SB Nation User Blog: Taj Adib

Just a Few Tidbits with Taj

Taj Adib — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:41:42 -0000

Last night's loss was tough, but I've gotten used to it with this outfit. I don't want to really re-hash any of the "lack of passion/lack of intensity/lack of focus" debates that we've had here on this site several times already this season, but I need to vent on a few topics regarding this team and hope to just get some constructive conservation going:

1. The Coaching/Manager Issue: I know everybody has different opinions regarding the importance of a baseball manager and the major league coaching staff. I get that and we're all aware of where I stand on the issue. I can respect the opinions of others who think that Geren and the rest of the coaching staff bear little or no responsibility for the horrible play of the A's this season. I can even respect the opinions of A's management if they decide to keep Geren and others in charge of this outfit...but I'd at least like to see the organization show that they are "investigating" whether the coaching is part of the problem, part of the solution or just irrelevant, rather than just showing blind faith in a group of coaches that haven't really shown the ability to maximize the talents of the players under their charge (excepting maybe Curt Young and Ron Romanick). I really enjoyed reading this statement from Nationals president Stan Kasten when asked about the possibility that the team would fire manager Manny Acta:

...I can confess to you how perplexed I am by this season, this team, and the things that are going on. Our record is a real trouble to me, every single day. I'm troubled by everything, and we continue to look for solutions. Have I thought about every possibility? Of course I have, as has Mike, as have our owners. We're certainly not satisfied with our record, far from it. We're distraught over it, and we're going to consider anything we need to do to make it better.

If I read a similar statement from Beane and Company, I confess that I would feel a little better about things. Without really deciding anything, it would at least indicate that the team was looking for solutions in every possible avenue, rather than just repeating the refrain, "Injuries have hurt us" and "The offense needs to come around." Since player input hastened Ken Macha's departure after 2006, perhaps players should be solicited with their opinions of whether Geren should remain manager in 2009?

2. The Holliday Situation: Buster Olney and others are trying to make the case that the "A's need to trade Holliday before the deadline or else risk losing out on draft pick compensation because he's surely going to accept arbitration and cost the team $15/16 million". I find that line of thinking somewhat of a stretch. Sure, Holliday isn't tearing up the American League and is not in the position to demand a $100 million free agent contract after the season, but even with his major struggles to begin the year, the guy is still on pace to hit nearly 25 homers, steal 13-15 bases, drive-in nearly 100 and hit .280/.290. He's still in his prime and has a phenomenal track record. Besides that, three of the biggest markets in the game will be looking for corner outfield help at the end of the season (Angels, Red Sox, Yankees) and at least one of those, but more likely all three, will surely offer Matt a multi-year contract offer that will far exceed the $15 or $16 million he may get by accepting arbitration with the A's. Besides, is having a highly-motivated Matt Holliday on a 1-year deal during a year when the A's have a ton of payroll flexibility (2010) that bad of a Plan B or C for this team? I don't think so. Bottom line: Beane's in the driver's seat with Holliday and I expect him to deal him only if he get can a pretty valuable package of prospects.

3. The Chavez Situation: Chavvy's recent decision to undergo another back surgery got me hoping and praying that this was the background conversation that led to the decision:

Beane: "Chavvy...you're surely not coming back at all this season and, as things stand, you're costing us $12 million for next year as well. There's really only one chance to get you back on the field, and that's to get another surgery now. If we do it now, there's a chance you could be ready for Spring Training in 2010, but there's also a chance your career will be over before then. If you get the surgery now, and you don't feel better by Spring Training, will you agree to retire and save us some money?"

Chavvy: "Umm...well...I feel great right now, but sure, let me call Kotsay and talk with my family and then I'll let you know."

(Ten Minutes Later)

Chavvy: "Yeah, let's do it. I'll get the surgery done in a few days and go from there."

Beane: (jumping up and down) "Awesome, thanks...any chance we can that agreement in writing?"

Seriously...if this latest surgery leaves Chavvy's back "too unstable" to play baseball, he NEEDS to retire. The current status quo of "I'm going to try my darndest to get back on the field while I'm under contract" is just untenable for the franchise. His vascillations between complete resignation to retirement to unbridgled optimism are sapping a lot of energy from the fan base and the organization.

