If any reader was told at the beginning of the season that the Oakland Athletics would be two games above .500 and within two games of a playoff spot, they would probably think "Maybe in April, but not after that."Yet here we are, after the All Star Break, and the A's are a winning team within striking distance of one of the Wild Card slots. Teams like the Red Sox, Phillies, Brewers and Marlins can not claim to be winners now.The Athletics won again last night against the lowly Twins. Tommy Milone won his ninth game, making the haul for ...
Don't look now, but there are two teams in the playoff hunt in the Bay Area. Tom Milone worked around 10 hits over six innings and was backed by four early runs as the A's cruised to a 9-3 victory Saturday evening against the Minnesota Twins. The win ensures another series win, and Oakland will attempt to sweep Sunday afternoon. It was a power surge for the A's offense as Chris Carter, Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss and Seth Smith all went deep to pace the offense. Josh Reddick added three hits and scored two runs as the A's had 12 hits ...
In a game where the A's struck out 15 times and allowed two home runs to former slugger Josh Willingham, Jonny Gomes was a one-man cavalry charge, driving in five runs in a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.With the victory, the A's are now back over .500 for the first time since May 21. Despite the worst statistical start of his brief career, Oakland starter A.J. Griffin got his first win. All-Star Ryan Cook notched his ninth save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.Griffin was actually pretty solid except for his dealings with Willingham.In the first, his pickoff of Denard ...
No one outside of Oakland Athletics management can be sure what the team will do at this year's trade deadline, but history, being nine games back and having two powerhouse in-division rivals point to the A's being sellers once again. If Oakland does sell, there are a few routes that could be taken. The A's can attempt the "addition by subtraction" method which sends overrated pieces out to create space for lesser guys who ultimately shine. This causes a late season push and possibly a jump into the playoffs. Or they can sell a few of their top trade chips while ...
With the loss of the NBA’s Kings all but certain, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson has decided to turn his sights elsewhere, according to the Associated Press (via Sports Illustrated). Specifically, Johnson has intentions of luring an MLB team to the city, and he only has to look about 80 miles down I-80 to find a team in need of a new home. By now, it should be readily apparent that the Athletics will never get the new Oakland stadium that the franchise so desperately needs. The A’s are the only team that shares its home stadium with a team from another ...
Oakland has fared well so far this season, far exceeding expectations by finishing at the .500 mark at the All-Star break despite being tagged as being in a “rebuilding” mode.However, with the A’s still crippled by their small-market budget and lack of a new ballpark plan, they could still find themselves on the selling end at the trade deadline despite trailing by just 2.5 games in the AL Wild Card race. But who exactly is the top candidate to fall victim to Billy Beane’s trade machine?Well, it should come to no surprise for longtime A’s fans, as well as persons ...
Jarrod Parker has had a more than OK start to his career as an Oakland A’s starting pitcher after being thrust into the rotation in late April. The A’s rookie has a 2.86 ERA through 85 innings pitched so far this year and has only had three starts where he’s allowed more than two earned runs and hasn't given up more than two in the rest. Parker has been solid so far because he’s playing in a spacious ballpark in addition to having the talent that’s expected of a former first-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007. He’s ...
The Oakland Athletics are no stranger to deal their top pitchers recently and could deal another in Brandon McCarthy before the July 31 trade deadline. McCarthy—currently on the 15-day DL with a strain in his right shoulder—is 6-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 12 starts for Oakland this season. Last season—his first with the A’s after three years with the Texas Rangers—he went an even 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 170.2 innings. During this past offseason, Oakland GM Billy Beane wasn’t afraid to trade his two top pitchers—Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill—in order to acquire talented prospects that will ...
After clawing their way back to .500 with a 13th inning win over the Seattle Mariners last night, it appears as though the A's may not go down so quietly as the season progresses through summer. However, still having to go up against Texas and Los Angeles, actually securing a playoff spot is still somewhat of a stretch.It'll be interesting to see what exactly the A's do come the trade deadline. Already names like Bartolo Colon, Coco Crisp, and even Brandon McCarthy have been mentioned as trade possibilities, so if any one of these players were to be moved that means ...
The first half of the baseball season is over. Actually, mathematically, more than half of the season is over. Most teams have played 85 to 86 games of the schedule of 162. But traditionally the All Star break is the halfway point.Going into the break, the A's are at break even. They are 43-43. A .500 team. But for this Oakland team, that is a winning record.Bill Parcells famously said "You are what your record says you are." But not all records are created equal. The Athletics have the same record as the Red Sox and Blue Jays.For the Red ...