It has been reported by ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com that the Oakland Athletics are “very interested” in signing beleaguered free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez.A source goes on to say that while a handful of teams have inquired about the services of Ramirez, Oakland has shown the most interest in him. Ramirez is coming off of a 2011 season that saw him retire back in April as a Tampa Bay Ray, after failing a drug test for the second time. Instead of serving what would have been a 100-game suspension as a result of the positive test, Ramirez decided to quit the game of baseball. ...
The Oakland Athletics would be smart to sign Manny Ramirez to a one-year contract if and when the former major leaguer makes a return to the big leagues. It's a no-brainer. Oakland, reported to be heavily interested in signing Ramirez, is known for acquiring former sluggers like Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza and Hideki Matsui in their autumn playing days. The thing is, Ramirez has only produced positive results for performance-enhancing drugs twice. He retired days after the test results were made public. What’s the big deal if the Ramirez project fails? He goes away. Oakland has players that can fill the designated-hitter slot, ...
Oakland Athletics fans have grown accustomed to offseason fire sales in the past decade. They're used to seeing the "next big thing" on the roster get shipped to a big-market team or consistent contender. When Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey and Trevor Cahill were all shipped elsewhere in the past two months, it was nothing new, but it was depressing to fans witnessing yet another annual winter clearance.Also, Josh Willingham signed with the Minnesota Twins instead of re-signing with the A's. The man can't be blamed for wanting a real chance to reach the postseason.In exchange for them, once again, are prospects. The ...
The next episode of "Manny Being Manny" could take place where nobody will be watching.There's a report out from ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com on Friday that the Oakland Athletics are "very interested" in free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez.The site reported last week that the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays have also kicked the tires on Manny, and they even went so far as to take a look at him at an indoor batting cage."The Orioles and Blue Jays saw Manny work and Baltimore liked what it saw, but Oakland has been the team that has expressed the most interest, even before having him ...
After trading their best (most attractive) talent this offseason, it's safe to say that the 2012 season is going to be a long one for Oakland A's fans. It's a fate GM Billy Beane seems comfortable with, but why shouldn't he be? He only did the same thing after the '04 season, and again in '08. The only difference being that this year there seems to be a bleak glimmer of hope that these trades will bring players who actually wear the green and gold for more than the usual five- to six-year stay—if they're any good, that is. No, this ...
The Oakland Athletics have had an incredible winter, shipping off key veterans like they were a bunch of old iPhone 3s from last Christmas—outdated. The Oakland A’s have probably broken the record for most trades in one offseason. And amazingly, they’re surely not done yet. It has been reported by CSN BayArea that on Monday, Oakland acquired outfielder Seth Smith from the Colorado Rockies for two starting pitchers—right-hander Guillermo Moscoso and lefty Josh Outman. This is somewhat of a surprise, considering the A’s had already traded two of its starting pitchers earlier this offseason—but then again, nothing should be startling ...
"Moneyball," the story of how a small-market ball club manages to compete with its larger-market adversaries, was released to DVD and Blu-ray recently, and I, being a baseball fan, bought my copy. Watching it with my friends led me to think about all the baseball movies that have been made. Some have been great, like the aforementioned; some have been terrible, like "The Benchwarmers." Needless to say, with "Moneyball" coming off four Golden Globe nominations and a chance to shine at the Oscars, I've decided to put together a list of the five greatest baseball movies of all time.(Note: Instead of ...
In an unorthodox move that goes against their offseason trend, the Oakland Athletics added a veteran free agent to their roster. Can the A’s actually do that? The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland has agreed to terms with free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon. Hooray! No formal announcement has been made, though, as Colon must first pass his physical with the team. Tentatively, the contract will be a one-year deal, but the financial figures have not been made public. Bringing in Colon, however, is a bit uncharacteristic for the Athletics, who have had a very busy and lengthy winter sale ...
The Oakland Athletics are reportedly negotiating with journeyman pitcher Bartolo Colon, but the 38-year-old right-hander won't change Oakland's fate in 2012.Colon resurrected his career in 2011 with the Yankees, pitching better than his 8-10 record suggests. Prior to last season, he hadn't thrown a pitch in the majors since July 2009. Striking out 135 and posting a 1.29 WHIP in 26 starts however, he had a solid year for New York.Colon was reliable for the Yankees, and with Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill leaving in recent trades, the A's need to bring in someone.Oakland's rotation has weakened and they have ...
It's not exactly the same as before, but the losses of starting pitchers Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez has to have A's fans shaking their heads. When Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and eventually Barry Zito moved on, it sent a message on how things are done in Oakland.Billy Beane will squeeze every last drop of talent out of a player and get them to reach their full potential. Once this happens though, other teams start to notice and Beane is forced to sell, and he starts the process all over again.Following is a list of prospects that eventually might have fans asking, ...