SB Nation User Blog: ru155

Ken Griffy Jr. to White Sox pending his approval

ru155 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:40:02 -0000

Ken will be heading to the White Sox if he approves of the trade. No players from the White Sox have been mentioned in the trade as of yet.

I can't see why he wouldn't approve of the trade. He doesn't have a ring yet, and the White Sox might be his best bet of getting one.

Let the great Deadline Bonanza Begin!

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Hunting Street

ru155 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:17:10 -0000

Looks like there is a lot of interest in Street of late.

ChiSox, Brewers inquire about Street
Posted: Sunday July 20, 2008 08:25AM ET
The Brewers and White Sox are two of the teams to have inquired about A's closer Huston Street, SI.com has learned. Milwaukee's interest is no surprise since the contending Brewers have a willing owner, an aggressive general manager, a stash of prospects to trade and a deep desire to improve their bullpen. The interest of Chicago's South Side team is more curious since its bullpen has been among the best in baseball this year. The White Sox usually seem to favor flamethrowers, too. But they have traded for a variety of relievers in recent years, and their GM, Ken Williams, has been A's GM Billy Beane's most frequent trading partner. Should Tampa Bay become involved, they'd also have a good shot at Street, who's been a generally effective closer. The Rays are said not to have talked to Oakland about Street to date, however. The Los Angeles Dodgers could eventually show interest, as well, since they've lost their closer Takashi Saito until at least September, and maybe for the year. T

With a plethora of suitors I think Billy will sell off Street as a single with a prospect or backup in tow. This is also what Billy is always looking for in his deals: multiple buyers.

The Brewers have to be a little bothered by the fact the Cubs grabbed Harden/Gaudin, and the Cards are on a tear looking for another starter. They're gung ho right now and aren't looking beneath their feet. Apparently they've got a number of solid prospects, and who wouldn't want to grab Matt LaPorta?

I also like the Dodgers situation. They've pushed themselves back into the race and had their closer go down for the next month or so. Maybe Andy LaRoche for our new 3B? Sure he's not hitting w/ the big club, but so far he's only getting about one AB per game.

I'm not sure who the Sox have left in their system, but Billy has always had a good trade relationship with them.

CBS Sportsline - A's Farmed Talent

ru155 — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:48:23 -0000

Fantasy Article

CBS Sportline's Fantasy reporter Eric Mack gives his insights on the A's farm system and who could be looking to step up soon, namely Gio Gonzalez.

Haven't read the article yet, but saw it and thought I'd post it ASAP. I think he's really saying that losing Harden has only opened up some space for other great arms within the organization.

Hell, we've already put up 10 rookies on the MLB squad this year, why not just really let it fly.

Gaudin to Bullpen

ru155 — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:40:28 -0000

According to SFGate.com Gaudin has been the loser in the Space-For-Harden Sweepstakes.

DrumBeat

I'm a little surprised that they kept both Eveland and Smith in the rotation, but I guess both of them throwing lights out stuff this week had to of been a big factor.

Also in the paper, the Colorado Rockies were turned down when asking about Blanton. I guess Beane really has faith that this team is going to be competitive on the strength of the rotation. Also it'll be really important for a vet like Blanton to help along Smith and Eveland so they don't drop off. They'll have to learn to adjust their game and improve their game prep.

Bang For The Buck

ru155 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:58:47 -0000

Heading into Tuesday's matchups the A's faithful are feasting on a blowout victory over their division rival. Perusing the MLB pages today I noted an interesting tid bit about the odd standings the analysts failed to predict:

The bottom three (3) club payrolls all are tops in their divisions.

28. Oakland Athletics $47,167,126

29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,422,997

30. Florida Marlins $22,650,000

The Marilns have a 1.5 game lead over the Mets, the Rays are in a 3 way tie for 1st in the AL East, and our won Athletics hold a 1 game lead over the Angels. There's something that just really feels like 2001 with our club. New pitching arrives and performs well coupled together with clutch hitting to push against conventional wisdom of big money = big wins. Granted we are missing a true power hitter like Giambi but the combo of Sweeney + Cust + Thomas should hold us down. Also absent is an April swoon to be followed by a late May onslaught, but I like this better.

Yes, the end of April is upon us and A's fans haven't gone into hiding like the ESPN experts predicted. Instead we have 5 starters with 4 posting ERAs of 3.00 or better (sorry Joe - 4.07), a bullpen that hosts 2 ER virgins in Andrew Brown and Santiago Casilla, and overall has given up the fewest runs by any club.

ALL HAIL BILLY BEANE!

Sure it may be only one month in, but I'm going to enjoy the ride. GO A'S!

High on Suzuki

ru155 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:33:48 -0000

Is it just me or has Kurt been a huge upgrade over Kendall at the plate. He's made good contact and has a hit in each of the 7 games so far this season. He only struck out during the first game against Boston and only has one walk but I think he's doing a great job of seeing the ball and putting his bat on it.

I think that he's doing very well with the staff and he could likely be our starter for many seasons to come. Granted the wear and tear behind the plate may lead to fatigue later this season, but for now he looks great.

If we can start putting Suzuki, Ellis, & Barton in a row I think we could start to see some nice trends at getting guys around the bases. None of them hit for power but they do hit and it may be a recipie for more RISP. Just a thought, I know, but thinking and scheming is the fun of baseball.

A's New Jersey Designs

ru155 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:30:46 -0000

So I was perusing the MLB page on ESPN.com and came across this bit of information about the A's uniforms for the new season in the Uni Watch Page. The article can be found here at

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080325&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab6pos2

The notes on the A's slight changes to the uniforms mentions that there is now a gold trim on the away-jersey. Personally I feel like the gold trim is going to clutter the hat and takes a bit away from the jersey as well. I love my Green and Gold jersey, but the white would be a nice mix too so long as it didn't include that extra gold trim.

I loved the green and white hats because the "A" is unadulterated by extra symbols or colors. It really stands out, but this new one doesn't feel right.