For all of the great players the Oakland A's have had through the past 40 years, most (if not all) have chosen to go into the Hall of Fame wearing the cap of another team.

So it was quite a refreshing change to read this article at Yahoo today:

Hall president Dale Petroskey said Williams will be featured on his Hall plaque with an Athletics hat to acknowledge his achievements as manager there.

Congrats to an A's "great" from a bygone era.

Obviously it was time to move in a different direction, and I know the A's didn't want to pay the big salary increase for him in 2008. But I'll still miss the guy. He truly seemed to be was one of those "clutch" types people like to debate endlessly about.

So is Donnie Murphy the new Scutaro? Or will someone else fill that utility role?

Scutaro traded to Blue Jays

An article was just posted to the Chron online that discusses Huston Street knowledge of wines (why? who knows?)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...

What I found absolutely hilarious was the beginning of Huston's answer to the following question:

Q: Do the A's drink a lot of wine together?

A: I remember coming here my rookie season. (Bobby) Crosby had just gone on the DL (disabled list)....

Again, no real reason to post this, other then I found it both funny and sad, and thought others might too...

(I posted this in my last Dan Meyer thread, but it's buried now....and I want to make sure this is read by the party I wronged.)

Been a few days, so this probably won't get read, but it's important to me, so here it is.

I need to apologize for two things. 1) To fadedash for telling him to go to hell. That wasn't right. It's not me or what I'm about. I haven't been myself lately and have been snapping as everyone, but that doesn't excuse it. So I apologize for that. 2) For my original response to fadedash. He called it "snippy". It wasn't meant that way (tone is so hard to convey in text), but after re-reading it a few days later, it definitely read that way.

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I've been around here for a long time, but rarely post anymore.

I do however, seem to have a bit of history of being one of Dan Meyer's longest and strongest supporters through his litany of injury woes over the past two seasons, so I figured I would keep bringing up to the forefront as he continues on the comeback trail.

Meyer overpowers but wants staying power

I still have the strangest feeling that this guy is going to be a difference maker as the #5 starter sometime between the All Star Break and August 1st. He's the only starter in AAA with a true upside, and though I'm sure the front office would prefer to bring him along very slowly, I envision a scenario where the A's go into August 3-4 games out and with four solid starters - the temptation may be too much to resist.

I suspect we'll hear more about this tomorrow, but this blurb was at the tail end of the Yahoo recap of tonight's game...

A's RHP Rich Harden had another setback in his return from a strained right shoulder when the club shut him down for the weekend. Harden has been on the disabled list since April 16.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gi...

Sigh.....

Boy, that was quick. Apparently, the A's made a few roster moves immediately after the game, sending Brad Halsey down to AAA Sacramento.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-athleticsmoves&prov=ap&type=lgns

Have to assume that this is in order to stretch him out for a start or two later in the month.

Incredibly, the same link above talks about Witasick forgetting to bring his shoes to the park, and being forced to wear Duke's shoes, which were a size too small. This caused his feet to go numb.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but, especially being at home, why on earth aren't there any extra shoes in the A's clubhouse?

Did Macha know about this? If he did, why on earth would he send a guy out coming off a "severe" ankle injury in shoes that could ultimately injure him again?

I love this team, but this year, more then any in the past 25 years, they are really driving me nuts!

Our favorite departed Moneyballer has signed an extension with the Reds for 2007, with an option for 2008.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060726&con tent_id=1576250&vkey=pr_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin

From MLBTradeRumors.com:

The 36 year-old slumped to an awful .256/.334/.343 line for the A's in '05.  He signed a free agent deal in February for $750,000 with Cincinnati.  This year, Hatteberg has surged to a .324/.417/.505 performance in 275 ABs.  He's drawn a walk in an impressive 14% of his plate appearances, 12th in the league.

Hatteberg historically performs worse against southpaws, and Jerry Narron has done well to use him primarily against righties.  In the previous three seasons, Hatteberg faced lefties in 28% of his at-bats.  This year, he's seen them just 19% of the time.

Happy for Hatty.....sad for us. I know it isn't and wasn't realistic, but I can't help thinking about those numbers, combined with Ethier's, in the A's lineup this season.

:Sigh::

Bored and digging for nuggets after an off day and before today's game, here's something I found very interesting.

