Oakland A's thread (3 Viewers)

[Good Posting Judge]

Man, Yoenis with a year under his belt could be awesome

It would help if he could stay healthy

DH city. There's no other reason to play him in the OF, outside of injury or ego.And even if Crisp/Young/Reddick is out for a spell, Smith plays a pretty nice LF.There is a lot to be excited about re: this team.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

First crack at lineups:vs LHP1. Crisp - CF2. Young - LF3. Reddick - RF4. Cespedes - DH5. Carter - 1B6. Sizemore - 3B / Donaldson - 3B7. Nakajima - SS8. Weeks - 2B9. Norris - Cvs RHP1. Crisp - CF2. Moss - 1B3. Reddick - RF4. Cespedes - DH/LF5. Jaso - C6. Young - LF of Carter - DH7. Donaldson - 3B8. Nakajima - SS9. Sizemore - 2BSome notes:-With Young/Reddick/Crisp all + defenders, I think Cespedes is the worst defender out of the bunch. And given his hammy issues, best to save his legs as much as possible and limit him to hitting, with some spot duty in the OF here and there. Against righties, this team is loaded. I think Smith might see some time at DH, but he's going to get pinched a bit this year.-Getting Sizemore back and presumably healthy is going to be a nice boon to infield depth. He can push Weeks at one position, and Donaldson at the other. Can he defend well enough to stick at either? Or is he just a utility guy? Parrino's minor league stats are idiotic, but maybe best to get him regular AB's in the minors until he's ready for a starting spot. Or convert him to 2B?Concerns (excluding pitchers):-Jaso/Norris defense-Offensive production from 2B/3B/SS-Hitting lefties overall w/o Gomes.

Fantastic posting, GPJ. Agree with you this was a strong offseason. I think Weeks will beat out Sizemore, but as long as one of them can actually hit this season we'll all be ecstatic. Definitely one of the biggest question marks this year. If Jemile will stop trying to hit home runs I could see him easily becoming a 270+ hitter. Thankfully there are a lot more right handed pitchers than southpaws. If Cespedes were okay with it I'd DH him most of the time. But I doubt he'd be cool with that. Smith will be pinched for playing time but injuries will surely happen and it's amazing to have that kind of bat just waiting to get plugged into the lineup.This team should definitely be a playoff contender.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Some reasons for optimism re: Weeks:1) Very good BB/K ratio. 9.8% BB vs. 13.7% K. His walks jumped way up from 2011.2) His BABIP was awful, despite a slightly better-than-average IFFB% rate (7.6%) and an insanely low infield hit rate of 4.3%. That's 117th out of 143 qualified batters on Fangraphs. Seems fluky.He does need to work on turning some of those grounders into line drives, but he doesn't seem to be as lost as one would think at first glance.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Some reasons for optimism re: Weeks:1) Very good BB/K ratio. 9.8% BB vs. 13.7% K. His walks jumped way up from 2011.2) His BABIP was awful, despite a slightly better-than-average IFFB% rate (7.6%) and an insanely low infield hit rate of 4.3%. That's 117th out of 143 qualified batters on Fangraphs. Seems fluky.He does need to work on turning some of those grounders into line drives, but he doesn't seem to be as lost as one would think at first glance.

I held onto this guy way too long last year waiting for his babip to start going up. Per Buster Olney, had the Justin Upton deal gone through to Seattle, John Jaso would have been moved to Oakland. Looks like Beane really wanted this guy.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Minor notes coming from FanFest today:Green is going to get a shot to compete at 2B.Michael Choice is expected to open at AAA, to nobody's surprise.Addison Russell (SS, 1st round pick 2012) is expected to get a camp invite. The front office loves him.There isn't going to be any set lineup, lots of platooning/moving guys around based on situation.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Minor notes coming from FanFest today:Green is going to get a shot to compete at 2B.Michael Choice is expected to open at AAA, to nobody's surprise.Addison Russell (SS, 1st round pick 2012) is expected to get a camp invite. The front office loves him.There isn't going to be any set lineup, lots of platooning/moving guys around based on situation.

Can't imagine Russell will open with the club even if he blows up this spring, but it may indicate they're willing to call him up this year. More competition for 2nd is good. Hope someone earns it and not by default. I worry about the defense though. Pennington couldn't hit but that glove really helped the pitchers.Choice is apparently going to play out his career in triple a.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Minor notes coming from FanFest today:Green is going to get a shot to compete at 2B.Michael Choice is expected to open at AAA, to nobody's surprise.Addison Russell (SS, 1st round pick 2012) is expected to get a camp invite. The front office loves him.There isn't going to be any set lineup, lots of platooning/moving guys around based on situation.

