Category: Oakland Athletics

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: 2023 The Worst Year for the A’s in Oakland

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Oakland A’s pitcher JP Sears delivers against the Los Angeles Angeles in the first inning at the Big A in Anaheim on Sun Oct 1, 2023. Sears and the A’s went through the worst season in Oakland history. (AP News photo)

2023 The Worst Year for the A’s in Oakland

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The bad season for the A’s combined with the news this year the team is moving to Las Vegas, makes it the worst year ever in Oakland A’s baseball history.

The 2023 Oakland A’s season ended in Anaheim, on October 1, with their 112 loss of the season. They ended with 50-112. At the bottom of the American League and Major League Baseball in the win and lost column, as in most statistical departments, obviously including attendance. The 112 games lost is ten more than 2022 when they lost 102 games. In 1979 Oakland lost 108 games, so there have been other bad years for the ball club since they moved from Kansas City to Oakland in1968.

However, in 55 years of playing in Oakland, this is the first year that the team is planning to leave the city of Oakland, build a new stadium in Las Vegas which they hope to inaugurate on opening day 2028. The combination of bad performance on the field and the eventual departure of this franchise without a doubt makes it the worst year.

Some take solace that they won 50 games, but that is not what history will remember this team for, because when you end with 50 wins during a 162 game season, everybody knows what happened.

Bright spots: Young position players like Zack Gelof, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Esteury Ruíz, Jordan Díaz, Shea Langeliers, have shown they are major league talent. Their pitching is also very young, and the club will need some stability forming a rotation, they have some very good arms.

Lefty J.P Sears started 32 games for the team, he was their most consistent pitcher. Sears ended with a record of 5-14 and 4.54 earned run average, hardy a positive record, but what more could he do with a team that lost 112 games? Pitchers are many times the benefactors of the teams they pitched for, but also their numbers suffer when they pitch for a bad team. It is part of baseball.

Zack Greinke ended the season with a record of 2-15 and 5.06 ERA for the last place Kansas City Royals in the central division. The Royals ended with a 56-106 record, and Greinke a potential Hall of Fame pitcher, could not escape the poor performance of his team. A pitcher with over 200 wins (granted at the end of his career) was not helped at all by his team performance. Zack Greinke said before the season, this was his last year.

What the A’s need? They have to find a way to build a decent rotation, guys like JP Sears who gets the ball every fifth day, has that unique consistence is badly needed on a young club like the A’s.. People should know that this 2023 team have some great young arms, the ones I think are the best: Kyle Mueller, Luis Medina, Mason Miller,Joey Estes and Joe Boyle, they all need more seasoning, but they have the tools. In years past when the A’s were “rebuilding”, a most favorite term, they also signed a veteran pitcher than can get outs, guys like a Jon Lester, Bartolo Colón.

They do not have to take a loan to sign pitchers like that, but guys that will help a very young pitching staff and they bring a lot to the table, with their experience, and in Colón’s case I remember one A’s pitcher telling me, “this guy is great to have because he has been around and he still throws strikes and he is mentor to the kids that are trying to become good pitchers”.

What will happen? Nobody knows. There will be changes, some players will not be back, others will be traded, maybe some new faces will be signed and that could bring another dimension to the 2024 Oakland Athletics.

I am not going to write here about the move to Las Vegas, because everybody have their own opinion, it has become a very emotional issue, in some cases incendiary. It is a salad of owners, construction companies, labor unions, school teachers unions, politicians, lawyers and one Commissioner, what they call a “mix salad”.

So, I like to end with this quote.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” Helen Keller

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Finishes Off 2023 Season With Loss to Angels 7-3

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Los Angeles Angels third baseman Michael Stefanic (38) waits for the throw as Oakland Athletics Esteury Ruiz (1) steals third base during the third inning at the Big A in Anaheim on Sun Oct 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Oakland A’s (50-112) took on Los Angeles (73-89) at Angel Stadium. They were hoping to avoid losing the series and at the very least finish off the 2023 season with a win.

