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Archive for February, 2013
Billy Beane continues to make trades this offseason as we get closer and closer to spring training.  After earlier in the offseason Beane acquired Chris Young and John Jaso via trade, Beane is at it again.This time, Beane gave up three players in exchange for two (according to CSN California) with the newest member of the AL West: the Houston Astros.  The A's parted with half of their first-base platoon in Chris Carter, pitcher Brad Peacock and catcher Max Stassi.  The A's received infielder Jed Lowrie and pitcher Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros.After how the A's shocked the baseball ...
The Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros have come to an agreement that will send shortstop Jed Lowrie and pitcher Fernando Rodriguez to Oakland in exchange for first baseman Chris Carter, pitcher Brad Peacock and minor-league catcher Max Stassi, according to the Athletics' official Twitter account:Lowrie hit .244 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 97 games with the Astros last season. He is a career .250 hitter, but nearly doubled his career high in home runs (previously nine) in 2012. Rodriguez saw action in 71 games out of the Astros’ bullpen in 2012, finishing the year with a 5.37 ERA and ...
Successful football franchises have an identity to base their schemes, coaches and players on. Super Bowl champion and perennial contender Baltimore Ravens have had their model set for years now.  After the 2002 Super Bowl team, it took deceased Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis a while to set his model. But he was finally able to set it in 2010, and the Raiders were going in the right direction.  Then came the death of Davis in 2011, and Mark Davis took over his father's team. He would then turn to first-time GM Reggie McKenzie, who would turn to first-time head coach Dennis Allen to set their model. Davis ...
When Bartolo Colon signed with the Oakland A's last year, there weren't high expectations for him.  Although he had won a Cy Young earlier in his career, he was expected to be an average middle-of-the-rotation starter in 2012.But Colon surprised everyone in 2012, going 10-9 with a nice ERA of 3.43.  Colon's season would come to an abrupt end when he tested positive for illegal substances in the summer and was hit with a 50 game suspension.  That suspension will carry over into 2013, and he will be held out of the first week of the regular season.  Coming off ...
After a 4-12 season, the Raiders definitely have a lot of needs on the team to address in either the draft or free agency with the little cap space that they have.The list of needs goes on from pass-rushers to a middle linebacker and defensive backs to offensive linemen.  But just because they have a lot of needs, doesn't mean that the Raiders don't have a solid core of players at certain positions on the field.On that note, here is a look at areas the Raiders don't need to worry about in the 2013 offseason.Begin Slideshow
Although it has been a long decade since the Oakland Raiders have been in the Super Bowl, that doesn't mean that one of the NFL's most passionate fan bases doesn't care about the game.  There has always been a secondary motive for the Raider Nation to watch the Super Bowl when the Raiders don't make it.  For example, most Raider fans have rooted to see the Patriots lose (twice) to the New York Giants because of a long-standing bitterness toward the Patriots since the "Tuck Rule" game in 2001.With Super Bowl XLVII coming up this Sunday between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, there ...
It is no stretch to say that the 2012 NFL season has been highlighted by the emergence and dominance of the dual-threat quarterback.  There is certainly something to be said for the “gimmick” offenses and packages that have come and gone throughout the league’s history. The “Wildcat,” for example, proved to be ineffective once defenses solved what was pretty much a one-dimensional attack.The read-option, however, and the variations created by athletic, dual-threat quarterbacks, just may be here to stay.  Quarterbacks like Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton have all established themselves as versatile weapons for their ...
The Oakland Raiders have nowhere to go but up in 2013.From their one-dimensional offense under the play-calling of Greg Knapp to their abysmal defense led by Jason Tarver, the Raiders were a complete mess in 2012.Now, Knapp is gone, and the power-blocking scheme is back in the bay.The Raiders are desperate to have a solid draft class, and general manager Reggie McKenzie will finally be able to use a first-round pick in this April's NFL draft, something the Raiders most desperately need.Here are five rookie prospects who would quickly impact the silver and black.Begin Slideshow