Can't imagine Russell will open with the club even if he blows up this spring, but it may indicate they're willing to call him up this year. More competition for 2nd is good. Hope someone earns it and not by default. I worry about the defense though. Pennington couldn't hit but that glove really helped the pitchers.Choice is apparently going to play out his career in triple a.

Yeah, Russell's not coming up. I think it's more of a gesture than anything. But can't hurt to get him a taste before he heads off to Stockton.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

First crack at lineups:vs LHP1. Crisp - CF2. Young - LF3. Reddick - RF4. Cespedes - DH5. Carter - 1B6. Sizemore - 3B / Donaldson - 3B7. Nakajima - SS8. Weeks - 2B9. Norris - Cvs RHP1. Crisp - CF2. Moss - 1B3. Reddick - RF4. Cespedes - DH/LF5. Jaso - C6. Young - LF of Carter - DH7. Donaldson - 3B8. Nakajima - SS9. Sizemore - 2BSome notes:-With Young/Reddick/Crisp all + defenders, I think Cespedes is the worst defender out of the bunch. And given his hammy issues, best to save his legs as much as possible and limit him to hitting, with some spot duty in the OF here and there. Against righties, this team is loaded. I think Smith might see some time at DH, but he's going to get pinched a bit this year.-Getting Sizemore back and presumably healthy is going to be a nice boon to infield depth. He can push Weeks at one position, and Donaldson at the other. Can he defend well enough to stick at either? Or is he just a utility guy? Parrino's minor league stats are idiotic, but maybe best to get him regular AB's in the minors until he's ready for a starting spot. Or convert him to 2B?Concerns (excluding pitchers):-Jaso/Norris defense-Offensive production from 2B/3B/SS-Hitting lefties overall w/o Gomes.

*rips up paper*Addison Russell named #10 prospect overall on Keith Law's Top 100 list. The only Athletic on there. He may be ready by the time Lowrie hits the FA market.

 

[Wooderson]

Hate to see Carter go. Such a fun guy with a great attitude.

 

[Kiddnets]

what are the chances Strailey is in the rotation breaking camp?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

what are the chances Strailey is in the rotation breaking camp?

I'm thinking it's a camp battle between him and Griffin. Anderson, Milone, and Parker seem like locks. Fatolo also probably wasn't going to be brought back if he wasn't going to start. That leaves Griffin vs. Straily, personally I like Straily and would rather have Griffin as a swing guy.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

A's close to a one-year deal with Okajima. He was great in the NPB last year.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Smith and Taylor are getting some reps at 1B this spring.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Norberto on the PEDs.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Nice arm Coco.

 

[East Coast Bias]

A's open up with Anderson against Felix tonight. A's have lost 8 straight openers.

Lineup

Crisp

Jaso

Reddick

Cespedes

Lowrie

Moss

Donaldson

Smith

Sogard

 

[Raider Nation]

Why is a homeless man playing RF for you guys?

"WILL SHAG FLY BALLS FOR FOOD"

 

[RnR]

Why is a homeless man playing RF for you guys?

"WILL SHAG FLY BALLS FOR FOOD"

Haven't you seen Moneyball? Beane is all about inefficiencies in the market, and he's feasting on the hobos while others are still shying away.

 

[Eephus]

Why is a homeless man playing RF for you guys?

"WILL SHAG FLY BALLS FOR FOOD"

Haven't you seen Moneyball? Beane is all about inefficiencies in the market, and he's feasting on the hobos while others are still shying away.

Beane is loading up on Civil War re-enactors and will trade them at the end of June right before the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Jed!!

 

[East Coast Bias]

The A's are 6-2. Sizemore is done for the year.

Scott Sizemore has re-torn his left ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2013 season.

 

[Wooderson]

I can't believe Eric Sogard is starting at second. I have seen that guy play countless games at AAA didn't think he had what it took to get to the show. But good luck to him he is a nice guy.

Went to the AAA game over the weekend Weeks and Green both looked good.

 

[Raider Nation]

This team is solid.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Going for 10 straight wins today.