In the game two win over the Angels, the A’s reached the 50 win mark and had a chance to win this series. The A’s didn’t pass the third game of the series taste test and dropped their last game of the regular season with a 7-3 four run loss.

This game did not go well for the Athletics. Through six innings, the Angels scored in every inning with the exception of the second inning. They hit three home runs two of them off the bat of Brandon Drury and after six innings held a 7-0 lead.

Drury had a homer in the first inning and the second in the fifth inning, a two-run home run. In the third inning Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer and this game was all Angels. Going into the eighth inning Los Angeles held onto the lead allowing two Oakland runs.

The A’s finally scored in the seventh inning. Nick Allen singled Lawrence Butler home preventing an Angel shut-out.

In the eighth inning Oakland celebrated a special moment when Brent Rooker, at his final at bat in 2023, hit his 30th home run. This was for sure a little lemonade in this lemon of a season. Los Angeles held on. While this was certainly a disappointing season for the Angels, it was an unbelievably painful year for the Oakland A’s.

The A’s had eight hits in this game but only scored two runners. Los Angeles had ten hits cashing in bringing seven runners home. It was another disappointing appearance on the mound for JP Sears to finish this year off.

He allowed four hits and three runs and lasted only four innings. Kyle Muller relieved for one inning allowing three hits and three runs. It was another rough afternoon for the Oakland bullpen.

Rather than dwell on the season record one can turn to the last couple of months for the A’s. There has been growth among these players and the way they have evolved has been encouraging. It has been a season of steps forward and steps back.

Next season these guys will be a year older and they will have had an entire MLB season under their belts. This has been the worst Oakland season ever and you have to take your hats off to these young guys who persevered through incredible negative publicity, through the anticipated move issues that wove their way throughout the season, and just getting to know each other.

If this team remains intact, they will be miles better next season. The caveat always remains with this organization. Due to the horrible mismanagement of the Oakland front office this team is always behind the eight ball from the get go season after season.

They no sooner start to play great ball when the players who are succeeding are traded away leaving the coaches to pick up the pieces and start over. Selling this team to someone who cares is the only thing that makes any sense at all. What a shame to single handedly destroy a major league baseball team.

Barbara Mason is an Oakland A’s beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Boyle, A’s defeat Angels 7-3 for 50th win

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics continued their division rivalry series against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night. The A’s defeated the Angels 7-3 at Angel Stadium for their 50th win of the season. Oakland improved to 50-111, while Los Angeles fell to 72-89.

The A’s starting lineup featured Ryan Noda, Zack Gelof, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, Shea Langaliers, Jordan Diaz, Carlos Pérez, Nick Allen, Esteury Ruiz, and Joe Boyle. Boyle (2-0, 1.69 ERA) took the win after pitching for seven innings and giving up two hits, three earned runs, two walks, six strikeouts, and one home run.

The A’s wasted no time getting on the board. Zack Gelof homered on a fly ball to left field for an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Angels finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mike Moustakas was out on a sacrifice fly to Brent Rooker. Nolan Schanuel scored to tie the ballgame 1-1. Brandon Drury went to third base with two outs.

The Angels then took the lead. Logan O’Hoppe homered on a fly ball to center field. Brandon Drury scored to put the Angels up 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The A’s responded with a five-run eighth inning to regain the lead. Zack Gelof singled on a ground ball to Jo Adell. Nick Allen scored to cut the Angels’ lead to 3-2. Esteury Ruiz went to third base, while Ryan Noda went to second base. And, with Brent Rooker batting, Ruiz scored on a balk to tie the game 3-3. Noda advanced to third base on a balk, while Gelof advanced to second base on a balk. In addition, Shea Langaliers homered on a fly ball to right center field. Noda scored to extend the A’s lead to 6-3.

The A’s added a run in the top of the ninth inning. Zack Gelof singled on a ground ball to Mickey Moniak. Tyler Sodestrom scored to expand the A’s lead to 7-3. Esteury Ruiz went to third base.

