With the American League West bunched together with three potential playoff teams, all three contenders made a big pitching move in the past week.The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim imported Zack Greinke from Milwaukee to give their starting staff a former Cy Young Award winner to pitch alongside Jered Weaver, C. J. Wilson and Dan Haren.Not to be outdone, the two-time defending American League Champion Texas Rangers traded for Chicago Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster.The surprising Oakland Athletics did not make a big trade. But, they are adding to their 25-man roster a 6'2" right-handed pitcher who has struck out 175 ...
Opening Day (for Athletics): April 17, 1968Location of Park: 7000 Coliseum WayCapacity: 35,067Notable Titles: 4 World Series Titles, 6 AL PennantsAbout O.co Coliseum: The O.co Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics, is located in northern California right across the bay from San Francisco. It's the last multipurpose park in the country as it hosts both the A's and the Oakland Raiders football team. One of the most noticeable features is that it features the largest foul-ball territory in the majors. This is due to making room for the Raiders' end zones. Since opening in 1968, the park has hosted six World Series.About Don Julio and Know Your ...
The 2002 "Moneyball" version of the Oakland Athletics had an amazing 20-game win streak on their way to 103 wins—still, this year's A's are better. There are still 60 games left to play. Not only could the season shake out many different ways, but the 2012 A's also won't win as many games. Yet, this team is effectively getting it done. They're playing well in the face of adversity, and they're doing it in oh so exciting fashion. Here are nine reasons why this year's team is better than the team that earned a major motion picture.Begin Slideshow
Now that the MLB trade deadline has passed, the Oakland Athletics are headed to the playoffs. Yes, that’s right. Post-deadline expectations for the A’s include keeping up their surprising 56-46 record and staying on top of the non-division winners. The A’s have a few key moves they expect in the second half of the season.Begin Slideshow
The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels are entrenched in a battle for the American League West division.Though it seemed as if the A's had little to no chance to compete with the high-octane team from Anaheim, they have put together a remarkable month of July behind stellar all-around play and a tendency to play its best when the stage is brightest.Here are 10 reasons why the A's are a legitimate threat to the Angels.Begin Slideshow
The A's and the rest of the league are finally seeing why Yoenis Cespedes was such a hot commodity over the winter. Over his last 10 games, Cespedes has only gone hitless once, while hitting .439 with five home runs and 17 RBI since the All-Star Break.Finally healthy and starting to pick things up offensively, Cespedes has been a major reason why the A's currently find themselves sitting atop of the wild-card standings. His presence in the middle of the lineup has been beneficial not only to himself, but others around him. Without him there manning the fourth spot, Josh ...
It's almost unbelievable that the bargain basement Oakland Athletics can still find a way to contend in today's baseball market. In what many expected to be a throw away rebuilding year for the other team by the Bay, the A's have emerged as a contender in the AL West and are slowly creeping up on the Texas Rangers in the division standings.We see the A's success now on paper, but what exactly has keyed their improbable run this season?Begin Slideshow
It only took five hours, but the Oakland A's managed to remain in the lead for the American League wild card on Monday.Jemile Weeks' sacrifice fly scored Brandon Inge, and the Oakland A's defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in 15 innings for the Major League-leading 12th walkoff win. The win came in spite of the fact that the A's struck out 21 times on the night and left the bases loaded in the ninth and 10th innings. Jordan Norberto got the win with a scoreless 15th inning, but credit must go to the entire Oakland bullpen.Eight innings, eight zeroes on ...
The combination of two Chris Carter errors and Wei-Yin Chen's pitching proved too much for the Oakland A's as they dropped the series finale to Baltimore, 6-1. Travis Blackley took the loss, giving up five runs on six hits and four walks in five innings pitched. The key sequence occurred in Baltimore's four-run third inning as an error and walk led to Adam Jones's RBI double and Matt Wieters followed with a three run home run. For the A's, their bats were held mostly in check by Chen, who set a record for Taiwanese-born pitchers by striking out 12 Oakland hitters in ...
At the last checkpoint, the Oakland A's were 39-42 at the midway point of the season. On pace for 78 wins, they have gone a blistering 16-3 since to move to 55-45 and are on the verge of taking the lead in the American League wild-card standings. For the month of July, they are 18-3 and show no signs of slowing down.What is all the more remarkable about this turnaround is that is has happened without many of the cogs people expected the A's to need to have any kind of chance to contend for anything in 2012. For starters, ...