Month: September 2023

Oakland A’s relocation special report podcast with Augie Musenburg: Baseball Commissioner Manfred says Oakland Mayor Thao was not truthful

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred addresses the media. Manfred said this week that Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is not being truthful regarding getting a new stadium deal done in Oakland (AP file photo)

On the Oakland A’s relocation podcast with Augie Musenburg:

#1 A San Francisco Chronicle column written by John Shea title Oakland vs. MLB as Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao exchange unpleasantries regarding who dropped the ball in trying to get a deal done in Oakland.

#2 You might recall that during the All Star game in Seattle Mayor Thao went to Seattle and presented Manfred with 30 copies of books for each team owner documenting how Oakland was close to a deal with the A’s before team president David Kaval had called and pulled out. Do you feel that this is the crux of why Manfred has some strong words about Thao after giving him the documentation and he felt she’s not telling the truth?

#3 Manfred said that Mayor Thao was good at pointing out how MLB got this wrong and the A’s got that wrong but questioned if Thao handled getting the A’s deal done in Oakland well Manfred said “Don’t think so.” It should be noted that Thao had been newly elected and had only been in office a few weeks when the A’s said they had a binding deal with Las Vegas while they were in the middle of negotiating with Oakland and backed out of the deal.

#4 Manfred also said that Thao is about to lose her third team, making it sound that this happened under her watch and that she’s not telling the truth. Manfred also said he and Thao never talked about Oakland getting an expansion team and the city keeping the A’s name. Was Manfred upset about being presented the books and that he wants this deal in Vegas all along.

#5 Manfred also said that Thao didn’t reach out to him after winning election. Manfred said that Thao didn’t reach out after she won election and took that Manfred took that as a signal they weren’t negotiating about the A’s anymore.

Augie Mesenburg is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Judge questions Yankees direction “What are we doing?”; Padres Musgrove says not much has changed since last season

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New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge hits a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx on Fri Sep 22, 2023. Judge asked regarding the team’s direction “what are we doing” (AP News photo)

On MLB The Show podcast with Stephen:

#1 One of the things that New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge questioned on Monday was the direction of this year’s team fourth place 18 games out in the AL East and no chance at the post season with a week left in the campaign. Judge asks “What are we doing?”

#2 San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove said that not much has changed regarding last year’s Padres team that just missed the World Series and most likely will finish in third place in the NL West some 18 games out. It’s not quite the finish that Musgrove and the Padres expected.

#3 Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about his future with the team. Boone said that decision is out of his hands. Boone has a club option for 2025 after his contract runs out this season. Boone said his future with the Yankees was out of his control and hopes he could come back.

#4 The NL East first place Atlanta Braves reached their second straight 100 win season. The Braves reached 100-56 and are well ahead of second place Philadelphia Phillies by 13 games. The Braves are favored to be a World Series team.

#5 Bruce Bochy and the Texas Rangers continue to pour it on they’re coming off a three game sweep of the Seattle Mariners over the weekend and lead the AL West by 2.5 games. The Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners in Arlington in a one run win on Sunday 9-8. The Rangers opened a seven game road swing today and can finished as the second seed for the American League post season.

Stephen Ruderman is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants loss to Dodgers drops them 5 games back of Wild Card

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San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr. celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast:

#1 Chris Taylor got a tenth inning single that scored the game winning run to help the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 at Dodger Stadium.

#2 Things started out in the bottom of the second inning when the Dodgers scored two runs. James Outman hit a two run homer to center right field scoring JD Martinez for a 2-0 lead.

#3 The Giants LaMonte Wade Jr slugged a 408 foot home run to center scoring Tyler Fitzgerald ahead of him to tie the game up 2-2.

#4 The Dodgers who are already in the post season have won three out of the last four with the Giants. The Dodgers are one of the favored teams to have a shot at making the World Series but there is some tough competition which includes the mighty Atlanta Braves.

#5 The Giants return home to host the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. The Padres will be starting Blake Snell (14-9 ERA 2.33) and for the Giants Logan Webb (10-13 ERA 3.35) with a first pitch at 6:40pm PT.

Join Marko for the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s lack hitting in 4-1 loss to Tigers; Open 3 game set in Minnesota Tuesday

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Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof couldn’t make the catch on the Detroit Tigers Andy Ibanez’ line drive in the top of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Sep 24, 2023. This was the A’s final home game for 2023. (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 JP Sears, who had struggled through a 5-12, 4.52 season, also struggled again Sunday. He faced 23 batters over five innings, throwing them 97 pitches 58 of them strikes. 

