Category: Oakland Athletics

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Angels pushing to the limit, plus more sports updates

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–Mike Trout went 4 for 4, hit a Grand Slam and drove in five runs(he also walked once, so he was on base five times) and the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 13-7 and left town on their way to Houston in first place one game over the Astros. Another “day at the office”:for the best player in the game. I had a chance to speak with him right after the game and after Fox English did their postgame interview: Q: How do you feel today? Trout: “Great, I was happy to help the team, we are heading into August and this is what we need” Q: You have been hitting the ball more to right and right-center field recently, both of your home runs today went that way…” Trout: “Yes, well they are pitching me low and outside and I do not try to do much with those pitches, just try to put a good swing…and the ball left, I was sure about the first home runs but the second one with the bases loaded I wasn’t too sure, but I am glad it went over”. Q: the trip to Houston now, how important is it? Trout: “Well –like I said we are going now into the most difficult part of the season, our pitching has been terrific and we seem to get the hits when we need them, these guys are good” Q: This long homestand for you guys ended with seven wins and three loses, talk about that. Trout: It was good man, we put some good numbers on the board, we have to keep doing that…. this is going to be a great race”.
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Texas’ Josh Hamilton returned to Anaheim and it was brutal. Booed during the pregame lineup introductions, booed during each of every at bat, booed when he made a play in the outfield. Josh smiled every time and seemed to take it in stride. After all Josh Hamilton is no a bad guy, he is a guy with a lot of bad habits and that has spilled onto the field and hurt his career. He definitely is not the player he was when he won the 2010 American League MVP for the Texas Rangers. But he seems to be happy now back at home with the Rangers in Texas, prior to the first game of this three game weekend series at Angel Stadium and during practice on the field, he spoke with Angels first baseman Albert Pujols and other Angels, all is forgotten. It is baseball after all, and his life is more important. I hope the best is store in the future for Josh Hamilton, the short time he was here he was always courteous to the fans and the media and he seems to be a good teammate on the Angels squad.
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Will not mention his name here, he is not worthy of any recognition. The ESPN coleague who made those remarks about Dominican Players is not anymore working for ESPN, it never ceases to amaze me how some people are so ignorant and stupid when they open their mouth.
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Copperstown, July 26, 2015. For the first time in history three pitchers were in the 2015 class inducted to the cream of the crop of the game. Former Giant pitcher Randy Johnson, with over 300 victories and second in history in strikeouts, Cy Young, World Series, All Star a super pitcher from the Bay Area, Livermore and Walnut Creek. Former Brave Jon Smoltz a guy that was a unique type of pitcher, won as a starter and also was a closer, the great Dominican former Red Sox Pedro Martinez a guy not that big in stature, but with lots of guts. control and perseverance won over 200 games and became the second Dominican born(Juan Marichal 1983)inducted to the Hall.

And the versatile Craig Biggio, over 3,000 hits, and a brilliant 20 year career. Johnson went as a Diamondback, Smoltz as a Brave, Martinez as a Red Sox and Biggio as an Astro. Love the long speech by Pedro, half in Spanish. 83 players today are from the Dominican Republic among all 30 teams. Next from that country in a couple of years will be Vladimir Guerrero.I started a campaign in San Francisco in 1982 where I was the Sports Director for KIQI 1010AM radio, trying to get Juan into the Hall of Fame, he was not elected the first time, but yes the second time. I still have that Award of Merit given to me by the then Mayor of the City,the Honorable Dianne Feinstein, now a US Senator for the State of California. At Cooperstown yesterday,Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez posed for photos with the Dominican flag, one word I always have reserved for Juan is, class.
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John Edward “Jed” York and Steve Kerr.. Maybe the owner of the 49ers should concentrate on Football and leave the Warriors alone, different game, different owners, different cities. Why bother? Anyway, here are my two cents on what York said. Jim Tomsula the ex-defensive line coach of the Niners is now the new 49ers coach, he seems to agree with York a lot. Is that why he got the job? On the other hand: Jim Harbaugh was a proven winner, but he didn’t agree much with York’s regime and way of doing things. We all know what happened. It is not a change of culture — like Jed York says about comparing Tomsula to Steve Kerr coach of the Warriors—. It was a change that York just wanted to do, he owns this decision win or lose with the new coach, who according to York will bring a “change of culture”to the Niners.
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Finally: I heard a great quote this weekend, which I have not heard in a long time. “A man that loves his job is always on vacation”.

Hasta la Vista.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez will be behind the microphone for Spanish radio coverage of the A’s and Cleveland starting this Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s just trying to keep their heads up after a rough weekend in S.F.

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By Morris Phillips

Ben Zobrist wasn’t thinking about how he would look in the uniform of a contender.  The A’s jack-of-all-trades was too busy Sunday turning double plays and squaring up Tim Hudson’s offerings to worry about what the upcoming trade deadline might bring.

