SB Nation User Blog: Arcman

ARZ = Athletic's Rumor Zone

Arcman — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:01:36 -0000

Here I go doing a fan post where you can post all the rumors you hear daily about who the A's will trade or have been in trade talks with.

First up..3b..So far I heard runmors about Alex Gordon, Chone Figgins, Miguel tejada, Josh Fields, and Jamey Carrol. Adam Kennedy is likely favorite here with rumors since the A's have talked to his agent. I like the fact of Alex Gordon on the buy low high upside which would cost the A's 1 of their catching prospects and more. Jamey Carrol has been consistent in numbers and is steady at third could be a good stop gap until Wallace is ready. Figgins will be out of the A's price range and Tejada is still to early to figure out.

SP..The A's still want the Duke back. Looks like Tomko will walk. One player that hit the market the other day is Braden Looper to me would be perfect fit for the A's. Not a high cost FA and is a good innings eater pitcher who may need a park like Oakland to give him good numbers again but I have heard no word the A's are after him. Mark Mulder is being pursued heavy by the Brewers so his return is less likely.

SS...Nothing looks like Pennington's job

OF.. Nothing been said but I would not rule out Beane bringing in a power hitter here.

DH..Thome rumor is here if the A's let go of Cust. I wouldn't mind Matsui to get fans in the seats but he is rumored to want to comeback to the Yanks badly.

Anybody else heard anything?? Post the rumors you hear here and we can create to talk in this slow time for baseball.

Holliday for Escobar?

Arcman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:30:21 -0000

The Braves has let it be known that they are willing to trade their SS Yunel Escobar for a hitter. The A's should jump on this and try and trade Holliday for him. The Braves do need a outfielder so the fit is perfect. Escobar is no allstar but he has put up constant numbers and has 3 more years left before becoming a free agent. The SS position is hard to find right now so any opportunity to get a good SS should be explored. I have not heard any rumor about the A's asking about Escobar but hopefully Beane will get something going. We could try to include Francorer in the trade a right handed power bat that struggles against righties. The Braves may want Kennedy included in the trade since their 2b has been a trouble spot this year. What does the rest of you think of Escobar?

Is it me or is this team just hard to watch?

Arcman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:51:56 -0000

Last night I watched about 3 innings of the game then put on a movie. Once the A's are down a few runs there is no reason to watch the team. I know that unless its a pitchers duel the A's will not score more than 5 runs. To me this is the toughest season to watch the A's that I can remember.

I would not mind seeing some rookies like Patterson, Dollittle, or Pennigton hit but to watch guys like Crosby, Giambi, and Garciaparra who will be gone next year is tough. I still do not understand why Travis Buck is in AAA hitting over .360 when we have only 3 players in the starting lineup that can hit over .250. The toughest part is watching Geren manage like a little league manager. He makes out the starting lineup and then sits in the dugout the rest of the night doing nothing. So is it me or is this team tough to watch?

The Geren burn out factor is it a problem?

Arcman — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:50:57 -0000

I have said a few times that Geren has no idea on resting players. He burns out his players by playing them everyday which slows down their bat speed and makes the bench players with no bat timing. A good example is Suzuki right now. He is a great hitter but is struggling because of playing almost everyday. His position is the hardest on the body and needs to rest once to twice a week. Geren uses the excuse that Powell is hurt but that is no excuse put him on the DL if he can't play. Holiday is another example who has not had a day off besides a injury. True for Cabrera also. Cabrera bat is slowing down because of no rest.

Part of being a manager is knowing when to rest players and when to use the bench. Geren has no abilities to do this. The only way a player gets a rest is if he is injured or in Geren's dog house(a post another time). Geren will give you 101 injury excuses but he is the manager and its time for him to act like a manager. What do you think of the rest factor?

What should A's fans do now?

Arcman — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:28:11 -0000

The word frustration comes to mind for all A's fans right now. We don't have a manager that we believe in. We wonder if Beane is even watching this team or just playing soccer GM. We wonder if Wolfe cares about us A's fans anymore? It looks for certain that this will be a lost year so the team needs to make a statement. Bring up the youngsters. I can live with a team rebuilding with youngsters but not with the Crosbys and Davis clogging up the roster. The team has lost all directions and its getting plain hard to watch any games.

So how do we fans tell the A's we are mad as hell and can't take it anymore? Do we have a fire Geren night where we all just chant "Fire Geren" all game long? Do we boycott going to games until the A's show some directions? Anyone with Beane's phone number lets give him a call and get his head back into baseball because this team need some leadership in front office and dugout.

Geren = lack of leadership

Arcman — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:25:45 -0000

When a team calls a meeting to discuss lack of agressiveness without the manager shows how little respect they have for their manager. Cabrera and the hitters did the meeting without the batting coach and Geren. Which makes you ask do they not respect him or do they feel he is not the one to go to for advice. I have never felt Geren is a leader quality manager. He is more a let things run the course guy. That is fine for a vetran winning team but not for a young team. Hopefully Beane will not make the A's endure another year of Geren as manager.