Category: Oakland Athletics

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: One of the greatest younger Cub stars

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
AP photo: Chicago Cubs Kris Bryant (left) and Addison Russell (right) leap in jubilation after the last out of game seven of the 2016 World Series against Cleveland at Progressive Field in Cleveland
Addison Russell is 22 years old and the regular shortstop for the Chicago Cubs.

Prior to the 2013 season, Russell was the Oakland  Athletics best prospect according to Baseball America. He was also named the best prospect in the Arizona League. In 2013, he was named an Oakland MILB.com organization All-Star, a CAL rookie of the year ,a CAL post-season All-Star, and a CAL Futures Game selection. Playing for Mesa, he was also named to the AFL All-Prospect Team, and an AFL Rising Star.

On July 4, 2014, Russell, along with pitcher Dan Straily outfielder Willy McKinney, and a player to be named later, was traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Jason Hammel and pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The Cubs sent Russell to the AFL for the second time at the end of the 2014 minor league season.

Last night Game #6
Russell hit the only Grand Slam in a World Series for a Chicago Cub
And 19th player to hit a Grand Slam in a World Series
Only shortstop to hit a Grand Slam in a World Series
He has eight Runs Batted In(here is the list for most RBIs in history in a World Series for a player (before turning 23 years of age)
10 Mickey Mantle  (In the 1953 World Series vs Brooklyn Dodgers Mantle was 21 years old)
9 Ty Cobb
8 Addison Russell
8 Jimmy Foxx
7 Joe DiMaggio
During the 2016 regular season with the Chicago Cubs, Russell only on his second year in the Major Leagues hit 21 Home Runs and drove 95 runs.
TONIGHT GAME SEVEN- FOX TV 5PM  -A HISTORIC WORLD SERIES-.CUBS HAVE NOT WON A WORLD SERIES SINCE 1908- INDIANS SINCE 1948.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the TV Spanish talent for the Angels and the Spanish radio talent for the A’s and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
 

November is coming and things will be heating up for the A’s

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

hot-stove

by Charlie O. Mallonee

With the World Series almost over, that means the “Hot Stove League” is warming up. Let’s see what might be cooking for the Oakland Athletics.

Arbitration-Eligible Players

k-davis
Khris Davis swings away
  • Danny Valencia IF/OF is ARB 3 and will get a projected $5.3-million in arbitration if the A’s go there. The question is do they need Valencia at this point? The answer is probably not. They have Healy at third base and Valencia is not a great outfielder. Look for Valencia to be a free agent.
  • Yonder Alonso IF/DH is also at the ARB 3 level and is projected get a contract worth $4.1-million. With Billy Butler gone, the A’s will be using a platoon system at the DH spot. Alonso can supply some power at the plate and plays a decent first base. Look for the A’s to pony up the bucks to keep him around.
  • Khris Davis OF/DH is eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career. Coming off a 42 home run – 102 RBI season Davis is looking forward to the process which will probably get him a $5-million contract.
  • Sonny Gray RHP is also eligible for arbitration for the first time. Unfortunately for Gray, he is coming off an injury-riddled season that will keep his numbers down. The projection is that he will receive a $3.7-million deal.
  • Stephen Vogt C will also experience the arbitration process for the first time in his career. Coming off back-to-back All-Star seasons cannot hurt his negotiations. Look for him to get around $3.7 million.
  • Liam Hendriks RHP – the Aussie reliever – made 53 appearances for the A’s the in 2016. The Athletics have to decide if that production is worth a $1-million contract which is what he’s projected to get in arbitration.

Players file for arbitration in January and the teams then respond with contract offers or inform the player an offer will not be tendered. If a contract cannot be negotiated, an arbitration hearing will take place in early February.

Arbitration salary projections are from RosterResource.com that has a track record of being very accurate with their projections

Players for whom Arbitration is only a dream

dreamer

  • Marcus Semien SS arbitration eligible in 2018
  • Kendall Graveman RHP first arb year in 2018
  • Ryan Dull RHP the young reliever will not see arbitration until 2019
  • Sean Manaea LHP  will join Dull at the arbitration table in ’19
  • Ryon Healy IF/DH the young phenom will not see arbitration until 2020

Given the cost of MLB players in today’s market, you can see why the cost conscious Athletics like find talented young players that they can control through the pre-arbitration process and then trade during the arbitration years for … younger players.

