I was looking back through my fanposts (nee diaries) on AN, just for old times sake, and apparently, all I've been good for are draft day threads and research, GoG scores, win expectation charts, and two DLDs.

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so we all know about the first round picks, if not... go back to the main page...

now about the rest of them...
(6) 210. - Scott Hodsdon, Azusa Pacific, RHP, Sr.
(7) 240. - Lance Sewell, SDSU, LHP, Jr.
(8) 270. - Daniel Schlereth, Arizona, LHP, Jr.
(9) 300. - Eric Berger, Arizona, LHP, So.
(10) 330. - Daniel Hamblin, Arkansas, 1B, Sr. (we picked him last year...)
(11) 360. - Michael Richard, Prarie View A&M, SS, Sr.
(12) 390. - Gary Brown, Diamond Bar (CA) HS, CF
(13) 420. - Justin Friend, Oklahoma State, RHP, Jr.
(14) 450. - Jordan Smith, Texas Tech, C, Jr.
(15) 480. - Brad Hertzler, Maine, LHP, Jr.
(16) 510. - Brett Lysander, Sonoma State, RHP, Jr.
(17) 540. - Stephen Hunt, Jesuit HS (Tampa, FL), LHP
(18) 570. - Matt Ray, Middle Tennessee State, SS, Sr.
(19) 600. - Michael Napoleon, Iowa, C, Jr.
(20) 630. - Daniel Wentzell, George Fox Univ, RF, Sr.
(21) 660. - Stephen Portlier, Oklahoma, RHP, So.
(22) 690. - Aaron Jenkins, Northern Iowa, LHP, Jr.
(23) 720. - James Pruitt, U Montevallo, OF, Sr.
(24) 750. - Raymond Rodriguez, PR BB Academy, RF
(25) 780. - Jareck West, Delta State, CF, Jr.

I'm done... if someone want's to fill the next about 15 picks, go ahead... the A's probably won't go 50 picks again. (and I'm wrong... figures, considering how many college juniors the A's took.)

By the way, HollywoodOz has done an awesome job nabbing info on everyone at NFTN.

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   If you read this on the livejournal group, it's the same exact thing. AN swallowed my two previous postings.

So, I went to Fenway Park today. Went at 12 for a 2 o'clock game to get the ticket that I had left for myself at will call. It was baking, 91 at first pitch, and staying at 93. No wind anywhere. I was out past the overhang in right field, so basically, it just plain sucked. I went through about 6 bottles of liquid (I only brought 4...), and I only had 1 Fenway Frank. It's funny, you know the thing's four bucks, and it pisses you off that it's four bucks, but you just have to have one. Just a tad funky, I think. Saw an A's win, had awesome seats, you'll see where later, but yeah. Great game, except for the heat. Felt like I died several times over, or something. It was insane.

Some random Fenway points:

• 3rd inning: Beachball hits me in face. Beachballs?! I thought they only did that in Anaheim. It was a bit annoying, and kind of disrupting.
  
• 6th inning: Wally, the mascot, who isn't as cool as Stomper, came up to me, and shot me (and my scorecard) with a water gun. Didn't do a lot of damage, but it was funny. I just kind of looked at him, looked at the scoreboard, and shrugged. He then went away.
  
• 8th inning: Top: Wave came. It sucked. People were actually getting into it too, never mind that it was a 5-1 game at the time. To be fair, Tavarez was taking it really slowly on the mound, and it was really hard to pay attention to the game. It was weird, because the bleachers started chanting "Let's go Red Sox," but then the wave came and the cheer died. Bottom: What's with Sweet Caroline? As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with either Boston or baseball... I guess this article explains it, though. Kind of funky.

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Game Recaps:
Giants, Bonds limp off with loss (San Jose Mercury)
A's run past Giants in 9th Bonds gets rare steal, but Benitez fails again (Oakland Tribune)
A's way is one way (San Francisco Chronicle)
Swisher sends A's past Giants in opener (oaklandathletics.com)
AP story

Injuries? What injuries?
Thomas: expects to be back on Friday; has returned to Oakland after spending a few days at home in Vegas. Took BP yesterday. (source)
Duchscherer: returned and owned.
Witasick: suffering from tendinitis in his recently sprained left ankle; undergoing shockwave treatment. Witasick on shockwave treatments: "That's gotta be the equivalent of giving birth out of your ankle." (same source)
Bradley: won't swing a bat until next week (source)
Kennedy: long toss on flat ground yesterday, will see how he feels today
Ellis: some hitting work and BP; thumb has improved according to x-rays; not far from rehab? (source)

Supposedly, the jerseys from yesterday were autographed and are to be auctioned off, but I can't find confirmation on it. Anyone care to get Benitez's?

In case you didn't know, Barry Zito is being sued by WHAM!BAM!GashouseGangStanTheManThankYouMa'am-
ManRaybAnNeDManRamBamBamSpamLand'O'LakesCan-
CandyCornHolioJeffFlakes Construction Co.

Other random stuff:
The English and Germans fight in Stuttgart
Ozzie Guillen still doesn't like the media
Aaron Harang threw ANOTHER shutout
Steve Moore whacker Bertuzzi traded to Miami, where apparently, they play hockey
They are no longer the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, making Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California look more ridiculous

So, how does one do this?

Game Recaps?
MLB.com/Oakland
Chron
Trib

Injury Reports? Duchscherer and Kennedy Of note in the first article: He hasn't felt this good in a long, long time, according to Larry Davis. That means it's probably not true, right? Hopefully, of course, it is.