4. Is Bonds a Possibility?: Every year this topic gets broached here on AN, and I aim to make sure it's on the backburner this year too. If Beane doesn't find a deal for Holliday that is to his liking, this team as currently constituted will likely remain intact for the duration of the season, for better or worse, due to the untradable nature of Giambi, Cabrera and Nomar. If that turns out to be the case, shouldn't the team at least investigate possibile ways to improve the team for the stretch run? Bonds, currently unemployed, could potentially add some much-much needed pop and OBP to the team for some of July and September. He'd likely sign for cheap and would motivated to reach some milestones (he needs 65 more hits for 3,000, 38 homers for 800, and needs to score 69 more runs to move past Rickey as the all-time leader in runs scored). It's highly doubtful that he could achieve any of those milestones in a month or two of action, but Bonds is enough of an egomaniac to at least try. Given that he'd only cost money (and only a small amount at that - less than $1 million) and would drum up at least a little bit of interest in the A's and would buttres the young pitchers a bit, does anybody think it's even a possibility? I say it's possible...DH Bonds, platoon Nomar and Giambi at 1st and play Cust in right full-time. Terrible defense, but a lineup full of formerly big-names might be fun to watch for a month or two...I'm not saying it's a great idea, or even a good one, but this team is pretty desperate for offense...

Some Trade ideas for if/when Beane decides to Sell

Taj Adib — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:18:38 -0000

From Jayson Stark's ESPN "Rumbling & Grumblings" column, 5/21/2009:

Clubs that have spoken to the A's report that Billy Beane "has had it" with his scuffling outfit. But it figures to be at least a month before he starts unloading Matt Holliday or anyone of significance.

"If he could do something right now, he'd do it," said one front-office man. "But I don't think clubs have enough feel for what they've got on that club. So I'd say late June, early July is more likely."

So maybe Beane isn't as clueless to this "scuffling outfit" as we've made him out to be...at least we can hope. The timeframe Stark lays out seems about right to me. Give this team one more month to snap out of it's funk and one more month for the rest of the teams out there to decide between "buying" and "selling" and then start wheeling and dealing if it's the latter for these A's.

Like Beane, it seems, I'm starting to get the itch for the trade bug, so here I go with my first batch of trade ideas. We all know the A's need a new 3rd baseman, shortstop and possibly even a centerfielder. So here goes:

While the early indications are that the trade market for guys like Matt Holliday might be less robust than previously thought, I would bet that Beane will still be able to rassle up a few intriguing packages as "bubble" teams start getting desperate for that missing piece that will put them over the top. Holliday is finally finding his stroke and with another few weeks to get his overall stats in order, he could become a very valuable trade piece. In addition, Beane should have the payroll flexibility to be able to throw in a significant amount of money to help cover Holliday's remaining 2009 salary, which should also work in his favor, as he could effectively "buy" a better set of prospects from an acquiring team if the financial outlay is lessened. Here are some trade ideas:

- Atlanta: The Braves badly need an infusion of power in the lineup and happen to have a gaping hole in left field at the moment. The Atlanta farm system is fairly stacked with talented prospects, however, I doubt the team would part with any of their top talent (Hanson, Heyward, Freeman, Schafer). They do have a shortstop prospect in Double-A at the moment (Brandon Hicks) that is struggling so far this season and has some contact issues, but has historically hit for power, drawn some walks and played good defense. Provided he gets his act together a bit, he could be an option for the big league team in 2010 at some point. RHP Kris Medlen could also be a nice get as a command-control righty that could be a mid-rotation type guy. Perhaps the package could be rounded out by a high-ceiling lower minors arm (which the Braves have plenty of). Unfortunately, none of these guys will be high-impact players this season, so a perfect match it may not be.

- Kansas City: It would really be interesting to see the Royals make a big play for the post season this year after so many seasons of struggling. The AL Central seems definitely winnable this year, and with Zack Greinke's historic-level early season dominance, Gil Meche eating up innings, Bannister pitching well and the bullpen dominating, to go along with a few surprise offensive performers, the Royals could have the ingredients to make a run. Holliday could be used to push DeJesus out of left field and give them a big power power boost to slot behind Mike Jacobs. In addition, the Royals are definitely looking for a shortstop to replace the one-hit wonder Mike Aviles. They would likely be interested in O-Cab as well. The only deal I could really see working would be Holliday + Cabrera + cash for 3B Mike Moustakas. Moustakas is a monster prospect and is the gem of the Royal farm system, so I don't think they would just fork him over, but if they get desperate enough...

- Mets: I'm sure that with the injuries to Delgado and Reyes, the Mets would love to add Holiday right now and for the stretch run. Looking at their minor league system, it doesn't seem like a real solid match could be made, although Daniel Murphy (up with the big club) seems like a solid but unspectacular hitter that could take over 3rd base duties for the A's right now. The team also has high-upside potential CFer Fernadno Martinez and some raw arms. I would imagine that the Mets wouldn't part with Murphy and F-Mart together, but you'd never know...

- Cardinals: I would love the A's to pry Brett Wallace away from the Cards with some combination of cash, Holliday, O-Cab, Ellis, Springer, Duke or Casilla, but I just don't think it happening. The Cards have plenty of productive outfielders and they seem to want to ADD 3rd basemen to their system, not trade one away...but here again, desperation could play a part...

