Category: Oakland Athletics

Commissioner says no to A’s move but owners would approve in a vote

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

OAKLAND–Major Leauge Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig during last regular season denied the A’s move to San Jose if you read between the lines. They were asking about the San Jose financial status and if San Jose can support a big league club. It makes no sense to me because in a recent survey San Jose was declared the wealthiest city with over one million people.

Silicon Valley is in the South Bay the only reason that this is happening is because of Giants team president Larry Baer is declaring the team’s territorial rights in San Jose and this might be put to a vote and it’s almost positive that the owners would apporve the move by over a quarter of the majority but it’s the Giants who hold the cards here therefore the A’s are stuck in Oakland and they just recently extended their contract at the Coliseum for two more years.
Eventually something will happen, something will give, it might be that A’s owners Lew Wolf and Don Fisher might get tired of this situation and put the A’s up for sale. For right now the A’s have been denied moving from Oakland to San Jose although that’s not written in blood as we speak it’s not a real definite.
Kings and Warriors arena builds: If the Sacramento Kings can’t build their own arena in downtown Sacramento it would be a shame because Sacramento Mayor Ken Johnson jumped through hoops to keep the team in Sacramento and stopping the team from leaving for Seattle.
When you put a vote like this to the voters who knows you could flip a coin most people in this country are not in the mood to spend tax money on new arenas. Most people 99 percent beleive that most owners have the money to build a new arena. These are the guys who sign players for over $200 million and the average fan or citizen would say they would have the money to build it themselves.
So if the public votes on the new Kings arena and I’m not a betting guy but most people in Sacramento would vote no on spending public money on a new arena. The owners have to be ready to pay and build their own arena. Regarding the Warriors we don’t know the history of San Francisco. All you have to do is look at the Giants and see how many times they tried to build a new stadium with some public money.
The voters turned them down several times until they got approved for Pacific Bell Park, the Warriors want to move to the City at piers 30-32 but right now former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos is working very hard to prevent the Warriors from moving to the piers. In an election to decide to move the Warriors at the piers won’t be easy it won’t be a matter of “were going to put the Warriors at the piers and that’s all”.
Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber they have great attorneys but they don’t understand the political environmental layout of San Francisco. Even if both Lacob and Gruber could pay for the entire project the voters would vote no because they like the views at the piers just fine.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk Radio

A’s & Rockies Exchange Starting Pitchers

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Photo credit: Colorado.Rockies. MLB.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics and the Colorado Rockies exchanged left-handed starting pitchers on Tuesday. Coming to Oakland is Drew Pomeranz along with minor league pitcher Chris Jensen. Going to Colorado is Brett Anderson and cash.

Pomeranz is a former 2010 first round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians out Ole Miss. He has a career record of 4-14 with 4.77 ERA in 34 Major League apperanaces (30 starts). Pomeranz is a 6-5, 230 pound left-hander. He came to the Rockies in a 2011 trade with Cleveland.

In 2013, Pomeranz posted an 0-4 record with a 6.38 ERA in eight outings (4 starts) for Colorado. He struck out 19 and walked 19 allowing 25 hits in 21.2 innings.

In analyzing the trade, a panel on the MLB Network, that included Ron Darling, felt the change of scenery would be positive for Pomeranz. The panel believed that Pomeranz could floursish in a pitcher’s park like the O.co Colliseum.

Andrson was the A’s starter for Opening Day 2013. He finished the season in bullpen after spending four months on the disabled list with a stress fracture of his right foot. Anderson has a career record of 26-28 with a 3.81 ERA in 84 games (73 starts).

The right-handed throwing Jensen comes to the A’s after being a sixth round draft pick of the Rockies out of the University of San Diego. He has 61 minor league starts with record of 19-12 and an ERA of 4.22. Jensen spent last season with Single-A Modesto.

A’s proposed move to San Jose

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That’s Amaury News and Commentary

 

OAKLAND–Commissioner Bud Selig’s letter denies the A’s move from Oakland to San José, but…But Selig’s June 17 letter addressed only the details of the stadium relocation proposal – not the principle of relocation, the sources say. MLB questioned the feasibility of that project and felt that insufficient financial information and attendance projections had been provided about a downtown San Jose site. Again: “not the principle of relocation”.

