Category: MLB

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB: First Two Decades of the XXI Century — the Winners

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photo from: chron.com

By Amaury Pi-González

By the time Major League teams report to Spring Training in Arizona and Florida, the last two decades will be history. And of all the MLB teams during those past 20 years, nobody has won more hardware than the Boston Red Sox.

1. Boston Red Sox Four World Championship Titles. (2004-2007-2013-2018)

Boston, a city where baseball is more than a game or sport, is like a religion. They have been playing at the oldest park, Fenway Park, since it opened in 1912. Their passionate fans had to endure a wild roller coaster ride during the past two decades. Founded in 1901 as one the American League’s eight charter franchises. When the first pitch is thrown at Fenway Park in 2020, the Red Sox would be playing their 108th season at that same location.

2004: It took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to win their first World Series since 1918.The Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. The pitching of Curt Schilling and the hitting of Manny Ramírez and David “Big Papi” Ortíz guided them, but also a great comeback in the American League Championship Series down 3-0 to the New York Yankees. They became the first team in baseball history with such a comeback.

2007: Sensational Japanese pitcher and rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka as well as great performances by also pitchers Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon and great hitting, swept the Colorado Rockies in four games. Between 2007 and 2012, they made history when in 2011 they lost a nine-game lead in the Wild Card standing over the course of the final month of the regular season. That was the worst September collapse in the history of Major League Baseball.

2013: Boston Strong. On April 15, they played an early game that started at 11 AM, and beat the Tampa Bay Rays. It was Patriot Day, a traditional day when the Boston Marathon takes place, and not long after the Red Sox victory, the Boston Marathon was shocked by the bombing. The team was motivated to bring another title to that city. They rebuilt in the off-season and rebounded to win 97 games (best in the American League) under first year manager John Farrell, and found themselves back in the Fall Classic. They defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in six games for their eight championship. Next season(2014), they fell like a rock again — from the top of the game to lose 91 games to last place in the AL East.

2018: It took them five years to get to the World Series again.It was coming since 2016 when they rebuilt again and won the division title,but they lost in the division series as well as in 2017. This year was special as they won a franchise-record 108 games during the regular season and had it on”automatic pilot”through the postseason. They only lost three games in three playoff series going to the World Series again as they took care of the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Boston will have a new look in 2020 as free agents All-Stars J.D. Martínez and Mookie Betts might sign with other teams.

2. San Francisco Giants. Three World Championships Titles (2010, 2012, 2014)

2010: It took the Giants 52 years to win their first championship in San Francisco since they moved from New York in 1958. Giants won the Western Division in a close race ending with a 92-70 record, just two games on top of the San Diego Padres. A lot of good stuff happened this year like signings of Free Agents Aubrey Hoff and Mark DeRosa, promoting Buster Posey in May from AAA Fresno (who was the Rookie of the Year), signing free agent Pat Burrell and claiming Cody Ross from the Marlins via waivers. It all culminated with a giver (5) games World Series defeating the Texas Rangers.

2012: They won it all by sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. After winning the West with 94-68 record defeated Atlanta in the Wild Card game the Cincinnati Reds in the Divisional Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the Championship Series. An excellent pitching staff with Matt Cain,Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelson and a strong bullpen led the way.

2014: Giants won their third World Series in six years when they beat the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Giants fans talked about winning a World Series every two seasons, but the fantasy was just that. Unfortunately, they have been in decline with the attendance altogether since then. The last three seasons they have finished consistently under .500. The 2019 season, the Giants were under three million in attendance for the first time since 2010. The front office has a lot of work to do this off season in a division dominated by the Dodgers with the young and talented up and coming Padres.

3. Each of these teams won two World Championship titles: St. Louis Cardinals 2006 and 2011 and New York Yankees 2000 and 2009.

These teams won one World Series from 2000 to 2019: Arizona Diamondbacks, LA Angels, Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.

