Tag: Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers already favorites to win 2014 World Series

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

 The World Series still fresh in our minds, yet the betting books in Las Vegas have made the Los Angeles Dodgers, the favorites to win the 2014 World Series. They are counting on a much “settled” young Yasiel Puig, and a healthy Matt Kemp, with still the best one-two pitching punch in the majors, with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

 The Dodgers are tops at 5 to 1 to win the 110th World Series. But the Dodgers might need to acquire some help for that mediocre bullpen, during this off season. We all know, nobody can win a World Series without a bullpen, or with a great closer. Mariano Rivera has retired, he is not available,so the cash happy Dodgers will have to make some moves.

The  Oakland Athletics are 8 to 1 favorites to win next year’s classic, and their across the bay rivals, San Francisco Giants are 22 to 1.

 I do not expect the A’s to go out and sign anymore high profile players, although they still have very good young pitching, which Billy Beane could chose to trade for some established talent. And what about Bartolo Colón he had one of his best seasons with 18 wins, they have to make a decision with him very soon.

As far as the San Francisco Giants are concerned, one of the reasons they are a long, 2201 shot to win it all is very simple, there are doubts about what once was a dominant starting rotation. Specially with Ryan Vogelsong. I am also not totally certain than Sergio Romo is a front row closer, he is now. He is the Giants closer by process of elimination.

Hey, Brian Wilson is a free agent, Could he comeback to Giantsland? Doubt it. Giants took it too seriously when he left and signed a brief deal with the Dodgers. But other great Giants have done that, anybody remembers Hall of Famer Juan Marichal?

The Giants need a left fielder with some power, in the 20-25 home run category and maybe 80 to 90 runs batted in. Only God knows how much weight Sandoval would be able to shed in the summer and how he will report to Spring Training.

 The only dependable bat in the Giants lineup, as far as power and runs batted in is concerned is catcher Buster Posey. Other odds to win the 2014 World Series. Detroit 9-1, Washignton 9-1, St Louis, 10-12, Boston 12-1.

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

Just as predicted Puig solves Dodgers ills

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment
That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

LOS ANGELES–Yasiel Puig the Dodgers young slugger and outfielder saved the Dodgers season he’s the Cuban kid 22 years old and that energy is contagious to everybody on the Dodgers that it even rubbed off on Hanley Ramirez who wasn’t having fun in Miami with the Marlins and here he is.
Ramirez was a miserable human being, he didn’t want to talk to anybody, he never gave his teammates even a smile, never gave an interview with the press, Ramirez went to the Dodgers and when the Dodgers brought up Puig and now Ramirez is the happiest man in the world he’s producing and said after game three that he would do anything for the organization.
That’s what’s happens in baseball, baseball is not as physical as football, basketball or hockey, it’s a mental game and the Dodgers are a happy bunch and their producing. Magic Johnson is part owner of the team, the Dodgers are getting all the money in the world. Of all the parks in the world the largest attendance, the largest capacity is Dodgers stadium.
There are over 53,000 people that fit into the park at Chavez Ravine and their coming back and I wouldn’t be surprised after losing the first two games in St.Louis they won Monday night and they came back and they have done it three times in 1955 they were done the Yankees had a big lead and they came back and they were the Brooklyn Dodgers at that time.
In 1965 they lost the first two games of the World Series to the Minnesota Twins turned it around and won four in a row and won the World Championship. In 1981 they were down to the Yankees and they came back to win. This is not new territory for the Dodgers they’ve been down in the series before and their going to win the National League the Dodgers are the most likely to go all the way and win the World Series.
Raiders can’t get it together: Nobody expected the Raiders to do too much this year. I haven’t heard anybody saying that the Raiders are going to win five or six games. Most predictions were three wins or four wins at most. Then last Sunday they faced the Kansas Chiefs who are perfect at 6-0 and facing former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith where people around the Bay Area are saying “oh the 49ers should have kept him he should be their starting quarterback now.”
Smith has had a terrific start and he’s throwing games that’s almost like “in your face 49ers here I’m” with one of the best starts in Kansas City Chiefs history at 6-0. Everything is clicking for Smith over in KC. Smith was a good quarterback he got in the mud with all the quarterback controversies with the franchise of the 49ers.
This is good to see and I’m glad for Smith and the Chiefs and I can not say the same for the Raiders, their very inconsistent with their quarterback in Terrelle Pryor and they have a lot of problems on that team and since the first day of the year Pryor should have run a little bit more and Pryor was throwing the ball and had problems and Pryor and that offense needs a lot of adjustments.
Edward Lake II second 49ers construction worker to be killed at new stadium: Edward Lake II a delivery truck driver was killed on Monday as he was crushed to death by a steel rebar at the 49ers new stadium in Santa Clara. Lake was 60 and became the second casualty in four months at the Niners new digs which is set to open August 2014.
The job site was shut down all day on Monday due to state investigations but reopened on Tuesday, it’s sad, it’s a tragedy, it happens. I have seen the production of the construction crew and the results of the new Niners stadium and I’ve seen it when you fly over the stadium out of San Jose Airport  and the cost of the stadium is over one billion dollars.  
With all the safety, and all the helmets they wear and this happens it’s not a bad rap for the 49ers or anybody but construction is a tough job and when your building a new stadium with so much going on on the property there’s something that could happen and I’m very sad by this death at the 49ers new stadium and I hope it doesn’t dampen the move for the 49ers in 2014.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Museum and does News and Commentary for Sportstalk Radio

