After just watching our cross bay rivals sweep the A's, I started thinking to 2010 and some positives for our A's.

First, the A's have over 30 million coming off the books with the expiring contracts of Holliday (13M), Cabrera (4M), Duke (4M), Giambi, assuming his option does not get picked up (4M), Crosby (5M), Nomar (1M).  Even with a few arbitration raises, the A's should shed 25M off the payroll.

The glaring holes for this team are at 3B (where we don't have a long term option), SS (need short term stopgap), maybe an Outfield spot (would love a True Centerfielder).  Our bullpen is relatively set with any openings being filled in-house.  We have great starting pitching depth and with a year under their belts, our starters should only get better (would love a veteran innings eater giving the young group guidance and giving the A's some flexbility).

If I were Billy Beane, I would make a strong push for Figgins for 3B.  He's not a gold glover, but he plays an adequate 3B, is a true leadoff hitter with an OBP over .400, can steal bases and is a threat whenever he gets on.  I would give him a 3 or 4-year deal since we don't have anyone in the minors that can handle 3B anyway.  Next, I would sign M Tejada to a 2-yr deal.  The guy can still hit and can serve many purposes for the A's.  One, he is that right handed bat we would need if Holliday leaves.. He is an emotional leader.. Will bring fans to the park.. Will not cost too much.  

With Figgins & Tejada, the team will look good but not great.  I think the team will still need another BIG piece (possibly a centerfielder) to become a real contender.  Who will be that big piece?

The A's should have MAJOR payroll flexibility this offseason and with the starting pitching in place, this team is a few solid moves away from contention.  What do you think?  What would you do?

.. ALL ANERS>>!

The upcoming roadtrip to Texas, Cleveland, and Boston deserves its own diary.  This road trip is huge folks, HUGE.  Every game in Texas comes down to the end, taking a toll on bullpens.  We haven't been able to win in Cleveland for two years now, and they are a much better team.  And Boston.. we all know what has happened in Boston over the years.  They have a great lineup and in a ballpark they know how to play in.  It's not just winning these games; hopefully our pitching staff will not suffer because of this trip.  I think that road trip will have a lot to do with our postseason hopes.  What do you guys think the keys to getting through this roadtrip are?  And do you guys agree that this is huge?

The A's march into the Playoffs in dramatic fashion.

July 29th Vs. Tigers - Zito throws a 12 to 6 bender to strike out Pudge and end a complete game shutout which not only buckles pudge's knees, but also Fosse's in the broadcast booth.  Fosse still stands up and claps while he once again raves about Kendall's play last week in Texas.

Aug 9th Vs. Angels - The game goes into the 15th inning with Harden still on the mound working on pitch # 43.  The free-swinging Angels are swinging and making an out on every first pitch.  Scoscia comes out to argue 7 times in the game, with the 7th time being in the 14th inning, yelling in the A's dugout why Kendall hasn't shaved in 2 months and that it is distracting his pitchers.  Macha laughs it off and puts in his 52nd stick of gum for the game in his mouth.

Sept 15 @ Boston - During a pitching change in the 8th, Manny is spotted in the Green Monster seats drinking bear and making friends.  After Francona repeatedly orders him to get back to his position, Manny demands to be traded and that once again he has no privacy in Boston.

Sept 23 Vs. Texas - After an all-out brawl between the Rangers pitching staff and 500 AN-ers in the 8th inning, Orel Hershiser begins warming up in the 9th to close it out.  Beane lets Fosse bat with 2 on and hits a 3-run HR to win the game.  Fosse's knees are still messed up, so Bill King runs the bases for him and gets mobbed at home by Korach and Buan.  No TV for the rest of the series as after the game, Kenny Rogers goes around breaking all the cameras.

Sept 30 @ Seattle - On Jay Buhner bobblehead night, the A's clinch the AL West.  Among other things, Macha is working on gum no. 56,776 for the season.  Billy Beane can be seen shouting into his cell phone in a luxury suite.  Street has Yabu spit game at a Japanese girl for him in the A's bullpen.  Dotel is back with the team after surgery, but is wearing the wrong color jersey.  And during the A's celebration in the clubhouse, Fosse again interviews Kendall about the play in Texas.  

Oh and two sidenotes - After the game, ESPN.com has a feature article in which Joe Morgan rips Beane for not bunting even once in the final month.  And Mike Scoscia gets a call from Bob Watson that his complaint against Bobby Kielty's hair is nonsense especially when Vladimir is working on that huge patch of hair on his chin.

