Let's Go Oakland!

Perfection never lasts...

2010-05-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

If you are a baseball fan you have undoubtedly heard about Dallas Bradens Perfect game! That is, unless you live under a rock. I myself was working that day, and made regular trips to and from our clubhouse so I could catch some of the game.

It wasn't until about the 5th inning where i really started to get anxious. In my opinion that seems to be about the make it or break it spot in a 9 inning game. That point in the game where the pitcher buckles down and keeps knocking down batters one after another. Towards the 7th I was in full excitement mode, listening to the game on the radio only made it worse. I would have given up almost anything to trade my desk at work, to whoever was sitting in my usual section 120 row 5 seat!

My only thought was to do the usual constant game updates via Facebook, but not today! The unwritten rule about no-no's is you don't talk about it til it's done. Specially when perfect game is on the line. I was bummed not to be able to see the final pitch, and see the team rush out and congratulate the star pitcher. What a feeling that must be for a young up and coming pitcher playing the best game in the world, on Mothers Day, with his grandmother in the stadium.

Congrats to you Braden, now keep up the good work, and take it easy on the temper tantrums!

Some pics from his storm of interviews following the game:

In other news, Oakland's 3 game win streak was cut short after Texas handed them a nice can of woop ass. I swear, the inconsistency of this team will be the death of me. Granted, the perfect game handed to Tampa Bay was all Braden... How can you beat some of the best teams in the league, only to get SMASHED on by a team that if they see the pennant.. will get outed in the first round.. CMON GUYS!

Fighting to stay on top

2010-05-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing 1-5 road rip, 2 wins in a row is a blessing. Cold bats, and cold arms definitely hurt the A's on the road this past couple weeks.

I will go into more detail later, but let's keep the good mood going with the humorous new commercials the boys shot before the beginning of the season if you missed them on TV.

Politics and Baseball

2010-04-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

So all of us fans are well aware of the critical situation the A's find them selves in early in this 2010 season. Injuries are building, performance is not where it should be from those who are expected to be at a higher level. Instead of complaining about that I thought i would touch on a different part of Baseball that is driving me crazy lately... Politics.

If you read this blog you may have noticed that in one of my previous posts, I added video of Rajai Davis' awesome catch just over the wall to rob Milton Bradley of a HR during the their series against Seattle. Well politics prevail and it has been removed from youtube. "James, why don't you just another video?" First, finding specific highlight videos is sorta hard... so far from Oakland they are almost NEVER posted on youtube. The one you see weekly on MLB don't offer the ability to post or embed the html link. This brings up an issue i have with the MLB.

Its not just videos posted on youtube. I sat down today on my lunch break to try to catch the end of the Arizona vs. Cubs game and it was blacked out... same with the Dodger game... now WTF! I don't live in those cities, so the MLB cant expect me to drive across the state to watch the game live. Maybe if some of these players were not making 7 figure salaries, more could be spent on stadiums, telecast, broadcasting etc..

My cable bill is $150 a month and that allows me to see maybe a game or two a day. In order for me to see all of them i have to pay an extra $199 and that i think is flat out robbery.

I cant really be sure when money took over baseball, I am sure it was before my time, as players have been making big $$ since I was a kid.. For the older generation of fans, it must have been sad to see.. go from a game to a job.

Braden vs. A-Roid

2010-04-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

So after watching the A's fall 0-2 on the series with the Yankees, I am sure I can speak for all Oakland fans and say we were pretty fired up for the third and final game. No team likes to be swept anywhere, by anyone.. specially not AT HOME and by the Yankees. Granted, they are the World Series Champs, still don't like to see it happen.

Along with the fans ready for a win, so were the Oakland players. Specifically Dallas Braden. Its buzzing all over the net about his altercation with A-Roid. I obviously have a few opinions about the situation. They are as follows:

1. I do believe Braden had every right to let Roid man know to stay away from his mound. Its not an official rule, but it comes with the territory. Alex, your not a pitcher. Stay off the mound, respect the game, your team, and your opponents.

2. I DO NOT condone Bradens temper after leaving the field. The glove toss and cup knock was not necessary, and shows the kids watching its ok to stand up for yourself, but its also ok to loose control.

