Let's face it, it hasn't been since the 2007 NBA playoffs that Oakland sports gave us something to really get excited about. That is all about to change. I believe that combining the 3 franchises philosophies and personell we can make Oakland title town once again by bringing all 3 championships to the Town. 

Here is my plan to get all 3 teams a Championship:

Continue reading this post »

No, not another Joe Blanton thread, rather, one dedicated to our good friend Stomper.

Our old friend has been with the organization since 1997, more after the Jump.

Continue reading this post »

I have recently noticed a trend of hostility occurring throughout the blog, and it truly saddens me. I am not a common poster, however I read through every comment of every thread, and thus I have seen all of what has been occurring recently throughout the site.

Continue reading this post »

An offseason that began with so much optimism is starting to look a little bleak. 

Berkman is off the table.

Don Nomura doesnt know how to translate Yen to Dollars

Beltre wants nothing to do with the Green and Gold.

Werth and Crawford are pipe dreams.

Dunn is gone.

Oh, yeah, and the Giants are still celebrating their WS title.

During the holidays it is nice to have something to be happy about, but right now I can see Beltre and Crawford both going to the slegnA, so my frustrations have left me with nothing to do but make a fanpost where hopefully others can vent too.

So i ask you AN, what are you frustrated about?

So we just drafted Epke Udoh, who brings to the table many of the same things that Anthony Randolph and Brandon Wright bring. This means that one of the three could easily be expendable.

Another thing we are trying to get rid of, is Monta Ellis' contract, and also his departure could open up space for Curry to run the team full time. 

The Indiana Pacers selected Paul George, a 3 with huge upside, however the Pacers already have an all-star small forward in Danny Granger, and have a huge hole at the point guard position. 

The idea I had, would be to trade Ellis and Udoh to the Pacers for Paul George. 

What we get out of this: We get a player who better fits a position of need with the departure of Maggette, and we clear some cap space by dumping Monta's contract. 

What the Pacers get out of this: They get a point guard they need who can create more space for Granger, and they get a 4 who has great shot blocking and rebounding skills, and his lack of offense can be overlooked because of the combo that Ellis and Granger bring on the offensive end of the floor. 

What do you guys think?

We've known it all along, but this team more than anything needs a legitimate power threat in the lineup. Carter and Taylor have been anything but stellar in the minors, so if we really feel like we can compete this season, I feel like trading for a power bat is the only option.

Continue reading this post »

Hello all, I've lived in the bay area all my life and while I've always rooted for the warriors I wouldn't consider myself a real diehard fan. I have however, always been an A's fan and would consider myself a diehard. What I'm trying to do for the upcoming season is become a more diehard warriors fan, but I need your help.

I've been a reader here on GSOM for awhile but this is my first post. I'm just wondering what I need to know about the warriors to get myself started. I'm going to be a junior in college this upcoming year, and am planning on getting a partial season ticket package with some friends of mine, but also could use some advice on how we could go about that on a college budget (we go to santa clara so travel is not an issue).

I'm also interested in getting some merchandise, and I'm a big fan of the new logo and color scheme, so I'm excited for checking out the new stuff on Thursday. 

Some background on my Warrior fandom:

- I went to 3 games this last season

- I feel like Monta should be traded

- I'm rooting for either Johnson or Cousins to be our pick

- I hate the Lakers more than any professional sports team not called the Red Sox

Thanks for your help! I look forward to interacting with all of you more. 

We all have heard the story about Braden and A-Rod and all that has happened since the initial incident. Since then, A-Rod has criticized Braden's lack of experience, but Braden responded with a perfect game, forever enshrining himself in baseball history. 

The question I'm asking, is what do you think Braden will/should do the next time he faces the Yankees which should be in July? Its no secret that A's fans hate the Yankees, and their overspending and largely ignorant fanbase which is rivaled only by the Red Sox. 

Too many times feuds like this have been all talk and no show, however I feel like Dallas is the kind of guy who's not afraid to take a shot at someone who has crossed him. I don't think he'll hesitate, and I think his first pitch against A-Rod is going straight to the dome. Dugouts clear, and Dallas lands another shot at A-Rod before everyone piles up in the middle of the diamond.

Those excluded from the game include Braden, Barton, Rodriguez, and Teixeira. 