Drew Pomeranz didn’t seem concerned about whether he would get a starting assignment on Wednesday with an important relief stint staring him in the face on Sunday.  The reliever/starter entered Sunday’s game in the sixth inning focused on getting outs, and that’s what he did, keeping the A’s within a run of the Giants in two innings of scoreless relief.

And Kendall Graveman might not know whether he’s coming or going, but he knows he’s got to get better.  The A’s starter on Sunday lasted less than two innings, allowing seven hits and a pair of walks.  Whether he’s in Oakland, or sent back to AAA Nashville, the 24-year old has to regain the form he showed in his six, impressive starts after a previous, minor-league demotion.  Fortunately, Graveman already knows the process.

“I’ve got to continue to work, work in my bullpens, talk to my catchers, talk to Curt (Young),” Graveman explained.  “What do we have to do to be better?”

No one can question that the A’s were all business during their working weekend in San Francisco, it’s just that they didn’t handle much business.  The A’s battled back on Sunday after Graveman’s short afternoon left them in a 4-1 hole, but still came up short in a 4-3 loss.  After being swept by the Giants, the A’s are back in the American League cellar, a place filled with enough frustration and uncertainty to drive somebody crazy if they let it.

“It’s been a crazy four days for us, thinking back to Kazmir’s (departure),” Stephen Vogt said.  “Obviously now there’s more looming and we know that.  Definitely dropping these three games made (things worse).  It’s baseball, it’s the business.  It’s the way it is.  We just have to try to keep our heads clear.”

Unlike last year when the A’s were among the best teams in baseball and heading to a near-certain post-season berth, the A’s are down and out in 2015, 12 games behind the Angels in the AL West with 62 to play.  That means changes are inevitable, starting with Kazmir’s trade to Houston and ending who knows where in the days leading to the trade deadline on Friday.  Zobrist appears likely to depart, and Vogt may be gone too if the price is right.

But for those that remain, the goal is unchanged: play better, and get Athletics baseball back on the right track.  If Oakland’s your home, make it the best home it can be.  Sunday’s winning pitcher Tim Hudson did that, and after a 16-year career that’s taken him on to Atlanta and now San Francisco, the memories remain.

“I spent a lot of fun years over there—a lot of great memories, a lot of great success,” Hudson said.  “The only familiar faces over there now is the front office and the medical staff.”

Due in great part to his own individual success, Hudson never experienced a season in Oakland like the A’s are enduring now.  In Hudson’s six seasons as an Athletic, the team finished first or second in the AL West every year, won fewer than 91 games only once (1999) and made four consecutive post-season appearances.

This season will halt a string of three consecutive post-season appearances for the A’s.   In less than a year, the team’s seen a whole lot of changes since they held the best record in baseball after 112 games last season.  But everyone currently in the Oakland clubhouse knows the history, and the likelihood that success will return.  They just have to survive the rollercoaster ride and be ready for the winning to return.

On Tuesday, the A’s visit Dodgers Stadium in a matchup with NL West-leading Los Angeles.  The A’s will have Sonny Gray on the mound in a matchup with familiar face, Brett Anderson at 7:05pm.

A’s can’t get past Giants’ Bumgarner offensively or defensively in 2-1 loss

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Errorless

By Morris Phillips

When you’ve lost as many agonizing one-run ballgames as the A’s, it’s likely one will look like this:

Young starter pitches his heart out—doing all he can to change the struggling ballclub’s fortunes—only to lose by the narrowest of margins in a most unlikely fashion.

For the A’s and Chris Bassitt, that occasion was Saturday afternoon at sold-out AT&T Park where Bassitt allowed the game’s first run on Madison Bumgarner’s home run and his team’s offense was missing in action once again in a 2-1 loss.

The A’s have dropped two straight to the Giants, and four of five overall, and the Giants remained red-hot, winners of 10 of 11.  Lately, the trip across the Bay has cost the A’s a lot more than a hefty bridge toll, it’s been a crippler in a win-loss column as well, with San Francisco capturing 15 of the last 18 contests.

The lessons imparted to Bassitt couldn’t be relayed in any tougher fashion.  The 26-year old began  2015 with an opportunity to become a member of major-league rotation for the first time, only to be the odd-man out after spring training.  Then a pair of promotions from AAA proved that Bassitt had what it takes, first as a reliver making five appearances in which opposing batters hit just .135 and then as an emergency starter in place of the ailing Sonny Gray.  Those two starts both resulted in 2-1 losses as Bassitt allowed just three earned runs.  But after those two stints, Bassitt landed back in Nashville.

