Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland A’s Tuesday night post game report: Halos crush Bassitt and A’s 8-1 at the Big A

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by Jessica Kwong

photo credit yahoo sports Nick Tropeano Angels starter

ANAHEIM—The suffering Athletics were hit with a humiliating 8-1 loss Tuesday to the Angels who rise to a half game lead for the second Wild Card. A’s left fielder Max Muncy hit a home run in the fifth inning — and the only run for the club. The Angels scored two runs in the first inning, four in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the eighth to round out their victory.

Oakland starting pitcher Chris Bassitt got shelled, allowing six runs and giving up eight hits. He attributed it to “falling into the trap that I feel so good that I’m going out there and I’m just kind of throwing instead of pitching.”
“And just being just stupid, honestly,” Bassitt continued. “I mean feel way too good to be doing what I’m doing.”

A’s Manager Bob Melvin was less critical of Bassitt, saying, “his stuff was good today” and it was just his command that was missing.
“He’s still a little rusty on where he’s throwing the ball,” Melvin said, adding of Bassitt’s pitches, “I looked up and I saw 97’s, some 96’s, some 95’s. There was still some movement to it. Maybe not his best breaking stuff but I think he’s still working himself back as far as command goes.”

Angels starting pitcher Nick Tropeano, on the other hand, easily worked through the A’s hitters, reaching a career-high 11 strikeouts. A’s left fielder Stephen Vogt praised Tropeano’s skill. “He’s funky, he’s got some hesitation in his delivery, his ball moves a lot, he changes speeds really effectively with his fast ball – just kind of funky,” Vogt said. “It’s hard pick up his breaking ball. Threw some really good change-ups and splitties as well, he’s got good stuff he stays down on his own. “

The A’s on Tuesday lost their ninth straight game in the last 10 contests and will finish with the worst record in the American League for the third time in the team’s history in Oakland. Meanwhile, the Angels’ seventh straight victory matches a season high and the club sits on the second wild-card spot and is a half-game ahead of Houston.

The three-game series between the California teams concludes tomorrow with first pitch at 4:05 p.m. at Angel Stadium.

Jessica Kwong is filling in for Jerry Feitelberg who covers the A’s on a regular basis for http://www.sportsradioservice.com, Jessica also works at the Orange County Register in the Southland

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: American Tourism starts flooding Cuba

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Until 1989 the old Soviet Union(Russia today)was supporting Cuba’s economy with billions of dollars, but during that same year communism collapsed \in the Soviet Union, so they could not support Cuba, who was basically their satellite and only bastion of communism in the new world. Since then Cuba has been alone and with no structure but the same people that have ruled over them for all these years. Once a country that exported more sugar than anybody in the world, among other goods, Cuba has actually went “back in time”not in prosperity but resembles more of a 1950’s time warp.

Today American tourism, who is the largest and most sought after and most lucrative tourism in the world, has started to flood the island of Cuba, soon huge hotel companies like Hyatt, Hilton and others will begin building resorts in the island, and just with the opening of the Cuban society, the people in Cuba should prosper again, if the Cuban government doesn’t get in their way.

It is inevitable. The Cuban people have no money, anyplace you visit in Cuba today, you will see lots of people(specially young people)roaming the streets with absolutely nothing to do. The Cuban economy doesn’t rank in any global financial market; Cuba has been ruled by the same Castro dictatorship for 56 years, generations of Cubans have not experienced any type of self determination, and freedom, they have lived for decades dependent on the government, who basically ruled over their collective lives. Yes the Cuban government provides for free social services, including medical, and education, but in return from that, they actually have little say on the future of their lives or their families. Basically Cuba has been a country of human robots under the same failed system of government.
American companies will be investing in Cuba, something that until 1989 even if you suggested that in the island, you could be put away, called anti-revolutionary and an enemy of the state.

