That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland A’s after 2019

photo from bleacherreport.com: Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin says a game could go right down to a home run or a strikeout.

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

There are basically four ways of building a championship team:
1. Farms system
2. Free Agent signings
3. MLB Draft
4. Trade of players

Of course not one is always the easiest, but instead, a combination of all four.

“The focus next year will be winning more games and trying to win our division,” said manager Bob Melvin after the A’s lost the Wild Card game to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 at the Oakland Coliseum.

For the second year in a row, the A’s ended 97-65 in second place behind the Houston Astros. The last game of the season this year at the Coliseum had a record 54,005 attendance, a record for a Wild Card game in all of baseball. Unfortunately, the same results for the Green and Gold dating back to 2000. The A’s have lost nine consecutive winner-take all games. We have to go back to the team of the 1973 World Series’ Game 7 against the New York Mets. That was the last time the A’s won a do or die game.

In today’s baseball, things are much different. We are now in a game where is down to “home-run” or “strikeout” — both keep going up each season. For the record, winning the division is important, like Melvin mentioned, but let’s not forget that in 2005 the Atlanta Braves won the Division championship for the 14th consecutive year (1991-2005). That is the current MLB record for winning consecutive division titles. However, during that record-setting streak the Braves, under manager Bobby Cox, only won one World Series in 1995 over the Cleveland Indians. In 2014, Cox was elected to the Hall of Fame as a manager by the veterans committee.

Under the current system, it is much difficult to make it all the way to the October Classic — especially for a wild card team — with the goal of winning 12 games in the postseason to bring home the hardware.Winning your division is definitely a better way of going into the postseason for obvious reasons. A one-game Wild Card playoff is basically a “coin flip” on who is going to win. In the case of the game against Tampa Bay, I did agree with starting Sean Manaea, who was pitching great after his return, but we also have to respect Rays pitcher Charlie Morton, an established mainstay in their rotation with experience, a guy that made the last out of the World Series giving the Astros the title two years ago.

The last handful of games during the regular season the A’s were not hitting, scoring one to three runs per game and unfortunately that carried into the October 2 Wild Card game against the Rays in a 5-1 loss. The future is bright for the young A’s who are getting younger in their rotation for 2020 with Luzardo. Montas. AJ Puk joining Sean Manaea and Mike Fiers. Minus a couple of relievers and possibly Jurickson Profar the A’s position players will be mostly the same as this year. They will not need the services of veteran pitcher rentals Homer Bailey and Roark. Piscotty and Ramon Laureano now could be joined in left field by Seth Brown a young player with talent who hits left-handed. Khris Davis could use this off season to clear his mind and work toward adjusting his batting so he can have a new approach to hitting and be the Khris Davis that we all know.

Do not expect the A’s to be actively trading this winter because they do not need to They still have the core of the young players under contract. In my opinion, Marcus Semien — the team’s MVP this season — should win in arbitration.

I picked the Houston Astros to win the World Series before the season began. After they picked up starter Zack Greinke on July 31, my opinion became much more easy to make.  But it is baseball, and it is not perfect science. I remember the 1988 World Series all too well, when the A’s lost to the Dodgers. I worked that series, and after that series, I learned that anything is possible in baseball so the main thing is to make it to the World Series and bring home the trophy. That should be every team’s goal. Postseasons are nice, the fans love it and get into it, but sometimes you have to deliver and go much deeper into October.

As for the A’s, they will have to wait another year for that chance and hopefully in 2020 they could be playing at the end of October.

Amaury Pi-González is the pioneer in establishing Spanish radio play-by-play broadcasts in the Bay Area since the middle of the 1970’s with the Oakland Athletics. He has been a longtime contributor to sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Diaz home run disaster strikes twice, Oakland lawsuit could force A’s to leave Oakland

tampabaytimes.com file photo: Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Tommy Pham (29), right, is congratulate by Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Willy Adames (1), center, and Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz (2), left, after Pham hit a solo homer in the fifth inning against the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card game Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019 in Oakland.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The Tampa Bay Rays’ leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz got a jump on A’s pitcher Sean Manaea. Did that sort of shake up Manaea’s confidence to start the game?