Free Agent Moves

Lambo had his 2016 season cut short when it was discovered that he had testicular cancer. He had to undergo surgery but has recovered and is ready to get back to playing the game. Lambo batted .255 in 56 games a Triple-A Nashville.

Cubs in the World Series nets the A’s a pitcher

The A’s claimed LHP Giovanni Soto off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. He was designated for assignment to make room on the Cubs 40-man roster for Kyle Schwarber who went to the Arizona Fall League and is now on the Chicago World Series roster.

Soto made his Major League debut in September 2015 with the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland traded Soto to the Cubs in April 2016 for cash. He spent the season at Triple-A Iowa where he went 1-3 with 5.14 ERA in 33 relief appearances.

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commenatry: Only the NFL board of governors stands in the way of a Raiders move to Vegas

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AP file photo: In this file photo Apr 28th Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis “Just Move Baby” meets with Raiders fans in Las Vegas as the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee hosted a meeting with Davis as lawmakers consider funding for a $1.9 billion stadium and a $1.4 billion convention center on the strip in Vegas on Mon Oct 10th

On the podcast with Amaury, There’s zero chance that the city of Oakland builds a football and baseball only stadium that’s out of the question that’s not going to happen out of public revenue. The A’s have a much better shot than the Raiders. Before this Las Vegas idea came about because it’s baseball you play more games you going to generate more revenue and at home you play 81 games and the A’s look like the benefactor.

The way it looks right now it looks impossible to keep two teams to keep playing at the Oakland Coliseum. Major League Baseball doesn’t like the shared facility and that it could cause a serious injury to an outfielder with the torn field after a football game during baseball season when football gets started.  Also what would happen if the A’s were in the playoffs right now and you have the Raiders going at the same time? So there are problems with having two major franchises going at the same time.

The City of Las Vegas is prepared to put up the money in public funds to bring the Oakland Raiders to town. There is only one entity standing in the way of such a move the NFL Board of Governors. Former Oakland Raiders owner the late Al Davis tried to move the Raiders to Los Angeles and had to fight the NFL Board and sued to move. Will current Raiders owner Mark Davis be able to do the same thing if the NFL tries to block the Raiders from moving again?

Amaury discusses the future of the Oakland A’s and Raiders on today’s podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s coach Ron Washington leaves the A’s for the Braves

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wash-2

AP file photo: Former Oakland A’s third base coach is headed for the Atlanta Braves and their new stadium in Cobb County as he leaves to coach in a location closer to his family

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics have lost infield and third base coach Ron Washington to the Atlanta Braves. Washington interviewed for the Braves managerial job which went to interim manager Brian Snitker. Washington did accept an offer to join the Atlanta coaching staff.

“Ron’s background and success as a Major League manager will be an asset to everyone on the club,” Atlanta general manager John Coppolella said. “His tireless work ethic, up-beat attitude and tremendously high baseball IQ will benefit our players and our staff.”

Working in Atlanta will put Washington closer to his family who live in New Orleans and the surrounding area in Louisiana.

“This is a unique professional opportunity for Wash, which allows him to be closer to his family in New Orleans.His professionalism and enthusiasm have left an indelible mark on everyone in our organization. We are all excited for him and wish him the best.” said A’s executive vice president Billy Beane.

Washington was a coach for the Athletics from 1996 to 2006. He left the A’s to become the manager of the Texas Rangers where he had four 90-win seasons and won two American League pennants. He rejoined the A’s staff in 2015.

Washington was brought back to Oakland to work with shortstop Marcus Semien on his defense. He then replaced Mike Gallego as third base coach.

Two members of the A’s reacted to Washington’s leaving via Twitter. Danny Valencia wrote, “Sad to see Ron Wash go. Wow. Honestly one of hardest working coaches I’ve ever played for.” Ryon Healy added, “Thank you for all you have done for me Wash! You will be missed greatly.”