Still today Amnesty International lists Cuba among the world countries that continue violating its citizens civil rights. Young and old Cubans alike still do not have access to the internet, (something that is taken for granted in the free world)but that will also soon change and once that happens, doesn’t matter what Raul Castro or his brother Fidel might say or do, like the very old American saying: “you cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube”, Cuba will undoubtedly go through tremendous changes.

Major League Baseball is changing its policy. How would MLB handle these changes with Cuba? visit this website for more informationhttp://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-will-handle-big-changes-cuba/

Among the many “treasures”of Cuba is its baseball, a country that has been the leader in Latin America as far as baseball talent since the 1860’s when Cuban-born Esteban Bellan, became the first Hispanic to play pro-baseball in the United States. Baseball is slowly playing a big role in the inevitable result that Cuba will be free from the tyranny their people have been subjected for over a half a century.
As a Cuban-born person, who left Cuba when I was 17 years old and have lived for the rest of my life here in the United States, I once believed I would die and never see Cuba free.

However, right now the changes are looking very good for Cuba.
It is about time!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Vice President of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Angels walk-off in the ninth to defeat the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s lost to the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 Monday night in Anaheim. The A’s lost for the eighth time in their last nine games and they continue to lose one-run games. The Angels entered the game trailing the Houston Astros by just 1/2game in the race for the second Wild Card spot. Oakland would like nothing better than to beat LA and derail those hopes.

The A’s took an early 1-0 in the top of the first. Angels’Lefty Hector Santiago gave up a single to Billy Burns. Santiago hot Mark Canha with a pitch to put men on at 1st and 2nd with no out. Brett Lawrie grounded out and Burns advanced to third on the play. Billy Butler flew out to center. Burns tagged, but Mike Trout’s throw from center appeared to nail him. Burns put on the brakes, but he couldn’t make it back to third safely. Two miscues by the Angels allowed Burns to score..

The Angels took the lead in the bottom of the third. Catcher Chris Iannetta walked to get the rally started. Johnny Giavotella doubled to center to drive in Iannetta. Burns was charged with an error as Giavotella reached third on the play. Shortstop Erick Aybar doubled to drive in Giavotella. Angels lead 2-1.

The A’s tied the game in the fourth. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien took Santiago deep for his fourteenth homer of the year. The Angels scored a run in their half of the fourth. 3-2 after four.

The A’s scored twice in the top of the sixth. Santiago hit Brett Lawrie with a pitch. Billy Butler doubled to put two men in scoring position.Jake Smolinski flew out to right driving in Lawrie with the tying run. Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia brought in Cory Rasmus for one batter then replaced him with lefty Jose Alvarez. Coco Crisp, batting right-handed, blooped a single to right to drive in Butler.  The Angels tied the game in their half of the inning. Albert Pujols hit his thirty-eighth home run of the year and 558th of his career. Game tied at four.

The game ended in the bottom of the ninth. Edward Mujica took the loss. C.J.Cron singled. David Freese hit  a “swinging” bunt. Mujica fielded the ball but threw it past first for an error. The A’s walked Shane Victorino to load the bases. Fernando Abad replaced Mujica. Pinch-hitter David Murphy singled to left to drive in the winning run. Angels win 5-4.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A’s trying to play spoiler as Angels try to get last spot in wild card

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

photo credit google images of A’s pitcher Felix Doubront

ANAHEIM–The Los Angeles Angels are preparing to meet the Oakland A’s Monday night to open a three game series, the Angels are just a half a game out of the wild card spot to catch the second spot now occupied by the Houston Astros. More interestingly the Halos are only three games out of first place.

The Angels are going to play the Rangers who are in first place have four more games left and this season will be over by next Sunday night. The Angels might have won the division by that time and make it into post season. It’s not going to be easy but the Halos have a very good chance at making the wild card.

The A’s have nothing to lose, their playing for pride, their playing for honor. They’ve been eliminated for a long time they don’t want to lose 100 games and they won’t lose 100 games as a matter of fact. On Monday the A’s will be going with Felix Doubront as the Angels will start lefty Hector Santiago. This could turn out to be a great match.