Notes
Esteury Ruiz tied the AL rookie stolen base record with 66 stolen bases.

In his second season with the A’s, Dany Jiménez (reliever) represents San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Up Next
The A’s will conclude their series and season with a finale against the Angels on Sunday afternoon at 12:07 pm Pacific. The A’s will start JP Sears (5-13, 4.49 ERA), but the Angels’ starter is TBD.

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s lobbyists suing Schools over Stadiums for blocking Vegas ballpark public funding

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Las Vegas Tropicana Hotel and Resort Park renderings. The Park is expected to be ready for the 2028 season upon approval by the MLB owner relocation vote in mid November. If the Schools over Stadiums initiative makes the ballot and is voted down in Nov 2025 shovels could be in the ground as soon as Dec 2025. If it doesn’t make the ballot or A’s lobbyists win their lawsuit to stop the ballot measure shovels could be in the ground as soon as Jan 2025 (renderings from the Oakland A’s)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, Schools over Stadiums is being sued by Oakland A’s representatives for trying to put a measure on the ballot to stop the use of public funds that will go towards a Las Vegas Tropicana ballpark to the tune of $380 million.

#2 Schools over Stadium are seeking repeals of the State of Nevada’s funding to build the A’s Tropicana ballpark on the Las Vegas strip. Nevada is 49th in the US in education. During the Nevada Legislative special session where the A’s were awarded the $380 million public funding education was left out of the budget in June, Schools over Stadiums seeks to block the funds for the ballpark.

#3 The teachers group says that the state should have invested public monies for education and not a baseball stadium. At the time Schools over Stadiums were considering launching the petition drive critics of the petition drive said it would not impact they’re plans to move ahead to fund a ballpark in Vegas but now they are filing the lawsuit to try and block the potential ballot measure. If the A’s representatives weren’t so concerned before why be concerned now?

#4 Plaintiffs Danny Thompson and David Morely who filed the lawsuit in First District Court in Carson City against Schools over Stadiums because language in Senate Bill 1 are only in portions, the petition is invalid, the plaintiffs want the Nevada Secretary of State to block the measure from getting on the Nov 2025 ballot, block Schools over Stadiums from circulating the petition for signatures, and invalidate any signatures that have been collected.

#5 Defendants named in the lawsuit Schools Over Stadiums, its officers Dawn Etcheverry, Chris Daly and Andrea DeMichieli, and Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar in his official capacity. Chris Daly is a former San Francisco Board of Supervisor and is familiar with the Bay Area landscape and can explain how a move by the A’s to Las Vegas would have a tremendous economic impact Oakland and the greater East Bay.

Daniel Dullum will continue his Oakland A’s podcasts regarding the MLB relocation of the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Skid Continues Losing to Angels 5-1

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By Barbara Mason

After a very long 2023 MLB season (far longer for some then others) the Oakland A’s (49-111) took on the Los Angeles Angels (72-88) to finish off their season in a three game series at Angel Stadium. Neither team had anything to play for other than pride. For the A’s there was nothing to be proud about as Oakland lost it’s fourth out of it’s last five games 5-1 on Friday night.

The Angels had a disappointing season but no one got close to the disaster that the A’s suffered through with the exception of the Royals, the Rockies and the White Sox.

It can’t get any worse than being touted as the worst team in baseball. Despite all of that, the Athletics continued to fight through the season. They held their heads high and did play a better brand of baseball in the final months of the season.

Despite a losing season, the Angels drew a nice crowd for this finale with 32,333 in attendance. The A’s did get on the board first in the third inning. Brent Rooker doubled Zach Gelof home giving the A’s the 1-0 lead but that would be the one and only run for Oakland in this game.

