MLB podcast with Charlie O: Was A’s announcer’s slur slip of tongue or deliberate?; A’s-Giants great Vida Blue passes at 73; plus more

Former Oakland A’s pitcher and NBC Bay Area Sports baseball analyst Vida Blue is seen in this 1971 photo on the second deck of the Oakland Coliseum passed away at 73 on Sun May 7, 2023 (photo from Joe Salvatore facebook page)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie got to ask you on question number one did Oakland A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper have a slip of the tongue or he knew what he was doing as some on social media have asserted.

#2 A fan fell into the Boston Red Sox bullpen in right field falling over the protective railing during the first inning at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. The fan was attended to by medical personnel and assisted to Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. Phillies pitcher Jose Alvarado immediately ran onto the outfield and was calling for help. Some of the players in the Red Sox bullpen thought that the fan had died they later learned that he was alive and breathing to the players relief.

#3 Former San Francisco Giant and current New York Yankee pitcher Carlos Rodon will need more time off as his back issues continue as Rondon has not pitched in one regular season game. Rondon had a great year in San Francisco last season going 14-8 ERA 2.88. Rondon signed with the Yankees in the off season for $168 million for six years.

#4 San Francisco pitcher Alex Wood is coming around and hopes to come off that left hamstring injury. Giants manager Gabe Kapler said that he feeling batter and threw a bullpen session on Saturday. Wood last pitched on Apr 18th and left in the third inning in Miami. Wood is one of the crucial pitchers in the rotation.

#5 New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is expected back in the line up against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday coming back from a hip strain. Judge has been out since Apr 27 and missed his eight games on Saturday. He worked out with minor league Tampa Bay team. The Yankees are last with ten games back of first place Tampa Bay Rays.

#6 Former Oakland A’s pitcher and San Francisco Giant NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Vida Blue passed away at age 73 on Sun May 7, 2023.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: No broken jaw, teeth alignment needed for Twins Farmer; Umpire hit in head by ball sent to hospital; plus more

Minnesota Twins Kyle Farmer hits the deck after getting hit in the jaw by a Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito at Target Field in Minneapolis. Farmer will need to have his teeth realigned according to Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. photo by USA Today)

On Headlines with Jessica:

#1 Minnesota Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer was hit in the jaw by Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito who threw a 91.6 MPH pitch. Farmer was laid out and had to get help up and was able to walk with assistance to the Twins clubhouse. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game Wednesday that Farmer will need to get his teeth realigned, Farmer had to have a laceration closed and was very lucky to avoid getting a broken jaw.

#2 MLB second base umpire Larry Vanover was hit in the head by a ball that was was thrown by Cleveland Guardians shortstop Andres Gimenez who intended to throw to home plate after the New York Yankees Kyle Higashioka hit it to Gimenez. Vanover was removed for the game for precautions and was taken to a local hospital for observation.

#3 A group called Big League Utah wants a big league expansion team in downtown Salt Lake City. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that he would like to have 32 teams in the majors. Salt Lake City is one of three other cities who want an expansion team Nashville, Portland, and Charlotte. Oakland and Tampa Bay do not look like they’ll be getting stadium soon and they could be looking for a place to move to.

#4 Jessica, the Tampa Bay Rays continue to run away with it they picked up their 12th straight win against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon 9-2. The Rays remain unbeaten through 12 games. The Rays are getting the hitting, today they opened up in the bottom of the first with three runs and got good starting pitching from Rays starter Taj Bradley.

#5 The Los Angeles Angels have banned a beat writer who was on the Angels radio show “Beat Reporters Round Table.” Angels team president John Carpino wanted Athletic beat writer Sam Blum barred from coming back on the show because he was too critical of the Angels. The Angels are currently a .500 team. Carpino said that he was banned because he was too negative on the show and the show is supposed to be an upbeat program.

Join Jessica Kwong for Headline Sports Wednesday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB podcast with Charlie O: It just continues to get worse for A’s; It just keeps getting better for Rays

Tampa Bay Rays Randy Arozarena with folded arms is hitting .359 with two home runs and 11 RBIs one of the top hitters in the Rays line up (@RaysBaseball photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie O, it’s the tale of two teams one team the Oakland A’s are predicted to have a even rougher and tougher season than their 102 loss season and it’s not getting off to a great start either with a loses starting to mount now sitting on a 2-8 start of 2023.

