Category: Oakland Athletics

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. –A Familiar face turned into an unwelcome sight Friday night at O.Co Coliseum for the struggling Oakland Athletics, losers of seven of their last eight. In falling to the Houston Astros 4-3, the A’s add to a now three-game losing streak. Former Green and Gold first basemen Chris Carter batted in three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, to spoil Jeff Samardzija’s seven-inning, nine-strikeout performance.

“These last few times out, he’s had as good of stuff as we’ve seen,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin on Samardzija. “It’s unfortunate we just didn’t do enough offensively.”

Houston’s designated hitter Carter fell behind on two quick strikes in his sixth-inning at-bat but worked the count full against Samardzija. He ultimately launched the eighth pitch he saw, a 96 mph fastball up, to deep left centerfield for his 36^th round-tripper of the season.

“It was definitely one I’d like to have back,” I threw some fastballs by him earlier in the game. I thought it was a good choice. He put good wood on it. It was a pitch I’d like to have back, for sure.”

Even if he had the pitch back, Samardzija wouldn’t have thought about caving in and issuing the intentional walk to certified A’s killer Carter.

“That’s the tying run at second base,” said Samardzija on the prospects of walking Carter. “I didn’t really want to put him on as a freebie. I just threw a pitch he could handle. He got extended on it and hit it out of the park.”

Samardzija (4-5, 3.70 ERA) allowed two home runs in the loss while Derek Norris and Adam Dunn knocked in a run apiece for the home team. Coco Crisp returned to the lineup for the first time since injuring his neck last Friday trying to rob a home run in Los Angeles. He went 1-for-4 in his return to game action with his 17^th stolen base of the season.

Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer (5-10, 4.28) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs for only the second Astros win (both starts by Oberholtzer) in seven games at Oakland this year. Houston (62-79) moves to just 5-15 all-time in games decided in Alameda County.

Carter, a member of the A’s for 106 games from 2010-2012, burned his old team once again this season. In 16 games against the A’s this season, the revenge-minded 27-year-old has hit seven big flies to go with 20 RBIs. Since July 1^st, Carter leads the Majors in homers (23) and runs batted in (55). The Redwood City native was a piece in the February 2013 deal that netted current A’s Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez in exchange for Carter, Brad Peacock and Max Stassi.

An Astro crossed home plate first with Jon Singleton ripping a Jeff Samardzija first-pitch solo home run to right centerfield in the top of the third inning. The A’s bats wouldn’t leave Samardzija hanging long though, scoring three runs in the bottom of the frame to take the 3-1 lead.

Alberto Callaspo opened the inning by single up the middle but Oberholtzer bounced back to punch out Crisp. The Houston lefty struggled with command issued back-to-back walks to Craig Gentry and Josh Donaldson to load the bases for Derek Norris. The A’s catcher made the southpaw pay, flaring a single to right field for a run. Astros right fielder Jake Marisnick struggled with the transfer after fielding the ball, allowing Gentry to scamper home on Callaspo’s heels.

Designated Hitter Adam Dunn, penciled into the lineup Friday despite a batting average of .154 against lefties this year, brought in the third run of the inning on an infield single to move Oakland ahead 3-1.

Jose Altuve, the major league leader in hits and stolen bases, collected one of each in the fourth off Samardzija. The Astros second basemen singled to open the inning then swiped his 51^st bag of the campaign on a Dexter Fowler strikeout. Carter plated Altuve on a single to pull Houston within a run on his first of three RBIs on the night.

The same bats that bolstered Samardzija in the third failed him in the fourth. Oakland squandered a bases-loaded no-out opportunity in the bottom of the inning after Craig Gentry and Josh Donaldson both bounced into a fielder’s choice at home plate. Donaldson’s grounder proved to be the inning-ending double play, extinguishing any hope of an A’s rally that proved to be the difference-maker.