 

To question San Jose’s financial and attendance projections is interesting, because at least on the financial side of the equation the South Bay city is listed as the wealthiest metro area in the United States of America in recent surveys. As far as the attendance is concerned? I do not buy it. San José’s weather is much baseball-like (warmer) than most other Bay Area cities; located inland, not close to the ocean or very close to the bay, it provides perfect baseball weather from April to October. During these days of a very bad economy, there is one industry thriving; the high technology industry, Silicon Valley. Are the Giants afraid of Silicon Valley?

 

Income for most of the 366 metropolitan areas measured by the U.S. Census Bureau are flat in the last year, and many are still down significantly compared to 2008. According to the Census Bureau, Brownsville, Texas replaced McAllen, Texas as the country’s poorest metro area. San Jose, Calif. took the top spot as the wealthiest metro area, replacing Washington, D.C. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest median incomes in the U.S.

Again: “San José, California, took the top spot as the wealthiest metro area, replacing Washington, D.C”.

 

Obviously (and I have said this for years now) the San Francisco Giants opposition is the biggest hurdle. I do not believe that most Major League teams owners would oppose the move of the Athletics from Oakland to San José. Oakland doesn’t have the resources while San José has an abundance of resources. The Athletics need three-quarters approval of the owners for the proposed move to the south bay.

 

Although they do not say it publicly, what counts are actions not words, and the Giants ownership like to see themselves as “The Bay Area’s Baseball Team”. They have not won the big trophy until 2010, when they won the World Series for the first time in San Francisco in 52 years.

 

Are the Giants afraid that the Athletics with a new park in San José would lose at the gate? Are the Giants afraid that some of their great fans in the south bay, just might not travel to San Francisco to see the Giants, if the A’s have a beautiful brand new facility in San José? Are the Giants living these days with that much insecurity?

 

We are within days of 2014. This is not the Bay Area of 1969, this is a completely different Bay Area, in population, demographics and lifestyle. In 1969 San José was a huge tomato field and a truck stop with a sign:  340 miles to Los Angeles. The only thing that remain from those years is the sign.

 

Maybe the Giants are right to worry…

 

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s and does News and Commentary each week for Sports talk radio 

                                                               
 

 

Beane Named Baseball Executive of the Year

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Photo credit: oaklandathletics.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland Athletics vice president and general manager Billy Beane has been named MLB Executive of the Year for 2013 by Baseball America. He won the Baseball America award in 2002 as well.

Beane engineered a major overhaul of the A’s roster after a 74-88 season in 2011.He traded away three All-Star pitchers (Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey) to stock his club with young talent who have played major roles in the club’s return to prominence.

Beane also made a major trade in 2013 with the Houston Astros that brought Jed Lowrie to Oakland in exchange for Chris Carter and Max Stassi. The veteran shortstop had a major impact on the A’s batting .290 with 175 hits, 45 doubles and 15 home runs. That acquisition helped the A’s finish with a 96-66 record and to win the Western Division Pennant.

Beane has been deemed the master of working a small payroll, incorporating Sabremetrics to select players and building strong clubs without utilizing long-term contracts. The Tampa Bay Rays are just one team that has emulated Beane’s philosophy to build a successful ball club.

Beane has been busy already this winter making three trades to shore up the relief pitching and adding a productive reserve outfielder.

Johnson could be best closer yet for A’s: Giants looking to sign five tendered contracts

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

OAKLAND–In the last two years former Baltimore Oriole closer Jim Johnson who saved 50 games last year and 51 in 2012, joined the Oakland A’s on Monday as the new closer of the club, former A’s pitchers Grant Balfour and Bartolo Colon will not return to Oakland and will seek new teams. Johnson will be the key closer and this was a great pick up by A’s general manager Billy Beane.

The A’s also signed Scott Kazmir on Monday for $22 million for two years, Kazmir is a lefty whose your typical five inning pitcher. He had some arm problems in the past I remember when he was a rookie with the Angels in 2007 in Anaheim and he was pretty good and he’s been around he pitched in Tampa Bay. Kazmir is a rotation guy and you put him in the rotation but I like the Johnson acquisition better and he could help the A’s a lot coming in in the ninth inning.