Bassitt’s third promotion—to replace Jesse Hahn, who landed on the disabled list—was July 11 in Cleveland.  That day, the A’s rallied in the eighth, after Bassitt pitched them into the seventh tied 2-2.  Again, the pitcher acquired from the White Sox in the Jeff Samardzija deal was optioned.

Two weeks later, with Scott Kazmir traded to Houston, Bassitt made the flight west again, only to run into Bumgarner in the third inning.

“It was just an awkward thing where I was like ‘don’t walk him, don’t walk him, don’t walk him’ and I grooved a fastball right down the middle and obviously he can hit a little bit.”

“I’m just trying to hit the ball hard and contribute in anyway we can up there,” Bumgarner said.  “It’s been going pretty good of late, but I wouldn’t read too much into it.”

Bumgarner’s home run came on a 3-2 pitch, one pitch after home plate umpire Joe West failed to ring up the World Series MVP on an offering straddling the strike zone.  It was the ninth home run of Bum’s career and his third this season.  While A’s pitchers have collectively been the worst hitting group since interleague play began in 1997, the Giants offered Bumgarner, the Silver Slugger award winner for pitchers in 2014.

In interleague play, the odds dramatically favor NL teams playing in their home parks and not having to face or produce a designated hitter of their own.  With Bumgarner hitting ninth along with his staff-ace quality pitching, the Giants saw the odds swing even further in their favor on Saturday.

“It just goes to show you how a pitcher can help themselves besides just throwing the ball whether it’s get a bunt down or swinging the bat,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy opined.

If you throw in the Giants’ brillance in close, situational-laden ballgames, a major factor in each of their three World titles, and the fact that the A’s are well on their way to having the worst record in one-run ballgames in the franchise’s Oakland history, this becomes as big a mismatch as anyone could imagine in such a close game.

Minus their All-Star closer Sean Doolittle, and with a league-worst 86 errors, the A’s have dropped 23 of 33 games this season decided by just one run.  As already chronicled early in this story, all three of Bassitt’s losses have been by a 2-1 score.  On Saturday, it wasn’t the pitching or the defense, just Oakland’s inability to dent Bumgarner, set-up man Sergio Romo or closer Santiago Casilla.

“You work him out of the game earlier or hopefully score some runs off of him.” A’s manager Bob Melvin said as an insight to the team’s strategy against Bumgarner.  “We just couldn’t do it early enough or get a big hit off him when we really need to.”

In the ninth, the A’s put themselves in position to tie the game when pinch-hitter Ike Davis drew a two-out walk, and Billy Burns followed with a base hit.  But Casilla struck out the next batter, Marcus Semien on a 3-2 pitch to end the ballgame.

On Sunday, the A’s attempt to avoid the sweep with Kendall Graveman facing former Athletic, Tim Hudson at 1:05pm.  The 40-year old Hudson has wins against every major league team with the exception of his former team.  Huddy has only faced the A’s twice in his 18-year big league career.

Oakland Gives Up 17 Hits, Lose To San Francisco 9-3

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 24: Billy Burns #1 of the Oakland Athletics is slow to his feet after being hit by the ball while at bat in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on July 24, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JULY 24: Billy Burns #1 of the Oakland Athletics is slow to his feet after being hit by the ball while at bat in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on July 24, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO – Tonight just wasn’t the A’s night. Oakland pitchers gave up 17 hits over 8 innings and lost to the San Francisco Giants 9-3.

Jesse Chavez (5-10) went a season-low three innings as he gave up four runs on eight hits, walked a pair and struck out one. Prior to tonight’s game Chavez was 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA against San Francisco on five career appearances.

“They put great at-bats together,” Chavez said. “They didn’t give in, they didn’t chase down, they didn’t expand the zone. You have to tip your hat to them on that point.”

The Giants worked through a total of six Oakland pitchers tonight including tagging Fernando Rodriguez, Eric O’Flaherty and Edward Mujica for 5 runs combined. San Francisco’s bats were so on fire tonight that through 8 innings A’s pitchers threw 174 pitches total.

The Giants Hunter Pence had a spectacular game as he went 4 for 5 including a pair of doubles, two RBI and six total bags.

Offensively for the A’s Billy Butler went 3 for 4 with each hit counting for a single. Excluding the pitchers each Oakland player tonight had a hit except for Stephen Vogt and Billy Burns.

Burns left after the third inning with a testicular contusion which happened because of an errant foul ball that hit the ground and smacked him in the groin. It took him several minutes to recover and finish the at-bat however after the at-bat he was pulled form the game and is probably for tomorrows rubber match against San Francisco.

“That pain was pretty terrible,” said Burns. He complained of discomfort in his stomach and feeling a bit nauseous.

The A’s send RHP Chris Bassitt (0-2, 2.93) to the mound on Saturday to face the dangerous LHP Madison Bumgarner (10-5, 3.27).