 

[rascal]

So, is Straily somebody I should be stashing on my roster? How much longer will they let this guy rot in AAA?

 

[Dr. Awesome]

The team really slumped not long ago but they're hot once more and within striking distance of the Rangers. If only the pitching would continue getting its act together this team could really go on a tear.

And wish they could move past Sogard already. Nice guy and all but let's upgrade. No clue who that could be though. Maybe Grant will be ready this year.

 

[Wooderson]

The team really slumped not long ago but they're hot once more and within striking distance of the Rangers. If only the pitching would continue getting its act together this team could really go on a tear.And wish they could move past Sogard already. Nice guy and all but let's upgrade. No clue who that could be though. Maybe Grant will be ready this year.

No doubt posted the same thing about Sogard back in April.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

This team is solid.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Nice trade for Callaspo. His BB/K and LD% numbers are unholy this year, eventually his leaf is going to turn. And he's cheap this year and next. The only question will be how he handles 2B.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Balfour and Black Chris Young are gone. Colon wants to come back. Not a bad position to be in, most everyone's still relatively young/cheap.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Brett Anderson could have his $8mm option picked up, and then traded to someone else. Slusser mentions the Jays as having some interest. Pretty big bummer that the A's can't find room for a guy with just a year left at 8 mil.

 

[Eephus]

Major League Baseball would help the Oakland A's move across the bay and play at rival Giants' AT&T Park in San Francisco if Coliseum officials don't come to terms on a new short-term lease for the team, sources tell us. The A's two-year home stint at AT&T Park, which would start next season, would probably be the first step toward moving the team out of the Bay Area. The league's hardball warning was passed on to Coliseum officials at a closed-door meeting by Jon Streeter, the San Francisco attorney who is representing the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority in the stadium lease negotiations.

We're told MLB is also demanding that the Coliseum give the A's just a two-year lease extension - not the five- to eight-year deal the authority has been pushing. The short-term lease would give the A's more flexibility should the team's owners swing a deal to move to San Jose - or beyond.

The sticking point in the Coliseum negotiations hasn't been the length of the lease so much as the money from food and beverage concessions. Under their old lease, the A's managed the concessions for all sporting events at the stadium, including for the Raiders, and they got a major share of the revenue - terms the Coliseum Authority wants to change in its favor.

The talks have dragged on for more than two years. Now, however, the Coliseum's governing board - which includes two Oakland City Council members and two Alameda County supervisors - is definitely feeling the heat.

"Now we have to do this lease quickly because Major League Baseball has injected itself into the conversations," said one board member, who like our other sources asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

 

[culdeus]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

Would be kind of funny to have day/night double headers with 4 teams involved.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

Would be kind of funny to have day/night double headers with 4 teams involved.

Typically, they don't play home games at the same time, so they don't have to compete against each other. But it's nice to see MLB threaten to screw SF for once.

 

[Eephus]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

Would be kind of funny to have day/night double headers with 4 teams involved.

Typically, they don't play home games at the same time, so they don't have to compete against each other. But it's nice to see MLB threaten to screw SF for once.

They have 9 schedule conflicts in 2014.

This whole thing seems beyond implausible to me. It'll be easier for Bartolo Colon to pass through the eye of a needle than for the A's to play their home games at AT&T Park.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

Would be kind of funny to have day/night double headers with 4 teams involved.

Typically, they don't play home games at the same time, so they don't have to compete against each other. But it's nice to see MLB threaten to screw SF for once.

They have 9 schedule conflicts in 2014.

This whole thing seems beyond implausible to me. It'll be easier for Bartolo Colon to pass through the eye of a needle than for the A's to play their home games at AT&T Park.

Apparently a deal is close at hand, and MLB's threat may have worked? But yes, it wasn't going to happen. If MLB is willing to drag their feet this long on moving Oakland to a stadium that's 40 miles away from AT&T, they're not going to drop them in there next season. They're merely trying to back down the county, who are trying to get what they can from the A's before they fly the coop.

Obligatory: Fuck the Giants, #### Selig.

 

[Eephus]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

Would be kind of funny to have day/night double headers with 4 teams involved.

Typically, they don't play home games at the same time, so they don't have to compete against each other. But it's nice to see MLB threaten to screw SF for once.

They have 9 schedule conflicts in 2014.

This whole thing seems beyond implausible to me. It'll be easier for Bartolo Colon to pass through the eye of a needle than for the A's to play their home games at AT&T Park.

