Tag: Sports radio

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: 2020 State of the Athletics Armed and Dangerous

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photo from mercurynews.com: Oakland Athletic pitcher Jesus Luzardo participates in fielding drills during spring training at Fitch Park in Mesa, Ariz., Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019.

2020 State of the Athletics: Armed and Dangerous

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–The Houston Astros will be picked favorite to repeat and win the American League West for the fourth consecutive year. The Oakland A’s have finished in second place during the past two seasons when they ended with identical 97-65 record.

The best one-two pitchers in the American League last season were Justin Verlander who won 21 games and the Cy Young Award and Gerrit Cole who won 20 games. However,Cole, the top free agent in the market left for the New York Yankees who signed him to a $324 million contract, the fourth largest deal in MLB history.

To the Athletics advantage,they will not have to face Cole that many times,since he is now in the AL East. That by itself could be worth three to four games in the standings. The Astros will be lingering from the biggest scandal in baseball the sign-stealing scandal,which cost the jobs of their field Manager and General Manager.

The Astros will be busy fielding all kinds of questions beginning next week when they open their Spring Training in West Palm Beach,Florida. That would be the busiest Spring Training in baseball this year,since the Astros share that same facility with the World Champions Washington Nationals.

The A’s pitchers and catchers will land next week in Mesa,Arizona and their young pitching staff is definitely Armed and Dangerous.Their main starters are here by age, youngest to oldest: Jesús Luzardo,  Frankie Montas(22)  A.J Puk (24) Sean Manaea(27) and Mike Fiers(34).

This is indeed a formidable bunch of pitchers; Luzardo,Montas and Puk all power pitchers with fastball scratching the 100 mph on the radar. Either Mike Fiers or Sean Manaea (one of the two) most likely will be announced by A’s manager Bob Melvin as the Opening Day pitcher, for Thursday afternoon the 26 of March at the Oakland Coliseum.During this first homestand for the Athletics, the Houston Astros will follow the Twins to Oakland, presenting a delightful early season match-up between the A’s and the Dusty Baker Houston Astros.

This Athletics rotation will the potential to match and even better the Houston Astros,the team they will probably have to beat,to win their division. Not to forget the Rangers and Angels both much improved during this off-season,but there is little doubt who the A’s will have to beat, to forget “about a One-Game wild card playoff, and try to win the division affording them a better chance to go deep into the postseason.”

These pitchers will have the support of one of the youngest and most talented teams in the game. The A’S in 2019, were one of the best hitting teams in baseball. Among all MLB teams, A’s ranked #5 in Home Runs with 257, #9 in Runs Batted In with 800. Their pitching staff had the 6th best Earned Run Average with 3.97.

Bob Melvin’s young ball-club will also have excellent defensive support for that young and powerful pitching staff. Among all 30 clubs in MLB the Athletics finished #4 in fielding with a .986 percentage. Only St Louis,Kansas City and Houston had better defensive numbers than the A’s.

A’s won Gold Gloves at first base with Matt Olson and third base with Matt Chapman,with a most improved Marcus Semien at shortstop who comes out of this best season,finishing third in the very much coveted MVP,behind Mike Trout of the Angels and Alex Bregman of the Astros.

As Spring Training begins next week I will have more analysis of this young and very exciting team. But there is little doubt in my mind(injuries are the wild card)this is one of the best and youngest pitching staffs in all of baseball. More to come.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish play by play voice for the Oakland A’s with broadcast partner Manolo Hernandez-Douen on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