Notes:

A’s Recall RHP Angel Castro from Nashville; Option RHP Arnold Leon

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s recalled right-handed pitcher Angel Castro from Triple-A Nashville and optioned right-handed pitcher Arnold Leon to Nashville, the club announced today.

Castro joins the A’s for the second time this year as he was 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and .462 opponents batting average in four games during his first stint from May 8 to 25 when he made his Major League debut. He went 2-1 with a save and a 3.40 ERA and .242 opponents batting average in 21 games, including two starts, with Nashville. The 32-yearold right-hander logged a 3.09 ERA in 15 games following his May 26 option and allowed just one home run in 23.1 innings over that stretch.

Leon was recalled yesterday for his fourth stint with Oakland this year and tossed 3.1 innings against Toronto, allowing a run on three hits. He is 0-0 with a 3.72 ERA and .300 opponents batting average in seven relief appearances overall with the A’s. The 26-year-old right-hander is also 1-4 with a save and a 3.42 ERA in 15 games, including six starts, with Nashville.

A’s trade away Kazmir, fall to Blue Jays in day of realization

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment
OAKLAND, CA - JULY 23: Russell Martin #55 of the Toronto Blue Jays rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run off of Drew Pomeranz #13 of the Oakland Athletics during the second inning at O.co Coliseum on July 23, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – JULY 23: Russell Martin #55 of the Toronto Blue Jays rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run off of Drew Pomeranz #13 of the Oakland Athletics during the second inning at O.co Coliseum on July 23, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

By: Eric He

OAKLAND — It was a day of realization for the A’s.

Realization that their second best pitcher is gone, and others will likely follow before the trade deadline. Realization that despite a 30-22 record since May 23, it was probably too little, too late to make a playoff push.

That realization started early on Thursday with news that Scott Kazmir had been dealt to the Astros — a divisional opponent, no less — for two minor leaguers. It ended in the form a 5-2 defeat to the Blue Jays at the O.co Coliseum on Thursday afternoon as the A’s drop two out of three in the series and fall back to nine games under .500.

Russell Martin had three RBI for the Blue Jays against a scrambled A’s pitching staff.

Kazmir was scheduled to be the starting pitcher on Thursday afternoon, but with the trade, Bob Melvin had to turn to Plan B — a bullpen game.

Drew Pomeranz started the game pitched into the second inning and gave way to Dan Otero, but not before allowing the Blue Jays to jump in front. After a leadoff single by Danny Valencia in the second inning, Martin drilled a 3-2 fastball over the right center field wall to put the Blue Jays up 2-0.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said the plan is for Pomeranz to stay in the rotation, but he will need to gradually warm up to the pitch count. Pomeranz threw 44 pitches today.

“It’s going to be a progression to get him there,” said Melvin.”He hasn’t thrown over 20 pitches, and had an extended time off. 45 pitches was what were looking for today. It’s not an easy thing to do.”

Added Pomeranz, who was told he would be starting at 10am this morning: “Finding out today, there’s not really much you can do.”

The A’s responded with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Marcus Semien led off with a double, and Billy Burns singled him in with a base hit to right that was bobbled by Jose Bautista. Later in the inning, Josh Reddick evened the score with a fielder’s choice ground ball RBI.

Toronto retook the lead in the top of the fourth with back-to-back two out doubles by Martin and Chris Colabello, both landing just fair down the right field line. To add insult to injury on a depressing day for A’s fans, Josh Donaldson doubled the Blue Jays lead to 4-2 with a homer off Otero to right center.

Otero lasted three innings and allowed two runs and was relieved by Arnold Leon, just called up from Triple A Nashville to take Kazmir’s spot on the roster. A sacrifice fly by Martin in the fifth added another insurance run to push the lead to 5-2.

The Blue Jays also had to make an emergency switch at pitcher, with scheduled starter Drew Hutchinson scratched with flu-like symptoms and R.A. Dickey moving up a day to pitch in his place.

And Dickey — he of a 3-10 record and ERA over 4.50 — was masterful, going 8.1 innings on 104 pitches, allowing just the two runs while striking out six.

After the third inning, the A’s managed to get just one runner in scoring position — a one-out double by Billy Burns that was wasted in the eighth.

Kazmir traded 

Hours before the game, the A’s announced they had traded Kazmir to the Houston Astros for RHP Daniel Mengden and C Jacob Nottingham. Kazmir, the A’s No. 2 man in the rotation behind Sonny Gray, was 5-5 with a 2.38 ERA in 18 starts.

Both Mengden and Nottingham are in the Astros’ Single A organization in Quad Cities, clearly making this a move toward the future. They aren’t even ranked in the Top 15 of the prospects with the Astros, but as with all Billy Beane trades, patience is a virtue.