I found this when I searched "Oakland Tribune" on Google News... Trouble from the Gnat camp.
"It's a bunch of [junk]," he said. "This [deleted] team is not going to be good like this. If it doesn't change, it's going to be [messed] up. . . . It's like we never do something right. They only want to put you down on the ground, make you feel dirty and make you feel bad." - Armando Benitez
The joys of KNBR, or at least, the negative aspect of it. There's some other flowery language in that article as well.

Meanwhile, out here: La New Bears are struggling to maintain the lead they've built up. Yes, it's the CPBL, where the outfielders get worse jumps than Eric Byrnes, sometimes even going the wrong way, diving, and missing. It hurts to watch. (In case you care, La New signed Chen Chin-feng, the former Dodger, last season.)

Here's a Catfish Stew link, since I read it. Gives light on the Zito situation, and what Billy might do.

In two completely different stories from Saint Louis, Ankiel's return is delayed, and... well, we know about Pujols' trainer already.

And this post from over half a year ago still holds true.

Are the footballs in Germany behaving like knuckleballs?

Some advertiser needs a lesson in scoreboard reading.

To conclude, I'd like to thank AN on keeping me updated on all things Oakland A's while I'm halfway across the globe. It's hard being an NRAF.

And the DLD is being posted at 18:38, or 3:38PST. I supposed I could wait another 5 1/2 hours and post tomorrow's DLD?

That said, have fun with the thread. I won't be here to control it... I'll be asleep. And I didn't do that bad, did I?

Bumped to front page to continue Draft Day Madness '06 - louismg

We need a new one. We got the first to thread.

A's picks so far:

2. Trevor Cahill, RHP, Vista HS, Vista, CA. Could be a signability issue, since he's committed to Dartmouth, and that scholarship is worth a lot of money, plus an education.
   
3. Matt Sulentic, SS-OF, Hillcrest HS, Dallas, TX. He's a hitting monster, with crazy stats, and with a BA approaching 600 an OBP over 700, with 19 jacks.
4. Chad Lee, LHP, Barton Co JC, Great Bend, KS. He's from OK. Coming back from an ACL injury just last year. Plus fastball and a good curve. Health questions abound. Stats not all too good this year.
5. Jermaine Mitchell, CF, UNC-Greensboro. I refer you to that. The MLB radio guys didn't know about him, and DraftTracker gives no info. Hit 397/493/568/1061. 24/30 on steals, so is fast.
6. Andrew Bailey, RHP, Wagner. 2.03 ERA this past year, in 44 1/3 IP. Struck out 53, walked 16. Wagner profile here. Is a junior, had TJ surgery this year.
7. Michael Leake, RHP, Fallbrook (CA) HS. I think he finished 10-1, with a bunch of Ks, or something. Info is really scarce on him.
8. Angel Sierra, CF, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. That's an info black hole. I've tried. It doesn't work.
9. Danny Hamblin, 1b, U of Arkansas. Hit 289/382/557/939 in the SEC. All below his average. Arkansas profile here.
10. Christian Vitters, SS, Fresno State. He's a junior. (profile). 340/431/557/988 in the WAC. stats. Was the WAC player of the year, but also broke a finger.
11. Jason Fernandez, RHP, Louisana-Lafayette. 2.86 ERA, 101 Ks/37bbs in 91 1/3 innings. 9 hbps, 9 wild pitches. Was 9-2. (profile)
12. Shane Pertussi, RHP, Franklin Pierce Coll. 2.64 ERA, 9-2. 95k, 31bb in 85 1/3 ip.
13. Ben Jukich, LHP, Dakota Wesleyan. He's good.
14. Toddrick Johnson, CF, Southern Miss. (profile). Lefty, hitting 363/444/552/996 against CUSA. Has 11 jacks.
15. Kyle Christensen, RHP, Millikan HS, Long Beach, CA. MaxPreps stats. Not very good a team, had to forfeit several times this year. 1.64 ERA, 75 Ks and 15 bb in 64ip.
16. Branden Dewing, LHP, San Jos? State. (profile). 3.14 ERA, 7-5. 114 1/3 IP, 72 K, 31 BB, .251 BAA.
17. Michael Affronti, SS, LeMoyne College. (profile). 389/434/662/1096 against the MAAC. (stats).
18. Michael Ambort, C, LaMar University. He's a junior. (profile). Played only 6 games this year. Set all kinds of records in 2005.

Everything's under the cut this time.

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Thought some of you guys would like to see this... so here it is. (For those of you on the Diaries menu, everything is under the cut, since the image is huge.)

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Z's ERA again lowered, but did not reach an area code, though it came quite close.  Since 753 does not exist, the closest area code is:

754: Broward County, Florida

2006 BET Index

Game   ERA    Target

  3    7.53   near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
  2    8.59   Lexington, Kentucky
  1   47.25   deep space

(Since I have nothing better to do this Saturday morning, I hijacked crosis' feature. Sorry, crosis.)

So since none of the fantasy threads can be recommended anymore, I've decided to make this so hopefully consolidate most of the talk (and not bump other worthy diaries off the page) and allow us commissioners who have yet to fill our leagues a space to get people to fill said leagues.

If you want to ask for fantasy advice, go ahead, and see how far you get.

If you want to play with this as an open thread, go straight ahead. I have no objections, and can't stop you. (Besides that, I cleverly hid "OPEN THREAD" behind the ellipsies anyhow...)