Author: lleonardbw

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–The magic number is down to four for the Los Angeles Angels to win the American League West as they are running away with it with a huge lead over the Oakland A’s and their first division title since 2009. The Angels who won ten in a row and lost on Sunday but they handled the Houston Astros this season and you can’t win everyday it’s 162 games.

The Halos have been terrific and since this franchise started in 1961 and in 2002 was the last time the Angels won ten games in a row. 2002 was an interesting fact because the Angels won the A.L.Championship and went onto play the San Francisco Giants and defeated them in the 2002 World Series in seven games.

There’s a lot of optimism in Anaheim although the Angels are sputtering they have three guys who are winning now and the Angels can hit and the Angels have a terrific team. They have guys on the club who are hitting .280 or .300. Mike Trout is going to be the MVP of the A.L.that’s sure as anything that I know.

This week the Angels should clinch it and they don’t want to have to clinch it in Oakland and it could the worse thing for the A’s having it done at the Coliseum in their home park. The Angels head to Oakland next week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The A’s are still fighting to stay in the wild card and the Angels will host the Mariners with hopes to clinch the west this week.

There is a very good chance by the time the Angels arrive in Oakland next Monday they would have already won the Western Division. The A’s who ran into a tough slide in the last month but won two straight over the Mariners Saturday and Sunday and rested on Monday and get set to open three games with the Rangers have a good chance at winning the wild card.

The A’s are ten games out and their not going to catch the Angels, on Sunday the A’s won for the first time back to back since August 22 and the A’s lead the wild card by three games and a game and half over the Kansas City Royals. The A’s are holding a two and half game lead over Seattle.

Now here’s the thing on Tuesday the A’s open a homestand of nine games here are the names of the teams that they should beat, the Rangers who have the worst record in baseball this year they come to Oakland for three games starting Tuesday, than they play the Philadelphia Phillies for three games starting Friday night who are completely out of it and are eliminated. The A’s then host the Angels for three starting Monday and then go to Texas starting Thursday the 25th. This is important because these games could go right down to the last game of the year for Oakland.

Amaury Pi Gozalez is the television Spanish voice for Los Angeles Angels baseball and does News and Commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–The Los Angeles Angels have the best record in baseball today with 89-55, a season-high 34 games over .500. During the first half of the season, they were the only team to average more than five runs per game. At the start of the second half they hit a wall, but are back today with a six-game winning streak, and won 12 out of the last 14 games.

The Angels are tied with the World Series champion 2002 team for their best record in club history through 144 games. The last 31 days they have gained 12 games in the standings in the American League West. On August 9, the Angels were four games behind the Oakland Athletics, today (a month and one day later) they are in first place by eight games, with a magic number of 11.

The team opens their last home stand of the regular season this Friday September 12th. Ten games in ten consecutive days, three against Houston, four against Seattle and three against Texas.
Any combination of Angels wins and Athletics loses that totals 11 will give the Halos their first Western Division title since 2009.

During the current hot streak they have done it without their clean up hitter Josh Hamilton, out with a stiff right shoulder. Mike Sciosia, the longest tenure manager in baseball, on his 15th season with the Angels “They keep grinding it,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s good to see these guys come alive. It’s taken a lot of pressure off our bullpen.”

Angels bullpen was their biggest weakness during the first half of the season, but General Manager Jerry Dipoto made some very good deals, bringing Jason Grilli from Pittsburgh and most important, acquiring closer Houston Street from the Padres, then other relievers like Joe Smith, Kevin Jepsen and Cody Rasmus has made their bullpen very effecitve.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV talent for the Angels also is the Spanish radio talent for the A’s and does News and Commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–Rafael (Felo) Ramírez, was born in Bayamo, Cuba on June 22, 1923. I recently spoke with “Felo” (as we the Spanish speaking broadcasters affectionately call him) during the Marlins visit to Angels Stadium in Anaheim at the end of August. Felo is 91 years old, travels on the team charter, and still is the Spanish play by play voice for all Miami Marlins games of the National League.

I had the privilege of working with Felo during the National League Championship Series in 1998, between the Padres and the Braves, for the old (LBC) Latino Broadcasting Company for the hundreds of stations in the United States and Latin America. Since then LBC was acquired by ESPN Deportes. Felo told me in Anaheim he feels fine, and still loves to come to the ballpark.

We shared a pregame meal at Angel Stadium and we spoke, and the memories were incredible. For me (also Cuban-born) he feels like familia to me.

I remember prior to the first broadcast I did with Felo during that 1998 National League Championship Series before the first game at Atlanta, I asked him if it was correct for me to say over the air, that I used to listen to him in Cuba, when I was 9 years old during the old Cuban Professional Winter League. He said “desde luego que si” – of course you can. And I did, and it was a real treat for me to work with Felo, my mentor. Next year, 1999, I also worked together with Jaime Jarrin of the Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish radio network, another (Hall of Famer) during the Mets-Braves National League Championship Series.

