California’s job market: More firings – less hirings and quits

• October 16, 2023

“Numerology” tries to find reality within various measurements of economic and real estate trends.

Buzz: California’s employment picture has cooled to either (1) a new normal or (2) a worrisome slowdown.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet crafted the “HQF” index to loosely measure statewide tensions in the workplace. The math, taken from some novel federal job statistics, compares California hiring (an upbeat signal) with statewide quits and firings (usual signals of distress).

Fuzzy math: What’s up with workplace revolts across California this year – from tussles over work-from-home policies to numerous disagreements putting workers on picket lines?

Topline

California had an HQF rating of 112 in the year’s first seven months – that’s 112 hires for every 100 quits and firings.

What does that mean? Well, it’s sort of a “it-could-be-worse” message. Why? Consider the index’s history.

Since 2001, California has averaged 113 hires for every 100 quits and firings through July. So this year’s is a tad slow.

Now it’s not the worst. That HQF honor goes to mid-Great Recession 2009 which scored a 101. Nor was it the best such as 2021’s rebound from pandemic lockdowns, which scored 124.

MORTGAGE NEWS: What’s up with rates? Who’s lending? CLICK HERE!

Taking the shorter-term view, 2023’s HQF is an upgrade from last year’s 108. And it tops the 109 average of pre-pandemic 2018-19.

To the HQF, at least, the California job market isn’t so bad.

Details

Let’s see what’s moving the HQF in 2023.

1. Hiring pace cools. Staff additions show confidence in the business climate. And this kind of optimism is down. California bosses hired 4.1 million in 2023, but that’s off 10% in a year. However, it’s 2% above the 2018-19 pace.

EXODUS SLOWDOWN?: California exits drop 3%, arrivals rose 10%. READ HERE!

2. Quits slow. The “bye, boss” trend is cooling but remains a concern. The 2.4 million Californians who voluntarily left a job this year is off 22% in a year. But quits remain 2% above the 2018-19 norm.

3. Firings are up. Telling workers they’re no longer needed is the most public signal of worry. And the 1.1 million Californians who were involuntarily let go is up 5% in a year. And it’s 15% above pre-pandemic 2018-19.

Bottom line

Rising workplace tensions could be more than just awkward adjustments between boss and employee as the economy adjusts to post-pandemic normalcy.

Fewer job opportunities – less hiring and more firing – can make folks think twice about quitting. But it hasn’t stopped folks from walking off the job en masse.

More traditional job-market yardsticks also show a changing boss-worker dynamic.

Yes, a record number of Californians are employed. But the growth of staffing suggests bosses are a wee bit antsy.

The 2.4% increase in total workers statewide this year is historically strong. But it’s off from 2022’s torrid 6.9% job creation. Curiously, this year’s increase tops the 1.8% job growth of 2018-19 – supposedly the good ol’ days.

Peeking at unemployment, the average 900,000 California officially out of work per month this year is up 7% in a year and 9% above 2018-19. Job security seems to be slipping.

In some ways, though, this year’s workplace chill should be little surprise. It’s exactly what the Federal Reserve is seeking in its quest to fix an overheated US economy.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Why all-digital AM radio sounds like a good idea for the future

• October 16, 2023

Interference and fidelity have been the bane of AM radio broadcasters and listeners since the medium was developed in the early 1900s. In fact, what drove Edwin Armstrong to invent FM radio was that he hated the sound of AM, which he also helped develop.

Over the years, technical improvements have helped make AM sound better, but the erosion of listeners from the band has continued. One potential solution was digital HD radio, but the hybrid HD system introduced its own problems by increasing overall interference on the band, leading many stations to abandon it.

But what about all-digital AM? Does it have the potential to fix all that ails the band? In 2018, WWFD/Frederick, Maryland decided to find out. The station went all-digital under temporary authorization by the FCC (later approved for permanent full-time use).

That’s a huge risk. All-digital broadcasting means that only those with HD radios can hear your station. All-digital renders the vast majority of AM radios obsolete, as all they would “hear” is static (before eventually tuning out, you’d imagine). Having no listeners tends to hurt stations that rely on an active listener base to sell advertising.

Yet the idea is not unprecedented. Indeed, there were few radios available at the genesis of AM itself in 1922, and FM stations languished for years due to a lack of receivers.

Likewise, the payoffs are huge. For a station that is already losing money, it begs the question – why not take the chance? Of course, one could say that regarding programming itself, so there are multiple ways to take risks that might pay off big in the future.

