Hopes dashed, staffs shuffle: Bay Area sports

Yankees crush Athletics in American League Wild Card game; Giants make changes in front office; Raiders continue to adjust under Gruden; Niners lose Garoppolo for the season

What looked like a Cinderella season in the making for the A’s came to a screeching halt when they went into New York to face Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and company.

The game was a lost cause for the A’s from the beginning. On the ninth pitch of the game, Yankees All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge nailed a two-run home-run, and Oakland was unable to make the game competitive from there on out.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the Giants wish they were in the A’s position of getting knocked out in the Wild Card game.

The most recent developments surrounding the orange and black revolve around now former general manager Bobby Evans and longtime fan favorite, outfielder Hunter Pence.

On Sept. 24, the Giants fired Evans as general manager after the club suffered through their second dreadful season in a row. Evans will be retained by the organization, but assigned to a different position in the front office.

As for Hunter Pence, he has been a cornerstone and the heartbeat of the team since he arrived in San Francisco 2012 via a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pence was instrumental in both the 2012 and 2014 World Series titles for the Giants, and a love connection developed between Pence and Giants fans almost instantly upon his arrival.

To the disappointment of many fans, it appears as if Pence’s time with the Giants has come to an end, as his 5-year contract that he signed back in 2013 is up. With Hunter Pence being 35 years old, the Giants are looking to get younger, and a contract extension is most likely not coming for the man who has become so beloved in the community of San Francisco.

When it comes to the NFL, it is now looking like both the Raiders and the 49ers will have to start planning for next year.

While the Raiders did pick up their first win of the season against the Browns, it is still apparent through their play on the field that many players on the team are still trying to adjust to life under the team’s new head coach (although this is his second stint with the Raiders), Jon Gruden.

For the 49ers on the other hand, what began as a season filled with optimism and excitement surrounding the team has turned to a season of uncertainty and pessimism in a matter of a week.

In their Week 3 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Niners star quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered an ACL tear, an injury that will sideline Garoppolo for the remainder of the season.

Many considered the 49ers to be a potential playoff contender at the beginning of the season – now people are looking at them as potentially having the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.