Bay Area Buzz 12/19: Sharks Win, Warriors Win, Derek Norris
Bay Area Topics
Sharks Win
"After giving the Oilers their only win in their last 16 games, the Sharks were in danger of losing yet another game to the league’s doormat.Instead, goals by Matt Tennyson and Barclay Goodrow erased a third period deficit in a 4-3 Sharks win on Thursday night at SAP Center.It was San Jose’s seventh straight win at home, and eighth in the last nine games, all in regulation. The Sharks improved to 18-11-4, moving ahead of Vancouver and into second place in the Pacific Division with 40 points."
Warriors Win
"Coming off a tough loss to the Grizzlies, the Warriors took no time to get back to their winning ways, beating the Thunder 114-109 Thursday night at Oracle Arena.Stephen Curry had a game-high 34 points, 11 of which game in the fourth quarter.The Warriors led much of the way in the second half, but could not pull away from the Thunder, who took a 105-104 lead with just under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter on a basket by Russell Westbrook. Golden State, however, responded with six straight — Curry came right back with a jump shot, Draymond Green put a layup on an offensive rebound, and Curry drove inside and scored to push the Warriors back up ahead 110-105.Up three with the ball and 38 seconds to play, Harrison Barnes sealed the deal with a turnaround jumper, putting the Warriors up 114-109."
Derek Norris
"Billy Beane continues to throw Oakland Athletics fans into a frenzy with his latest move which sends Derek Norris to the San Diego Padres, a team who is clearly working on a 58 man roster. The trade involves Jesse Hahn, R.J. Alvarez, and Seth Streich.I will be the first to admit that I operated on the assumption that by hiring a part time catching coach, Derek Norris was going to be safe for one more season. That was stupid. I should never assume these types of things.Derek Norris, a fan favorite, had proven to be a liability defensively and, in some ways, changed the course of the wildcard game of 2014. Offensively, Norris was solid hitting .270 on the season, .311 against left handed pitchers and .244 against right handers with five homeruns from each. Based on his defensive ability alone, it is not much of a surprise that Norris was on the trade block and with a depth of catchers set for 2015 nobody should be surprised that one of them is gone.The Athletics also gave up Seth Streich, a low A ball pitcher with a 3.37 career ERA, in this trade but with the number of pitchers Beane has collected in the past month he can afford to use a number of them as trade bait. In fact, if you’re speculating that some of these pitching acquisitions will have to be traded to make room for “the big trade” that Beane is inevitably working on, you’re not alone."