In the case of WWFD, the management felt the risk was worth it. After five years of testing, the station has announced that it will remain all-digital, playing a wide-variety music format called The Gamut.

“It was my intention all the way back then that this would be permanent,” station programmer and engineer Dave Kolesar told radio engineering newspaper Radio World. “We have learned that all-digital AM broadcasting is much more robust than the hybrid mode of HD AM, and in fact has many advantages over analog broadcasting in terms of sound quality and metadata.”

Metadata is the capability of sending song information, album artwork, and even secondary audio channels over the air. “It makes AM look and sound like every other broadcast service in the dashboard, and that’s essential to the future of the band,” he said, adding “it even works well in electric vehicles.”

Another advantage of all-digital? The reception is almost instantaneous, much like analog. The hybrid mode on both AM and FM takes a second or two for digital to kick in. Likewise, interference between stations is reduced, as the signal is centered more tightly on the assigned frequency; hybrid mode puts the digital stream on the sides of the analog signal.

You can hear samples of the station online at meduci.com/airchecks.html. One of the included files demonstrates the fast reception capability, and I have to admit, I was surprised how fast it clicks in.

Obviously, digital is not for everyone, and programming trumps sound quality … it makes no difference what you sound like if no one wants to hear what you broadcast. While a station like KFI (640 AM) has too much to lose as one of the top-rated stations in town, a station like KABC (790 AM) might well consider it. There are rumblings that KMZT (1260 AM) will try testing all-digital at least temporarily at certain times of the day, and I think it would be a great idea. I’d like to know just how far the all-digital signal can travel, and if it can do so at night. It could indeed be a game-changer.

Kolesar agrees, telling Radio World that all-digital is something every AM broadcaster needs to move toward, sooner rather than later. “Analog AM listenership is declining, and we need to stop worrying about obsoleting analog-only radios … because fewer people are even bothering to turn them on.”

Modern Music

Alt 98.7 FM’s Woody Show announced the artists scheduled to perform at the annual Alter Ego concert to be held January 13, 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The venue is a change from the past … the Forum is being used this year by The Eagles, necessitating the move South.

As if to make my point that there is a lot of good new (or at least new-ish) music available … you just can’t hear it everywhere … the concert features some amazing talent that isn’t really alternative in my mind – it’s just good.

Paramore, The 1975, The Black Keys, Thirty Seconds to Mars, BUSH, Sum 41, Yellowcard, lovelytheband and The Last Dinner Party will perform all on one stage, making for a tremendous concert. It is sponsored by station owner iHeart Media and hosted by Woody and his crew.

Presale begins October 24th, general sales on October 27th. The concert will also be broadcast on iHeart alternative stations nationwide. Get more information at alt987fm.iheart.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

After ‘miracle’ water year, can agencies capture more from next El Niño?

• October 16, 2023

It was a perfect storm of, well, pretty perfect storms.

There was a lot of rain and snow during California’s just completed “water year,” from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30 — nearly double the historical average in the southern half of the state. But all of that rain didn’t fall too fast, and snowpack-melting temperatures didn’t spike too high, making it possible for most areas to avoid major flooding.

The agencies that capture and store stormwater also have become better at finding ways to keep more of that precipitation in Southern California rather than letting it all run out to the ocean.

Recent projects by the Chino Basin Watermaster, for example, which manages the aquifer that sits under much of northwestern Inland Empire, allow the agency to capture an additional 4,000 acre feet of stormwater. (Each acre foot is enough to serve two households for a year.) And given how much rain fell, Justin Nakanowater, who serves as the agency’s manager of technical resources, said the Chino Basin was able to hold onto 20,000 acre feet of water this year — two and half times more than last water year.

That’s helping to replenish reservoirs and groundwater basins that had been depleted by persistent drought, with lakes and rivers also looking much better than this time last fall.

It’ll take many more perfect storms to make up for past deficits, though, water experts caution.

“Just one rain year does not get us out of a drought,” said Kelly Gardner, assistant executive officer for the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster.

Forecasters are cautiously optimistic that the El Niño season shaping up offshore might mean another wet winter ahead.

That’s actually putting pressure on water agencies to ready systems that, in some cases, haven’t fully dried out from the past year’s storms. And they’re using technology and getting creative to further boost stormwater capture and storage options, since much more water still heads to the ocean during big storms than agencies are able to divert and hold onto for the inevitable dry years to come.