I couldn’t ask for more during those two postseasons. Rafael (Felo) Ramírez (Cuba) Miami Marlins and Jaime Jarrí (Ecuador) Los Angeles Dodgers are the only two living Spanish play by play announcers to have won the Ford C.Frick Broadcasters Award of the Hall of Fame. The other one was Buck Canel, (deceased) who won it in 1985 and was the Spanish play by play announcer for the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

Felo has been the only Spanish Voice for all Marlins games, since they began play as the Florida Marlins in 1993. He also called the two World Series titles for the Miami club in 1997 and 2003. Rafael (Felo) Ramírez is the undisputed senior announcer in Major League Baseball. Milo Hamilton is currently the play by play announcer for the Houston Astros, born in 1927, Milo is 87 years of age and has worked as play by play announcer for seven (7) different Major League teams.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig named Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully a recipient of the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award on Friday during Selig’s farewell tour stop at Dodger Stadium. Scully and Jackie Robinson’s wife, Rachel, are the only non-players to be recognized with the award. Scully was emotional.

“Wow, I’m deeply touched,” he said quietly. The great Vin Scully was born in 1927; he is 87 years of age and last month announced he will be back for an incredible 66th season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Vin, Felo, Milo and Jaime all are recipients of the Ford C. Frick Broadcasters Award.

Prior to the last game of the Angels vs Marlins series in Anaheim, to be exact, on Wednesday August 27, and prior to that game, I gave Felo a hug and told him “nos vemos pronto” with his inimitable wit he responded slowly and looking at me: “si no nos vemos, no es por mi culpa” trans: “If we don’t see each other again, it would not be my fault” Enough said.

Amaury Pi-González is the Spanish play by play announcer on the radio for the Oakland Athletics, and on Fox Spanish television in Los Angeles with the LA Angels and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–I do not believe that it is a “coincidence” that since Yoenis Céspedes was traded, the Oakland Athletics had their worst month in over 2 years; yes the first losing month, this August 2014, right after the team traded outfielder Yoenis Céspedes for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes of the Red Sox, if the A’s were not intending to keep Céspedes, will they keep Lester? Who already had said publicly that he would welcome going back to Boston. That remains to be seen, that is another show.

Now, I know in today’s OBP, WAR, and all that nonsense, like every team playing the shift to basically all left handed and right handed hitter just with a little power(Ted Williams must be turning over in his grave) -batters, it is designed to protect against Extra base hit pulled hard into the gaps between the fielders on the right side. But, all you need is to have a little power and they put the shift on you. Every team is doing this.

Originally called the “Lou Boudeau or Ted Williams” shift, the strategy is often associated with Ted Williams, but it was actually first employed against Cy Williams during the 1920s.[1][2] It was later used against Ted Williams during the 1946 World Series between the Red Sox and the Cardinals as a defensive gimmick by St. Louis manager Eddie Dyer to psych out and hopefully contain Boston slugger Williams.

Now, back to the A’s, who’s soul was ripped-off when they traded Céspedes. He is on his way to his first 100 RBI season, but unfortunately with the Boston Red Sox, There is little doubt that he made the Athletics line-up a better one. Those that like numbers, should not be blinded by the numbers they spouted that Céspedes couldn’t hit relief pitching, and all that stuff, because the A’s after Céspedes left for Boston can’t even hit starting pitchers, never mind relievers.

I might be old school, and I understand the economics of the game, but the A’s are like a team without a soul, without an identity. They were one of the most feared teams in close games, but now they are just another team trying to survive and make it to the postseason. Forget Detroit (whom many thought the trade of Lester was made so that the A’s could finally beat the Tigers in that 5th and deciding game of the playoffs) the irony today is that Detroit might be the last team they would face in the postseason, Detroit might not make it at all.

The A’s had better wake up, because the Seattle Mariners are getting closer and closer in that rear-view mirror. And they could be left with no division title and no wild card, but with a card to watch the playoffs on television.

Sorry, yes I am turning 70 next month, and I might be from another time, but the ball is still round, bases are still 90 feet away and from the mound to the plate is still 60 feet, and I always believed statistics are so misused that sometimes they try to sell it to the public like it is written in stone, and in baseball nothing is written, but there are some intangibles, and one of those was the presence of Mr Céspedes in the middle of that line-up. Unless you can convince me otherwise, after all isn’t it all about the “bottom line”? and we have seen no good results so far.

Athletics lost Friday night to Houston 4-3 and starting today, Sunday September 7, they have 19 more games, that is it, no more no less. Not time to panic, but time to wake up, because the window of success and the calendar, do not care about WAR or OBP or whatever stats you prefer, it is getting smaller and smaller with everyday that goes by. And yes, I do love pitching. Cy Young won 511 games…but(for those that are hooked on stats, and do not understand the chemistry of a team)he also lost 316 games.That is just my opinion, if you disagree I respect your opinion also. After all, it is only baseball.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com