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A new ball park for the A’s in Oakland? I’ll believe it when I see it

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
mercurynews.com photo: One of the possible locations for envisioned new Oakland A’s ball park located at Jack London Square a waterfront ball park
OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics remain the only  team in Major League Baseball sharing a stadium with an NFL franchise (Oakland Raiders)but that is not the only reason the Athletics need a new “baseball only”ballpark. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a rundown facility, for a franchise that has won four (4) World Series titles at Oakland. We know for a fact the Athletics are not moving to San Jose, as many envisioned not that many years ago, and some in the media campaigned for such move, but that is not going to happen.
It is a challenge for the A’s to share the same facility with the Raiders. These are two totally different sports, you can play football under rain, mudslides and even snow, but baseball is much different, the field must be manicured to perfection. Not to mention that every time I go to call an A’s game at my little broadcast booth at the Coliseum, right after the Raiders have played, chairs are missing and it looked like the Raiders TRULY believe their name, they came-in and “Raided” the booth also!
Of course the best chance for the Athletics to stay in Oakland is to build a park in Oakland. The Oakland Coliseum was not a bad baseball stadium, until they built that monstrosity in center-field (Mt Davis), -as history has it- to lure the Oakland Raiders back to Oakland from Los Angeles. The current Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is one of the most accessible parks in all of baseball, within walking distance of Hwy 880, to the west and BART an easy walk to the east. It is very easy to see an Athletics game at the Coliseum via BART of driving your car.
Location is not a problem. Why not build a new park right there at the same location?  I remember talking with A’s great and Hall of Fame Rickey Henderson and he agreed, why not built the new park right there at the same location as the Coliseum.
That obviously is not in the plans, but Baseball Commissioner Manfred said prior to game three of the NLDS at AT&T Park that we will know about the plans for a new park for the Oakland Athletics within a year he did mention Laney College as a location. Looks very likely that the Oakland Raiders might move to Las Vegas and the Athletics will be the only team (of the main pro-leagues) left in Oakland, since soon the Warriors will be playing in San Francisco.
Who has the most to lose? It is the City of Oakland, since if the A’s are not moving out of there, and the Raiders and Warriors probably will, they will stand to lose more revenue in taxes and such, than anybody else. If you are old enough to remember when the A’s and Raiders were winning, Oakland was called “City of Champions”.
So it makes all the sense in the world for the brains at Oakland City Hall to put all their marbles in the A’s basket, that is an easy decision even for politicians. If you lived in the Bay Area for a long time, you know what happened to the Giants and how many times they failed at the ballot box, and there is little chance that a city like Oakland with so many challenges would put a measure on the ballot and asked their taxpayers to pay for a new ballpark. That is not going to happen.
So the only logical thing to do is for the Major League Baseball, the City of Oakland and the Oakland Athletics to put their three heads together and come out with a new ballpark for the Oakland Athletics someplace in the city. Will logic prevail?
I will believe it when I see it.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio talent on the Oakland A’s radio network and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
  

Swingin’ A’s close out 2016 with win over Mariners

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, October 2, 2016

AP photo: The Seattle Mariners Kyle Seager (15) signs for the fans at Safeco Field after the Oakland A’s took the final game of the season from the M’s on Sunday

The Oakland Athletics closed out their 2016 season at Safeco Field in Seattle Sunday, finishing with a 3-2 win over the Mariners.

Starting pitcher Sean Manaea gave the Athletics a glimpse of what they might see in the future. Manaea allowed two runs on five hits in six innings,

Manaea has allowed only three runs on 15 hits in 24 innings, with 20 strikeouts since coming off the disabled list two weeks ago. He has a 2.67 ERA in 13 games after the All-Star break.

Because it’s getaway day of sorts, Stepen Vogt slugged his 14th home run of the season on the only pitch he saw in the season finale before leaving for a pinch-hitter. Marcus Semien and Eric Pinder each added an RBI single.

A two-run double by Guillermo Heredia accounted for Seattle’s offense. The Mariners threatened in the bottom of the ninth, but Matt Olson’s leaping catch at the right field wall robbed Kyle Seager of a hit for the second out, and John Axford wound up with his third save.

Despite the injuries and bad luck, the Athletics finished their season 69-93, one game better than a year ago. Unfortunately, it’s the A’s fifth-worst record by win percentage in its 116-year history.

One more bright spot for the Athletics: outfielder Jake Smolinski picked up a pair of hits, snapping an 0-for-20 slump – the longest hitting drought of his career.