What do you guys think will happen?

Hey everyone!

I’m supermarc from over at Athletics Nation and I was hoping you all could help with the upcoming fantasy season. Having been an SB nation member for awhile, I know that this is the place to find the most knowledgeable Twins fans on the net. With that in mind, I thought what better way to prepare for the upcoming fantasy season, than to get insider info from the fans who know the most. If you could simply respond to the following, it would be greatly appreciated.

Team’s top 5 fantasy players overall:

Top 4 hitters:

Top 3 SP:

Top 2 RP:

2 Sleeper/Breakout Picks:

2 Players to Avoid:

Thank you so much for your help, and remember, if you ever need to know anything about the A’s, we’re always welcoming of outsiders at AN.

Hey everyone!

I’m supermarc from over at Athletics Nation and I was hoping you all could help with the upcoming fantasy season. Having been an SB nation member for awhile, I know that this is the place to find the most knowledgeable Royals fans on the net. With that in mind, I thought what better way to prepare for the upcoming fantasy season, than to get insider info from the fans who know the most. If you could simply respond to the following, it would be greatly appreciated.

Team’s top 5 fantasy players overall:

Top 4 hitters:

Top 3 SP:

Top 2 RP:

2 Sleeper/Breakout Picks:

2 Players to Avoid:

Thank you so much for your help, and remember, if you ever need to know anything about the A’s, we’re always welcoming of outsiders at AN.

Hey everyone!

I’m supermarc from over at Athletics Nation and I was hoping you all could help with the upcoming fantasy season. Having been an SB nation member for awhile, I know that this is the place to find the most knowledgeable Tigers fans on the net. With that in mind, I thought what better way to prepare for the upcoming fantasy season, than to get insider info from the fans who know the most. If you could simply respond to the following, it would be greatly appreciated.

Team’s top 5 fantasy players overall:

Top 4 hitters:

Top 3 SP:

Top 2 RP:

2 Sleeper/Breakout Picks:

2 Players to Avoid:

Thank you so much for your help, and remember, if you ever need to know anything about the A’s, we’re always welcoming of outsiders at AN.

Hey everyone!

I’m supermarc from over at Athletics Nation and I was hoping you all could help with the upcoming fantasy season. Having been an SB nation member for awhile, I know that this is the place to find the most knowledgeable White Sox fans on the net. With that in mind, I thought what better way to prepare for the upcoming fantasy season, than to get insider info from the fans who know the most. If you could simply respond to the following, it would be greatly appreciated.

Team’s top 5 fantasy players overall:

Top 4 hitters:

Top 3 SP:

Top 2 RP:

2 Sleeper/Breakout Picks:

2 Players to Avoid:

Thank you so much for your help, and remember, if you ever need to know anything about the A’s, we’re always welcoming of outsiders at AN.

My worst nightmare has become a reality.

This sucks. This makes me sad. This is horrible. I would rather watch every raider game on repeat for a week staight than have this happen. Of all the teams he could have gone to. I would rather see him on the yankees. I hate the red sox. This makes me have to boo him. Wtf. What is the world coming to. I hate baseball. I hate the Red Sox. I hate Francona. I hate Pedroia. I hate every one of those dousches. I am going to have to burn my scutaro shirt. Balls.

Discuss

After reading Belz's interview with BB, it is pretty clear that the organization is looking at keeping Brett Wallace over at 3B. If this is the case, the 3B for the start of the season should be up for grabs, with Wallace seeming to be the guy to take over at somepoint next season, whether it be out of spring training or at some later point. His bat has carried through the minors quickly, and it is his defense that is making some skeptical. The good news is that the A's have a 6 time Gold Glover at 3rd who can help.

Here is a video of Brett taking some grounders over at 3rd. While the grounders are pretty light, he seems like his footwork is passable.

This and this are examples of Chavvy over at 3rd, and his range and arm strength are on display.

In his Major League Career, Chavez achieved a UZR above 10 twice, and a 9.9 once.

Wallace has been criticized on his defense and I guess my question is what do you think the value of having Chavez around is and what can he teach Wallace to make him a legit MLB 3B man?

As a marketing major and a current worker in both my school's media relations and athletic marketing department, I can honestly say that I feel that while the A's aren't in the best situation financialy and have their stadium issues, there is so much more that the marketing department can do to help this team and attendance. 

