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News and Comentary About Oakland A'sBy Trevor, Section MLB
by Trevor Freeman I believe in signs. I do. I firmly believe in karma as well. I am one of those nutjobs who honestly thinks that if I screw somebody over it will come back to not only haunt me but quite possibly my beloved Oakland A's. Well yesterday morning, I held the door open in an elevator so that somebody who was beaded with sweat could run in. Not only that, but I chipped in three dollars to my co-worker's March of Dimes fundraiser. You do little things like that not thinking there is going to be a payoff and then it happens. As I was eating lunch at my desk with the radio quietly blaring "Tonight" by the Smashing Pumpkins, I logged onto yahoo.com. And there it was. Staring me right in the eye. "Thomas agrees to contract with the Oakland A's"
Giddy, I turned up the radio just in time for Billy Corgan to sing the verse "Do you believe there's not a chance tonight?" Fellow A's fans, there is a chance and that is because Frank Thomas returned home for the major league minimum. "The Big Hurt" is back in Oakland and the A's blossoming postseason hopes got a shot in the arm that only a legend could provide. (2 comments, 1061 words in story) Full Story By Trevor, Section MLB
By Trevor Freeman I am pretty sure that I approached this baseball season the same way every Oakland A's fan did. Hopeful that our youngsters would be better than expected and that we would avoid the AL West cellar. Maybe it was because I approached the season with low expectations that I have all of the sudden been jolted by a 5-1 road trip and an 8-5 start to the season. If somebody had told me before the season that we would be 8-5 after playing Boston, Toronto and Cleveland twice, I would have told that person they need to dial back the amount of herbs they have been purchasing in the Humboldt County area.
It was after Saturday's game against Cleveland that I got an energetic phone call from a friend who asked a million dollar question that I never even thought of. The question was, "Do you think we would sign Barry Bonds if we are in the mix in June?" (2 comments, 1215 words in story) Full Story By Trevor, Section MLB
by Trevor Freeman I remember Bill Simmons once wrote that every city has a player who never quite lived up expectations. For Boston it was Drew Bledsoe. There are other names you can throw out there on both a pro and college level. Ron Pawlus at Notre Dame and Mike Bibby in Sacramento both come to mind. For fans of the Oakland A's, there is only one guy who could possibly have this tag bestowed upon him. That man is Barry Zito.
As I sit here and get ready to watch the Mets, Rangers, Mariners or San Francisco Giants open up their wallets and bestow upon Barry Zito the money to last a lifetime, I felt it would be remiss if I didn't use my featured writer status to write my thoughts on Barry Zito. If I didn't take the time to provide my evaluation of the premier free agent left on the market. (9 comments, 802 words in story) Full Story By Trevor, Section MLB
Dear Sports Gods,
I did everything right. Everything. After my beloved A's swept Minnesota, I held off on calling my friend Max and taunting him about it. Before the ALCS, I never once mentioned advancing to the World Series. Like Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers" my response was always that we will not be concerned about the next step until we climb the one in front of us. Heck, instead of poking fun at Yankee fans for losing to Detroit.....I took the approach of putting my arm around them and providing encouragement. I heard the words, "don't worry Steinbrenner will get you some pitching next year" come out of my mouth. It's not just that though. I did other stuff to help the A's pull through in this series. Instead of pretending to read my newspaper and ignoring an old lady on the train, I got up and gave her my seat. Five times I was the last person to exit a crowded elevator. I do not understand why you are doing this to us, but it is just inhumane at this point. (10 comments, 889 words in story) Full Story By Trevor, Section MLB
By Trevor Freeman
There are certain truths that are engrained in the minds of the Bay Area sports fan. They range from knowing that the Golden State Warriors will suck year in and year out to knowing that Ray Ratto is unstoppable at Sizzler's $9.99 "All You Can Eat" buffet. When it comes to Oakland A's baseball there is an undeniable truth and it will hold up again this year. After the All-Star break, Oakland will get hot and runaway with the American League West. (950 words in story) Full Story By sign arenas, Section MLB
There are no handlebar moustaches to be found. No skin-tight plaid bellbottoms, either. And there's no basket near the door for your keys. But the Oakland A's are certainly doing their best to re-earn the nickname "The Swingin' A's". By charging the mound against the Angels Tuesday, Jason Kendall scared away any remaining perceptions that the A's are still the fun-loving, beer-chugging misfits they once were. Gone are the Lost Boys carrying out Jason Giambi's never-grow-up credo; in their place is a group of veteran castaways who have taken control of the team, and instilled a fighter's mentality. Given the way these A's play, don't be surprised if they end up in a few more scraps before the year's over. (976 words in story) Full Story By knuckleballerMC, Section MLB
By Mark Cooper In his opening start of 2006, Barry Zito didn't look prepared. He wasn't following through on his pitches, his control was terrible, and at times he just looked lost on the mound. The climax of his night was his final pitch, a hanging curve over the center of the plate that reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez walloped over the left center fence for a grand slam. Michael Kay said it best for both the ball and for Zito; "Seee Ya!". Zito's final stat line provided some gaudy numbers; in 1 1/3 innings pitched, he gave up 7 runs, all earned, on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 1 home run, the grand slam by A-Rod. Although Zito was out there a long time (59 pitches), it was the shortest outing of his career in terms of innings. This start brings up the question, is Zito overrated? There are many people who take him as ace, which he isn't. He also is mistaken for a Cy Young caliber pitcher because of his 2002 season, where he won the trophy. (8 comments, 750 words in story) Full Story By Trevor, Section MLB
by Trevor Freeman
On Tuesday morning, I wearily stumbled into work and checked my www.realityfanforum.com inbox. In it was a gift from a fellow Survivor watcher and Oakland A's fan. It read as follows: (2 comments, 1063 words in story) Full Story By jmorrill16, Section MLB
By Jon Morrill
We all know, or at least should know, by now that Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane is one of the best, if not the best, in baseball. The only argument one would have against him is that he hasn't won anything yet; and sure, winning is the biggest criteria when judging the performance of just about anything in sports. Whether it be playing the game, coaching, managing, anything--the first thing people look at are the wins and the championships. While Beane obviously doesn't have any rings or trophies just yet, the one thing Beane can claim is the fact that he's perennially put together a young, exciting team that has finished no worse than second in the AL West since 1999, Beane's second year on the job; winning the division 3 times in 4 years. What's more is that Beane has done this with a payroll of practically peanuts; forcing Beane to try and squeeze what he can out of all his players in the 3 to 4, sometimes 5 year timeframe--often having to either trade away his prized superstars for younger, more raw talent or just let it walk when the time comes for the respective player's big payday (see: Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Tim (3 comments, 1186 words in story) Full Story By paulburgie, Section MLB
By Paul Burgarino I know it's only August 5th, and there are still two months of pennant chase left, but why not start thinking about the A's in the Fall Classic. Although it is premature to talk about any sort of postseason run while the centerfield at McAfee Coliseum is in tact, the A's recent success has captured the attention of teams around the leagues and had fans dreaming at night of the possibiliity. (3 comments, 734 words in story) Full Story
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