Looking ahead, the A’s open the 2017 season at the Coliseum on April 3, hosting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz., in February.

Oakland A’s Friday game wrap: M’s Tee Off on Alcantara, A’s to Keep October Hopes Alive in 5-1 victory

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T. F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s hitter Bruce Maxwell goes down for the count after facing Seattle M’s pitcher Taijuan Walker as the A’s drop game two of the four game series on Friday night at Safeco Field

The Oakland Athletics had the opportunity to play spoilers Friday night at Safeco Field but the desperate Seattle Mariners clung to their Wild Card hopes on the strength of the long ball. The M’s took starter Raul Alcantara deep four times including a pair of homers from Most Valuable Player dark horse candidate Robinson Cano to top the A’s (67-93) 5-1. Ryon Healey hit his 13th homer of the year for Oakland.

The Mariners (86-74) entered play two games back of Toronto for the second Wild Card spot, but a loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox for the North allowed Seattle to creep within a game with a pair left.

Seattle would achieve the feat by crushing the rookie Alcantara in the first three innings. Cano launched his first homer of the game, a two-run shot, to put Seattle up 2-0 after one. Norichika Aoki would hammer Alcantara in the second with a solo shot while Cano and Nelson Cruz would go back-to-back in the third.

Cano opened the inning by launching his 38th dinger over the 401 marker in center field. Cruz followed suit, but center fielder Jake Smolinski tried to rob him at the wall. The ball bounced off the yellow line on the fence, with the umpires signaling home run. After replay review , the call was upheld for a 5-0 Mariners lead signaling the end of Alcantara’s outing without recording an out in the third.

While Seattle rocked Alcantara (1-3, 7.25 ERA), their starter Taijuan Walker (8-11, 4.22) proved baffling to the A’s while picking up the win. He pitched six innings while allowing only two hits including the Healey solo shot in the sixth. Healey would take Walker to the opposite field on a 1-1 pitch to make it 5-1 Mariners.

The Mariners turn to Hisashi Iwakuma Saturday to keep hopes alive while the A’s look to spoil the party by sending Jharel Cotton to the mound. The rookie acquired from the Dodgers as part of the Rich Hill deal is 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA.

MLB Podcast with Tony Renteria: Giants closing in on first in the NL Wild Card; A’s have young prospects with lots of promise

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AP file photo: The San Francisco Giants Buster Posey (right) is congratulated by Hunter Pence (8) after hitting a fifth inning home run off Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez in Tue Sep 27th’s game at AT&T Park. Posey is the key hitter in the Giants line up who the team will heavily rely on in the post season.

On the MLB Podcast with Tony

The San Francisco Giants gained a game on the NY Mets who were idle on Thursday the Giants are now one game out of first in the Wild Card race. Right now the Giants hold the second spot in the NL Wild Card and have three games left all with the Los Angeles Dodgers Tony talks about the Giants chances to get past the Dodgers and to get a wild card birth.

The Seattle Mainers took the first of four games with the Oakland A’s in their chase to catch the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild Card. The M’s are two games back of the Orioles and their three games back of the first place Toronto Blue Jays. The A’s only have next season to look forward to and the positive side of it is the A’s have a lot of new prospects who have a lot of promise.

Tony Renteria reviews all the latest in MLB each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Seattle edges A’s, hangs on in AL Wild Card race

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, September 29, 2016

AP photo: Oakland A’s reliever Liam Hendricks will have to wait another day to pick up his first win as Hendricks goes winless against the Seattle Mariners Thursday night at Safeco Field

Mike Zunino cranked a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, leading Seattle past Oakland 3-2 Thursday and keeping the Mariners in the AL Wild Card pursuit.

Seattle is two games behind Baltimore and Toronto with three games to play. On Thursday, the Orioles blanked the Blue Jays 4-0, pulling Baltimore even for the first wild-card berth. Detroit, meanwhile, was rained out against Cleveland. The Tigers are ½ game ahead of Seattle.

A’s reliever Liam Hendriks (0-4) surrendered the go-ahead home run by Zunino in the bottom of the seventh. Ketel Marte’s RBI single in the eighth added another Mariners run.