- Giants: McCovery Chronicles is thinking that if the Giants stay close by deadline time, they could pursue Holliday and might use Tim Alderson as the bait. Even with their pitching depth, I doubt they would give up a Top-5 prospect like Alderson for a rental like Holliday and their positional prospects aren't anything special, so I don't anything is going to happen with Gnats...

- Angels: For all intents and purposes, I would think that if the A's are totally out of it by this time next month, a deal with the Angels would make the most sense, besides the whole inter-divisional-bitter-rivalry thing. For one thing, the Angels are always in need of more power, especially with an ailing Vladi Guerrero and with a firepower discrepancy between themselves and the Rangers - their likely competition for the division. Secondly, Holliday would be a good fit in the Sciosca-style offense, as he can hit for average and power, is pretty aggressive, and runs well. On a personal level, I know that Holliday owns an off-season home in Orange County and is a big family guy that would likely fit-in with the Angel clubhouse. The Angels could also likely make a big, Teixera-like play to keep Holliday after this season, especially considering that Vladi's contract is done after ths season and Holliday could become the new face of the franchise. The A's would likely take Brandon Wood from the Halos in a heartbeat and might even be interested in Sean Rodgriguez or Reggie Willits or an A-ball arm or two. Seeing as how all those players have been long-overlooked by the Angel brass and aren't critical to either the team's long-term or short-term success, I think a match could easily be made between the two teams.

- Padres: I don't think that the rumors are true linking Chase Headley with a possible trade for Yuniesky Betancourt. Even so, with the Padres looking to dump players and totally rebuild, it's possible that the team might make him available for some much-needed infusion of prospects. The A's could make like Kenny Williams and aggressively push a deal on the Padres...maybe something like Gio/Simmons, Petit and Corey Brown for Headley? Or maybe it may even be possible to buy Headley off the Padres (who are looking to dump salary) by agreeing to take on Scott Hairston for the rest of the year along with Headley for the prospects listed above. I would hate to even mention the idea of taking-on Brian "Woman Beater" Giles and his lifeless bat and the rest of his 9 million dollar salary, but if it meant that the A's could keep a prospect or two and still get Headley? You'd have to think about it...in addition to Headley, the A's could easily put together a deal for the whiff-artist Kouzmanoff at pretty much anytime. Kevin is up for arbitration after this season, has always had trouble hitting at Petco and just isn't that great of a player. However, he does have some pop, is decent against lefties and plays a decent 3rd base. He would be a real nice platoon partner for Eric Chavez for a year or two and would maybe cost Petit and Eveland or Petit and Blevins.

That's all I got for today.

Just a few Gripes

Taj Adib — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:58:31 -0000

Although I planned to launch into a profanity-laced tirade following the team's 18th embarrassing loss of the season yesterday, I've calmed my jets over the past 12 hours or so and only have a few gripes to get to this early afternoon:

1. I think what most of us here on AN are most frustrated about is this team's lack of fire, or at the very least, lack of concern about their monumental offensive struggles. Far too many times this season you'll hear a player here or a player there just shrug-off a shut-out or near shut-out and just say, "Well, Giambi and Holliday have been too good in the past to stay this bad in the future. So we'll be fine." That's just ridiculous to me. The way to win ball games when the heart of the order is not producing is not to just wax-nostalgic and wait for the OTHER guy to pick up the slack...it's to do what Kurt Suzuki and Jack Cust are doing and just shut the mouth, bear down, make some adjustments and get some hits yuorself. For some reason, it seems (at least from the outside) that no one is taking responsibility for communicating this to the rest of the team, which leads me to...

2. I think the culture that has been fostered in this clubhouse over the past few years has really made the "Oakland Brand" a difficult product to market, a boring team to follow and has hampered any ability for the organization to gain positive traction both on the field and off. THe culture I am talking about is one where Bob Geren, a nice guy to be sure and certainly a life-long "baseball man" that was a helluva minor league manager, turns into a "made man" without really being challenged or showing any results. It's the culture where everyone just kind of bumbles around (including the management team) crossing fingers and hoping the best for/planning post-season runs on chronically injured players...and when those players STAY injured, everyone just throws up their arms and no one bats an eye...

3.I sense just an overall disturbing trend that a lot of offensive players that have been brought up through the A's system seem to just stop learning at the major league level and hit a wall or plateau (with the lone exception in recent years being Kurt Suzuki). Guys like Barton, Buck and now Sweeney, who all had solid minor league numbers and had flashes of brilliance at the major league level, just seem to stop making adjustments, or shoring up weaknesses or building up strengths. I really think of this as a major organizational/cultural problem in Oakland. Players CAN'T stop learning at the major league level...if they do, this organization is doomed. It just seems like less and less importance is being placed on the major league coaching staff, especially on the offensive side, when players are just thrown out there everyday without a lot of guidance when they are clearly not up to the task...

