It was a more than eventful offseason for the A's. They lost their closer, two of their top starters and both of their corner outfielders. Needless to say this will be a very different looking A's team come opening day.Though losing three all-star pitchers in the course of a month may seem like the club is heading in a horrible direction, it may actually work to the A's advantage, eventually. Clearly the loss of Gonzalez, Cahill and Bailey will impact the A's this season, but with the Angels and Rangers both making big splashes in free agency, the A's were ...
With Opening Day just around the corner, Major League Baseball teams have less than two months to solve issues regarding their rosters. For some, it's filling voids through free agency. For others, like say the Oakland Athletics, it's less about completing the roster and more about finalizing positions with who they have. The A's currently lack in monetary status. The franchise's hand is forced to propose solutions to many positional needs by looking internally. Luckily, there are several options at numerous positions already. Now it's just about figuring out which young talent receives the opportunity this year over the rest ...
The Oakland Athletics have been nestled in the eastern metropolis of the San Francisco Bay since 1968. They have been the green-and-gold standard of Bay Area baseball for several decades, winning four World Series titles, six American League pennants and 14 AL West division titles. The organization has reared several Hall of Fame players—names like Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Jim "Catfish" Hunter and Dennis Eckersley. But for all the successes and all of the elite offspring in nearly 44 seasons of baseball glory, the past few years have seen a strong desire by the current ownership to skip Oaktown and ...
Manny Ramirez is currently in talks with the Baltimore Orioles, the Oakland A's, and other undisclosed MLB organizations, but what fans may fail to realize is that baseball needs Manny Ramirez as much as Manny Ramirez needs baseball. The most exciting time in my life to be a baseball fan in Los Angeles was in the late summer of 2008, when the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for the Boston Red Sox superstar slugger after his falling-out with their organization. Immediately, Ramirez brought life to an organization in a major media market and gave fans from across the city a genuine ...
One of the timeless traditions of baseball is discussing who is the greatest player among any given category.And although the exercise can provide hours of enjoyment and fruitful conversation—often as older fans bring firsthand observation to bear against younger enthusiasts’ enlightened sabermetric analysis—it's ultimately futile because of drastic changes in the game over a century and a half and, of course, personal bias.Besides, what chance does a 105-year-old, fuzzy-memoried aficionado of Honus Wagner stand against a young Turk weaned on ESPN highlights of Barry Bonds? Still, debate will forever rage over who holds the top spot as a hitter: Babe Ruth ...
The best thing to happen to the Oakland Athletics in 2011 was the Oscar-nominated movie Moneyball, which hit theaters in September.By that point, the A's were well out of the AL West race and the team on the field hardly resembled the great teams that the movie was based on. It's no wonder the A's finished last in attendance.Nevertheless, a new season is upon us. Opening Day is less than two months away. When it comes, the A's will have as good a chance of making the postseason as any team in the league.It's still early, but here's a sneak peak at Oakland's outlook ...
Late last year, "Moneyball" opened to widespread success, both critically and financially. Satisfying more than just baseball fans, it went on to garner six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill).Like the A's organization itself, the film is an underdog. Having struck out completely at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, it's looking as though its chances for success come Oscar night are slim.Can "Moneyball" follow in the footsteps of Oscar winning sports films like "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Fighter", or will it, like the 2002 Oakland A's team, ...
Circle your calendars, A’s fans. Playoffs in 2020. In extending the contracts of General Manager Billy Beane and President Michael Crowley, the Oakland Athletics have opted to continue their rebuilding process for the remainder of this decade. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, A’s owner Lew Wolff announced today that the team has agreed to terms with both Beane and Crowley—each are minority team owners—to remain with the team through 2019. Beane has been Oakland’s GM since 1997; Crowley joined the organization one year later. Both Beane and Crowley are obviously firmly entrenched in the construction and direction of the ...
Though Oakland is having trouble filling seats and keeping stars, there's still reason to remain loyal to the A's. In 2011, Oakland averaged an attendance of 18, 232 per game. That number earned the franchise last place in attendance numbers. The $66 million payroll was the 10th lowest in Major League Baseball. Attendance is terrible. It's hard to keep track of the players with such constant turnover. No one knows if they're staying or going. The midseason heartbreak of watching fan-favorites traded to contenders has become a yearly guarantee. So, why on Earth would you continue to root for this ...
CHAMPIONSHIP! Next in our “Sh*t __ Say” series…another look into the lives of Oakland Athletics fans. Because it really does not matter how many of these videos you have already seen. Sometimes it’s fun to look past a team’s flaws and just have a good time joking around. Some of these will never happen at any point during the life of an A’s fan. Other quotes may just not be a part of the conversation for the next year…or two. Once again, Fan Fest in Oakland gave a great glimpse of the Athletics’ fan base. Solid bunch. Without further ado, ...