Los Angeles scored three runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth inning. As the third inning finished up the Angels had taken a 3-1 lead and in the fifth inning, Mickey Moniak hit a two-run home run for a 5-1 lead which was the final. Moniak had not seen action since September 5 due to left back tightness

It was a tough outing for A’s pitcher Ken Waldichuk who gave up seven hits and four runs walking three players. Los Angeles pitcher Chase Silseth gave up two hits and the one run in four innings.

This was his first start since August 26 after being hit by an errant throw from third baseman Trey Cabbage. Relief pitcher for the Angels Davis Daniel went five scoreless innings for his first major league win.

The A’s are now on a 3-12 skid and they have the most losses in the major leagues since the Detroit Tigers went 47-114 in 2019.

The Angels have not yet decided on a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game two. Oakland will send Joe Boyle (1-0 ERA 0.00) to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 PM in this final weekend of the regular MLB season.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s end 3 game series with Twins with 2-1 win; Oakland opens 3 game series tonight against Angels

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Oakland A’s starter Luis Medina throws to the Minnesota Twins line up in the bottom of the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Sep 28, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s, behind Luis Medina’s best performance of the year and timely hitting by the A’s offense, gave the A’s a 2-1 win over the Central Division champions, the Minnesota Twins.

#2 It was Medina’s last start in 2023, and he made it a good one. The young man from the Dominican Republic can go home knowing how well he pitched Thursday afternoon.

#3 The Twins did score a run off Medina in the bottom of the sixth. However, relievers Lucas Erceg, Dany Jimenez, and Trevor May pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth inning to secure the win for the Green and Gold.

#4 The A’s were facing their former teammate Sonny Gray in the final game of the three-game series. Gray had been a first-round pick of the A’s in the 2011 Amateur Draft. Gray had been a standout pitcher at Vanderbilt University.

#5 The A’s will close out the season with their final series against the Los Angeles Angels tonight in Anaheim. Starting pitchers for the A’s Ken Waldichuk (4-8 ERA 5.29) for the Angels Chase Silseth (4-1 ERA 4.10) first pitch 6:38pm PT.

Jeremiah did the Oakland A’s podcasts Fridays during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Lawsuit filed against Nevada Schools Over Stadiums; A’s lobbyists say educators leave out crucial information on petition measure

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Laborers Union Local 872 retired political director of Laborers Thomas Morely is one of the plaintiffs who filed a challenge in First District Court of Carson City challenging Schools over Stadiums from putting an initiative on the Nevada ballot to stop public funding of the Tropicana Hotel Ballpark for the Oakland A’s. If Schools over Stadiums get enough signatures in four Nevada districts the measure would go on the ballot Nov 2025. A no vote against funding the ballpark with public money would stop the ballpark funding unless the A’s can raise the money privately. (photo from Laborers International Union 872)

Lawsuit filed against Nevada School Over Stadium

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

ByAmaury Pi-González

A Lawsuit by two labor leaders in Nevada challenges the Nevada teacher union-led PAC “School Over Stadium.” A petition to repeal public funding for the new proposed stadium for the Oakland A’s in Las Vegas. Who filed it? Once the head of the Nevada AFL-CIO, Danny Thompson was joined by Thomas Morley, a retired political director of Laborers Local 872.

Morley is currently a private consultant. The filing took place in the 1st District Court in Carson City, the capital of the State of Nevada, where all legal challenges are filed. Oakland A’s representatives deferred comment to the attorney working on the case.

According to The Independent of Nevada, Bradley Schrager represented a broad, emerging coalition of business and labor interests. The Oakland A’s are part of that coalition, according to Mr.Schrager, who said, “SB1 passed with majorities in both houses,” referring to the bill that authorized public financing to help the A’s construct a 33,000-seat ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. “The governor approved it, so it’s no surprise that support exists.”

The lawsuit argues that the School Over Stadiums petition “doesn’t include the full text of the proposal as required by Nevada State Constitution and alleges the referendum is “inaccurate, misleading and argumentative, and therefore is legally inadequate and does not meet the requirement of Nevada State law.”

