Tag: mlb

Larry Baer suspended by MLB for physical altercation with wife

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sfgate.com file photo: San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer is serving a five month suspension including retroactive time going back to March 4th and will be back to work July 1st. The suspension was issued by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday.

by Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO — Calling for warranted discipline and after reviewing a TMZ video of San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer on March 1st getting up and pulling a cell phone out of the hands of his wife Pam where she was seated and fell off her chair and Baer walking away in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has suspended Baer without pay until July 1st.

Manfred said that the suspension without pay will be retroactive from March 4th when Baer had went on voluntary leave of absence from the club on March 4th. Baer had made a statement after the incident that he apologized for his actions the same evening of the altercation.

Baer’s wife Pam at the time said that she had an injured foot and that she couldn’t keep her balance while hanging onto the phone and Baer was pulling up on the phone and she fell off her chair screaming “oh my God help.”

The question now remains can Larry Baer remain CEO of the Giants after something like this and still have the respect of the community, players, fans, women’s right’s groups and have his front office and MLB colleagues still listen and respect his business decisions?

Manfred said that Baer is held to a higher standard and as the face and front person of the Giants he should have been better than that. The total amount of suspension time including retroactive time without pay amounts to a five month suspension. Baer will be allowed to return to work on July 1st but the Giants partnership may also decide to ask Baer to step down when he returns.

Jeremy Harness is a San Francisco Giants beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s beat the Giants to win Game 2 of the Bay Bridge Series 5-4

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The A’s and Giants met in Game Two of the three-game Bay Bridge Series. Both teams will be making decisions as they have to get down to 25 players by Thursday. The A’s will have to make decisions on 12 players, and the Giants have to cut nine. The teams will have one more game left after Monday’s game to evaluate their talent.

It was a cold, rainy miserable night at Oracle Park. The game was delayed for one hour and 25 minutes. The game started at 8:10 pm. The A’s scored the first run of the game in the first inning. The Giants’ pitching did not allow a hit until the seventh inning. All the Giant could show for the first six innings was two hits. In the top of the seventh, with more seagulls in the outfield seats than fans, the A’s erupted to score four times on five hits. Ty Blach gave up three doubles and two singles, and the Giants didn’t help their cause as the committed two errors in the inning. The A’s led 5-0 midway through the seventh. The Giants have not scored in 15 innings so far against the A’s in the series.

The A’s lefty reliever, Ryan Buchter, had a bad outing in the seventh inning. He faced five Giants’ hitters and failed to record an out. The Giants had two hits and three walks when A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Buchter from the game. The Giants scored twice and had the bases loaded for new A’s pitcher J.B. Wendelken. The Giants’ new acquired catcher Erik Kratz greeted Wendelken with a single to drive in two more runs. The Giants trail 5-4 with no out in the seventh. Wendelken retired the side with no further damage. Wendelken allowed a hit in the eighth and Ryan Dull sent the Giants down 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’s won 5-4.

Notes- The game was played in 3 hours and 10 minutes and the attendance was announced as 25,102.

Up Next: Game Three of the Series will be played at Oracle Park Tuesday night at 6:45 pm. It will be the last Spring Training game of the year.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Panda’s days as a Giant could be numbered; Around the horn with the infield; plus more

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Photo credit: @honkbalopzolder

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris:

#1  The San Francisco Giants have the most potent infield in baseball. Let’s start with Brandon Belt, who last year hit .253 last season and is one of the most established gloves at first base.

#2 Giants second baseman Joe Panik has been brilliant with his fielding at second and hit .254 last season.

#3 Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is no stranger to All-Star selections and had an incredible offensive season last year hitting .254.

#4 At third base is Evan Longoria, Longoria was a key hitter in the Tampa Bay Rays lineup once upon a time and last year hit .244 for the Giants last season.

#5 San Francisco Giant third baseman Pablo Sandoval is on the bubble and could very well be cut from the team by the end of the current Bay Bridge Series. If so, he would play his last game as a Giant on Tuesday night against the Oakland A’s. The other scenario is the Giants could hold onto him instead of infielder Alen Hansen, who is out of minor league options. Could Panda be gone at the end of spring training?

A’s drop Giants 5-0 in Bay Bridge opener

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jeremy Kahn

Even though the Oakland A’s already opened the regular season, they came home to face their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Giants.

Stephen Piscotty, Jurickson Profar and Roman Laureano each hit home runs, as the A’s shutout the Giants 5-0 at the Coliseum.

Brett Anderson went six innings, and Frankie Montas pitched the final six innings, helping the A’s finish off the shutout.

Anderson struck out three and walked just one, while Montas also struck out three, as the two pitchers combined for a three-hitter.

Dereck Rodriguez went four innings, allowing three runs on four hits and will be the Giants starter on Saturday against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

Piscotty got the A’s on the board in the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he hit a two-run home run that scored Matt Chapman, who walked earlier in the inning.

Profar lengthened the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he hit a solo home run and Laureano ended the scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning, when he hit a solo home run.

