http://www.foxsportskansascity.com/msn/05/16/11/Mazzaro-explodes-in-major-league-spotlig/landing_royals.html?blockID=523864&feedID=5128&GT1=39002

I got to admit,  when I heard Billy Beane was trading Mazzaro for Dejesus, I was a bit perplexed, convinced that Mazzaro could eventually  prove to be an pitcher equal to Gio, Anderson or Cahill.  I wasn't alone- it wasn't too long ago that many alleged Knowledgeable analysts were even saying that Mazzaro would be the best of the upcoming trio.  Looks like we were all wrong.

I still think Mazzaro has the potential to be a quality major league starter, but after last night's disastrous implosion, you have to wonder if he will mentally be able to get back on the mound with the confidence needed to face major league batters.  Will the 14 run spectacle damage Vin forever?  What do you guys think? 

Not a baseball question exactly-  but something I'm sure many of you would know.  We're making our annual pilgrimage to see the A's this weekend but it's been years since we actually stayed right near the coliseum.  This time we are staying at the Courtyard right up from the Coliseum.    I don't recall if there is a walkway that runs from that hotel down to the colisuem that you can walk on.   Can anyone refresh my memory on this-  we'd like to avoid driving that short distance if it's a safe walk.  We look forward to seeing our A's crush the Tigers!  Go A's!

On this somewhat cool and overcast day in the Southeastern U.S,  I send out a Happy Thanksgiving Greeting to all of the A's Nations Folks in the Bay Area and around the world.   What a wonderful nation we live in-   despite the hard times that sometimes come our way,  we still bask in the glory of the greatest nation on Earth.  Not just because we have a mostly pain free political process of changing leaders every four years or because we can travel almost anywhere within our borders in a relatively unobscurred manner-  but because are fortunate enough to have the greatest game on Earth- Baseball!  From March to October we can sit in the stands of our thousands of high school, little league, minor league, independent league and Major League Stadiums and cheer for any team we want.   Sure, we bicker among each other and gripe sometimes, but that's part of it too- the freedom to bitch about anything we want.    I'm thankful for all of the intelligent, informed and engaged fans this website hosts.

Have a great day everyone and give thanks for what you greatful for!

Beane disputed, however, that the main drag on the A's season was the lack of power. "It was our health," he said. "That was the biggest issue. I'd take health over power."

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/10/05/SP5R1FO5DM.DTL#ixzz11VGJraTo

Billy,  I agree with you half way here-  it wasn't JUST about lack of power-  it was also about the inability to get clutch hits of any sort at key points of several games.  Maybe I was watching a different team all year than the one you were watching, but even when we were healthy there seemed to be  quite a few games with two runners in scoring position and no outs- and we couldn't bring in a single run.  Sure,  a power hitter would have been great to have, but I think most of us would have settled for a freakin' single or double now and then.   Give us those clutch singles when we needed them and maybe and additional 7 or 8 wins would have made the difference.

I'm looking forward to next year, I think we have a team that is going to rule the AL West and maybe all of the AL.  And I do hope we have better health-  but if we're stilling looking for those clutch singles or doubles next July,  we'll be in the same place as this year.

Pardon me if this has already been discussed-  but is there any active push for AN members to organize All-Star voting for our guys?  I realize that there is no way for the A's fanbase to compete with the NY/Boston numbers- but it would be good to have Suzuki, Barton, Pennington show respectable numbers.  Considering there is really no limit to have many times you, your spouse, family members, dog, cat, dead bird , etc. can vote  (I'm not saying I agree with this system but it is what it is)  -  are we casting our votes?

I understand the Fox out of Options Bind we're in- but if Landon Powell is called up to catch, why did he not catch last night?    I'm sure somebody can give me a statistical breakdown on the comparison between the two catchers, but my general observation is that he isn't really that good of a catcher.  Maybe being thrust into the lineup at the last hour threw him off or something, but he just didn't seem to be in sync with Braden at all.  And that missed popup- jeez....pretty sloppy.   With Suzuki now the latest expected visitor to the A's personal DL,  should we expect Powell to be the main presence behind the plate?