Johnson did have some arm problems but who hasn’t in the big leagues in this day and era a lot of guys come out a lot better after Tommy John surgery so Johnson is a good acquisition for Oakland. For Colon his agent is asking for a two year deal from Oakland and Beane is offering one so there is a good chance that Colon might sign with the Angels and he would love to be back in Southern California.

Colon won the Cy Young Award in Anaheim and that was in 2005 with the Angels that year he used to throw 98 MPH he threw like a Justin Verlander and last year wasn’t his best year for the A’s but it was that 2005 year for the Angels when he went 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA and the Angels would love to have him back and he’s asking for two years and after those two years he might retire. He’ll hang it up he’s 41 Colon is not coming back with the A’s and will shop other clubs and the A’s will not be able to sign him.

Balfour is a free agent and when Johnson was signed Balfour who was the A’s representative All-Star player with Colon last year will be looking for another team as Johnson will be the A’s closer starting next season and Balfour will be somewhere else. The meetings with the baseball owners begin next Monday in Orlando Florida and things are already happening there’s a lot of trading going on this week.

Giants looking to sign five players: The San Francisco Giants are looking to sign five players who are arbitration eligible, first baseman Brandon Belt, outfielder Gregor Blanco, pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, infielders Joaquin Arias, and Tony Abreu. Arias is versatile he can play third, short, and he can play any place. Petit is a Venezuelan pitcher who had a great year and almost pitched a perfect game, he has a good arm. The Giants are not sure if they are going to keep him and of course Barry Zito is gone after pitching for the Giants for seven years.

Blanco he’s your basic fourth outfielder he’s not an everyday outfielder. I’m surprised that the Giants have not signed somebody else to play leftfield and maybe they want to stay away from Nelson Cruz whose still a free agent but as we know last year he was suspended for PEDs and former Reds outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is a very good outfielder but his price might be too high for the Giants.

The Giants might have fortified themselves as far as pitching is concerned with Timmy Hudson and signing Timmy Lincecum. The Giants got Javier Lopez a left hander specialist. The Giants still need another bat because the truth about this the Giants and the Giants might not want to talk about this you don’t know what kind of Pablo Sandoval your going to get. There is only one superstar. everyday player and that is Buster Posey. Posey is the only guy who you can trust to hit .300 every year. You don’t know what kind of Pablo your going to get and signing Arias could be a plus he could help Pablo out at third base.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk

A’s Reportedly Sign LHP Kazmir

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Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

According to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and MLB.com, the Oakland Athletics are in the final stages of signing LHP Scott Kazmir to a two-year, $22 million contract. A physical must be completed before the deal is finalized.

Kazmir pitched for the Cleveland Indians in 2013. He posted a record of 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 29 starts. Kazmir averaged 9.2 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings pitched. He recorded a WHIP of 1.323.

Kazmir was released by the Los Angeles Angels in 2011 after he struggled with his control. He spent the 2012 season playing independent ball in an attempt to make it back to the Major Leagues. Cleveland signed him to a minor league contract in 2013 before promoting him to majors in May.

The reports also indicated that the signing of Kazmir ends the pursuit of free agent Bartolo Colon.

Raiders report: Cowboys offense good but not balanced

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by David Zizmor
ALAMEDA–It’s going to be additionally challenging for Oakland on Thursday it’s Thanksgiving day it’s a whole host of issues here with this game if you look at the history of NFL football on Thanksgiving the home team has won on Thanksgiving and those games are held traditionally in Dallas and Detroit. Detroit has a nine game losing streak on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys for the time being have been pretty good at home. The Raiders have a tall order for them, what they do have going for them is the fact that Dallas is the mediocre team.
If you look at the standings Dallas is in the running in the NFC East their a shade behind the Philadelphia Eagles in that race and the Cowboys are certainly in the playoff run but if you pay attention to the NFC East you know that even though Dallas and Philadelphia are tied at 6-5 and Dallas is not a very good team their good their just an up and down squad. Dallas has a good offense but a really bad defense and to be honest their offense while it’s good and has some excellent players, Tony Romo is an excellent quarterback for Dallas and Dez Bryant has been a great wide receiver.
The simple fact remains that this is not a balanced offense the running game is mediocre and they are a very inconsistent team. Part of that is because Romo tends to will them under pressure late in the games we’ve seen that in his playoff performances and we’ve seen that in various games just this season where he’s had trouble in the fourth quarter. The other thing is they don’t have too many big time performers beyond Romo and Bryant. Their looking for supporting players and their just not that good.
The only reason their 6-5 is because their in one of the weakest divisions in all of football and they’ve been able to feast on other teams in their division that are not very good in their own right. The Raiders go into this one as underdogs but Dallas is not very good so the Raiders at least have a chance. This isn’t going to be a super lopsided affair where Dallas just blows them out. The Raiders can make some noise in this one. This Thanksgiving your going to be watching football one way or another so definitely watch this one this will be an interesting one.
The Raiders can do a little damage and hopefully come out and make you enjoy turkey day and not depress you.
David Zizmor covers the NFL for Sportstalk Radio