4. Regarding Clubhouse Culture: I think Jason Giambi is really doing his best to be the father figure and take the pressure off the young guys and be a good role model. But it's not 2001 anymore. Giambi still has a little pop and can work a walk and get hit by a few pitches, but he's not the dynamic player/personality that he once was - the type of human tonic that a dormant offense needsto burst out of it's slumber. I think it's nearly impossible to really put a price on "dynamism" and clubhouse presence and whatnot, but I will say that it would sure be nice right now to have Nick Swisher on this team. It's nice having Ryan Sweeney too and Gio still has "upside" and DLS might put it all together now that he's healthy, but I still think there's a sneaky, lingering, lasting price to be paid when an organization moves on from a proven leader and quality individual...

4. Just overall, I would like to see more accountability in this organization. I'm not going to go all off on a rant on a person by person basis. I would just hope that everyone in the organization, from Lew Wolff down, at some point this year, will take responsbility for their own actions, deal with the adversity they've been pitted-against and play the hand they've been dealt...get off the matt, chip away at the issues and slowly but surely work out a plan that works more often than not...instead of just waiting around for "someone else" to figure it all out for them.

A Few Observations of the Early Season

Taj Adib — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:12:39 -0000

1) I've been fairly mum on the possibility that Eric Chavez is truly, without-a-doubt, start-digging-the-grave "done" with being a productive player...well, I'm pretty close to making that concession after watching him play the past few weeks. I understand that Chavez indicated he would need a month or so to get his timing back to where he used to be at the plate, but I don't understand how he's supposed to get that timing back when he can't stay on the field for any lasting amount of time. His recent quip that he's "day to day, probably for the whole year" is classic Chavez...and I'm kind of annoyed by it now.

Nomar has been okay as a platoon partner for Chavez, but he's got his own issues and is clearly just a one-year stop-gap. I'd really like for the team to go out this coming off-season and get someone reliable to, at the very least, play 3rd against EVERY left-handed starter out there, since Chavez is completely useless against lefties at this point. Maybe Beane can swing a deal for Kevin Kouzmanoff (hacktastic/no patience, but good pop against lefties and decent fielder) or could convince Miguel Tejada to come back to be a utility infielder.

Long-term, I'm glad that Adrian Cardenas has gotten off to a fast start at Midland. By most accounts, he won't be a major league-caliber shortstop, but many scouts seem to think he could handle 3rd base defensively and while he likely won't be a really big-time slugger, he seems to hit a lot of doubles and hit for a high-average against both righties and lefties. I'd take someone like that at 3rd base any day of the week for the next few years, please...

2) I find it fascinating that Beane has assembled such a strikeout-averse starting rotation (top 4 starters are averaging 4.37 strikeouts per 9 innings) while at the same time he assembled such a high-strikeout bullpen group (top 6 relievers are averaging 9.17 strikeouts per 9 innings). There's no doubt that the starters as a whole are a lot more likely to pitch to contact as a matter of efficiency, but even so, that's a pretty big discrepency between the two groups. Does Beane look for completely different characteristics in relievers than he does in starters? Or is it just simply a matter of pitchers doing what's best for the situation: starters trying to last deep into games by forcing early contact and relievers just trying to blow everyone away while they have the chance?

3) I really hope that Beane finds a way to keep Jack Cust for the next couple of years (he's under team control, but arbitration eligible, through 2011). As we've seen the last few seasons, it takes a special type of hitter to not only produce in Oakland but to thrive there and those types of hitters don't exactly come along very often...but Jack Cust has shown that he's exactly that type of hitter, with or without "protection" from the rest of the lineup. He's always gonna strikeout a lot, but he's also pretty much a lock for 100 walks and 25 homers and an .800+ OPS. He also STAYS HEALTHY. I'm not sure I would commit to a multi-year deal with Jack, but I'd really like the team to go year-to-year with him and just pencil him in as the DH for the next 2+ years.

4) Speaking of possible long-term deals, I'm wondering if the team will start discussing such a deal with Kurt Suzuki over the course of the next calendar year. Along with Cust, Suzuki has pretty much fueled the A's offense early in this season. He's gotten better with the bat every year he's been a major leaguer and by all accounts has been a fine reciever, defender and guide for the pitching staff. He's also an Iron Man behind the plate. In my book, he's really the only "young" player really worth a long-term deal, but I'm curious what people think he's worth. He's eligible for arbitration after 2010 and then free agency after 2013. The team has the fragile Landon Powell backing-up Suzuki and a couple of intriguing, but hardly "can't miss", prospects in the pipeline such as Josh Donaldson, Anthony Recker, Petey Paramore and Joel Galarrage...so I'm wondering if the team would make a move to buy-out all of Suzuki's arbitration years sometime in the next year or two. Maybe something like a 3-year/$10 million extension to kick in after 2010? $1.5 million in 2011, $3.5 million in 2012 and $5 million in 2013?