When comparing the giants to the A's, the biggest difference I see is that no matter what part of san francisco I'm in I see advertisements for the giants. I see faces of the players on billboards and signs all over the city. I get the feeling that the city of san francisco is behind their team and wants them to succeed. 

Looking at the A's I see stupid signs with all the A's missing, no faces, no personality. The best commercial the A's had featured TNT, Beef, Brawn, and dynamite, one of which is released, one traded, one's career is over, and one is slumping. While the marketing cannot control this, it just feels as though they are doing a poor job of marketing the team and giving the city a chance to connect and give the A's the feel of being "oakland's team". 

If I were in charge for a day this is what I'd do:

Market the players:
Ricky henderson on his big year, the new big 3, suzuki, etc. The consistant players and future players who give fans something to smile and cheer about. 

Cheap tickets:
While the A's are much cheaper than the giants, I remember when I was young going to a game in the 3rd deck with my dad enjoying the game at a real steal of a price. Why not have more promotions for cheap seats? Seats sold for $2-$5 will make the organization more money than empty seats. Those fans also bring opportunity for profit from food and merchendise sales. 

While working out the stadium issues, add something to the games that make them unique:
Honestly, if I didn't love the A's I would never go to the games because there is nothing that makes the games special. The giants have the slides, build a bear, and a bunch of other things that make the experience more fun. This addition doesn't need to be super expensive, just something that makes the A's experience unique. 

Just some thoughts. I would love nothing more than to be able to go to a red sox game and not be outnumbered by a bunch of bandwagoners who know nothing about baseball. 

Go A's. Here's to the future

EDIT

This might be kind of fun. A handful of people have brought up different ideas so why no make this into a sort of post your ideal promotion day? Post promotions you think would be realistic/would draw a crowd and leave feedback on other people's ideas. If people in the A's organization actually frequent this site, maybe some ideas will get noted.

Just spent a few minutes looking through Sweeney's highlights and man..

He has a lot of high quality highlights, but also has only 1 error and 3 Assists already.

compared to Sizemore, a perrenial GGer, who has less put outs, 0 errors and 0 assits.

I think he makes a very strong case but does not have the bat or the media attention to win the award.

Also, not that WebGems are a valuable measurement of a players defensive abilities, Ryan is currently in second place among all players (1st among all OF) in WebGem points behind only Brandon Inge.

Thoughts?

OK,

I have mentioned this a few times but I have comprised an idea that I believe is fanpost worthy. If the A's Brass really do read this website, I think it couldn't hurt to comprise a little shopping wish list by the fans.

I'm assuming were sellers at this point because were already 10 games under .500 and the fire Geren option doesnt seem to be registering so I'm convinced that the sucking will continue.

The top of my wish list is KC's Mike Moustakas. He is listed as a SS according to mlb.com's preseason top propect review. I am wondering what kind of a package KC would be looking for, considering they are looking to make the playoffs forthe first time since 1985, and when teams have the opportunity to make that push, more often than not theyll overpay for a rental. (Tiexeria to Atlanta, and Atlanta wasnt as "desparate" as KC is [time out of playoffs])

I'm thinking something that starts with

Holiday, Buck, and Barton

Moustakas + throw in

I have a feeling that Barton and Buck have come really close to being 'busts' but still have some value as "prospects" around a rental player

Your thoughts on Moustakas and your own wishlist?

Everybody knows that there were 3 options when the A's traded for Matt Holiday

1. Trade him right when we got him and try and get more than we gave up

2. Trade him before the July 31 deadline if the team falls out of contention

3. Keep him the whole year and make a push for the playoffs and take the compensation picks.

Well I for one and now convinced that #2 is the path that we must take.

In my opinion, the A's need to make over the team from top to bottom.

I have made a litte list:

Problem Spots:

Manager

SP (Immediate, but there is depth in the system as you know)

3B (immediate and long term)

SS (not as of right now a big problem, but a big future problem)

OF (long term, if only 1 of Buck/Sweeney pan out to be a Plus OFer)

Bright Spots:

SP (future)

Bulpen (Present and future)

C

DH (Cust now, Carter soon if he doesnt play 1B)

Seeing as how if we lost tonight, we will be 10 games under .500, I think it is time for some changes to happen. Here is something I would suggest.