“You can’t continue to put pressure on our pitching staff like this,” said Melvin. “If we can score some runs there, it’s a completely different game. We already have the lead, we can add on and set the tone for the game going forward. But we don’t score anything there, now it’s more pressure on the pitching.”

Melvin turns to Scott Kazmir Saturday to under pressure bounce back from an abysmal previous outing and put the A’s back in the win column. The lefty lasted only an inning and a third last Sunday, allowing six earned runs in an 8-1 loss to complete a four-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels. Oakland, the American League top Wild Card leaders, will square off against Houston’s Scott Feldman in game two of the three-game series hoping to stay within striking distance of their Southern California rivals.

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The Los Angeles Angels were driving hard but had hit a bump in the road in the first half of the year but their bull pen is excellent and they got hot again since the All-Star break and when the Oakland A’s came to Anaheim this past weekend that tide turned as the Halos swept the Athletics in four and have a 4.5 game lead on the second place A’s.

The Angels dealt Ernesto Frieri for Jason Grilli from the Pirates and since the deal nine days ago the Angels manager Mike Scoscia’s bullpen has been going well and there’s been a big difference with pitcher Mike Shoemaker who now has 14 wins as a rookie and he’ll be 29 years old this month. Shoemaker has been the difference and remember the Angels lost their big pitcher Garrett Richards and they lost lefty Tyler Skaggs and for the Angels there’s 25-26 games left.Now in September everybody is playing everybody and with that kind of race that’s going on this month anything can happen.

The A’s Adam Dunn set the stage with that home run in the first inning and came through on Monday in his first ever at bat as an Athletic for what would be the game winner over the M’s it was Dunn’s 21st homer of the season. The A’s during the Anaheim series their offense had been dead and the A’s had nothing to lose in making the deal and they had to do something for an offense that had been dead. Brandon Moss as of tonight is not in the line up he has he has four hits in the last 40 games and Moss is hitting .100.

The A’s needed someone to do something in this line up and Dunn hit that two run home run at the beginning of the game and it was the game winning runs as it turned out, so he’s a veteran who announced he’s going to retire after this season and he’s never been to the post season and it’s win-win for both sides. Manager Bob Melvin in spite of the recent struggles in the A’s line up has to stick with some of the guys. These guys were winning in the first half Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie are back and you need Coco Crisp in this line up.

The A’s are hoping that when they get into the post season that Crisp will be ready and you have to and the Seattle Mariners threw one of their toughest pitchers to start on Tuesday night James Paxton 4-1 ERA 1.83. Donaldson was in the line up and Moss is not in the line up Tuesday night and it’s a good time to bench him he’s currently hitting .243 but that long drought over his last 40 at bats have pretty much put him on the shelf.

The A’s are starting left handed hitters against a left handed pitcher who own the M’s the last few years and the A’s have to keep staying with what’s best in the line up and Melvin is an excellent manager and this happens to every team you go through these slumps and that last weekend in Anaheim they looked really flat but you have to give credit to the Angels they played hard ball and played very aggressive they’ve taken the extra base and the A’s are doing everything.

Erick Eybar is doing everything in L.A. with the longest hitting streak of his career and that’s the way things are happening. The A’s still have to face Seattle who are just a hair out of the wild card a 1.5 games back in the wild card. The M’s are playing a huge role in the A.L. West and the M’s have seven games left with the Angels.

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

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics put a nightmare series against the Los Angeles Angels behind them Monday afternoon, topping the Seattle Mariners 6-1 at O.Co Coliseum in a Labor Day matinee. Adam Dunn launched a home run in his Athletics debut, while Jason Hammel fired an eight-inning gem to lead Oakland (79-58) to its first win in six games.

The A’s struggled to score four runs total over a four-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels Thursday through Sunday, prompting manager Bob Melvin to hold a closed door meeting Sunday after describing his team’s performance as “pathetic” in a postgame conference . On Monday, the A’s stifled any concerns over a stagnant offense, exploding for five runs off the Mariners (73-63) and starter Chris Young in the first inning.