3. A-Roids arrogance towards the game, and his general "Hollywood" attitude have pretty much convinced me that tho hes a great player who can field and bat with the best of them, is totally oblivious to the gentleman side of the game of baseball. If your only remark about the situation is to state that he doesn't have the right to comment because he "only has a handful of wins" only certifies that you are disrespectful cheating asshole who only cares about a fat pay check, and nothing about the game. i know that A-Roid will NEVER read this, but I just want to make it clear that you were one of my favorite players in the game today. However, due to your use of steroids being put out there, and your blatant disrespect for the game I grew up dreaming of playing as you do, that has been tossed right out the window. Alex, you play for the most respected team in baseball. One of high class and oen that demands perfection, not only in stats but in attitude.

I have read some of the buzz going around the net, and it is pretty 50/50. Some say Dallas doesn't have the right to scold A-Roid, some say he had every right. I tell you what, Highest paid player or not, Yankee superstar or not... You don't let anyone walk over you. if a little league player knows that you don't touch the mound if you aint pitching.. then so should the pros..

What a great start!

2010-04-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

"It's not just aggressive," Geren said. "It's smart and aggressive. I don't want guys running wild just to run. So far, though, it's been great baserunning."

And he couldn't be more correct. It's not only smart base running that is keeping the A's bringin in teh W's. There game 1 loss to Seattle saw few hits, and way too many errors. In their last four consecutive wins however, we have seen SUPERB defensive plays from Center feilder Rajai Davis, Catcher Kurt Suzuki and 3rd Baseman kevin Kouszmenoff.

I went to game 1 and 4 of the 4 game series against Seattle and it was great. We have some of the BEST seats in the stadium, thanks to Stacey's generous uncle. Its a great spot for Jenna (and Ethan soon to) because she at the age where she wants to meet the players, get autographs, and hopefully become a life long fan of the game!

Those were jsut a few pics of the series. Oakland had great momentum from 3 wins in a row headed to La to face the angels. More hot bats, and stellar base running led them to their 4th consecutive win! let's keep it up boy's show them baseball NEEDS TO STAY IN OAKLAND!!

Dont forget to knock on wood..

2010-04-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's official, Crisp has been put on the DL with a fractured finger. He insists after reviewing X-rays that it is not broken, and said he should only be out a few days.. At least until the 17th since he is on the DL.

Oakland smashes on SF 9 - 0

2010-04-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

I know its not a regular season game, and the A's lost their fare share in spring training..

A win like this against SF is always something to cheer about tho!

Duchscherer had only 3 hits in 6 scoreless innings. his fastball is anything but fast, but his off speed pitches are what threw the Giants off a step or two, including his curve ball.

Suzuki, Kouzmanoff, Crisp all had multiple hits and RBI's including a 2 run blast from the zuk!

The healthy play is good news for us A's fans, and is a great confidence booster for Duchscherer after his previous outing against KC.

The full season starts this week, I have tickets to the Seattle game on Thursday so be ready for some great photos!

2010 Depth Chart

2010-03-28T15:31:00.001-07:00

From the looks of this photo, if Oakland can stay away from he cross hair's of the DL we should have a great season ahead of us.

Some things to look for in the opening weeks ahead..

1. no longer having to stress of Chavez's recurring injuries
2. If Pennington isn't up to the task, i think Rosales may turn out to be a great replacement at short.
3. As always, Oakland has a nice looking bullpen, Bailey (ROTY 09) and adding sheets. As long as we stay injury free it will be another great year for them.
4. Rajai Davis has lit the flames on the A's of old by adding speed to the list of qualities the A's posses.

Some things I am NOT looking forward to..

1. more injuries from Chavez
2. more strikeouts from Cust ( his 26 homers is not enough to win me over)
3. A lot of "ifs" left out there about the health of the squad

2010-03-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

By Jane Lee / MLB.com

03/08/10 11:24 AM

PHOENIX -- The A's agreed to terms Monday with all 29 pre-arbitration players on their 40-man roster on one-year contracts for the 2010 season.

The list includes 2009 American League Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey, along with fellow pitchers Brett Anderson, Jerry Blevins, Dallas Braden, Craig Breslow, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Vin Mazzaro, Brad Ziegler, Josh Outman, Brad Kilby, Bobby Cassevah, Fautino De Los Santos, Pedro Figueroa, John Meloan, Clayton Mortensen, Henry Rodriguez and Justin Souza.

Position players who came to terms with one-year deals include Daric Barton, Travis Buck, Chris Carter, Jake Fox, Eric Patterson, Cliff Pennington, Landon Powell, Adam Rosales, Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney and Steve Tolleson.

Of the 29 players, Braden, Suzuki and Breslow will be arbitration-eligible at the end of the season.

