The official second half of the 2013 MLB season begins Thursday, July 18, and as the calender pushes towards late July and into August, contenders emerge and pretenders begin to fade.
For the Oakland A's, nothing suggests that their surprising ascension among the game's elite teams will not continue after a 56-39 first half.
However, contending for a division title is one thing. To make noise in October and be in position to make the franchise's first World Series appearance since 1990, Oakland may be in the market for a key acquisition before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31.
Of course, the A's ...
I think I'm supposed to write something like, "And so the legend of Yoenis Cespedes grows" here.
Or perhaps, "On a night to remember in New York City, Yoenis Cespedes swung his way into the national consciousness and flipped his bat at the end in a moment made for gifs and tweets, so that we don't soon forget that he's arrived."
And then we'll all wax poetic about the majesty of a ball soaring through the evening sky and landing in bedrooms all across the America, as kids plaster posters of Cespedes in their rooms after Monday evening.
Let's not. The truth is, he won a ...
Recently, a Bleacher Report video crew went into Overstock.com Coliseum to show the plus side of the old venue. While it was nice to see some praise for one of the most historic ballparks in all of professional sports, I felt that these guys left out some important factors.
The brief video focuses mainly on the luxury suites, the perks of premium seating and the experience that comes with the high-price experience, but that is not what the best part of the Oakland Coliseum is. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see people talk about the perks of the O.co ...
In what can only be described as a turn of events that few saw coming, Oakland Athletics star Yoenis Cespedes won the 2013 Home Run Derby. Consistently belting shots all over the field, Cespedes put forth one of the most memorable performances of all time.
What does this win mean for Cespedes' career moving forward?
Cespedes dominated this competition from start to finish. He was explosive in the first round, hitting 17 home runs to take an early lead. From there, Cespedes essentially took batting practice during the second round before setting up an epic final round.
Needing eight home runs to tie ...
If you didn't know who Yoenis Cespedes was before the 2013 Home Run Derby, you should by now.
Cespedes may have entered baseball's most entertaining All-Star event as a relative unknown compared to his fellow competitors, but that won't be the case as he moves on from his epic performance Monday night.
The 27-year-old outfielder is one of the rare contestants in derby history to participate without being an actual All-Star. According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, he's the only non-All-Star to win the competition:
Cespedes really burst onto scene in his rookie season last year. The Cuban slugger made an immediate impact ...
Despite winning their division and taking the Detroit Tigers to the limit in a five-game playoff series just last year, the Oakland A's were once again seen as underdogs in the eyes of many baseball experts going into the 2013 season.
The Los Angeles Angels were expected to win the division after they had their big free-agent spending spree highlighted by signing Josh Hamilton.
While the A's certainly haven't run away with the division themselves, they own a comfortable lead over those same Angels going into the All-Star break. In fact, Oakland owns an 11-game lead over the Angels after the ...
One of the less publicized events that takes place during the MLB All-Star break is the Futures Game. In it, various players at all levels of the minor leagues compete on two rosters: One represents American-born players and the other players from all other areas in the world.
In 2013, the Oakland A's will send two players to represent the franchise in the game: shortstop Addison Russell and pitcher Michael Ynoa.
Both players were projected to be phenoms with Russell still seen as more of a sure thing than Ynoa, who was signed out of the Dominican Republic at the age of ...
Best record in the National League? Yawn.
The Oakland Athletics rolled their collective eyes after they rolled over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had entered the three-game series against the A’s tied for the NL’s top record with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was another impressive performance for the Athletics, who again conquered one of baseball’s best teams. Oakland took two of three from Pittsburgh after also taking two of three from St. Louis at the end of June.
It wasn’t easy, however, as the A’s were fortunate to eke out back-to-back 2-1 victories in the first two games of the series. Nonetheless, ...
With the non-waiver trade deadline three weeks away, the Oakland Athletics find themselves with plenty of options. They can stand pat, make a major splash or acquire minor pieces in hopes they go a long way.Just as they would for a draft, the A's have a plan in place, a blueprint they're holding close to their vest. No one but management knows what they'll end up doing, but below, you'll see a faux blueprint that covers the "woulda, shoulda" ("coulda" was answered above) of trade deadline moves.There has been a ton of chatter about starting pitching and second base so ...
Final: Athletics 2, Pirates 1Two of baseball's most unlikely aces squared off Monday as Oakland's Bartolo Colon bested Pittsburgh's Jeff Locke.Colon and Locke were each named All-Stars on Saturday, and proved their worth on Monday. Colon gave up just one run over seven innings and handed Locke his first loss since April 10.Coco Crisp made a game-saving catch in the seventh to rob Andrew McCutchen of extra bases. Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour each threw scoreless innings, allowing Balfour to break Dennis Eckersley's club record of 40 consecutive saves.Both teams are locked in tight divisional races. Texas is half a game behind the ...