#2 Then, in the top of the second, the Rays right fielder Avisail Garcia took one deep center just under the Holy Toledo sign for a two-run home run to put the Rays on top 3-0.

#3 In the top third, Diaz did it again with his second home run and the Rays go up 4-1 and Sean Manaea was lifted and charged for all four runs. The Rays’ Tommy Pham took A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit deep and put the Rays up 5-1.

#4 The City of Oakland has filed a lawsuit against the Oakland A’s to stop the A’s partial purchase of Oakland Coliseum. The lawsuit was filed in Alameda Superior Court on Tuesday and it certainly broadsided A’s team president David Kaval, who just with the City’s lead negotiator Betsy Lake, discussed regarding building the new stadium Jack London Square.

#5 Going forward after the loss in the wild card to the Rays, now Kaval has to deal with not only trying to get an idea when the A’s can start building at Jack London Square, but also dealing with the lawsuit filed by the city of Oakland.

Jerry did the 2019 Oakland A’s podcasts on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

How it ended: A’s season ends with a thud fall to the Rays 5-1

sfgate.com photo: After surrendering three home runs Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea heads for the A’s dugout as the Tampa Bay Rays win the AL Wild Card game at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday night 5-1

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND- The Tampa Bay Rays won the Wild Card game and advanced to the ALDS against the Houston Astros. The Rays, with the second-best road record in baseball, scored all of their runs on the strength of four home runs. They sent A’s starter Sean Manaea to an early exit as he gave up three bombs in two-plus innings of work. The A’s could do nothing against Charlie Morton and the Rays’ bullpen.

The A’s had opportunities, but they failed to cash in, and that cost them the game. The A’s have made the playoffs five times in the Bob Melvin era. They failed to advance in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, and now in 2019. Billy Beane and David Forst have to make some moves to improve the team over the winter.

Let’s see what happens. The Rays took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With the count 3-1, Yandy Diaz homered to right field. Sean Manaea settled down and struck out the next three hitters. The Rays lead 1-0 with the A’s coming to the plate. The A’s were able to load the bases as Marcus Semien led off with a single. The Rays’ starter Charlie Morton struggled with his command as he walked two hitters to load the bases.

He got Jurickson Profar to fly out to right to end the threat. The Rays put two more on the board in the second. Former San Francisco Giant Matt Duffy led off with an infield single. The next hitter, Avasail Garcia, hit a blast that went about 420 feet over the centerfield fence to give Tampa a 3-0 advantage.

In the top of the third, Yandy Diaz hammered his second homer of the night to make it 4-0. A’s manager Bob Melvin, decided to remove Manaea from the game. Yusmeiro petit came in and was able to stop the damage. Manaea’s line was two innings pitched, four hits, and four runs. The Rays tagged him for three big flys.

The A’s put their first run on the board in the bottom of the third. Marcus Semien reached third on a throwing error by Rays’ third baseman Mike Brosseau. Semien scored on a Ramon Laureano’s sacrifice fly to right. With two out in the fifth, the Rays continued to send the ball out of the park. Rays’ DH Tommy Pham hit the Rays’ fourth home run of the night over the center-field wall to put the Rays in the drivers’ seat 5-1.

The A’s bullpen shut down the Rays the rest of the way. The Rays’ bullpen stifled the A’s offense to secure the win. The Rays travel to Houston to play the Astros in the American League Division Series. Game notes- The winning pitcher was Charlie Morton, and Sean Manaea took the loss. There was some controversy about Bob Melvin’s choice of Manaea over Mike Fiers. Fiers led the team with a 15-4 record this season.

He was the A’s best pitcher, and many people were surprised by Melvin’s choice. Melvin said Manaea pitched very well when he returned from the IL and was 4-0 in five starts before the Wild Card game. Manaea gave up three home runs and four runs in two-plus innings of work. The bullpen gave up just one run in the last seven innings of the game. The A’s offense went to sleep Wednesday night.