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

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: It doesn’t happen often when Giants and A’s do the right thing

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by Charlie O Mallonee

OAKLAND–I don’t find it too often when I get to tip my cap to the Giants and the A’s to have the foresight to give fans what they want and that was one last opportunity to see Giants pitcher Tim Hudson start and to see Oakland A’s pitcher Barry Zito start and obviously with the way things turned out Huddy didn’t even get in two full innings and Zito got in two full innings on Saturday.

Their careers are done they know that but from a heartfelt “were just baseball fans and we love these guys” what great moments that was to see these guys on the mound starting against each other. Again the Giants and the A’s what a fantastic way to send these guys out into their retirement years.

The fans thanked both clubs for doing that last Saturday as a fan as a reporter it was just a great thing to see and baseball teams don’t always do things right but let me tell you putting Zito and Hudson out there to match up. We know both those teams aren’t going anywhere and their not going into the playoffs but they gave the fans what they wanted last Saturday.

Charlie O has done the A’s podcast each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com throughout the 2015 season listen to the podcast below

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A’s fall 5-4 in Bay Bridge series finale, marking their team-record 33rd one-run loss

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By Morris Phillips

In their season home finale on Sunday, the A’s found themselves just short again, losing by one run to the Giants, 5-4, and setting a new team-record for one-run losses at 33 in the pain-staking process.

Unfortunately for the A’s, in the case, the numbers do add up.

Prior to the stretch drive of last season, the A’s dealt slugger Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox to acquire pitcher Jon Lester, a performer they hoped would propel them to a World Series appearance.  Then in the off-season, third baseman Josh Donaldson was shipped to Toronto.  Both players have had MVP-quality seasons for their new clubs, combining for a whopping 76 home runs.

In addition, closer Sean Doolittle missed all but the final month of 2015 due to various injuries.  In his place, six different relievers earned at least one save for the A’s, but they were no equal of what Doolittle provided, combing for a paltry total of 25 saves.

A team without a transcendent hitter in the middle of the lineup capable of turning around games with a single swing of the bat, and no closer to protect those narrow, late game leads will lose a lot of close ballgames.  And therein lies the story of the 2015 A’s: Oakland won just 34 home games in 2015, one more than the number of one-run ballgames that they lost.

“If we win a little bit more, half, or more than half of those (one-run) games, we’d probably be right there in contention with this division,” Josh Reddick said.

“It’s indicative of our season,” Stephen Vogt said of the one-run buggaboo.  “Also kind of indicative of our season is that we had the winning run at the plate (on Sunday).”

Against the Giants and pitcher Chris Heston, the A’s fell behind 5-0 on Sunday.  But they battled back with a pair of runs scored in the fifth and then again in the sixth inning.  But the A’s went quiet after that, failing to score in any of the final three frames, as Giants’ closer Santiago Casilla struck out Billy Burns with the tying run on base to end the ballgame.

The A’s didn’t need another reminder of what they were missing in 2015, but there Casilla stood shaking hands with his Giants’ teammates after the final out at the O.co Coliseum in 2015.  Casilla pitched three full seasons in Oakland, totaling just four saves.  In the following six seasons with the Giants, Casilla has racked up 91 saves and three World Series titles.

Did we mention that Donaldson is the presumptive AL MVP award winner with 122 RBI?

NOTES: The Giants won in Oakland for only the fourth time since the beginning of the 2010 season.  San Francisco entered the Bay Bridge series just 2-11 in their previous 13 games at the O.co Coliseum.  A’s starter Sean Nolin lasted just 2 1/3 innings on Sunday, allowing all five Giants’ runs in the process.  The September callup allowed at least five hits in each of his five starts, and failed to pitch into the seventh inning of any of those appearances.  Brett Lawrie committed his team-worst 24th error in the third, allowing Brandon Crawford to reach on his errant throw.  Crawford later scored in that inning to put the Giants up 4-0.