“Obviously everybody’s sorry to see [Kazmir] go on a personal level today,” said Melvin. “But it’s our job to go out there and just focus on one particular day. If you get too far out and worry about what potentially could happen and wait for the other shoe to drop, then you’re not focused on what we’re doing today.”

Josh Reddick, now one of the longest-tenured A’s, touted Kazmir’s positive presence in the clubhouse.

“It’s never easy to deal with,” Reddick said. “Losing a good teammate and a great guy like that. Especially a guy who’s been one of our better pitchers for the year.

“No matter who gets dealt, we still have to go out here and win ball games with the personnel that we have. It may get tougher. We’ve got to get the job done no matter who’s out there.”

The A’s may not be done shipping out players. Ben Zobrist and Tyler Clippard are also primed to be on the trade block — Kazmir’s exit may just be the tip of the iceberg in what might be a painful exodus in Oakland.

More Quotables

“It shouldn’t be hard to play a baseball game. Granted, everybody talked to [Kazmir]. We’re sorry to see him go. He was a big personality in the clubhouse and certainly performance-wise was key for us, but once you get on the field that’s what you have to focus on.”

– Bob Melvin

“Look, there’s nothing we can do about this. We’re going to go out there with the same expectations, try to win today’s game and not think too far out.”

– Melvin on his message to his players

“He’s guided a lot of us that he’s gotten close to, especially as pitchers. You pick up things here and there. I actually use his same changeup grip that’s modified now. You pick up a lot of things from a guy like that who has been around.”

– Drew Pomeranz on Kazmir

What’s on Tap

The A’s will look to regenerate some momentum in the Bay Bridge series against the Giants over the weekend, beginning Friday night at AT&T Park.

A’s Don’t “Look Like Idiots”, Wait Out Walk-off Win

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics hosted their 16th annual Root Beer Float day Wednesday night at the O.Co Coliseum, treating fans to a sweet treat before the game before Ike Davis served des the dessert during the game. After raising $34,709 for the Juvenile Diabetes Relief Fund, the A’s topped Felix Doubront and the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on a pinch-hit single.

Josh Phegley, Stephen Vogt and Jake Smolinski all knocked in runs as well, and starter Sonny Gray pitched seven innings of two-run ball to help Oakland (44-52) pass the Seattle Mariners to move a half-game out of the American League West cellar. The Blue Jays (48-48) fall back to .500 after winning the first game of the series.

The walk-off came in bizarre fashion in the bottom of the 10th, with the A’s not sure if they in fact were winners. Davis bounced a chopper that Jose Reyes dove for before tossing to first, allowing another late inning sub Josh Reddick to score on what first base umpire Marvin Hudson ruled a base hit in a bang-bang play.

“I didn’t think he was going to catch it,” said Davis. “As soon as I hit it I thought ‘that’s going to be a hit’. He made a good play and it was really close.”

Davis came off the bench to pinch hit against deposed Jays closer Roberto Osuna (1-4, 2.28 ERA) and quickly fell behind 0-2. He managed to fight off a fastball, trickling it to the opposite field for the hit.

“Ike was coming in cold,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “That’s a tough assignment. After the first couple pitches he was behind. He fouled some back, wasn’t trying to do too much. He wanted to put it in play on the other side of the diamond.”

“He blew it by me twice,” said Davis. “I knew I had to shorten up. I tried to hit the ball hard the first two times.”

It wasn’t without drama though. Amidst a brief A’s celebration, Toronto manager John Gibbons asked for, and was granted, a replay review. The A’s players gathered on the mound, awaiting their fate.

“It’s a tough position to be in,” said Reddick. “If they turn it over, we’re going to look like idiots.”

After a 2 minutes and 45 seconds of review, home plate ump Hunter Wendelstedt confirmed that the call on the field would stand, with there being inconclusive evidence to overturn the call.

“They stayed with what they were told to do,” said Melvin on the ruling. “If there’s no definitive proof to overturn, you stay with it. It was nerve-wracking waiting on the verdict, but we’ll take it.”

“It felt like the longest replay of the year,” noted Reddick.

The A’s very briefly celebrated before racing into the dugout.

“We had a lot of fun out there planning our exit,” said Davis on the pre-concocted curtain call.

The game could have gone entirely the other way though. With Oakland leading 3-2, Tyler Clippard took over in the ninth inning looking for save number 18. He opened the inning issuing a free pass to Danny Valencia then coughing up a double to Devon Travis. Jose Reyes walked to load the bases with former A’s slugger Josh Donaldson up to the dish.

Clippard managed to down Donaldson on strikes, but brought around the tying run after walking Jose Bautista. He managed to coax an Edwin Encarnacion strikeout and Dionner Navarro fly out to escape the jam tied. Fernando Rodriguez (1-1, 3.21) then pitched a scoreless tenth to pick up the win.