Hellooooo Mr. Taylor

2010-02-26T17:15:00.000-08:00

here is a bit of footage from one of the newly aquired players fromt he 4 team trade. Michael taylor seems to have all the right stuff, Batting, Rocket for an arm, defense.. Even if Coco is jsut a year player, this leaves options in the OF for sure.

2010-02-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

Spring Training has officially begun! Pitchers and Catchers reported to camp on Sunday. Time for the new players (Sheets, Taylor) to meet the rest of the current roster and make friends! Some interesting news from the camp is that Oakland A's alum and Future Hall of Fame lead off man Ricky Henderson will join Oakland to assist for the 2010 ST. Teach those boy's Rick, we need some bats in the line-up this year! The Argus and Mercury News papers both reported that he is to help out Starting Friday (when all position players will be accounted for) and will be there four days. After which he will head back to the A's minor league camp, which opens full-squad workouts March 12.Duchscherer. The A's right-hander, who missed all of last year because of an elbow injury as well as a battle with clinical depression, revealed he is dealing with an irritated sacroiliac joint, which connects the base of the spine to the hip bones. The cortisone shots are no longer having an effect so he will have to undergo surgery which involves the burning of the nerve ends of his SI joint using radio waves to produce heat that will destroy the nerve and relieve pain.

He [Duchsherer] said it is only a minor set-back. The rehab should be one day, 1 week at most, and had this to add "It's frustrating," he said. "I thought all I was going to have to worry about this season was my mental problems, and now something like this happens."

A few pics from Camp so far where over 25 pitchers and 5 catchers have already started the run for a roster spot.

"The Big Hurt" Say's "I'm Done"

2010-02-12T14:39:00.001-08:00

Today in Baseball...

For 19 seasons Frank Thomas has played in the major leagues. He technically announced his retirement Thursday, at a award ceremony where he received a lifetime achievement award. The 5 time all-star also has 4 silver slugger awards, a .301 lifetime average, an amazing .419 on-base percentage, .555 slugging percentage, 521 home runs and 1,704 RBIs.

Thomas is scheduled to make the official announcement today during a press conference at U.S. Cellular Field. At 41, and the father of a 15 month old, he says he has other ventures he wants to pursue.

Frank definitely has a Hall of Fame career, and it will be sad to not seem him in the lineup this year. Congrats on a great career Frank Thomas!

In Oakland news..

The A's are making moves, mostly in the outfield the last few days. Kevin Kouzmanoff was acquired from the Padres, and mlB.com says this could be his "break out" year, and also makes a brave statement by saying he will be Oakland's starting 3rd baseman. With OF's still vying for position ( Travis Buck) and the 1st base spot technically still up for grabs, it should be a great spring training!

Update: Dana Eveland will not go to minors he was officially traded to Toronto. The trade is for a player to be named later, or cash considerations. Evelands numbers were less than stellar. not sure what kind of player they would be looking to get, cash may be a good idea.

Baseball is back!

2010-02-07T12:02:00.001-08:00

Disregard all the coverage and hype the Super Bowl is getting, my focus is on the upcoming 2010 MLB season. Being an East Bay native almost all my life, Baseball is one of the best parts of the year. I can still remember seeing my first game at Oakland Coliseum in 1985! The Athletics lost to the Texas Rangers 5-3 and I didn't even care. I remember the enormity of the whole place, it was nothing like how it feels today. The field seemed to be never ending, I couldn't believe these guys could make a play at home plate from the outfield. To me they seemed to have super human strength and I dreamed one day I could be a part of all that.

Thanks to a generous pseudo family member (my girlfriends Uncle) I am treated to the most amazing seats in the house. First row, third base line, right behind Oakland's dugout. (Stay tuned for pictures once the season starts!) So it's only right to do these seats right. I plan on attending as many games as possible this year, be it by tickets given to me, or purchased. I plan on updating this blog at first weekly, then as I get more used to it.. daily. if you notice the title up to the top it says "Today in baseball." I am going to try to [with every regular post] add a nice historical fact be it about a player, a team, or just the game in general with every update. A way to keep the history of Baseball fresh in my memory, and for others to get to know how awesome this game really is. Its definitely not a new concept at all. I just want to stay up to date. Obviously, since the A's are my team this will be a large part of the updates.. but hey, news will still come from all around the league.

So stay tuned, and enjoy. oh.. and I almost forgot.. LET"S GO OAKLAND!