Roster Headaches Coming Soon?

Taj Adib — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:22:56 -0000

At this point, with Duchscerer on the shelf for the foreseeable future, Gio and Devine battling injuries and no one else really available either on this team, on other teams or on the free agent market, it's becoming obvious that the A's best strategy to put a winning team on the field to begin 2009 is to roll the dice and open the season with Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill in the rotation and Andrew "Throwin' Zeroes" Bailey in the bullpen. I think the decision to get those guys up to the big leagues is a fairly easy one at this point and probably has already been made by A's brass.

But what's not easy, or what's not going to be easy, is finding a way to fit them all on the 40-man roster, since all three are currently non-roster players. The A's have done some 40-man roster trimming in the past few months, but the list is currently at 39 and, by glancing on the names on it, there doesn't seem to be any more obvious name(s) to cut.

In the short-term, I'm guessing the team could get around the logjam by placing Duchscherer on the 15-day or 60-day DL, thus opening up one 40-man roster temporarily. The same could be said for Devine if he were to need surgery or more rest and rehab after this latest elbow fiasco. However, the DL-route is clearly a stop-gap/temporary solution at best, and if any of these guys (Anderson/Cahill/Bailey) prove that they can open the season and last in the majors from here on out, a more permanent spot would need to be opened up sooner rather than later anyways.

All of the pitchers currently on the A's 40-man seem fairly youthful and useful to the major league team at this point, so I don't really see anybody that could be sacrificed from that area (possibly Jeff Gray, but he's reportedly looked pretty good this Spring). On the positional side of the equation, the list opens up a few possibilies to me:

2B Eric Patterson: Eric seems like a fantastic 5-tool Triple-A player, but kind of a man without a real niche at the major league level. I'm sure given 500 at-bats in a season he could put up decent numbers for 2nd basemen...however, he's not nearly good enough defensively at 2nd base to make it worth a team's while to give him that many at-bats and he's certainly not powerful enough to handle left-field full time. He may need a change of scenery (San Diego perhaps?) to get those at-bats and the opportunity. With Crosby, Pennington and Petit all ahead of him on the 2nd base depth chart in Oakland, he's not going to get that opportunity here.

OF Javier Herrera: I'm sure Javy still has some "tools" and "projection" left, but let's face it, he's not going to be up in Oakland any time soon and he's lost a LOT of the luster that once made him a top prospect. His hamstring issues have likely sapped him of the speed that once made center field a possibility for him and his once cannon-like arm has been somewhat mitigated in its effectiveness after he succumbed to Tommy John surgery a bit ago. So, at this point, he's a 24-year old left-field prospect without a lot of refinement to his game and only 12 at-bats above Double-A to his credit. With Denorfia, Davis and Cunningham already on the 40-man roster, I don't think the team will really miss Javy that much...

OF Ben Copeland: Copeland's case is interesting. He was having a nice spring as a Rule V draftee, but really didn't have any chance of sticking with the A's past Spring Training. Then, he got pretty banged up on an outfield play and now he's having all sorts of medical trouble. At this point, one of three things can happen with him: a) he gets offered back to the Giants and they take him back, b) the A's work out a trade/arrangement with Giants to keep him in the Oakland system while he rehabs his injury(s) or c) the A's put him on the DL right now and he sticks with A's. In any case, a spot will open on the 40-man, at least temporarily.

Others will probably say, "Just trade Crosby to open a spot" or "DFA Hannahan." I would discourage that line of thinking since the big league team has a fairly brittle infield and both Hannahan and Crosby bring a little versatilty, semblance of health and nominal defensive value to the table at least; while, in my opinion, neither Patterson nor Herrera can claim to do so at this time.

The A's need to make moves, that much is sure, just to simply get these guys on the roster so that they can even pitch in the big leagues. However, with an injury-filled veteran corps, the team can't sacrifice that much depth in order to open up these roster spots. I wouldn't recommend that the A's do the work around "DL Duke, Devine and/or Copeland" and see what Cahill, Anderson and Bailey can do with a few weeks or 60 days and then make more permanent roster cuts once those DL-ed guys are healthy. I'm thinking a few guys might be on the chopping block real soon...what do you all think?

Wrap - Plethora of Pitchers get Pounded, A's Lose 20-5

Taj Adib — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:27:40 -0000

It wasn't a good day to be an A's pitcher. With the exception of Andrew Bailey, every other pitcher the A's sent to the mound gave up at least one run today. Of the other five, Edgar Gonzalez fared the worst (8 hits, 7 runs allowed), while Brad Kilby fared the "best" (1 IP, 1 run allowed). The other three pitchers, Jerry Blevins, Derrick Gordon and starter Dana Eveland, were all varying degrees of bad. All in all, they combined to give up an astounding 23 hits and 20 runs total to the Cubs.