Steps to Make the A's competitive again:

1. Fire Geren, replace him with Tye Waller as the Interim Manager

2. Trade Matt Holiday, Daric Barton, and Dana Eveland to Kansas City for Mike Moustakas and

Jose Duarte.

This works for the A's because: They receive the top tier 3B that they need, along with a 24 year-old OFer with plus defense.

This works for the Royals because: they get a better bat to plug into their lineup in LF in Holiday, who  could be inserted into their lineup. The Royals are currently 11th in the AL in runs scored, and Holiday is currently 23rd in the AL in RBI, which would be tops in the KC lineup, which also gets on base at a clip .020 higher than the A's.They also already have a yound stud at 3B in Alex Gordon. The Royals are in the thick of things in the AL Central, and any chance they get to improve without demolishing their future im sure they would take.

They also receive a LHP starter, which could come in handy considering they only have one game started this season by a lefty.

3. Call up Mazzaro to replace Eveland in the Rotation.

SP will look like this once Duke is back:

Duke, Braden, Anderson, Cahill, Mazzaro

4. Use some of the Holiday money to sign Miguel Angel Sano for $4.5 - $5.0 Mil

Dont try and rush him to the Bigs too fast, but I would try and have him at AA by the end of the 2010 season, and start him in AAA in 2011, when he will be 18 or 19, hope to have him in the bigs by mid 2011. (All depends on his progression and production of course)

5. Trade Orlando Cabrera and Dallas Braden to Minnesota for Ben Revere

This works out for the A's because they get a high potential corner OFer who is projected as a high average hitter (currently hitting .350 at A+)

This works out for the Twins because they get a top of the lineup short stop to replace the ineffectient Nick Punto, and someone to get on base ahead of Mauer and Morneau. They also get a boost to thier rotation which is essential for a team in the thick of a division race.

6. Trade Justin Duchscherer, Josh Outman, and Brad Zeigler to the Pirates for Andrew McCucthen.

This works out for the A's because they get their true CF of the future.

This works out for the pirates because they get an All-Star calibur SP as well as a record setting RP who are young enough to help them right away and into their future. They give up only one of their many highly touted OF prospects.

Offseason:

7. Bring back Ron Washington as manager after his contract with the Rangers expires (assuming they dont resign him)

This works because he is familiar with the organization, he plays with passion (what Geren lacks), and he preaches defense which has been a strong indicator of success this season (The Rangers, Tigers, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Dodgers (5/6 division leaders) are in the top 10 in fielding in the MLB)

8. Figure out the damn Stadium situation so the future of the organization is secure.

Recap:

Lose: Geren, Holiday, Barton, Eveland, Cabrera, Outman, Springer, Zeigler, Braden, AL West.

Gain: Moustakas, Duarte, Sano, Revere, McCutchen, Washington, peace of mind.

Assuming we have done all of this, this is what the original list would look like:

Problem Spots:

Manager  FIXED (Washington)

SP (Lose 2 current starters, maintain future security)

3B FIXED (Moustakas from Royals)

SS FIXED (Signed Sano)

OF FIXED (McCutchen, Revere)

Best Case Scenario 2011 (Whereever) A's:

Led by Ron Washington:

C: Kurt Suzuki (28)

1B: Chris Carter (25) or Daric Barton (26)

2B: Adrian Cardenas (24)

3B: Mike Moustakas(23)

SS: Sano (18) - May be too early

LF: Ryan Sweeney (26) or Travis Buck (28)

RF: Ben Revere (23)

CF: Andrew McCutchen (24)

SP: Cahill (23), Anderson (23), Mazzaro (25), Gonzalez (26), Ynoa (19)

Setup: Bailey (26)

Closer: Devine (27)

Thoughts?

I know this wont all happen, but what do you think is most likely to happen? Least likely? Best Idea? More reasonable idea?

Lets hear it

As we all know, the A's are willing to pay the big bucks to young, Latin prospects (See Michael Ynoa).

According to ESPN, there is interest from all 30 MLB teams about 16 year-old Dominican short stop Miguel Angel Sano.