A-Rod on Bud Selig for not showing at hearing “cowardly stance”

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

NEW YORK–Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has a high powered attorney Joe Tacopina and Tacopina is advising A-Rod and he’s a high price attorney whose advising A-Rod and he’s charging about $1000 an hour in a very high profile case. I can say in one sentence for A-Rod to win he would have to come back a and play as long as he’s not playing the commissioner is winning it’s as simple as that. A-Rod is not getting any younger and he needs to play. You can make a case that it was an injustice that he was suspended 211 games.

As comparing other players like Rays pitcher Joel Peralta or the A’s pitcher Bartolo Colon who were suspended 50 games and we can say that was a good argument that it was unreasonable but like I stated here before that baseball commissioner Bud Selig wants to get rid of A-Rod completely and he doesn’t want A-Rod to play again and Rodriguez got advised by his attorney and he’s not dumb to run the case himself and has spent a lot of money on his lawyers he’s trying to portray the public relations game and saying the commissioner had to show up at his hearing.

The commissioner didn’t have to show up and he never shows up for the trail and the commissioner doesn’t have to and this is a P.R. campaign on the part of A-Rod and the pressure is on A-Rod the commissioner already made his case that the owners are happy with it. This week there have been rumblings that Peralta got a big deal and got millions of dollars from the Detroit Tigers and some executives said that looks kind of looks weird that we are rewarding people who were suspended for PEDs use and I use the word momentum and the momentum is against Rodriguez right now.

A’s will be at Coliseum until at least 2015: The main factor for going to see the A’s at the Coliseum if your an A’s fan you can still take BART to Oakland you don’t have to wonder “where are the A’s playing tonight?” basically we know that the A’s are going to play at the Coliseum for the next couple of years and we all knew that but it’s official they signed that lease. However after 2015 all bets are off this is the significant news and if you can read between the lines and I really believe this and we were talking about A-Rod not getting any younger and nobody is and nobody can stop the time clock and everybody has a birthday every year.

The A’s owner Lew Wolf is up there in age and this is it he won’t say this but if we can play devil’s advocate here Wolf is saying with this lease folks I’m going to play in Oakland two more years and after that if we don’t get a resolution to move to San Jose I’m going to sell this team and I really believe that’s what’s going to happen. So Wolf is basically buying two more years in Oakland that’s all he’s doing.

The A’s have a tremendous potential and it was 1968 when they moved to Oakland and the East Bay is huge now. The city of Fremont has 210,000 people and you add San Leandro and you got all the way up to Albany and Richmond and the East Bay has millions of people and a lot of them live here. As a matter of fact Silicon Valley has moved to parts of Fremont and Fremont is called Silicon Valley East. There are some companies that have moved into Fremont because there is more room there.

The point is that the East Bay has the money, the people, they can support the Oakland A’s.

Will Manny Pacquiao go broke? Boxing star Manny Pacquiao could be headed to the poor house according to reports saying the Pacquiao owes the Philippine government $50 million in back taxes from the tax year 2008-09. Pacquiao says he will pay it all back, Pacquiao says he’s ready to help typhoon victims by rolling up his sleeves and do the dirty work of the clean up. Pound for pound Pacquiao is the highest profile boxer in the world and the recent typhoon he’s trying to do as much as he can.