2020 Caribbean Series: Mexico gets some solid pitching blanks Colombia 4-0

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February 5, 2020
By Lewis Rubman
Colombia (0-5)            0      1    0
Mexico (4-1)                  4    10  0
HATO REY PUERTO RICO–In a series notable for its well pitched games, the masterpiece that Mexico’s Edgar Torres  achieved this afternoon stands head and shoulders above the rest. The six foot, 218 pound lefty from Puebla, who toiled ineffectively for the Durango Generals of the Mexican League last summer and had an unimpressive record of 4-6, 3.96 for the Mazatlán Deers of the Mexican Pacific League this past fall, hurled seven and two-thirds of nearly impeccable baseball against the Montería Buckaroos of the Edgar Rentería Colombian Baseball League, Colombia’s representative.That the Colombian contingent isn’t a powerhouse helps put Torres’s achievement in perspective, but it remains an achievement.
In his labor of nearly eight innings, Torres threw 97 pitches, 69 of which were strikes, to 24 batters. The only hit he allowed was a first inning single to Brallán Pérez, and Torres picked him off first almost immediately after that. The only other base runner he allowed was José Brizuela, on a fifth inning walk. Torres’s ground out to fly out ration was 10:3.
Mario Meza mopped up with a perfect inning and a third of relief.
The Mexicans didn’t score until the fifth, when Juan Gamboa singled and advanced to third on José Guadalupe Chávez’s single to right, scoring moments later on a wild pitch by Colombia’s starting pitcher, Edinson Frías. Rico Noel´s single brought Chávez home.
That was all that Mexico needed, but Roberto Peña’s two run homer in the seventh gave them some more breathing room.
Mexico is assured of a play off berth, but we’ll have to wait for the results of tonight’s game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican to see what mathematical calculations, if any, are necessary who plays whom and which team gets last licks.

2020 Caribbean Series: Puerto Rico takes advantage of home field with win over Colombia 3-2

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February 5, 2020
By Lewis Rubman
Colombia (0-4)            2    5    3
Puerto Rico (2-2)            3    10    0
HATO REY, PUERTO RICO–Last night’s contest between Colombia’s champions, the Montería Vaqueros (which is the Spanish word from which our “buckeroos” is derived) and the host Santurce Cangrejeros, or Crabbers, had loads of the ingredients that make baseball fun: speedy base running, outfield assists, close plays, a close score, an enthusiastic crowd, and, of course, a local angle for the fan. Just the thing to cap off the fourth straight day filled with three games and four straight nights filled with little sleep.
Wasted opportunities are frustrating. In baseball, they’re also fun. Every chance to achieve something – a shut down inning, a run, a double play, a stolen base- carries with it the excitement of being on the verge of a desired attainment. And last night’s game had its share. I can’t begin to list all of them, but I can point out a few examples.
Take Puerto Rico’s half of third inning. The Crabbers held a one run advantage over the Buckaroos. Jack López led off with a single and advanced to second when Colombia’s center fielder, Andy Vásquez, lost control of the ball. A sequence like that is an invitation to score. But pitcher Julio Vivas promptly withdrew the invitation by picking López off second. Notice that two mistakes were involved in this scenario, bad fielding and bad base running. Interesting or exciting baseball is not necessarily good baseball
In the top of the seventh, with the score knotted at two all, Vásquez laced a single to center. Arvicent Pérez followed this up with a single to right. Vásquez never stopped on his way to third, where he was cut down by a laser throw from right fielder Jan Hernández that would have put Ramón Liriano to shame. Of course, Colombia challenged the call, but it was upheld.
A lousy throw can afford as much excitement as a great one. Earlier in the game, after Colombia had tied the score at one all on a fifth inning solo homer by Vásquez,  the men from Montería jumped to a brief, one run lead in the sixth. Andrés Angulo led off with a walk and stole second. Jordan Díaz singled him home and went to second on the throw. Francisco Acuña sacrificed Díaz to second, but he kept on running. Seeing this, catcher Roberto Peña threw the ball towards third. Towards, not to. Left fielder David Vidal retrieved the errant missile and fired it to Peña, who put the tag on the overly ambitious Díaz. At this point, Devin Raftery relieved starter Héctor Hernández and struck out Rey Fuentes to get the final out of the inning.
There was drama when Puerto Rico went ahead in the eighth, using bunts and bunt attempts (including a couple by the fifth spot hitter) before Andury Acevedo plunked Jonathan Morales on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.
As for the local angle. That was provided by the Vaqueros’ first baseman, Alberto Callaspo.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: True and Letunov recalled by Sharks listen to how they will fit in

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sjbarracuda.com photo

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 How important is it for the Barracuda parent club San Jose Sharks to have recalled Alex True talk about what his role was with the parent club at the Sharks means and have him back in the line up at the Shark again?

#2 True is not shy about taking shots he leads the Cuda with 96 shots this season and is third in goals so one of the factors of his being at the Sharks also was for his being ability to put it on net and often

#3 The Sharks have recalled the Barracuda’s Maxim Letunov, Letunov has ten goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 39 games Marko talks about what Letunov brings to the Sharks as well.

