The Oakland A's are off to a hot start, sitting at 13-8 through April 23. After losing pitchers A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker to injury early in the season, the A's pitching staff has kicked it into gear, posting a 2.69 ERA.
Hitting coach Chili Davis is leading an offense powered by monster hitter Yoenis Cespedes. Can the Oakland A's keep it up, or is this early season success a fluke?
Check out Bleacher Report National MLB Columnist Scott Miller break down the A's early season success and why they are the favorite to win the AL West.
All stats through April 23Read more ...
The Oakland Athletics went on the road for their first away series this season against the Minnesota Twins. It was an interesting series for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact the three-game set spanned four days—on purpose.
Then again, Oakland has had its fair share of unexpected scheduling conflicts over the first two weeks, so a planned day off after the Twins’ season opener shouldn’t be that big of an oddity.
Not to mention that all three games were during the day, an interesting quirk for fans following out west who were just getting to the office pouring ...
There has only been one week of baseball—games that count anyway—but so far, so good for many of the Oakland Athletics' top-10 minor league prospects.
As per the norm, MLB.com released their list of the top 100 prospects as well as the top 20 for each team. Here we'll use this list to discuss the top 10 in the A's system. Of course this includes the most familiar face, Addison Russell. The Billys (McKinney and Burns), four pitchers and three Single-A infielders round out the list.
Let's see how each player is doing in this young season.
The list is in numerical, descending ...
As the weekend approaches, the Oakland A's get set to square off against a familiar AL West division foe, the Seattle Mariners. Though the Northwesterners upgraded their roster, they're still very much beatable.
Oakland has started its season with a series against Seattle for the last four consecutive years. This year they got a slight relief from seeing Felix Hernandez on Opening Day. Unfortunately, they'll see him on Saturday.
The Mariners arrive with a perfect 3-0 record, obviously better than the Athletics' 1-2 record.
Unlike years past, the A's now must game-plan for more than just King Felix, as the Mariners made a huge offseason ...
The Oakland Athletics announced on Monday that they signed former Angels pitcher Joe Blanton to a minor league deal, assigning him to Triple-A Sacramento. For Blanton, who was originally drafted by the Athletics, the signing results in a homecoming as well as an opportunity to bounce back from a forgettable year with the Angels. But it's also a quality addition on the part of Billy Beane and the A's.
The @Athletics have signed Joe Blanton to a minor league deal. He will join the River Cats starting rotation.
— River Cats (@RiverCats) March 31, 2014
Sure, Blanton may not be a flashy acquisition ...
Spring training is over and after a three-game exhibition against the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland A's officially begin the 2014 regular season. The wait is nearly over, A's fans.
Spring training was interesting to say the least.
A couple of guys looked strong but still didn't make the 25-man roster. One superstar had a terrible spring. The lineup is nearly what was expected. It's the injuries that captured most of the headlines. One key injury will alter the starting pitching rotation, and because of that, the bullpen, too, will be adjusted.
Key players will have to step up big for the A's ...
For Oakland A's fans, the term "March Madness" reflects their team's crazy spring training. One major player is out for the season and another isn't hitting. But there is good news: A few guys you might not have expected to hit so well have been pleasant surprises.
Spring training is meant to answer a team's questions.
Oakland's did just that, but the answers weren't exactly what anyone might've thought. The rotation looks completely different than many predicted, and injuries have altered Opening Day plans a tad too.
From surprises to disappointments to key injuries, the roster has been affected.
Surprises
Michael Taylor has been a ...
When it comes to roster building, depth is only good until a team is forced to use it. For the Oakland Athletics, injuries to starting pitchers may dismantle a team that was ticketed for October baseball and championship aspirations.According to John Hickey of Bay Area News Group, the Athletics could start the season with 60 percent of their projected starting rotation—Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and Scott Kazmir—on the disabled list.
When it comes to Parker, he won't be there for the entire 2014 season. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, the 25-year-old right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery next Tuesday. This will ...
Updates from Tuesday, Mar. 18
Jarrod Parker spoke about his injury and spirits following the news (via John Hickey of InsideBayArea.com and Jane Lee of MLB.com):
Updates from Monday, Mar. 17
Jane Lee of MLB.com has the latest on Jarrod Parker's injury:
Assistant general manager David Forst spoke about Parker's injury via Lee:
Original Text
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jarrod Parker is scheduled to meet with Dr. James Andrews on Monday after experiencing tightness in his forearm.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser was the first to report:
Comcast SportsNet California's Joe Stiglich also reports that Parker could possibly miss the start of the regular season this spring ...
Whether it's Josh Reddick returning to form or Michael Taylor desperately trying to prove himself, the Oakland A's are witnessing a variety of breakout performances that are making key decisions more difficult.
After one week of camp, four guys in particular were incredibly impressive. Now with more than two weeks worth of games under their stirrups, three of those four have continued to stay hot in Arizona while a handful of others have stirred things up.
What makes a breakout star? Well, one guy isn't at all familiar to A's fans. Three others are fighting for a job on the 25-man roster. ...