The only run they scored was unearned in the third inning. The A’s managed eight hits, all singles. The Rays had seven hits, but four were home runs, and that was the difference in the game. There were 54,005 fans at the park Wednesday night and that set a record for a Wild Card game. The time of the game was three hours and eighteen minutes. The A’s season ended sadly, but they have an excellent young team, and they will be back next year.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: This one’s for all the marbles, Rays-A’s, expect a good pitching match

yahoo.sports.com file photo: Oakland left handed pitcher Sean Manaea will start for the A’s in Wednesday’s AL wildcard game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The American League Wild Card game between Tampa Bay and Oakland is a one and done series. London tells us what’s on the line as the Rays’ Charlie Morton matches up against Oakland’s Sean Manaea.

#2 The A’s have had a key player throughout the regular season. Whether it’s Jurickson Profar, Sean Murphy, Ramon Laureano, Matt Olson or Matt Chapman, someone is always digging in at the plate.

#3 The Rays are a good road team they are 49-37, which is the second-best record in MLB. They can really make a game of it against the A’s tonight.

#4 It just seems like A’s manager Bob Melvin has been able to position and place hitters and pitchers in the right spots to get the best out of them and it’s paid off and it’s what’s in them the home field in these wild card games.

#5 It’s all on the line, it’s a one and done series. Does the one-game format of the wild card rob a team’s dream working 162 games to get here and then to be eliminated or is that the best part of the wild card format to keep teams on edge?

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Should A’s manager Bob Melvin be worried about wild card game?

Photo credit: bleacherreport.com

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 How much worry, how much concern should A’s manager Bob Melvin take into a game like the wild card on Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum?

#2 How big, how huge was Marcus Semien at the shortstop position for Oakland this season and as leadoff batter?

#3 Melvin sat Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Mark Canha on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners resting them for Wednesday night’s soiree at the Coliseum.

#4 Talk about how important it is for Stephen Piscotty to get into the line up after being out and just in time for the wild card game.

#5 A’s pitcher Sean Manaea might be starting on Wednesday night. He’s had such a great return now at 4-0 with an ERA of 1.21. How do you see him matching up against the Rays?

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Wild Card preview: Rays and A’s at Oakland Coliseum

mercurynews.com file photo: Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis (2) removes his helmet after batting against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Friday, April 19, 2019.

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — After a long season of 162 games, the A’s and Rays will have to have a one-game playoff to determine which team will advance to the American League Division Series. The winner will then face the Houston Astros. The Astros had the best record in the AL, and the series will start in Houston.

The A’s finished the season with a record of 97-65 to earn the right to host the Wild Card game. The A’s are 52-27 at the Coliseum this season. The Rays are a good road team, and they will not be intimidated having to play in Oakland. The Rays are 48-37 away from home and that record is the second-best in the MLB.

The Rays believe that they have a slight advantage as they will send Charlie Morton to the hill Wednesday night. Morton had a career-year with a record of 16-6. He pitched 194.2 innings and had an ERA of 3.05. Also, he struck out 240 batters and was very stingy in issuing walks. Morton was effective against right-handed hitters. The A’s lineup is loaded with righties as Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Mark Canha, Ramon Laureano, and Khris Davis will have their collective hands full trying to get to Morton. Morton limited righties to just four home runs in 351 at-bats.

The A’s have not announced their starter as of Monday afternoon. People are speculating that Bob Melvin will go with either Mike Fiers or Sean Manaea. Fiers, like Morton, had a career year. Fiers was 15-4 for the year and had an ERA of 3.90. Fiers also pitched a no-hitter against Cincinnati in May. Manaea made five starts for Oakland after coming off the IL in August. Manaea was 4-0 and was quite effective. He pitched 29.2 innings. Manaea had to learn how to deal with a declining velocity on his fastball. He threw at 93-94 MPH before being shut down with a shoulder injury last summer. His fastball has been clocked around 90 MPH this year, but he has been throwing strikes and moving the ball in the zone.