Buried at the bottom of a Chron article on July 16th, discussing Windsor's MLB debut, was this tidbit:

Dan Meyer, a main part of the Tim Hudson trade with Atlanta, had surgery in New York to remove an impediment in his left shoulder...Mets team doctor David Altchek performed the surgery. Meyer probably will be ready to throw in extended spring training

This goes a long way toward explaining Meyer's contuned problems and inflated ERA this season.

Then strangely enough, buried in today's (7/21) CC Times article about Windsor was this:

He (Windsor) had regressed a bit last season (2005), during which he was bothered by a right shoulder impingement, and went 3-6 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 starts at Double-A Midland.

Now, I don't think we can expect Meyer to come back next year and go 12-1 in the minors as Windsor has, but now that they have finally found (and fixed) the problem with Meyer's shoulder, it seems increasingly likely that come Spring Training 2007, we may see the Dan Meyer of 2004 that we originally traded for.

This could definitely bolster, change and alter the scope of what has been looking like a fairly thin rotation for next season.

Thoughts?

Well, for the second year in a row, Dan Meyer is hurt, and hurt badly enough that the A's plan to put him on the shelf for the rest of the season...

A blurb from today's Chronicle:

It appears that Sacramento left-hander Dan Meyer, acquired from Atlanta in the Tim Hudson deal after the 2004 season, won't pitch again this season because of continued shoulder trouble. Meyer is scheduled for a second opinion next week, according to assistant GM David Forst, and there are no plans for surgery right now.

Sad really. I feel badly for Meyer. It has to be incredibly frustrating not only for him, but especially for A's brass, as this really complicates the starting rotation picture in the years ahead, and basically means they traded Tim Hudson for Brad Halsey.

EDIT: I'm assuming that bringing Jeremy Brown back up to the bigs starts a chain reaction where Melhuse becomes Swishers backup at 1B, and Dan Johnson is sent down.

I wish I would have posted my thoughts during spring training into this diary. They are floating around in some of the general threads, though I know there are many who won't believe me when I say this:

I saw DJ's demise last September, and talked about it on several occasions during spring training.

Watching Swisher and DJ last Septemeber, one thing was obvious on the surface - both were struggling. But if you looked deeper, and studied their at bats, the difference was obvious and striking.

Swisher had absolutely no bat speed and plate discipline down the stretch. Whether it was fatigue or not is anyone's guess, but it was clear to see that he was on pitches, just late with everything, or swinging through everything.

DJ in contrast, looked completely different last September. There was no real issue with bat speed. He just looked totally lost and without any kind of solid approach at the plate - which is what often happens to a young hitter when the league starts to figure him out. Swisher went through the same thing early in 2005, before adjusting and having a solid June and July.

For DJ, there was never an adjustment, just a long downhill slide after a monster .364 July last year. His struggles this season has ben a mirror image of his .198 September. He hasn't been hitting like this for just two months, it's actually been 3+, and I believe the inevitable move that's coming is based on a larger sample size then just what we've seen in 2006.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope he doesn't get sent down. I hope he adjusts and finds his stroke again. If he does go down, I hope he finds his stroke at AAA.

I say this with sadness because I love the guy: I'm not sure we'll see DJ in an A's uniform again after Sunday. No specific stats to back that up, just an old fashioned "gut" feeling.

Once again, I hope I'm wrong.

Hi guys,

I'm still doing a little tweaking, but http://www.MyAthleticsPics.com is open and ready for your pictures! :-)

If you have A's related photos that you would like to house in one convenient place to share with everyone (including MySpace users), feel free to do so here. I have a few ads up, but it's totally free for everyone in the community to use.

I know people will be requesting diferent features to be added. I'm not a programmer, so I'm not sure how much (if any) I'll be able to do in that regard, but I'll do my best.

Let me know if you would like something similar to this for more general pics, and I'd be happy to set one up for that as well.

My gift to this wonderful community....hope everyone likes it and finds it useful. :-)

http://www.MyAthleticsPics.com

Thanks!
~Mike

Hi guys,

I finally have the ability to create something I've wanted to do for a long time - a picture gallery dedicated to all things A's.