The A's offense, meanwhile, squandered some early game opportunities and only pushed out two runs until a garbage-time rally in the bottom of the 9th plated 3 more for the Green and Gold.

All in all, the A's drop their 6th straight game and at this point have to be just a little bit concerned about the state of their pitching staff. "Opening Night" starter Dana Eveland certainly didn't improve his stock with his early inning drubbing and Edgar Gonzalez, who many thought had a good shot at grabbing a rotation spot out of Spring Training, looks to have worked his way out of that conversation with his latest mound misadventures. In the bullpen, Jerry Blevins continues to look very shaky. As Nico pointed out in the Game Thread, we all know it's Spring Training and all, but it would still be nice to see the JerBle occasionally get a few batters out consecutively. We can see now why Beane was trolling for some left-handed relief help on the open market as recently as a wekk ago.

Well, with another rotation hopeful seemingly dropping by the wayside, it seems increasingly likely that at least one and maybe both of Cahill/Anderson will break camp with the big league team. Read into that what you will. Jason Giambi at least thinks it's a good idea.

In other news, I just wanted to let everyone know that this will be the last day that I officially appear as a front-page writer on Athletics Nation. In the past few weeks, I've had a bunch of developments in my personal life (engagement, graduate school stuff) that I've come to realize will take a lot of my free time over the next few weeks/months/years. I simply cannot continue to commit quality time to this blog, and in fairness to the community and the other front page writers, I thought it would be best to surrender my Monday slot to someone with more time to share with all of you. So, without further ado, please welcome 67Marquez when he takes over the Game Threads next Monday! I'll still be around as much as I can on the community and will be sharing my thoughts with the everyone as often as I get the chance! Cheers and go A's!

Open Thread - Game 25: A's vs. Cubs (cont.)

Taj Adib — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:36:24 -0000

Eveland got whacked around regularly in his 4+ innings, while Dempster and squandered opportunity has kept the A's off the board. Cubs lead the A's 5-0 going into the bottom of the 5th. Hopefully this offense can get going and the A's bullpen can hold down the fort, becuase I'm getting very tired of hearing the cheers of Cubs fans at what is supposed to be a home game for the A's!

Open Thread: Game 25 - A's vs. Cubs

Taj Adib — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:37:09 -0000

In deference to Blez's ongoing three-part interview of Billy Beane, the Game Threads for the next three days will be located in the Fan Posts section.

Today, the A's host the team from the Chicago that they didn't play yesterday. On the mound for the A's will be one of the one or two guys virtually assured of a rotation spot come Opening Day, and that is Dana Eveland. Eveland is nobody's idea of an ace, but we all better get used to him in that number one spot in the rotation as it's becoming more and more obvious that he'll be the Opening Night starter.

One guy that will not be joining Eveland in that first week's starting rotation is Vin Mazzaro, who has been reassigned to minor league camp...which is A's-speak for "not ready for the big leagues just yet". Cahill and Anderson remain with the team though, despite the latest round of cuts that also saw Henry Rodriguez, Andrew Carignan and Matt Carson follow Mazzaro back to AAA.

In somewhat pleasant injury news, Eric Chavez is set to play 3rd base for the first time this spring in a minor league game tomorrow but will not hit in the game. Duke will throw a 20-pitch, then sit, then another 20-pitch bullpen session today and could possibly appear in a minor game leage Thursday if everything goes well! And to top of the relative-rosy bit of news, Brad Zeigler is expected back with the team today after his stint with the U.S. WBC team! Welcome back Ziggy!

Ryan Dempster will go for the Cubs today.

Lineup

Davis - CF

Garciappara - 3B

Giambi - 1B

Holliday - DH

Cust - RF

Cunningham - LF

Hannahan- 2B

Galarraga- C

Wimberly - SS

Taj's Spring Training Trip Report

Taj Adib — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:39:05 -0000

That we even decided to return to Spring Training in 2009 after the debacle that was our 2008 trip is a testament to my irrational devotion to this team. It's not just that the A's lost every game we went to last year, but I pretty much lost my mind along the way as well. On one particular evening, this disastrous confluence reached a-head when, after about 13 more "adult beverages" than was wise for me to consume, I was approached by a classy-enough looking guy while I was at a bar next door to my hotel. The guy explained to me that he "just needed a place to crash for a few hours" while he waited for his friends to arrive in town on a plane that had been delayed all night. He explained that he had lost his wallet and didn't have any resources at the moment to get a hotel room. In my present state, that type of "guy's guy" sob story checked-out to me and so I had the guy follow me back to my room - where my friend was already asleep - and I opened the door for him and said, "Hey, that's my friend Andy on the right bed and that's my bed on the left. You can sleep there for now, I'm going to go back to the bar since it's only like 10pm. Leave whenever you want to." He responded with a thank you and reiterated that he'd only be around for an hour or so.

