Webb has one of MLB’s best changeups Now he’s spreading it around the Giants’ clubhouse

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Sam Long pulled out his iPhone and opened one of his recent pictures.

It was a scatterplot from his most recent bullpen, with three distinct groupings of plots. There was a cluster in one color at the very top, and another at the very bottom. The third group, sitting barely adjacent to the top one, was what concerned Long this morning, though.

Each cluster of data points represented one of the offerings in Long’s arsenal, and each dot represented the movement on each of his pitches from the session. Up top, his fastball, with no vertical drop. Down low, his curve, with a lot. And way, way too close to his fastball was his changeup. It had too much helium.

“They sat me down and showed me some numbers,” Long said, “if I could get a little more depth on (the changeup) it would be even more effective.”

Enter: Logan Webb.

The owner of one of the game’s best changeups, Webb, you might think, would be hesitant about sharing trade secrets.

Not so.

“It just wasn’t moving how I wanted it to. I didn’t know why. I was throw- ing the grip they wanted me to and it just wasn’t moving as much,” Long recalled. “And (Webb) just showed me what worked for him. It wasn’t anything crazy, just a little short quick tip.”

And Long isn’t the only one.

“There’s a bunch of guys messing with it,” Webb said.

Taking after the veterans the came before him – Kevin Gausman, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto, in particular –Webb has embraced the sharing of knowledge and collaboration among the starting staff. It was that group before Webb that initiated the process of other starters watching each others’ throwing sessions between starts. That practice continues, and this spring, Webb has spread the good word to a number of inquisitive teammates. L ong. Jakob Junis. Sean Hjelle.

Even veteran reliever Scott Alexander has picked the 26-year-old Webb’s mind in this first week of camp.

“We get the pitch reports when we throw our bullpens. They’ll show the movement on the pitch, and the movement on his changeup was big,” Alexander said. “So

And that’s OK.

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Another potential partner for general manager Mike Grier and the San Jose Sharks as it relates to a Timo Meier trade was eliminated last week.

The Toronto Maple Leafs filled what they felt was a void in their forward group, acquiring forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from St. Louis in a threeteam trade that saw the Leafs send their 2023 first-round draft pick.

The Leafs were reportedly wary of the asking price for Meier – thought to be at a minimum a 2023 first-rounder, plus a top prospect, plus whatever else gets a deal across the finish line if multiple bidders are involved. Instead, Toronto GM Kyle Dubas parted with four draft picks, including his 2023 third-round pick, a 2024 second-rounder, and two players presently in the AHL – one with upside. The New York Rangers also had an interest in Meier and reportedly also thought the price tag was too steep. The Rangers went ahead and acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the Blues for a conditional first-round pick this year, a conditional fourth-rounder next year, and two players, including winger Sammy Blais.

Just because two potential buyers on Meier found other ways to address their needs, doesn’t mean Grier should start to think about lowering his ask for Meier, who has an upper-body injury and is considered questionable to play Monday when the Sharks host the Seattle Kraken. Sharks David Quinn told reporters Meier, who did not practice Sunday, is day-to-day.

The March 3 trade deadline is now less than two weeks away and assuming Meier is feeling better soon, finding the right return for the power forward is too critical to the future success of the Sharks, especially since they only have so many trump cards left to play.

Looking back to the Brent Burns trade last July, the Sharks probably didn’t get enough in return from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Steven Lorentz remains a reliable fourth-line center and penalty

A total of 15 boys and girls wrestlers from northern Solano County qualified for next week’s CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield by virtue of their two-day efforts during the competition at Stockton Arena. Each wrestler had to finish at least in the top six in their weight class to qualify for state.

Sandoval beat Scott Beadles of Calaveras with a 12-4 major decisions in the final. He went 5-0 in his weight class and pinned three opponents. Sandoval was one of eight Bulldogs who advanced. Elijah Almarinez (106 pounds, fourth place), Wyatt Sandoval (113, fifth), Landon Borchers (120, sixth), Casey Roberts (126, third), Qusai Marini (138, fifth), Arjun Nagra

(152, second) and Caleb Borchers (170, sixth) moved on. Vacaville scored 216.5 team points and finished second to only Oakdale’s 273.5 points.

Armijo’s Kendrick Salcido (285) collected a fourth-place finish and qualified to compete in Bakersfield. Vaea Salt (195) was fifth for Will C. Wood and also advanced.

Vacaville’s Aydan Ducharme (145) and Brady Wight (195) finished seventh in their weight classes. Fairfield’s Jimmy Green (220) was eighth.

In the girls competition, Eliza Goodwin (131) finished fourth in her weight class and advanced for Rodriguez. Armijo has two wrestlers moving on in Karissa McDaniel (101, fifth) and Grace Mercado (189, sixth). Wood also has two wrestlers advancing in Sophia Villoria (101, sixth) and Levi Crabtree (116, fourth).

Madison Devalle (121) and Josie Mays (131) both finished eighth for Will C. Wood. All told, there were 27 boys and 10 girls who qualified for the Section Masters.

The Warriors might not be anything more than a .500 team; time’s running out to prove differently

DieTer KurTenbACh

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

Klay Thompson is a true believer in the Warriors.

He might be the last one left.

After the Warriors lost their final game before the All-Star break, Thompson was asked if he believed his 29-29 team – the defending NBA champions – were still title contenders.

He’d been asked the same question earlier this season. He provided effectively the same answer as then:

“We know what it takes . . . I’m never going to lose confidence in this team,” Thompson said.

Yes, the Warriors’ core players know what it takes to win titles.

Part of that formula is winning games in the regular season.

The Dubs simply are not doing that at a high enough rate this season. And with 24 games remaining following this break, it’s more than fair to wonder if Golden State’s problem in 2022-23 isn’t procrastination but the actualization of titleworthy basketball.

The Warriors’ reputation as a title contender has been surviving all season on flashes of greatness.

Now that the playoffs are approaching – my bet is you have already put something on the calendar for midApril already – flashes aren’t enough. It might sound sacrilege, but these