It would be free for everyone to use (supported by a couple of ads). You could upload any A's related pictures you wish, share them with friends, share them on MySpace, and have all of your valued A's pics in one place to share with others on the board.

If this sounds like something that would interest you, I'd love to get some feedback. Again, it would be totally free. I think a couple of ads (somewhat similar to what Blez does) should cover the costs of the site.

Thanks everyone....
~Mike

I actually think it's an absolutely brilliant idea from a marketing standpoint, and I believe they will NOT open the 3rd deck even for Yankees/Red Sox/Giants games.

They want to create scarcity. When was the last time you COULD NOT get a ticket to an A's regular season game?

Answer? Pretty much NEVER.

Wolffe wants A's fans to understand what fans in many other markets have known for years - if you wanna see the team, you gots to pay the price. Or be shut out entirely.

It sucks from a fan standpoint, but it makes perfect business sense.

But there is another huge problem for me. One I haven't seen mentioned yet. And it's for this reason that I may never attend another A's game at the Coliseum now.

I've gone to games over the years with 45,000 in attendance, and with 862 in attendance (that wonderful 1979 season).

I've seen the concourse areas with both levels of traffic inside, and everything in between.

The early 1960's design of the Coliseum means that the walkways are dark, narrow, and enclosed. It simply isn't suitable (or safe for that matter) to have the concourse area packed with people for 81 games each year.

When the Coliseum is packed, restrooms are unusable, the ability to move about to get something to eat takes upwards of 2-3 full innings, and most importantly, I've had 2 attempts of a pick-pocket on my wallet, and my wife has been touched inappropriately in the crush of humanity on one occasion.

I went to Petco Park in August, and I was blown away with how differently the concourse areas are set up in the newer parks.

I have no doubt that 38K in a new, modern, bright and airy stadium would present no problems to my enjoyment of the game, and the safety of my family.

But as long as the A's are in the Coliseum and keep the 3rd deck ban in place, the only games I would even consider will be the cold, dreary Tuesday nights when the Royals/Devil Rays are in town.

At least then I'll know that I can go to the ballpark, relax, and enjoy myself - knowing my family is fairly safe, and I can get a hot dog in just a half-inning. ;)

I'm really surprised to be writing this diary...

When Blez first brought up the idea, it made no sense to me at all, but as I followed that thread, started researching stats, and Glaus' history, along with the earlier news that Chavez is putting off shoulder surgery, I came to the conclusion that the A's absolutely NEED Glaus if they are going to make a WS run in '06.

I've grouped and edited a few of the posts I made in Blez's main thread that supports my argument:

1. BB wouldn't make that kind of trade. But this is a different offseason.

It's obvious to absolutely everyone that the A's lack exactly one thing that could keep them from being a true WS contender in '06.

A big right handed bat.

That's it.

The whole world know's it, so it isn't as if Billy's going to fleece some GM who isn't paying attention.

If there was ever an offseason for BB to make a "traditional" move or trade, this is it.

2. I'm actually not that worried about his health. Yes, he had the shoulder problem for parts of two seasons. But unlike Chavez, he got it fixed, and came back to play 149 games last year at 3B, which would seem to prove that he's healthy again.

His games played in previous years up to the shoulder injury:

1999. 154
      
2000. 159
      
2001. 161
      
2002. 156

Chavez's games played through the same stretch:

1999. 115 (First full season)
      
2000. 153
      
2001. 151
      
2002. 153

So I'm going to make the argument that we HAVE to sign Glaus as insurance for Chavez!!!

3. Again, outside of parts of two seasons lost to the shoulder injury, he averaged 156 games a year at 3B from 1999-2002, and played 149 games there last year.

Unlike Chavez, he got the shoulder fixed. What happens to this club when Chavvy blows out his shoulder for good in late May / early June and is lost for the season?

True the average isn't that high, but his other career numbers are all higher then Chavvy's.

            OBP  SLG  OPS
Glaus:    .358/.501/.859
Chavez:  .350/.496/.846

I wasn't sold on this idea either at first, but the more numbers I research, the more I like it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. When viewed in the light of the numbers above, and keeping in mind the ticking time bomb that is now Chavvy's shoulder, does this seem more like a deal the A's MUST make?

Seems unbelievable, but here's the link:

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=109723

The story hints at some sort of relationship issue with Larry Lucchino, but regardless, this will prove to be a VERY interesting story in the coming weeks...

