Morning all. As the season comes to an end we shall pass another mile marker on road to print journalism's funeral. If you hadn't yet heard, Hal McCoy will be hanging up the typewriter computer laptop at the end of the season. Now in his 37th season, he's been the Red's beat writer longer than I've been alive. Sadly the newspaper he works for can no longer afford to cover the team, so he's calling it quits. He was there when the A's beat the Reds in the 1972 World Series and he was there in 1990 when the Reds returned the favor. Countless baseball writers cite McCoy as a main influence in their personal and professional lives. Since the announcement in early August, the baseball community has been honoring his work in a variety of ways. I'm giving him a DLD.

Fond farewells from across cyberspace:

McCoy himself says goodbye.

Joe Posnanski, leader of the next gen bloggers, says goodbye.

The Reds organization honors Hal.

Jonny Gomes gifts McCoy a home run and the bat that hit it.

Dump away, but remember that every time you post a link another newspaper writer loses his job.

I'm making it short today, like the lifespan of a white dwarf. It's been a good week for shiny objects floating through outer and cyber space. Here are some of the brightest shiners:

Paul Thomas Returns to Athletics Nation: Yes, Paul "PT" Thomas is back. How much of a star is this dude? His comeback post drew 22 recommendations in under 10 hours. Star power indeed.

Meteor Showers over the Bay Area: The Perseids are back and as good as ever. I enjoyed some great viewing along Skyline Boulevard last night. The shower peaked Wednesday, but there are still a few stragglers you can check out.

Vick Signs: The superstar of the 24 hour news cycle just went supernova. He's an Eagle.

Shooting Star at 300 bpm: The Happy Hardcore classic. This song is best experienced by listening to a 300 pound linebacker drunkenly singing the song at the top of his lungs. I do miss the ole college dorms sometimes. Btw, bmp is beats per minute.

Tiger Going for Gold?: It might happen. The International Olympic Committee is thinking of adding some new stars in 2016. Shed your tears for baseball, then wipe 'em away as you contemplate the possibility of Olympic golf and rugby. Sounds like the Scots were greasing some IOC palms.

Hope for society?: I googled images of white dwarves and amazingly a picture of a star came up first. It had tough competition, beating out pics of the popular marijuana strain and the roleplaying/board game magazine cover.

Man this last week has been great, eh? I turn on the radio and Athletics are hitting home runs and running and generally not failing. The young starting pitching is turning in some dominating performances. All around the mood is good. I have a theory as to why this is. For the last month there's been this giant white elephant in the room. Here's what it looks like:

It's true. We're two wins better than Baltimore. This season is over. But despite being big time sellers at the trade deadline we never quite embraced cellar dwelling. With Holliday and Giambi and Cabrera still around there was a lingering mirage of a competitive 2009. We were in rebuilding mode, but we were not rebuilding. Finally the false hope is over. Now that we're not trying to not suck we in fact aren't sucking. It is so very fitting that Giambi, once the poster child of youthful exuberance for the A's, has stepped aside so the next generation can begin writing their own chapter of Oakland history. We have acknowledged that the above elephant was clogging space in our clubhouse and can now remove it. In honor of admitting that this beast existed I present a series of elephantine links:

Why the elephant is our mascot: It all started with a Giants-A's rivalry in 1905. The Giants and us go way back.

More Logos: A look back at recent Oakland logos. Prepare for waves of nostalgia.

The mythbusters are at it again: Jamie and Adam tackle the age old myth: are elephants indeed afraid of mice?

SF mayoral candidates to debate elephants? There hasn't been an elephant at the SF zoo since 2005. Supervisor Bevan Dufty opens a bag of worms by proclaiming that elephants will never appear in San Francisco. Does that mean the end of the Bay Bridge series?

Jose VS Stomper: That's right, our mascot can breakdance.

Elephant Jokes - the Wikipedia article: Seriously, there's a Wikipedia entry on elephant jokes. Here's a classic: Q: How do you shoot a blue elephant?A: With a blue elephant gun.

Turn Back the Clock Day: After much begging and pleading, the marketing department of the Oakland Athletics have finally put together a 1929 promotion. Check out this fun commercial with great old time footage of Foxx, Grove, and company.

A feat of elephantine might: In case you missed it last night, I found the box score from the last game in which the A's hit 4 home runs and stole 4 bases. Lots of fun trivia is sprinkled in that box score.

