In a dual reversal of fortune for the 2012 season, the A's offense and clutch hitting was the difference. Propelled by five hits with two outs and runners in scoring position, Oakland erased an eighth-inning deficit to outslug the Chicago White Sox 9-7 Saturday night. Ryan Cook picked up the win and Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his eighth save of the year for the A's.Oakland erased an early 2-0 deficit with a five-run third inning. Most impressively, all the runs came with two outs. Chris Carter started the rally with a two-run single to left field scoring Coco ...
Former head coach of the Raiders and current ESPN commentator Jon Gruden attended practice on Saturday, the final practice before the team plays the Cowboys on Monday night in their first preseason game.Gruden's attendance marked his first time to Napa since Al Davis traded him prior to the 2002 season. Gruden will broadcast the game with Mike Tirico and Lisa Salters on ESPN and the team confirmed the game will be televised live locally. The Raiders practiced in shells and shorts for the second time this week and Richard Seymour (knee), Tyvon Branch (back) and Jack Crawford (foot) returned to action. Dennis ...
After striking out 10 Yankee batters over seven scoreless innings on July 20th, Oakland A’s pitcher Tommy Milone was 9-6 with a 3.34 ERA. In his past three starts, against Toronto twice and Tampa, he has been battered for 16 earned runs in 19 innings (7.58 ERA). He dropped all three of his starts to even his record at 9-9 and his ERA ballooned to 3.91. That rough patch has led to many a fantasy owner jumping ship. The question is, should you swoop him up? He certainly has use as a streamer at the very least. In his home ...
With a practice in shells and shorts on Wednesday and an off day on Thursday, you would expect a well-rested football team and a good practice performance on Friday. According to Dennis Allen, the Oakland Raiders lacked focus and tempo on Friday and will hope to rebound on Saturday morning. It's all about mental toughness, according to Allen, fighting through distractions like the heat and fatigue.Although the defense was hardly immune to making mistakes on Friday, they appeared to have the upper hand in the Napa Valley heat. There were numerous would-be sacks of Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart and a couple interceptions. ...
The Oakland A's were going out on a limb when they decided to sign Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $36 million back in February. They were banking on Cespedes' raw talent, hoping that his inexperience wouldn't keep him from establishing himself as a star in the major leagues.If it did, the A's were going to be in trouble. Some teams can swallow a $36 million contract like it's no big deal. The A's aren't one of those teams.Fortunately for the A's, it looks like they haven't bought a bust with their $36 million. It looks like they've bought ...
The Oakland Raiders defense last year was, to say the least, one of the worst in the league. To go along with that, they were the most penalized squad in the league.With the new front office and coaching staff, they are looking to change all of this by hiring Dennis Allen, the first defensive-minded coach Oakland has had since John Madden.The Raiders added Jason Tarver, ex-defensive coordinator at Stanford, as well as free agents on defense in Ron Bartell, Shawntae Spencer, David Tollefson, Phillip Wheeler and draft picks Miles Burris, Jack Crawford, Christo Bilukidi and Nate Stupar.In this article I ...
Chicks dig the long ball. They also dig movies with the handsome Brad Pitt starring as the equally handsome Billy Beane.The Oakland A's are leading the American League Wild Card chase mostly because of their 3.47 team ERA, which is fifth in all of baseball. However, it is the long ball that has kept the offense afloat this season.On the offensive side of things, the A's are just 23rd in runs scored, dead last in batting average, 27th in on-base percentage, 23rd in slugging percentage and 24th in OPS. However, the A's do two things well on offense that has ...
I don't know about you, but I've been counting the days to the 2012 Oakland Raiders season the moment the 2011 season ended back on New Year's Day. The closer we get, the more there is to be excited about.With the Raiders' first preseason game on Monday night, August 13, against the Dallas Cowboys, what are the most important things to watch for if you want to get a glimpse into the chances for the Silver and Black returning to the top of the AFC West?While fans have a lot to be excited about and many things to watch for ...
Everyone was expecting big things out of Yoenis Cespedes this season. After battling minor maladies in the first half of the season, Cespedes has really cashed in for the Athletics after the All-Star break, hitting with a whopping .402 BA and a .455 OBP. He's helped lead the bargain-basement Athletics back to playoff contention and appears to be getting better as the season rolls along.But A's GM Billy Beane is notorious for his wheeling and dealing ways, making no payer safe on the roster, even a star like Cespedes. Cespedes is under contract for the next four years, but that likely ...
The Oakland Athletics were surprisingly quiet at the trade deadline this year, but the organization made the right choice to stand pat—now they'll avoid several costly pitfalls. Sure, the A's traded for George Kottaras and shipped Kurt Suzuki to the Washington Nationals. Neither move was a big splash. Oakland didn't throw in the towel and sell off any veterans. They didn't acquire any big names for a late-season push. Perfect. Here are 10 reasons why the A's were right to skip out on major deadline deals.Begin Slideshow