It’s almost the end of May, but voting for this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game is already under way. Yes, there are still five weeks left to determine each and every player who will be on the American and National League rosters, but it’s nice to take a look at some dark horse candidates who could be named to this season’s Midsummer Classic. As we all know, every one of the 32 major league teams must be represented by at least one player. For some of the bottom-feeding teams in baseball, it’s often difficult to identify who is worthy ...
Last week, Oakland Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain was the talk of Raider Nation after he was found guilty on charges of assault, reckless endangerment, menacing and wrongful discharge of a firearm and was subsequently sentenced to 180 days in jail.A number of fans felt that this serious issue—coupled with his less-than-stellar performance on the field—would lead new general manager Reggie McKenzie to quickly cut ties with McClain, especially since the team is on the brink of a new era.Head coach Dennis Allen explained earlier this month about he wants in a player, as well as what it means to be a Raider. He ...
Eight years after being traded to the Oakland Athletics, it's time for the franchise to give up on Daric Barton. In 2004, the A's shipped Mark Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals for several young, talented prospects. Barton—a 19-year-old converted catcher—was the centerpiece of the deal. He was supposed to be the power hitting first baseman of the future. He's had nearly a decade, and fans are still waiting to see any resemblance of the production that was enticing enough to split up the Big Three. In fact, in six seasons in the majors, Barton has only had one good ...
"Jawalrus Bussell was the biggest bust in NFL history.""The problem was, he was drinking the purple drink in the huddle." "He could throw a party, just not a football." At this point, I think we've all heard every single play on words that you can possibly apply to his JaMarcus Russell's name. I even think he has beat out Jeremy Lin...in a negative manner, though. The truth of the matter is, JaMarcus Russell is no longer a Raider, and he hasn't been for over two years now. But yet his name still lingers in the comments and quotes of several writers and ...
It's the first offseason in what Raider Nation hopes is many for new general manager Reggie McKenzie.The late, great Al Davis spoiled Raider Nation with nearly 50 such offseasons. Davis had a few good offseasons before he died and set McKenzie up with a solid roster to use as a springboard towards the future.McKenzie knows that not every move he makes will work out. Some of the moves will be big successes, some will be average successes and others total busts. The idea is to have far more good moves than bad ones.While most of McKenzie's moves have made a ...
Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane, infamous for his wheeling and dealing front office habits, made another seemingly brazen move in the offseason by sending All-Star closer Andrew Bailey to the Boston Red Sox in a deal centered around the largely unproven 25-year-old outfielder Josh Reddick.Many saw the move as an early indicator that the A’s were entering a rebuilding phase in 2012 as the franchise awaits the announcement of the location of their new ballpark. However, Reddick and the A’s have exceeded expectations so far this season. Oakland appears to be an outside threat to snag the American League’s Wild ...
I like an underdog story just as much as the next guy, but Rolando McClain needs to be traded or released from the Oakland Raiders.Let's cut through the crap. This is a classic Oakland Raiders story: troubled, yet immensely talented ball player is given chance after chance to prove his worth, but potential never surfaces. Oakland management needs to save everyone the trouble of seeing another talented player collect a check without showing his worth.Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen vowed to usher in a new age in Raider Nation. Let's face it, Raider faithful, we're all sick and tired of ...
Down 2-0, the A's used a gritty fourth inning rally against Tim Lincecum to score four runs and defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-2, salvaging the final game of the Bay Bridge series in San Francisco. The rally gave Bartolo Colon his fourth win of the year. Lincecum dropped to 2-4. In defeat, Melky Cabrera went 4-for-4 to raise his batting average to .353 on the season.The Giants took an early lead on single runs in the second and third on RBIs by Joaquin Arias and Buster Posey. In the fourth, the A's got one-out singles from Seth Smith and ...
The man who made the Oakland Raiders what they are today, Al Davis, was known for giving football players a second, or sometimes third, chance. Davis took on misfits like Ted Hendricks, John Matuszak, Jim Plunkett and many more, and he gave them a chance to redeem themselves.When Davis died last October, we all knew the Raiders would take a new path, but hoped that the new path would include some of the old Raiders mystique. This means more than keeping Steve Wisniewski on the coaching staff as an assistant offensive line coach.General manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen ...
The Oakland A's sent Brandon McCarthy to the mound on Opening Day this season; now they are sending him to the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder.McCarthy, who was forced to push back a start earlier this season with shoulder discomfort, was placed on the disabled list Sunday in a move that is retroactive to May 18.McCarthy's last two starts since his start was pushed back have been pretty solid. He pitched seven innings of shutout ball, striking out 10 and not walking a batter on May 12. In his following start on May 17, he threw 5.1 ...