Iglew's post got me thinking about the A's manager situation. In the poll, I voted for Rickey for manager. But the more I thought about it, the problem is really a lot bigger than the manager. In fact, a large part of the problem is that the traditional staffing structure of an MLB coaching staff just doesn't fit with the philosophy/DNA/je nous se que that is the A's. We're the team that zigs when everyone else zags. It's high time the coaching staff reflected that.

My humble proposal...

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I don't know if the Yahoo main page is the same all over. But I just clicked over and there's Ziggy front and center for breaking a 101 year old record!!

Go to this link and buzz up the story so our man stays on top!

I know this is an insanely short diary, but with the season looking grim, these are the kinds of moments we gotta celebrate.

I also think it's awesome that there is  no other place on the internet more excited about this than AN!

One of the great things about being a A's fan is that almost every year we pick up some completely under-the-radar guy who goes on to play pretty darn well. Sure, there are plenty who don't work out (Eric Karros and Keiichi Yabu), but enough of them play well that it is usually one of my favorite storylines of the season.

Sometimes these players are such a good fit that they end up sticking around for quite a while (like Scott Hatteberg and Marco Scutaro). Others, for a variety of reasons (like money, retirement, or the fact the weren't really that good but had a string of luck in the green and gold) go on their way after a year or two. Those guys, I call Transition A's.

In honor of Big Frank's return, I present my Top 10 rental A's from 2000-2007. It is not a list based on stats or anything attempting an objective analysis of which Transition A's performed the best over that span. It's just my favorites, and though I thought about who I might want to put in each spot, I could probably change my mind. Feel free to make suggestions in the comments.

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In honor of the A's 4-0 road record to start 2008...

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These are dark times, indeed. We've had bad Mays before, but this one seems worse.

Looking at the team now is frustrating and painful.

But in an effort to listen to my inner optimist (not blindly follow the guy, mind you, just hear what he has to say), here are some silver linings I see from today's game and other recent events:

-Danny Haren was not awful today (wow, Dave, is "not awful" the best your inner optimist can do?). He was bad, but not awful. 6 IP, 4 ER, Progress, Improvement.

-We're trying new things. New lineup. Scooter stole a base. Trying to move runners over. And the result: 4 runs when the Unit start. Not shabby.

-That Kielty for Lilly deal is starting to look really good. Kielty's been hitting, not great of course, but hitting. But Lilly's been positively awful. 10.41 ERA and 2.13 WHIP. Glad we don't have that on our hands.

-Harden's feeling better already.

Okay, my well's dry. Anything else on that silver lining?

...what would be my starting lineup?

I asked myself that question during the countless hours of boredom in school. And now, as a way of escaping from the ton of work I have to do, I'd like to revisit the question again.

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With all these young players, managing and coaching become a lot more important. So should we try to go after a new manager or pitching coach?

I'm not down on Macha and Young, I think they're alright, but nothing special.

We are a promising rebuilding project for an ambitious manager or PC, so we could possibly attract somebody.

Any chance Rick Peterson gets fed up w/ the Mets incompetence (or Pedro pisses him off)?

Dave Stewart has considerable PC experience (for the Padres when they won the NL, 2003 Olympic Qualifying Team, and the Blue Jays)

Other ideas out there?