How many teams out there will be interested in him? He reeks of Moneyball of course, but he also has a championship to back it up. If I'm Kansas City, I go after him with both barrels blazing.

....yes I know that Macha isn't even all the way out the door yet. But haven't we seen this pattern before?

A member of the A's, who BB has become indifferent about, is made a low-ball offer. BB doesn't lose either way, because he isn't emotionally vested in the decision.

It's why Giambi ended up in NY, why Howe and Peterson ended up with the Mets, and it's why Macha will end up elsewhere next season.

A manager is a commodity to Beane. I think he believes that anyone who played the game, has some previous managerial experience somewhere, and a fairly even temperment, and is willing to play second-fiddle to Beane, can run this team.

To add to that, he has one man on his staff who fits those four job descriptions perfectly. On top of that, this man and BB are friends, according to Aces anyway.

Who is that man?

Introducing the next manager of the Oakland A's...

...Bob Geren!!

This should be wrapped up by November 1st.

Now it's time to sit back and see if I end up looking ridiculous. ;-)

I guess this is the kind of stuff that bored sportswriters dream up on a team's off day...

http://www.insidebayarea.com/athletics/ci_2716173

IMHO, this is just silly. BB is all about the track records, and the comparison here isn't even close.

Don't get me wrong, Jason Ellison is a nice player, but I have to believe that BB can fleece the market a lot better then that when the right time comes.

Thoughts?

Based on Macha's comments yesterday, and the results of today's action, I think I can take a pretty educated guess as to how the pitching staff fills out.

SP Zito
SP Harden
SP Haren
SP Blanton
SP Etherton

RP Rincon
RP Duchscherer
RP Saarloos
RP Calero
RP Cruz
RP Yabu
RP Dotel

Street doesn't make the roster - to the howls of everyone on AN.

Here's why.

Macha's comments yesterday included:

Yabu can pitch in relief
Saarloos can pitch in relief
Etherton will not pitch in relief
Meyer will not pitch in relief

He also flatly stated (as we all know) that if Meyer doesn't win the 5 spot, he goes to Sacramento.

Yabu has pitched himself out of the rotation. Meyer has almost done the same at this point.

If Etherton and Saarloos are equal, Etherton wins the 5 spot, since the A's won't use him in relief.

As young as this staff is, it's going to blow up from time to time. There are going to be situations where Meyer, Blanton and Etherton won't get out of the third inning.

It's going to happen much more then people want.

If that's the case, you need more then one long man in the pen.

Duke has one of those spots covered.

Yabu now appears to have the second spot covered.

The only remaining variable, as I see it, is whether or not the A's wish to carry three long men, or two long men, and a short reliever with a huge upside.

So the final roster spot comes down to Saarloos or Street.

In April, I believe Saarloos will get that spot, until the A's feel comfortable that the back end of their rotation is steady enough to go forward.

At that point, expect to see Saarloos or Etherton dealt, the other to stay in the 5 spot, and Street to make his debut in somewhere between mid-May and the All-Star break.

If Meyer doesn't pitch lights out in AAA, it wouldn't shock me to see him spend the whole season there.

It's been a fun competition to watch - one of the most entertaining and confusing I've seen in a long time.

Can't wait to see how things pan out next week. I'm anxious to see how close this prediction turnsout to be.

This probably isn't going to be a popular opinion. Flame away. :-)

Just caught this in a quick overview of Cactus League games on Yahoo.

Apparently, McPherson will be out at least two weeks after taking an epidural shot to treat a protruding disc in his lower back.

I have a ruptured disc and a torn ligament in my lower back. Simple day-to-day functioning can be excruciating at times.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a big league power hitter who strikes out a lot, and have a lower back problem that requires an epidural - which is fairly serious stuff, if you know anything about them.

This may merit watching, as LAAoA are counting on him to start 140+ games and have a big season. If his back problems continue, it could ultimately be good news for the A's.

While I'm not normally a fan of most of the writers at Scout.com, this one caught my eye as one of the better thought-out articles on the A's that I've seen in quite some time.

If I were to write an article on the state of the A's and the way they run their franchise, it would sound an awful lot like this:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_348175_304&prov=citadel&type=lgns

Any thoughts?