So I left it at that, thought I had just done my good deed for the trip and returned to the bar to congratulate myself. When I returned to my room a few hours later, the guy was gone and Andy was still asleep, so I thought, "Oh...he must've left like he said he was going to," and then I passed out. I woke up the next morning to Andy shaking me and asking, "Where the hell is my brand new computer?" Instantly, the my enormously moronic actions of the previous night re-materialized in my head and I just said squeaked out, "Ohhh F***, the guy must have taken it." Andy replied, "The GUY took it? What guy?" I told him, "Uhhh, well, the complete stranger I let into the room while you were sleeping...you know, THAT guy." He was not amused and I got a well deserved verbal berating and physical beating because of all that. For some reason, the smooth operating bandit only nabbed the computer and nothing else, but it was little consolation for what was one of the most disastrous nights of my life. We filed a police report and all but the computer was as good as gone and we left the desert with a fairly sour taste in our mouths...not to mention a strained relationship and me in debt a sizable sum to my best friend.

Luckily, this year's decision to power through the follies of recent history and return to the area rewarded us with a slightly more enjoyable experience, punctuated by cameos from Billy Beane, Lew Wolff and Ray Fosse and a whole bunch of offense courtesy the rebuilt Oakland lineup and powerhouse minor league system.

(Taj Adib with Billy Beane after Friday's win over the Mariners at Phoenix Muni. I asked him when we'd likely see Cabrera and/or Nomar on the field. He said that O-Cab had been sporting a "Sizable spare tire" around his torso and that he (Beane) wouldn't let him onto the field until he got his ass in shape - this was a week ago, Friday BTW.)

The A's won all three games we attended - Wednesday at home against the White Sox, Thursday against the Giants in Scottsdale and Friday at-home against the Mariners. Since each player plays only a few innings a game, take these scouting reports with a grain of salt, but they're just a few observations I made during the course of these brief performances.

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

A's 7, White Sox 2

Dana Eveland started the game for the A's and while his stat line looked relatively neat (no runs or hits allowed, 2 walks, 1 K) he looked like the early season 2008 Eveland: effectively wild. It was only 2 innings, but he wasn't all that impressive.

Russ Springer took over for Eveland and he reminded me of why the cut-fastball is my new favorite pitch to watch. Sitting right behind home-plate, it's easy to see why the pitch is so effective: it looks straight as an arrow right up until the point it just about crosses home plate, and then it darts one way or the other and just frustrates the hell of hitters. That Springer throws it with a deceptively slow arm-angle just intensifies the effect. We're going to like this guy a lot this season and opposing hitters are going to hate him.

James Simmons was the guy who probably impressed me the most this game. Springer was good and effective, but you expect that from a guy who's been in the majors since like 1973 and has put up sub-3.00 ERAs the past two seasons. Simmons' stuff was good (fairly hard fastball with some good bit, solid changeup and sharp breaking curve) and he just pounded the zone. In his 2 innings, I don't think he even threw a single ball (okay, yeah he threw a few), but he was ahead of all the hitters he faced and ended up with 3 K's and 0 walks. He allowed two hits, but the Sox hitters looked pretty overmatched against him. Since he's around the plate so much, there's no doubt that Simmons is going to allow plenty of hits, but he's just not going to give-in to any hitters either and he is going to be a good major league pitcher that keeps the A's in a lot of games because of it.

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

A's 4, Giants 2

We decided to take the short drive to Scottsdale to see the Giants and A's in the SF team's digs, and we were rewarded with a very pleasing environment. Just like it is in real life in the Bay, the Giants stadium blows the A's one out of water - but at least the A's won this game.

Trevor Cahill started for the A's, and after the Giants got the best of him via a very NL-style opening run in the 1st (push bunt past the mound to the 2nd baseman, couple of ground outs, wild pitch) Trevor settled down and got about 4 straight ground outs and then struck out the side in the 3rd. The power sinker was on full display and while his off-speed stuff was a little inconsistent, he still kept it down and away from the wheel houses of the hitters while keeping them honest. He obviously has some major talent.

Ellis turned on a meaty pitch in the 1st, came through with a solid swing and collected a nice RBI single to left to even the scoring early in the game while Joe Dillon looked pretty solid both in the field at 3rd and with the bat as he collected a hit and two walks.

Six right-handed relievers kept the Giants largely off the-board for the rest of the game after Cahill's 3 innings, and honestly, they all looked about the same both in appearance and in results, which is to say that they were effective and whatnot but didn't really dominate either.

(The A's split squad team that played at home on Thursday beat the South African WBC team 6-1 while we were in Scottsdale).

Friday, March 6th, 2009

A's 12, Mariners 1

It was obvious after the first four batters of this game that AL West-lifer Jarrod Washburn didn't bring his best stuff to the park today. Rajai Davis, Kurt Suzuki, Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi all reached base safely to begin the game. The A's cruised to victory today, beating the crap out of the ball to all fields.

