Coming through in the clutch, suddenly the Oakland A's are surging again.Jemile Weeks hit a single past a drawn-in infield in the seventh inning, and the A's defeated Boston 3-2 to sweep the Red Sox for the first time since May 2008. Grant Balfour pitched a scoreless seventh inning to get the win in relief, and Ryan Cook pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save.Once again, A.J. Griffin was rock solid but did not factor in the decision.Griffin went six solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on just three hits and two walks, while striking out three. His ...
With the return of offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp and his version of the West Coast offense, the 2012 NFL season brings many changes for the Oakland Raiders organization and Carson Palmer. As Raiders fans recall, this is not the first time the West Coast offense has been used in Oakland.Former Raiders head coaches Jon Gruden and Bill Callahan were very successful running their versions of the West Coast offense, and the results were three trips to the playoffs and one Super Bowl appearance.Will the Oakland Raiders be successful with a West Coast offense run by quarterback Carson Palmer?Let’s take a ...
The Oakland A’s probably aren’t going to make the playoffs this season—or in the next couple of seasons either. They’re in a rebuilding stage, which could be a reason to sell high on Josh Reddick. Reddick is having an incredible season in Oakland after general manager Billy Beane acquired him from the Boston Red Sox during the offseason. Through 78 games this season, Reddick has already more than doubled his career high in home runs with 19. Although Reddick currently isn’t on the AL All-Star team roster, he leads all Oakland A’s in wins above replacement by a huge margin. ...
What seemed like another frustrating defeat turned into a thrilling comeback victory as the Oakland A's scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2. Coco Crisp's sacrifice fly capped a rally started by Chris Carter's single off of Boston closer Alfredo Aceves and was aided by an error by center fielder Ryan Kalish on the tying RBI single from pinch hitter Brandon Moss. The win was the A's sixth walk-off victory on the 2012 season.Bartolo Colon returned from the disabled list and was good, throwing six innings and allowing two runs (one ...
Even though Darren McFadden has the potential to do great things in the upcoming 2012 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders should not look to run first.In a quarterback-friendly league, the Raiders need to take advantage of the incredible variety of weapons that they possess on the offensive side of the ball.Here are five reasons why the team from the City Across the Bay should look to pass first in 2012.Begin Slideshow
Three years ago Louis Murphy out-shined fellow draft selection Darrius Heyward-Bey. Murphy had been selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft and Heyward-Bey was the over-drafted first-round pick.Fast-forward to today and Murphy is on the roster bubble and fighting for his roster spot and Heyward-Bey is an unquestioned starter.A lot had to go wrong for Murphy and he lost his job because other players made the most of their opportunity with him out. The Raiders also drafted several receivers and that added a lot of competition. 2009 Rookie SeasonIn his rookie season of 2009, Murphy hauled in 34 passes for ...
Oakland Raiders legend Ben Davidson epitomized the commitment to excellence. He was one of the great Raiders, and he died Monday at the age of 72. Jim Plunkett on Davidson:I got to know what a lovable, fun-loving guy he was. He was a terrific human being. Down to earth, solid as a rock. He'll be sorely missed. He was part of that culture making group of guys for the Raiders. He's one of the guys that epitomizes the Raiders of the '60s and '70s. (via Steve Corkran, San Jose Mercury News)Tom Flores on Davidson:
He was a tough, gutsy ballplayer, team oriented ...
You've heard of a pitcher intentionally walking a pitcher for strategy purposes—so how about a team asking its pitcher to intentionally balk to end a long extra inning game?Todd Steverson, who is a hitting instructor inside the Oakland A's organization, has been suspended by Minor League Baseball for intentionally asking his pitcher to balk. This advanced two runners into scoring position to end the longest game in the California League this season. This was with the Stockton Ports and, as a result, Steverson has been banned from the Stockton dugout for the next year. The Ports are a High-A affiliate of ...
The Oakland Athletics have yet to indicate whether they'll be buyers, sellers or stand pat at this year's trade deadline, but already several players are starting to be linked with other teams. A few players—like Brian Fuentes—are speculated to be on the move no matter what the A's decide to do. With all the various rumors swirling, it's hard to know exactly where a player will land. Here's a prediction for where each Oakland trade candidate will end up. More than two trades at one deadline is rare. This article isn't suggesting all six of these will absolutely take place ...
As with any business in the world, there are good deals made and bad deals made. The same holds true in the NFL.When the late Al Davis ran the show for the Oakland Raiders, there were a lot of questionable contracts given out to players that essentially held the team back. Some fans are still haunted by the contracts of JaMarcus Russell, Javon Walker, and DeAngelo Hall.Now the Raiders have a new general manager in Reggie McKenzie, and he has already showed to be more judicious in spending money when building a roster.With that said, there are still players on ...