The A's are rebuilding so they go against logic and sign vets Foulke and Sweeney.  Both are recovering from injury problems and when healthy have been good players.  Beane is looking for the kind of success he got from Stewart and Thomas.  Of course the lack of success he received from Piazza is a risk he is facing.

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In a little over a week from now pitchers and catchers report.  So what will the 2008 A's look like?  Who will bat third?  Where will the power come from?

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For the last few years we have seen the A's trade off potential major league prospects for sonetimes marginal major league prospects to remain competitive.  This has helped as players like Kielty' Bradley, etc. have made the A's successful.  These players are not star quality and are not the type to build around.  Instead star player have mostly come through the draft or inflated free agent signings.  Until now.

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Unnamed sources have stated that Jose Canseco will identify many promenant members of the A's family as well as parties in other organizations.  These unnamed sources quoting other unnamed resouces believe steriod use started with Charlie O. the mule to develop muscle control so that he would not relieve himself when on the field.

It is also believed the the red dot was a heavy user as it started to win quite frequently.  The dot did not answer telephone calls to the A's office.
The San Diego Chicken was suspected because of his behavior in abusing umpires.  Questions were also raised about the singing field sweepers.  What else could explain their behavior.

Milwaukee also was hit hard as these three stringbeans would race at each game.  

The Giants purchased 25-30% of FSNBA giving them ownership of the cable network that broadcasts the bulk of A's, Warriors, and Sharks games.  This could have far reaching consequences depending on how much influence the Giants exercise in programming.  As an A's fan I am concerned.  Naturally the Giants come first to the Giants.  When games conflict, will we see the A's delegated to lesser channels?  Or will the A's broadcast be reduced?

So far news has been positive.  FSNBA will now have pre and post game shows for all A's and Giants game and eventually for the Sharks and Warriors too.  FSNBA will also broadcast a locally originated sports show.

The Giants did not make the purchase unless they obtained a competitive and cost advantage.  How do the A's see this and what will be their response?  Ideally, they might want to own their own network.  The Yankees do.  I believe thet Boston does.  I also don't think it is economical for the A's to go it alone.  So what are their options?

We already know that the A's do not have equal footing in radio broadcasts.  Could TV be far behind?

AP is reporting that Bob Garen thinks Esteban Loaize will be on the Dl to start the season due to a stiff right shoulder.  This will move Kennedy into the 4th. position and Chad Gaudin would be the first consideration for the 5th. spot.

    http//www.comcast.net/sports/mlb/index.jsp?cat=BASEBALL&fn=/2007/03/31/624837.html

According to Bay Area Radio Digest the A's are changing their flagship radion station to FreeFM 106.9 (KIFR).  KIFR is an 80,000 watt station.

I apologize if this has been reported before.  If so, I missed it.

   http://www.bayarearadio.org/blog/index.shtml

I do not know the transmission pattern or if the station can be heard in Sacramento.

Financially are the A's better off by closing the third deck? Has the lost revenue fron the lower attendance greater or less than the added costs of running the third deck?

The A's have announce a 34,000 seat stadium in Freemont.  How are the A's going to increase revenue to allow us to keep our quality players?  If the demand for tickets sell out the stadium it will mean attendance will be about 2.7 million fans.  Will this give us enough money? Will the A's like the Giants, be strapped for cash because they half to service the debt to build the stadium?

If the demand for tickes increases to give the A's a sellouts, are we looking at a 30% or more increase in ticket prices?

What else can the A's do to increase revenue?  Is technology the answer?  If so, will the average baseball fan buy into it?

Do you have any suggestions or answers?

Accourding to the website Apes, you should . . .

. . . Discourage monkeys from coming into your home by placing rubber snakes, bright yellow or orange balls with painted big, black eyes or face masks in prominent/problem locations. Preferably these should be strung up so they can move in the breeze and should be relocated regularly.

For the first time in recent memory, the A's have failed to sign six of their first eighteen draft picks. This includes their first pick (in the second round), Trevor Cahill, a top high school pitcher out of San Diego. Forgetting the John Smoak disaster, the A's have been very good at signing their draft choices. For a team that counts heavily on their own farm system to produce their players, this does not ring too good.  What gives?