The biggest appeal here to the A's is of course the position he plays. I did a little more research and a report on mlbtraderumors.com (i know) had a link to an article in which the typical question had arisen about his age. Miguel Angel Sano's simple response: Let them investigate.

I think it might be interesting to note that the article stated that while doing the article, Sano's was sporting an A's jersey.

Thoughts?

At the time of teh Scutaro trade, thinking now in hindsight, would it have made more sense to trade away crozby, and have kept scutaro? I mean, Scutaro has the talent to be a MLB starter, as he has proven in his time with the Jays. This year along I believe he has more HRs (4) than the A's entire roster. (again I think, and have had too many brews to double check, but I think Jack Cust 2 and Nomar 1)

It just seems to me that Crosby would have gotten a bigger return, and that scutaro would prove to be a more reliable 3B man with the glove.

Not to mention, everyone LOVED scutaro and pretty much no one likes Crosby.

Big hit today or not, i dont jump on bandwagons so easially after 4 years of pain, just to me it seems like trading Crosby and keeping scutaro would have made more sense. I know im speaking in hindsight, but even at the time of the trade Crosby was hurt and Scutaro was hitting walk-off home runs against mariano rivera.

What do you guys think about this?

Ok heres my story, im sure some of you have heard it already but ill rehash anyways.

im an a's fan

im in college

my college is in the bay area

i go to as many games as possible

we dont get csnca in the dorms

i enjoy watching games on tv when i cannot go see live

i paid for mlb.tv hoping i could bypass blackouts some how

i am wondering if anyone knows how to properly bypass the blackout restriction, either by using proxy servers or another method, and if they could provide me with a detailed description of how to go about setting it up so I can catch the games.

I spent 2 hours of the game tonight trying to figure the damn thing out with no luck and ended up limited to gameday because the 860 stream was playing some weird baseball thing but not the game.

i feel like the blackouts are there to prevent the tv stations from losing viewers however I have no way to watch the game on network tv so i feel screwed.

I just want to watch the games :( please help me

Hey everyone,

Im currently a student at a Bay Area university that does not carry CSNCA, so I cannot watch the A's on TV :(. Since my school is local, I am als oblacked out (as far as i know) for mlb.tv use. This sucks, since the blackout is supposed to blackout those who have the channel in order to prevent TV from losing viewers.

I am wondering if there is any way I can watch the games on TV. I have radio, and gameday audio I can do, but I cant get my own cable in my dorm and Im pretty sure Im blacked out.
Hopefully someone has a solution.

Thanks for the input

Link

Wolff made it official that he wants out of Oakland, citing low attendance and season ticket holder numbers as his reasoning. He wants to keep the team in NorCal, but 100% out of Oakland.

I'm hoping now for San Jose, because I don't want to have to drive 2+ hours to get to a game in Sacramento. I hope they stay in the Bay Area.

I've done my part in keeping attendance and season ticket holder numbers up, and I'm pretty sure that if the A's built a nice stadium in Oakland, those numbers would go up to be around the same level hes goig to find anywhere else.

He can't buil a new, state-of-the-art stadium in San Jose and say, "See, I knew more people would come if we moved to San Jose." If the colleseium was in San Jose as is right now, I'm pretty sure the numbers would be the same.

New Stadium = Bigger numbers

New City =/= Bigger numbers

Thoughts?

Ok so i know hes not "Officially" "THE" closer, but I think he'll end up with the gig cuz zeiglers more of a 7-8 guy in my opinion but we can all debate that later.

My question is a little more important. I feel like Nas' "Hate me now" was good for Street, but it just wasn't intimidating enough. I'm thinking something badass would be sweet that just screams, "I'm gonna shut you down" but iono what that is.

Thoughts?

Tell me if you guys like "Beast and the Harlot" by Avenged Sevenfold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJwllkUwB90

Personally I think its a perfect closer song

I'm looking to start a fantasy baseball league on ESPN with some people who are competitive and will actually follow their teams. Every year I have leagues with at least 3 MIA teams that you want to trade with and have 4 starters on the DL and nothing. It just isnt as fun. I know you guys here know a lot about baseball and I think it would be really fun. I was thinking in the 10-12 team range depending on how many responses I get.

League Settings can be found here:

Here

Let me know.