This is a battle between the educators in Nevada (not all but the School Over Stadium group) vs. Labor and Business interests in Nevada. Organized labor backed the A’s when the bill was before the Legislature. The Southern Nevada Building Trades has a project labor agreement with A’s for the ballpark construction.

Culinary Workers Local 226 has an agreement with the team to organize workers at the stadium once it opens. The A’s were also the main sponsors of the Nevada AFL-CIO Convention in August at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 is the largest labor union in Nevada and alongside the Bartenders Union Local 165, represents 60,000 guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers statewide in Nevada.

This is very interesting, schools are very important any place in the country, but Nevada is the one place in the US where the hospitality business has ruled since Las Vegas was founded from the days of the first hotel resort, El Rancho Vegas, on the Las Vegas Strip in 1941, to this day.

Could the Schools over Stadiums group have been late to the party? The PAC behind the ballot measure was launched in June by the Nevada State Education Association following the approval of SB1. The Legislature approved the funding bill, and the A’s are waiting for Major League Baseball to vote for the team’s relocation request, which the Commissioner expects to take place this November, with the beginning of the construction of the new Las Vegas ballpark in early 2024.

In 2024, the American League schedule calls for the Oakland A’s to play their 81 home games at the Oakland Coliseum, where they have been playing since 1968. So what happens now? Who is going to win this? Only God knows when lawyers decide this type of stuff; if you do not understand it, you are not alone. Q:What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer? A: An offer you can’t understand.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Good pitching, Timely hitting, give A’s 2-1 win over Twins at Target Field

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Oakland A’s starter Ken Waldichuk will duel against the Los Angeles Angels on Fri Sep 29, 2023 at the Big A in Anaheim. This will be the last series of the 2023 season for Oakland. (photo from White Cleat Beat)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, behind Luis Medina’s best performance of the year and timely hitting by the A’s offense, gave the A’s a 2-1 win over the Central Division champions, the Minnesota Twins. It was Medina’s last start in 2023, and he made it a good one. The young man from the Dominican Republic can go home knowing how well he pitched Thursday afternoon.

The Twins did score a run off Medina in the bottom of the sixth. However, relievers Lucas Erceg, Dany Jimenez, and Trevor May pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth inning to secure the win for the Green and Gold.

The A’s were facing their former teammate Sonny Gray in the final game of the three-game series. Gray had been a first-round pick of the A’s in the 2011 Amateur Draft. Gray had been a standout pitcher at Vanderbilt University. The Twins’ manager, Rocco Baldelli, planned to have Gray pitch four innings as he will pitch the second game of the AL Wildcard series slated to start next Tuesday.

The A’s scored the game’s first run in the top of the second inning. With one out, JJ Bleday, recently activated from the IL, singled. Bleday went to second base on Aledmys Diaz’s ground out. A’s shortstop Nick Allen singled to drive in Bleday.

The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Willie Castro, playing third base for the Twins, laid down a perfect drag bunt to reach safely. Former San Francisco Giant Donovan Solano singled, sending Castro to second.

Medina hit Alex Kiriloff with a pitch to load the bases with no out. The next hitter, Matt Wallner, who hit a grand slam Tuesday night, hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Castro scored to tie the game. Medina retired Ryan Jeffers for the final out.

The Twins threatened to break the game open in the bottom of the seventh. A’s reliever Lucas Erceg walked Trevor Larnach to start the inning. Erceg retired the next two hitters. Erceg suddenly could not find the strike zone. He walked Edouard Julien and Willie Castro to load the bases.

The next hitter was the ever-dangerous hit machine, Donovan Solano. It was quite a battle. It took 12 pitches as Erceg struck out Solano with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball that ended the inning.

The Twins brought Kenta Maeda to relieve Sonny Gray in the fifth inning. Maeda held the A’s hitless for three innings. The game-winning hit came in the top of the eighth. A’s rookie first baseman Ryan Noda blasted his 16th home run of the year into the right field seats to give the A’s a 2-1 advantage.