#4 Saturday’s game in San Diego against the Gulls saw the first period where all the action took place, the Barracuda scored two goals to the Gulls three out of the gate, the Gulls ended up winning the game by two goals 5-3

#5 Wednesday night the Gulls are in San Jose this time the Barracuda have home ice the Gulls have been a tough customer Marko talks about tonight’s match up

Marko Ukalovic is a San Jose Barracuda beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: After coming up empty in last two games Sharks back in win column

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photo from canadianpress.com: San Jose Sharks’ Evander Kane, right, celebrates his goal with teammate Barclay Goodrow during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta.

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Sharks (24-27-4) are coming off two very tough loses against the Vancouver Canucks and the Tampa Bay Lightning and on Tuesday night in Calgary they played solid defense to hold off the Calgary Flames (27-21-6) to just one goal in the their 3-1 win.

#2 Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell proved to have the hot hand stopping 30 out of 31 shots and nearly shutout the Flames

#3 The Sharks came out scoring twice in the second period and once in the third period and got some goal scoring from Brent Burns, Evander Kane, and Kevin LaBanc

#4 That second period of scoring was a breakthrough for San Jose and could that be the confidence that the Sharks have been looking for can they keep it up?

#5 The Sharks head to Edmonton (28-19-6) and will try to pick up another win the Oilers were shutout on Tuesday night by the Arizona Coyotes and both the Sharks and Oilers are into the second of back to back

Catch the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday with Len at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

2020 Caribbean Series Puerto Rico: Quiala gets quality start in seven innings for Mexico in 6-1 win

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February 3, 2020

By Lewis Rubman

Panama (1-2) 1 4 2

Mexico (2-1) 6 11 1

HATO REY, PUERTO RICO–After losing its Caribbean Series opener to Venezuela to the Dominican Republic on Saturday afternoon, Mexico, represented by the Tomateros (Tomato Growers) of Culiacán, bounced back by defeating Puerto Rico yesterday afternoon and trouncing Panama’s entry, Chiquirí Astronautas, 6-1, in this morning’s contest.

Mexico’s right handed starter, Yoanys Quiala was sharp through all seven innings he pitched, shutting out the Astros over four and two-third innings. When he left the game, Quiala had faced 81 batters and surrendered just three hits and struck out four without a walk.

The one run he allowed was earned, coming on a ground out by Edgardo Thomas that followed singles by Edgar Muñoz and Rodrigo Orozco. Zach Dotson and Aldo Montes, each of whom pitched a scoreless inning. Dotson gave up a hit; Montes didn’t. Thanks to the Tomateros’ potent offense, there was no save.

That offense struck early. Joey Meneses led off the second with a double to left. Dariel Alvarez promptly drove him home with a single to center. After a pausing while Alan Sánchez flew out to center, the Mexican offensive resumed its work of destruction and José Guadalupe Chávez drove in both runners, in spite of the intervening strike out of Ricardo Valenzuela.

Culiacán tacked on a couple of runs in the fifth, thanks to a double by Ramiro Peña, who advanced to third when Panama’s second baseman, Geral Chin, bobbled Antony Giansanti’s grounder. Peña scored on Meneses’s single to right center, which allowed Giansanti to get all the way around to third. He crossed the plate on a sacrifice liner to center by Alvarez.

Panama got its face saving run in the top of the sixth on singles by Muñoz and Orozco, followed by Eduardo Thomas’s slow grounder to second, which allowed Muñoz to dash across the plate.

An error by Astrós third sacker, Isaías Velásquez, put Ramiro Ríos on first. Ricardo Valenzuela’s single sent him to third. Chávez´s sac fly drove him home with the final tally.

The loss went to José Mesa, who faced 23 batters over 4-2/3 innings in which he allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits. Luis Ramos allowed a run on two hits in his inning of work, and Wilfredo Pereira held Mexico to a single hit in his two and third frames.

From the sound of things, the game between the Dominican Republic and Colombia is starting now.

Dell in-dell-ible as Sharks rebound on the road, 3-1

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photo from canadianpress.com: San Jose Sharks goalie Aaron Dell, right, deflects a shot from Calgary Flames’ Elias Lindholm during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ San Jose goalie Aaron Dell, playing in his home backyard, calmed the Calgary Flames Tuesday.