Apparently a deal is close at hand, and MLB's threat may have worked? But yes, it wasn't going to happen. If MLB is willing to drag their feet this long on moving Oakland to a stadium that's 40 miles away from AT&T, they're not going to drop them in there next season. They're merely trying to back down the county, who are trying to get what they can from the A's before they fly the coop.Obligatory: Fuck the Giants, #### Selig.

Commemorative A's toilet plungers to the first 10,000 fans at the Mariners vs. A's game on April 14th.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

There's no way that MLB will let them play in AT&T.

Would be kind of funny to have day/night double headers with 4 teams involved.

Typically, they don't play home games at the same time, so they don't have to compete against each other. But it's nice to see MLB threaten to screw SF for once.

They have 9 schedule conflicts in 2014.

This whole thing seems beyond implausible to me. It'll be easier for Bartolo Colon to pass through the eye of a needle than for the A's to play their home games at AT&T Park.

Apparently a deal is close at hand, and MLB's threat may have worked? But yes, it wasn't going to happen. If MLB is willing to drag their feet this long on moving Oakland to a stadium that's 40 miles away from AT&T, they're not going to drop them in there next season. They're merely trying to back down the county, who are trying to get what they can from the A's before they fly the coop.Obligatory: Fuck the Giants, #### Selig.

Commemorative A's toilet plungers to the first 10,000 fans at the Mariners vs. A's game on April 14th.

You're a commemorative toilet plunger.

 

[East Coast Bias]

A's have contacted Tim Hudson about a possible return.

 

[Eephus]

The Oaklands are pretty well positioned to stay competitive. They're losing Balfour and Colon as FAs but they've gotten better value from them than their next team will. Chris Young didn't work out but I still think he was worth a shot.

Choice appears ready and Addison Russell should only be a year away. Their system is always popping out decent arms, although Ynoa seems to be more promise than production so far.

Anaheim still has more money than pitching. The Mariners just hired Lloyd McClendon. Texas is still Texas but they have more question marks than in recent years.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Rays, Rockies, Angels, Yankees, Tigers are all interested in Balfour. Can't see the Rays getting him, my guess is Detroit or NYY. He was really good for Oakland, but there's just no way they can afford what somebody will be willing to pay him.

Kazmir for Oakland might make sense. I'd love to see them make a run at Haren, although I have a feeling they'll be muscled out for him as well.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Also...Phil Hughes intrigues me and seems like an ideal big park pitcher.

ETA: I mean not "ideal", but ideal when you don't have much money and you gotta find somebody cheap.

 

[Hilts]

Relievers are generally overrated. Beane will find a name or two that aren't higly thought of and get solid production. Rinse, repeat.

Hughes would be a great fit for Oakland. Possibly Fausto. Colby Lewis? Johan, Lilly, Tanaka, Harang?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Relievers are generally overrated. Beane will find a name or two that aren't higly thought of and get solid production. Rinse, repeat.

Hughes would be a great fit for Oakland. Possibly Fausto. Colby Lewis? Johan, Lilly, Tanaka, Harang?

Tanaka's posting fee is going to be a gazillion dollars. It's really just a matter of how much the Dodgers overpay for him right now.

Roberto/Fausto's also a good deal, as is Lewis.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

A's want Nelson Cruz. I will make the shocking prediction that he will sign elsewhere.

 

[Hilts]

A's want Nelson Cruz. I will make the shocking prediction that he will sign elsewhere.

Cruz is seeking a 4 year, 75 million dollar deal.

 

[East Coast Bias]

A's want Nelson Cruz. I will make the shocking prediction that he will sign elsewhere.

Cruz is seeking a 4 year, 75 million dollar deal.

I read it this morning but I don't see it happening either.

the largest contract in A’s history is Eric Chavez’s six-year, $66 million deal.

 

[RnR]

A's want Nelson Cruz. I will make the shocking prediction that he will sign elsewhere.

Cruz is seeking a 4 year, 75 million dollar deal.

I read it this morning but I don't see it happening either.

the largest contract in A’s history is Eric Chavez’s six-year, $66 million deal.

And that one didn't exactly turn out as planned.

 

[Eephus]

The Oaklands had Cruz as a minor leaguer but traded him for Keith Ginter. Ginter hit .161/.234/.263 in his only season with the A's.

Cruz seems like a pretty un-moneyball to me.