#2 Opposing Sears in this battle of southpaws, was Eduardo Rodríguez, (11-9, 3.57 at game time), who did a fine job in his seven innings of work. He shut the Athletics out on five hits, four walks, and a wild pitch.

#3 Miguel Cabrera was in Detroit’s starting line up as the designated hitter. He closed out his Coliseum career by going 0 for 4 with a walk but drew loud applause after his last at bat, at which he struck out.

#4 Esteury Ruíz, leading off instead of batting in his recent number nine slot in order to improve his chances of breaking the record of stolen bases by an American League rookie (66) made two attempts in the bottom of the first. He was successful in pilfering second but was out by a mile when he tried to steal third.

#5 The A’s will travel on Minneapolis and Anaheim for the half a dozen games remaining in their schedule. Paul Blackman (4-6, 4,11) will face the Twins on Tuesday at 4:40 Pacific Time. The Twins will go against Kenta Maeda (6-7, 4.28).

Barbara Mason did the Oakland A’s podcasts Mondays during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Raiders shutout in second and third quarters set them back in loss to Steelers

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) celebrates after sacking Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during the first half at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich:

#1 Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett who threw two touchdown passes on Sunday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders for a 23-18 win at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

#2 Pickett had his way with the Raiders defense throwing for 225 yards, Pickett had time to throw and got protection from the offensive line.

#3 Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 28-44 for 324 yards, and two touchdowns but not enough to stay ahead of the Steelers.

#4 How frustrated do the Raiders have to be after falling short and Garoppolo throwing for two interceptions.

#5 The Raiders will try it all over again as they face the Los Angeles Chargers this coming Sun Oct 1st. The Raiders have lost two of their last three games. The Chargers have also lost two of their last three games how do you see this match up Sunday?

Join Rich Perez following all home and away Raiders games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Raiders Rally in Fourth Quarter Falls Short Losing to Steelers 23-18

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III (19) runs for a touchdown during the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Raiders attempted comeback in the fourth quarter fell short losing to the Steelers 23-18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Las Vegas had a scoreless second and third quarter which spelled the difference in this game.

The Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) welcomed the Pittsburg Steelers (1-1) to Allegiant Stadium in a Sunday Night Football clash. Last week the Raiders were blitzed by the Buffalo Bills 38-10. The Steelers got past the Cleveland Browns winning the game in the fourth quarter 26-22.

The Raiders were first up on the scoreboard but that would be all that Las Vegas could manage going into the fourth quarter. In the opening quarter Jimmy Garoppolo found Davante Adams for 32 yards, the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

It all went downhill from there. The Steelers also had one touchdown in the first quarter to tie up the game and it was a huge play, a 72 yard pass from Kenny Pickett to Calvin Austin.

Neither team could break the tie until 8:33 in the second quarter. The flow of this game was about to change. Pittsburg would kick two field goals in the quarter. Kicker Chris Boswell made a 43 yard field goal mid-way through the quarter and a 42- yard kick to end the first half. The Steelers took a 13-7 lead into the locker room after two quarters.

As the third quarter got underway the Raiders were still very much in this game. They were one touchdown away from taking the lead. The Steelers kicker Chris Boswell kicked a third field goal at 9:28 for 57 yards.

Pittsburg took a 16-7 lead but the Raiders were still within striking distance. With 3:56 left in the third quarter the game really took a turn when the Steelers scored their second touchdown of the game. With Pittsburg now leading by the score of 23-7, the Raiders had one quarter left to try to turn this game around.

The fourth quarter was a rough one for Jimmy Garoppolo getting sacked a couple of times but putting together a great drive that culminated in a one yard pass to Davante Adams for the touchdown. The Raiders made a two point conversion and it was a one score game 23-15 with 5:41 left on the game clock.

The Raiders held tight and sent the Steeler offense off the field three and out with 4:35 to go in the game. Las Vegas drove down to the Steeler eight yard line with 2.35 left in the game in a real nail-biter. The Raiders could not score the touchdown and had to settle for the field goal a 26 yard Daniel Carlson kick cutting the Steeler lead to 23-18.

