Tag: Oakland A’s

Gray and Vogt lead the A’s to a 2-0 win over Cleveland

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Tony Dejak/AP
Tony Dejak/AP

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics’ two All-Stars – Sonny Gray and Stephen Vogt – showed why they were selected to the American League All-Start team as they led the A’s to a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Gray was a ground ball throwing machine while Vogt applied the power to defeat the Indians and their Cy Young Award winning pitcher Corey Kluber.

On the Bump

Gray (10-3) had the two seam fastball working to perfection as he induced 16 Cleveland batters to hit ground balls.He also was able to use the slider sparingly as an “out pitch” to strike out six Indians’ hitters. Gray walked just on batter and allowed only two hits.

Gray was able to throw the complete game shutout because of his efficiency on the mound. He threw just 107 pitches (71 strikes) in his nine innings of work. The Indians left just one runner in scoring position because they could not get runners on base.

Gray thought the key to the win was that he threw more fastballs in better locations. He said, “We had a good game plan that we were able to execute.”

The Indians’ Corey Kluber (4-10) had the type of game that would produce a win for most pitchers. He gave up just two runs (both earned) on four hits. He struck out six and walked just one hitter in eight innings on the mound. Kluber was not able to get any run support because of Sonny Gray’s outstanding performance.

In the Batter’s Box

Stephen Vogt supplied all the offense that the A’s would need to win the game. After Billy Burns walked to lead off the top of the fourth inning, Vogt – on a 1-0 count – hit the ball into the right field seats for a two run home run. That would prove to be the game winning hit for Oakland. It was Vogt’s 14th homer of the season.

Ironically, Vogt almost had a home run in his first at bat in the first inning. Vogt hit the first pitch from Kluber deep to right field only to robbed on a great catch by Cleveland outfielder David Murphy. The play was reviewed and the out call was upheld.

Ben Zobrist (2) and Josh Reddick had the only other hits for the A’s. Burns and Vogt both reached first on base on balls.

Francisco Lindor and Giovanny Urshela recorded the only two hits for Cleveland.

Defense

The Oakland Athletics did not commit an error in the game on Sunday. In fact, the A’s did not commit an error in any of the three games in Cleveland.

A’s Win the Series

The win on Sunday gave the Athletics (41-50) the series victory two games to one. The win also evened the A’s record on the road trip to three wins and three losses.

On our Oakland A’s podcast this week, we said the A’s needed to win one game in New York and two games in Cleveland. Obviously, they were listening to what we had to say about their road trip performance.

Coming Up

The A‘s will now have four days off for the All-Star Break. Many members of the team will scatter around the country to enjoy this much needed time off.

The A’s will start the second half of the season at home on Friday night versus the Minnesota Twins. Sonny Gray will be on the mound to face the Twins in the series opener.

Sonny Gray and Stephen Vogt left Cleveland after the game on a “party bus” ride to Cincinnati for the All-Star Game. Gray will not pitch in the All-Star Game but will participate in all of the other festivities.

Roster Moves

The A’s sent starting pitcher Chris Bassitt back to Triple-A Nashville after making the start in Cleveland on Saturday night. Relief pitcher Dan Otero was brought up from Nashville to take Bassitt’s place on the roster.

Bassitt was sent back to Nashville so he can make a start on July 19th. That would make Bassitt available to start during the Giants series should Jesse Hahn (forearm strain) still unavailable to pitch.

Podcast

Be sure to listen to the next Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O and Lee Leonard. It will be posted on the Sports Radio Service website Tuesday evening.

Sonny Gray to the rescue – A’s win 8-1

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sonny gray

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Black Oak Arkansas’ signature song was “Jim Dandy to the Rescue”. When the Oakland Athletics (26-39) have been in trouble this season, their signature song has been “Sonny Gray to the Rescue”.

Sonny Gray(8-3) came to the rescue  for he A’s on Sunday as he used  a dominating pitching performance versus the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (32-31) to lead Oakland to an 8-1 victory.

The A’s had lost back-to-back one-run games to the Angels. A loss on Sunday would have resulted in an Angels sweep. Not only did the A’s avoid the sweep, they did it in impressive fashion.

Oakland scored single runs in the second and third innings and were leading 2-1 as they headed to the top of the sixth inning. The A’s scored three runs with two outs to open up a 5-1 lead.

The Athletics did not stop there as they tacked on three additional runs in the seventh inning.

Dominant starting pitching coupled with outstanding run production earned the A’s a win in the final game of the three-game series with the Angels.

On the Bump

Sonny Gray picked up his eighth win of the season on Sunday. He pitched 7.2 innings giving up just one unearned run on 5 hits. Gray struck out nine batters and walked none. He threw 100 pitches (65 strikes).

All of Gray’s pitches were working for him in the game. The fastball, sinker and change were all under control and working as planned.

Gray’s earned run average dropped to 1.60 in the win. An 8-3 record with that ERA are certainly All-Star numbers. They may even be American League All-Star starting pitcher type stats.

Fernando Rodriguez came into the game in relief of Gray in the bottom of the eighth inning. He faced one hitter and recorded a fly out to end the inning.

Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth inning for Oakland. He had not pitched since last Wednesday and the A’s wanted him to get some work in even though it was not a save situation.

The Angels were able to load the bases off Clippard, but the A’s closer was able to work out the situation by getting Kyle Kubitza to strike out to end the game. Clippard had throw 28 pitches in the bottom of the ninth.

Matt Shoemaker (4-5) took the loss for the Angels. He pitched 5.2 innings giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits. Shoemaker struck five hitters and walked none.

Four Los Angeles relief pitchers gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits.

In the Batters Box

Ben Zobrist, the designated hitter for the A’s, led the day on offense. Zobrist went 3-for-5 (including a double), scored three runs and added one RBI. Not a bad day for a .219 hitter.

Billy Burns and Josh Reddick had identical numbers at the plate. Burns and Reddick went 2-for-5, had an RBI and scored a run for the A’s.

Eric Sogard had a 2-for-5 game with three RBI and a run scored.

Stephen Vogt did not have a hit but did score a run after being walked intentionally in the seventh inning.

Max Muncy had a hit, RBI and run scored in the game. Muncy’s RBI-double in the sixth inning kicked of the three-run, two out rally that won the game for Oakland.

The A’s had 12 hits in the game and went 5-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

The Angels had just five hits in the game.

Defense

Neither team had a spectacular day on defense. The Angels committed three earns that resulted in two unearned runs. The A’s had two errors that allowed one unearned run.

Both of the A’s errors were committed by shortstop Marcus Semien. Semien could not handle an Erick Aybar ground ball in the fourth inning. A wild pitch and a passed ball allow Aybar to reach third base. He would score on a David Freese single.

Semien was charged with his second error in the bottom of the ninth inning when could not handle the throw from Clippard who fielded a come-backer. Frankly, it should have been a throwing error charged to Clippard.

Semien now has 22 errors for the season.

Up Next

The A’s boarded buses for the short trip south to San Diego where they will play a two-game inter-league series with the Padres. The Padres (32-32) lost to the Dodgers 4 to 2 at home on Sunday. San Diego is in third-place in the National League West.

The Padres will travel to Oakland for two games on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Monday night, RHP Jesse Hahn (3-5, 3.84) will face off with Padres RHP Tyson Ross (3-6, 3.81).

The Tuesday afternoon game will see LHP Scott Kazmir (3-4, 2.79) go up against San Diego’s RHP Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.16).

Walk-Off Wins Back In Vogue at the O.Co Coliseum

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – As a rain washed through the Bay Area, temporarily easing the minds of dried out Californians, 25 athletes found solace from a few droughts of their own. The Oakland A’s snapped their four-game losing streak, outlasting a dominant Yovani Gallardo start to walk off against the Rangers bullpen 5-4. The much maligned A’s bullpen pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, struggling Billy Butler contributed with a big hit and Oakland became the Walk-off Capital of the World for the first time in 2015.

“Things are starting to go our way right now,” said A’s starter Jesse Hahn. “Hopefully it’s a big momentum changer for us.”

After an eighth-inning rally tied the game for the A’s (24-37), a ninth-inning surge put Oakland back in the win column. Sam Fuld, struggling with a batting average below .200, singled to open the inning, then swiped second base. After a Billy Burns infield single, Josh Reddick stepped up to the plate with a chance to win the game. He laced a bouncer off losing pitcher Keone Kela (4-3, 2.42 ERA) to a drawn in second baseman Adam Rosales for the walk-off fielder’s choice and a shaving cream pie from Stephen Vogt.

“We used to specialize in those here for a while,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “It’s nice to come back from 4-2 and tie it, then come back and score another run.”

On Tuesday, the A’s struggled to score until the starter was long removed from the equation but Wednesday Oakland jumped on Gallardo early in a promising start. Billy Burns started the inning on second base after Joey Gallo’s throwing error, moved to third on Josh Reddick’s single then came home on Ben Zobrist’s fielder’s choice.

Staked to an early lead, Hahn found his way into the A’s history books for the wrong reasons Wednesday. The righty plunked 3 batters over a brief 3 2/3 innings, becoming the 9th Athletic to serve up a triple beanball performance. He was touched up for 4 runs, including a 3-run third inning where the Rangers batted around despite only collecting three hits in the frame. Hahn plunked two batters and issued a free pass in his struggling to retire the Rangers in the 3rd.

“I just didn’t have my stuff,” said Hahn. “It was one of those weird outings, no fastball command, no feel for the breaking ball. When you don’t have that it’s hard to pitch well at this level.”

In his previous four outings, Hahn had allowed only 8 earned runs over 27 1/3 innings. In his penultimate outing, the 25-year-old pitch a complete game shutout in Detroit. Tuesday marked the first time all season he failed to pitch a full 5 innings, a stretch spanning 10 starts.

“It’s frustrasting because I was confident going out there,” said Hahn. “I was confident I’d put up good numbers again. It happens. It’s one of the weird ones. I’ve already forgotten about it. I have to let it go and move on to the next one.”

Oakland cut the lead in half in the bottom of the 4th, with Stephen Vogt opening the inning with the first A’s hit since the first inning. Vogt doubled to open the inning, then moved over to third base on a wild pitch with one out. He came around to score on Brett Lawrie’s grounder to short to put Oakland back within a pair of runs at 4-2.

