukee 16 21 .432 5.5 Chicago 16 21 .432 5 5 15 22 .405 6.5 —————————————————— Wednesday's results St. Louis at San Francisco, late Cincinnati 6, New York 3 Colorado 6, Arizona 1 Houston 8, Milwaukee 3 Miami 8, Atlanta 4 Philadelphia 9, Chicago 2 San Diego 4, Los Angeles 2 Washington 7, Pittsburgh 4 Today's games St. Louis (Wainwright 2-4) at San Fran. (M.Cain 2-2), 12:45 p.m. Cincinnati (Latos 2-2) at New York (Dickey 5-1), 10:10 a.m. Arizona (Cahill 2-4) at Colorado (Nicasio 2-1), 12:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ja.McDonald 2-2) at Washington (Zimmermann 2-3), 4:05 p.m. Miami (Nolasco 4-1) at Atlanta (Beachy 4-1), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Marcum 2-1) at Houston (Happ 2-3), 5:05 p.m. Philadelphia (Halladay 3-3) at Chicago (Volstad 0-5), 5:05 p.m. Los Angeles (Harang 2-2) at San Diego (Volquez 2-2), 7:05 p.m. Friday's games Oakland at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Chi. White Sox at Chi. Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Baltimore at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Boston at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at N.Y.Yankees, 4:05 p.m. Miami at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Texas at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Arizona at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Minnesota at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. Seattle at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. L.A. Angels at San Diego, 7:05 p.m. St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. WL Pct GB 23 15 .605 .5 National League WL Pct GB 24 13 .649 — 18 18 .500 5.5 16 22 .421 8.5 15 21 .417 8.5 14 24 .368 10.5