“You never know where things are going to go,” said Melvin. “With the way we’ve been playing, lacking a little bit of energy. The early innings we’ve really been having trouble getting on the board. We had a lot of energy in our dugout, and certainly our fans had a lot to do with it. The place is packed, they’re making a lot of noise. That was the culmination of it.”

Adam Dunn, making his A’s debut after coming over in a Sunday trade with the White Sox for minor leaguer Nolan Sanburn, launched a two out, two-run home run to open the scoring. The designated hitter became the 12^th player in Athletics history to homer in his first at-bat with the team.

“It all happened so fast,” said Dunn on his homer. “I was anxious, a little nervous. More than I have been in a long time.”

“That was like a storybook kind of thing,” added Melvin. “The fans were lining up here at 7:30 in the morning. They were out in full force to start the game. We have really been lacking early energy runs. You start thinking to yourself ‘Wouldn’t it be something’ and he delivered. You get goose bumps, it was awesome.”

Dunn said that the sellout crowd, the 15^th of the season for the A’s, was one of the loudest crowds he ever played for. It was one of many new experiences for Dunn on the day, including his introduction to the home run tunnel.

“It threw me off quite a bit,” said Dunn with a smile. “I’m pretty smart, I figured it out.”

Geovany Soto, playing his first game in front of the hometown fans after being acquired from the Texas Rangers during the A’s recent roadtrip, knocked in a pair on a bases-loaded, full-count single. His hit chased Young (12-7, 3.46 ERA) from the game after just two-thirds of an inning. Eric Sogard would knock in another run to welcome reliever Lucas Luetge to the game and extend the lead to 5-0.

The A’s only scored one run after that, with Josh Donaldson knocking an RBI double down the third base line in the sixth inning. The insurance run was less than necessary for Oakland, with starting pitcher Jason Hammel (2-5, 4.98) doing anything but laboring on Labor Day. The righty turned in his best performance with the Athletics this season, firing eight innings of one-run ball with his only blemish a solo homer to Brad Miller in the sixth inning. Hammel threw 111 pitches, striking out five Mariners while scattering only three hits.

“I felt very comfortable,” said Hammel. “We had a game plan going into today and we executed it very well. It was mainly fastball-slider today, staying aggressive.”

Hammel, acquired in the Fourth of July deal that netted the A’s Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs, picked up just his first win since August 5^th. It’s just the second time Hammel’s name has followed the “W” on the box score as a member of the A’s. His turn in the rotation was skipped earlier this month after Hammel coughed up five runs over three innings at Atlanta August 15^th. In his return to the rotation August 26th, Hammel delivered seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball but left with the no decision. He has now gone 15 innings, allowing two runs in two starts since Drew Pomeranz took his turn.

“When I was going through that tough stretch it felt like I was down,” said Hammel. “It was more frustration than not having confidence with myself. When your slider disappears for a month you feel naked out there. That’s my go to when I’m in trouble.”

With the calendar turning from August to September, the A’s received reinforcements with the roster expanding. Catcher Bryan Anderson, outfielder Billy Burns and Fernando Rodriguez joined the team for Monday’s tilt.

Also joining the Athletics was shortstop Jed Lowrie. Lowrie, activated from the disabled list Monday morning after recovering from a finger injury, went two-for-four on the day.

“He had good at-bats,” said Melvin. “He had no issues at short throwing the ball. He was one of those subtle guys that really does have an impact for us at shortstop. He hits from both sides of the plate, knocks in some runs. He’s a two-way player that we’ve really counted on for a couple of years now. The line-up seemed more impactful with (Lowrie and Dunn) in it.”

The new look A’s offense will have to prove itself once again on Tuesday night against the Mariners. The M’s, the major league leaders in staff earned run average, send James Paxton to the mound to face Sonny Gray at O.Co Coliseum.