“That’s tough,” said Melvin on Clippard’s outing. “Now you’re in a no-win situation. All you can do is keep it tied. You have the middle of their order up, some tough customers to deal with.”

“To get back into the dugout a tie game allowed us to win that game later,” added Melvin.

For the second night in a row Josh Donaldson managed to sour his warm homecoming by driving in a run, plating the first run of the game on a single up the middle in the top of the third inning. He’d endear himself to A’s fans again an inning later, throwing a tricky grounder in the dirt to give Smolinski a two-base error. Smolinski moved over to third base on a Ben Zobrist single, then came around to score on Phegley’s liner up the middle, knotting the game 1-1.

With starter Sonny Gray not featuring his sharpest stuff the A’s offense supported its ace, tacking on a pair of runs in the fifth. Billy Burns reached on a single, then swiped second before being knocked in on Stephen Vogt’s base hit. Melvin wasn’t able to see the singling, getting ejected after arguing a strike call on a botched pitchout during Burns’ steal.

“There was a bit of a miscommunication,” said Melvin on the situation. “I was asking if it was a pitchout. I think (homeplate umpire Wendelstedt) thought I was continuing to argue.”

Zobrist would also single, forcing Doubront to issue the intentional walk to Billy Butler to create a force out. Smolinski hit a deep fly to center field, but center fielder Kevin Pillar managed to pull in the ball. Vogt scampered home to convert the sacrifice. Brett Lawrie appeared to crack the game open with a scorching liner up the middle, but second baseman Devon Travis was perfectly positioned to field the hot shot.

Gray gave the fans a scare in the sixth, taking an Edwin Encarnacion liner up the middle off his back foot. After a brief visit from the trainer and a smile from Gray, the ace continued on no worse for wear.

“I knew he broke his bat, I just didn’t know how fast it was coming,” said Gray. “I knew it hit me pretty solid.”

“I was telling Vogt and Phegley I was fine,” said Gray on why he was smiling during the trainer’s visit. “They told me to tell the dugout that, but the trainer was already out there.”

The A’s would need both runs after Danny Valencia opened the 7th inning with a first-pitch homer to straight-away center field. Gray would finish out the inning, sandwiching a Donaldson walk between a pair of outs. He’d depart the game after finishing the inning, having struck out three while walking two and allowing 9 hits for two earned runs but wound up with a no-decision.

“They really made him work for a while,” said Melvin. “He was throwing some good pitches and they weren’t trying to do too much with them. They were hitting the ball the other way, fouling some pitches off.”

“There are outings like that where you really have to work hard on it,” stated Melvin. “He ends up leaving with the lead. I thought he pitched really well.”

Edward Mujica relieved Gray in the 8th, opening the inning with a leadoff single to Encarnacion. Mujica would erase the baserunner, fielding a grounder from Chris Colabello to start the 1-4-3 double play. He would cough up a two-out single to Russell Martin, then hand second base to pinch runner Ezequiel Carrera on a wild pitch before mowing down Pillar on a ground out to shortstop Marcus Semien.

Doubront would have been the hardluck loser. The southpaw went just 4 2/3 innings, allowing 7 hits and two earned runs to go with the unearned marker.

Donaldson and the Jays wrap up their first visit to the Coliseum this season with a matinee game Wednesday. Scott Kazmir takes the mound in what may be one of his last starts in the green and gold with the trade deadline approaching. He’ll be opposed by youngster Drew Hutchinson.

Josh Donaldson returns to the Coliseum, as A’s take a thumping from the Jays

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Grave issues

By Morris Phillips

It was get what you pay for night at the O.co Coliseum.

The Blue Jays strutted out with their suped-up, vanity-level starting pitcher, 36-year old Mark Buehrle, on nights like this, a guy who’s won 210 major league games and looks like he could win 210 more.

Cost: $20,000,000 in 2015 baseball megabucks.

Meanwhile, the A’s countered with Kendall Graveman, a 24-year old project moving at high speed to major league competentcy thanks to the shrewd-dealings of Billy Beane and the careful crafting of pitching coach Curt Young.  Definitely a guy to watch for in the near future, but in 2015, still a project.

Cost: $507,000 on Overstock.com with free shipping for bigger items.

Not surprisingly, Buehrle settled in as if he magically appeared on the Coliseum mound courtesy of a Justin Timberlake-like hydraulic platform stage shrouded in dry-ice fog.  The veteran–no doubt well-aware of the A’s struggles against lefty starters—cruised through seven innings of work, barely noticing the eight Oakland hits when juxtaposed against his one run and no walks allowed in the Jays 7-1 victory.

