Bay Area Buzz 9/30: Dennis Allen, Jim Harbaugh, Jon Lester
Bay Area Topics
Dennis Allen
"From Day 1 in this three-year rebuild, Raiders owner Mark Davis made clear that general manager Reggie McKenzie was “my guy” and that coach Dennis Allen was “Reggie’s guy.”Davis got more and more frustrated with Allen over two 4-12 seasons but McKenzie convinced Davis to give Allen another chance this year with a more talented cast of players.That chance ended Monday night, as Davis told McKenzie to fire his guy. The Raiders fired Allen, a day after an embarrassing 38-14 loss to Miami in London Sunday left the team with an 0-4 record after the easy part of their schedule and heading into the bye week.He didn’t have any answers for the team’s problems, and his players started to sense that.…The past couple of seasons, Allen and defensive coordinator Jason Tarver were able to blame a lack of talent. Davis even called the past two seasons “a deconstruction period” due to salary-cap problems and the dumping of starters.But Davis made clear way back at the NFL combine in February that there would “no excuses” this season. Not after Oakland had the most salary cap room in the league.And then the Raiders went out and signed former stars Justin Tuck, Lamarr Woodley, Maurice Jones-Drew, Antonio Smith, Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and others. But only Brown has even played remotely well.“This is one that we’ve been building toward the last few years,” Davis told the Chronicle at the Combine. “So, yeah, there is no question. We have to hit it right now.“There are no excuses.”"
–Vic Tafur, San Francisco Chronicle
Jim Harbaugh
"NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said Sunday night the 49ers no longer want to play for Jim Harbaugh.“They want him out,” Sanders said. “They’re not on the same page.”Harbaugh’s reaction? He didn’t mince words Monday at his news conference.“I personally think that’s a bunch of crap,” he said.However, it wasn’t just Sanders. ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said in a radio interview Monday the lack of energy and bad body language by the 49ers offensive players in a 26-21 win over the Eagles on Sunday suggested the atmosphere around the team – led by the offensive-minded Harbaugh – has become “almost toxic.”Your thoughts, Jim? Harbaugh looked surprised.“Really?” he said. “I haven’t seen Trent or Deion around much.”"
–Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle
Jon Lester
"Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels needed just four words when he was asked to describe A’s left-hander Jon Lester.“The bigger, the better,” Daniels said of Lester, who will start for the A’s on Tuesday night in their win-or-go-home American League wild-card game against the Kansas City Royals.Daniels was reacting to how Lester performs in postseason pressure situations, about how he can take a team on his shoulders in October.The numbers back up Daniels’ assertion. Lester is 6-4 with a 2.11 ERA in 13 postseason games, including 11 starts. In the World Series, he’s 3-0 in three starts with a 0.43 ERA.…That’s what A’s general manager Billy Beane wanted when he dealt outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox for Lester. The A’s already had good pitching, but they didn’t have an unqualified ace. In Game 5 losses in the American League Division Series in 2012 and 2013, they were beaten by Justin Verlander, who was the ace for the Detroit Tigers.So it’s no surprise that A’s manager Bob Melvin and pitching coach Curt Young weeks ago lined up the pitching rotation to have Lester pitch in the wild-card game.“That’s what we got him for,” Melvin said. “He’s special in that situation.”"