By the way, the Red Sox have company with another team that plays in their area. The New England Patriots, who play their games in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 30 miles south of Boston, have made 11 Super Bowl appearances the most of any NFL team, and during the current decade, have won six Super Bowls. Those six Super Bowl wins are the most in the NFL tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Kings remain winless; Warriors host Suns tonight; Astros-Nats all knotted up; plus more

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Photo credit: sacbee.com

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Sacramento Kings suffered another loss this time at home to the Denver Nuggets 101-84. The Kings had four players in double figures, but it wasn’t enough as the Nuggets kept the pressure up in the second half.

#2 The Golden State Warriors (1-3) finally picked up their first win for 2019-20 against the last place New Orleans Pelicans (0-4) 134-123. The Warriors tip off against the Phoenix Suns tonight at Chase Center. They’ll be looking for their first home win of the season. Is it possible?

#3 The World Series is all knotted up at three games a piece after the Washington Nationals had lost three straight games, came back and won it by five runs 7-2 at Minute Maid Field on Tuesday night. Washington manager Dave Martinez was ejected from the game arguing about a hit ball hit to Astros pitcher Brad Peacock, who threw it to first baseman Yuri Gurriel, whose glove came off the ball hit baserunner Turner and was ruled out after a review play.

#4 The San Francisco 49ers are setting all sorts of numbers with a huge offensive Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in a 51-13 win over the Carolina Panthers. It was the first time since 2003 that the 49ers scored 50 points.

#5 The Oakland Raiders didn’t fare anywhere close as they lost the Houston Texans Sunday after playing five games in six weeks out of town. The Raiders are in second in the AFC West and play their next game at the Oakland Coliseum on Nov. 3rd against the Detroit Lions.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Raiders finally return home Sunday; 49ers in Arizona on Thursday Night Football; plus more

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photo sfgate.com: Oakland Raiders wide receiver Tyrell Williams (16) is hit by Houston Texans defensive back Keion Crossen (35) after a catch during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, in Houston.

On the Headline Sports podcast with Barbara:

#1 The Oakland Raiders completed their five-game, six-week out of town road trip on Sunday to the tune of a 27-24 loss. The Raiders went 2-3 on the trip and are 3-4 in the AFC West.

#2 The San Francisco 49ers continue to pull it off with another shocker win, 51-13, over the Carolina Panthers. The 49ers remain perfect at 7-0.

#3 The Golden State Warriors are no longer three time World Champions and are the talk of the town but in a bad way are 1-3 and since they lost a core of who they were from last season including Kevin Durant the team is trying to find their way after a win past 0-4 New Orleans.

#4 The Cal Bears continue to be challenged dropping their fourth straight game. Now, Cal is a .500 team and play host to Washington State on Nov. 9th. The Cougars are struggling too. They’ve lost four of their last five.

#5 The San Jose Sharks faced off against Boston and dropped another one 5-1 on Tuesday night and lost their fifth of their last six games winning only one game on this concluded road trip.

Barbara does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Nationals come into Game 6 with backs to the wall

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photo from chron.com: Houston Astros left fielder Michael Brantley (23) is high-fived by members of the Astros coaching staff after the team’s 7-1 win of Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019.

On Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 With the Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer out as a starter for Game 6 on Tuesday night in Houston and the Astros leading the series 3-2, the Nationals have their backs to the wall.

#2 In Game 2, the Nationals took a 12-3 win to take a 2-0 lead. At that point, it looked like the Nats could win the whole thing, but obviously, it would be almost miraculous if they could even keep up with Houston.

#3 On Sunday night, the Astros trounced the Nationals for a 7-1 to take the current 3-2 lead, and in Sunday’s game, the Nationals simply could not get any offense working to make any noise.

#4 The Houston Astros are granting permission to bench coach Joe Espada to talk with the San Francisco Giants for a second interview for the manager’s job. Espada met with Giants operations manager Farhan Zaidi and CEO Larry Baer for 4 1/2 hours last Thursday and at great length on Monday.