In the other corner, Graveman looked itchy and irritated, allowing three home runs in a start for the first time.  Whether it was the All-Star break-laced, 10 days in between starts or a rough fifth inning in which he threw 26 pitches but escaped harm, the A’s rookie couldn’t get comfortable.  In the sixth, Graveman got taken deep by Jose Bautista, walked Edwin Encarnacion and Justin Smoak, then allowed Russell Martin’s three-run shot hit in nearly the same spot as Bautista’s.

“Early on he had a lot of good movement, keeping the ball on the ground like he does.  Obviously he gave up some home runs, but it didn’t really look like they were balls up in the zone.   Look like they went down a got at least a couple of them.  Just not one of his better nights,” manager Bob Melvin said.

It probably didn’t help that everyone in the Toronto organization knows precisely what Graveman’s strengths and weaknesses are.  The Alabama-raised, Mississippi State product pitched in relief for the Jays last September before he was included in the Josh Donaldson trade this off-season.  Also, Graveman’s currently down in an up-and-down campaign that’s seen him win three, lose three, win three and now, lose two.

Also, the Toronto trio that took Graveman deep are paid handsomely to hit home runs, especially Bautista and Encarnacion.  The great home run hitters instinctively sense disjointed pitch sequences and embrace rhythm, no doubt the story of Graveman’s sixth inning meltdown.  Facing experienced hitters the third time is often a danger zone for starters, it’s a pitching skill that requires a great deal of guile, and Graveman has advanced that far yet.

“When I made mistakes, they hit it,” Graveman said.  “I have to be better with my location.”

Donaldson drew applause in his first game back in Oakland, politely acknowledging the reception with a tap of his helmet during his first at-bat.  The third baseman’s done pretty much what he did in his final season in Oakland: post big numbers on his way to a second-straight All-Star appearance.  But he didn’t need to lead the charge Tuesday. Donaldson admitted some nerves, but they must have subsided.  He doubled in each of his last two at-bats after an 0 for 3 start.

“I’ve really never been put in that position before, so it was kind of a new experience,” Donaldson said.

The A’s look to bounce back on Wednesday at 7:05pm with Sonny Gray on the mound.  The Blue Jays will counter with Felix Doubront.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O Tue Jul 21, 2015

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by Charlie O Mallonee

OAKLAND–Will the Oakland A’s be buyers or sellers towards the trade deadline? The A’s are right in between that decision of buying or selling and they’ve finally made the big move talking for weeks now about making the move about getting out of fifth place and into fourth place. While they’ve finally done that their in fourth place they’ve got a record 43-51.

So the A’s are eight games from .500 they’re a half game in front of Seattle as of Tuesday night as the M’s had sole possession of fifth place and their just one game out of third place behind Texas. It doesn’t even seem possible to be talking about the A’s being in third place with the way things were going in the late part of May and early June.

You’ve got to look at where they are and the most important thing to look at where they are in the wild card standings and currently their eight games out of the final wild card spot. If you look at the wild card right now if they season ended today it would go down like this in the east it would be the Yankees, in the central it would be the Royals, and the Angels in the west.

The wild card teams would be Minnesota and Houston then you have to look at whose in front of the A’s trying to battle for that wild card situation. First of all you have Baltimore and in an interview with baseball analyst Peter Gammons Monday night Gammons said that Baltimore is really going to come into this trade deadline as a buyer on their last gasp.

They have a lot of players that are going to become free agents, their not going to afford to keep everybody and their going to have to be in a situation where they’re really going to have to retool after this year. So the O’s are going to be buyers, then you have Toronto who has really cooled off their at .500 right now, but they still can believe they can be in the thick of things so their going to be buyers.

Then you have Detroit the Tigers they never think their out of anything and right now their interested in being a buyer for another starting pitcher. Which they might be in a deal with the A’s, then you have Tampa Bay, the Rays are just too close to being into the wild card at this point. If the Rays can get players as a rental. You have Cleveland who are ahead of the A’s in the wild card they’re almost certainly going to be sellers.

Charlie O covers the A’s and the A.L. trade deadline at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below

On Eve of His Return to Oakland, Revisiting the Josh Donaldson Trade

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

When Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson steps into the O.Co Coliseum batter’s box for the first time as a visiting player against Kendall Graveman Tuesday night, it will be a moment months in the making.

The earth has long since stopped shaking since a ground shattering trade that saw A’s general manager sned the Oakland A’s most feared slugger in exchange for Graveman, starting third baseman Brett Lawrie and prospects Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto in the offseason. That doesn’t mean the wound won’t still be fresh for A’s fans.

Donaldson has put up similar stats North of Border to the ones he produced for four seasons in Oakland, which is to say he’s been MVP-caliber for the Jays. Donaldson is fresh off his second-straight All-Star game appearance, hitting second for the American League in its 6-3 victory over the Senior Circuit Squad in Cincinnati.

