Wow, the A's are pushing hard to land a free agent this winter!

According to Susan Slusser, the A's front office has had preliminary conversations about Abreu and Anderson in case they don't land Giambi.

Poll

Who would you prefer the A's to acquire?

48%

Bobby Abreu

130 votes

4%

Garret Anderson

12 votes

36%

Jason Giambi

97 votes

11%

Other (list which other free agent - and be realistic!)

30 votes

269 votes | Poll has closed

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So it looks like instead of the usual FanFest in January this year, the A's are having a "Fan Appreciation Workout Day" instead.

It will take place on Sunday, April 5, at the Coliseum and we will get to watch the players hold their final workout before Opening Day.

Preliminary plans for the day include:

• A public team workout with batting practice, fielding drills, and special commentary from A's coaches
• "Meet and Greet" sessions; player autograph opportunities
• Q&A sessions in which fans will be able to hear from players and coaches
• Behind-the-scenes tours of the Coliseum
• Opportunity to purchase authentic game-used equipment and other memorabilia
• Opportunity to win exciting prizes in fan appreciation raffles

Also, unlike Fanfest, parking and admission will be FREE!

I'm a bit disappointed because I look forward to seeing our A's every January and I really enjoy FanFest so we'll see if this is a good change!

link

Poll

Which one would you be more excited about attending?

52%

FanFest

295 votes

47%

Workout Day

272 votes

567 votes | Poll has closed

The Snapfish Photo Day event was held before the A's vs. White Sox game today. Fans were allowed to go on the field on the warning track and take pictures of the A's players. I thought we were going to be taking pictures of them just warming up or something but the players actually came out to pose for and with fans!

Here are my pictures from Photo Day! :

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Well, I'm surprised BoCro lasted this long. *sigh*

Here is the official press release.

This is the third time the A's have placed a player on the disabled list in the last four days. Oakland has now used the DL 18 times this year, which is four short of the Oakland record set in 1992 and matched last year. The A's currently have seven players on the DL.

We're close to breaking our DL record! :(

Luckily we have a lot more depth this year!

So A's fans already lose out on two home games this season because of the two games in Japan. Now thanks to the Red Sox, the second game at home on April 2nd has been changed from a 7:05pm game to a 12:35pm game!!! (link)

The team had nothing to do with the decision, which, according to team officials was imposed by Major League Baseball at the behest of the Players Association. The Players Association argued that the Red Sox, who have a day off April 3 before playing at Toronto on April 4, need adequate time to adjust to Eastern time after a week in Japan and then a week on the West Coast.

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Update: Susan just left a comment and said this was a bad rumor. What are we going to talk about now? =P

According to Susan Slusser:

More rumblings that the A's are on the lookout for a center fielder: According to a major-league source, Oakland recently inquired about the Dodgers' Juan Pierre.

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The start of Spring Training means it's time for the A's to take some new pictures! I think last year's pix were the spitting-sunflower-seed ones and this year's batch is not as creative but hey, it's still nice being able to put faces to names and to see some of our favorite Athletics!

(ALL PICTURES ARE FROM THE GETTY IMAGES SITE!)

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on a minor league contract!

"They want me to play first base and DH and be a veteran presence for the younger guys like Eric Chavez," Sweeney said from his San Diego home. "I'm excited about the opportunity and it's close to home."

link

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I decided to go to the Giants' Fanfest with my Giants fan friend. I may not be a fan of the Giants but I am a HUGE fan of their young pitchers!



My missions for the day:

- take a picture with pitcher Noah Lowry
- take a picture with pitcher Tim Lincecum
- take a picture with pitcher Matt Cain
- take a picture with infielder Kevin Frandsen (who went to San Jose State like me!)
- take a picture with first base prospect Travis Ishikawa

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[EDITOR'S NOTE: I was going to write something about my love for Travis Buck today when I looked at this diary and realized it HAD to be on the front page for everyone to see.  Oh and I'm guessing I'm in the minority on this, but I LOVE the new jerseys.  I think they look really sharp on the players.  I was skeptical before, but they look really nice. Thanks for sharing this gotgreeen! - Blez]

This was last year's line for the autograph tickets at around 8:15am.

And this was this year's line for autograph tickets at the same time.

How sad. :(

Well, sad for the A's but good for me because my mission for the day was to get Ellis to sign my cap (I've been stalking him for the past two years to try to get him to sign it!) and Suzuki to sign my Suzuki shirt and I had no problems getting the autograph tickets for either session since there was hardly a line! However, I didn't even need to buy those tickets since I ran into both guys inside before their autograph session times!

Oh well, the money is going towards a good cause so it's all good!

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but he is okay!

from Susan Slusser:

A's farmhand hit by liner: Reliever Brad Ziegler, who pitched for Triple-A Sacramento last season and has been invited to the A's major-league camp, was struck in the forehead by a line drive that glanced off his glove while working at a youth baseball camp last week. Ziegler, 28, was diagnosed with a slight skull fracture, according to Forst, but he was released from the hospital that same day after a CT scan. He is expected to be completely ready when pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 13.

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The Chronicle interviewed Mr. Wolff after the Swisher and Haren trade and here are some of the things he had to say about what's going on and the upcoming season.

"I'm expecting much better than a .500 season," he said.

"Look, at the end of the day, it's where you finish, but you've got to have a platform to get there," Wolff said. "Last year was a disappointment for me, not because the players didn't try, but we had so many things that didn't work out.

"I think we'll do better in '08 than '07. If we stayed with what we had, on paper it might have looked terrific, but then you're doing nothing; you're not proactive. We'll be very competitive and, with a little luck, will win more games than people are anticipating."

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A's FanFest 2008 will be on Saturday, January 26 from 10am to 3pm.

ALL Online autograph ticket sales will be sold online Tuesday, January 22nd.

FanFest info here.

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From Susan Slusser's article in sfgate.com:

On being convinced the A's were going to sign Barry Bonds:

"Absolutely," Chavez said. "The first thing I said when I heard about the indictment was, 'Oh no, we're probably not going to sign him now.' But he would have been just the perfect fit. I already had it in my mind that he would be on the team. He and Jack Cust would have been a real productive combo. But Barry's in for a tough, tough road now, and it would be hard (to sign Bonds)."

 "He's always been my favorite from a baseball standpoint," Chavez said. "He's a premier player at the end of his career and he's affordable - it would make sense. ... I would love to play with him, I always say that when people ask."

Poll

What are your feelings toward Chavez at this point?

36%

Hmm, I'll give him one more chance to prove he can be the player we expect him to be.

106 votes

10%

Trade him NOW, Billy!

30 votes

52%

I can't WAIT for him to be back at the hot corner!

153 votes

289 votes | Poll has closed

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Who else is ready for the 2008 season to start?!

The end of the postseason means it is the start of rumors, trades, and signings!

Here are some tidbits from around the league:

• The Yankees officially made an offer to Joe Girardi for the manager job and he is expected to accept. (link). Buster Olney also reports that Don Mattingly will NOT accept a position on the Yankees coaching staff.
  
  

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