NOTES: Catcher Erik Kratz was acquired by the Giants from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league infielder C.J. Hinososa. Stephen Vogt was reassigned to the Giants minor league camp, and right-handed pitcher Jose Lopez was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT: Drew Pomeranz will take the mound on Monday night for the Giants, as the Bay Bridge Series moves to the newly named Oracle Park. Liam Hendriks will take the mound for the A’s. Game time at 6:45 pm.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Joey Bart is all the rage, just how soon will he come up to the show?

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart has already established himself for his hitting but needs to polish up on some defensive catching. He could very well get called up during the Giants regular season.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 All the talk has been about young Giants prospect catcher Joey Bart. How soon do you think it will be until he will be in the show on a regular basis?

#2 Once promoted, will he be catcher Buster Posey’s regular back up? There’s so much expected of him, can he live up to the hype?

#3 Bart can swing the bats he had an OBP of .369 and hit .296 in spring training.

#4 Giants announcer Mike Krukow said that Bart has some bad habits. This spring, he has allowed six passed balls and committed six errors, but with some coaching, he can break those habits and with his bat and be a big piece of the Giants future.

#5 Once the National League adopts the Universal Designated Hitter rule, could Bart be a starting as catcher and Posey moving to the DH slot?

Michael Duca covers San Francisco Giants baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Olson hurt; A’s swept in Tokyo; Bad start to ’19 season for A’s

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nbcsports.com photo: Oakland A’s first baseman Matt Olson injured his right hand fouling off a ball Thursday in Tokyo against the Seattle Mariners. Olson could be out for months.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Oakland A’s Gold Glover Matt Olson fouled a pitch off his right hand while swinging against the Seattle Mariners. The hand will be further looked at by team doctors once the A’s arrive back in the Bay Area from Tokyo on Thursday night.

#2 Olson couldn’t grip the bat after the foul ball and that sounds like the diagnosis for a hamate bone injury. If so Olson could be lost for months. Jerry explains the hamate bone injury.

#3 What was tough for the Olson injury is Olson didn’t miss a game all last season. He played in all 162 regular season games for the A’s. This was game two and already the talk was he could be out for a few months.

#4 The other big news was that Ichiro played in his very last game for the Seattle Mariners and his baseball career. Ichiro failed to get a hit and has hit .086 in spring training.

#5 The A’s host the Los Angeles Angels for a four-game series at the Oakland Coliseum starting on Thursday afternoon on March 28th. The A’s had a huge media contingent last season opening day when Shohei Ohtani and the Angels came to Oakland. This season Ohtani who had off season Tommy John surgery will not be back until June or July and will only be a DH.

Jerry does the Oakland A’s podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ichiro says farewell, and Mariners beat A’s in extra innings 5-4

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photo from Nogi/Agence France-Presse: Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki left the field in the bottom of eighth inning on Thursday night to an ovation from fans in Tokyo

By Jerry Feitelberg

On an emotional day in Tokyo, Ichiro Suzuki said farewell to baseball. The 45-year old Suzuki went 0-for-4 in his last game and left in the eighth inning as the crowd rose to give a standing ovation for the last time an active player. Ichiro, without question, will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He will be the first Japanese-born player to reach that lofty level.

There was still a game to play, and the M’s won for the second day in a row as they downed the A’s 5-4 in 12 innings. The M’s sent Yusei Kikuchi to do the pitching honors and he did fairly well in his MLB debut. He went 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs and 4 hits. Marco Estrada made his A’s debut. His line was five innings of work and he gave up five hits and three runs.

The M’s put two runs on the board when former Oakland Athletic, Ryan Healy, took Estrada deep with a man on board. The M’s increased the lead to 3-0 in the third when Mitch Haniger sent one of Estrada’s pitches into the seats.

The A’s closed the gap when they tallied two in the bottom of the fifth. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Matt Olson with the A’s first run. Jurickson Profar scored the second run on Jay Bruce’s fielding error.

The M’s added a run in the seventh, but the A’s DH Khris Davis singled to drive in Semien and Matt Chapman with the tying runs.

The game remained tied until the top of the 12th inning. The M’s loaded the bases with one out. Domingo Santa, who hit a grand slam on Wednesday, reached on a fielder’s choice. The A’s failed to make the inning-ending double play and the M’s scored the go-ahead run. The M’s bullpen closed out the game for the win. The final score was 5-4 in favor of the M’s.

Game Notes and Stats: Marcus Semien was the hitting start for the A’s with three hits. Ramon Laureano had two knocks.

Up Next: The A’s resume Spring Training with three exhibition games against the San Francisco Giants. The two teams will play in Oakland on Sunday and then play in San Francisco Monday and Tuesday. The A’s are off on Wednesday. The A’s will start the season will a day opener Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels. Game time will be at 1:05 pm. They will have the night opener Friday at 7:05 PM.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: SF DA drops domestic charges against Baer; Don’t spend it all in one place, Trout sports richest contract; plus more

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mercurynews.com photo file: San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer whose out on leave of absence has been the focus of a Women’s group who are asking MLB to discipline Baer after his physical March 1st altercation with his wife Pam.

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony R:

#1 San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer will not face charges of domestic abuse according to San Francisco DA spokesman Alex Bastian. Baer who had a March 1st altercation with his wife Pam which was video taped.

