Just a quick wonderance by an A's fan. Clearly we have Jemile Weeks in the process of taking over 2B from Mark Ellis. So it thusly begs the question of if you guys have any interest in Mark Ellis filling your 2B void? At minimum he would be a great clubhouse presence and play stellar defense. He may not be what he used to be, but I still believe there is a bit left in the tank that could help a major league team. Thanks.

I was just reading Ken Rosenthal's column on the potential availability of Joe Blanton and at two years and roughly 16 or 17 million that is a pretty fair deal for a good inning eating pitcher such as Blanton. Plus with Philly apparently only wanting salary relief it could be practially a no risk move considering it would only be for two years and keeps our options open for other things. Would seem like a very good option to fill the 5th starter role (with him actually somewhere around a 3 or 4 starter in relative quality.) What's AN impression on this idea or reacquiring Country Joe? Thanks.

Just wanted to start by saying I would have made this a fanshot, but I could not figure out how to make a poll on a fanshot.

Second, I am not sure if someone already did a poll like this, so if it is redundant I appologize for that.

On to my real purpose for this post - basically I just want to get a feel for which side of the Holliday trades does AN feel is the better package the Rockies or the A's. Thanks for your input and thanks for voting.

I was checking out Buster olney's blog and one of his links leads to this story about Street being pulled from a game yesterday after he got into trouble.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12152100 

Looks like he is on a very short leash and may even lose his job as closer any day. It appears he is taking it a lot better this year than last year, after he pouted and complained so much last year.

Definately look like we pulled the plug on this guy at the right time. Thank god for that. For some reason this guy seems to have a very shaky psyche to me, anytime something goes wrong for him it takes him at least two weeks to right the ship. Maybe that is just my perspective, but I bet in about 3 weeks after having been removed from the closer spot he will start throwing the ball really well and declare that he is ready to close once again.

I think it was pretty much assumed around baseball that Orlando Hudson is both a better hitter and nearly equal if not better fielder than Mark Ellis. In addition, Ellis's injury was deemed more serious and would cut into his salary demands even more so.

So what resulted, Ellis instead resigned with the A's for 2 years and around 11 million. Seemingly a good deal for both sides at the time.

However, when you see now that Hudson can be had for less than 5 million for 1 year, you have to think two things: 1) The A's overpaid Ellis (albeit by not a grosse amount), and 2) Ellis actually benefited this offseason by having injured his shoulder, however odd that may seem.

Anyone else agree with my premise? I realize we are dealing with a bit of revisionist history, but it's fun to speculate about.

According to Ken Rosenthal the A's are the favorites for Rafeal Furcal, Randy Johnson, & Nick Johnson. If we do get all three of those guys all of the sudden the Angels better get moving because our footsteps will be coming up awful fast. This I must admit is pretty sweet.

 Counting down the days until Spring Training. Go A's!!!!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8889016/A's-still-after-Furcal,-but-may-chase-Big-Unit-too

*This is from an article I wrote for my local newspaper, The Piedmont Post. Figured I would share it withe the A's community.

2008 Major League Baseball Playoffs Preview
            As summer turns to fall, shorter days and cooling weather lead to heightened tensions and cold sweats as the major league baseball playoffs returns beginning October 1st and concluding with the fall classic which begins on October 22nd. This year there are familiar faces as well as a few new ones. Yes, the Red Sox, Angels, Phillies, and Cubs return this year each looking to make up for last year’s failures or a chance to repeat as champions. Others, such as the Brewers and Rays await an opportunity to prove themselves after decades of mediocrity.
            Boston Red Sox v. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - This series is a continuation of previous years battles and could go either way. Yet the Angels appear to have the upper hand this year having gone 8-1 against the Red Sox. Additionally, with Boston’s ace Josh Beckett, a pitcher with a known pedigree of success in the playoffs, no longer able to start game 1 due to an oblique injury and tentatively scheduled to start game 3 this series may have swung the Angels way for good. This combined with the firepower and brilliant pitching the Angels possess should be enough to get the Angels past the Red Sox this time…but just barely.
-Angels in 5.
           Minnesota Twins/Chicago White Sox v. Tampa Bay Rays - This series is as up in the air as it can possibly be. The White Sox staved off elimination by winning a make up game against Detroit yesterday 8-2, to force a one game playoff. No matter who wins the play in game, the Rays will be favored in the series as they are strong in all facets of the game from pitching and defense to late heroics, having led the league in walk off hits. The Rays are a team that has fought all season and seem prepared for a lengthy playoff run.
-Rays in 4 regardless of whom they play.
            Los Angeles Dodgers v. Chicago Cubs - This should be a promising matchup as the Cubs come in for the first time in about a century as the favorites to win the World Series. But don’t look for the Dodgers to roll over for them, no sir, not as long as Joe Torre is at the helm. The Dodgers sport the best ERA in the National League. If Derek Lowe who has been unhittable of late (6-1 with a 1.27 ERA since August 11th) pulls a game 1 upset over Ryan Dempster in Wrigley, he of the 14-3 home record, this one may go their way. However, the Cubs have the best hitting, defense, power, relief, and more than enough front line starting pitchers to take the series.
-Another close one, but Cubs in 5.
            Milwaukee Brewers v. Philadelphia Phillies - Having played down to the final day just to get into the playoffs, the Brew Crew come in at a significant disadvantage. As such, the Brewers will turn to Yovanni Gallardo, a man that has made 1 start in five months as their game 1 starter and hope that talent overcomes rust. The Phillies counter with one of the best starters in the league in Cole Hamels, giving them a substantial edge. Sabathia will come back for the forth time this month on short rest to start game 2, and no one knows how that will affect him. All we do know is that the Phillies have been the hottest team in baseball the past couple of weeks and just recently swept the Brewers in a 4 game series. The Phillies have too much offense in Utley, Howard, and Rollins and good enough pitching that they should take this series. The Brewers are a great story, but it looks like it ends here.
-Phillies in 4, a sweep if Sabathia loses.