I really, really  like Rajai and had high hopes for him this season-  and I was convinced that he would be one of the sparks for this offense.   I know it's only a few weeks into the season, but man does he look awful at the plate.   Last night he was swinging the bat so poorly I'm beginning to wonder if he can even see the ball.    I hate to say it, but maybe he's destined to be a pinch runner at some future point unless he figures out what is going on with his swing.  The problem is this team probably doesn't have room for someone who is only a pinch runner.    I'm curious as to what others think Rajai's trouble might be? Or is it too early to cast judgment?

I was watching the 40,000+ mostly silent fans at Safeco Field yesterday and wondering about how great it would be if 40,000 showed up to see this new exciting A's team when they return home.   I know that ain't gonna happen and they will  be lucky to draw 20,000 - and that's too bad because this team is gonna play some exciting ball this year.  I just saw the stats that show Oakland last in attendance in 2009 and so far this year.   Can a winning team change that or has Oakland written off this team regardless of how they play?  What are the odds of Oakland drawing 2 Million plus this year?

I'm sure this question has been addressed before,  but can someone tell me exactly why Ray Ratto hates the A's?   Since I don't live in the Bay Area,  the only exposure I have to this jackass is what goes out on the Chronicle A's E-Mail Updates and almost every article about the A's is some sort of bashing.   I mean is this guy angry because he maybe once got kicked out of the A's locker room for swiping towels or something or is he  just doing an overkill job on being a Giant's homer?   I read a lot of sports publications and every team has it's own loyal defenders and such, but Ray seems to go out of his way to vent his particular disliking of the A's- why is this? Inquiring minds want to know.....

I'm sure you longtime bay area residents can fill me in.

*Footnote 1/28**

I never intended this question to be an attack on Ray's physical appearance- that's totally irrelevant to what he writes about the A's.  Maybe as Slusser says- he really doesn't hate the A's, but a casual reader of his articles would never be able to tell that. 

I was watching a broadcast of the 1974 World Series this weekend on the MLB channel-  a World Series that I remember well. I was twelve years old and had just begun to follow this crazy West Coast team called the Oakland Athletics. With their zany uniforms and unorthodox haircuts, I was hooked on this team and scrambled to get every scrap of information I could on this team  (not an easy task to do since I lived on the East Coast).  Here I am thirty plus years later with Satellite TV and non-stop coverage of every imaginable baseball tidbit a person could possibly want- and I'm still that twelve year old kid,  just as enthralled with this zany team called the Oakland A's.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about the similarities between that team in '74 and the current A's team.  Not that I would dare be bold enough to compare our exciting young pitchers to the arsenal of Hunter, Holtzman, Blue & Fingers-  I think we definitely have a pitching staff that is going to dominate for years to come.  I find more similarities in the style of baseball the 74 A's played and what the 2010 A's can potentially be with the types of players we have.  Even though the A's then were known as the "Swingin A's",  I remember them more for their aggressive base-running- Billy North, Camperneris and Claudell Washington seemed to own the American League base-paths.  I think a combination of Rajai Davis, Michael Taylor and Coco Crisp (if the deal flys) could do the same.   Defensively, that trio along with Sweeney is better than what the A's had in the outfield in 74.  Behind the plate, as much as I like Ray Fosse as a broadcaster and respect him for his toughness as a player, Suzuki is a better player. 

Just like a current A's, the 74 A's were a low average hitting team as well, hitting below .250 as a team and still winning it all.   It just goes to prove that if you dominate pitching and play good defensively,  you can get by with sub-par averages.   What we obviously don't have are the power hitters the A's had then- and with today's salaries it's not likely we'll ever be able to afford a Reggie Jackson type player.   Maybe we can grow one from within, but I don't see it yet.

Do we have another A's dynasty building before us- who knows?   But for the twelve year old within me that still comes alive everytime I see the A's play,  I hope we do.

Well, another season come and gone-  sort of sad note the way our boys finished out the season- more of whimper than a statement of promise.  But after four decades of watching all sorts of A's teams take the field, I can  honestly say that in my unscientific opinion, this is far from the worst team we've fielded.   Were there great disappointments this year? Surely.  Perhaps the biggest bomb ever to land on the field in Oakland was named Matt Holliday (whom I am convinced gave about 35% effort in his short stay with us).  I'm always cautious about these over-hyped National League guys and Holliday proves my caution.  The return of Giambi was nothing like most of us imagined and the expected hopes of players like Sean Gallagher (what happened there?) and Dana Eveland fizzled at the start. 