#5 The Astros became the fourth team in pro sports to lead in road victories. They’re undefeated in the series going 3-0 in Washington.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Bochy Says “One More Shot” as Manager

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Photo credit: cbssports.com

By Amaury Pi-González

It should not be a surprise to anybody that Bruce Bochy might want to manage again. The future Hall of Fame manager who began his career as the San Diego Padres manager (1995-06) and continued as San Francisco Giants Manager (2007-19) seems to be leaning that way.

“I’d love to have one more shot,” Bochy said Thursday in an interview with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on SiriusXM.

Bochy can call his own shots when it comes to where he wants to manage. His reputation is impeccable — players love to play for him, they respect his knowledge and leadership. However, he might want to end his managerial career with a winning record. After those 25 years divided between the Padres and the Giants his record is 2,003 games won and 2,029 games lost for a .497 winning percentage.

Today, Bochy is #11 among the top managers with over 2,000 wins. However, of those 11, only two ended their careers with an under .500 winning percentage — Connie Mack and Bucky Harris. If Bochy doesn’t manage again, he will be the third among the top 11 managers win under .500 winning record.

The San Francisco Giants gave Bochy a great sendoff, where many of his players — past and present — spoke, where Bochy’s family was present, where he spoke in front of a sellout Oracle Park, and at that time, one would think that was it “no más” or “no more” for Bochy, but those people could be wrong.

Bochy wants to take a year off and then look at the possibilities available to him. Who is going to tell him otherwise? Last week, the Padres named Jayce Tingler, who was a Texas Rangers’ major league field coordinator, as their new field manager. The ex-Padres and ex-Giants manager lives in the San Diego area, and there were rumors that if he came back from “retirement,” it would be with his first team, the Padres. The only one that knows if Bochy is coming back to manage, is him, his wife, and his family; and I am sure he will make a good decision.

So, for those that have said “No,he is not coming back,” you better wait until the whole Bochy story is complete and his book is out.

MLB The Show 2019 World Series podcast with Daniel Dullum: Astros stay alive, even series 2-2; plus more

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photo from the Washington Post: Yordan Alvarez put the Astros on the board first with a two-run home run in the second inning. (Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post)

On the MLB The Show 2019 World Series podcast with Daniel:

1 World Series tied at 2-2 after Astros take Game 4; home team yet to win

2 Nationals fans boo Astros’ Roberto Osuna in wake of controversy

3 Commissioner Rob Manfred said President Trump opted out of World Series’ first pitch to improve fan experience

4 Red Sox hire Tampa Bay Rays’ Chaim Bloom as Head of Baseball Operations

5 Longtime MLB umpire Chuck Meriweather dies at 63, second umpire to die this month after Eric Cooper

Daniel did MLB commentary throughout the 2019 season and will return next Sunday doing NHL podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show 2019 World Series podcast with Matt Harrington: Astros take Game 3, cut Nats’ lead 2-1

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Photo credit: chron.com

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 The Astros certainly had their backs to the wall as they beat the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington 4-1 to cut the Nats’ series lead 2-1.

#2 How much does postseason experience come into play for the Astros in a win like this on the road?

#3 Jose Altuve was the hero for the Astros when they played the New York Yankees during the ALCS, and now he does it again with two doubles and scoring twice on Friday night.

#4 Astros pitcher Zack Greinke started throwing 4.2 innings, seven hits, one run, three walks, and six strikeouts, which was key in holding the Nats to just one run.

#5 In the first two losses for the Astros, assistant general manager Brandon Taubman, who was fired on Thursday over his Game 6 ALCS rant when he said he was glad the Astros picked up closer Roberto Osuna from Toronto, who was suspended for 70 games for domestic violence in front of female reporters. Was this story in itself a distraction amounting to the Astros to lose the first two games of the series?

