I figured we needed to start the new month with a DLD, and if it stinks, at least I won't get fined

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Well, we haven't had any good musical interludes in a while, and after this one, well, we still won't have had any good ones.

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The A's radio Flag station is changing to all sports, starting with syndicated shows.  I wonder if in the future, they will have local shows, and an actual morning show, so we can hear A's centric radio, instead of the Murph and Mac giants show.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/14/SPB817K94C.DTL

The A's radio channel, KTRB 860, is going all-sports Monday. The station will have syndicated shows on the air whenever the A's are not, beginning with "Todd & Tyler's Radio Empire" from 6-10 a.m. weekdays

Want to but San Quentin, THe LA Coliseum, Cow Palace?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to sell the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, San Quentin State Prison, the Orange County Fairgrounds and other state property to raise cash amid the state's growing fiscal crisis, according to a copy of a proposal reviewed by The Times.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/governor-wants-to-sell-la-coliseum-san-quentin.html?tsp=1

Last year at this time, I reflected on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, in this diary.

http://www.athleticsnation.com/2008/1/21/12222/6703

It has been a year since I wrote that , and since then we have reached another milestone in American History.  Barack Obama is on the verge( see it does have Oakland A's references) of making the history, that Dr. King  fought for and preached about.  It instills the pride, that I feel, and try to portray to my son, and  the younger generation of African American youth.

Well, I will leave it at that, and get back to the baseball.

A player. who's name always came up with trades with the A's has been sent to Baltimore.

The Chicago Cubs finally lost patience with former prized prospect Felix Pie, trading the outfielder to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday for left-hander Garrett Olson and minor league pitcher Henry Williamson.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/18/sports/s125958S66.DTL

Cole Hamels signs extension

Cole Hamels has about everything an ace pitcher could want after only three years in the major leagues.

The Phillies left-hander was the MVP of the World Series, he's earned a reputation as a big-game pitcher, he's been an All-Star and he's married to a former Playboy playmate.

While the Phillies partied with a parade, Hamels planned a low-key celebration.

Now, Hamels has a hefty three-year, $20.5 million contract to go with the championship he's still savoring.

This is a little tongue in cheek, but I haven't written in a while, and what the hell, it's not like we have anything A's related to talk about. 

When the Yankees signed the BIG THR$$, everyone was in an uproar.  The Yankess just buy everything, never grow there own talent, blah, blah, blah.  Now turn your attention to the A's and the 25, hell even the 40 man roster, and you will see the same thing, just a a sligtly less expensive manner.  The potential signing of Cabrera, will leave the A's starting lineup,with 3Home Grown players, unless you count Giambi, that is semantical, he left and came back. The starting rotation has noone the A's have drafted, and Casilla is the last of the bullpen as well, well Braden too, if he makes it.  We all know, the A's had a bad 5 or 6 year drafting window, where the higher picks never made the impact they might have wanted, but what is the difference between what the A's are doing, and what the Yankees do?   The A's have 14 home grown players on the 40 man roster.

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=oak

Furcal visited A's officials at the Oakland Coliseum, toured communities where he might live and had a two-hour lunch with A's general manager Billy Beane.

The A's have yet to make Furcal a formal offer, sources say, but the two sides expect to speak again Wednesday and possibly discuss financial terms.

Also from Rosenthal, is this little tidbit:

Beane might not stop with Holliday and Furcal. The A's have requested and received the medical records of Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson, who underwent season-ending wrist surgery last June.

The teams have yet to discuss a trade, and Johnson, 30, might not be ready for Opening Day. But the A's long have coveted his on-base skills, and could pursue him as an alternative to Daric Barton at first base.

My only problem, is the wrist is supposedly what started Barton's downturn from last year.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8850756/Sources:-Furcal-meets-with-A's-officials-in-Oakland

The Royals gave up a  promising bullpen arm for the enigmatic, for some reason always wanted, Coco Crisp.  The Royals sent Ramon Ramirez to the Red Sox.

The Kansas City Royals picked up the leadoff hitter they had been seeking on Wednesday, acquiring center fielder Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox for reliever Ramon Ramirez.

The Royals got Ramirez in a trade with Colorado before last season, so impressed with his stuff that they projected him to be their closer.

With a fastball that reaches the mid-90s, Ramirez is a power pitcher who seems suited for the late innings. He was one of the primary setup men for closer Joakim Soria and flourished in that spot, going 3-2 with a 2.64 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3712531

According to Susan Slusser, the A's have released Mike Sweeney.  This must mean they needed the 40 man spot for someone.  I wonder if Jeff Baisley will be making his major league debut in Detroit.

Mike Sweeney came to Oakland last spring to be a right-handed DH and possibly a key part of the A's puzzle. But bad knees did him in and the A's puzzle never came together. Now Sweeney is being released.

A's assistant general manager David Forst confirmed the transaction to The Chronicle's Susan Slusser today.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn?blogid=21

Some have recently commented, that AN has been a little weird lately.  Well let's see if we are more or less weird than the rest of the world.  Let's see what the weirdest piece we can come up with today.  The weirdness of the world will bring out the best and brightest of AN, and bring the fun back, that we have been missing.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage shoot after she placed herself instead of her luggage on the belt, media reported Wednesday

Mid Life Crisis?

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Police in Wisconsin say a woman celebrated her birthday by helping her teenage son rob two gas stations. Officers in the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield say the 37-year-old woman acted as the getaway driver while her 17-year-old son robbed the stations at gunpoint.

And from the Baseball world, the weird in the sense, that only Scott Boras could do this.

The Pirates' deal with first-round draft pick Pedro Alvarez appeared to be in jeopardy today, with the Pirates issuing a statement saying that Alvarez's agent, Scott Boras, has said Alvarez will not sign the contract agreed to on Aug. 15.

Of course we can put other links, and A's related links, but they are quite boring right now.