But enough of the negative.  I see a lot of positive notes coming out of the 2009 A's-  we have probably one of the best young pitching staffs getting ready to bust out in the AL next year- other teams are going to be amazed at what they see coming their way.   Suzuki ranks right up there with the cream of the crop in the AL catchers and the best part is we have him locked up for at least four more years.   I like Pennington- despite his 8 errors and sporadic batting, this kid is going to shine.  Our biggest gaps probably rest in the outfield- still no real power hitters there and the fielding has been suspect.  Rajai has been fun to watch (until this last week) but Patterson cannot remain in Left Field.   We've got to find more power to pull from the OF positions. 

As for Cust- I know he's fan favorite of many-  I see him as a rally killer-  time for him to go.   We can find another DH to hit 25 HR a year without striking out 185 times.

I've joined the "fire Geren" crowd a few times but I can't see it happening.  Beane will not boot his friend unless ordered to.

Gaps to fill- sure, but I feel much more  optimistic about 2010 than I did a few months ago. 

Oh well,  that's my view of the season-  looking very forward to next year and hoping the bandwagon fans come back on board.  It's tough seeing those empty seats game after game.

Maybe it's just my computer but for the last three weeks or so, these blasted Mcdonald's pop up ads have been blocking out the A's Nation Posts?  Anyone else having this problem?  Unlike most popups,  this one doesn't seem to have an option of "closing the ad" or whatever it's called.    The ad just sort of hovers over the posts, blocking out most of the text.  Hey Mcdonalds- back off of the Nation and go sell your greasy biscuits somewhere else!

Okay, this is not some post to beat down on Casilla/Garcia-  just a question posed to those who pay a lot more attention to the details and inner workings of the green and gold than I have time for.   I've watched Casilla (who I still resent for lying about his name for so many years),  pitch absolutely horrible in several games now and pitched only slightly better in a number of others.   The A's were quick to send Dana Eveland down when he struggled and have relegated Sean Gallagher and others to Sacramento until they learn how to pitch again-  so why not Casilla?   Is there something he offers the team at this point that I'm not seeing?  To me, he seems to have absolutely no confidence on the mound and appears lost in every outing.

Now, I  know that Giambi's career is far more colorful and full of more gold stars than Bobby's will ever be-   but lately I've been wondering just who might be the biggest disappointment to A's fans this year-  Jason or Bobby.   I mean with Bobby-  we really didn't expect a great deal, did we?    After watching him flail away at the ball last year-  his hyped first "full healthy year"-   and watching the disastrous attempt at getting rid of him in the offseason-  we thought he would be little more than a benchwarmer this year.  Surprise-  Bobby has been an almost full time player due to injuries and in the inability of the A's to find a reliable third baseman.  Still, Bobby has pretty much did what we expected him to do,  flail away at the ball and continue to look completely lost at the plate most of the time.  

Giambi however, came riding into town on the white stallion (okay, maybe a graying stallion) and was hyped (along with sub-par Holliday) as being the savior of the ailing A's offense.    I've got to admit, I believed the storybook crap-  I believed that Jason still had the ability the hit homeruns on a consistent basis and lead this team to wonderful places.  I thought for sure the Yankees would be truly sorry they dumped him-  er, rather "didn't pick up my contract" as Jason says.   When Billy Beane was sitting there in the press conference with this schoolgirl crush look on his face,  gushing all over Jason and telling him how wonderful it was to have him back,  I just knew that Jason would lead the way. 

Well, here we are two months into the season and it's obvious that Giambi doesn't have nearly the offensive prowness he used to have.  Sure,  he can jack one into the stands now and then -when he manages to get a bad pitch to hit- but most of the time he's standing there watching the third strike or sending another easy fly ball in into the outfield for an out.   More disturbing to me is the look on his face-  and that is a look of uncertainty.  Long gone is the Jason of yesterday that seemed to overflow with arrogance and confidence-   now we have a player who seems to know his glory days are over for good.  

So if I had to vote,  I'd cast my meaningless vote for Giambi as the biggest disappointment of the year, so far.

