With Baseball season on the horizon, you can almost smell the scent of freshly cut grass and the mouthwatering aroma of garlic fries in the air. But with less than a week remaining before the first pitch of the 2018 MLB season, San Francisco Giants fans were given a rude awakening with some not so fortunate news regarding not one, but two of their starting pitchers.
Making his final Spring Training appearance before San Francisco's season-opener in L.A. against the rival Dodgers, a game that will be televised on ESPN and was expected to feature Madison Bumgarner versus Clayton Kershaw while showcasing the most storied rivalry in all of baseball, the Giants ace will now be forced to watch from the dugout instead of taking the mound. Hosting the Kansas City Royals in Scottsdale, Arizona in the team's final Cactus League game of 2018, MadBum was struck on his pitching hand by a Whit Merrifield line-drive in the third inning of a 9-6 loss. Fearing the worst, Bumgarner would leave the game immediately following the incident to undergo x-rays that would reveal a fracture in his left throwing hand. The injury which is described as a broken pinkie finger will require surgery, derailing Bumgarner's plans of making his fifth consecutive Opening Day start and puts the team in a difficult position to start the season. One that both MadBum and the Giants know all too well as the team experienced life without their ace for three months in 2017 after a dirt-bike accident sustained during the club's April 20 day off in Denver left Bumgarner with bruised ribs and a sprained left shoulder.
Forced to fend for themselves without the best pitcher on their staff, the Giants went on to suffer their second worse season in San Francisco franchise history by losing a total of 98 games and finishing a whopping 40 games behind the archrival Dodgers. And now the Giants will once again have to survive the gauntlet of the National League West for at least the first two months without their ace, a division which features three playoff teams from a season ago -- the NL Champion Dodgers and both Wild Card winners -- Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Making matters worse, Bumgarner's injury came just hours after the team learned that No. 3 starter Jeff Samardzija could miss up to a month with a sprained right pectoral muscle. Like they say, when it rains it pours. The injuries put a damper on what was otherwise a successful Spring Training considering no major injuries were reported prior to the last few days. And then just like that, the Giants are dealt a blow that will strip them of two starting pitchers. And Samardzija ain't no slouch either. Sure he hasn't produced the numbers he wishes he'd have in his first two seasons in a Giants uniform, but he proved to be a workhorse in 2017, leading the National League in innings pitched with 207 2/3 innings as well as walks per nine innings with 1.4.
While Bumgarner has dazzled this year during Spring Training play to the tune of a 2.84 ERA in five starts, logging 27 strikeouts in 19 innings, the exact opposite could be said for Samardzija's Spring. The 33-yeard old righty was underwhelming during his Spring Training campaign and his 10.64 ERA in four Cactus League starts (11 innings) was an automatic red-flag, which resulted in the team's concern. The injuries sustained by Bumgarner and Samardzija opens up a pair of vacancies in the Giants starting rotation. Though losing a pair of starters a week before the start of the season makes things more difficult in one aspect for Giants skipper Bruce Bochy, it makes things easier in another. Given the task of having to choose between Chris Stratton, Ty Blach and Derek Holland for the last two spots in the Giants pitching rotation, all of whom were competing for a spot in the rotation, all three will likely be called upon now with Bumgarner and Samardzija missing an extended period of time. As if San Francisco needed even more pressure to bounce back from their putrid 2017 campaign and hang with the rest of the big boys in the division, they'll be given the daunting task of having to stay afloat for at least the first months without two key starters which could very well spell a slow start to the season. Something they can ill-afford if they wanna regain their "even year magic."