Gallardo settled down after that, giving the Rangers their second-straight six-plus inning, two-run start against the A’s. The 29-year-old righty fired seven innings, picking up a season-high 10 strikeouts. Of his 110 pitches, an astounding 73 went for strikes.

Over 12 starts this year, the hard-tossing Gallardo has yet to allow more than four runs. Despite his consistent performances, he’s currently tied for 5th in the American League with a Texas-leading 6 losses. While he wasn’t tagged with the loss, Gallardo had to settle for a no-decision after his bullpen squandered the two-run advantage.

Oakland scored two runs in an inning for the first time in 24 innings in the eight, the first inning of work for the Rangers bullpen. Josh Reddick singled off southpaw Sam Freeman with one out, then Zobrist welcomed Tanner Scheppers into the game with a base-hit to right field. With the throw coming to third to try to cut down Reddick, Zobrist advanced to second on the play. Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo overthrew the ball, allowing Reddick to score easily. Vogt walked, bringing DH Billy Butler to the plate.

Over his last 10 games, “Country Breakfast” was hitting at a slim .179 batting average with only 7 hits and 3 RBIs over 39 at-bats. The big man came through in the clutch Wednesday, connecting on the game-tying single to plate Zobrist.

“A lot of times it’s a hit like that that’ll get you going,” said Melvin. “It’ll loosen you up a little bit. He finally found a hole.”

Lawrie popped out for the second out and Max Muncy gave a Scheppers offering a ride, but right fielder Shin-Soo Choo pulled in the ball with his back against the fence.

The comeback wouldn’t have been possible without contributions from the bullpen. Pat Venditte (2 1/3 innings), Fernando Abad (1) and Evan Scribner (1) combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, while Tyler Clippard (1-3, 3.20) picked up his first win of the season after pitching a scoreless ninth.

“That’s probably the key to the game,” said Melvin. “What Venditte did was terrific. Fernando Abad coming in and contributing, having an easy inning. The whole bullpen was probably the key to the game.”

The A’s now have a chance to win the series with Scott Kazmir squaring off against rookie Chi Chi Gonzalez in Thursday’s finale. If they manage to win the series, it’ll be the first time in six series since the Rangers (31-28) were on the losing end.

Martinez Out-duels Gray, A’s Drop Fourth-Straight Game

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – The dark days have returned for the Oakland Athletics. Mired amongst the dredges of the American League cellar, the A’s find themselves fading once again after an 2-1 loss to the visiting Texas Rangers Tuesday night at O.Co Coliseum. Nick Martinez topped Sonny Gray, while Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless ninth for his 8th save of the season.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” said Melvin. “There’s a lot of things going. We lost a lot of one run games. It’s not uncommon to want to press because of it. When you don’t come through and you have opportunities, it’s frustrating.”

Oakland (23-37) has now dropped four-straight contests following a weekend sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Prior to that series, the A’s were turning a corner. They swept long-time nemesis Detroit in convincing fashion before moving further East to Boston.

“We have to look at the big picture,” said A’s catcher Stephen Vogt. “We’re 9 of our last 15. We have to keep that perspective, that attitude. We played really well the last half of the home stand and in Detroit.”

If any could have put the A’s back on the winning track, it’d have been the pitcher on the hill Tuesday night. Sonny Gray (7-3, 1.74 ERA) grabbed the ball to open the three-game set, and despite a well-pitched effort, wound up the loser in tightly-contested pitching battle. The A’s stranded nine runners against the second-place Rangers (31-27).

“We had some opportunities,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “We didn’t get the one big hit when we needed to. That’s usually the case when you have close games like that.”

Despite Gray’s best efforts, the Rangers struck first in the third inning. Delino DeShields jetted his way to a one-out triple with a wall ball to right centerfield, but Shin-Soo Choo succumbed to Gray’s best offerings with a swinging strikeout. Prince Fielder bested the AL’s ERA leader in the next at-bat, blooping a flare between Marcus Semien and left fielder Ben Zobrist.

The A’s found themselves in a similar situation in the bottom of the fourth after Josh Reddick broke up Martinez’ no-hit bid. The A’s right fielder lead off the frame with a double then scooted to third on Ben Zobrist’s warning track pop-out.

With only one out and the heart of the order due up, Oakland looked sure to tie the contest up. Instead Stephen Vogt grounded out into a drawn-in infield, then Billy Butler followed suit with a slow bouncer up the middle to strand Reddick at third.

The A’s would load the bases with two outs the following inning despite collecting a single hit after Martinez hit Mark Canha, walked Semien and mishandled a Billy Burns squibber for an error. Reddick couldn’t cash in the run though, instead rolling out to second base.

Mitch Moreland punished the Athletics for not converting in the next half-inning, scorching a 2-1 Gray offering halfway up Mt. Davis to open up the top of the sixth. Moreland’s 7th dinger of the year, the 21st run batted in of the season, doubled the Rangers lead 2-0.

