According to a report by ESPN's Pedro Gomez on SportsCenter, Manny Ramirez is going to sign with the Oakland Athletics.The embattled slugger, who is likely facing a 50-game drug suspension, retired five games into last season, but recently had a change of heart.According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, Ramirez recently worked out for the A's and will likely earn a little more than the league minimum of $480,000.After the signing of Yoenis Cespedes, A's general manager Billy Beane has shown that he's still going to put a team on the field that will compete.With the addition of Ramirez as a ...
Can newly acquired Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes save the Oakland Athletics franchise? It may be too early to declare Cespedes a savior, but it's a safe bet he'll be an immediate All-Star. Scouts have deemed the 26-year-old a five-tool player who will be successful in Major League Baseball. The Athletics paid $36 million for four years of service to find out. Signing an eight-figure contract without ever playing a game on this level will bring high expectations. The speculation and hype only make it more of a challenge. Here are seven reasons Cespedes will meet those expectations, and represent Oakland ...
Al Davis carefully planned his estate so his son could retain full control of the team. It will be Mark Davis who leads the team into an era of Raiders football without his legendary father. Mark Davis waited three months before making any changes on the football side of the organization, but changes were inevitable. Perhaps the best slogan for the 2012 Raiders would be, "Under New Management."The Raiders have hired 21 new people on the football side of the organization and whereas a quality control coach will have little to no impact on the immediate or long-term success of the team, a general ...
With Spring Training 2012 in its infancy, a surprising story is developing. The Oakland A’s are actually a team to pay attention to. After Billy Beane and company cleaned house by shipping out Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey for two fistfuls of prospects, the A’s future appeared bleak. While the A’s ability to compete is still very much in question, their appeal has skyrocketed. The A’s shocked the baseball world by signing highly talented, but extremely risky, Cuban sensation Yoenis Céspedes to a four-year contract worth $36 million.The A’s came out of nowhere to grab the player who ...
After years of poor performance, underwhelming results and a core that was going to start getting more expensive, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane decided to blow up the whole thing and rebuild the franchise. The farm system was muddled in the middle of the pack prior to the offseason, but all the trades and signing of Yoenis Cespedes have made them significantly stronger and brought optimism back to the bay. Of course, where this team is playing by the time their top talent makes his big league debut remains unclear. Ownership wants a stadium in San Jose, but the San Francisco ...
It was just over a month ago when Yahoo's Mike Silver wrote an article depicting Raiders owner Mark Davis as the incompetent "Tommy Boy" of his father's long standing business—a reference to the 1995 Chris Farley movie, Tommy Boy.
Silver referenced a story he was told by a former team employee that illustrated the way the elder Davis notoriously belittling his son. Here is a transcript of that conversation:
Back in the spring of 2008, when he was very much in charge of the Oakland Raiders’ singularly peculiar organization, Al Davis presided over a pre-draft meeting at the team’s Alameda, Calif., training facility. As ...
Welcome back to the fourth edition of my Oakland Raiders Draft Wish List for the 2012 NFL Draft, which is just a few months away now. As we grow closer to the NFL Combine, I will continue to unravel some more under the radar prospects that fit with the Raiders so that you all have someone to keep an eye on during the event. Since my last three wish list players were all a part of the front seven, I thought it'd be time to focus on different aspects of the team that need improving.Last season, the safety position for ...
Every now and then something happens in the sports world that just leaves me shaking my head in wonder. Today I am wondering why any Major League Baseball team would give Manny Ramirez another chance.When I read on ESPN.com that the Oakland Athletics have a strong interest in signing the slugger, I had to read the story again to make sure I had the correct Ramirez in mind. Why? Why would any team sign him? That was the first thought I had after realizing I had the correct player in mind. As a true-blue Dodgers fan it doesn't really affect ...
Earlier on Friday, according to Dan Kolko of MASN Sports, the Cincinnati Bengals have hired former Oakland Raiders Head Coach Hue Jackson as an assistant.That being said, considering that Jackson was the incumbent of a head coaching position and has now fallen to a positional coach, it's just another tab added on to the Raiders' former head coaching woes.To understand why this is, here's a look at other recent Raiders head coaches and what they've done since leaving Oakland. Tom Cable (2008-2010)After being the Raiders offensive line coach in 2007 and part of 2008, Tom Cable made the jump to head ...
It is important that when the A's get their new ballpark, they do not screw it up. Below is a detailed list of what should be done to ensure said ballpark is a hit with the fans:Pick a name and stick with itSince Cisco, as mentioned, is partnering with the A's and has been for a while, this shouldn't be a problem. I understand $1 million is a ton of money for a franchise like the A's, but seriously...Overstock.com Coliseum? Makes your mouth dry and wastes time just saying it (O.co isn't much better in either aspect). It's difficult to believe the simplistic Overstock ...