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It's no secret that there's been no love lost between the San Francisco 49ers fan base and former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman since Sherman's defensive prowess was the deciding factor that prevented the Niners from punching their ticket to a second straight Super Bowl in 2013. Since Sherman deflected Colin Kaepernick's pass in the end zone intended for ex-Niners receiver Michael Crabtree which led to an interception that would stave off a comeback and ultimately end San Francisco's run of three straight NFC Championship appearances, the Niners have been stuck searching for a playoff berth ever since. The game-clinching play by the four-time All-Pro corner was one thing, as San Francisco's memorable run under head coach Jim Harbaugh came crashing down, but Sherman's antics after the game was really what fueled the distaste 49ers fans would have for the former Stanford product as he flashed choke signs at the Niners sideline before yelling at the camera with some choice words for Crabtree. His fan base in the Bay Area would only dwindle from there, thanks to the infamous turkey feast at midfield after a win at Levi's Stadium on Thanksgiving, and who could forget the negative comments made towards Harbaugh who once upon a time coached Sherman at Stanford for all four years before the two made the jump to the NFL. It's no wonder he single-handedly birthed the hatred I now have for the team I've coined the nickname, the Seattle "Seachickens."
Having served as public enemy number one for many years in the eyes of Niner fans, it's time they let bygones by bygones as the guy they loved to hate as recent as last season, will now be sporting the scarlet and gold. Just 24 hours after being released by the Seattle organization which appears to be trimming salary, the Compton, California native agreed to return to the Bay Area just a stones throw away from his alma mater in Palo Alto. A night after a sit down dinner alongside his wife and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Sherman who serving as his own agent, agreed to a three-year, $39 Million contract which includes a $5 Million signing bonus. With seven other teams rumored to have shown interest in the soon-to-be 30 year old Sherman, including the Detroit Lions who had a meeting scheduled after San Francisco, 49ers GM and fellow Stanford alum John Lynch was quick to put the Niners' name in the hat for the Richard Sherman sweepstakes after the franchise lost out on both Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, both of whom were acquired via trade by the division rival Los Angeles Rams. Seattle's decision to cut Sherman came just 48 hours after the team agreed to deal Pro Bowl defensive-end Michael Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles as Seattle appears to be undergoing a complete overhaul on defense.
Though seeing Sherman in a Niner uniform will definitely take some getting used, the move makes sense in several areas. While Sherman is coming off of surgeries to each of his Achilles', one to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon and the other to clean up bone spurs in his foot which will keep him off the field until June, the deal helps solve San Francisco's need for a cornerback which could very well make their decision to pass on a corner and address other needs in April's Draft much easier now. Sherman and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh are also very familiar with one another as Salah served on Seattle's coaching staff for three years as the defensive quality control coach from Sherman's rookie season in 2011 though 2013. And it's well documented that Saleh's 4-3 defensive scheme is designed around the defensive system Seattle had in place which made the "Legion of Boom" among the best defenses in NFL history. Before the signing, Sherman opened up by saying he'd prefer staying on the west coast and that he wanted to play wherever he'd feel comfortable and for a contending team with a "great QB" in place which gives you an idea of what he thinks about the Niners' potential and future with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm as the team closed out the season riding a five-game winning-streak.
Since entering the league in 2011 as a fifth round pick, 154th overall, Sherman leads the league in interceptions (32), passes defensed (99) and completion percentage allowed (47.4) with a minimum of 300 targets. Unfortunately, he also leads the league in ruffling feathers as Sherman is a guy well known to get under the skin of opposing players and fan bases alike. But if he can leave the antics in Seattle, stay healthy, produce while on the field and provide veteran leadership to a very young 49ers locker room, Sherman will turn those haters into fans of his real quick. I say this as I've been one of those haters myself. But I accept the fact that it's now time to move on from harsh feelings given Crabtree has been long gone, having signed with the Niners' cross-town rival Oakland Raiders and only two players remain on San Francisco's roster that were part of the 2013 49ers team that suffered that heartbreaking loss to Sherman and the Seahawks in the 2013 NFC Championship game.