#2 The other team that’s already getting lots of props the Tampa Bay Rays who have won their first ten games defeating the Red Sox in their last game at Tropicana Field Monday night. The Rays have been getting both plenty of pitching and hitting defeating the A’s last Saturday and Sunday in landslide wins 11-0.

#3 Got to ask you have impressive it is for the Rays were in good company with the 1939 New York Yankees. The Rays had a nine game win streak scoring four or more runs going and needed four games to catch the 39 Yankees who have 13 straight wins scoring four or more runs it didn’t happen as the Rays topped the Sox by a run 1-0 on Monday for their tenth straight win.

#4 The Rays also got some top notch hitting Sunday from lead off hitter Brandon Lowe with four RBIs and two runs scored, Randy Arozarena who got two hits and an RBI. The Rays simply are the talk of baseball right now with their 10-0 record.

#5 Charlie, you’ve been around minor league baseball a time or two talk about the Los Angeles Angels affiliate on Sunday the Rocket City Trash Pandas who allowed a hit in a doubleheader and came away with a split. Three Panda pitchers combined for a seven inning no hitter against the Cincinnati Reds affiliate the Chattanooga Lookouts Sunday. The Pandas allowed seven runs in the top of the seventh, five walks, hit five batters, a run scoring wild pitch and a dropped fly ball with the bases loaded which would have been the final out.

#6 Atlanta catcher Travis D’Arnaud has been placed on the seven day injured list. D’Arnaud received a concussion after the San Diego Padres Rougned Odor collided with D’Arnaud at the plate in the Padres loss to the Braves 4-1 Saturday at Sun Trust Stadium in Cobb County. How much or how little did the Buster Posey rule play a part in this collision?

Charlie O does the MLB podcasts Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB podcast with Charlie O and Jerry Feitelberg: Yanks Severino out with lat strain could miss opening week; Phils Hoskins carted off field tore ACL; plus more news

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino delivers to the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Severino would later suffer a lat strain and could miss turn during the opening week of the season. (AP News photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, how much will the absence of New York Yankees starter Luis Severino impact the Yankees. Severino will miss a spring start due to lat strain. Manager Aaron Boone says it’s likely Severino could miss the start of the regular season.

#2 Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins was carted off the field on Sunday after suffering from a torn ACL and will require surgery. Hoskins went to field a Detroit Tigers Austin Meadows ground ball that skidded off Hoskins glove and went to chase down the ball as he pivoted to start the pursuit Hoskins fell to the ground grabbing his left knee.

#3 MLB withdrew an trademark application intent on having the right to use the city name of three of it’s MLB teams. One of them being the Boston Red Sox. MLB said there was a misunderstanding they didn’t want to have exclusive rights to a city name they just wanted protect the city name in association with apparel not copyrighted use of the city name.

#4 On the Howard Stern Radio Show former New York Yankees star Reggie Jackson says he cheated a lot during his playing days off the field saying he was a serial cheater. He wasn’t just Mr. October in the month of October but Reggie said he did it all the time. In the segment Stern asked Jackson if it was hard for him to open his heart to a woman with Jackson replying ““It wasn’t hard for me to open my heart, but it was hard for me to be loyal,” Jackson said. “As a man, I cheated a lot.”

#5 Charlie wanted to talk to you about a guy you covered for many years former Oakland Athletic Jed Lowrie who played three different times for the A’s and in baseball for 14 years, nine with the A’s. Lowrie said of all the teams he played for the A’s were the most special. Lowrie said the A’s let him be himself. Lowrie broke in the big leagues 2008, hit a career .257, scored 590 runs, 121 home runs, and knocked in 594 RBIs.

Join Charlie O for the MLB podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Former Giant Bumgarner shows good command in D-Backs 8-3 win over Giants at Chase? White Sox cancel fireworks show over shooting that killed six; plus more news

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner walks to the dugout before their game before the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field in Phoenix on Mon Jul 4, 2022 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Arizona Diamondbacks starter Madison Bumgarner said that he was excited to pitch on July 4th and picked up a win going five innings, giving up three earned runs, five hits, three walks and four strikeouts defeating his former team the San Francisco Giants 8-3.

#2 The Diamondbacks did most of the damage in the later innings against the Giants scoring twice in the sixth and eighth innings. It was the Giants 11th loss in 14 games and fifth loss in row.

#3 In the Chicago suburb Highland a lone gunman shot and killed six and 31 wounded at a Fourth of July Parade. Many of the dead and injured were sitting in seats along the parade route. The White Sox canceled their fireworks show which was to conclude after their game against the game almost was canceled but after talking to MLB the game was played.

