Donte Whitner wants to drop the “W” from his last name. After receiving a $21,000 fine for hitting Rams wide receiver Chris GIvens, the hard-hitting safety figures he may as well wear it and become Donte “Hitner.”

Thinking about taking the W out of my last name. Mom said its ok (y'all kno I had to ask 1st lol) #NotPlayingEither

“Hitner” will be appealing the fine. He was penalized but not fined for a similar hit on Indianapolis Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw in Week Three. Upon further review, it was determined the hit on Bradshaw shouldn’t have resulted in a penalty.

“I don’t know what we can do as players,” Whitner said on Tuesday. “Just put flags on and pull those off. Maybe fans will like that. Maybe not.”

Take a look at the hit. Do you think Whitner will win his appeal? He says he led with his shoulder and was trying to dislodge the ball. The NFL sees it as a hit on a defenseless receiver. For what it’s worth, Givens himself said it wasn’t a dirty hit.

— Another 49ers player took to Twitter to voice his frustration on Tuesday and it didn’t come off nearly as well as Whitner’s rant. LaMichael James tweeted the following and quickly deleted it:

James was inactive for the first three games of the season before playing last week. He carried the ball three times against the St. Louis Rams and didn’t gain a yard. Last season, former 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs took the same path and it ended up costing him his job. James is a second-round pick and Jacobs was past his prime. Don’t expect to see the 23-year-old running back in the unemployment line any time soon

Giving Gray the Game Two start came as a surprise, but the A’s want to pitch him at home. Dan Straily has a bit more experience, so they trust him a little more on the road.

The A’s have fared well against the Tigers’ starters recently. Scherzer allowed six runs (five earned) against the A’s on August 29. Two days earlier, Verlander allowed five runs (three earned) in a losing effort in Detroit.

If the A’s can win their first World Series since 1989, general manager Billy Beane’s next challenge could be to fix the city of Oakland…