Okay,  did Geren & Co.  really give Cabrera the sign to attempt a bunt in the 9th inning last night- or did he do it on his own?   It was probably one of the worst bunt attempts I've ever seen and I was literally stunned that they would try such a bonehead move.   And why can't a veteran like Cabrera lay down a bunt?  It has  puzzled me for years how the A's have been unable to execute bunts.  Is there such thing as a bunt clinic?  If so, it's time to bring in the bunt gurus and go for it.

As bad as it sounds, I was almost wishing they would pinch hit Bobby Crosby for Cabrera last night in the 9th-----almost.

This has nothing to do with baseball-  but reading the news about the three slain officers (and the others injured) really makes me focus on what's more important in the world.  I'v e known quite a few cops in my life and whether they work in a small town or large city-  they all know that everyday could be their last day.  All too often we hear about the heroes in the military, but these guys are indeed heroes as well.

I'd like everyone to remember these brave men in their thoughts and prayers.

Okay,  I'm hesitant to do this because I really hate the hassle of boxing up things and looking for tape and going to the post office...blah blah blah,  but if you (or your kid or perhaps your grandma) are thinking about starting an A's card collection,  here's a deal you won't see again in your lifetime.  I have a box of about 200-300 (could be more but i won't take the time to count them) A's cards from the 1970's- 1990's- all in excellent shape that I will give away FREE to anyone willing to pay the shipping costs.  I'm on the East Coast, so depending on where you are at-  this could range anywhere from five bucks to I imagine no more than ten.   The collection includes cards like Joe Rudi, Rick Monday and Billy North from the 70's,   Rickey Henderson, Canseco and all the stars from the 80's and 90's and a host of players I've long forgotten about.  There are a variety of brands and some duplicates- but you will find more than enough value in this box, especially since it is FREE.  I will not look through the box for individual cards and I will not take the time to see what cards are actually in the box, I just know there are a ton of great players and stars in the collection.

This is not a scam of any sort-  I don't sell cards, and I don't care if anyone wants them or not.   I just collect them and to be honest I need the space in my closet.  I don't want to do the ebay thing because I honestly hate card sellers. Besides,   it would please me greatly to know that some kid or some old fart is out there building their own A's card collection.

Okay,so how do we do this-  I suspect I will get more than one interested party,  so I'll do it the fair way.  Whoever responds to this post first with SERIOUS interest , you are the lucky winner of tonights lottery.    As long as you have an e-mail in your profile I will contact you and work out details.   I do not have one in mine to avoid spammers so I will have to contact you.    It's already 9:30 PM where I am at so it might be tomorrow before I contact you.

Good Luck.

I was just noticing on e-bay that there are a ton of the Vida Blue Jersey's for sale- most in the thirty dollar range.   It seems that this is the way it always works- whenever there is a bobblehead or jersey giveaway,  hundreds of people will rush to e-bay or other sources to quickly offer the items for sale.  So my question is this- is it really worth the effort?    I mean it looks like you have to stand in line for a few hours to be assured of getting any of the premium giveaway items-  I think we stood in line something like two and half hours once for the Catfish Bobblehead-  and then you have to go through the effort of listing it on bobblehead,  checking and responding to e-mails, shipping the item,  etc....  all for $30 ?   It doesn't seem like it's worth it.

I'm curious if anyone of the AN'ers  regularly sell  their promotional items on e-bay or if you are like me and you keep every little thing.....

The Chronicle reports that Andrew Brown rides BART to the games when at home. If true,  I find this to be a totally cool reflection on what this dude is made of.  In the era of whining, self-centered "me, me" stars who seem to care only about themselves, this dude is riding Mass transit to get to work.  I seriously doubt there are many other MLB players,  if any, who use Mass transit to get to the ballpark.  Hats off to you Andrew!

I'm a big fan of Suzuki-  I think he's a sharp kid with a bright future for either the A's or some other team.  However- with his offensive abilities floundering and his tendency to kill rallies-  it's natural for some to express their frustrations about him. There used to be a belief in baseball that if your team had a catcher who was an exceptional catcher ,you could live with their inability to hit the ball.  The catcher wasn't really expected to be one of the big bats on the team.   I guess that changed a bit over time with more powerful and consistent catchers coming up through the leagues, but my question is this-  what should we expect from the catcher's position?  Should we be satisfied with a Kendall type toughness with no ability to drive in runs (at least not in the AL)  or should expect a Russell Martin or Posada?   Just curious what everyone thinks.