#2 Women’s right groups in San Francisco still say Baer should be suspended from baseball and that Major League Baseball still has a responsibility to discipline Baer.

#3 The Los Angeles Angels this week set the all time sports record for highest salary paying the Angels Mike Trout a record $430 million.

#4 The Oakland Raiders newest lineback Vontaze Burfict who at one time as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals went helmet to helmet with then Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown concussing Brown. Burfict says it’s all good and that they have one goal now and that’s win together as a team.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened their first two games of the season with the Seattle Mariners in Tokyo on Wednesday and Thursday. MLB is doing all it can to promote the game in Japan. Tony tells us if he sees it as a success.

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants sign ex-A’s OF Joyce; blank Indians in Cactus League

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photo from sfgate.com file: The Giants are looking over Matt Joyce, who was released by the Indians Tuesday but clocked 25 homers for the A’s in 2017.
Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle 2017

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, March 20, 2019

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Former Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce agreed to a minor league contract with the Giants, following his release by Cleveland.

Joyce, 34, spent the last two seasons with Oakland. Last season was an injury-plagued one for Joyce, who played in 83 games while battling a lingering back injury. He hit .208 for the A’s with seven home runs and 15 runs batted in.

The left-handed batting Joyce had a more productive year for the Athletics in 2017, belting 25 home runs and driving in 68 while hitting .243 in 141 games. Adding Joyce figures to add depth to the Giants’ outfield.

Steven Duggar, Gerardo Parra and Mac Williamson are expected to be the regular San Francisco outfield, while Cameron Maybin earlier signed a minor league contract with the Giants.

The Indians signed veteran Carlos Gonzalez to a minor league deal on Tuesday, making Joyce expendable. Cleveland released Joyce from his minor league contract, which made him a free agent.

THE GAME
Giants took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Key hits were Brandon Belt’s third home run of the spring, a double by Yangervis Solarte and an RBI single by Drew Pomeranz.

San Francisco added five more runs in the fourth; Steven Duggar, Buster Posey and Evan Longoria each had run-scoring doubles.

Pablo Sandoval gave the 8,296 in attendance something to get excited about in the sixth when he legged out a bases-loaded, three-RBI double. Alen Hanson followed with a triple to score the Panda.

Pomerantz (2-1) threw five hitless innings, walked four and struck out one. Tony Watson, Will Smith, Nick Vincent and Steven Okert each threw a scoreless relief inning.

The Giants are 11-12 in Cactus League play. They host Colorado on Friday and Arizona on Saturday in Scottsdale before facing Oakland in the Bay Bridge Series on March 24 at the Coliseum.

Revamped Mariners blast their way to start the season with a 9-7 win over the A’s

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Photo credit: @Mariners

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s squared off against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, March 20th in the Tokyo to start the 2019 season. The Mariners made several moves in the off-season, and loaded up their lineup with power hitters. Those steps paid off as the M’s downed the A’s 9-7.

The A’s sent Mike Fiers to the mound to pitch. It was the first time in Fiers’ career that he had ever started on Opening Day. He pitched well for the first two innings, but things fell apart for him and the A’s in the top of the third. The A’s staked him to an early 2-0 lead. A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty hit a solo homer in the first to give the A’s a 1-0 advantage. Then, they tacked on an unearned run in the second to lead 2-0.

In the third inning, Fiers struggled with his control. The M’s scored a run to make it 2-1. Fiers loaded the bases and had to face Domingo Santana, who had a great year with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017. He did not do well last year, and the Brewers sent him to Seattle in a trade. Santana put the M’s in the lead with his first home run of the year and his first career grand slam to propel the M’s to a 5-2 lead. The A’s DH, Khris Davis, responded with a two-run shot in the bottom of the third. The A’s trailed 5-4 after three.

Liam Hendriks gave up a run in the fourth, and Ryan Dull gave up three runs in the fifth. M’s shortstop Tim Beckham greeted Dull with a two-run blast. The A’s Matt Chapman brought the A’s closer with a three-run dinger in the seventh to make it 9-7. The M’s bullpen of Corey Gearrin, Zac Rosscup, and Hunter Strickland closed out the win for Seattle.

Game Notes and Stats: The M’s started 45-year-old Ichiro Suzuki in right field. Ichiro received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at the Tokyo Dome. He was 0-1 and had a walk before exiting the game in the fourth inning. Ichiro probably will retire after Thursday’s game.

Marco Gonzalez was the winning pitcher. His line was 6 innings pitched, 7 hits, 4 runs, and 69 pitches.

Fiers’ line was 3 innings of work, 4 hits, and 5 runs. He absorbed his first loss of the year.

Matt Chapman was the hitting star for the A’s with 2 hits, including a home run, and 3 runs batted in. Piscotty and Khris Davis also homered. Tim Beckham had three knocks including a big two-run homer for the M’s.

Up Next: The two teams play Thursday again in Tokyo. Righty Marco Estrada will make his A’s debut, and he will be opposed by the Mariners’ Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi will be making his first start as a Mariner and is highly regarded by the fans in Japan. Game time is at 2:35 am.