Danny Valencia left Sunday’s game after being hit by a pitch on the elbow.  He will be further evaluated on Monday.  Sonny Gray is not expected to pitch again this season, although manager Bob Melvin kept the possibility open pending another evaluation of Gray’s condition on Monday.

A’s Barry Zito and Tim Hudson find the juxtaposition of competition and adulation to be a difficult mix

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Zito

By Morris Phillips

As both a fan, and a honoree on Saturday, Mark Mulder had one wish: that his former teammates, Barry Zito and Tim Hudson, could really compete against each other, Zito pitching and Hudson batting.

“That would have been better because Huddy used to always brag about how he would have raked Zito,” Mulder recalled.

In an afternoon of nostalgia mixed with big-time competition, Zito versus Hudson also might have been an opportunity for the A’s starter to record a critical out early.  Zito saw his afternoon on the mound end all to soon, after one batter in the third inning, having allowed six hits, including a home run, and the A’s trailing 4-3.

Hudson didn’t even make it that far as manager Bruce Bochy elected to lift the 40-year old pitcher just one week away from his retirement from baseball in the second inning.  Huddy never looked comfortable, walking three and being charged for all three runs scored by the Giants in the second.

“It’s hard to be a fan and also compete too,” Zito said in trying to explain the difficult juxtaposition both pitchers faced, needing to compete while absorbing the adulation of a sellout crowd.  “It usually one or the other.  So it was definitely great to be part of it and I enjoyed it walking out there and getting a warm reception from the fans.  Seeing how they responded to Huddy was awesome.  You got to keep a mindset too.”

Both managers certainly did, desperately wanting to win as usual.  Bob Melvin saw his unpopular decision to lift Zito pay off when the A’s responded with five runs in the third to take an 8-4 lead.  Melvin’s tolerance for anything other than recorded outs was obvious; he used eight pitchers in the ballgame, none lasted longer than the 2 2/3 innings pitched by Aaron Brooks.  But the Giants had the bats working, scoring the final seven runs of the ballgame to win 14-10.

Jarrett Parker, the 26-year old September callup for the Giants, picked the wrong day to have all the attention fall on him.  Parker homered three times to propel the Giants, including an impressive shot off Zito in the second, and a grand slam in the eighth that broke the 10-10 tie.

Billy Butler was among the offensive heroes for the A’s.  His home run off Matt Cain in the sixth scored Danny Valencia and extended Oakland’s lead to 10-7.  Valencia continued to impress, contributing three hits, a walk and two runs scored.

Reliever Ryan Dull took the loss for the A’s.  Dull allowed Parker’s grand slam, the second home run in as many days allowed by Dull, who had acquitted himself pretty well in nine previous relief stints, all since September 1.

Hudson, no doubt wanting to best Zito and keep the Giants’ flickering post-season hopes alive, threw just 34 pitches before his balky hip flared up and Bochy removed him.  The veteran with 222 career wins still hopes to make a final start of his career on Thursday against the Dodgers at AT&T Park.  But after the game, it was difficult for him to thank the fans without his disappointment in his performance leaking in.

“It was a good day for me and Zito to pitch, the fans were awesome,” Hudson said.

The A’s and Giants conclude their series on Sunday with Sean Nolin facing the Giants’ Chris Heston.  The Giants rookie has failed to win any of his nine previous starts, going 0-5.

Oakland Spoils San Franciscos Wild Card Hopes With 5-4 Win

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OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 25: Sean Doolittle #62 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates with Stephen Vogt #21 after the game against the San Francisco Giants at O.co Coliseum on September 25, 2015 in Oakland, California. The Oakland Athletics defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-4. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 25: Sean Doolittle #62 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates with Stephen Vogt #21 after the game against the San Francisco Giants at O.co Coliseum on September 25, 2015 in Oakland, California. The Oakland Athletics defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-4. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Back in August Eric Sogard said in an interview with the Sacramento Bee, “I can’t even remember what it was like not being in. Obviously, you want to be in it. But I think the young guys here are going to continue to come out and play every day. It’s a good opportunity for them. And I think we can still win some games and be a bit of a spoiler.”

