Hey, long time AN poster here. Im in a "business ethics (yes, my school did get screwed over by Madoff, so its a bit of a touchy subject)" class in a college, and we've been assigned a term paper on pretty much anything we want, so I want to do a paper analyzing different cases from the business of baseball. Obviously the Furcal controversy is one of the cases I'd want to look at, so does anyone know of any good articles summing up what happened from all sides. Also, if anyone has any other good articles on other cases (Pedro Alvarez/Eric Hosmer, Denny Neagle, etc.) or any other good suggestions, thatd be much appreciated.

Go A's!

Heres my plan for resurrecting the lions

1. Hire Jim Schwartz, defense coordinator for Titans, as head coach.

He's been a candidate for years now, and has shown hes an intelligent guy with a great understanding of NFL defense. Look what he did with the Titans this year.

2. Hire Mike Leach, Texas Tech head coach, as offensive coordinator

This is potentially a great move, one that the aforementioned Schwartz has expressed some interest in. Leach is a mad genius who has been running his innovative AIr Raid offense for years and years in various places, and one would think, after coaching in disparate places like Finland, he would jump at the chance to prove himself at the ultimate level by turning Detroit into a contender. We've seen how slow the NFL adapts to innovation. It too 6 weeks for the league to solve one formation (wildcat). Imagine how flat footed it would be against a whole new system. Detroit, be innovative for once.

3. Hire back Rod Marinelli for Defensive Coordinator

Crazy, and potentially stupid. But, i feel he still has a good mind and has the respect of the players. Barring that one of the fired coaches like Herm Edwards, Marvin Lewis, Eric Mangini, and Romeo Crenel could do well.

4. Don't waste the first pick on a QB

Especially in Leach's system, a QB is not born, he is made. Drafting a guy who did well in college wont help unless you put a team around him. Work on making an offensive line, draft guys like Michael Oher and Andre Smith, and work on the defense in general. Dont waste the first pick exepecting a magic QB messiah.

5. Dont draft Michael Crabtree

Self Explanatory

Ive Been thinking about the A's recently, while watching the playoffs, and I had a bunch of random thoughts.

1. Daric Barton aint dead yet

Ok, he had a terrible year. But there is precedent for a bounceback. At the beginning of last year, the Toronto Blue Jays' to prospect was Adam Lind, a left handed hitter who the year before had blazed through the minor leagues and had a successful cup of coffee with the big league team, hitting .367. There was a every reason to think that he'd do well. He didnt. He batted .238 on the year, going on a hot streak towards the end to lift it that high. He did show a little bit of power, (11 HR's), but otherwise, it was pretty bad. This year though, he seems to have bounced back, hitting .282 with 9 HR's in 326 AB's, after a little bit of a struggle early on. So, yes, Barton had a bad year, but I think there's precedent for a bounceback. And after all, there were plenty of encouraging signs if you looked for them. He had 65 walks, saw a lot of pitches, did well towards the end, and let's remember, hes only 23.

2. Trade for Alex Gordon

The A's farm system right now is deep at pretty much every position except 3B. Eric Chavez does not appear to be the answer next year. We need a young 3B who can play there when Chavez is on the DL. In other words, we need an everyday 3B. Jeff Baisely does not look like the answer there, as he seems like more of a bench bat. Jack Hannahan didnt do well in his trial. So I think the A's should go after ALex Gordon. Formerly the top prospect in baseball, Gordon has not exactly performed up to expectations for the last two years, but is worth a gamble, as there are encouraging signs all over, from his patience at the plate (66 BB's), to his doubles which could turn into HR's (35 this year, in 493 AB's), to his age (24). So would the Royals give up on their former to prospect? It's not as crazy as it seems. The Royals' top hitting prospect is Mike Moustakas, who has been switched from SS to 3B, which does not indicate that they're so happy with Gordon. They can't move Gordon to 1B, because they have just drafted Eric Hosmer. It seems that Gordon does not exactly fit in the Royal's long term plans. So what would the Royals be looking for in exchange for Gordon? With the departure of Miguel Olivo, the Royals are in need of a catcher, and being that they're thr Royals, they'll take whatever they can get in other areas. This will require some creativity, as Kurt Suzuki is not tradeable, Rob Bowen doesn't exactly make GM's salivate, and Josh Donaldson wouldn't be MLB ready. What we do have, however, is a bevy of left handed starting pitchers, an OF logjam, and a capable closer we could use for trade bait. The Royals have Joakim Soria, so they don't need Street, but they could flip him to a team that has catchers. So, were I to be Beane, I try sending Gio Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Matt Murton to Kansas City for Alex Gordon. The Royals then move Mark Teahen back to his original position, third base, and put Murton in the OF. Then they flip Street to the Rangers for Jarod Saltamachia, one of teh Rangers surplus of catchers and a guy Royals GM Dayton Moore has liked since he worked in Atlanta. The Royals basically upgrade their offense with Salty and Murton, and their rotation with Gio, for their 3B they gave up on. The A's in turn, get an everyday third baseman who can contribute to their great young core, and the Rangers get a good closer for an excess catcher. I think it might work.

3. Sell high on Ryan Sweeney

Yes, I understand that hes big, hunky and the girls love him. But he's a guy limited to a corner OF position who projects to hit maybe .290 with 10-15 HR's a year. That's not a playoff-caliber starting outfielder. That's a fourth outfielder, maybe. Thing is, a lot of teams will overvalue him, because he's huge and just looks like he has 30 HR's locked in him. But he doesn't. Beane should try and swing a trade to net a good young infielder. Maybe to the dodgers for Ivan DeJesus Jr., its not like we're giving up Ryne Sandberg for him...

Jack Cust was named the AL player of the week, after hitting .500 with 3 home runs, after a slow start. In an article on the a's official site, Cust credits his recent resurgence to an unlikely source.

"Cust believes the harder wood has also contributed to his recent power surge."

He's already been busted for steroids...is viagra next?

(btw he was talking about a new bat, but i still thought that was hilarious)

I just joined this website, so here goes...

I think the lions should hire Texas Tech coach Mike Leach as at least their offensive coordinator. With an extraordinarily innovative offense he has made an offenseive powerhouse out of Texas Tech, setting passing records with no names such as the illustrious Kliff Kingsbury and BJ Symons. Point is, dude's a genius.
"But Calvinist365, what about Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban and other college coaches who went to the NFL and flopped badly? How do you know Mike Leach wont do the same?"
Simple answer. Texas Tech is not a big school. They dont get all star recruits like bigger colleges. The coaches who win, do so because the play with great players. Its not hard to put together a winning team for say, Notre Dame if every single Catholic kid in Indiana who can throw a football wants to be a fighting Irish. However Leach has assembled a prolific offense with the guys every other team rejected.
In conclusion, do we know whether Mike Leach will be a good coach? No. Is he worth the chance? I think so. Look at Michael Crabtree's stats. Then imagine Mike Leach with Calvin Johnson.

For more info, see this article written by Michael Lewis, same guy who wrote "The Blind Side" and "Moneyball"
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/magazine/04coach.html?pagewanted=all