Oakland

A’s edge Rays in Wild Card race

Published

12 years ago

August 30, 2013

Oakland, CA – He’s now tied with legendary Catfish Hunter for seventeen unbeaten starts. Jarrod Parker bested American League ace David Price in the A’s 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

“It is what it is,” Parker said when asked if he’s aware of his tie with Hunter. “It’s just something that I’m not thinking about when I’m going out.”

The righty has better things on his mind, like helping Oakland gain sole possession of first place for the American League Wild Card spot. They pulled within two games of the Texas Rangers who currently hold first place in the AL West.

The A’s got back into the game in the fifth inning when Kurt Suzuki blasted a three-run homer for the 3-1 lead. Price who has lost only once in his last 11 starts since coming off the disabled list July 2, began to unravel.

Alberto Callaspo leadoff the frame when he grounded to second baseman Ben Zobrist, who over threw first base. That error allowed Callaspo to advance to second. David then walked Chris Young putting two on with no outs.

“It was my error no question,” said Zobrist. “I don’t think he walks [Chris] Young unless the error is made. He was cruising up to that point. I threw it too hard and too high and it got away from me.”

Price struck out Brandon Moss but Suzuki followed with a home run to left field that was cleared for takeoff. It was his first home run for Oakland in 405 days. Kurt’s last went deep on July 22, 2012 and was traded to the Washington Nationals on August 3, 2012.

“It’s pretty special,” Suzuki said regarding his home run. “It felt really good and to be off a pitcher like Price… He’s one of the best pitchers in the game right now, so it’s pretty neat.”

Appearing for the first time at O.co Coliseum since being traded back to the A’s, the ctacher blended right into an offense that’s been “hot” since the Detroit series. The 34 runs were the most in a series this year and the hits keep coming.

“We’re getting some better at-bats, certainly starting in Detroit,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Even in Baltimore to some extent we started swinging the bat a lot better. The last 4, 6, or 7 games we’ve been swinging it well. A lot of that has to do with what Brandon Moss has been doing and certainly Suzuki’s hit today was huge because it didn’t look like we were going to string to many hits against Price.”

Oakland’s defense did a good job backing Jarrod whose outing lasted seven innings. He allowed six hits, three runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Parker started the eighth by yielding a single and walk before his night ended.

After two batters reached base he was pulled for Ryan Cook , who gave up a bloop single to load the bases. Tampa Bay cut the lead to one when Matt Joyce hit a sacrifice fly to left field.

James Loney whose batting a major league-high .360 on the road tied the game 3-3 with a RBI double to center field. The last player to finish a season with a road average that high was New York Yankees Robinson Cano in 2006.

Bottom of the eighth, it was the A’s who continued their at-bats. Jed Lowrie’s RBI single scored in Coco Crisp who leadoff the frame with a single. That was Lowrie’s 13th double this month and 12-game hitting streak.

“You look at the last game and it’s easy to say, well we should’ve won,” Lowrie said. “But it was still a great series, a great road trip with a little hiccup at the end. Obviously by the results tonight, we didn’t dwell on it.”

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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

Published

2 days 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

1 week 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.

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Teachers’ Union Thanks Supt. Johnson-Trammell for Service to Schools and Community

“I speak for our Oakland community and the families OEA serves in thanking Supt. Johnson-Trammell for her service. With public schools and immigrant families under attack nationally from Trump and with budget challenges affecting many California school districts, these are tough times demanding the best of what we all have to offer,” said OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer in a statement released Thursday.

Published

1 week ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer. Courtesy photo.

The union calls for a community-involvement in search for new superintendent

By Post Staff

While pointing out that Supt. Kayla Johnson-Trammell has been planning to resign for a while, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) thanked her for years of service to the schools and called for community involvement in the search for a new superintendent.

“While we disagreed strongly on a number of issues,” said Taiz-Rancifer, “Dr. Johnson-Trammell is a daughter of Oakland and a product of our public schools. We thank her for her service and wish her the best moving forward.”

She said the schools’ community was aware that the superintendent had been planning to leave well before this week’s announcement.

“The superintendent has spoken publicly throughout the year about her planned departure. In August 2024, the previous school board approved a renewed contract raising her compensation to over $600,000 per year and allowing her to step back from daily responsibilities beginning in the 2025-2026 school year,” said Taiz-Rancifer.

She said the teachers’ union has been raising concerns about the need for stability and financial transparency in the district. “For three of the last four years, the district projected major deficits, only to end with millions in reserve.” This year, she said, the district added $90 million to central office overhead expenses.

“Just last month, a majority of school board directors took action to cap expensive consultant costs and develop alternative budget proposals that align spending with community priorities to keep funding in classrooms,” she said.

Taiz-Rancifer said the union stands behind the leadership of Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Boardmembers Valarie Bachelor, Rachel Latta, and VanCedric Williams.