Had the Raiders scored the touchdown, they could have tied up this game. There was 2:22 on the clock remaining and the Raiders had to go three and out. Las Vegas could not hold the Steelers and with one time out left and two minutes left in the game it was all but over.

The Steelers ended this game with their third interception of the evening with 12 seconds on the clock. The Raiders came so close in this game but it was the lack of offense in the second and third quarters that really hurt them.

Jimmy Garoppolo had a great second half finishing with 324 passing yards but also had three interceptions. The Raiders had 69 rushing yards, 62 of them from Josh Jacobs. Davante Adams had 13 catches for 172 yards.

Next Sunday Oct 1st the Raiders will travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers. San Diego will come into this game on a high after beating the Minnesota Vikings keeping them winless. Charger quarterback Justin Herbert had a banner day throwing for 405 yards. Kickoff for next weeks game is scheduled for 1:05 PM.

Giants Fall to Dodgers in Tenth 3-2; SF Drops 5 Games Back in NL Wild Card

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San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr., right, celebrates with Tyler Fitzgerald after they both scored off of a home run hit by Wade Jr. during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Despite having the bases loaded numerous times the San Francisco Giants were unable to get past the Los Angeles Dodgers losing in ten innings 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers were first up on the scoreboard in the second inning. J.D. Martinez doubled followed by James Outman who wasted no time knocking the first pitch out of the park for a 2-0 lead.

San Francisco would tie up the game in the fifth inning. Fitzgerald came to the plate and singled to center. Next up LaMonte Wade Jr. homered to center and this game was all tied up 2-2. It was a brand new ball game.

The deadlock would continue into the eighth inning. Both defenses had really stepped up and there was not a whole lot of offensive action from either team.

In the ninth inning the Giants were on the verge of breaking this tie. They had the bases loaded with Heliot Ramos on third, Marco Luciano on second and LaMonte Wade Jr. was intentionally walked.

San Francisco had a huge opportunity to put some runs up on the board and break the tie. Dodgers pitcher Evan Phillips got out of the inning striking out Mitch Haniger giving Los Angeles the chance for a walk off. A Freeman ground out, a Muncy line out and a Martinez strike out sent this game into extra innings.

In the tenth inning the Giants once again loaded the bases with Estrada, Pederson and Haniger on base and Patrick Bailey at the plate. San Francisco did not want to come away empty a second time.

In a horrible twist of fate the Dodgers pulled off a double play and this game went into the bottom of the tenth. You can only toy with the Dodgers for so long before it bites you in the rear. With Amed Rosario on third base, Chris Taylor singled and that was ball game.

The Giants unable to turn loaded base situations into runs was their downfall in this game. They had every opportunity to win the game but just couldn’t pull it off. Although not mathematically out of a Wild Card it does now look pretty grim.

Giants post game notes: Sunday afternoon the San Francisco Giants (77-79) took on the Los Angeles Dodgers (96-59) in game four of their four game series. The Dodgers won the first game of the series 7-2 as well as the third game in a shutout 7-0.

San Francisco won game two 5-1 and are looking to even this series in game four. The Giants are running out of time with only seven games left and still sitting in sixth place for a Wild Card. They will need a lot of help to get into that third spot and they can’t give up anymore games. Making things worse for the Giants every team that is vying for the Wild Card spots won today. The Phillies, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, and Diamondbacks all winners.

Monday night the Giants will begin a three game series at Oracle Park with the San Diego Padres. On the mound for San Francisco will be Logan Webb. He has a 10-13 win/loss record with a 3.35 ERA. The Giants offense will face the Padres Blake Snell with a 14-9 win/loss record and a 2.33 ERA. Juan Soto leads the Padres in home runs with 33, and his batting average is .282 with 105 RBIs.

The Giants have a good one in Wilmer Flores who is having a great season with 22 home runs and a .281 batting average. Thairo Estrada is another offensive weapon for San Francisco with a .274 ERA. First pitch on Monday is scheduled for 6:45 PM.

Sharks open preseason by dominating Vegas 5-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks X. The Sharks celebrate their preseason victory over Vegas on September 24, 2023.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The preseason could not have gotten off to a better start for the Sharks as they walloped their Pacific Division rivals Vegas by a final of 5-2

Kaapo Kahkonen got the start with Magnus Chrona backing him up while Vegas had Jiri Patera in between the pipes with Jesper Vikman playing backup.