Dany Jimenez gave up a one-out double to Matt Wallner. The Twins needed a hit to tie the game. Jimenez retired Ryan Jeffers on a fly ball to left and Trevor Larnach on a ground out to first baseman Ryan Noda. Trevor May, a former member of the Minnesota Twins, retired his former 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’s win 2-1.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 49-110. It was the A’s third win in their 14 games. The winning pitcher was Lucas Erceg. The Twins dropped to 85-74. The losing pitcher was Kenta Maeda.

The line for Oakland was two runs, four hits, and no errors.
The line for the Twins was one run, four hits, and no errors.

The line for Luis Medina was six innings pitched, allowing one run, four hits, walking three, and striking out four. Medina threw 93 pitches, 55 for strikes. It was his best performance of the year.

The A’s play the season’s final three games with the Los Angeles Angels. Both teams have had a dismal season. The A’s set an Oakland record with 110 losses. The Angels lost their two All-Stars to injury. Mike Trout broke his hamate bone last July and did not fully recover.

Shohei Ohtani had UCL surgery and is out until next year. The big question in Anaheim is whether the players will wear an Angel uniform next year. Ohtani is a free agent and will be a hot property on the market. The big-money teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, or Mets will be trying to sign Ohtani.

The A’s will send lefty Ken Waldichuk to the hill Friday night to face the Angels. Waldichuk will be trying to win his fifth game of the year. Chase Silseth will pitch for LA.

For this writer, this will be my final A’s game summary for 2023. It has been difficult to watch the A’s lose so many games. However, as dismal as it has been, there are some bright spots. First, I would like to commend A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, for the job he did in such unfortunate circumstances.

Kotsay made sure his players gave 100% every day. They may not have produced better results, but it was not for lack of effort. The guys were all grinders. They did not lay down. The A’s have some young talent that may change their fortunes. Second baseman Zack Geldof has shown he is a big-league talent.

In the coming seasons, Ryan Noda, Esteury Ruiz, and Shea Langeliers will all be building blocks. The A’s need to improve the starting rotation. The only pitcher with five wins was Shintaro Fujinami. The A’s traded Fuji to Baltimore, and the young pitcher from Japan will be in the playoffs.

Starting pitcher for Oakland to open the three game series in Anaheim Friday night for the A’s Ken Waldichuk (4-8 ERA 5.29) for the Los Angeles Angels Chase Silseth (4-1 ERA 4.10) a 6:38pm PT first pitch.

Let me finish by saying adios to the Green and Gold. Let’s hope next year will be better.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Manfred hopes for owners vote to relocate A’s on Nov 14th in Texas

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Artist’s renderings of a Las Vegas A’s ballpark at the Tropicana Hotel and Resort which is expected to open in 2028 if approved at the MLB owners relocation vote in Arlington Nov 14-16, 2023 (renderings image furnished by the Oakland A’s)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry, On Wednesday Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he hopes MLB owners will hold the vote to relocate the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas.

#2 Jerry, Manfred said he hopes the relocation vote will take place in Arlington between Nov 14-16th.

#3 Las Vegas will be the A’s fourth city since the franchise started in Philadelphia in 1901-54, then to Kanas City from 1954-67, and to Oakland from 1968 to the present.

#4 The only thing that can stop the A’s from relocating is the owners vote no on the move. Manfred appears to be very confident to a point that he’s looking past the vote but when the A’s will pull up stakes and move out of Oakland.

#5 The other move that could stop the A’s moving to Vegas is the Schools over Stadiums group who aim to put a ballot measure that says the state should not be using public funds to subsidize building a ballpark at the Tropicana location but the funds should be going to schools. If there are a enough signatures from four different districts on the Nevada petitions the vote would take place Nov 2025.