#4 The Chicago Cubs Wilson Contreras who slide into second base in the bottom of the seventh inning at Wrigley Field and sliced the thigh of Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts who required seven stitches when his cleats hit Bogaerts right outside thigh.

#5 The Los Angeles Angels promoted catcher’s coach Bill Haselman to interim interim manager. The Angels current manager is Phil Nevin and acting interim manager Ray Montgomery are serving ten and two game suspension respectively.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s salvage win to end nine-game road trip beat Red Sox 4-3

Tony Kemp (5) and Seth Brown (15) and Oakland A’s players celebrate their win over the Boston Red Sox to avoid getting swept at Fenway Park in Boston on Thu Jun 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s were able to finish off the disastrous nine-game road trip with a win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday afternoon. It wasn’t easy, as the A’s know the Red Sox offense can erupt at any time, but they were able to hold on to beat Boston 4-3.

The A’s starter Paul Blackburn pitched very well for the A’s on Thursday. Blackburn went five and a third innings to win his sixth game. He allowed one run and eight hits. Blackburn walked two hitters and struck out four. He left the game with the A’s in the lead 4-1. The A’s bullpen did not cave when Boston scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Here’s how the game went. Oakland scored three runs in the top of the third. With one out, centerfielder Cristian Pache doubled when Boston’s second baseman Trevor Story misjudged the ball, and it fell in safely.

Chad Pinder singled to drive in Pache with the A’s first run. Ramon Laureano followed with a double to deep right-center-field. A’s catcher, Christian Bethancourt, who has been swinging a hot bat, singled to drive in both runners.

The A’s led 3-0 midway through the third inning. The Sox got one back in their half of the third. Rafael Devers walked to start the inning. J.D.Martinez singled. Devers went to third on an error and scored on Xander Bogaerts ground-out. The A’s lead 3-1 after three.

With two out in the top of the seventh, Seth Brown singled. Brown went to second on a passed ball. Brown scored on Devers’ fielding error. The A’s led 4-1.

The Red Sox scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth. The A’s had lefty Sam Moll on the hill to work the eighth. Rob Refsnyder, pinch-hitting for Franchy Cordero, singled. Christian Vasquez walked to give Boston two men on and no out.

Moll retired Jackie Bradley, Jr. for the first out. Bobby Dalbec was out on a fly ball to centerfield. Rafael Devers reached on third baseman Jonah Bride’s throwing error. Vasquez advanced to third on the play. A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in closer Dany Jiminez to pitch. J.D.Martinez drove in Vasquez with an infield hit. Jiminez got out of the jam by retiring Xander Bogaerts. The A’s led 4-3. 

Jimenez set the Red Sox down 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the win for the A’s. 

Game Notes: The A’s ended the road trip with two wins and even losses. They are 3-16 in their last 19 games. The A’s, for the season, are 22-43 and are in last place in the AL West. Boston drops to 34-30.

Blackburn threw 98 pitches, 61 for strikes. His record is now 6-2. Dany Jiminez earned his 11th save.

The line score for Oakland was four runs, eight hits, and two errors. Boston’s line was three runs, eleven hits, and one error. Boston won the season series with Oakland five games to one.

The A’s return home to face the Kansas City Royals for three games starting Friday night. The Royals have no announced a starter and Frankie Montas (3-6, 3.40) will go for Oakland.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s scratch out a second win to end nine game road trip in Boston

Tony Kemp (5), Chad Pinder (10), and Elvis Andrus (17) all celebrate the Oakland A’s win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Thu Jun 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Thursday night in Boston the Oakland A’s (22-43) picked up their second win to conclude their nine game road trip on Thursday night. The win marked the A’s second win in 15 games overall with a razor close 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox (34-30).

#2 The A’s got help from starting pitcher Paul Blackburn who pitched into the sixth inning and got some run support from Christian Bethancourt who slugged a two run RBI single.

#3 The A’s also got some offensive help from Chad Pinder who got an RBI single. The A’s had a three run top of the third inning that gave them some insurance going forward in the contest.

#4 In a recent interview with A’s general manager David Forst, Forst said some of the reasons for the A’s struggles were coming from the ball park issues and what is happening on the field. The A’s had dealt some of their key players and basically Forst said the club shouldn’t be expected to win like they had in previous years.