The A's win every game in the postseason and go on to claim another World Series trophy.  AN is PUMPED!!

 

From what I've noticed this year, Swish has this arrogance to him.  The way he walks, the way he he hits himself on the chest after a HR, his mouth.. lol.  I mean I love the guy, he gives great interviews, and will be a great player, but has anybody else noticed his little too-much swagger as a rookie or is it just me?  and... it seems like Chavvy is taking a leadership role on the team.  HONESTLY!.., for example, he won't go sit at the end of the dugout anymore, he actually argues with the umps now (especially tonight - never seen Chavvy so animated), he has this determined look on his face, and it was his on the bus meeting that turned things around for us.  Has anyone else noticed this either?

There are MANY teams out there in contention and in great need of a starting pitcher.  I'm sure one of them will package 3 phenomenal prospects that can be a part of this club for the next several years.  Zito will be making 8.5 mil next year and will probably be unaffordable after that.  I personally don't think he's worth that much.  If Beane can get three quality players in return, 2 of which will be on the opening day roster next year, then I'd say trade him.  But he'd have to get a starting pitcher, and maybe 2 good hitters back.  Don't get me wrong, I love Z, I think he's been a class act in Oakland, but if we're building for the next 5-6 years, then we need to make a deal.  I just hope we can field a winning team next year because all this losing is really getting to me.  What do you guys think??

I think it's somewhat safe to start looking at 2006 for us A's fans.  Now I know we have some good young talent, but I don't think that it's enough to compete with the big boys.  We're definitely lacking a big right handed slugger, another veteran starting pitcher that could eat up innings, and a few other pieces here and there.  I think BB n co. will have a little more flexibility at the end of this season payroll wise with Dotel, Durazo, Byrnes, Rincon, Bradford, off the books.  Dotel has been all but replaced, and Durazo can be replaced by one of the young guys.  What I'm getting at is that we definitely need to make a splash either in the free agent market or via trade.  This team definitely wont compete for a spot in next years world series with the young guys we have.  So which potential free agents to be attracts you guys and do you guys think A's ownership will pull the trigger???  I get the sense that the new ownership is somewhat passionate about this team.  And I know BB doesn't want to lose given his competitive nature.  So what do you guys think?

A Giants fan, an Red Sox fan and an A's fan were all in Saudi Arabia, sharing a smuggled crate of booze. All of the sudden Saudi police rushed in and arrested them. The mere possession of alcohol is a severe offense in Saudi Arabia, so for the terrible crime of actually being caught consuming the booze, they were sentenced to death!

However, after many months and with the help of very good lawyers, they were able to successfully appeal their sentence down to life imprisonment. By a stroke of luck, it was a Saudi national holiday the day their trial finished, and the extremely benevolent local judge decided they could be released after receiving just 20 lashes each of the whip.

As they were preparing for their punishment, the judge suddenly said, "It's my first wife's birthday today, and she has asked me to allow each of you one wish before your whipping."

The Giants fan was first in line (he had drunk the least), so he thought about this for a while and then said, "Please tie a pillow to my back." This was done, but the pillow only lasted 10 lashes before the whip went through. The Giants fan had to be carried away bleeding and crying with pain when the punishment was
done.

The Red Sox fan was next up (he almost finished an entire fifth by himself), and after watching the scene, said "All Right! Please fix two pillows on my back." But even two pillows could only take 15 lashes before the whip went through again, sending the Red Sox fan out crying like a little girl.

The A's fan was the last one up (he had finished off the crate), but before he could say anything, the judge turned to him and said, "You support the greatest baseball team in the world, your supporters are the best and most loyal baseball fans in all the world. For this, you may have two wishes!"

"Thank you, your honor," the A's fan replied. "In recognition of your kindness, my first wish is that you give me not 20, but 100 lashes."

"Not only are you an honorable man, you are also very brave," the judge said with an admiring look on his face. "If 100 lashes is what you desire, then so be it. And your second wish? What is it to be?" the judge asked.

"Tie the Red Sox fan to my back."