There has been quite a bit if interest in the themes songs of closers. Slate has an interesting article.

    http;/www/slate.com/id/2139937

Houston Street's choice, "Don't Hate Me"  doesn't sound like him.

Maybe we could chose a better one.  Isn't there a song about the lights out in Texas? One for Duke too.  Something about a mean pitching machine.

Mark Purty of the Mercury News has some interesting observations.  If the A's moved to Fremount they could call themselves the San Jose A's.  The is no league rule to prevent the A's frim using the San Jose name.  If the A's do not have a deal with Oakland by the start of the season, they will look elsewere.

    http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14079100.htm

Ron Washinton rebuilds after Katrina.  Jason Giambi makes him cry.

     http://ap.peninsulaclarion.com/pstories/sports/20060113/3559368.shtml

Great action by Jason Giambi and many of the A's.  Jason, the hated Yankee, still has a closeness to the A's family.  Least we forget the human side of out favorite sports figures.

The loss of Eric Byrnes is just another event in losing a player we have learned to love and and admire.  Jason, Miggy, Tim, and Mark and now Byrnsie, gone to toil for another team.  It is the state of baseball today, especially for low revenue teams, but that does not make it any easier for fans who have marveled at the success and effort these true stars have brought to Oakland.  Even winning may be hollow as we morn another loss.  It will take a little time for the new players to win our hearts.  I think we all know now what it is like to be served divorce papers by a spouse we deeply loved.

What does this win mean?  It means we A's fans can put on clean underwear.  It also means the A's are no longer in last place.  It means Chevy's average is over .200.  It means Dotel is driving us crazy.  It means that we have a new hero in Matt.  Lets hope it snowballs.  The A's players need to have fun again.

Hudson pitched about eight innings for Atlanta yesterday leaving with a 3-1 lead.  The  Braves reliever blew in the 9th and Atlanta lost 4-3.  Hudson was not a happy camper in Oakland because of the poor relief support he was getting.  Maybe he took his karma with him to Atlanta.  Maybe if Atlanta had  Cruz .  .  .

I examined the AL West Standings as posted on AN and what stood out was the Runs Allowed compared to the other three teams.  That's an unbelievable difference considering the A's were on the road and played the first three against Baltimore's strong offense.  Giving up only two runs per game is more than we can expect but ain't it sweet?

It looks like the A's pitching is rounding into good shape this spring.  The A's may not have a significant drop off that many predicted.  So what is the A's real problem from last year?

Of the 14 teams in the American League, only five teams had a better BA, OBS and SLG average than the A's yet the A's finished eigth in runs scored.  They finished third in their division.  It was very frustrating to watch runners in scoring position left on base.  The A's scored an average of 4.895 runs per game in 2004.  LAA (la-land) scored 5.16 and Boston a big 5.86.  They need to do better than 5+.

To improve, the A's must score more runs.  This is why Macha wants to bat Kendall third.  He is the major offensive improvement. I also see offensive improvement at shortstop, second, and the bench.
Will Swisher do what Dye did? Swisher need to drive in runs.  If he doesn't hit with runners on, it will Be Byrnes in right and Thomas in left. Even without Swish, the A's will score more runs.  What do you think?

An article in the Denver Post gives an insite into the development of Billy Beane's moneyball philosophy.  He relays a 1992 cab ride discussion with Sandy Alderson in which emotional attachment caused the A's to keep declining veterans and plummet into a six year losing fiasco.  

The acticle can be found at

    http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E96%257E2731481,00.html

Yhe Winter League World Series concluded this weekend with a 4-3 win for Mexico.  The A's lone player in the series, Eubiel Durazo, was a batting hero for Mexico, with a critical walk in the first inning and a later two run homerun.

Way to go, Mr. D.  Your country can be proud. Have a great 2005.

Mark Purdy of the Mercury News has a few suggestions of how the A's can cultivate the South Bay.  You can read his article at http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/10772404htm for his ideas.

It is true that the A's have done little promotion down there.  Even if the stay in Oakland, Mark has some good suggestions.

Is a downtown stadium in San Jose practical?  It may be hard to get too for East Bay fans.

It won't happen unless there is more REVENUE.
The days of the Haas family is over.  The Oakland A's are not a charity.  One cannot expect a business owner to lose money let along get a return on his investment.