Will Billy still get the CF he wanted last year, before dealing for Kotsay?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_342193_228&prov=citadel&type=lgns

The only thing that bugs me about this article is the statement that both teams are looking for a "top-flight" center fielder.

Did anybody outside of us A's fans see Kotsay play last year?

The most interesting thing about this move is that is puts Swisher in Left instead of Right, and moves Kotsay to Right so Cameron can play Center. Kotsay played right field in Florida, so that shouldn't be a big problem. Swisher in Left might be a good idea, since the general consensus is that you want your weakest defensive arm in left field.

I'm not a Cameron fan. He strikes out WAY too much, and even though he's a great right-handed power bat, I'm not sure he has the mentality to hit in the 4 hole behind Chavez.

Any thoughts?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2005/01/06/sports0001EST0237.DTL


L.A. developer considers buying A's

Thursday, January 6, 2005

(01-06) 21:01 PST OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) --

Los Angeles developer Lewis Wolff, who was hired by the Oakland Athletics in 2003 to help find a new stadium, will decide in the next three months whether he will exercise an option to try to buy the team.

"He is in the process of exploring that option," said Sam Spear, a senior consultant for the A's who spoke to Wolff on Thursday. "He believes that in the next 90 days he would have come to some conclusion of either a purchase or non-purchase of the team."

Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann bought the A's jointly in 1995 with Schott serving as the managing partner.

"Whatever deal (Wolff) works out, he wants Steve Schott to remain as part of the ownership," Spear said.

Even if Wolff decides he wants to buy the A's, there would still be hurdles to overcome. He would need to agree on a price with Schott and Hofmann and be approved by Major League Baseball.

Wolff, the team's vice president for venue development, had been helping the team evaluate possible location alternatives available in the Bay Area for a new ballpark.

Schott has repeatedly said the only way for the small-market A's to remain viable is to get a new stadium, which commissioner Bud Selig has also said is key. Schott has said he would like to move the franchise to San Jose, but the San Francisco Giants own the rights to that area.

While many of the A's competitors play in extravagant stadiums that generate huge streams of revenue, the A's share an out-of-date stadium with the NFL's Oakland Raiders and would like a baseball-only facility.

Wolff is a former part owner of the NBA's Golden State Warriors and the NHL's St. Louis Blues.

Interesting story in my local newspaper this morning:

http://www.rgj.com//news/stories/html/2004/12/20/87996.php

It states the Reggie has put together an ownership group that is trying to buy a team, and it's not the Expos/Nationals.

Reggie has a home in Vegas, for what it's worth.

Thought it might be of interest to some A's fans here. Don't know if it means anything to us or not...but it could.

I think I might understand a bit more why Beane wanted this kid so badly...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_332247_304&prov=citadel&type=lgns

If this interview is any indication, he has a great makeup for a pitcher, mature, level-headed and ready to succeed.

I may upset abot losing Hudson, like everyone else, but I'm looking forward to watching this kid pitch, learn and grow for the next several years.

I posted this as part of a response in someone else's diary, but I'm curious about others' thoughts on this and don't want it to get lost.

---------------------------------------------------

Which reminds me, am I the only one who thinks that Duke could put up Redman's numbers (11-12 4.54 ERA) in the #4 slot?

Seems like everyone is going crazy about bringing in a cheap, veteran #4 guy if one of the Big 3 is traded, but I think I'd rather have a retread in the long relief role, then in the rotation.

Duke has proven he can get major-league hitters out at least twice through the batting order. Redman didn't give us many starts past 5-6 innings anyway (especially at home).

Also, wouldn't it seem that, with Duke's fastball in the 85-88 mph range, that a third pitch, thrown nearly that speed, but with movement (slider, slurve, forkball, split-finger) would be the ultimate compliment to his average fastball and that awesome curve? Wouldn't it make it more difficult to sit on the fastball?

His curveball is 72-76 mph and has to be reasonably easy to spot. His fastball can therefore be picked up also, and at 86 mph, major league hitters can make the adjustment, but with, say an 82 mph sinker/split-finger. The ability of a hitter to adjust is reduced dramatically.

Looks like the Cleveland Indians have signed Jose Hernandez, and don't plan to offer Ronnie Belliard arbitration.

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