Tonight the A’s brought Sogards premonition to fruition as Oakland was able to eliminate the San Francisco Giants with a 5-4 victory and eliminating the Giants from any Wild Card hopes. The Giants elimination number now stands at two.

The Giants jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Matt Duffy hit a deep fly ball homer to center field and bring in Kelby Tomlinson who made it to first bas on a fielders choice. The A’s scored the next three runs behind the strength of Danny Valencia’s twenty-second double of the year and Billy Burns fifth home run of the year with Sam Fuld aboard to make it a 3-2 Oakland lead. In the sixth inning Billy Butler hit his fourteenth home run of the year to give the A’s a 4-2 lead going into the top of the seventh.

In the top of the seventh Jarret Parker hit only his third homer of the year and brought the lead back down to one but in the bottom of the inning Josh Reddick singled to bring in Fuld across the plate and give the A’s back their two run lead 5-3.

Sean Doolittle came in the top of the eigth and surrendered a run to Marlon Byrd and make it a one run game again but he was able to shut it down for the rest of the eighth and ninth inning to seal the victory for Oakland.

Tomorrow is going to be a special day for the A’s. San Francisco will be sending Tim Hudson (8-8) to the mound where he will face Oakland’s Barry Zito (0-0) in what could be the final start for both pitchers. To celebrate this occasion the A’s are welcoming Mark Mulder to throw out the first pitch with his former teammates and thus reuniting the A’s Big Three for the first time in years.

 

The Rangers pound the A’s again, Sweep the series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for cole hamels rangers

The Texas Rangers pounded the A’s again by a score of 8-1 and swept the three-game series. It was another dismal day for A’s pitchers as they were touched for eight runs and thirteen hits. The Rangers scored twenty-six runs in the series and they increased their lead in the AL West to 3 and 1/2 games over the Houston Astros.
Chris Bassitt pitched three innings for the A’s. Bassitt made his first start since August 26th when he was shut down with soreness in his shoulder. Bassitt was the losing pitcher and his record for 2015 is 1-7. The A’s used seven pitchers in the game. The Rangers ace, Cole Hamels went six innings, and all the A’s could manage was one run on four hits. The Rangers used three more pitchers to close out the game. Hamels is now 5-1 with Texas and 11-8 overall.

The Rangers scored twice in the first inning. Delino DeShields led off with a single. DeShields stole second and scored on a double by Shin-Soo Choo. Prince Fielder ground out and Choo went to third on the play. Adrian Beltre singled to drive in Choo with the second run of the game for Texas.
The Rangers added a run in the second. Rougned Odor led off with a single. Catcher Chris Gimenez singled to put two men on with one out. DeShields singled to drive in Odor with the run. A’s trail 3-0 in the middle of the third.

The Rangers scored three times in the top of the sixth. The Rangers put together three hits and two walks to add to their lead. A’s reliever Fernando Abad was ineffective as he pitched just 2/3rds of an inning allowing two hits and two walks and was charged with all three runs.

The Rangers continued to hit A’s pitching hard. Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single to start the eighth. Prince Fielder followed with a blast for his twenty-second homer of the year. A’s trail 8-1.

Game Notes – The A’s lost their fifth game in a row and are twenty-five games under the .500 mark. The A’s have clinched their worst record since going 65-7 in 1997, and they clinched the last place on the AL West. The A’s starters are 6-21 with a 6.39 ERA over the last 40 games going back to August 11th. The A’s made two more errors Thursday, and no have 117 for the season, which is tied with Pittsburgh for the most in the majors.
Billy Butler recorded his 1,400 major league hit when he doubled in the seventh inning. Marcus Semien hit safely in his eighth straight game.
The Rangers travel to Houston for a big series with the Astros starting Friday.
The A’s welcome the San Francisco Giants for a three-game series starting Friday. Sonny Gray will be on the mound for Oakland, and Mike Leake will pitch for the Giants. Saturday’s game will feature two members of the A’s Big Three pitching against each other. Barry Zito will make his first big league start since 2013 and his friend and former teammate, Tim Hudson will pitch for San Francisco. Both pitchers are expected to retire at the end of the year. The third member of the Big Three, Mark Mulder, will be here in Oakland over the weekend.
Time of game was three hours and twenty minutes, and 14,452 people watch the A’s go down to defeat.
Game time on Friday will be at 7:05 pm PT and the Saturday and Sunday contests will be day games starting at 1:05 pm.