Maybe if he was some huge hulking guy or something, it wouldn't be as noticeable, but does anyone else think Hannahan looks pretty ridiculous with that huge chunk of chewing tobacco sticking out of the side of his face?  I assume it's tobacco, maybe it's bubble-freakin-lichious gum or something- but either way it looks pretty stupid for a little guy like Jack to have this muskrat looking object sticking out of the side of his face.   Now when I was his age, my military buds and I used to discreetly put a bit of the nasty stuff behind our lower lip (it's a wonder we all don't have cancer)- but I can' recall any of us ever going for the muskrat look.  What gives Jack?

I like Jack Cust- he looks like a smaller version of Babe Ruth- and he always seems to be having fun when he's playing.  However, does it seem that he's lost his ability to hit Major League pitching, or is it just that he was one helluva fluke last year?    He seemed to hit fairly decent in spring- if you call .244 and 3 hr decent- but in the games I've seen him in this year, he has looked absolutely mis-matched.   I kept wondering in the Toronto series why Geren was keeping him in the game- certainly not for his outfield abilities.  Any thoughts on this?

Does it seem that the A's attendance is lower than normal this year or am I just imagining things?  Having seen five of the first seven games now,  it looks like two thirds of the Colisieum is empty- and that many of the fans who are there are wearing the other teams colors.   Are the casual fans staying at home this early in the season?  Seems kind of early for that.   I know our fan base has never been really strong in number, but weren't we drawing at least 25,000 a game the last few years?   Has anyone seen the official numbers?

I'm sure this has been discussed but I've missed the trail...does anyone know what has happened to Charles Thomas?  I see he's not on the Sacramento Roster and he certainly isn't a part of the A's plans,  so what happened to our jewel?  I can't help but wince everytime I see Hudson's face on my local Braves Station-  he was one of the A's best ever and will be an asset for Atlanta for years to come.

I'm not going to dive into the "Oh my God, another Lousy trade" tirade, all of that left me with the ridiculous acquisition of Charles Thomas a few years ago-  but one must wonder if the era of Moneyball has turned into Monkeyball with Billy Beane holding the banana....

I know his supporters call him a genius and certainly he has uncovered some gems in the past,  but it sure seems like the little train that could is hauling a lot less engine speed these days- and that's sorta sad for us long time fans.   No, we won't jump off the team wagon, even if they do stink for another few years,  but it sure would be nice to hear some words of encouragement or at least signs of hope from the engineers of this operation.   Silence is not golden in this situation....

Any truth to rumour?

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In the words of Ray Fosse-  today's loss was a real thump in the gut.  When will it end?

It's bad enough for the bullpen to pull their all too frequent stunt and blow a lead, but to have men on second and third in the ninth with only 1 out- and not be able to score one single run is just about as low as we can sink.....I hope.

I know it's just a storm that has to pass- but man I look forward to seeing the sunshine again.  Bring on the Yanks!

I'm not much of a stats person, but I doubt if this years green and gold is really the worst offensive team in A's history- but does anyone know which A's team might have been the worst? I recall some pretty bad teams- especially those in the early-mid 90's, but even they had the Rickey Henderson's and such.  
Any guesses on which A's roster team bears the title of worst offensive team?

I know Adam hasn't played a lot of games for us - especially since Mr. "I can't hit but I'm mighty durable" Jason Kendall came on board, but Melhuse has been a reliable backup for several years now.  To send this veteran catcher down to the minors at this stage in his career just doesn't seem right- sort of reminds me of the character "Crash Davis" in the movie Bull Durham.  I'm wondering what your opinions are here- does Brad Halsey have a point- something has changed in the A's front office?  Or this simply a logical and necessary move?  

To be honest, I haven't really paid much attention to this young man last year- except for the posts I've read on the AN Blog here.  So when I finally start to check him out-  it seems that he's established a pretty negative reputation in New York by showing up late for games, refusing Winter Ball and acting like he's better than he apparently is.  So my question is this- why is there is the slighest interest from the A's in this guy or is there?