#5 The A’s open a three game series Friday night against the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum starting pitchers for the Royals no starter announced yet the A’s will go with Frankie Montas (3-6 ERA 3.40) a 6:40 pm PDT first pitch at the Coliseum.

Join Jeremiah for the A’s podcasts heard Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s Kaprielian facing too much Red Sox hitting in 10-1 loss

Boston Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo gets congratulations from first base coach Ramon Vazquez (84) after going yard for a two run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning at Fenway Park in Boston on Wed Jun 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s (21-43) were crushed in a 10-1 laugher at Fenway Park in the third game of this four game series. Jonah Bride who was called up Tuesday got two hits on Wednesday and Matt Davidson had a pinch hit home in the sixth inning for the A’s.

#2 The Boston Red Sox (34-29) kept pouring it on and got lots of help from slugger Rafael Devers who hit for his fourth consecutive game home run.

#3 The A’s just couldn’t get any traction on this road trip and A’s manager Mark Kotsay said A’s starter James Kaprielian has had some good outings but in this loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday Kaprielian will just have to forget about this one and move on.

#4 Oakland A’s pinch hitter Matt Davidson hit a top of the sixth inning home run off Red Sox reliever and former A’s pitcher Jake Diekman which ended Boston’s shutout.

#5 The A’s conclude this ten game road trip starting with Paul Blackburn (5-2, 2.31) for the Red Sox Rich Hill (2-3, 4.38) a 10:38 AM PDT first pitch at Fenway Park.

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

Red Sox cruise to an easy 10-1 victory over A’s; Devers homers for 4th game in a row

The Boston Red Sox Rafael Devers hits a second inning two run home run as Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy can only watch at Fenway Park in Boston on Wed Jun 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

For the first four innings of the game Wednesday between the A’s and the Red Sox, it was deja vu once more. The Red Sox tallied six runs in the first four innings, just as they did Tuesday night. Last night, they failed to score after the fourth inning. They scored four more times tonight to trounce the hapless Oakland A’s 10-1. 

James Kaprielian started for the A’s. Kaprielian pitched well in his last outing, and the A’s hoped Kaprielian would continue to pitch well. James had trouble with his command. In his three and 2/3rds innings of work, he threw 94 pitches; 48 were strikes.

He walked six batters and gave up seven hits and six runs. Reliever Domingo Acevedo was tagged for a two-run dinger off the bat of Alex Verdugo in the sixth inning. Lou Trivino had another rough night, giving up four hits and two runs in the eighth.

Boston grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With one out, Kaprielian walked Rafael Devers and J.D.Martinez. Xander Bogaerts singled to load the bases. Kaprielian retired Alex Verdugo on a ground to second.

Devers scored on the play. The Sox lead 1-0. The Red Sox increased the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second. With two out and a man at first, Devers sent a line drive into the bullpen in right field for his 16th home run. The exit velocity was a smoking-hot 113 miles-per-hour. It was the fourth game in a row that Devers had homered.

The Sox plated their fourth run in the bottom of the third. Bogaerts led off the inning with a fly ball that scraped the Green Monster in left field that was good for a double. Verdugo singled to drive Bogaerts in with the run. 

Kaprielian, normally a pitcher with good control, walked Jarren Duran and Devers to start the fourth inning. J.D.Martinez was retired on a fly ball to right field. Duran tagged and went to third. Bogaerts drove in Duran with a sacrifice fly to right.

Verdugo singled, sending Devers to third. Sox second baseman Trevor Story hit a swinging bun up the third baseline. Kaprielian fielded the ball, but his throw got by A’s first baseman Christian Bethancourt. Devers scored on the play. Boston owned a commanding 6-0 advantage after four innings of play.

The A’s scored their only run of the night in the sixth. Matt Davidson, pinch-hitting for Stephen Vogt, sent former A’s pitcher Jake Diekman’s pitch over the Green Monster onto Lansdowne Street. The Red Sox answered with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Alex Verdugo sent homered with a man on to make it an 8-1 lead for Boston.

The Sox added two more in the eighth. Lou Trivino retired the first man he faced. He then gave up back-to-back doubles to Martinez and Bogaerts for Boston’s ninth run. Two more singles produced the final run of the game. Boston wins 10-1.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 21-43. Boston improved to 34-29. 

The A’s have lost 16 of the last 18 games played. They play Boston Again Thursday afternoon. The Red Sox have won all five games between the teams this year.