Looking for a better softball game than the celebrity "classic" 2009? Here is the full episode of Homer at the Bat. That's what they're singing about in the video above. It's the championship match between Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and Shelbyville Nuclear Power Plant, and the All Stars of yesteryear have come out in droves. Jose Canseco was going to play, but he was busy saving everything in a house from a fire. This was from a time before people were hating on him all the time. Speaking of being pissed, it is no longer illegal to relieve yourself at Yankee Stadium during the seventh-inning stretch. But why would you ever leave your seat when you're at the game with Bill James and Joe Posnanski? Okay, that won't happen, but you can get a taste of what it would be like when you read a discussion between Bill and Joe about the lost luster of the All-Star Game. Compare with this, the worst baseball blog ever. Maybe the lost luster has something to with this gimmick: Obama to join Fox broadcast booth for All-Star Game. 

Finally, before you link all over, share with me a fond memory of a friend not soon forgotten. I'll miss you Jack.

In 67M's post yesterday, among all the positive-vibe jubilation, I encountered a startling quote:

In a crazy year that has seen so many lives cut short in the sports and entertainment world (as well as the death of the DLD?)

Instead of spending my valuable free time joining the vote for Sandoval campaign, I did some research and came up with a cold hard fact:

2009 DLD's since Opening Day: 36

Andrew Bailey 2009 Appearences: 37

Andrew Bailey had stolen the moniker of Daily from the Daily Link Dump. We might have had a shot to catch up at the All-Star break, but Bailey will (maybe) register an appearance there as well. I applaud ST for a noble effort to bring our beloved DLD off life support, but only the diehard link dumpers responded in a meager 10 comment effort. In these trying times when the on-field entertainment is at a 10 year low it is more important than ever to provide an outlet for the A's fan seeking an escape from the banality of reality.

Here's my contribution:

Digital Eyes Will Chart Baseball's Unseen Skills: Statheads wield new weapons in their effort to destroy the mystique of baseball. Cameo photograph of Aaron Cunningham!

Jack Cust's New Approach At the Plate: Day by day the evidence builds, Cust's value is sinking right along with his strikeout totals. Cameo shout-out to Athletics Nation at the end of the article!

Quotations about Baseball: Need a new sig line? Check out this treasure trove of bite-sized baseball wisom.

I'm on a Boat: NSFW (language) Q: What does this have do with baseball or the A's? A: Nothing. It'sjust funny as hell. Of concern to AN, the way SNL has returned from the grave has me woried that Andy Samberg is a zombie.

Now dump some links and help us regain the daily part of DLD!

OK, he only leads them if you're looking at the roster alphabetically, but still nice to see his name listed first. Mychael Urban fills you in on all the feel good fluff over at the A's official site. If you're looking for Bailey's ascent to the top of the AL pitching ranks, here the full list of All-Stars. If you're in the Holliday/Suzuki/Braden for All-Star camp, head on over to an AN yearly favorite of mine, The Annual Questionable All-Star Post.

You're supposed to learn something new every day. Today, make it baseball related. Find out more about Vin, the disabled list, or even Sports Blog Nation. Here is the whole enchilada and a side of fun.

Mazzaro's Debut: Dave Cameron crunches the numbers from Vin's debut. It's from Fangraphs, so be ready for a deluge of graphical analysis. Final word from Dave is that Mazzaro has significant adjustments to make if he's going to continue to be successful in the major leagues.

Dissecting the Disabled List by Team, Position, Year, and Injury: This should be required reading for every A's fan. You will be shocked to see that Oakland doesn't top every chart. Realize that the data looks at the years from 2002 to 2008. We're middle of the pack for DL usage, even with the parade of pain from the last two seasons.

Enhancing Your Reading Experience: a.k.a How to Read This Blog. Ever wanted to post a fireworks pic in a game thread after a win but couldn't figure out how? Maybe you want to find new comments in a FanPost without all that tedious scrolling. A quality FAQ-type article from Red Reporter (SBN Reds Blog) will have you caught up in no time.

Best MLB Players Taken at Each Draft Slot: More of a frivolous frolic through fantasy land than a draft preview of substance. Still quite fun. Did you know Manny Ramirez and Frank Tanana were two best players selected at the 13 slot? Also of interest, in 1981 Oakland used the 92nd pick (our pick again this year) in the draft to select Curt Young. Maybe this time we should go for a batting coach instead.

Dumps are this way ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓                                                                                                                                                                                       

Nothing against Dailies*. Nothing against Dumps. But we all know you're here for the Links.