Gray would close out the sixth before turning the contest over to the bullpen. Gray threw 95 pitches in his six-inning outing, striking out six Texas batters while issuing a sole free pass but wound up the hard-luck loser due to a sputtering offense.

“I thought he threw the ball well,” said Melvin. “He gives up the bloop hit then Moreland scores the one run. You give up two runs and that’s a bad game? I’ll take that it any day.”

On many nights, Gray’s showing would be enough to top many a league’s ace. Not Tuesday though, as Martinez locked down on the bump. The 24-year-old threw a near flawless six innings, surrendering only one hit while walking one and hitting another batter.

“He cuts it, curveball, sinks it, late movement on the changeup,” said Melvin of the opposing starter. “He pitches backward when he has to. For the last year and a half or so he’s been one of the better pitchers in the American League.”

“He did a good job of keeping us off balance,” added Vogt. “He’s having a great year. He knows how to pitch. He’s an athlete.”

Once Martinez (5-2, 2.65) departed, the A’s saw an opening, winding up with runners on 2nd and 3rd against the Rangers bullpen with two down in the seventh. Again, A’s base runners would be denied the final 90 feet, as Rangers reliever Ross Detwiler coaxed a strikeout of pinch-hitter Josh Phegley after issuing three-straight balls to open the at-bat., b

“Phegley’s hitting .333 against lefties,” said Melvin. “It’s not often that I’ll hit for Reddick. You have to do what you the best you can in the situation. Phegley’s been swinging really goo

The A’s broke the shutout in the eighth after Zobrist, struggling to a .205 average this year while recently returning from injury, opened the inning with a liner to left field that DeShields misjudged into a double.  Another struggling hitter, Vogt, plated Zobrist on a single to center to put the A’s on the ledger.

On a night where the A’s struggled to score in general, even an easy RBI single turned into a struggle. The strong-armed Leonys Martin fielded Vogt’s liner and fired a rocket to home plate that skipped past the cutoff man right to catcher Robinson Chirinos. Zobrist was past Chironos, but didn’t slide, allowing the Rangers catcher to attempt a swipe tag. Zobrist was ruled safe, a hair ahead of the tag. Texas manager Jeff Banister challenged the play, but the call stood to cut the Rangers edge 2-1.

Oakland fans who chose to skip over game 3 of the NBA Finals had little to be excited for, but they were treated to a special moment. Switch pitcher Pat Venditte made his O.Co debut, warming up from both sides of the mound before firing off a 1-2-3 inning. He faced three righties, electing to pitch from the right side for all three.

“Like every inning we’ve seen from him, whether it’s here or in spring training, he’s focused,” said Melvin. “He’s confident. You know you’re going to get your match-up. He’s having a real good time, his first time in the Big Leagues. There can be some nerves involved but he’s showing it hasn’t bothered him. He’s having a great time and he’s pitching well on top of it.”

Oakland turns to another starter capable of turning in a gem, Jesse Hahn, for game 2 Wednesday night. He’ll be opposed by Yovani Gallardo, the Rangers offseason acquisition meant to be the complement to the now-injured Yu Darvish at the front of their rotation.

Boston Sweeps Oakland

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Sunday, June 7, 2015. Photo by Matt West.
Sunday, June 7, 2015. Photo by Matt West.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

At the end of the season, every member of the Oakland Athletics will have tried to forget game number 59. Game 59 was played on Sunday in Boston and the A’s lost 7-4.

With the win, the Red Sox (27-31) completed a three-game sweep of Oakland. The loss dropped the A’s record to 3-3 on the six-game road trip which is an acceptable result on a road trip. The A’s (23-36) will want to forget the game on Sunday because they should have won the game.

The Red Sox finished the game with seven runs, 13 hits and no errors. The A’s posted four runs on 11 hits and had no errors.

The winning pitcher was knuckleballer Steven Wright who is 3-2 for the year. The save went to Tommy Layne – his first save of the season.

The loss was hung on Tyler Clippard (0-3). Clippard was also charged with his second blown save of the year.

The death blow was issued by the Red Sox in the bottom of the eighth inning. The A’s held a 4-0 lead with starter Kendall Graveman on the hill. Graveman gave up a lead-off home run to Runsey Castillo, and A’s manager Bob Melvin handed the game over to his relief corps.

The four A’s relievers failed to get the job done as they gave up six runs on seven hits to to 10 Red Sox batters. When the disaster of an inning was over, Boston led the game 7-4 – the eventual final score.

Men Left on Base

The relief pitching did fail to get the job done, but the A’s really lost the game in the top of the fourth inning.

The A’s did score a run in the fourth inning; however, they had the bases loaded with no outs and failed to bring another run across the plate. Another run or two in that inning would have dramatically changed the complexion of the game.

The A’s have been plagued with leaving runners in scoring position all season. On Sunday, the A’s were 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Those nine runners left on base came home to haunt them at the end of the game.

By contrast, the Red Sox went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

On the Bump

Kendall Graveman gave the A’s a quality start on Sunday. Graveman pitched 7-plus innings (he faced one batter in the eighth inning). He gave up one run (earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking just two Boston hitters. Graveman threw 101 pitches for 66 strikes.