The first period for the Sharks was filled with power plays and goals as they drew three penalties and scored four goals.

The goal scoring was kicked off by Henry Thrun who’s looking to build off of his eight game stint in the NHL last season. Following that up would be Thomas Hertl who capitalized off of a beautiful tic-tac-toe play involving Mike Hoffman and Thrun. Less than a minute later journeyman Nathan Todd scored off a fortunate bounce out front making it 3-0. All three goals came before the ten minute mark had even passed.

Late in the first Ivan Barbashev got one back off a backhand right in the slot that beat Kahkonen top shelf. Thrun was not done showing off his skills as another seeing eye shot from the youngster found its way in giving him two goals and an assist in the period.

At the end of the first the shots were tied at ten apiece.

The second was a little more back and forth as the teams exchanged chances. Once again the Sharks found the board on a pass by Alexander Barabonv that found a seam through the slot. The recipient of the pass Kyle Burroughs shelved it over Patera making it 5-1.

Toward the end of the second Daniil Chayka flung one on the net that tipped in off Brett Howden cutting the Sharks lead to three.

The shot totals at the end of the second were 21-18 in favor of Vegas.

Starting out the third for Vegas was Jesper Vikman in goal.

As far as final periods go this one ended up being rather uneventful as the San Jose looked a little more sluggish. Starting out the third for Vegas was Jesper Vikman in goal.

Early on the Sharks ended up in penalty trouble as Barabonov took a holding penalty but Vegas could not capitalize.

The Sharks were able to hold on for the win 5-2 with Kahkonen making 32 saves.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Henry Thrun 2nd: Thomas Hertl 3rd: Kyle Burroughs

San Jose’s next preseason game will be against the Ducks on Tuesday at home at 7 p.m.

Aces Beat Wings In Impresssive Opening Semi-Final Round 97-83

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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (22) passes to guard Jackie Young (0) defending the Dallas Wings forward Natasha Howard (6) and guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) in first half action of the WNBA semifinals at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

A’Ja Wilson and company took it to the Dallas Wings in the opening round of the semi-finals. Wilson finished with 34 points and eight rebounds in the 97-83 win in game 1. Kelsey Plum had a terrific game with 25 points and five rebounds.

Sunday afternoon the defending champion Las Vegas Aces (1-0) continued on their path to a back-to-back title. The Dallas Wings (0-1) stand between them and a trip to the finals. The Wings are the only team to defeat not only the Aces but also the Liberty and Connecticut in the regular season. They are a dangerous team.

In the previous game in this semi-final round, the New York Liberty were upset by the Connecticut Sun 78-63. In this game the Wings faced not only the Most Valuable Defensive Player of the year in A’Ja Wilson but also Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum. It was a daunting task for Dallas.

Game 1 recap: The Aces did not have the greatest rhythm to start the game and with 2:03 left in the first quarter gave up the lead. Las Vegas had led by as much as six points but turnovers led to a 17-16 Dallas lead. As the quarter came to an end the Aces had taken back the lead by the slimmest of margins 20-19. Both teams were turning over the ball way too much which did not bode well for either of them. Wilson finished the quarter with ten points.

As this game wore on it became evident that this would be no easy task for Las Vegas despite the Wings season record. They would have to be on their A-game against this red hot team. Kelsey Plum had a slow start but got it going in the second quarter. In 2 1/2 minutes time she scored ten points going on a “Plum Run”.

The Aces held on winning the second quarter 29-26 taking a 49-45 halftime lead into the locker room. If the first half was any indication, the Aces would have to take it up a notch in the second half. This infamously second half team would have to live up to that. The Wings were proving to be a very tough opponent through the first two quarters.

As the third quarter got underway we saw an Ace team that was living up to their reputation taking a ten point lead mid-way through the quarter. Las Vegas smothered the Wings in the quarter winning it 26-12 taking a 75-57 lead.

After being down by 20 points, the Wings pulled to within 11 points but Las Vegas ran it back up to a 17 point lead with 6:52 left in the game. The Aces were on a mission and they were playing like it leading 83-66.

Las Vegas had four starters in double digits with A’Ja Wilson leading the way with 32 points. Las Vegas finished off this game in Ace style 97-83. They had ten shots from beyond the arc and four starters in double digits. Besides Wilson and Plum, Jackie Young finished with 19 points and ten rebounds. Chelsea Young had 13 points .