The three-year, $39 Million deal which breaks down as follows: $7 Million base salary, $6 Million in incentives, $5 Million in signing bonuses and a $16 Million base salary for 2019 and 2020 if he's named to the NFL's All-Pro team for the first time since 2015, takes just a small bite out of the Niners' $66.2 Million salary cap, which is the fifth-most in the league and figures to make for a busy offseason for Lynch and company. So as if you didn't already think 49ers-Seahawks would be worth watching in 2018, Sherman's move from one NFC West franchise to another might do the trick.
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Although the San Francisco 49ers haven't played a single down since their season-finale win over the division rival Rams on New Year's Eve, the Niners have added yet another tally in the win column and are now 6-0 since the start of the Jimmy Garoppolo era after a different kind of victory in Indianapolis on Friday. With the 2018 regular season expected to feature the final installment of the Battle of the Bay between the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, unless of course the two were to miraculously meet in the Super Bowl before the Black Hole packs its bags and departs to its new home in Las Vegas come 2020, the two teams met at the NFL Combine for a tiebreaking coin toss that would determine the draft order for the two Bay Area franchises who fell short of the playoffs and finished tied in 2017 with an overall record of 6-10.
Streamed live as fans of the two teams anxiously awaited for the outcome of the coin flip which was done by Rod Woodson who played for both franchises during his Hall of Fame career, the tandem of Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie and newly named head coach Jon Gruden were on hand to represent the silver and black, while Niners GM John Lynch who once upon a time played for coach Gruden's Super Bowl-winning Buccaneers team in 2003, rode solo to represent for his squad. The Niners who have needs at several positions, won the toss and will select 9th overall, one spot ahead of the Raiders at pick No. 10. Most Mock Draft's heading into April's Draft have had the winning team of the coin toss taking either Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds or Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, and the losing team taking whichever player is still available out of the two at No. 10. Unless of course either player is selected earlier or if either team was to trade down or out of their original spot.
Oddly enough, it would mark the second time a coin toss involving these two franchises would take place to determine draft order, as the 49ers once again reigned victorious against the Raiders for the 6th overall pick back in 2006 which the 49ers would use to select Maryland tight-end Vernon Davis. And while San Francisco has a 2-0 advantage over Oakland in all-time draft order coin tosses, it's the Raiders who currently own a 7-6 advantage over their Bay Area counterparts in regular season match-ups. That's something John Lynch and company hope to change by evening the score when the two teams meet as the NFC West squares off against the AFC West this season. But back to the Draft which will commence on April 26, San Francisco will look to fill whatever holes they're unable to address on the free-agent market as the 49ers front-office is expected to be very active and aggressive in luring top free-agent talent with close to $70 Million available in cap space, even after signing QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a new deal.
Though the 49ers would love to have either one of the following three fall players to them at No. 9 -- Penn State RB Saquon Barkley, N.C. State DE Bradley Chubb and Notre Dame OG Quenton Nelson, the likelihood of any of those three names still being on the board come San Francisco's pick, is unlikely, assuming they don't trade down. Each player would fill a void in a different area as bringing in Barkley would address the uncertainty of free-agent Carlos Hyde, Chubb would give the Niners the edge-rusher they've so desperately needed since Aldon Smith was cut, and Nelson would help keep their investment in Jimmy G on his feet. Then again the two guys they're projected to take at No. 9 also solve needs as Edmunds eases the burden at linebacker in case the situation regarding Reuben Foster gets worse, stemming form his two arrests last month, and Ward would supply the Niner defense with a shutdown corner they've been in search of for years. But after Lynch won over fans and took Draft night by storm a season ago by trading out of the second overall pick to move one spot back with the Chicago Bears, still getting the guy they wanted all along in Solomon Thomas and then trading back into the first round to select Reuben Foster, I know better than to assume anything with this front-office and John Lynch at the helm.
Hoping one day it'll be an important piece of 49ers history as the team still seeks its sixth Super Bowl title and first since the 1994 season, the coin which was used for the toss will be added to the 49ers Museum at Levi's Stadium.
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