Rainfall in context

This time last year, most weather experts were predicting another dry winter ahead. Instead, 33.56 inches of rain fell statewide in the most recent water year, which is 141% of the historical average. And the South Coast region, which includes most of non-desert Southern California, did even better, with 33.62 inches of rain for 192% of the historical average.

It was a one in 50-year event, according to Dennis Lettenmaier, a UCLA professor focused on hydrology.

It was also the most rain the area has seen since the 2004-05 water year, when the Department of Water Resources recorded 39.96 inches. But that year, Gardner said most of the rain fell in a 30-day window. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls her region’s Santa Anita Dam and many others in the area, had to fill and empty reservoirs above the dams as quickly as possible to prevent flooding, which meant releasing much of that year’s stormwater out to the ocean.

Just two years later, we saw the least amount of precipitation since the agency started tracking these figures in 1981, with just 5.8 inches of rain during the entire 2006-07 water year. Most years since have been pretty dry, with 2011, 2017, 2019 and now 2023 as exceptions.

“California does have the highest annual variation in precipitation of any state in the U.S,” said Jeanine Jones, interstate resources manager for the Department of Water Resources. “So for us, these wild swings from wet to dry are pretty normal.”

But when you look at the historic record, Jones noted, this century overall has been hotter and drier in California than any other 23-year stretch.

“One of the expectations with climate change is that extremes become more extreme,” Jones said. “So while we experience warming and drying overall, and more drought risk, the flip side of that is some of the big winter storms we have are expected to become worse or more extreme.”

For water agencies, Gardner said that means planning for the possibility of another wet winter while keeping the overall trend toward more frequent and severe droughts front of mind when managing local supplies. And they’re urging residents to think the same way, making conservation practices — such as reduced outdoor watering, which is typically mandated only during dry years — a permanent routine.

“We really can’t say what we’re going to have this winter,” Jones said. “And that’s always why we have to prepare for either extreme.”

Surface water solid, with caveats

The good news is that even if it turns out to be a dry El Niño year, California’s 17 major water reservoirs are at 127% of average levels. That means residents who depend on those surface reservoirs for large portions of their water supply probably won’t face serious restrictions next spring or summer, even if we return to drought conditions.

Southern Californians, however, don’t get much water from reservoirs; we have just four in the region. Among those, the Cachuma reservoir near Santa Barbara and Castaic reservoir in northwest Los Angeles County saw the biggest jumps during the most recent water year, with both now full to 92% of their capacities. The Diamond Valley reservoir in Hemet is at 83% capacity, while Casitas in Ventura is 72% full.

Those reservoirs are always required to leave capacity for quick surges in stormwater, Jones said. So even if we do have another wet winter, she said there shouldn’t be concerns about flooding around those reservoirs, even as agencies try to hold as much water in them as they can.

Lakes that don’t serve as reservoirs — but are important for everything from wildlife to recreation to firefighting — also are looking good.

In late August 2022, Big Bear Lake was 16.5 feet below its full mark, which put it at less than 50% capacity, leaving docks stranded and adjacent wetlands dry. This August, the lake was down just 6.9 feet and nearly three-quarters full.

Rivers and streams — including the Colorado River, which is critically important for Southern California’s imported water supply — can be more temperamental.

Since rivers tend to get at least some of their supply from baseflow, or flows fed by groundwater, a new study out of UC Riverside shows they don’t recover as quickly or easily from drought years as do some other types of surface water. It took the Arroyo Seco stream near Pasadena nearly a year to recover each time drought hit over three decades tracked in the study, while some of the other 350 sites included in the study took up to 3.5 years to bounce back.

Underground water tougher to gage

The lag in drought recovery for underground basins happens as surface water seeps through layers of sediment and rock that can run more than 1,000 feet deep. Couple that with decades of people in some parts of the state pumping too much from aquifers and it’s easy to see why groundwater numbers didn’t jump up the way reservoir and lake numbers did during the last wet water year.

Some 42% of groundwater monitoring wells still show as below normal, per the state.

But while groundwater basins in the Central Valley have been overdrafted for years, to the point that land in some areas is physically sinking, Jones noted that Southern California’s aquifers have been much better managed.

“Our groundwater table has come up about 50 feet,” Gardner said of the basin in eastern Los Angeles County. “That’s a big improvement over almost hitting a historic low.”

Since recent storms were more spread out than the rains that fell during the 2004-05 water year, Gardner said her agency was able to capture more water even though rainfall totals were a bit lower. They then let hundreds of thousands of gallons of water percolate back into the groundwater basin through spreading grounds near the interchange of the 605 and 210 freeways.