The Texas Rangers stay hot, Pummel the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for colby lewis

The Texas Rangers pounded the A’s Wednesday night in Oakland by a score of 10-3. A’s starter, Felix Doubront, went 4 and 2/3rds inning allowing 8 hits and seven runs all earned. Doubront allowed two Earl Weaver homers. Weaver managed the Baltimore Orioles many years ago and he believed in the three-run homer. Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre each had one. Colby Lewis continued his mastery of the A’s beating them for the eleventh time in his career. With the win, the Rangers increased their lead over the Houston Astros to three games. Houston lost to the Angels and are just one game ahead of the Minnesota Twins for the second Wild Card slot. The Rangers travel to Houston after Thursday’s game with the A’s.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third. Rangers’ pitcher, Colby Lewis, walked Brett Lawrie to start the inning. Eric Sogard singled to move Lawrie into scoring position. A’s rookie catcher, Carson Blair, singled to drive in Lawrie. The A’s loaded the bases, but Lewis struck out Danny Valencia to end the threat. 1-0 after three.
The lead didn’t last long as the Rangers scored four times in the top of the fourth. Three straight singles by Adrian Beltre, Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland tied the game at one. Ranger shortstop, Elvis Andrus, hit his seventh dinger of the year to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead in the middle of the fourth.

Texas added three more runs in the fifth. Delino DeShields led off the inning with a double to right and advanced to third when Josh Reddick could handle the ball cleanly. Doubront walked Shin-Soo Choo to put two men on with no out. Rangers’ third baseman and future member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, Adrian Beltre hit a monster shot that went halfway to the moon before landing on the left field steps as it came down from space in front of the Cache Creek sign. The A’s did not score in their half of the fifth. Texas out in front 7-1.

A’s right fielder, Josh Reddick, led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo blast to right. Reddick was attempting to atone for the two errors he committed earlier in the game. A’s trail 7-2 after six. The A’s scored another run in the bottom of the seventh. Eric Sogard hit his first home run of the year leading off. Sogard had 457 plate appearances since he last homered in 2014, and it was his first in 141 games. A’s trail 7-3 heading into the eighth.

Texas continued to clobber the A’s. Their second baseman, Rougned Odor, led off the ninth with a bomb down the right field line. Drew Stubbs walked and then scored all the way from first on a double by Will Venable. Shin-Soo Choo singled to drive in Venable with the tenth run of the game. The A’ lose 10-3.

Game Notes- The A’s have lost four in a row and have 88 losses that match the most by an A’s team in the last 18 years. The A’s are 6-9 over the last 15 games and 13-26 over the last 39 games. A’s starting pitchers are 6-20 with a 6.36 ERA over the last 39 games dating back to August 11th. Felix Doubront is 2-2 with an 8.33 ERA over his last five starts. Doubront took the loss and his record is now 3-3 for the year.

The Rangers have won three of the last four games and nine of the last twelve and are 43-34 on the road. Colby Lewis won his seventeenth game of the year and is now 11-4 lifetime against the A’s.

The A’s conclude the three-game set with Texas Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm at the O.co Coliseum. Chris Bassitt(1-6, 2.82 ERA) will pitch for Oakland, and Texas will send their ace, Cole Hamels (4-1, 3.73 ERA) to face the Green and Gold.

Time of game was 2 hours and fifty-two minutes and 16,445 were on hand to watch the A’s lose.