Pacquiao is at the point where he’s borrowing money he has to pay a lot of money $50 million in taxes but you make that type of money and he made lots of money and he’s wearing big shoes. He just won his crown defeating Brandon Rios a few days ago the Mexican challenger and he’s going to do what everybody else does and you know the old saying “nothing is for certain except death and taxes” we all die and we pay taxes. So Pacquiao he’s boxing and he’s making his money in dollars.

He has to pay I feel sorry for him but not financially he’s a millionaire many times over but he also has to realize that he has to pay taxes like everybody else.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk Radio

A’s add Alcantara to 40-man roster

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raul-alcantara-pitching

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s have added RHP Raul Alcantara to the 40-man roster. This move will protect Alcantara from being taken in the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings in December.

Alcantara came to Oakland from Boston along with Josh Reddick and Miles Head in the Andrew Bailey – Ryan Sweeney trade. He was signed by the Red Sox in 2009.

Alcantara split the 2013 season between Beloit and Stockton – both Single-A affilates. He posted a combined record of 12-6 with a 3.11 ERA. That win-loss record tied him for second best in the A’s farm system. Alcantara was third in ERA, fourth in innings and fifth in strikeouts.

Alcantara walked just 24 batters (1.38 per nine innings), and gave up just 11 home runs last season.

At just 20 years old and with stats like he has recorded, one can understand why the Athletics want to protect this developing talent.

A-Rod says he’s fighting for job and baseball all the way

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APGwithgoatee

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

The New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez feels he’s been targeted unfairly in a way I don’t want to make direct comparison like the Barry Bonds case why? Because he’s a high profile player A-Rod is a name when he was playing even Roger Clemons who got in trouble that transcends sports and most people are not sports fans in this country and you walk in the streets and you ask somebody who is Jonny Gomes? Someone will reply I think I saw him in the World Series.

You say Alex Rodriguez they would say he’s a big star with the Yankees, so here’s the deal baseball wants to crucify him. How much evidence do they have on him? That’s the real question and I don’t think anybody really knows and it might be a game of chicken on whose going to blink first and A-Rod has some of the best attorneys in the world and Major League Baseball has very good attorneys and they have the power with the commissioner which is very powerful with over 30 owners behind him.

So this would be a big battle of epic proportions if this battle goes to court but let me say this and this is just myself, my experience I really believe that MLB and this commissioner wants to get A-Rod out of baseball and with a suspension of the 211 games maybe commissioner Bud Selig thought A-Rod is going to give up but it has backfired he’s not giving up he wants to keep playing and he’s very controversial as we know for all the suspensions for steroids and he’s very talented so Major League Baseball versus Alex Rodriguez right now is 50-50 chance on whose going to win this battle.

Tim Hudson can he stay healthy?: The Giants newly acquired 38 year old Tim Hudson from the Atlanta Braves this week and you never ever heard anything negative and he’s a class act however he’s 38 going on 39 very soon in a few months he’s been hurt a little bit and he’s still recuperating from ankle surgery although he will be in the Giants starting rotation. If he’s healthy and if everything goes right for him it would be a tremendous pick up for the Giants.

When your talking about a pitcher whose 38 or 39 or 40 the same thing happens with A’s pitcher Bartolo Colon he had a great season last year with 18 wins and he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball but he’s going to be 41 in May and the Giants spent a lot of money recently they paid $35 million for pitcher Tim Lincecum, they’re paying Hudson $23 million and there is still a little question mark if this is going to be the Hudson of old.

If he is it would be a very good pick up for the Giants and he would be behind starting pitchers Matt Cain, Madison Baumgarner, and he would be number three right now unless they have Lincecum at number three and the don’t want to sign Ryan Vogelsong to a free agent contract. So the Giants are still looking for maybe another pitcher. Bronson Arroyo could be signed but who knows the Giants could surprise everybody and sign Bartolo Colon.

There’s not too many in free agents in baseball, free agents of value but some stuff is happening as I predicted a couple of weeks after the World Series this stuff develops that the last two weeks in November before and after Thanksgiving day I believe that it’s going to be very busy in baseball and then in December everybody goes home and relax and come back in January and work on the media guides and the schedules are get ready and then your a couple months away from the first pitch.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and the Spanish TV voice for Angels baseball and does News and Commentary each week for Sportstalk