The Giants beat the Dodgers

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

The day started with the Los Angeles Dodgers  in first place with an 18 ½ game lead over the Giants.

The Giants have had a very tough year and the Dodgers are going to win the division but none of that mattered as the Giants beat the Dodgers 4-3 and won three out of four on the road in LA. The rivalry is there. Anytime you can beat the Dodgers is a great day for Giant baseball. No matter how far down in the standings, it is always sweet to beat the hated Dodgers.

Ryan Vogelsong started for San Francisco and he pitched well. Vogelsong went six innings allowing seven hits and three runs. The Dodgers’ pitcher, Edison Volquez also pitched well. Volquez went 5 2/3rds innings giving up three runs on five hits. All three runs given up by Volquez were driven in by the red hot Hunter Pence.  Pence drove in seven runs in the 19-3 blowout Saturday night and he hit two more home runs  and had three RBIs on Sunday. The game summary follows below.

Hunter Pence got the Giants off to a good start when he hit a solo home run to lead of the second. Vogelsong dodged a bullet in the bottom of the fourth when Juan Uribe led off the frame with a triple but the Dodgers failed to score. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the fifth. Adrian Gonzalez was the hero for the Dodgers when he blasted a double to right that cleared the bases and the Dodgers le 3-1 after five.

The lead didn’t last long as that man, Hunter Pence, put the ball into the left field seats driving in Brandon Belt. For Hunter it was his 25th home run of the season and he now has 92 runs batted in so far this year.

The Giants took a 4-3 lead in the eighth. Brett Pill hit a pinch hit home run off Dodger left, Paco Rodriguez. Giants’ relievers Jean Machi, Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo shut the door on the Dodgers to give the Giants the win.

Game notes- Hunter Pence hit a home run in every game of the four game series. Willie Mays is the only other Giant to do so. It was the ninth career two home run game for Pence and Pence tied a career high with his 25 home runs. Pence’s 19 RBIs over the six game span is the most ever by a Giant since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920.

Winning pitcher was Jean Machi and Sergio Rome picked his 35th save of the year.

Ex-Giant Brian Wilson pitched in the 7th inning for the Dodgers.

Giants are off to New York for a week. They play the Mets for three then travel to the Bronx to play the Yankees.

Pill with the big hit in Giants win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By Jeremy Kahn

Brett Pill just wanted the opportunity to play down the stretch for the San Francisco Giants ,and he got it against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pill hit a two-run single off of Cy Young Award candidate Clayton Kershaw in the top of the seventh inning, as the Giants came back to defeat the Dodgers 4-2 at Dodger Stadium.

The Pill single drove in Pablo Sandoval and Joaquin Arias, and on the play, Pill advanced to second when Andre Ethier bobbled the ball for an error in centerfield.

Hunter Pence continues to be one of the Giants hottest hitter, as he hit his 22nd home run of the season, an opposite field poke off of Chris Withrow in the top of the eighth inning.

Madison Bumgarner went the first six innings for the Giants, as he he allowed two runs on five hits, walking only two and striking out six.

The lone mistake of the night by Bumgarner was when his former teammate Juan Uribe smashed a two-run home run over the left-center field wall to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Arias got the Giants on the board in that same top of the seventh inning when Pill hit his two-run single, as Arias hit a single that scored Pence.

It was the 12th win of the season for Bumgarner, and the 34th save of the season for Sergio Romo, who pitched the final one and one-thirds to nail it down.

Romo allowed two hits and struck out rookie sensation Yaisel Puig with two on and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Adrian Gonzalez grounded out on a wacky play to end the game, as his batted ball went up the middle off of Romo’s ankle and bounced over to Arias who threw to Pill to end it.Brett Pill