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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Articles tagged: Oakland A’s

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A’s pitcher Brett Anderson wonders if Astros were stealing signs

August 28, 2018
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Oakland A’s pitcher Brett Anderson had a streak of impressive starts come to an end on Monday night when he gave up five runs in the third inning against the Houston Astros, and he couldn’t help but wonder if there was some relaying of signs going on.

Following the game, which the A’s lost 11-4 after jumping out to a 4-0 lead, Anderson told reporters he felt the Astros had better at-bats against him with runners on second base.

“I don’t know if I was tipping pitches with guys at second or something but they seemed to be laying off good pitches and on certain pitches,” Anderson said, via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. “So I’ve got to look at video, re-evaluate that.”

Houston did much of its damage with a series of doubles in the third, so that’s probably what Anderson was referring to. He did, however, admit that he didn’t have a good feel for his slider after allowing just two runs over his previous four starts.

Anderson was shelled early in the season but seems to have figured some things out lately. He’s lowered his ERA from 6.08 to 4.02 in a span of just over a month, and the A’s are hoping most of his struggles are behind him with the playoffs approaching.

This isn’t the first time this season that the Astros have been accused of funny business, though relaying signs from second base is simply part of the game. If Houston was able to figure out which pitches Anderson was throwing, the A’s will have to adjust going forward.

Ranking the 10 teams most likely to win the World Series

August 22, 2018
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JD Martinez

We’re headed toward what has the potential to be one of the best MLB playoffs in quite some time. A loaded American League features several elite teams that will have to square off in heavyweight battles, while the National League playoff picture looks wide open and could go any number of directions. We do have a clear idea of who’s likely going to make it, though, and thus we can begin to assess how these contenders stack up against each other.

Here are the ten MLB teams most likely to win the World Series, from least to most.

10) St. Louis Cardinals

New manager Mike Shildt has engineered a remarkable turnaround in St. Louis, with the team going 23-11 in his first 34 games and apparently getting hot at the right time. This has been largely predicated on Matt Carpenter’s offensive tear, with his 34 homers pacing the National League. St. Louis has a young rotation that hasn’t yet been tested in a pennant race, but they’ve pitched well on the whole. Getting Carlos Martinez back quickly will be a big bonus. If any team knows how to get hot late and make an October run, it’s the Cardinals, and that bears watching.

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Athletics acquire Mike Fiers from Tigers

August 6, 2018
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Mike Fiers

The Oakland Athletics have boosted their rotation for the stretch run with a waiver trade acquisition.

The team announced Monday that they have acquired pitcher Mike Fiers from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for two players to be named later or cash.

The 33-year-old Fiers has been a very solid contributor to the Tigers this season. He’s 7-6 with a 3.48 ERA in 21 starts, and he led the 2017 World Series winning Houston Astros in innings pitched.

Fiers is also an experienced veteran headed to a fairly young team. The way things are going, he may rekindle his rivalry with a Yankees slugger in a potential AL Wild Card game.

Mets, A’s finalize trade for closer Jeurys Familia

July 21, 2018
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Jeurys Familia

Entering a Saturday game against the New York Yankees, closer Jeurys Familia remained unavailable for the New York Mets as trade winds continued to swirl.

The Mets and Oakland A’s were knee-deep in trade discussions for Familia and had begun to review medical records of all players involved in the proposed trade as of Friday night. And shortly after the conclusion of a 7-6 loss to the Yankees on Saturday, the Mets and A’s finalized the deal for Familia.

In exchange for Familia, the A’s are sending minor league infielder William Toffey, right-handed pitcher Bobby Wahl and international bonus pool money to the Mets.

The 23-year-old Toffey was Oakland’s No. 17 overall rated prospect according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

Toffey is hitting .244/.357/.384 with with 5 home runs and 32 RBI in Advanced-A ball this season.

Meanwhile, in 40 games this season, Familia has a 2.88 ERA with 17 saves (four blown saves) in 40.2 innings.

A’s will set Oakland Coliseum attendance record on Saturday night

July 21, 2018
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Oakland Coliseum
The Oakland A’s will make history on Saturday night when hosting nearly 57,000 fans, which will be the largest crowd to ever amasse at the Oakland Coliseum. It will also be the largest single-game crowd for any MLB contest this season, besting the 53,904 fans who showed up for a June 26 game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs at Dodgers Stadium.

In order to reach the near-57,000 mark, the A’s will open up Mount Davis for the first time in 13 years, allowing for an additional 8,190 fans.

The exact attendance is expected to be 56,782, which is slightly more than the 55,989 fans who attended a game against the San Francisco Giants in June of 2004.

Walk-up tickets for the Saturday night game will not be available.

With the old school feel of the Oakland Coliseum and a battle between the Bay Area rivals, the atmosphere should be electric and legendary.

A’s use Angels’ Shohei Ohtani for marketing purposes

March 28, 2018
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Shohei Ohtani

There aren’t a ton of selling points surrounding the Oakland A’s this season, so the team has decided to promote an opposing player.

Ahead of Opening Day in Oakland on Thursday, the A’s sent out a tweet promoting their game with the Angels. They used Japanese player Shohei Ohtani as a selling point, even though he plays for the opposing team.

You know it’s not a great situation when you’re promoting your opponents’ players instead of your own. But there aren’t a ton of household names on the A’s to choose from.

Ohtani is set to make his pitching debut on Sunday. He could make his debut as a batter before then.

Athletics announce special parking prices for Giants fans

March 24, 2018
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The Oakland Athletics have a bit of a rivalry with the San Francisco Giants — so much so, in fact, that they’re introducing a special pricing plan aimed at Giants fans.

The A’s announced Saturday that Giants fans will have to pay $50 to park at the stadium — $20 more than it will cost your average Oakland fan.

There’s a catch, though — if you’re a Giants fan willing to yell “go A’s,” you get the base price.

Assuming it’s serious — and there’s no reason to doubt it is — this is pretty silly. The Giants have their own history of pettiness, but not quite on this level. Anything for some publicity, it seems.