I have one question.. Can someone please explain to me why the RED SOX have so many fans.  They are everywhere.  I've been to many A's/Red Sox games and they're always out in bunches.  And I hate em, I remember in the playoffs when Zito was mowing them down, I was all up in their grill thinking cool, we have this series in the bag.  I was back there for Game 5 and .. N/M.  But anyway, why do they have so many fans, do they travel down here?  Bandwagon?  It cant be bandwagon because they just won the World Series after 86 years.  So WHY??, they are sooo annoying with their old school 'B' hats that looks like its been through two world wars.  I've also many of their away games on Extra Innings and it's like this for every city.  There are Boston fans everywhere.. why??

The A's are losing for the first time since 1998.  In '99, we came back on the map and challenged the Sox for the wild card when no one expected us to.  From '00 - '03, we were good, very good.  In '04, we all thought we would get back to the postseason - I mean we had the big 3.  But what makes losing right now so difficult, and what makes the term rebuilding feel so agonizing is because we have unfinished business.  If we had won the World Series one of those years, this transition wouldn't hurt so much for me.  But because we were so incredibly close 4 years in a row did us in.  Every fan and every analyst knows that in a 7 game series we would have been tough in any of those years, but getting there was the problem.  And what hurts the most is the way we lost the last time.  That truly hurt.  I was there, the coliseum was about to literally erupt, but no, we had to do it again.  My point is that that sour taste is in all of our mouths, hasnt left, and probably wont until we get there again.  Maybe if we had won it all one those years, we could deal with losing now because we had one with our core guys.  But I guess we have to accept that that core is gone now, and we need to pave the way for a new one.  Hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later.  Because the sooner we get back, the sooner we can handle our unfinished business.

First off, the A's made the biggest mistake by getting rid of Tejada and choosing to keep Chavez instead.  Here are the major differences between the two players:

1. Miggy was passionate - almost everytime Miggy made an out you kind of saw some kind of emotion from him.  I mean he'd be so incredibly upset at himself and would talk to himself all the way back to the dugout.  When he would come through with his game winners - he would pump his fist or make wild gestures youd want your leader making.  Other players feed off that.  The only time Chavez did this that I can recall was the game winning single off Cordero (Rangers) late last season.
2. Miggy was a leader - Miggy talked to other players, pumped up other players, pumped up the whole team, brought this vibe and energy the A's are clearly lacking.  You know when they say "this player will put the team on his back and carry it."  Well thats Miggy.
3. Clutch hitter - Miggy was definitely a big time clutch hitter and getting better at it now.  I remember so many important hits Miggy got for us.  Whether it was the two big ones against Minnesota on consecutive days during "the streak" or his walk-off against Rivera.  He is definitely someone youd want up in a tight situation.  Chavez on the other hand - I won't even go there.  He chokes all the time - everytime.  It's as if he doesnt even want to be up there with the game on the line.

We could have kept Miggy for less than what he got from Baltimore.  He is definitely someone you'd want to build your franchise around.  He is a team leader, a great hitter, a great defender, and brings a huge amount of energy to his team.  All that is worth $12 Million a year.  I honestly think he is the best player in the game today.  

As for the 2005 A's.  Billy Beane is way too obsessed with OBP.  And were not even getting on base to begin with.  And when we do, we can't bring them in.  I mean what good does OBP do when we can't bring them in.  I'd rather have Vlad on my team with a .340 AVG and can come through with men on and is a beast than having someone like Hatteberg getting on base with a walk.  There is so much pressure on these guys to take a walk from the front office that once they fall behind in the count, theyre toast.  This has plagued us throughout the years.  All it takes is for the opposing pitcher to be around the plate and were in trouble.  But now, we cant even hit someone that is clearly struggling.  We seem to make every mediocre pitcher look good.  

What we need in order to compete:

1. A big right handed bat - this would definitely give the lineup more stability and make everyone more comfortable.  (Remember Dye coming over in 2001 - We went on a tear).
2. ENERGYYY, outside of Kotsay, this team does not have someone that's vocal or can be a leader.  CHAVEZ is definitely not a leader.  We need a Tejada-like figure on our team.  We need to get into a big brawl so our players can bond and pick each other up on the field.
3. The front office needs to relax on this taking pitches crap.  Yes it's important to take pitches sometimes, but not ALL the time.  I mean sometimes you can tell when say Hatteberg waits so long to see if it's going to be a ball, and then realizes OH WAIT, THATS A STRIKE, swings late and pops up.  We need players who can flat out mash.

I want you guys to elaborate on three things, What you guys think about Miggy over Chavez, Beane's obsession with OBP, and What will make our team better.