The free-agent starting pitching market this season is fairly weak, fronted by C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt but with little else in the way of impact arms beyond that.However, the trade market is flush with talented young pitchers who could be had if the price is right, and one of the most likely pitchers to be dealt is Oakland Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez, as the A's have indicated that they are willing to listen to trade offers on anyone other than Jemile Weeks and Gonzalez would represent the most attractive trade chip they have.Gonzalez has a history of jumping teams, ...
Consideration of an owner of a baseball team for the Hall of Fame is not easy. After all, for the most part, owners are simply men who happen to have the fortune and business savvy to purchase a sports franchise. Their sports acumen is sometimes not necessarily strong; their taciturn presence can be anonymous, and their influence on the team’s day-to-day competitive success is rather nonexistent.Most of the time.So it can be difficult to assess the true value of a singular owner and how that value translates to their overall legacy on their team and, moreover, throughout sports in general. ...
An oft-injured veteran outfielder? Who hasn’t played a full season in four years? And was recently released into the free agent market, likely to command a reasonable discount contract considering his talent when healthy, which he has not been for quite some time? Sounds right up the Oakland Athletics’ alley. Yesterday, the Cleveland Indians cut ties with longtime center fielder Grady Sizemore, after declining to pick up his $9 million team option for 2012, allowing him to become a free agent. Considering his injury history, it’s not surprising that the Indians did not retain Sizemore. Over the past three seasons, ...
For the purposes of this list ,I will give you some players in Oakland A's history that have excelled on the field, allowing the rest of the team to learn from them and create a winning atmosphere.Veteran players who were not exactly star players will show up on this list as well, due to their knowledge of the game and ability to tutor the youngsters. You may also see a manager or two on the list as well.How do you determine a leader of a major league team? In the NFL the question is not as unclear. Just by watching a ...
Oh the Oakland Athletics. Every season, they find a new way to psych us up and then tear us down. Hot prospects, a freakish rotation, a solid bullpen, a new big bat: smoke screens for the inevitable—that they just didn't quite have enough money to sign the pieces to compete. So the big bat ends up being a rental; the prospects are shuffled. And then the bad luck sets in and before we know it, half the pitching staff is on the DL. Honestly, being an A's fan is like being a dog on a treadmill, racing for the treat hanging ...
It is reported in the San Francisco Chronicle that the city of San Jose has offered the Oakland Athletics the rights to purchasing land at a reduced price for future use to build a downtown stadium. This discount clearly signals that the city is serious about its wish to have the Major League Baseball franchise move to the South Bay. While San Jose mayor Chuck Reed believes that this proposal could help tip the scales in his city’s favor, there is still a lot more work to do for a move to occur. Yes, this option provides A’s owner Lew ...
The A's have spent the last two offseasons attempting to address the third base position in Oakland.The first attempt, trading for Kevin Kouzmanoff before the 2010 season, brought mixed results. Although he was not a disaster for the A's, he failed to live up to the expectations the front office and coaching staff had for him.Last offseason was spent attempting to woo Adrian Beltre to Oakland for a consecutive offseason, only to be shot down, for a second straight offseason.Edwin Encarnacion was briefly a member of the A's, being claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays before he was ...
Theo Epstein has made it official: he's leaving the Boston Red Sox for the friendly and eternally losing confines of Wrigley Field. While everyone obsesses over how quickly Theo can transform the Cubs from perennial mediocrity into World Series champs, his departure from Fenway Park does bring the Moneyball concept full circle. Remember the dynamic and exciting Oakland Athletics teams that were the subject of the Michael Lewis book and of the current hit movie starring Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jonah Hill? The A's supposedly popularized the "Moneyball" approach to small-market baseball success, and while Oakland A's GM ...
Whenever it is announced that a pitcher has to undergo Tommy John surgery, fans are deflated immediately. It usually means the player will miss at least a year, and depending on when the surgery takes place, he might miss a large portion of two seasons.The latter is the case for Oakland A's starting pitcher and a main component in the "Big Four," Brett Anderson.Anderson had the surgery in July of this year and is not expected back until at least the same time next year.That's the bad news about Tommy John Surgery. The good news is that it's possible to ...
Welcome to second week of the Oakland Athletics' position breakdown analysis. Last week we took a look at the catcher position, this week we will take a look at the A’s first-base depth moving into to 2012. It was a bit of a revolving door in Oakland at that position in 2011, beginning with Daric Barton as the starter on Opening Day. Barton got off to a slow start both offensively and defensively, and eventually saw himself demoted to Triple-A. Conor Jackson took over the starting role at first base before he was eventually traded to the Boston Red Sox ...