Thanks

Story

According to this, the Jays are interested in Jack Cust, because they have already mentioned that they will not be adding any free agrents, and they feel that Cust will be a good fit for the club. They mention the presence of Giambi and that makes Cust somewhat expendable.

What do you guys think? Who do that Jays have that would be valuable to us this year, as it seems like Beane has put a lot of chips into this year i dont know why hed trade away a big part of the team for more prospects at this point.

Thoughts?

Ok, so I'm going to assume that the Giambi Rumors are all true and his signing with the A's is imminent.

This makes the lineup look like this:

Sweeney CF

Suzuki C

Cust DH

Holiday LF

Giambi 1B

Chavez 3B

Buck RF

Ellis 2B

Crosby SS

and a rotation of:

Duke

Ghallagher

Eveland

Gonzalez

Outman

(or something like that w/ different young guys)

With all that said, what move do you think is the most likely/best for the A's. Combine those factors and vote on what you think the next move should be.

Ok, so basically I'm just going to give a few ideas that I've been having on things we can do to improve the team and the reasons for them.

TRADE FOR JJ HARDY AND PRINCE FIELDER

Ok, the reason this makes sense to me is this: The strong point of the A's organization is starting pitching and the weakness of the Brewers' is starting pitching. Solution? Trade starting pitching for The Brewers' SS and 1B, two holes currently looking to be filled.

This would provide a major upgrade at SS, looking at the following:

                     AVG     RBI      HR       OBP         SB

Hardy(26)     .283      74        24       .343           2

Crosby(29)    .237       61       7          .296          7

Looking at the upgrade at 1B, there are the stats combined form the past 2 seasons.

                      AVG       HR       RBI      SLG       OBP        OPS

Fielder(24)   .282         84        221     .526       .375        .901

Giambi(38)   .242          46        135     .410       .349        .759

Barton(23)    .243          13       55        .388       .341        .729

The number in parentheses is age at start of 2009 season.

Looking at these numbers, Fielder provides a huge upgrade over Barton, and a pretty large one over Giambi, who is the most rumored sucessor to Barton.

Now comes the big question: Who do we trade away? The current Brewer's rotation includes no starter who amassed more than 10 wins in 2008. I feel like with the Cards and Cubs looking strong for next year, the Brewers would be smart to consider 2009 a rebuilding year. Therefore, the package I would include is:

Justin Duscherer

Josh Outman

James Simmons

Vince Mazzaro

Daric Barton

Fautino De Los Santos

*NOTE: Hardy makes 3 Mil less than Crosby in 2009 so if we managed to get rid of Crosby we'd have 3 Million more to spend in 2009 on my next step.

Which leads me to my next step...

SIGN DEREK LOWE

I think it would be wise to sign him to a 3/38 deal or something in that range. This would fit within the A's budget and would still be cheaper than what the A's would've given Furcal, a player coming off back surgery. Lowe pitched 211 innings last year, which would have been tops on the A's staff.

SIGN BEN SHEETS

He is going to be a steal for some team out there and many see him as the second best pitcher on the market (Behind Sabathia) and even ahead of AJ Burnett. People are concerned with injury prone-ness, but he managed to pitch 198 innings last year, which would've been the most on the A's. His 3.09 ERA was excellent, and he has true #1 stuff. Maybe a deal of 2/24 with incentives.

After these moves the A's will have a payroll of $61 Mil, which is 14 Mil higher than the Payroll the A's began the 2008 season with.

With these changes the Lineup and rotation would look like this:

Suzuki C

Sweeney CF

Holliday LF

Fielder 1B

Cust DH

Chavez 3B

Hardy SS

Ellis 2B

Buck RF

Lowe RHP

Sheets RHP

Eveland LHP

Ghallager RHP

Gonzalez LHP

Casilla SU

Zeigler SU

Devine CL

Not only do I think this team can compete in 2009, I think it would be the favorites on the AL West by a long shot and could be a serious WS contender.

Thoughts?

Anderson and Cahil both appear in the top 4 for the A's, behind David Price (P, Rays) and Matt Weiters (C, Orioles).

I think this is great and shows that people are realizing that the A's have numerous top prospects. Anderson and Cahil have been putting up great numbers and the A's are finally getting some publicity for it.

Complete article can be found at the following link:

here

thoughts?

Go A's