Ouch, that fastball was way inside there. That's not the Link I meant, but tell me that kid doesn't do the colors green and gold proud. I wonder if he can play third base. Plus, we'd have Zelda in the stands as eye candy. Hey look, links:

Player to be determined determined!** Hint: It's not Eveland (darn).

Steve Young's Toronto connection Much speculation in the game thread last night about Young's presence at the game. The Chronicle found the answer, "Hall of Fame QB Steve Young took batting practice with the Blue Jays before the game. Young is friends with Toronto 1B Kevin Millar.

So you like the A's AND Arrested Development? David Cross (of Tobias fame) shows his observational humor prowess by noting Rickey's fondness for third-person speaking. What? That link has bad language and is NSFW? I've made a huge mistake.

More Rickey Rickey visits the Hall. Is the article a fond recollection of great Rickey moments on and off the field? Eventually. First you'll have to make it past the 'roids debate and Manny and what am I reading again?

Can you handle even more Rickey? You've seen the list: Top 25 Rickey Henderson stories. Now here Rickey debunk half those stories as he chats with ESPN's Mike & Mike.

slegnA destroy history Saunders and the rest of the bad guys drop a 1-0 L on Zack Greinke (7-0 6-1, 0.51 ERA).

*Bailey's New Nickname - Your thoughts Get out the vote for your favorite Bailey nickname, here on your very own AN. I'm all for Bail-Out.

Jeff Newman doesn't make the All Jeff team Beyond the Boxscore, bored with the 2009 baseball season, made an All-Jeff team. Most of the greats were hitters; I'm thinking we should draft a Jeff this June.

While you're dumping away down there, can anyone tell me why Jeff Newman's name is of any import to A's history? Hint: He was the ______ from this awful team. He'll share the distinction with Kurt Suzuki, Matt Holliday, Andrew Baily or maybe someone else this year.

** "Hey, DLD monkey, just tell me the player already." - disgruntled AN member.  Fine. It's Joe Dillon. He's a Ray now.

Hello AN!

Long time reader, first time DLDer. Man it feels good to be a linker. To answer Costello, I'll be on first today. Here's what happening on and beyond the internet:

KNBR covers the A's! Fitz and Brook check in with Rollie "best player to never earn a cool nickname" Fingers.  Solid interview highlighted by Rollie's tale of being hit in the head by a pitch (à la Joe Martinez).  Lowlight is Fingers promoting his HOF wine: Cooperstown Cuvee.

Home runs. Who needs 'em?  From the excellent Stat of the Day blog at baseball-reference.com comes Best OPS+ with no homers.  Number 2 on the list is our very own (from waaay back) Eddie Collins. devo* anointed him sixth best All-Time Athletic. Speaking of blasts from the past...

...from the annals of the truly strange, find out  who Ty Cobb's friends are.  Lots of old-time A's on the list; once upon a time the Georgia Peach was one!  If you think the modern A's have a hefty appetite for over-the-hill veterans, you haven't seen the 1928 roster yet.  Three 40+ HOF hitters and 44 year old pitcher Jack Quinn (247 career wins).

No matter how bad your (link) dumping skill, know that you're better than this:

*Question for all those English lovers out there: do you capitalize a lower-case name at the beginning of the sentence?

test

Time, time, time. Gee what's Beane done with thee?
Well he looked around
Soared by possibilities
Who were so hard to please
Beane looked around, left off Brown
Got one guy in a crazy trade this winter

Can our salvation be at hand?
Down with the Rivercats, bound to be some better bats
Than what FA's you've got planned
Jerry's last cup wasn't bland
A's looked around yeah, left of Brown wow!
Got one guy in a crazy trade this winter

Hang on to your hope my friend
That another comes to play, but if those dopes decline our pay
We won't contend
We'll rebuild them again
Looking down, the brass will sigh
Not much to hype, it's a springtime full of strife

Ahhh, seasons spent in new scenery
There's still time to get Giambi,
Swap short stop for Ryan Sweeney
Many have been past their prime
Funny how bad backs and hips, put all the A's on DL lists
A bundle of times
Thinking Furcal's out of line

They look around, leave our town, ow!
Got one guy in a crazy trade this winter
Look around, left to frown
There's a patchwork staff on the mound
Look around, we'll sink down
There's a patchwork staff on the mound
Look around, achieve that crown?
There's a patchwork staff on the mound