Graveman’s trademark sinkerball was giving him trouble in the early innings. Rather than sinking, it was staying flat and moving in and out over the plate. The lack of sink seemed to throw the Red Sox hitters out of sync and Graveman recorded an unusually high number of strike outs for the game. His sinker began to sink more as the game progressed.

Clay Buchholz never looked comfortable on the mound for the Sox. He gave up 4 runs (all earned) on 10 hits. He struck out four while walking two batters. Buchholz threw 102 pitches in his 4.2-innings of work.

Out of the Bullpen

Evan Scribner came on in relief of Graveman in the eighth inning. He promptly gave up a base hit to Pedroia which kicked off the Red Sox rally. Graveman is now 9-for-28 (.311) versus first hitters for the season. It is tough to have a quality relief appearance when you give up that many hits to the first batter you face.

Scribner gave up three runs on three hits. He did not record an out.

Drew Pomeranz faced on hitter and gave up a sacrifice fly to Ortiz.

Clippard was roughed up for three runs (all earned) on four hits. The Boston hitters were guessing correctly on whether Clippard was going to throw a fastball or a change up.

Switch pitcher Pat Venditte came in recorded the final out of the inning for Oakland.

Defense

The defense was not a problem for the A’s on Sunday as they committed no errors. Their only miscue was a passed ball.

In the Batters Box

The A’s had real trouble in this series with a lack of production from the number three, four and five hitters in the order. The middle of the order produced only five hits in the three-game tilt.

Stephen Vogt went 0-for-12 in the three games. Reddick went a respectable 4-for-10 at the plate. Billy Butler went 1-for-13 as the designated hitter. That qualifies as severe power drought.

The bright spot the A’s on offense continues to be Billy Burns. Burns now has a 12-game hitting streak (tied for the longest consecutive hitting streak of the season for the A’s). He went 3-for-13 in the series.

Catcher Josh Phegley also had a decent series at the plate. He went 4-for-7 in the series including two doubles on Sunday.

Up Next

The A’s will have Monday off after the long plane ride home from the East Coast.

The Texas Rangers come to Oakland starting on Tuesday for a three-game series. The Rangers have won seven of their last 10 games. Texas had leap-frogged the Angels to take sole possession of second-place in the AL West.

Sonny Gray (7-2,1.65) will pitch the opener for Oakland. Texas will send RHP Nick Martinez (4-2, 2.89) to the mound to face the Athletics.

Commentary: It’s time for MLB to help the A’s out of Oakland

Published on by Charlie O. Mallonee1 Comment

 


By Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland: This commentary needs to be prefaced by a full disclosure. This writer is an Oakland Athletics fan. I was an A’s fan before I became involved in the sports broadcasting and writing realm. I attended my first Athletics’ game in 1971 (yes, I am old) at the Coliseum. It was easy to be an A’s fan back then. Heck, I even liked Charlie Finley!

I remained an A’s fan after the glory days of the team were over. I attended some games where you could learn  the names of everyone in the stadium. I was there for “Billy Ball” and the 1989 and 1990 World Series.

I have reported on A’s games since 1984. The Oakland A’s have been a major part of my life both professionally and as a committed fan of the game of baseball. So, when I ask when is Major League Baseball going to help the Oakland Athletics?, I ask it as sports reporter and a fan.

It will come as no surprise when I state that the Oakland Athletics need a new stadium. The once proud Coliseum is long in the tooth. The building lost its charm when “Mt. Davis” was built to accommodate the return of the Raiders. Even if the modifications had not been made to the facility, the building is old and tired. The A’s need their own Camden Yards, AT&T Park or Target Field.

The A’s first plan was to build a sports and entertainment complex in Fremont. That plan did not work out and the people of Oakland were angry that team was considering a move out of the city.

After the Fremont plan failed, the focus returned to Oakland. Jack London Square became the topic of discussion. The Jack London scenario sounded good but there were problems. Wind, lack of parking, no BART access and tight quarters. It became apparent very quickly that Jack London Square was going to be a difficult situation and the A’s ownership was not thrilled with the location.

The focus then turned to San Jose. It was a marriage made in heaven. San Jose wanted the A’s, and the A’s wanted San Jose.

A location near the SAP Center was identified as the location for the stadium. The plot is near the city center, light rail, Caltrain, Amtrak and two major freeways. It looked like the A’s had found a new home. But wait, there’s more.

Enter the San Francisco Giants.  The Giants said you cannot go to San Jose because that is our territory.

Indeed, MLB did grant the Giants territorial rights to San Clara County in 1990 when they were pursuing a new stadium in Santa Clara. The Athletics allowed the action because they did not see the Giants in Santa Clara as an “end of the world ” scenario.

When the Santa Clara stadium did not happen, the Giants turned back to San Francisco and AT&T was the result. After AT&T was built, the two teams once again shared the exact same borders … wrong! The Giants maintain that Santa Clara County/San Jose remains their exclusive territory. That is why fans from Oakland, Berkley, Walnut Creek, etc. cannot attend Giants games. Of course that is not true. If you live in the Bay Area, you can go see the Giants or the A’s whenever you want.