The question we should ask Mr. Wolf is "what will you do to increase revenue for the A's?"

In fact why don't we put our collective heads together and come up with a few suggestion for Lewis Wolf. Why don't I start with one or two.

Everytime I went to the A's store to buy a shirt for my kids, there never had one for their favorite player.  Is there a way to increase sales by providing more options?  Maintaining an inventory might be too costly but what about online sales?

AN is becoming very popular with A's fans.  Could you increase attendance by working with Blez to put on special events?  For example, if AN would organize a game event, could we have a special 'meet the player(s) session' for an hour after the game?  The fact is, minor league teams have a closer personal relationship with their fan than major league teams.

Let's be creative, everyone!

In today's Oakland Tribune colunist Carl Steward recognized AN by quoting Blez and giving recognition to his writing. Referring to Billy Beane's contact with Lewis Wolff, Steward wrote "The A's GM noted Wednesday in an extended Q&A on the excellent and spirited internet blog site www.athleticsnation.com that he had met Wolff only on a couple of occasions and had yet to have a meaningful conservation with him."

"Excellent and spirited" is praise indeed for Blez and AN.  I am sure there will be new readers who hunger for valid news of their A's,  reading our comments.  True A's fans will stay.

You should feel proud, Blez.

......thinks that Byrnes will be traded. He stated his thoughts at http://www.foxsports.com/ on the A's team site.   His reasons:  Byrnes age, cost, and trade value.  Did Byrnes peak last year?  The trade may depend on having a replacement hitter in the outfield.  We may find out in spring training.  If he stays, Byrnes may be a platoon player.

The KING, Johnny Carson, died today.  I don't think he was an A's fan but I won't hold that against him. He was great.  May he rest in peace.

It seems to me that Yabu could end up replacing Bradford in the A's relief corp.  Bradord has been used to get one or two outs in tight suitations.  He seemed to have lost confidence last year.  Yabu may fit this role.  He is older and has great control. Bradford tended to walk players he was required to get out.

Rob Neyer's comments suggesting the A's will be a 90 game team in 2005 creates some difficult decisions for the A's.  With so many young kids expected to be a major part of their lineup, will they have an opportinity to play and get experience?  For example, Dan Johnson may be the odd man out if he has an average spring.  On the other hand. Billy Beane may play him to get the experience even if he is not contributing that much.

Macha will be in a difficult position.  He does not know what to expect from his new players so match ups will be hit and miss.  I think the start of the season may be rocky and if a kid doesn't do well, he may lose his confidence.  Do the A's have enough veterans to help them over the Hump?

It's nice to know that Neyer thinks the A's will win 90 but these players are human and predicting 90 wins may add the wrong kind of pressure to the Meyers, Blantons Swishers, and Johnsons on the A's.  

It's 2005 and time to turn our attention to the new season.  The A's have a number of new players and a number of questions to answer. One of these relate to the lead off position.  For the first time in a long, long time the A's have two legitimate lead off players in Kendall and Kotsay.  Both have successfully batted there.  What should the A's do?  I have my ideas.  What's yours?

In an article in the NY Times today it was stated that a deal to send Randy Johnson to the Yankees was almost completed.  The Times suggested that the Yankees were the only team in baseball to afford to pick him up.  The Yankess would send $8 million to the Snakes as part of the deal.

The Times article also said that this deal makes the Yankees odds on favorites to win it all.  My question is this.  Don't you need more than one quality starter?  And isn't the average age of their starter approaching 50?

If the money commitment for Johnson is made, will the Yankees still try to sign Beltran?  If so, are we looking at a Yankee payroll of 4 times that of the A's?  And won't it be sweet every time our young giant killers beat the Yankees?

I looked in my stocking this Christmas morning and found two tickets to an A's World Series in October of 2005...Hmmmmmmm...

As I was looking at other web sites to find out information of prospective A's trades, I quickly came to realize how fortunate we are to have such a fine web site as AN.  Blez has done a masterful jub of seeing that we keep up with A's events and his low key positive attitude permeates an objective and thorough view of what is happening.  I particularly like his passion for baseball.  I want to thank you Blez, and all the A's fans who have constructively contributed to our love of the team. I hope that all of you have a joyful holiday season and thank you for making our love of the game and A's special.