While the A’s might not have the edge in the starting pitcher department, they do have a better bullpen than the Rays. If the A’s starter, whoever that may be, falters, Melvin will not hesitate to bring in the relievers. The bullpen, missing Lou Trivino and Blake Treinen, has been bolstered by the additions of lefties Jake Diekman, A.J.Puk, and Jesus Luzardo. Luzardo has pitched very well and can be used as a closer. Melvin will also rely on Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria, and Liam Hendriks. Hendriks has performed exceptionally well and went to the All-Star Game this year.

The Rays’ bullpen includes Diego Castillo, Chaz Roe, Colin Poche, and Oliver Drake. The long relievers are Yonny Chirinos and Jalen Beeks. Current Cy Young winner Blake Snell is back and throwing well. Six-foot seven-inch Tyler Glasnow will also be available. They will be ready to shut down the A’s offense when called on.

The A’s will also have the advantage on offense and defense. The A’s have three players in the infield that hit over 30 homers each this year. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson led the team with 36 dingers each. Semien had a career-high 33 round-trippers. Chapman and Semien are candidates for AL Most Valuable Player. Mark Canha, Ramon Laureano, Chad Pinder, Jurickson Profar, and Josh Phegley can all drive the ball out of the park.  On defense, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson are again candidates to win a Gold Glove. Marcus Semien at shortstop has worked hard to improve his defense. He worked with Ron Washington to get better and he, too, is a Gold Glove candidate.

The Rays offense is led by Austin Meadows. Meadows had 33 home runs to lead the team. The Rays’ other hitters are Jesus Aguilar, Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, and Nate Lowe. Fans on the West Coast may not be familiar with these names, but they are the reason that the Rays won 96 games this season.

The A’s won the season series four games to three. The Rays are a very determined team. The A’s are also highly motivated to move to the ALDS. This will be the A’s third Wild Card game since 2014, and the first-ever in Oakland. The A’s lost a wild one 9-8 to the Kansas City Royals in 2014. They fell to the Yankees last year 7-2 in New York. The A’s believe that they can go to the World Series. The first step will be defeating the Rays. The Houston Astros are hoping the A’s win. They won the season series 11-8. The Astros have to be careful about what they wish for. The A’s won six of the last eight played. They have the confidence to do it.

The game with the Rays should be very close. The Rays do not quit. Neither do the A’s. Each team knows that they have to win or go home. The A’s will have a large crowd cheering their every move. Let’s hope the home field advantage will prove beneficial to Oakland. I think the A’s will prevail and win by a score of 5-3.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s ready to begin workouts at Coliseum and host Tampa Bay for wild card Wednesday

photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Ramon Laureano hits a solo home run on a pitch from Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales during the third inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, in Seattle.

On the A’s podcast with Joey F

#1 The Oakland A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays will workout at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for the AL wild card game on Wednesday it will give both teams some time to adjust to two days off and getting ready for the contest.

#2 There’s no doubt that having home field advantage is huge for the Oakland A’s for a one and done wild card game.

#3 Talk about Wednesday’s starting pitcher for Oakland Sean Manaea since returning recovering from Tommy John surgery he’s gone 4-0 with an ERA of 1.21.

#4 The Rays come into the Coliseum with a winning 96-65 the A’s 97-64 both are evenly matched the Rays have players to look for Travis d’Arnaud, Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe, and Tommy Pham.

#5 The A’s have some big boppers Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, and Mark Canha all have home run success this season and they might apply that for post season.

Joey Friedman does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The A’s beat the Mariners and secure home-field advantage for the Wild Card

Graphic/Photo: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 1-0 on Saturday night to win their 97th game of the season which tied their win total from the 2018 season. More importantly, the win guarantees them home-field advantage for the single-game Wild Card contest with the Tampa Rays on Wednesday night.

The A’s are 52-29 at the Coliseum this season and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. The Rays are 48-32 on the road in 2019 and 7-3 in their last 10 games. The tarps will be off on Mount Davis and the crowd could be up to 59,000-plus fans on Wednesday night to cheer the Athletics on to victory and into the AL Playoffs. The Coliseum can be an intimidating place for a visiting team.

The difference on Saturday night

It was a home run by Ramon Laureno that made the difference for the Athletics on Saturday night. Laureno hit his 24th HR of the season off Seattle pitcher Marco Gonzales in the top of the third inning with two out and count of 3-2. The ball traveled 392-feet over the left-field wall.