Jerry Feitelberg did the Oakland A’s podcasts during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s lose No.110, Twins break 8th inning tie in 6-4 win

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Oakland Athletics left fielder Seth Brown lies on the ground after trying to catch an RBI double by Minnesota Twins’ Kyle Farmer during the second inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Wed Sep 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

It was another tough night for the Oakland A’s as they were beaten for the second night in a row by the Minnesota Twins. The A’s played a more competitive game on Wednesday, but the result was the same: another loss by a score of 6-4.

The Twins starter, Pablo Lopez, worked just four and 1/3rd innings. Twins’ skipper Rocco Baldelli wanted Lopez to get some work in before the playoffs start next Tuesday. Lopez will get the start in that game. The A’s pitcher, 21-year-old Joey Estes, made his second big league start.

Estes, acquired in the trade that sent Matt Olson to Atlanta last year, pitched well. Estes went five and 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and three runs. He threw 75 pitches and did not get a decision.

The Twins drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning. Estes’ first pitch to Edouard Julien flew out of the park. One pitch, one run. The Twins led 1-0. The Twins added another run in the second inning to go ahead 2-0.

With one out, Estes hit Twins’ centerfielder Willi Castro with a pitch. Castro stole second and scored on Kyle Farmer’s double to right field. The A’s right fielder, Seth Brown, almost made the play of the night on Farmer’s ball. Seth dived for the ball, but his glove hit the ground and squirted out of the glove. 

The A’s scored their first run of the night in the top of the third. Lawrence Butler led off the inning with a double. Butler went to third on Ryan Noda’s ground out. Lopez struck out Zack Gelof for the second out. Seth Brown singled to drive in Butler with the run. The A’s trailed 2-1 midway through the third.

The A’s scored three times in the fifth. With one out, Butler doubled for the second time in the game. Ryan Noda singled, sending Butler to third. Rocco Baldelli replaced Lopez with reliever Caleb Thielbar. Geldof struck out for the second out.

Aledmys Diaz, pinch-hitting for Seth Brown, doubled to drive in Butler, and Noda went to third. Brent Rooker’s bloop single to shallow right plated Noda and Diaz. The A’s led 4-2 . 

Joey Estes kept the Twins off the board after the second inning. A’s manager Mark Kotsy had Estes start the sixth inning. With one out, the Twins’ Max Kepler singled.

It was Kepler’s third single of the game. Kotsay brought in Kyle Muller to pitch. Muller struck out Jordan Luplow for the second out. The next hitter, Ryan Jeffers, homered to tie the game. It was 4-4 after six complete.

The Twins put the winning runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Dany Jimenez was on the hill for Oakland. Max Kepler singled for the fourth time. Andrew Stevenson was sent in to run for Kepler. Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Jordan Luplow. Larnach doubled high off the wall in right field. Stevenson scored on the play. Larnach went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Jeffers’ sacrifice fly to make it a 6-4 advantage.

The Twins had lefty Dallas Keuchel on the mound to start a second inning of relief. With one out, Keuchel walked Nick Allen. Carlos Perez, pinch-hitting for Lawrence Butler, was hit by a pitch. The A’s had two men on and one out. Baldelli brought in Griffin Jax to end the game. Jax struck out Ryan Noda and Zack Gelof to preserve the Twins’ win. The Twins win 6-4.

Game notes: With the loss, the A’s, after 158 games, are a woeful 48-110. They have the worst record of any Oakland Athletics team. The only A’s team with the worst record was the 1916 Philadelphia A’s team. That team lost 117 games.

The Twins improved to 85-73. The Twins hit two more home runs to bring their season total to 225 for the year, third best in the American League.

The line score for Oakland was four runs, nine hits, and no errors.

Minnesota’s line was six runs, thirteen hits, and no errors.

The A’s will try to salvage a win on Thursday. Luis Medina (3-10 ERA 5.64) will go for Oakland, and his opponent will be Sonny Gray (8-8 ERA 2.80), who broke in with the A’s in 2013. The game will start at 10:10 a.m. Following Thursday’s game, the A’s will finish the season with the Los Angeles Angels.