The ups and downs of ex-A’s, Giants
Evan Longoria had a forgettable Giants debut. He struck out three times, once falling to his knee on a 73 mph Clayton Kershaw curveball that dipped below the strike zone.
Longoria didn’t exactly exhibit the swing that he used to average 26 home runs and 89 RBIs the previous 10 years with the Rays. Then again, it was one of 162 and can’t be considered indicative of what’s to come.
Denard Span is hoping that’s not the case for him. If he had his druthers, he’d make Thursday his personal Groundhog Day, waking up and living the dream in his hometown, again and again.
Span’s three-run triple was the crowning moment in a wild eighth-inning rally that turned a four-run deficit into a 6-4 Rays victory over the Red Sox, a moment Span called the best of his career. It wasn’t just the hit but the environment — he’s a Tampa native, had his son (born in October) at a game for the first time and didn’t know if he’d be on the roster, let alone in the lineup.
“Everybody greeted me with a bunch of energy, bunch of love,” Span said. “In my 9½, 10 years, that was probably the best postgame celebration of any team I've been on. Just a fun time.”
This is the same Span who was one of the faces of a 98loss Giants team that had perhaps the worst overall outfield in the majors in 2017. The Rays were forced to take Span ($9 million salary, $4 million buyout of 2019 option) so the Giants would take on Longoria’s hefty long-term contract.
The Rays also received prospect Christian Arroyo, who’s opening at Triple-A Durham, and have another ex-Giant on the roster, Matt Duffy, who played Thursday for the first time since 2016 and doubled home a run during the decisive rally.
The Rays guaranteed Span, 34, nothing after the trade, but his status became clearer after the Rays dealt outfielder Corey Dickerson to Pittsburgh in spring training. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times noted, Span was somewhat of a sentimental choice by manager Kevin Cash to start the opener against lefty Chris Sale, given Span’s local roots and veteran standing.
Span found himself in left field — the position the Giants had talked to him about playing — for the first time since 2009, and it was a day he wouldn’t mind repeating.
However, Span was out of Friday’s lineup.
With the season under way, let’s check in with other former Giants and A’s:
Josh Donaldson doesn’t look the same. A’s fans remember the third baseman making on-the-money throws from many angles, but he has an arm issue that makes his throws look less than pedestrian, as if he’s shot-putting the baseball across the diamond, sometimes bouncing it. He had four hits in spring training, all singles, and his Toronto manager, John Gibbons, called it a case of dead arm. Curious stuff for a franchise player who’s up for free agency after the season, but Donaldson told reporters there’s no pain and “I think I can make it work.”
The Rangers are in Oakland for a four-game series beginning Monday without Tim Lincecum, who’s out until early May with a blister on his right middle finger and will need to build his strength. The consolation prize for Lincecum missing the series is another Bay Area favorite will start for Texas on Monday: Bartolo Colon.
Yoenis Céspedes might seem the perfect 3-4-5 hitter, and the Mets are batting him second. It’s nothing new in the modern game — No. 2 is the new No. 3, and some of the best hitters bat second. Mike Trout, for example. Joey Votto, too. Hitting one slot higher could mean roughly 18 more plate appearances a season. Plus, Céspedes is a good onbase guy (.350 as a Met), and the new No. 2 hitter helped the Mets win their opener with two hits and three RBIs.
We must mention that Span wasn’t perfect Thursday. He was tentative on a blooper to left-center — his slide prompted center fielder Kevin Kiermaier to dangerously leap over him — and it turned into an inside-the-park home run for Span’s old Giants teammate Eduardo Nuñez. With Dustin Pedroia on the DL, Nuñez is Boston’s second baseman and, with his 360-foot sprint, showed no ill effects of a knee injury he sustained late last season.
This Yonder Alonso home run fascination continues. After never reaching double figures in homers his first seven years, he went deep 28 times in 2017, hitting 22 with Oakland. In spring training, he hit seven homers, and no one in the majors hit more. Now as a face of the flyball revolution featuring increased launch angles, he finally appears to be on a playoff-bound team as the Indians’ biggest free-agent pickup (two years, $16 million) and replacement at first base for Carlos Santana. The Indians are hoping they’re getting the Alonso from the first half of last season, not the one who hit eight homers after the AllStar break.
George Kontos had a rough 2018 debut, for all of two pitches. The Pirates reliever, claimed from the Giants in August, pitched the eighth inning of Friday’s wacky 13-10 win in 13 innings, and his first pitch sailed outside by several feet. His second bonked umpire Mike Everitt on the head, forcing him from the game. Kontos rebounded and got three quick outs to preserve a 6-6 tie, showing his 2017 stuff (1.84 ERA with Pittsburgh) and afterward showing class by checking on Everitt.
This could be a banner year for Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray, who’s coming off what he said was his best spring training (1.98 ERA), and he claims he never felt better coming out of camp. In other words, he never felt this good approaching any A’s season, and we’ll see what it all means when he makes his first start Sunday.