The Orange County Water District, which manages a large underground basin that supplies much of the water for northern Orange County, has made substantial investments to create similar recharge stations near the intersection of the 91 and 55 freeways.

John Kennedy, the district’s executive director of engineering and water resources, said in a typical year they capture 53,000 acre feet of water. Last year, they got 94,000 acre feet. They have so much water that even though wholesalers are offering imported water at good prices, to use now or to store for future dry years, Kennedy said his district isn’t buying.

The Chino Basin Watermaster is actually storing some of that imported water in its catch basins on behalf of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Nakanowater said. They’re hoping more water agencies decide to buy that water and have places to store it. Otherwise, if more storms come and Chino needs space in those catch basins to store its own captured stormwater, large volumes of water could be released to the ocean.

There just aren’t enough reservoirs in Southern California to capture all or even most of the rain that falls in wet years, Kennedy noted. While his agency held on to 94,000 acre feet last year, for example, he said 140,000 acre feet got by them and went out to sea.

“For an average year, there might be six to 10 days where you see water get by us and go out the Santa Ana River to the ocean,” he said. “This year was so wet that there were more like 20 to 25 days where water went out to the ocean.”

But there also isn’t a lot of vacant land in low-lying portions of Southern California to add new water storage facilities, Kennedy and others said. Especially when that pricey project might only be needed once every several years, when rains are heavy.

Instead, water agencies are looking for ways to maximize the systems they have now.

In Chino, for example, Nakanowater said they’re working to pump water from one catch basin into another, where the geology allows the water to percolate into the underground basin more quickly. Many of those basins were created decades ago, he said, before technology allowed them to pinpoint more ideal locations.

The Orange County Water District and Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster also have been asking the Army Corps to hold more water for a longer time above the Prado and Santa Anita dams. Since the Army Corps’ priority is preventing flooding, Kennedy said they’d typically release water out to the ocean when supplies behind the Prado Dam hit 498 feet in winter. Now, he said they’re letting water get to 505 feet year round.

More accurate and localized weather forecasts also can help. In the past, Kennedy said the Army Corps has started releasing water from local dams as soon as models showed a big storm building off the coast. But those storms often veer off and miss us entirely, and we dump water that could be saved.

That’s why California has partnered with federal and local water agencies to test a strategy called Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, or FIRO, in the Santa Ana River watershed and other areas, Jones said. With FIRO, the Army Corps uses the latest forecasting technology to track storms and make decisions about water releases. Kennedy said they’ve been hoping the Army Corps would start testing this system locally this winter, but it he said it will be in place next winter for sure.

None of these changes are going to make Southern California drought proof or able to suddenly start capturing 100% of stormwater, Kennedy said. But he said they all add up to a water system that’s able to better withstand whiplash conditions in California that are being exacerbated by climate change.

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​ Orange County Register 

Senior living: Fighting to see a specialist amplified pain for Southern California woman

• October 16, 2023

By Molly Castle Work, KFF Health News

Teresa Johnson can’t escape the pain.

It’s as if she’s getting pierced by needles all over her body, all at once. At night, she sometimes jolts out of sleep thinking bedbugs are attacking her. But it’s just the unfailing pain — day in and day out.

Johnson, 58, said her ordeal started in September 2022, when she went for a CT scan of her abdomen after a bout of COVID-19. Though Johnson warned the lab she was allergic to iodine, she believes the lab tech used it in an injection, triggering an allergic reaction. She spent the next three weeks in the hospital, feeling as if her body was on fire.

When she was discharged to her home at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, Johnson said, her quality of life deteriorated and her frustration mounted as she waited for her Medi-Cal plan to get her assessed by a specialist. She could barely walk or stand, she could no longer cook for herself, and sometimes she couldn’t even lift her leg high enough to step into the tub.

“I would never wish this on anybody,” Johnson said while rocking back and forth on the couch to still the pain. “You don’t know if you should cry, or just say OK, I can make it through this. It messes with you mentally.”

Johnson said her primary care doctor told her he wasn’t sure what triggered the pain but suspects it was compounded by the lingering effects of COVID-19. Johnson, who is diabetic, developed neuropathy, a type of nerve damage, possibly after the allergic reaction caused her blood sugar levels to skyrocket, her doctor told her.

He referred Johnson, who receives care through California’s Medicaid program for low-income people, to an endocrinologist in March. But, Johnson said, she was not offered timely appointments, and it took more than six months, four referrals, multiple complaints to her health plan, and a legal aid group’s help to finally snag a phone call with an endocrinologist in mid-September.