The 29-year old is hitting .288 for the season after 92 games, is one shy of the AL lead in runs batted in with 62 and sits five homers back of Mike Trout’s 27 for the league lead in long balls. Not bad for a player making only $4.5 million dollars.

On its exterior, the trade looks like a clear win for the Jays, who added a power bat to line-up already loaded with thumpers like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin. But the return for Donaldson hasn’t exactly been failing the A’s.

If Cy Young Awards were handed out in Spring Training, Graveman would have been a candidate. The 24-year-old righty owned the desert competition, going 3-1 with a miniscule 0.36 earned run over 25 1/3 innings. If they handed out the awards in April, he’d probably have been last on the list. Graveman compiled an 8.27 ERA, walking 9 while striking out only 7 over 16 1/3 innings. It was clear that Graveman wasn’t ready for the major leagues just yet, so a return to Triple A Nashville was in the cards for the young hurler.

Perhaps not. Graveman returned to the parent club in late May, and has been lights out ever since. In ten starts, he’s gone at least 5 2/3 innings every time. He’s allowed only 16 runs in his second tour of duty, and had managed to shrink his ERA to 3.16 prior to his last outing where he was touched up for 4 runs. He’s ERA since returning is sub-3.00. More importantly, he’s only walked 18 while punching out 44 batters.

While Brett Lawrie, the other main piece of the trade, hasn’t produced like Donaldson did, no one has asked him to. Lawrie, a former first round pick (16th overall in 2008), hasn’t lived up to the hype that followed him before he even played a professional game, but he hasn’t been a slouch either.

The Langley, British Columbia native is on track for career-highs in most offensive categories including homers (current 8, high 12), RBI (37, high 48) and most importantly for the oft-injured Canadian, games played (88, high 125). While he won’t match his rookie season batting average of .293 over 43 games in 2011, he’s on pace to best his full-season high of .273. The right-handed batter enters play Tuesday with a .280 mark. While he hasn’t been outstanding, he’s been better than expected.

Factor in Barreto, named to the MLB.com weekly all-prospect team, and Nolin still being at least a season away and the A’s could wind up being big winners in this trade. They may not feel like it now, but a rotation with Nolin and Graveman at the head and Barreto and Lawrie on the left side of the infield winning an AL West title, and possibly even the pennant, may be on the horizon soon. But first comes Tuesday night, a chance for the A’s to top the Jays and win a little victory.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Trade deadline approaching what Giants and A’s need

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Less than two weeks for the July 31 trade deadline, and there are a bunch of big name players that could be traded, like pitchers Cole Hamels(Phillies) and Johnny Cueto(Reds) those two of the most mentioned names available for the right deal. Philadelphia is where the teams can go shopping these next eleven days.

For the Oakland Athletics it looks like they will be sellers, and the two main names on tap are lefthanded pitcher Scott Kazmir and versatile player Ben Zobrist, those are the two proven players most marketable, that the A’s could send them packing for the right players in return, however nobody really knows what Billy Beane will do. In this same division the Los Angeles Angels will be looking for a left handed bat, outfielder, since the Matt Joyce acquisition during the off season from Tampa Bay did not bring the results they were expecting, that would be the main target for Mike Scioscia’s team who survived lots of turmoil during the first half, Josh Hamilton, now back with Texas and the departure of General Manager Jerry DiPoto. The Angels have also put their eyes on Jay Bruce and even Brandon Phillips, although Phillips could be very expensive.

The Texas Rangers are also looking at starting pitching and they could be in the hunt for a guy like Cole Hamels, the Seattle Mariners, who have played better lately, are stuck in a situation of winning now, and I do not expect them to make any big deals. The Houston Astros are very much in this picture for a playoff this season especially since they do have the very good young players than the other teams in this division (since they were not expecting to really compete this season) will they be willing to part ways with some of their young talent in return for a quick “fixer-upper” or are they going to stay with their original plan, that of winning in 2016.

For the San Francisco Giants another arm in the bullpen is not a bad thing at this time, and for them the race takes a different path, since it is looking more and more than in the NL western division only one team will advance(the one that wins the division)and aside from the Dodgers and the Giants the rest there are playing for 2016. But I believe the Dodgers are going to bring another starter to go with the best one-two of Kershaw and Greinke. The Dodgers are set with hitting, they lead the NL in home runs and their lineup, specially with the breakout year for Grandal is set up for the remainder of the season. Jonathan Papelbon is an interesting name that somebody will pick up as veteran bullpen help.

But there are always big surprises this time of the year, hold on, things could get very interesting. The A’s always keep trading, that is never a surprise, for the Giants to win again a World Series this year, that would be a surprise, after all they only win it every two years.

Happy trading!

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

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