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders need to hit the playbooks in preparation of the Texans this Sunday; 49ers host the Panthers in hopes to stay undefeated; plus more

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Photo credit: silverandblackpride.com

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Oakland Raiders faced a very ready Green Bay Packers offense on Sunday as Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers threw for five touchdowns as the Raiders defense was no match for the Packers offense in the 42-24.

#2 The San Francisco 49ers may have not have scored a touchdown or set any kind of scoring records last Sunday in Washington, but they got by with three field goals kicked by kicker Robbie Gould that got the 49ers their sixth win to put them at 6-0.

#3 The Sacramento Kings opened up their regular season with a road trip in Phoenix. Is it tougher to open a season on the road or it really doesn’t make a difference?

#4 The Golden State Warriors open up their season tonight at Chase Center in San Francisco as they christen the new building for their first regular season game.

#5 Do you think the Astros get that backs to the wall feeling after dropping Games 1 and 2 at home against the Washington Nationals? The Nats are more than expected nemesis who broke it wide open in game 2 on Wednesday night.

Tony R does Headlines Sports podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: 49ers acquire WR Emmanuel Sanders; Astros Assistant GM apologizes for not so ringing Osuna endorsement; plus more

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Photo credit: ninersnation.com

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 San Francisco 49ers have acquired wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. Sanders said he enjoyed being a Bronco and had 30 catches for 367 yards, and two touchdowns in seven games.

#2 Houston Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman shouted in front of a group of female reporters after game 6 of the NLCS “I’m so f—ing glad we got Osuna” during the Astros clubhouse celebration. Osuna was suspended 75 games by MLB for domestic abuse. Taubman later apologized for the language he used and how he framed it in from of the female members of the press. The story broke on Sports Illustrated and the Astros released a report saying the story was “misleading and completely irresponsible.” There were a number of members of the media who vouched that he story was accurate and who saw Taubman shout in from the reporters.

#3 Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan said that Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry is not a Hall of Famer yet. “He’s a great player” said Jordan. Curry said “Jordan has own version of what it takes to be in the Hall of Fame in his head.”

#4 One of the nicest people to play the game of football was former Oakland Raider wide receiver Willie Brown, who died at the Oakland Raiders offices in Alameda on Tuesday at the age of 78 after a long bout with cancer. Brown played for the Broncos (1963-1966) and Raiders (1967-1978).

#5 The XFL opens with eight teams going into next season. The XFL teams will play five home and away games, a total of ten, that starts February 2 to April 12th. The XFL folded after one season in 2001. There will be no team in the Bay Area representing the XFL. In 2001 the XFL had a San Francisco team that played at Pac Bell Park.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: 49ers get just enough done to beat Washington; Raiders will have to turn the page after getting crushed by the Pack; plus more

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

On Headline Sports with Barbara:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers kept their perfect record in tact shutting out Washington on Sunday 9-0. It was, messy, muddy, sloppy, and kicker Robby Gould did all the heavy lifting kicking three field goals for all the scoring.

#2 The Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rogers threw all day on Sunday against the visiting Oakland Raiders resulting in a 42-24 laugher for the Pack. The Packers ran through the Raiders defense like butter as Rogers passed for five touchdowns.

#3 The 2019 World Series is underway tonight at Minute Maid Field in Houston between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros. Both teams come into the series with potent pitching staffs, which proved their success in getting to the World Series.

#4 The Cal Bears (4-3) suffered their third loss dropping to 4-3 in a game they were supposed to win against Oregon State (3-4) 21-17 in Berkeley. The Bears couldn’t get any offense going in the first half.

#5 Quarterback problems live at Stanford University as the Cardinal (3-4) are now on their third quarterback. K.J. Costell and David Mills are both out with injuries and third string quarterback Jack West worked under center last Thursday night, but couldn’t get enough yards, rushing or passing done in the 34-16 loss to the UCLA Bruins (2-5).

Listen to Barbara Tuesdays for Headline Sports at http://www.sportsradioservice.com