M’s reliever Steve Cishek (4-6) snuffed out an Oakland threat in the seventh with an inning-ending double play and pitched a perfect eighth to get the win. Edwin Diaz had a shaky ninth, allowing an A’s run on three hits, but hung on for his 18th save.

Trailing 1-0, Chad Pinder tied the game with his first career home run, a leadoff blast off M’s starter Ariel Miranda.

Danny Valencia played right field for the Athletics and collected two hits, as did first baseman Yonder Alonso. Pinch-hitter Bruce Maxwell picked up his 14th RBI.

A’s starter Kendall Graveman worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up one earned run on seven hits. He struck out six, and walked one.

On Friday, Oakland will start right-hander Raul Alcantara (1-2, 5.75 ERA), who is making his fifth start since his Sept. 5 call-up from Triple-A Nashville. Seattle will counter with right-hander Taijuan Walker (7-11, 4.35 ERA).

Sonny Gray pitches scoreless inning in A’s loss to Angels

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment
Sonny Gray returned to action in the A's loss to the Angels on Wednesday (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today Sports)
Sonny Gray returned to action in the A’s loss to the Angels on Wednesday (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today Sports)

By: Eric He

ANAHEIM — Sonny Gray made his return to the mound and threw a scoreless inning on Wednesday night, but the A’s fell 8-6 to the Angels at Angel Stadium.

An 8-run fourth inning by the Angels making the difference.

Ross Detwiler, who replaced Gray in the second inning, was charged with all 8 runs and a 2-0 A’s lead turned into a blowout for the home team rather quickly.

It started with Andrelton Simmons knocking in Jefry Marte with a single to right to cut the lead to 2-1. After a double by Jett Bandy to center field, Los Angeles evened the score when Danny Valencia couldn’t handle a ground ball hit to third, and Simmons crossed home plate to tie the game. And the next batter, Shane Robinson, ripped a double down the left field line to plate two more and give the Angels a 4-2 lead.

A’s manager Bob Melvin thought Detwiler looked good in his first couple of innings.

“Early on, it looked like he had good stuff,” he said. “Usually you can tell when he’s on. He had good movement, good mix right away and then got some balls up, got some funky counts.”

Melvin then went out to the mound to check in on Detwiler, but the lefty promptly allowed a 2-run home run to Kole Calhoun on the very next pitch. Chris Smith relieved Detwiler, but Smith walked in a run with the bases loaded and the Angels scored once more on an error by catcher Bruce Maxwell. In all, 8 runs crossed the plate in a disaster of an inning for Oakland.

“The Calhoun [home run] was the one that really hurt,” Melvin said. “Coming in and not being the starter … He’s relieved and started for us and shouldn’t have been an issue.”

The A’s did come back with four unanswered runs, as Khris Davis drilled his 41st home run of the season in the sixth and Marcus Semien hit a 2-run blast in the eighth to cut the deficit to 8-6.

“That’s a big blow for us right there where we feel like we’re back in the ball game,” Melvin said. “[Angels closer Andrew Bailey] wasn’t available today and we thought going into the ninth, we had a chance.”

But they could not duplicate that success in the ninth, as the A’s went down 1-2-3 to end the game.

The A’s jumped on Angels’ starter Alex Meyer right off the bat, taking a 1-0 lead three batters into the game on back-to-back doubles by Stephen Vogt and Ryon Healy, who just missed a home run in center field. Later in the inning, Yonder Alonso singled to right to bring Healy home after Calhoun bobbled the ball in the outfield.

As for Gray, he was satisfied with his performance. He pitched around a leadoff single in the first inning before being taken out with 18 pitches thrown. Detwiler replaced him to start the second.

“It was an inning but honestly I felt like I could’ve went longer,” Gray said. “I hadn’t thrown an inning in more than two months. I was little nervous before the game.”

Gray has been bottled up by injury and has struggled this season, coming into the game with a 5-11 record and a 5.74 ERA in 21 starts. He went on the disabled list on Aug. 7th with inflammation in his right elbow and forearm.

“That’s our guy,” Melvin said. “Just for us to know as a team, he went out there and was healthy, looked like the old Sonny — psychologically, it was good for our ballclub.”

The A’s head to Seattle tomorrow to face the Mariners their final series of the season.