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Archive for February, 2012
While all of the talk about Yoenis Cespedes had seemingly shifted toward the Miami Marlins, the Oakland Athletics were able to swoop in under the radar and sign the Cuban sensation.According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, Cespedes signed a four-year deal with the Athletics that is worth $36 million. He should be a key part of the Athletics outfield this season. There will be high expectations for Cespedes this season, and he may not be able to live up to them.Begin Slideshow
In a surprise turn of events, Yoenis Cespedes has signed a four-year, $36 million deal with the Oakland Athletics, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.That after the Marlins appeared to be the front runners following a Wednesday meeting and tour of their new stadium in his first meeting with any teams since gaining residency.This move likely caps a very active offseason for Oakland, as the team dealt starting pitchers Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Guillermo Moscoso, Josh Outman and closer Andrew Bailey in moves that have helped replenish a fairly thin farm system and also returned some young players who will contribute ...
The Oakland A’s are in a state of change. After multiple offseason trades that overhauled their roster, the A’s are staring directly at what looks to be a daunting 2012 season. The Rangers and Angels both made upgrades to their rosters, while by all accounts the A’s did not. However, this does not mean they cannot bounce back from a 74-88 2011 campaign. In fact, despite finishing 14 games under .500, in the second half of the last season they were 35-35. Maintaining that kind of record for the entire 2012 season is the goal. There is no disregarding the ...
Nobody saw this one coming.Yahoo! Sports's Tim Brown reported on Twitter that Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes has agreed to terms with the Oakland Athletics. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the terms of the contract on Twitter: four years, $36 million.In a stunning turn of events for a team that dealt off a large amount of MLB talent, including Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey, Billy Beane grabbed the Cuban home run champion for $8 million a year.This offseason has been a busy one for Beane with his outfielders, re-signing Coco Crisp, trading for Seth Smith and, ...
Billy Beane has made his first big move since signing a contract extension last week.As recently as Sunday night, MLB.com reported that the Miami Marlins were still the favorite to sign Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.On Monday, however, the Oakland Athletics swept in and signed the 26-year-old, according to Tim Brown.This is a surprising move considering Oakland does not look like a team that will be in serious contention this season.They traded their best pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, to the Washington Nationals in the offseason. They have a lot of flaws, so it seems odd that they decided to sign Cespedes. What makes the deal even ...
It was a more than eventful offseason for the A's. They lost their closer, two of their top starters and both of their corner outfielders. Needless to say this will be a very different looking A's team come opening day.Though losing three all-star pitchers in the course of a month may seem like the club is heading in a horrible direction, it may actually work to the A's advantage, eventually. Clearly the loss of Gonzalez, Cahill and Bailey will impact the A's this season, but with the Angels and Rangers both making big splashes in free agency, the A's were ...
It takes wisdom to realize that sometimes the process of healing also entails causing pain. Reggie McKenzie is part of a restoration process to rebuild the Oakland Raiders into a championship team. He has had to use his scalpel to cut out some of the flack and whack that may be hidden deep within the attitudes and performances of the players. His first move caused an earthquake. The firing of Hue Jackson was a necessary ill to get things in order before making real progress. It seems McKenzie is a man with a plan. He has a vision and he is manning the vision ...
With Opening Day just around the corner, Major League Baseball teams have less than two months to solve issues regarding their rosters. For some, it's filling voids through free agency. For others, like say the Oakland Athletics, it's less about completing the roster and more about finalizing positions with who they have. The A's currently lack in monetary status. The franchise's hand is forced to propose solutions to many positional needs by looking internally. Luckily, there are several options at numerous positions already. Now it's just about figuring out which young talent receives the opportunity this year over the rest ...
Yesterday, as reported by CSNBayArea.com, the Oakland Raiders made a significant roster move by cutting cornerback Stanford Routt. It was a bold decision by new general manager Reggie McKenzie to shake up a defense that ranked 29th in total yards and 27th against the pass. Those stats are actually a bit deceptive, as the Raiders somehow looked worse than the numbers indicate. And a significant reason for that was the play of Routt. The seven-year veteran defensive back was continually picked on by the opposition last season, and he struggled mightily. He led the NFL with 17 penalties, eight of ...
The Oakland Raiders have a new leader in Reggie McKenzie, who reigns with an iron fist and indomitable will. McKenzie has brought a ruthlessness and ferocity with him to the Raiders franchise. These are qualities that have long been missing, or at the very least misguided. If you haven't already figured it out by now, I'm a huge fan.If ever there was a perfect sign for success, McKenzie embodies the very logo on the side of the Raiders' helmets. His reign of terror began before he was even formally announced as the team's general manager. On January 9, 2012, a day before ...