Suddenly the 49ers faithful need some good news. And quick.

Losing center-guard David Baas right out of the free-agency starting gate was not what 49ers fans were imagining when they were cheering the end of the NFL lockout.

Nobody attached a single negative to bringing football back for the 2011 season. Until Baas abandoned ship.
Testing the patience of a 49ers fan is not recommended as a strategy for the latest new beginning. The faithful is a proud group beyond ready to jump back into the Super Bowl ship Bill Walsh and George Seifert built for them so many years ago.

Too many years of bad football impacts even the heartiest of fans. They begin to flinch easily, assume the worst and prepare for that I-told-you-so moment to begin sinking into skepticism.

At the first sign of bad, they go right to worse. And 49ers fans have every right to do just that. After the Dennis Erickson-Mike Nolan-Mike Singletary parade through Santa Clara, who can blame them?

Patience and optimism has netted the 49ers fan absolutely nothing the last four years. And that patience was tested the past few months with one report after another pronouncing new coaching staffs, like the 49ers, and teams with quarterback questions, like the 49ers, as the most likely to stumble in 2011.

Not only does Niners coach Jim Harbaugh have to mold a winning team in four weeks, he has to keep the story on a winning track. Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke have to notch some early positives into the fence posts they’re planting around the 49ers’ facility.

Baas signing with the New York Giants was a body blow to the Niners’ offensive line, already tasked with giving Alex Smith time to prove he can successfully quarterback an NFL team.

Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree are that much less scary with a porous offensive line. Frank Gore’s comeback will be that much more difficult if the holes aren’t there.

While letting Takeo Spikes move on to the San Diego Chargers may have been the right move from both a personnel and financial standpoint, what about the mindset of Patrick Willis? Don’t want him missing his linebacking partner.

None of this is insurmountable. Just untimely for a team whose head coach was still introducing himself to players arriving for training camp.

Pile onto that a couple of player defections, mix in the skepticism surrounding the idea of Smith as the focal point for the 49ers rebirth, and you have a recipe for concern that needs to be minimized by some good news. And quick.

Tim Liotta is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Examiner. Email him at tliotta@sfexaminer.com.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said Saturday that he expects holdout Frank Gore to play with the team this season but is prepared to move forward without the two-time Pro Bowl running back.

Baalke said that he wasn’t surprised by Gore’s absence in training camp. He declined to talk specifics about the contract dispute or how long the stalemate could last.

“I think you always have to be prepared for everything that comes up. So are we prepared to (play without him)? Certainly,” Baalke said. “There are other players that are going to have to step up. But at the same time, we fully expect Frank to be back.”

Gore, the heart of the 49ers offence, is in the final year of his deal. He has been deemed healthy by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who hasn’t responded to phone messages or emails.

Gore went down with a season-ending fractured hip in a Monday night game at Arizona last Nov. 29. Gore, who avoided surgery on the hip, ran for 853 yards and three touchdowns in his sixth NFL season and caught 46 passes for 452 yards and two TDs.

He can be fined US$30,000 for each day of camp missed under the new NFL labour agreement. Of course, Gore could make that up and more if he gets his wish.

“Certainly, we’d like to have Frank here. He’s not here,” Baalke said. “So the only we can do is move forward and get the other guys ready to play. You can look at the positives and the negatives. Like I always say, the positive of it is the young backs are getting a lot of work.”

While Gore’s no-show has put a major dent in Baalke’s plans, he hasn’t been the only one.

Michael Crabtree is wearing a boot on his left foot and that could force the receiver to miss the pre-season for the third straight year, and quarterback Alex Smith can’t practise until Thursday under the NFL labour agreement for free agents.

San Francisco also has watched two major players — linebacker Takeo Spikes (San Diego) and guard David Baas (New York Giants) — held elsewhere in free agency, and they released leading cornerback Nate Clements.

Baalke defended his lack of a splashy signing, preaching patience for a team that hasn’t had a winning season or made the playoffs since 2002. He didn’t confirm nor deny a report that the 49ers will meet with receiver Plaxico Burress, allowing only that the team is taking a conservative approach to filling out the roster.

“There are going to be years when maybe we are ultra-aggressive. But this isn’t one of them,” Baalke said. “We have a plan, we’re going to execute it.”

“I think you always have to be prepared for everything that comes up. So are we prepared to (play without him)? Certainly,” Baalke said. “There are other players that are going to have to step up. But at the same time, we fully expect Frank to be back.”