Game two of this semi-final round will be played on Tuesday in Las Vegas at Michelob ULTRA Arena with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Tigers end A’s home season with 2-0 shutout; Detroit sends out 3 pitchers to silence A’s hitting

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Detroit Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez throws to an Oakland Athletics batter during the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on the last A’s home game on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

Detroit (73-83). 002 000 000. – 2. 11. 0
Oakland (48-108). 000 000 000 – 0. 7. 1

Time: 2:34

Attendance: 13,102

Sunday, September 24, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND—Well, that did it. The Oakland Athletics wrapped up their home season with 2-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers in a contest riddled with missed opportunities.

JP Sears, who had struggled through a 5-12, 4.52 season, also struggled again this afternoon. He faced 23 batters over five innings, throwing them 97 pitches 58 of them strikes. He allowed two runs, both of them earned but not entirely his fault. He struck out seven and walked two before being relieved in the sixth by Adrián Martínez, who threw 2+ scoreless innings. Sears took the loss and went home with a record of 5-13, 4.49.

Martínez held the Tigers in check for 2+ frames before yielding to Kyle Muller with Jake Rogers on first with a bloop single to center. Muller managed to keep the Tigers off the board in the eighth, with a little help from a great throw by Rooker to nab Zach McKinstry trying to advance from first to third. McKinstry had gotten on base when Noda made a fine grab and throw of his attempted sacrifice to force Rogers out at second. Zach Neal hurled a scoreless ninth..

Opposing Sears in this battle of southpaws, was Eduardo Rodríguez, (11-9, 3.57 at game time), who did a fine job in his seven innings of work. He shut the Athletics out on five hits, four walks, and a wild pitch.He threw an even 100 pitches; 61 counted as strikes, chalking up five Ks.

Jason Foley followed him and was pulled in favor of Alex Lange after allowing a two out single to Rooker. Langer fanned the pinch hitting Seth Brown to end the inning and then stayed on to close out the game. Rodríguez earned the win, his 12th against nine losses and brought his ERA down to 3.40. Langer earned the save, his 25th.

Miguel Cabrera was in Detroit’s starting line up as the designated hitter. He closed out his Coliseum career by going 0 for 4 with a walk but drew loud applause after his last at bat, at which he struck out

Esteury Ruíz, leading off instead of batting in his recent number nine slot in order to improve his chances of breaking the record of stolen bases by an American League rookie (66) made two attempts in the bottom of the first.

He was successful in pilfering second but was out by a mile when he tried to steal third. That brought his total to 64. Ruíz’s leadoff double in the fourth gave him another chance to steal. He took advantage of it as the lead runner in a double steal that he and Gelof pulled off, catcher Jake Robinson’s throwing straight through to second.

That gave the A’s two runners in scoring position with none out. They blew that opportunity. when Ruíz was thrown out at home on Rooker’s grounder to third and Díaz bounced into an inning ending double play. It was a case of The Curse of the Leadoff Double being compounded by The Curse of the Double Steal and The Curse of the Double Play.

Another base running error conspired with The Curse of the Leadoff Double one inning later. Shea Langeliers laced the fatidic two bagger and then tried to advance to third on Ryan Noda’s hard ground ball to short. He. was not successful. The A’s went on to load the bases and leave three more runners on base.

Sears was the victim of some poor fielding in the top or the third that teamed up with a couple of Tiger hits to give the visitors the 2-0 lead they would hold for the rest of the game. Parker Meadows banged a double off the Budweiser ad beneath the 362 foot marker in left field. Matt Vierling followed with a walk.

Andy Ibáñez lifted a pop fly to short right. Zack Gelof attempted an over the shoulder catch but couldn’t keep the ball in his glove; it was scored as. single. Spencer Torkelson’s fly to right fell in for a single, driving in the two runners, and Torkelson took second on Rooker’s errant throw to the infield. Sears bore down, and second base is where Torkelson was stranded. Sears, Martínez, Muller, and Neal shut the Tigers down from there on.

The A’s will travel on Minneapolis and Anaheim for the half a dozen games remaining in their schedule. Paul Blackman (4-6, 4,11) will face the Twins on Tuesday at 4:40 Pacific Time. The Twins will go against Kenta Maeda (6-7, 4.28).