The A’s have hit 35 home runs versus the Mariners this season tying their franchise record for the most home runs in a single season against a single opponent. Oakland also hit 35 home runs against the Rangers this season.

Anderson gets the win

Brett Anderson was credited with the win. He now a 13-9 record for the season with a 3.89 ERA. Anderson worked 5.0 innings allowing no runs off three hits. He walked one and struck out three Mariners.

“I was willing to let him go out for the sixth. He got a little bit of elbow tightness so we took him out. But, I mean, good stuff. The best [velocity] of the year. I know it’s been eight, or nine or ten days or whatever. But we saw some 94s, some 93s, it looked good. (He) just felt a little something after the fifth. We didn’t want to push that,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin.

Luzardo gets the save

Jesus Luzardo worked 2.0 innings to earn his second save of the year. He allowed no runs off one hit. Luzardo walked none and struck out three.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said, “(He was) pretty calm. And we’ve seen him, in bases loaded nobody out situations in Texas too. I don’t think the nerves are really there. (He) hits a guy, then makes good pitches with his breaking balls in the last at-bat. And (Tim) Lopes is
swinging pretty good too. That’s kind of how we look at it today, we didn’t want him throwing too many pitches, but as long as he was under 30, we felt good about it. Now, three days rest for him as well…”

Melvin on Wild Card Home Field Advantage

“There’s going to be 50,000 people in Oakland, I got a feeling. When we get that bigger crowd at home, they have an effect. So, we’re excited about going home in front of our fans. There’s a great bond between us and the fans there, and they can get pretty loud.”

 

 

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: It’s Rays and A’s for the Wednesday wild card, but where?

photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, in Seattle.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 The Oakland A’s and Tampa Bay Rays both qualify for at least one game of wild card baseball the site is yet to be determined as it’s too close to call but either way there’s no doubt it should be a nail biter.

#2  The Rays Tommy Pham led the way with a two run homer and they got quality pitching from Tyler Glasnow who pitched 4 1/3 innings of no hit ball against the Toronto Blue Jays as the Rays beat the Jays 6-2 to clinch for a wild card birth.

#3 In the National League the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a four game win streak they took the first game game of their series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night 9-2 and ran away with the NL West this season by over 20 games on top.

#4 The Oakland A’s announced they will start Sean Manaea who came in the season after recovery from Tommy John surgery and in his first two games he threw shutout ball. Manaea has won his last four starts with 1.21 ERA.

#5 The timing is good for the return of A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty who just came off the IL manager Bob Melvin said it will be an adjustment period over the weekend in Seattle in preparation for Wednesday’s wild card game vs. the Rays.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Chapman saves the A’s bacon with 2-run bomb; A’s stay 1/2 game up in wild card

Photo credit: halosheaven.com

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The A’s dropped two crucial games — one against Texas last Sunday at the Coliseum and another on Tuesday night in Anaheim. The A’s in never give up style, down 2-1 on Wednesday night in the top of the ninth, got a two-run jack from Matt Chapman his 34th to get the A’s a 3-2 one-run win.

#2 You look at that score last night in Anaheim 2-1 going to the ninth, manager Bob Melvin just had to have that bad feel in his stomach that the club was going to go down three in a row, but these never give up A’s have a hero every night when they win a game.

#3 Talk about A’s starter Frankie Montas’ return back in the rotation. He misses 60 games and he comes back pitches six innings and gives up four hits and an earned run, two walks and six strikeouts.

#4 Jerry talk about the relievers the A’s used four relief pitchers and they held it together to beat the Angels in the Big A. Everybody is up to beat the A’s in the wild card drive and the A’s are doing everything to stay at the top.

#5 A’s are headed for Seattle to open up a four-game series with the Mariners on Thursday, who can be tough customers in their own right. The Mariners, who got two hits and shutout 3-0 on Wednesday night by the Houston Astros, are not too happy and are looking to take things out on the A’s, but the A’s will scratch and claw to try to keep their heads above water in the AL wild card race.

Jerry does the A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Thursday