ALCS: Angels over Rays in 6

NLCS: Cubs over Phillies in 6

World Series: Cubs over Angels in 7

What are the chances of Jason Giambi coming back to Oakland as a free agent?
--James R., Richmond, Calif.

About the same as Rickey Henderson batting leadoff for the A's next year. About the same as Vince Cotroneo reporting to Spring Training next season with an Afro. About the same as Billy Beane ever saying, "You know what? That was a bad trade I made." No chance.

Not sure if you all have seen this yet. Figured it was realtively interesting since it seems that a good percentage of us were kind of hoping for a return for Giambi, and a return to "power ball." Had to throw that reference in there, since this years motto of "100% baseball" is kind of lame. What like it's 85% baseball and 15% soccer. I even liked "they're young, buth they can play" better. Either way that is just a bit of a minor rant. I find this kinda too bad if true, since Beane alway seemed to like Giambi and he would seem to be once again a great fit on a young team maybe ready for another rise in the near future.

With Harden clearly dominating and staying healthy, Gaudin also performing very well, and Gallagher and other performing nothing short of terribly this trade must be deamed a failure (and one that will most likely rank among the worst trades in Oakland A's history.) Hopefully, Donaldson will continue playing well in A ball and help salvage the trade a bit with Gallagher regaining something simlar to the first start he had with us, but that seems like a tall task at this point. This trade from the moment I first heard about it has me shaking my head and working very hard to keep myself from destroying things. This one may go down as the first HUGE mistake by Mr. Beane. Very hard to watch Harden go 7 inn, 2 HITS, with 10 K's. Letting that kind of talent go should never have been allowed to happen (and then throwing away Gaudin as well.) If anyone has any constructive comments to refute my assumption I am all for it, and would love to be proved wrong.

I was just rolling throught the headlines and saw that Kotsay wnt 5-5 yesterday, hitting for the cycle. He is now hitting .300 with 6 homers and 15 doubles. I wonder if we had kept Kotsay if perhaps his leadership on a young club such as this would have been enough of a stabalizing force after the trades seemed to alter the psyche of the team. Either way looks like despite how the Braves season turned out his trade has worked out fairly well for both teams.

Every article I have read from yesterday's game there is no mention from Street. He clearly hid from the media and showed no strength, at a time when he needs to be accountable for his actions. He is very lucky he plays for Oakland otherwise he would have been ripped to shreds. This is unacceptable and shows disrespect both to his team and to the fans. He needs to grow up and learn to face his problems head on. In my mind it is important that your closer has this kind of mentatlity both on and off the field.

I had hoped that Glen Kuiper's attrociousness would take care of itself it getting him fired or somehow relieved of his duties. The fact that this is the third or fourth year that we have had to endure his torture is remarkable. Compounding that with the fact taht we replaced Papa, who while not a great broadcaster is remarkable compared to him. As such us A's fans must rally some kind of campaign to rid this blight from our beloved team. I will be the first in this campaign as a season ticket holder by sending an email to the A's demanding change, I hope other take my lead and join in this effort.

Secondly, CarGon is not a very good nick name for Carlos Gonzales. It feels like we are forcing the issue. Either we have to wait for a good nickname to come on its own or revert back to Gonzo. I am just not a fan of the nick CarGon, it sounds like someone stole a Chevy.

Thanks.

The warriors should make a deal with Avery Johnson to come to the Warriors with the agreement that after Nelson coaches next year he will become the head coach. They can either make him one of the coaching staff or just a "roving coach" so he can get used to the roster, while paying him a good fair salary in the first year. Then for all the other years they pay him solid head coach money. (figure he will probably agree to that since he will still be collecting checks from Mark Cuban anyway). Gives him a year off to clear his mind and then can come back fresh and lead the Warriors for many years to come. Plus, Nelson and Johnson must already get along pretty well considering Nelson gave him the reigns of the Mavericks. This would be a great pro-active move for the Warriors as in my opinion Avery is one of the better, if not best coaches out there, and young enough to lead our club for many years. We could definately do worse than this post-Nelson.