Access to specialists — from gastroenterologists to cardiologists — has been a long-standing challenge for many Medi-Cal patients, especially those in rural areas or regions facing staff shortages. The Inland Empire, where Johnson lives, has the second-lowest supply of specialists in the state, according to the California Health Care Foundation. (KFF Health News is the publisher of California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.)

The state Department of Managed Health Care, which regulates most Medi-Cal health plans, requires plans to get patients in to see specialists within 15 business days, unless a longer waiting time would not harm the patient’s health. But the timeline often looks very different in reality.

“It’s hard to get a specialist to contract for Medi-Cal patients. Period,” said Amanda Simmons, executive vice president of Integrated Health Partners of Southern California, a nonprofit that represents community health clinics. “Specialists don’t want to do it because reimbursement rates are so low.”

Johnson said she made her first call in March to the endocrinologist assigned by her Medi-Cal insurer, Inland Empire Health Plan, and that the office offered her an appointment several months out. Over the next four months, she received three more referrals, but she said she got a similar response each time she called. When Johnson objected to the lengthy wait times, requesting earlier appointments, she was told there was no availability and that her condition wasn’t urgent.

“They told me it wasn’t important,” Johnson said. “And I asked, ‘How would you know? You’ve never seen me.’”

Esther Iverson, director of provider communications for the plan, declined to speak about Johnson’s case but said the plan makes every effort to meet the 15-day requirement. It can be challenging to meet the standard, she said, because of a lack of available physicians — especially for certain specialties, such as endocrinology and pain management.

She pointed to the nationwide physician shortage, which is more pronounced in rural areas, including parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where the plan operates. She also noted that many physicians decided to leave the field or retire early because of burnout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, she said, the plan’s enrollment ballooned to 1.6 million as eligibility expanded in recent years. Statewide, more than 15 million Californians are enrolled in Medi-Cal.

“The highest priority for us is timely access to quality care,” Iverson said.

During her quest, Johnson enlisted the help of Inland Counties Legal Services, which provides free legal representation to low-income residents. They called the plan multiple times to request earlier appointments but got mired in bureaucratic delays and waiting periods.

In one instance in August, after the insurer told Johnson it couldn’t meet the 15-day time frame, her legal representative, Mariane Gantino, filed an appeal, arguing that Johnson’s request was urgent. The insurer’s medical director responded within a few hours denying the claim, saying the plan concluded that her case was not urgent and that a delay would not cause a serious threat to her health.

“I’m so burned out after dealing with this for so long,” Johnson said in mid-September. “Why do they have the 15-day law if there aren’t going to be any consequences?”

A few days later, Johnson finally received the call she had been waiting for: an offer of a phone appointment with an endocrinologist on Sept. 18. During the appointment, the doctor adjusted her diabetes and other medications but didn’t directly address her pain, she said.

“I’m in the same position,” Johnson said. “I’m still in pain. What’s next?”

Over the years, Johnson has worked various jobs — from driving 18-wheelers cross-country to weaving hair — but her most consistent work was as a caregiver, including to her six children, 21 grandchildren and three great-grandkids, with another great-grandchild on the way. Now, because of her extreme pain, the roles have been reversed. A daughter and granddaughter who live with her have become her full-time caregivers.

“I can’t do nothing. I can’t take care of my grandkids like I used to,” said Johnson, who sleeps most of the day and wakes up only when her pain medication wears off. “I was planning to take care of the new baby that’s coming. I probably can’t even hold her now.”

This article is part of “Faces of Medi-Cal,” a California Healthline series exploring the impact of the state’s safety-net health program on enrollees.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. 

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

​ Orange County Register 

Ducks’ 21st man is their toughest fighter yet

• October 16, 2023

ANAHEIM –– Thirty years ago, the Ducks were expanding into a warm-weather market as its second franchise, and few then could have anticipated the staying power in their community and success on the ice they have fostered since.

But this season’s 21st Duck could teach all 20 of his new teammates and every other Ducks alumnus plenty about persistence, dedication and beating the longest of odds repeatedly.

Trent Sullivan, who also turned 30 this year, received an infant heart transplant and largely pessimistic prognoses that indicated he might live until adolescence at most. Today, he’s still standing, still smiling and creating joy for other children affected by pediatric diseases through his foundation, Grants Wishes, named for his brother, whom he lost to a rare pediatric cancer when Grant was just six years old and Trent was just nine.

