Bruce Jenkins: It’s time for Plan B for the Giants and A’s.
It was a difficult Friday for the Giants and A’s, but one that brought clarity through a maze of uncertainty. Now that the Giants got direct word from Giancarlo Stanton that he won’t accept a trade to San Francisco, both local teams can focus on a concrete plan for the winter meetings.
It wasn’t surprising that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Angels. He gets great weather, the type of low-key setting he wanted (the Dodgers will be getting most of the attention in Southern California), a franchise willing to be patient in experimenting with a twoway player, and an intriguing roster including Mike Trout, Andrelton Simmons, Albert Pujols and Justin Upton.
It’s definitely bad news for the A’s, who were hoping Ohtani wouldn’t sign within their division. The Seattle Mariners have improved, as well, landing Dee Gordon from Miami, and on top of some really depressing news — the apparent collapse of ballpark negotiations with the Laney College site — the A’s aren’t in the most joyous of moods right now.
According to the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Stanton has narrowed his list of attractive options to the Yankees and Dodgers. The Giants can’t compete with those teams in terms of prospects, guaranteed contention, warm summer weather or homer-friendly ballparks. Their calling card was a reported willingness to take on the $295 million in salary commitments to Stanton, and in truth, they aren’t thrilled about such a risky venture — not to mention losing some of their top minor-league talent in the process.
If there’s a positive side to Stanton’s decision, it’s that the Giants won’t fall behind in their Plan B options. Free to move on, they can do so immediately, right at the onset of the winter meetings, with such names as Andrew McCutchen, J.D. Martinez, Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Billy Hamilton in play.
The Dodgers still make the most sense for Stanton. That’s his No. 1 choice, having worshiped the team during his youth in the San Fernando Valley. There are reports suggesting the Dodgers will be too limited by financial restrictions to make the deal, and if that’s the case, they’ll have to hope that Stanton can’t swing a trade with anyone, returns to Miami and becomes available next year. The way it looks from here: If the Dodgers are serious about Stanton and have the financial means, they should take a tip from the Warriors: Do whatever it takes to reach the top. For all of their bluster and glamour, the Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988. If they pull the trigger on Stanton, putting him in the same dugout with Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Clayton Kershaw and the rest, imagine the gap between L.A. and San Francisco — not to mention just about every other team in the National League.
Tradition gone missing
The Bay Area has apparently lost all connections to big-time tennis. San Jose had to relinquish the men’s event in 2013, and now Stanford has pulled out of the Bank of the West tournament, one of the best and most historic on the women’s tour. The event’s demise had been rumored for months, after Stanford officials demanded a significant increase for renting the facility this year, and it was confirmed Friday by Dick Gould, Stanford’s director of tennis. According to the International Management Group, which has operated the tournament for years, “IMG has been notified by the University that its policy of hosting corporate-sponsored events has changed. IMG’s highest priority is to keep the event in the Bay Area, and we are working on a plan to do so.” One can only hope that’s the case. The San Jose event seldom had elite fields, with the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic reluctant to leave home at that stage of the season. But the Bay Area women’s tournament dates to 1971, at various locations, with a list of winners including Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters and the Williams sisters. It would be a real shame to see it moved elsewhere ... A good way to ruin the college football bowl system: Christian McCaffreystyle bailouts. McCaffrey opted out of Stanford’s Sun Bowl appearance last year, worried about an injury that could affect his NFL draft status, and now there are rumors circulating around Sam Darnold (USC vs. Ohio State, Cotton Bowl), Josh Rosen (UCLA vs. Kansas State, Cactus), Saquon Barkley (Penn State vs. Washington, Fiesta) and Bryce Love (Stanford vs. TCU, Alamo). Injury concerns are legitimate, particularly in Love’s case, but “Hey, I might get hurt” doesn’t draw much sympathy from fans excited about the matchups ... One expected no less from the classy Justin Wilcox, taking himself out of the running for the Oregon job — vacated by Willie Taggart’s departure — to remain at Cal. That may well be Wilcox’s dream job; he played at Oregon, along with his father and brother, and one of the Ducks’ practice fields is named after the family. He’s also close to Justin Herbert, the electrifying Oregon quarterback heading into his junior year. But Wilcox just arrived at Cal. He feels a commitment there, and everyone seems delighted with his work ... And finally, a word to everyone fond of prefacing grand proclamations with “I’m not going to lie”: Hey, we like it better the normal way, when your every word is a complete falsehood.