Bay Area Buzz 9/27: A’s Close to Clinching, Ryan Vogelsong, Vernon Davis, Raiders’ Defense
Bay Area Topics
A’s Close to Clinching
"Following a win against the Texas Rangers on Friday night, the Oakland Athletics saw their magic number fall to one. One win, or one Seattle loss will push the A’s into the postseason. Many fans are saying the Oakland Athletics should not celebrate this measly consolation prize, the wild card game, with the team limping worse than Josh Donaldson heading into October, and I get that. But here are a few counterarguments.The first is the most obvious. Adam Dunn. The Donkey has yet to reach postseason play in his thirteen year career. He has never bathed in champagne, lit up a stogie and regretted everything the next day. Well, not in reference to making the postseason. He may very well have been practicing.…That leads me in to reason number two. A celebration is a release. After these past two months, and after losing Yoenis Cespedes, it would be important for this team to let loose a little. Champagne showers could exorcise the demons of August and September, and propel them deep into October.…Lastly, we’ve all been a little hard on these guys as of late. Our optimism has been tested, our faith in the team put in question, and the A’s have been on the national circuit for all of the wrong reasons. You know how we’ve hated all of this? Imagine how they feel."
Ryan Vogelsong
"Ryan Vogelsong was not a lucky pitcher in 2014. Bad fortune followed him to his final regular-season pitch in Friday night’s 4-1 loss to the Padres, which assured the Giants will hit the road for Wednesday’s wild-card playoff game.Vogelsong sawed Rene Rivera’s bat in half, but the ball floated into short left field for a two-run single. That gave Vogelsong three earned runs on the night and a final ERA of 3.996, which will be rounded in official stats to 4.00.Still, Vogelsong penned another good comeback tale for the season. He lowered his ERA from last year by 1.73 and threw 81 more innings.By making all 32 starts, Vogelsong also assured he will make enough in incentives over his $5 million base salary to surpass by at least $500,000 the $6.5 million he would have earned had the Giants exercised the option on his old contract.All of that gratified Vogelsong, especially after the questions in the offseason and spring training about his ability to start every game.“On the othger hand,” he said, “I still didn’t throw the ball the way I wanted to all year.”Vogelsong will be a free agent once again, his future in San Francisco cloudy once more.“That’s what makes the way I pitched tonight even toughter to take,” he said. “You never know where you’re going to be next year in free agency. That’s why I wanted to end with a good one, depending on what happens in the playoffs. I wanted to have a good one to finish off and I blew it.”"
–Henry Schulman, San Francisco Chronicle
Vernon Davis
"Bad news for San Francisco 49ers and fantasy football owners.As we inch closer and closer to Sunday, the status of 49ers tight end Vernon Davis doesn’t look to be improving as he’s diagnosed himself as ‘day-to-day’ and ‘uncertain’ for this weekend’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.To kick off the 2014 season, the 49ers offense, led by the recently paid Colin Kaepernick, hasn’t faired well. Through the first three weeks of the season, the 49ers are currently 21st in total offense — through the air, they’ve ranked 18th in the league.Without Vernon Davis, the 49ers best offensive weapon — and Kaepernick’s favorite target — this could spell for trouble against the Eagles. Most importantly, if the 49ers aren’t able to work through Davis’ absence, a loss could spell trouble for their 2014 season."
Raiders’ Defense
"Manny from Fresno wants to know if I think the Raiders’ defensive woes are behind them.Bill Williamson: Their performance against New England was certainly an improvement. Oakland was better against the run and showed a strong pass rush. It started with improved play from veteran defensive linemen Justin Tuck and Antonio Smith. Still, injuries are mounting and Oakland will have to prove itself on defense week in and week out."