By the way, the territorial maps for the Yankees – Mets, the Cubs – White Sox and the Dodgers – Angels are exactly the same. Only the Giants and A’s have a divided territory in the same geographic location.

It is easy to understand why the Giants want the Athletics to stay out of Santa Clara County – better known as the Silicon Valley. It’s all about the bucks. The Giants are fearful that they may lose some “high tech dollars”.

It is true that the A’s in San Jose would siphon off some money, but the Giants are profitable, so profitable that they will rreportly pay off AT&T Park the end of the season. I am not suggesting that the Giants should limit their profits to accommodate the A’s. What I am suggesting is that the Giants are the number one baseball team in Northern California, and that fact would not change if the A’s moved to San Jose.

The situation is very similar to the other dual-team markets. The Yankees will always be more popular than the Mets. The Cubs are more popular than the White Sox. The Dodgers have more fans than the Angels. There is always a number one and a number two in the dual markets.

The Giants are the “alpha dog” in the Bay Area and Northern California. That will not change no matter where the A’s play.

It is also true that “high tech dollars” would flow to the A’s in San Jose, but it does not mean those dollars would stop flowing to the Giants. High tech companies will still want to be associated with the Giants, have boxes in the beautiful AT&T Park and have dinner on the Embaradero. The Giants are in San Francisco for heaven’s sake.

It’s time for Rob Manfred to bring the MLB, Giants and A’s together in order to settle this problem. To keep things as they are is bad for baseball and bad for the Bay Area.

A stadium in the city of Oakland is not an option. Oakland has too many pressing priorities to take care of before thinking about building stadiums. The Warriors are gone. The Raiders are as good as gone and the A’s cannot stay in the crumbling coliseum.

How can Major League Baseball solve this issue? This matter can be settled with money of course. Money will settle the matter because it’s all about the money. It is always about the money.

The commissioner needs to put together a “blue ribbon committee ” that would determine the value of the rights to Santa Clara County/ Silicon Valley. Then, MLB needs to work out a payment plan that would include money from the A’s and Major League Baseball (MLB created this problem; they should help pay to solve it).

There is a dollar figure that will satisfy the Giants. If that figure is not reasonable, then the MLB can vote to restore the Bay Area rights to the pre-1990 configuration. Yes, the Giants would sue. So? Businesses sue each other everyday. If the Giants take the MLB to court, it will ultimately result in a financial settlement. See, it is always about the money.

What is not acceptable is for the A’s to wind up in Montreal, Charlotte or New Orleans as a way to settle the issue. Oakland A’s fans have put millions of dollars in the pockets of Major League Baseball. It’s time for MLB to pay them back by settling this rights issue once and for all.

Rob Manfred – here is your chance to prove your leadership early in your tenure. It’s time for Major League Baseball to stand up and solve this problem … NOW! It’s time to help the A’s become the San Jose Athletics.

A’s are swept out of Seattle by King Felix

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Ted S. Warren/AP
Ted S. Warren/AP

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s needed a win on Mother’s Day. Not just to win for Mom, they needed a win to stop their losing streak and keep from being swept by the Mariners.

The problem for Oakland was in order to record a victory they would have to beat pitcher King Felix Hernandez who came into the game with a perfect 5-0 record.

When the game was finished, the A’s had lost 4-3, been swept in the series 3-0 and King Felix was a perfect 6-0 for the season.

Hernandez pitched 7.0-innings on Sunday giving up two runs (both earned) on five hits. Both runs were scored off home runs. Hernandez struck out six batters and walked just one. His ERA now stands at just 1.85 for the season.

The A’s record fell to 12-21 – the second worst record in the American League. Oakland finished the 10-game road trip with a dismal 3-7 record.

In the Batter’s Box

The A’s actually out hit the Mariners on Sunday. The A’s posted six hits while Seattle managed to get just five hits off the three Oakland pitchers.

All of Oakland’s runs came via home runs. Marcus Semien hit two home runs in the game both off of Hernandez. Semien now has five home runs for the year.

The A’s third run came in the top of the ninth inning when Stephen Vogt hit his eighth homer of the season off Seattle reliever Fernando Rodney.

Semien and Vogt recorded all six hits by the A’s in the game.

The big problem for the A’s was the lack of runners on base. Oakland never put a man in scoring position during the entire game. It is very tough to win a game without putting runners on second or third.

Seattle went two for seven with Runners In Scoring Position. They hit no home runs but had three doubles in the game. Dustin Ackley hit one of those doubles and recorded two RBI.

On the Bump

RHP Jesse Chavez (1-3) started the game for Oakland. Chavez worked 6.2-innings giving up four runs (all earned) on five hits. He struck out seven and walked two. His ERA stands at a respectable 2.56.

Fernando Rodriguez worked 0.1-inning and walked two batters before inducing Nelson Cruz to hit into a force out to end the seventh inning.

Evan Scribner set Seattle down in order in the bottom of the eighth inning.

In the Field

The A’s posted another error on Sunday. In the bottom of the second inning Marcus Semien committed an error when he mishandled a ground-ball off the bat of Logan Morrison. The error was Semien’s ninth of the year.

Up Next

The A’s headed back to Oakland after the game. They will kick-off a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

The Red Sox come in with a record of 14-17 on the season. Boston is 3-7 in their last 10 games.

