Manny Ramirez has been a member of the Oakland Athletics for just over a month now, and all seems to be going well. There have been no dubious reports surrounding Ramirez, he's taken on a mentor role with some of the younger players and his bat is finally starting to come around.Assuming things continue the way they are, Ramirez may actually end up being a force for good, which would be a first for him. If he stays true to his word, then there's no reason why Ramirez can't be a great addition to the A's organization.His impact can be ...
One may look at the title and see a joke, it sure could pass as one. How could the Oakland Raiders do any damage to the magical aura of Peyton Manning? The four-time league MVP and a world champion? With the flimsy excuse for a defense last year, Peyton should be safe from the men in Silver and Black, right?Wrong.In the 2010 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders defense managed to put on a clinic on how to sack the quarterback. The Raiders put up a massive number of 47, which was tied for second in the league with the Green Bay Packers ...
For 50 years, Al Davis was the Oakland Raiders—the Raiders’ mentality was his mentality. He created the aura of the “Silver and Black,” he coined the mottoes “Just Win, Baby,” and “Commitment to Excellence,” he oversaw all personnel decisions. The Raiders were Al Davis. And because Davis didn’t believe in blowing it all up, the Raiders basically never had a full-on rebuild—offseasons weren’t for rebuilding; they were for reloading. Even when the introduction of the salary cap and free agency made this more difficult, Davis still refused to rebuild. And for awhile, he made it work. Seen as a master ...
Oakland Athletics rookie Jarrod Parker was assigned to minor league camp on Monday afternoon after the right-hander surrendered two runs on one hit over 3.2 innings, while issuing seven (yes, seven) walks. The damage would have been far worse for the 23-year-old—he did somehow walk away with the win—had he not induced two double plays. His afternoon also included a wild pitch, and he failed to record a strikeout. Parker's biggest issue on Monday stemmed from an inability to locate his fastball, a pitch that he has thrown with consistency in the past but struggled with as of late. In ...
Dozens of memorable figures have donned the green and gold, but one stands above the rest as the most recognizable member of the Oakland Athletics organization. A storied franchise, the A's have seen their share of personalities from players to managers and even front-office management. Over time, the people on this list have become synonymous with, "The Oakland A's." No matter what happens, they will forever be tied to the team. These men embody the organization like no other. They're as much of a trademark to the brand as the A's logo itself. So who stands apart from the rest as ...
In a developing story that was only a rumor at one point, the Oakland Raiders have re-signed RG Cooper Carlisle after releasing him just several days earlier. While some may be scratching their head at this move, it is actually a good decision by the Oakland front office.First of all, Carlisle is a veteran and brings (along with Mike Briesel) valuable experience to a young, but talented offensive line. The Raiders have several players who are only working off one or two years of experience in the NFL (Jared Veldheer, Stefen Wisniewski, Bruce Campbell, Joseph Barksdale, to name a few) ...
With the announcement of Peyton Manning choosing the Denver Broncos as his team for the near future, there was reaction from fans and analysts alike.I was actually sitting in my American History class when I got the word, and enjoyed the mixed reactions of my classmates. However, no one reacted with the same amount of humor as Raiders DT Richard Seymour.When talking with NFL Network's Steve Wyche, Seymour joked that he 'already has enough sleepless nights with 5 kids, and now he has to worry about Peyton Manning'.After, Seymour added having him in the league would 'in all seriousness make ...
The Raiders, continuing the trend of quietly adding solid, inexpensive starting caliber players, landed ex-49er cornerback Shawntae Spencer, as announced a earlier by ESPN.This was rumored as early as Friday, as Spencer made a short trip across the bay to visit Oakland after being released by the 49'ers. This is another solid add for Oakland, who's defensive secondary has been a ghost town after the release of three one-time starters.In another interesting bit of news, it was reported that Tracey Porter is ready to either sign with Oakland, or return to the Saints, with the first option being indicated as ...
After gutting a secondary filled to the brink with bad contracts, Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie is beginning to rebuild it with low-cost, low-risk players.Late last week, McKenzie signed former St. Louis Rams cornerback Ron Bartell to a one-year, $3 million deal, and he followed that acquisition up with a one-year deal for 30-year-old cornerback Shawntae Spencer, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers. Pro Football Talk confirmed the agreement through a league source Monday.To get the Raiders' runaway cap situation under control, McKenzie sent cornerbacks Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson packing before free agency began. While neither Bartell or Spencer ...
The Oakland Raiders came into the offseason with salary cap issues and needing to improve a team that finished a disappointing 8-8 last season. New general manager Reggie McKenzie was hired to reshape the Raiders' front office and establish a new philosophy to guide the team into the future.McKenzie has a plan and as time passes his philosophies will slowly be revealed. So far, McKenzie has made a flurry of moves designed to help the Raiders reach short-term and long-term goals such as getting under the salary cap and shedding back-loaded contracts that would have handicapped his plans in 2013 and ...