I just wrote a long comment in the "let’s fire the hitting coach diary" and I thought it might make an interesting diary of its own.  Since Oaktoon no longer posts here, I figure that somebody needs to be the AN Pessimist, and I’m happy to give it a shot.  So here goes.  By the way, please be gentle, I think this is only my second diary.

In the let’s fire the hitting coach thread, somebody pointed out that the A’s have had three different hitting coaches in the last three years, and in each of those years, the hitting has been less than stellar.  The question then becomes why?  While it’s easy to blame the hitting coach, or even Geren, I’m not sure that is the answer.

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The Mariners acquired Ben Broussard from Cleveland for prospect Shin-Soo Choo.  

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/wire/sns-ap-bba-indians-mariners-trade,1,5876745.story?co ll=sns-ap-baseball-headlines

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060726&content_id=1576709&vkey=trade200 6&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I imagine that this moves Sexson to DH.  Broussard's having a pretty solid year (OPS .880), and will surely help Seattle's offense.  Are we a little worried about the Mariners?

In Rob Neyer's chat today, he ended it with this question and answer:

Kevin, Arkansas: Are the Oakland A's a legitimate contender in the American League?

 Rob Neyer: (12:57 PM ET ) Right now, on paper, the A's are the third-best team on the planet (after the U.S.A. and the D.R.).

If he was being serious, it seems like a huge compliment from a Rob, and good news for those of us at AN.  

This is my first diary post, so please be gentle, but I thought it was interesting.  Here's the link: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=10761