Heading into his scheduled start against Academic Athletic Association foe Balboa, Lowell senior pitcher Elan Lavie hadn’t exactly racked up a lot of time on the mound for the Cardinals.His exact number of innings pitched this season? One.Lavie matched that number and much, much more Thursday, pitching a complete-game five-hitter to lead Lowell to a 5-2 win over Balboa at Crocker Amazon, their second defeat of the Buccaneers in as many days.
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The consensus of those in the know about Skyline College freshman standout Rashad Taylor is simple. The kid loves the game of baseball.As evidenced by his breakout performance this year as the No. 2 hitter in a top-heavy lineup, the kid can also play. Taylor is the Trojans’ leading hitter with a .426 average and also paces the team with 40 hits, five triples, six homers, nine stolen bases, a .528 on-base percentage and is among the Coast Conference North Division leaders with a .777 slugging percentage.
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Just 12 days ago, the USF baseball team was coming off a heart-breaking one-run setback to defending national champ Oregon State, the final defeat of a five-game losing streak thatfeatured only 12 runs from the Dons’ anemic offense.In dire need of victories and offense, the Dons returned to Benedetti Diamond in search of answers.They found some in Luke Sommer.
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With Bobby Crosby healthy and Mark Kotsay out until July, it looked as though the A’s were ready to start the season well-prepared. But Oakland was thrown a curveball when it learned that first baseman Dan Johnson will start the season on the disabled list after being diagnosed with torn cartilage in his left hip. Johnson was injured Monday in a collision at first with Colorado’s Yorvit Torrealba, a former Giant. Johnson could be sidelined up to three months.
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With the Major League Lacrosse season about a month away, the San Francisco Dragons traded for some brotherly help. Goalie Matt Vallone and midfielder Steve Vallone were acquired from the Los Angeles Riptide in exchange for Alex Cade and Zander Ritz. "Matt and Steve are both big, strong, athletic kids," said Dragons coach Brian Silcott. "And I think that adding them to our roster immediately makes us a stronger team."
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Even though he has six Gold Gloves, Eric Chavez’s defense doesn’t get the kudos it deserves. The third baseman does things so effortlessly, it seems like anyone can do what he does. But the one part of Chavez’s game that hasn’t blossomed is his bat. Billed as a player who would hit .300 and have decent power, Chavez has provided the latter (seven seasons of 20-plus homers), but has not hit for a great average, batting better than .280 just twice in his eight full seasons. As a team leader, Chavez needs to step up at the plate.
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The lineup: JASON KENDALL, CATCHER. He might be the grittiest player on the team — and the most stubborn. Found his stroke after early struggle. Finished strong, hitting .358 in August and .300 in September.SHANNON STEWART, LEFT FIELD» Foot injury limited ex-Minnesota Twin to just 44 games last year. Has been off his game somewhat since leaving Toronto. Injuries have negated ex-leadoff hitter’s speed game.MILTON BRADLEY, CENTER FIELD
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He patiently climbed the ladder, honing his skills at Triple-A Sacramento (winning two Pacific Coast League division titles) before spending the last four seasons as bullpen (three years) and bench coach. The focus will be on Bob Geren being general manager Billy Beane’s best man at his wedding, but Geren should know the ins and outs of these players.
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1: The heralded Big Three dwindled to one two years ago. Now, with Barry Zito switching sides of the Bay, it is up to a new crop of pitchers to carry the load. While Dan Haren seems to be the most durable, it is the super-talented Rich Harden who will be the focal point of the starting staff. Harden has the nastiest repertoire of anyone in green and gold. But his issue is staying healthy. A variety of injuries have limited the hard-throwing right-hander to just 28 starts the past two seasons, including just nine last year. But the A’s won all nine of those outings.
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It didn’t seem too long ago that we were reading about how the A’s great farm system was going to hold the future of the organization.Now that the future is here, those same players have not only made a big splash at the major-league level, they’re the ones who will be looked upon to carry this team into the 2007 season.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/20?page=575