Rajai Davis actually ended up 4-for-4 with two doubles. With the way he's swinging the bat this Spring, Raj should make the case fairly easily that he belongs on the Opening Day roster and that he should at least be given the opportunity to enter into a semi-regular platoon with Sweeney in center.

Jason Giambi actually got hit by a pitch 3 straight times today which was pretty interesting. He did glare at the pitcher the 3rd time it happened but he didn't seem too worked up about it.

On the mound, Edgar Gonzalez (looking solid in his quest for a rotation spot) started and held the Mariners scoreless over 3 innings with only two hits allowed. He struck out 2 batters. Outman relieved Gonzalez and got hit around a bit (5 hits allowed) but those hits only materialized into the Mariners lone run and Josh did strikeout 3 guys. Speaking of Josh, I'm just not convinced that starting or pitching in long stints is going to be best for him long-term. His off-speed pitches are not that great at all and while he can bring his fastball up into the mid-90s fairly consistently, it seems like a pretty hittable pitch. I think he ends up as an Embree-like "here's 96 heater, after 96 hitter, see if you can it."

Vin Mazzaro (who I met after the game and informed me that he does indeed prefer to be called Vin) also threw a couple of innings late in the game for the A's and looked pretty overpowering actually, 3 K's in 2 innings.

Sean Doolittle really impressed the hell out of me at the plate today. He had two looooong doubles after taking over for Giambi at 1st and collected 3 RBIs. His hits made that hard contact, "thwack" and resounded through the stadium.

(Taj with A's owner Lew "I'll take a picture with anybody but Ron Dellums" Wolff as he was buying himself a hot dog in-line at Scottsdale Stadium. Lew was very gracious and very surprised that I would want to take a picture with him.)

(Taj with A's broadcaster Ray Fosse. He was just sitting down to do the game and invited us over to take a pic. Nice guy....)

(Trevor Cahill unleashing what looks to be a 4-seam fastball against the Gigantes)

(A nice shot of relief prospect Andrew Carignan...he brings the heat)

(Corey Wimberly v. Jarrod Washburn...the high-socks are even MORE glorious in-person)

(And finally...me and the future Mrs. Adib right after I proposed to her and she said yes!)

Note: the proposal happened in Catalina Island a few weeks ago, but I am obligated to mention it here after the missus gave her blessing to my "boys only" trip to Spring Training.

Despite Cahill's Struggles, A's Wack Dodgers Around, 10-8

Taj Adib — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:18:57 -0000

Trevor Cahill has seen better days than this one. He started the game just fine, getting a strikeout, a flyout and another strikeout against Matt Kemp, Brad Ausmus and Andre Ethier. Then in the 2nd, after the A's had come up short in their half of the inning, Trevor fell behind a few guys, hit a batter, walked a guy, let a slow roller turn into an infield single and then gave up a run-scoring double to Matt Kemp. Before the damage was contained, Cahill had given up 4 runs on 4 hits. Cahill would regroup in the 3rd and get a 1-2-3 inning before calling it quits for the day.

Cahill was almost an afterthough come the 4th inning, when the A's would send 15 batters to the plate in a marathon rally that saw them pick Trevor off the "Loss" line and put up 9 runs against a parade of has-been Dodger "relievers" the likes of Jeff Weaver, Steve Randolph and Shawn Estes. The A's used the whole book in the rally, getting back-to-back hits from guys like Buck and Garciappara, walks, hit-batsmen and even some situational hitting courtesy Bobby Crosby, who got good wood on a pitch and actually knotched a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and 1 out. Travis Buck would add a solo homer in the 5th to close out the A's scoring.

The game was effectively over after the initial A's outburst, as A's relievers Mike Wuertz, Jerry Blevins, Henry Rodriguez and Andrew Bailey would throw 4 innings of scoreless relief, before Andrew Carignan would lose the strikezone temporarily in the 9th and give the Dodgers 4 courtesy runs back before closing it out.

The story of the game, besides the A's phenomenal 3rd inning, will likely be Trevor Cahill's percieved "downfall". I don't see it that way. Yeah, he struggled in the 2nd inning, but by and large the hits he gave up weren't well-hit (excepting Kemp's double) and he showed some gusto by going back out there in the 3rd and shutting the Dodgers down. His performance today was a nice learning experience and I bet he's still with the team tomorrow, well into next week and the week beyond that as well. He might not be quite ready to be that top-of-the-rotation starter he's long been regarded as, but the guy can compete at the major league level right now. Everybody gets one mulligan during Spring Training, and thanks to the A's offense, Cahill just used his today without even knotching an "L" by his name.

Stay tuned for the 2nd part of Blez's interview with Jason Giambi coming later this evening!