“I’m very grateful for 21 years of doing all this and now getting nominated by the Ducks and having my charity be part of all this, it really means a lot,” said Sullivan, who already has the hockey-ized sobriquet Sully. “The day that I found out I just bawled my eyes out, because I’m doing it for my brother.”

Sullivan said the experience thus far had been “mind-blowing,” and that it still felt surreal.

“I’m still trying to process the whole deal, like ‘Oh, my God, I get to go on the ice, everyone gets to see me,’ so it’s really cool,” he said.

Such an emotional fan would naturally have a favorite player who was every bit as passionate about hockey as he has been about helping others, so it should come as little surprise that Sullivan’s pick was Teemu Selanne. Selanne, now retired, surprised Sullivan by popping into his suite during a preseason match this fall.

“The fact that Teemu sat down next to me was like ‘Oh, hey, man how’s it going?’ Like it was no big deal or anything, it was like old friends seeing each other,” Sullivan said.

In a sense, the meeting was exactly that way, as Sullivan and Selanne had a previous encounter, by chance, at a car show.

“When we met up again, he showed me the same picture two years later, he still had it on his phone,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, an Anaheim native now living in Arizona, has spent plenty of his own life battling maladies and recovering from serious procedures: he’s also had a pacemaker implanted, undergone chemotherapy and been the recipient of a successful kidney transplant.

Since then, he attended and then became deeply involved with an event that gives teens who underwent kidney transplants and other such renal treatments to attend a prom night especially for them, among numerous other initiatives for youths who have surmounted adversity from a health perspective. It’s one of many wide-ranging ways Sullivan in which Sullivan and his mother Lori create an impact, with Grants Wishes being one that has granted the wishes of more than 300 children facing unconscionable difficulties.

“We live a different life, a 100% different life, and no one can ever imagine it. No one can,” Sullivan said.

Even during the COVID pandemic, when in-person contact was limited for most and all but impossible for the most vulnerable immunologically, the foundation found ways to grant wishes at parks and still participate directly by driving by in a caravan, honking and waving supportive signs.

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“Giving back means a lot to me, in general, because I’ve been through a lot in life and I see life from a different angle than a lot of people,” Sullivan said. “I still am going through things right now, but it won’t change my perspective on anything at all.”

Sullivan said that each recipient of a wish received a personalized memory book so that they could reflect upon the moment moving forward. Despite his own travails, Sullivan, his mother Lori and the small but potent non-profit are dedicated to making that magic over and over.

“We’re like Santa Claus,” said Sullivan, who shared first-star honors with Frank Vatrano Sunday. “But we don’t come in December, we come whenever we’re needed.”

​ Orange County Register 

ALCS Game 1: Rangers’ Jordan Montgomery shuts out Astros

• October 16, 2023

By KRISTIE RIEKEN (AP Sports Writer)

HOUSTON — Jordan Montgomery outdueled Justin Verlander and the Texas Rangers received a big boost from their youngest player to open the AL Championship Series with a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.

Montgomery pitched five-hit ball over 6 1/3 innings, Leody Taveras provided a two-run lead with his solo homer in the fifth and the Rangers remained perfect in the postseason at 6-0.

Evan Carter, a rookie who just turned 21 on Aug. 29, doubled and scored in the second and made two nifty defensive plays in left field. He’s shined this postseason after not making his major league debut until Sept. 8.

“He just has so much confidence,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s got the youthful enthusiasm and he’s just excited to be here. He’s not in awe of anything, just no fear in this kid since he’s come up.”

In the ALCS for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2010-11, the Rangers swept the Rays in the Wild Card Series and the Orioles in the Division Series. The winning streak followed losses in their previous six playoff games against Toronto in the ALDS in 2015 and 2016.

“We just found a way to get a couple of runs across the board,” Bochy said. “That was the difference in the game, obviously. But our guy was really good, Monty, terrific job he did. And he got in a couple of jams there and found a way to get out of it.”

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday in Houston.

The defending champion Astros, in the ALCS for a seventh straight year, had a tough time getting anything going against Montgomery. The top four batters in Houston’s lineup were 2 for 12 with five strikeouts against the left-hander. Slugger Yordan Alvarez struck out against him three times.

“Overall, just didn’t do enough tonight, offensively,” Houston third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I thought J.V. threw the ball tremendously, but we need to string together some better at-bats.”

