Heading into spring training to begin the 2012 season fresh off an offseason full of activity by the front office, scouts and fans alike projected the A's to push the 100-loss mark for the season and wallow in the American League West cellar for the entire season.The focus was clear and without question—build towards 2014 and a new stadium in San Jose.Six months later we find the A's in an unexpected and unfathomable place: the playoffs.The 2002 Oakland A's inspired a best-selling book and later Hollywood movie, Moneyball. Brad Pitt was brought in and played Billy ...
After four weeks, the Oakland Raiders have left us with more questions than answers as they slouch into their bye week.The Raiders have been nothing short of a disappointment this season, and the new regime in Oakland hasn't made them any better.The defense is awful, Darren McFadden is awful and the team is one rally away from being 0-4. But despite all of the bad things that have plagued the Raiders so far, there are still a few gems to discuss.Sebastian Janikowski remains the most consistent player on the team, and tight end Brandon Myers has solidified himself as a ...
You would be hard pressed to find a louder stadium than the Coliseum on the last day of the season in Oakland. And the Oakland A's Wednesday win over the Texas Rangers was just that—loud.You can bet that A's fans will be just as loud and colorful in the postseason. The fans are back, excitement is in the air and—for the time being—Oakland has become a baseball town again.Let's take a look at how the Athletics are going to fare in the postseason. Pitching Oakland fans learned the power of youth in 2012, witnessing a young group of hurlers who came together to ...
On June 30, the Oakland A's trailed the Texas Rangers by 13 games in the AL West. They trailed the Rangers by five games as recently as last Monday.On Wednesday, the A's finally underdogged their way past the Rangers in a 12-5 victory in front of a packed house at O.co Coliseum that went absolutely bananas when the final out was squeezed. One guy was so stoked that he found himself celebrating on the ground amidst the peanut shells and hot dog wrappers.And rightfully so. The 2012 A's are the first team in baseball history to overcome a five-game deficit ...
Four games into the season, the Oakland Raiders clearly aren't where they had hoped to be, having won just one game thus far.After losing in Weeks 1 and 2, fans could write off the two losses for a myriad of reasons.Against the Chargers, the Raiders' long-snapping woes cost them the field position battle and set San Diego up for easy scores.Against Miami, Oakland faced a short week, a trip back east, exhausting heat and an early start. In fact, despite starting 0-2, there was still some hope in the black hole.In Week 3, the Raiders lived up to the expectations ...
How could I not write about this Oakland Athletics team? I mean, after overcoming so many obstacles—including a 13-game deficit on June 30—to win the AL West, it’s impossible not to. So this post, albeit brief, is dedicated to their magical run, which continues Saturday at Comerica Park.Before the regular season began, I was sure of three things: that the offense, because of a power shortage, would have to manufacture runs; that Jemile Weeks was immune to the sophomore slump; and that the team would actually surprise a lot of people and finish third in the division, not fourth. Shows how much ...
Ryan Cook, Sean Doolittle and Grant Balfour shut the door on the Texas Rangers in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning.Metallica was blaring and over 12,000 walk-up tickets had been sold.Not one day in first place in the past 161 games.Eight outs away from a possible rematch with Detroit, one which ended badly during the 2006 playoffs for the Athletics. The aforementioned closing trio again shut the door in the faces of the Texas Rangers, who for the third time in three years have had to deal with some sort of disappointment while in the playoffs or during the run-up to the ...
Amid all the joy that has accompanied the Oakland Athletics' improbable AL West crown comes tragic news, as relief pitcher Pat Neshek and his wife Stephanee lost their newborn son, Gehrig John Neshek, just 23 hours after he was born.Neshek tweeted the sad news last evening:
Please pray for my family.Tonight my wife & I lost our first & only son 23 hours after he was born with no explanation.— Pat Neshek (@PatNeshek) October 4, 2012
The A's quickly lent their support to the family in a statement during this trying time, according to the Associated Press (via USA Today):Our hearts go ...
The Oakland A’s beat the Texas Rangers 12-5 on Wednesday, sweeping the series and clinching the American League West title in the process.The A’s, with a pieced together team of rookies, recent call-ups and unproven veterans, did the impossible; though if you’ve followed the A’s from the All-Star break, the playoff spot is surprising but totally explainable. Sort of. By winning their first division title in six years, the pesky A’s went from a Cinderella story just trying to make the brand-new second AL wild-card playoff spot to a team chasing down the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers. ...
No one believed. Not in the off-season, when the Angels went and signed Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, or when the Rangers got Yu Darvish and Joe Nathan. Meanwhile, the A's quietly signed a Cuban expatriate whose name no one could pronounce. Not in March, when the pundits picked them to lose 100 games, despite A's beat writer Susan Slusser and former Rays Jonny Gomes and Grant Balfour saying the A's might have a chance at creating the same magic the Rays did in 2008, when they got to the World Series. Not in May, when the A's had to ...