Gore, the heart of the 49ers offense, is in the final year of his deal. He has been deemed healthy by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who hasn’t responded to phone messages or emails.

Gore went down with a season-ending fractured hip in a Monday night game at Arizona last Nov. 29. Gore, who avoided surgery on the hip, ran for 853 yards and three touchdowns in his sixth NFL season and caught 46 passes for 452 yards and two TDs.

He can be fined $30,000 for each day of camp missed under the new NFL labor agreement. Of course, Gore could make that up and more if he gets his wish.

“Certainly, we’d like to have Frank here. He’s not here,” Baalke said. “So the only we can do is move forward and get the other guys ready to play. You can look at the positives and the negatives. Like I always say, the positive of it is the young backs are getting a lot of work.”

While Gore’s no-show has put a major dent in Baalke’s plans, he hasn’t been the only one.

Michael Crabtree is wearing a boot on his left foot and that could force the receiver to miss the preseason for the third straight year, and quarterback Alex Smith can’t practice until Thursday under the NFL labor agreement for free agents.

San Francisco also has watched two major players — linebacker Takeo Spikes (San Diego) and guard David Baas (New York Giants) — held elsewhere in free agency, and they released leading cornerback Nate Clements.

Baalke defended his lack of a splashy signing, preaching patience for a team that hasn’t had a winning season or made the playoffs since 2002. He didn’t confirm nor deny a report that the 49ers will meet with receiver Plaxico Burress, allowing only that the team is taking a conservative approach to filling out the roster.

“There are going to be years when maybe we are ultra-aggressive. But this isn’t one of them,” Baalke said. “We have a plan, we’re going to execute it.”

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Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A new era began Friday for a franchise that is counting on the former star quarterback to change the culture and turn San Francisco back into a winner. And fast. The Niners are paying him $5 million a year to make that happen, and Harbaugh faces the daunting task of not only meeting many of his players for the first time but also preparing them in a matter of weeks for their preseason opener Aug. 12 at New Orleans.

The 49ers have their share of holes to fill first after losing a handful of familiar faces in recent days: center Eric Heitmann, kicker Joe Nedney, cornerback Nate Clements and backup quarterback David Carr all were released. Linebacker Takeo Spikes and offensive lineman David Baas have departed, too.

Running back Frank Gore was a no-show for the first workout as expected, apparently fulfilling his plan to hold out for a new contract. The two-time Pro Bowler, in the final year of his current deal, is healthy again after going down with a season-ending fractured hip in a Monday night game at Arizona last Nov. 29. Gore, who avoided surgery, ran for 853 yards and three touchdowns in his sixth NFL season and caught 46 passes for 452 yards and two TDs. Gore’s 24 100-yard rushing games are the most in 49ers franchise history.

Two other key offensive contributors are on the sidelines for now: quarterback Alex Smith and wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Smith signed a new one-year contract Friday but is unable to practice until Aug. 4 under the new labor deal, while Crabtree is on the physically unable to perform list nursing a foot injury.

Getting the roster sorted out soon will be paramount. San Francisco has failed to post a winning record or make the playoffs since 2002.

“I’m not getting any younger,” four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis said. “It’s about now and tomorrow. Not about trying to develop and become.”

Harbaugh understands the urgency. He welcomes fans with a video clip on the team Web site, with the words “Game On” in the background.

“It’s exciting to get going and just feed off his energy. He has a lot of energy,” wide receiver Josh Morgan said.

Cornerback Shawntae Spencer is busy cramming to pick up the nuances of San Francisco’s defensive playbook, happy not to be pulling the pads on just yet. He knows there will be high expectations for a team that planned to be a contender a year ago.

The 49ers went unbeaten last preseason and had hopes of winning the NFC West, but instead began 0-5 and finished a disappointing 6-10. They endured their worst start since losing seven straight to begin a 2-14 season in 1979, in the late Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh’s first year.

Now, even more change under Harbaugh, who was lured away from the Orange Bowl-winning Stanford program to replace the fired Mike Singletary in a high-profile recruiting process by team President Jed York and new general manager Trent Baalke.

“It’s English and Spanish. Everything is different as far as the terminology, so we have to completely put aside everything we had for the last six years here,” Spencer said. “It’s like learning a new language. First you have to learn the terminology.”

Gore’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, didn’t respond to phone messages or email inquiries Friday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.