Houston’s offensive woes came after it hit 16 homers and outscored the Rangers 39-10 in a three-game sweep in September. Things were much different in the first postseason meeting between these in-state rivals as they managed just five singles.

“Sometime you’ve got to say: ‘Hey, the guy threw a great game tonight against us, excellent game,’ manager Dusty Baker said. “And they say good pitching beats good hitting, but when you don’t hit, everybody wants to know what’s wrong. There’s not a whole bunch to say. He threw a real good game against us.”

Montgomery has been great in the last month, allowing just two earned runs over 27 innings in his last four starts of regular season, and posting a 2.08 ERA in three postseason starts.

Verlander allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings to mark the first time this postseason that both starters pitched into the seventh. It was the 36th postseason start for Verlander and the MLB-record 14th time he’s started a playoff series opener.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner threw 47 fastballs, getting 27 swings without a single swing and miss.

Verlander said the defending champs aren’t concerned after falling into an early hole in the series.

“We lost Game 1 in the World Series last year,” he said. “We’ve lost Game 1 of some playoff series before. And that’s the great thing about this team. Obviously nobody is sitting in the locker room right now happy. But it’s very matter of fact, okay. We just got punched, how do you answer?”

Alvarez stranded two in the third with an inning ending strikeout and Martín Maldonado left the bases loaded when he struck out in the fourth.

Josh Sborz walked Jose Altuve starting the eighth and was replaced by Aroldis Chapman. The Rangers turned a double play when Carter made a great grab on the track on a ball hit by Bregman and Altuve was called out for not retouching second base when he retreated to first after Carter’s catch.

Altuve initially called safe, but the Rangers challenged the ruling and it was overturned in a video review. Alvarez following with an inning-ending groundout.

Carter had robbed Bregman of a hit with one out in the first. He sprinted before leaping to make the catch and crashing into the scoreboard wall in left field and knocking out one of the squares.

“Oh, my gosh. This is so much fun,” Carter said. “That’s just all I think about. Where else would I want to be. This is awesome. I’m just trying to keep my feet grounded and just keep rolling with this team. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Jose Leclerc struck out one in a perfect ninth for the save and the Rangers’ second shutout of the playoff. Texas’ bullpen has a 1.86 ERA in the playoffs after ranking 24th at 4.77 during the regular season.

Carter got things going for Texas with a hustle double on a grounder with one out in the second before scoring on a single by Jonah Heim. John Jung singled with two outs, Taveras walked to load the bases and Verlander limited the damage by retiring Marcus Semien on a fly ball.

Verlander had retired eight in a row when Taveras drove a hanging slider 398 feet into the seats in right field with one out in the fifth.

“Every one of their guys has the opportunity to beat you,” Verlander said. “You’ve got to be on your game one through nine. And if you’re not, they’ll make you pay.”

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Houston LHP Framber Valdez (0-1, 10.38 ERA) opposes RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-0, 1.32) in Game 2. Eovaldi grew up in suburban Houston and attended Alvin High School, which is also the alma mater of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

“It’s awesome,” Eovaldi said. “I’m going to have a lot of friends and family here for the game. Anytime we’re in this stage in this moment right here, being this close to the World Series, it’s a big deal. Doesn’t matter where we’re playing at, it’s a big honor for us to be here.”

​ Orange County Register 

Frank Vatrano leads Ducks past Hurricanes in home opener of 30th anniversary season

• October 16, 2023

ANAHEIM –– It’ll take more than three periods to make a substantive statement, but in their home opener Sunday the Ducks may have at least offered an initial proclamation: this team is a hell of a lot tougher to play against than it was just a few short months ago.

They picked the right night for their wordless announcement as they had a standing-room-only crowd on hand Sunday at Honda Center for the first home game of the franchise’s 30th anniversary season. The Ducks prevailed 6-3 against one of the NHL’s top teams, the Carolina Hurricanes.

Not only did the Ducks match one of the NHL’s fastest teams stride for stride, they took them out of their comfort zone and beat back a rally that saw Carolina draw to within a goal after trailing 4-1.

Frank Vatrano turned in a hat trick and also had a roughing penalty against Michael Bunting where he got his money’s worth. Fourth-liner Sam Carrick carried over a prolific preseason into the regular year with a goal in Game No. 2 after a 4-1 loss in Vegas Saturday. Pavel Mintyukov scored his first career NHL goal and Ryan Strome added two assists. Fittingly, the longest-serving Duck, Cam Fowler, iced the game with an empty-netter before Vatrano piled on another. In goal, Lukas Dostal made 32 saves in the victory.

