Oakland

Crisp sparks offense in A’s victory

Published

12 years ago

August 31, 2013

Oakland, CA – There’s a reason why he’s the leadoff hitter. He provides a spark for the A’s when in the lineup and tonight he is one home run shy from his season high, sixteen.

Coco Crisp sparked the offense in Oakland’s 2-1 win over the Rays. Crisp singled in the A’s first run in the sixth when he scored in Stephen Vogt. Then in eighth he went deep to left field for the insurance run and gave Oakland a 2-0 lead.

“It’s always nice to be able to get a win like this,” Coco said. “Obviously an amazing pitcher pitching today, any runs we can scrap up against him we’re grateful for and lucky it was enough today.”

Vogt went hitless in 27 plates appearances with Tampa Bay in 2012. Batting against his former team for the first time, Stephen leadoff the inning with a triple off the wall that center-fielder Will Myers misjudged, that setup Coco’s single.

The A’s backed a stellar outing from rookie Sonny Gray who tossed 6 2/3 frames against Alex Cobb who was just as spectacular. A pitchers duel lasted through five innings until Oakland scored in the sixth.

“I had a feeling pretty early on that both guys were going to be pitching well and runs were going to be tough to come by, and that was the case,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin.

Gray yielded five hits, one walk, and struck out seven. Both of his wins have come at home where he’s allowed just two earned runs. He was replaced by Sean Doolittle in the seventh and walked off the mound to a standing ovation.

In the fourth the righty allowed a runner to reach scoring position for the third straight inning but no one ever reached home plate to score. Tampa struggled on offense leaving runners in scoring position in several innings.

“The fans are great here,” Sonny said. “I love pitching at home. I think in the fourth inning I had two men on and you could tell that everyone really gets behind you and helps you get that last hitter. It’s nice to get that little kick.”

Doolittle got himself in a jam after throwing a wild pitch and issued a free pass to Jose Lobaton. But managed to force Desmond Jennings to flyout to center field to end the threat. The Rays again left runners in scoring position and failed to score any runs until the ninth.

Closer Grant Balfour won his 35th save but fought an uphill battle to get that. He gave up a double to Myers, walked James Loney and Jennings knocked in Tampa’s only run when he singled up the middle.

The next batter grounded to Balfour who took off to first base for the out and the win. Oakland is now two games behind the Rangers in the AL West. But lead the Rays 1 1/2 games in the Wild Card race.

The A’s extended their streak of consecutive winning months after finishing August 14-13 dating back to June which was the fourth longest streak in Oakland history.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 7 – 13, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 7 – 13, 2025

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6 days ago

May 9, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of April 30 – May 6, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 30 – May 6, 2025

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2 weeks ago

May 4, 2025

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Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

2 weeks ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.