Kaprielian took the loss and is 0-4. Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski notched his first win in Major League baseball. His record is 1-1.

The bright spots for Oakland were Matt Davidson’s monster home run and Jonah Bride’s first two hits in the Majors. 

Oakland’s line was one run, seven hits, and one error. Boston’s line was ten runs, thirteen hits, and no errors. 

The teams meet for the final time in 2022 at 10:35 am PT. The A’s will send Paul Blackburn out to pitch. The Red Sox will counter with former A’s hurler, lefty Rich Hill.

The time of the game was three hours and eight minutes. Thirty-one thousand eight hundred seventy-seven fans were on hand to see Boston romp to the lop-sided 10-1 victory.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The best division in baseball plus

Copy of the New York Daily News announcing the New York Mets and New York Yankees in the Subway World Series in 2000 edition could the two cross city rivals meet again in this year’s fall classic? (photo by wikipedia)

The Best Division in Baseball, Plus

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–For the first time this 2022 season there will be a third wild card team on each league. No division in baseball is better than the American League East, with the New York Yankees walking-away with the best record in baseball and Toronto, Tampa Bay and Boston poised for a tremendous race.

For the first time ever, a division could have three wild card teams going into the postseason and a total of four of the five teams in this division playing in October.

The American League East is the only division in baseball with four teams playing over .500. In the AL West, there is only one team to beat, Dusty Baker’s Houston Astros, they are the best team and will stay in first place.

The LA Angels are sputtering again, after a very nice start, they went into a funk lost 14 in a row, from May 25 to June 8,and Joe Maddon (one of the best managers in baseball) was sent packing.

Next managerial change could come from Seattle, where expectations were high for this team to win this year. Manager Scott Servais and General Manager Jerry DiPoto are in the hot seat. The Texas Rangers spend a fortune (close to half billion dollars) signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, they are both starting to play the way everybody expected, but I do not believe they have the pitching to overtake their State rivals Houston Astros.

The Oakland A’s are what they are. All the other teams have more established talent, they are trying to compete with rookie manager Mark Kotsay, a good baseball man, but the best jockey in the world cannot win the race if the horse is limping.

In the Central Division, considered the weakest in all the major leagues, supposed to be an easy one for the Chicago White Sox, but the great Tony LaRussa is not having much fun so far, star closer Liam Hendriks just placed into the IL.

The Minnesota Twins will be in the playoffs, as of today leading that division and the Cleveland Guardians are playing good baseball, leading the way at third-base, José Ramirez an early candidate for MVP. Watch out for the Indians, sorry, the Guardians, they have a good team and a terrific manager in Terry Francona.

There are some 100 games left for each team this season. While in New York they are talking about a Subway Series, Mets vs Yankees. Most recently, in 2000 the New York teams faced each other with the Yankees winning in five games, a memorable series, which I happened to worked for the Latino Baseball Network.

In other cities there is lots of disappointment. In Los Angeles, the Dodgers, whose manager, Dave Roberts predicted a 2022 World Series win during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, when he said “We will win the World Series in 2022. We will win the World Series this year.”

The Dodgers have pitching problems, ace Walker Buehler recently went into the IL, Julio Urias is not going to win 20 games again this season (he was the only to win 20 last season) plus mixed with an inconsistent offense, the Dodgers have stuff to “figure out”, they do have the talent.

The San Diego Padres, at this time, even with the delayed return of superstar Fernando Tatis Jr, looks like the team that could win this division. Bob Melvin is doing a great job, which is nothing new for the three-time Manager of the Year.

The San Francisco Giants, while they are not going to win 107 games again, they find a way to win series, starter Jacob Junis went into the IL, veterans like Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt, can’t seem to stay healthy.

Giants lost some pieces in the off-season, perhaps the biggest one, starter Kevin Gausman who had his best year ever in 2021 with a 14-6 record, and 2.81 ERA, he left for a very lucrative contract in Toronto. Nobody expected the Giants to have a similar season as 2021, which was a dream season, when every player at the same time, had great years.

Trades: The new deadline this year is set for August 2. There will be many trades, some earlier than others, but the greatest commodities are starting pitchers. they are in high demand. Many of the teams with hopes of postseason play will reinforce themselves. In today’s game the old saying “you never have enough pitching” is new again.

Happy Fathers Day weekend.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for all the play by play of Oakland A’s baseball on the A’s Spanish radio network and on flagship station Le Grande 1010 KIQI San Francisco and News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com