Teuvo Teravainen scored two goals, one on the power-play, and Martin Necas added a man-advantage marker. No. 2 goalie Antti Raanta got the nod after former Ducks goalie Freddie Anderson beat the Kings 6-5 Saturday, and stopped 18 shots.

Other than the empty-net goals, the third-period scoring belonged to Carolina and both their goals came on the power play. Teravainen scored off a long slap shot of a rolling puck to at least inspire thoughts of a final push for Carolina, which included a tip-in tally from Necas. Teravainen also scored in the second period, knocking down an airborne puck and rifling it past Dostal in a quick, fluid sequence.

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Equally rapid-fire were two saves made in succession made by Dostal, who fended off the temeritous Hurricanes off at almost every turn, apart from Teravainen’s first tally.

The Ducks were protected beyond their net though, and made Carolina feel at least slightly on edge. While Coach Rod Brind’Amour’s group has plenty of heft, they play a relentless style at a break-neck pace that leaves opponents winded rather than battered most nights. But the Ducks drew them into scrums routinely, including one that earned former Kings forward Brendan Lemiuex, now with Carolina, and newly acquired Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas game misconduct penalties.

But the early going was owned by the Ducks, with Carrick opening the scoring, Vatrano earning them a cushion and Mintyukov getting his first goal from defense partner Jackson LaCombe, whose assist was his first career NHL point.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers, without LeBron James and Austin Reaves, fall to Bucks

• October 16, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers were once again without at least two starters – and a few other players – for an exhibition Wednesday, falling to the Milwaukee Bucks 108-97 at Crypto.com Arena.

LeBron James and Austin Reaves sat for the third time during preseason as part of their ramp-up plans for the regular season.

They’ll likely play in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, giving the Lakers a “test run” ahead of the regular-season opener against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24.

Anthony Davis (16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals in 19 minutes) and D’Angelo Russell (11 points in 19 minutes) were the two known starters who played but were limited to first-half minutes.

Taurean Prince, a candidate for the fifth starting spot, was in the starting unit for the third time during preseason, scoring eight points (2-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers) in 15 first-half minutes.

Cam Reddish returned to the court after missing three consecutive games because of right ankle soreness. He finished with 10 points (4-of-11 shooting, 2 of 5 on 3s) and five rebounds in 21 minutes.

“Cam looked great,” Ham said. “He’s out there gassed a little bit, which is to be expected. But he’s another high-level, skilled player. Can shoot it, can guard. Really competes on the defensive side of the ball. Able to handle, get downhill, finish. It was good to see him out there giving contributions. Look forward to seeing more of him.”

Max Christie (10 points and four rebounds) also scored in double figures.

Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel soreness), Gabe Vincent (lower back soreness)) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (right knee contusion) also missed Sunday’s game.

Vincent sitting in the last two games has been designated as precautionary. Ham said Hood-Schifino bumped knees during Friday’s home loss to the Golden State Warriors and the team wants to “evaluate it some more and make sure we know what we’re dealing with.”

The absence was the fourth consecutive missed game for Vanderbilt, who’ll be reevaluated on Friday and is expected to miss Thursday’s game against the Suns.

It’s unknown whether he’ll be available for the regular-season opener.

“We’ll see,” Ham responded when asked whether Vanderbilt will be available against the Nuggets. “Once he gets reevaluated on Friday, we’ll go from there.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the seven-time All-Star guard the Bucks acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers on Sept. 27, made their preseason debuts against the Lakers.

Antetokounmpo had 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 15 first-half minutes. Lillard finished with 14 points, three assists and three steals in 22 minutes.

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“It’s a hell of a combo, hell of a one-two punch,” Ham said. “Just Dame with the ball, Giannis as a screener. Or even Dame as a screener and Giannis with the ball. It’s not going to be any fun for anybody. Best of luck to everybody else, the other 28 teams, aside from ourselves that have to figure out a way to try to stop that. I’m just happy we only see them twice in the regular season.”

After playing every other day for over a week, the Lakers will have three days in between games to close out their exhibition slate.

The matchup against the Suns should give clarity to what their rotation will look like to start the season.

“We got a few days in between now and then as we build up toward it,” Ham said. “Obviously, it’ll be a little bit of a test run for us to see what our normal rotation looks like – looks like that being the last preseason game of the preseason. For three quarters, we’ll see what we look like. And again, in between time, try to get better at different things.”

​ Orange County Register