LHP Scott Kazmir (2-1, 2.75) will start for Oakland while RHP Rick Porcello (3-2, 4.38) will take the mound for the Red Sox.

Relief is coming

RHP Edward Mujica will be with the A’s as they start the series with Boston on Monday. Mujica was obtained from the Red Sox via a trade for a Player to be Named Later.

Mujica is 31-years old and has had a career that has spanned 10 seasons. He has a 4.61 ERA in 11 appearances for Boston. His career ERA is 3.79.

When he appears for Oakland, Mujica will be the 14th reliever used by the A’s this season. The A’s relief corps has the highest ERA in the majors at 5.14.

A’s lose game and series in KC

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Kansas City Star
Kansas City Star

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics lost the third and final game of series to the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Sunday. The A’s also lost the series 2 games to one.

Now on to the real story of the game. Five Kansas City Royals were ejected from the game as the Alcides Escobar – Brett Lawrie feud continued. The problem began on Friday when Lawrie took out Escobar on a play at second base. Escobar missed the Saturday game with an ankle injury. He also was held out of the Sunday game which is causing observers to speculate that his injury is more serious than first believed.

After Lawrie was hit on Saturday night and both benches were cleared, most fans and reporters felt the issue would be laid to rest. They would be wrong.

Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain was hit by a Scott Kazmir pitch in the bottom of the first inning. It did not appear that Kazmir was trying to hit Cain intentionally.

In the ensuing argument that followed the hit-by-pitch, Royals manager Ned Yost and pitching coach Dave Eiland were ejected from the game. The tension meter went back into the high range following the incident.

In the eighth inning, Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera threw a fastball behind Lawrie’s back in what appeared to be an attempt to hit and possibly injure Lawrie. Herrera was ejected immediately. As he was led from the field, Herrera gestured toward his head indicating that was where he was aiming or would aim the next time.

In the arguments that followed the Herrera ejection, acting manager Don Wakamatsu was sent to the showers by umpire Jim Joyce. Alcides Escobar was ejected from the bench for his loud comments to the umpiring crew.

To his credit, Royals manager Ned Yost complimented the umpires for handling the situation decisively.

The problem is that the situation does not seem to be settled. The fireworks could continue in Oakland in June when the Royals visit the Athletics – especially if Escobar’s injury turns out to be serious.

This where Commissioner Rob Manfred needs to earn his money. Manfred needs to talk with the management of the Athletics and Royals declaring that all hostilities are over and will not be rekindled. Manfred needs to make sure this silliness does not continue.

Oh by the way, there was a baseball game played on Sunday.

Scott Kazmir pitched an outstanding game giving up just two runs on six hits in 7.1-innings of work for Oakland. Kazmir struck out five hitters and walked just one batter. Ironically, the one walked batter came home and scored the tying run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Eric O’Flaherty came in to relieve Kazmir and he was unable to shutdown the Royals. Kansas City scored two additional runs that led to their 4-2 victory. O’Flaherty was tagged with loss and a blown save.

Ben Zorbrist was the man of the hour for the A’s at the plate. Zorbrist had both of Oakland’s RBI in the game.  He had a two for two day at the plate.

The victory went to Kansas City reliever Wade Davis who pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Royals designated hitter – Kendrys Morales – was the star of the day for Kansas City. He hit a double off the top of the center field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning that cleared the bases scoring two runs.

The A’s will have no time to lick their wounds as they jump back into action versus the Angels in Anaheim on Monday night.

A’s Power Past Giants to Continue Spring Success

Published on by Eric He1 Comment

By: Eric He

SAN FRANCISCO – The games don’t count, but the Oakland A’s will certainly take the wins.

The good times kept rolling on Thursday for the A’s as they beat the Giants 8-2 at AT&T Park in an exhibition game.

It was the A’s eighth straight win, improving their MLB-best record to 22-9-2.

Oakland jumped ahead with three runs in the second inning off Giants’ starter Jake Peavy.

Brett Lawrie opened with a three-bagger, hitting one into the right field gap in Triple’s Alley, and Stephen Vogt knocked him in with a sacrifice fly. Cal-product and new starting shortstop Marcus Semien followed with a home run just to the right of the left-field foul pole.

Then came the hit of the night, courtesy of Sam Fuld, who circled the bases on a triple and an error with two out in the second. Fuld smacked one high off the right field wall and the ball was mishandled in the outfield by Angel Pagan, allowing Fuld to score to make it 3-0 A’s.

Veteran southpaw Scott Kazmir got the start for the A’s in his final tune-up before the regular season and he threw six strong innings, allowing one run on four hits. He pitched out of trouble in the second and third innings, stranding a runner at second in both instances.

Kazmir’s lone blemish was a solo home run by Angel Pagan in the fourth inning that got the Giants on the board.

The A’s added more runs in the fourth inning. Back-to-back walks to lead off the inning followed by a double along the chalk down the right field line by Billy Burns gave the A’s a 4-0 lead. With one out, Craig Gentry knocked in another run with a single.

That hit knocked Peavy out of the game after 3.1 innings and 79 pitches.