Hire Avery!

I was just as suprised as every other A's fan at how good and fast our A's started the season. But now I have to wonder if this recent play is not a slump, but our team real skill level and will be for the remainder of the season. I sincerely hope not, but only time will tell if all the errors and sloppy play catch up to us as our situational hitting inevitably comes back down from above .300. Let's see what happens. Thoughts?

On the A's website it now reads 1968-2008 celebrating 40 years of A's baseball. Only one problem the 40th year of A's baseball was LAST YEAR. It is simple math:

1968-1977 = 10 years
1978-1987 = 10 years
1988-1997 = 10 years
1998-2007 = 10 years
2008 =      1  years

Seems like the A's have a bit of egg on their face. I can't fathom how a 100 million dollar organization and make mistakes such as these.

The A's always seem to have a ton of double plays (of course not at team record paces like last year).  From Ben Grieve to Jason Kendall it always seems as if someone is dragging down the team with ungodly number of GDIPs.  With Thomas no longer creating a guaranteed double play and hopefully better health, does the "nation" feel that we will some how find a way to avoid the dreaded GDIP?

Angels Games (FAVORABLE SIMULATION)

team games results

KC  2gm      2-0
OAK 3gm      2-1
TEX 3gm      2-1
OAK 4gm      2-2

Final result: 8-4

Oakland Games (UNFAVORABLE SIMULATION)

team games results

CLE 4GM      2-2
LAA 3GM      1-2
SEA 3GM      2-1
LAA 4GM      2-2

Final result: 7-7

FINAL STANDINGS

Athletics        93-69
Angels           88-74

My Opinion Final Standings

94-68  (8-6)
86-76  (6-6)

Where they stand as of now

86-62
80-70

Angels Games (FAVORABLE SIMULATION)

team games results
CWS 3gm      1-0
TEX 4gm      3-1
KC  2gm      2-0
OAK 3gm      2-1
TEX 3gm      2-1
OAK 4gm      2-2

Final result: 12-5

Oakland Games (UNFAVORABLE SIMULATION)

team games results

MIN 3GM      1-0
CWS 3GM      1-2
CLE 4GM      2-2
LAA 3GM      1-2
SEA 3GM      2-1
LAA 4GM      2-2

Final result: 9-9

FINAL STANDINGS

OAKLAND   91-71
ANAHEIM   90-72

• Still looking very good for the A's
  
• .500 ball and A's are in.

Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
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Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion
Here is an open thread for blue jays discussion

I don't know about you guys but Street is looking really shaky to me and we need to consider dropping him back to the middle inning and putting duke back in the ninth.  Other than the homer duke looked good again this game and street got his bacon saved by johnson.  We need to do something quick because the way the A's are playing we are getting pretty lucky to be winning these games.  here's hoping the jays take today's game and get back to 6.5 up.

I am not sure if you guys have noticed but for the past five years or so the 'lets go A's' chant has completely disappeared, having been replaced by 'Lets Go Oakland.'  While I like the 'lets go oakland' chant I think we should bring back the old 'lets go a's' chant.  It has a lot of history and is a good deal older than the previous chant.  Kind of strange that it totally disappeared considering it used to be part of the scoreboard as well.  Oh well point is we need to bring it back so other teams (i.e. the yankees and red sox) can not steal the cheer as they have done so many times in the past.

wins by 2-1 and 1-0 the last two games combined with the miracle comeback on saturday.  Maybe they are hitting a lucky streak.  Even they have to feel lucky getting those last two wins with a combined 8 hits in two games and no hits in the last game after the 4th inning.  Still looking good for the post season, (also only 1 game back of wild card if needed) but if this trend continues it could get dicey at the end.  Fortunately, as long as we keep winning there is nothing they can do.  Lets see what goes down this week.

Angels Games (NEUTRAL-FAVORABLE SIMULATION)

team games results

DET 3gm      1-2
BAL 3gm      2-1
TOR 3gm      2-1
CWS 3gm      2-1
TEX 4gm      3-1
KC  2gm      2-0
OAK 3gm      2-1
TEX 3gm      2-1
OAK 4gm      2-2

Final result: 18-10

Oakland Games (NEUTRAL-UNFAVORABLE SIMULATION)

team games results

BAL 3GM      2-1
TEX 3GM      2-1
TB  3GM      2-1
MIN 3GM      1-2
CWS 3GM      1-2
CLE 4GM      2-2
LAA 3GM      1-2
SEA 3GM      2-1 (gotta figure 2/3 after 15 str8)
LAA 4GM      2-2

Final result: 15-14

FINAL STANDINGS

OAKLAND   92-70
ANAHEIM   88-74

Other thoughts/Opinions?