My fellow Oakland A's fans: This week, we have seen two sweeps in the ALDS. Two World Series favorites were knocked out. One game ended in a walk-off. Another went 18 innings. Unfortunately, none of those games involved the Athletics.
Tonight, this writer speaks to you and the entire fanbase who make the green-collar effort so strong.
Here are the results of general manager Billy Beane's trade deadline efforts: A 22-33 record; qualification for entrance into the Wild Card Game; a loss in extras.
Most believed it could be a breakthrough year for Oakland.
After two years of grit and determined effort, Oakland came ...
A season that began with so much promise ended with the Oakland Athletics skidding into the last wild-card spot then heading home after a marathon game that seemed to sum up the year as a whole.
The A's were 72-44 on August 9, four games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels and outscoring opponents by nearly 100 runs more than the next-best team. But a power outage at the plate combined with a shaky bullpen saw Oakland finish the season 16-30, falling 10 games behind the Angels in the process.
Oakland lost a surprising amount of close games to bad teams, all too ...
The Oakland Raiders are such an ugly 0-4 that they decided to take the drastic measure of firing head coach Dennis Allen over the bye week. Owner Mark Davis and general manager Reggie McKenzie were clearly trying to send a message to the players and coaches that losing as they have recently is not something they will tolerate.
It’s hard to blame them after 10 straight losses by an average margin over 13 points dating back to last season, and naming Tony Sparano interim head coach was the sensible thing to do. Almost immediately, Sparano started making minor changes that he ...
Only two short months ago, the Oakland A’s were enjoying themselves at the top of the American League standings. They had the best record in the league and had just acquired Jon Lester to add yet another ace to their already-loaded pitching staff.
Unfortunately, they weren’t the same after that trade. I’m not saying it was that one trade that single-handedly messed up their season, but that was when the funk set in. Starting on August 1, when they traded for Lester, the Athletics struggled mightily. They went a pedestrian 22-34 the rest of the way, including a heartbreaking loss in the American League ...
"Every form of strength is also a form of weakness..."- Michael Lewis, Moneyball, quoting Bill James
In baseball, there is no such thing as an untouchable general manager. Just like the players and coaches, a GM must stand behind his results—and pay the price when the results aren't there.
For years, Billy Beane of the Oakland A's has challenged that notion.
It's not that Beane has never drawn criticism during his seventeen-year tenure in the East Bay. But as his "Moneyball" legend grew and the successful seasons piled up, Beane became, well, something close to untouchable.
When he landed the Athletics GM job, Beane was ...
After going through a major overhaul of the roster this past off-season, the Oakland Raiders looked like a team that might finally be able to end more than a decade of futility.
The playoffs were always a long shot, but the new additions to the roster would certainly have this version of the Raiders playing better than the ones that went 4-12 in both of the last two seasons. At the very least, Oakland would be competitive and look like a team trending up, finally on its way out of NFL purgatory.
Four games into the season, none of that has come even ...
Arguably the most painful season in Oakland A's history—at least for a fan—has come to an end, with a walk-off loss serving as the proverbial cherry on top.
Oakland has seen its fair share of losing in the playoffs. It's a well-known fact that the team has struggled to make it out of the ALDS under Billy Beane, and the sole time it did so, it was swept in four games. And although fans should be used to this by now—losing in an elimination game by a wild, unforeseeable result—this one hurts much, much worse than any other.
Truly, 2014 was the ultimate ...
The Oakland Raiders are moving in a new coaching direction. After firing Dennis Allen, the Raiders have named Tony Sparano as interim head coach; however, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, owner Mark Davis has his eyes on former Raiders and Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden.Will Tony Sparano earn the full-time head coaching job? Can Mark Davis convince Jon Gruden to leave his comfortable analyst seat?Watch the San Francisco Chronicle’s Vic Tafur and Bleacher Report’s Stephen Nelson break down Davis’ options for head coach.Read more Oakland Raiders news on BleacherReport.com
The Oakland Raiders are a terrible football team right now. They are an ugly 0-4, and the dreadful start cost head coach Dennis Allen his job. The team has the worst facilities in the NFL, and the roster needs a lot of work.
The Raiders need help, but no one is going to hand them a new stadium, talented players or smart coaches. One move—like bringing back Jon Gruden—isn’t going to reverse the team’s fortunes.
To get back on track, the Raiders need an intelligent, multi-staged plan. Without one, the Raiders are going to continue to churn through head coaches as opposing ...
It was almost too perfect. Or, if you’re an Oakland A’s fan, too imperfect. After starting the American League Wild Card Game on a promising note and building a comfortable lead, the A’s collapsed.
Then, they pulled themselves back from the brink. And then they collapsed again.
In other words: Oakland’s 2014 season in a nutshell.
These are the A's who looked like world-beaters in the first half and then went big at the trade deadline, acquiring aces Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija. These are the A's who built a six-game division cushion on June 21...the A's who had their sights squarely set on ...