But the A’s weren’t done scoring. They would take a 7-0 lead by inning’s end off new Giants’ pitcher Steven Okert on a sacrifice fly by Ben Zobrist, scoring Burns, followed by a hard single by Billy Butler that knocked in Gentry.

Butler later launched a homer in the ninth inning to close out a productive offensive evening for the A’s.

Crisp out

The A’s lineup consisted of a majority of their starters, but with one notable exception: Coco Crisp. The everyday outfielder and leadoff hitter will miss 6-8 weeks, requiring surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow.

Crisp will join Josh Reddick on the disabled list to start the season. Reddick has a strained right oblique and will miss at least the first five games of the regular season.

The injuries most likely solidify a roster spot for Billy Burns, who has been tearing it up this spring for the A’s. His 29 hits entering Thursday was tied for the Major League lead.

Burns went 2-for-5 against the Giants, upping his average to a blistering .397.

Melvin announces starting rotation

Bob Melvin announced the A’s starting rotation before tonight’s game, and it will consist of Sonny Gray, Jesse Hahn, Kazmir, Kendall Graveman and Drew Pomeranz. Hahn and Graveman are newcomers to the team this season. Hahn was acquired from the Padres in the Derek Norris trade and Graveman came over from the Blue Jays for Josh Donaldson.

Graveman, who had limited big league experience last season, surprised this spring recording a 0.42 ERA in Cactus League play.

Left out of the rotation is Jesse Chavez, who had a break out season last year with the A’s but will now be relegated to a bullpen role.

Switch pitcher

Switch hitters are aplenty in the majors these days, but what about switch pitchers? Meet Pat Venditte, who pitched the ninth inning on Thursday night. Venditte can indeed pitch both left-handed and right-handed, and the non-roster invitee has appeared in 11 games for the A’s this spring, holding the opponent scoreless in eight of those outings.

Friday night was not one of those outings, however, as he gave up a homer to Brandon Belt. He settled down, though, switching sides to retire the side in order and close out the win.

Other Notes

Coming into Thursday, the A’s led the majors in runs (190), doubles (86) and sacrifice flies (15). … The pitching hasn’t been too shabby either, ranking second in the Cactus League in strikeouts (241) and third in ERA (3.77) entering the night. … The A’s are 13-2 in their last 15 spring games against the Giants. … Evan Scribner and Fernando Abad each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Abad escaped a bases-loaded jam with one out unscathed in the eighth. … The first regular season game will be Monday, April 6 as the Rangers visit the Coliseum.

A’s report: Does Donaldson-Beane clash show that Beane will trade players for speaking out?

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–A’s General Manager Billy Beane’s real reasoning for trading former A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson to Toronto was that he and Donaldson got into a jawing match after Donaldson had ask for a few days off during the season. Beane told Donaldson that if he needed a few days off he would put him on the disabled list. Donaldson had requested the days off but wasn’t injured and didn’t need to go on the D.L.

A’s manager Bob Melvin approved the day off that Donaldson requested keep in mind for most of the season Donaldson was the A’s top hitter with former A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes who was also sent packing to Boston. Word has it the reason for Cespedes getting dealt was he didn’t want to play in either center field or right field which Beane requested and Cespedes only wanted to play in left field which didn’t please Beane.

When Beane arrived at the ball park on the day in question to find out that Donaldson was not in the lineup he asked Melvin what happen to Donaldson being a scratch? Melvin told Beane that Donaldson said he needed time off, that didn’t sit too well with Beane who was now hot and bothered by Donaldson requesting the time off. Donaldson and Beane went into the coaches office to talk about it and Beane reportedly really let into Donaldson about asking for time off.

The discussion went something like “this is what you get paid for and well” to “your not hurt so there’s no reason you need time off” in or around those words from Beane. Donaldson told Beane he was beat and needed the rest he had been carrying a good part of the team with the great work with hitting and defensive success that he was having with the glove. The argument than got personal when Beane insisted that Donaldson either go on the D.L. or get back in the line up and Donaldson ended up calling Beane “Billy Boy.”

With that that wrote Donaldson’s ticket and Beane had it in his mind that after the season he would deal Donaldson which he did last week trading him to the Blue Jays for pitchers Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and shortstop Franklin Barreto. In fact after the argument between Beane and Donaldson over the day off issue it was a known fact by some reporters that Donaldson was going to be traded in the off season by Beane.

It’s pretty well known fact in dealing with Beane if you cross him bad things will happen and the “Billy Boy” comment by Donaldson didn’t sit well with him. Beane will start shopping any player who he feels he can’t work with or won’t work everyday for him unless it’s an injury issue. There have been questions about how team morale will be without Donaldson and Cespedes the two best players the A’s had last season.

Beane will have to rebuild and make the A’s post season competitive again he will have to rely on the core of pitchers that he brought in from Toronto and he might look for more including hitters that can at least swing up to snuff like Cespedes and Donaldson did. There has not been much criticism of Beane since Donaldson left but questions come up like what Beane plans to do to rebuild the team. Right now some reporters have picked the A’s to finish in third place with what they have now.

Jerry Feitelberg covers Oakland A’s baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com