After Oakland GM Billy Beane scooped Brandon Inge up when the Detroit Tigers released him at the end of April, I wrote a piece titled, "Brandon Inge's Heroics a Flash in the Pan: Oakland Athletics Need a 3rd Baseman."At the time, Inge had 10 hits, 17 RBI, and four home runs in 39 at-bats, including remarkable stretch of four straight games with four RBI. Inge, incredibly, became only the second player in 80 years to have four RBI in four games over a five-game stretch.The other player to do this? Lou Gehrig.There he was, in Oakland, seemingly rejuvenated by a ...
The Oakland Athletics have just reached the .500 mark, but A's manager Bob Melvin is batting 1.000.During this past offseason, the team lost its best hitter and three more everyday starters, four-fifths of its starting rotation and its All-Star closer. They were replaced with a group of rookies and unable-to-stick veterans, and the 2012 A's looked like a very good triple-A team.However, after Friday night's win, the Athletics sit at 42-42. Despite having the MLB's youngest team and smallest payroll, the Oakland Athletics have won as many games as they have lost.While this young, scrappy group of players deserves ample ...
Has that ball landed yet?That's got to be the first thought as Chris Carter hit an absolute missile to left-center field in the second deck as the A's beat the Mariners 4-1 in 11 innings Friday night to get back to .500 on the year. The three-run home run was Carter's third of the year in just four games. Jordan Norberto pitched a scoreless 11th inning to get the win, but Tom Milone's start was the story.Over seven masterful innings, Milone struck out a career-high nine Mariner hitters and allowed only six hits and a walk. The only run came in ...
So far, Yoenis Cespedes' time in Oakland hasn't exactly turned out as many had expected. He isn't necessarily having a poor season; it's just that his numbers aren't blowing anyone away as people had hoped for before the year began.Currently hitting .270 with only nine home runs and 35 RBI's, it's mainly injuries to thank for the pedestrian stat line. At the beginning of the year Cespedes was on a pace for over 40 home runs, but that was before pitchers made the appropriate adjustments and Cespedes had to adapt himself.With about three months left, Cespedes can still salvage the ...
With a relatively young ball club, you need a veteran presence to stabilize the team and keep things together.To an extent, this would be the responsibility of the manager. Oakland A's skipper Bob Melvin has done a nice job of keeping a young team debilitated with injuries stay right in the thick of things in the American League.What the A's need is a leadership presence on the field. Veteran outfielder Coco Crisp was supposed to be that guy. Question Mark?Although there was some question about Crisp's return to Oakland in 2012 during the offseason, ultimately A's general manager Billy Beane decided ...
Oakland always seems to be a revolving door for young prospects, with the club constantly clearing room for up and coming studs making their first trip to the bigs. A's fans have had the privilege of seeing numerous rookie sensations this year make their major league debuts, highlighted by Yoenis Cespedes, Jarrod Parker and Derek Norris. With the Athletics playing solid baseball and flirting with a .500 record at the All-Star break, these recent additions appear to have paid off for the franchise. However, the fountain youth doesn't stop flowing there for the A's, with a minor league system loaded with ...
Coming through in the clutch, suddenly the Oakland A's are surging again.Jemile Weeks hit a single past a drawn-in infield in the seventh inning, and the A's defeated Boston 3-2 to sweep the Red Sox for the first time since May 2008. Grant Balfour pitched a scoreless seventh inning to get the win in relief, and Ryan Cook pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save.Once again, A.J. Griffin was rock solid but did not factor in the decision.Griffin went six solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on just three hits and two walks, while striking out three. His ...
The Oakland A’s probably aren’t going to make the playoffs this season—or in the next couple of seasons either. They’re in a rebuilding stage, which could be a reason to sell high on Josh Reddick. Reddick is having an incredible season in Oakland after general manager Billy Beane acquired him from the Boston Red Sox during the offseason. Through 78 games this season, Reddick has already more than doubled his career high in home runs with 19. Although Reddick currently isn’t on the AL All-Star team roster, he leads all Oakland A’s in wins above replacement by a huge margin. ...
What seemed like another frustrating defeat turned into a thrilling comeback victory as the Oakland A's scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2. Coco Crisp's sacrifice fly capped a rally started by Chris Carter's single off of Boston closer Alfredo Aceves and was aided by an error by center fielder Ryan Kalish on the tying RBI single from pinch hitter Brandon Moss. The win was the A's sixth walk-off victory on the 2012 season.Bartolo Colon returned from the disabled list and was good, throwing six innings and allowing two runs (one ...
You've heard of a pitcher intentionally walking a pitcher for strategy purposes—so how about a team asking its pitcher to intentionally balk to end a long extra inning game?Todd Steverson, who is a hitting instructor inside the Oakland A's organization, has been suspended by Minor League Baseball for intentionally asking his pitcher to balk. This advanced two runners into scoring position to end the longest game in the California League this season. This was with the Stockton Ports and, as a result, Steverson has been banned from the Stockton dugout for the next year. The Ports are a High-A affiliate of ...