He made 30 saves, facing 31 shots, his second straight game of doing at least that, as the Sharks halted a five-game losing streak on the road and two-game losing streak overall.

Several of the San Jose players had noteworthy bookmarks during the game, the biggest one saved for last.

40-year old Joe Thornton garnered two assists, his latter one marking his 1500th NHL point. He earned the secondary assist on the Sharks’ final goal.

San Jose was outshot 16-9 in the first and had two power plays as Dell continued to make steady saves. 

The Flames briefly had a 4-on-1 as time wound down during their first man advantage.

At 18:08, the Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow stuck up for Evander Kane against recognized fighter Milan Lucic when Kane was clocked. 

San Jose’s Alex True and Maxim Letunov made their NHL debuts. True had one shot on goal, four hits, one block, one giveaway and went 60% on faceoffs in 12:52 of ice time. Letunov had one shot on goal, one takeaway and went 50% on faceoffs in 10:17 of ice time.

Calgary’s second power play was obtained when Kane committed high-sticking with 46 seconds left.  It ended up costing the Sharks as Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau made zigzag passes to score 59 seconds into the second, Gaudreau credited with the goal.

It would be all San Jose the rest of the way. 

The puck bounced past in the neutral zone and Thornton scooped it up to go the other way. He then found Brent Burns, who scored his 500th point with the Sharks, from the top of the right faceoff circle at 3:57 to even the score at one apiece. 

San Jose pulled ahead using more Goodrow Kane chemistry as Kane shot at the left goalpost and the puck bounced to the boards. Patrick Marleau corralled the rubber and made a behind-the-back pass to Goodrow, who finished by feeding Kane under T.J. Brodie’s stick at 8:02. It was Evander Kane’s 700th NHL game.

Finally, Thornton and Timo Meier helpd Kevin Labanc provide the icing on the cake as he  skillfully skated himself into a position to score at 7:45 of the third.

The Flames had four shots in the final frame.

Up Next: The Sharks will travel to Alberta’s capital city to take on the Edmonton Oilers Thursday at 6:30pm. 

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: How much blame will be put on Garoppolo; Can Cal put some more wins together; plus more

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photo from boston.com: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looking glum after the 49ers loss in Super Bowl LIV in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium Sun Feb 2

On Headline Sports with Barbara:

#1 Talk has been who to blame for the 49ers loss and collapse does some of that blame fall on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garopplo?

#2 The Cal Bears have put some some win together they have won two of their last three games with wins over Stanford and Oregon State it won’t put them in the big dance in March but the Bears certainly executed their game to pick up the wins

#3 How serious is it that Tom Brady could come to Las Vegas, there have been a lot of scenarios considered where Brady could go and the Raiders were one of those teams considered.

#4 We had a chance to ask talk Oakland A’s Spanish radio broadcaster Amaury Pi Gonzalez about Oakland A’s pitcher Frankie Montas who is looking forward to the 2020 season how much has Montas put the PED suspension behind him

#5 The San Francisco Giants are starting the season without a lot of the familiar faces but a lot of young players and even their coaching staff has little or no Major League coaching experience how do you see this for the Giants going into the season.

Barbara Mason does Headline Sports each Tuesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings hold their own with 113-109 win over Minnesota

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photo from sacbee.com: Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (8) yells at official during game at Golden 1 Center on Thursday, Jan 2, 2020 in Sacramento.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (18-31) held their own on their home floor against the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-34) in a 113-109 victory at Golden One Center.

#2 The Kings won four of their last six games still a lot of work ahead of them

#3 Altough the Timberwolves outscored the Kings 34-28 in the fourth quarter the Kings won the game

#4 De’Aaron Fox for the Kings continues to drain the basket with 31 points to lead the Kings on Monday night

#5 The Kings host the Miami Heat (33-15) on Friday night Kings have lost four of their last six games can they beat the Heat on their home floor.

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors win two in a row Curry coming back soon

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mercurynews.com photo: The Golden State Warriors Marquese Chriss forward (32) throws down past the Washington Wizards Rui Hachimura (8) in Washington on Monday night

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 The Warriors after losing five straight games have put together wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards what’s been the difference for Golden State in these last two games.

#2 The Warriors say that Stephen Curry could be back before Valentine’s Day how much of an addition will that be for the Warriors to have him back.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com