Thread: Oakland A's

Not only are they in possession of one of the higher of the two wild cards, but they are ahead of the much higher-amount payroll LAA of Anaheim by 5 games and only behind the 2-time reigning AL pennant champions Texas Rangers by 4.5 games. Go A's!

The ingredients to this stew - pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching - seasoned with a good dash of Cespedes and Reddick.

Just imagine how good they might be if they still had Willingham.

They would be better, but his numbers would probably be a little suppressed in that stadium... too much foul territory and they would not have signed Cespedes if they had resigned Willingham - but I do agree the addition of Willingham to their line-up would boost their chances a fair amount.

I was at the game where Brett Anderson made his 1st start following "the Tommy John Surgery". Oakland is a ****ing dump and so is the stadium. (Apparently it was a nice park once upon a time, it was more intimate and you had a nice view of the East Bay. Then Mount Davis was erected.)

Yes the place is a dump; however, in my opinion they have the best fans in the majors. They know their **** and don't act like d-bags (unlike the folks across the Bay.) The fans in section 139 know how to have a good time...I love the horns/drums combo. I'll certainly be rooting for them.

Originally Posted by J-Dog Dungan

Just imagine how good they might be if they still had Willingham.

Willingham wouldn't have gotten the playing time. Or if he did... Crisp,.. Reddick... Smith and Gomes would have gotten less...


The Success of the A's isn't that surprising. Beane is absolutely fearless as a GM. Take Pitcher A and watch him reach maturation and trade him for upside Pitchers B and C. Watch them reach maturation and trade them for Pitchers D and E and F.

They got some Power... Some Speed... And Young Arms that will be better next year if they stay healthy.

Originally Posted by Riverbrian

Originally Posted by J-Dog Dungan

Just imagine how good they might be if they still had Willingham.

Willingham wouldn't have gotten the playing time. Or if he did... Crisp,.. Reddick... Smith and Gomes would have gotten less...


The Success of the A's isn't that surprising. Beane is absolutely fearless as a GM. Take Pitcher A and watch him reach maturation and trade him for upside Pitchers B and C. Watch them reach maturation and trade them for Pitchers D and E and F.

They got some Power... Some Speed... And Young Arms that will be better next year if they stay healthy.

The trend for Oakland then is not to draft pitchers but to develop pitchers from other teams systems. Like the Twins they do poorly in the initial evaluation then do better later with evaluating talent. The same works for the rest of their lineup.

Originally Posted by old nurse

The trend for Oakland then is not to draft pitchers but to develop pitchers from other teams systems. Like the Twins they do poorly in the initial evaluation then do better later with evaluating talent. The same works for the rest of their lineup.

They still aren't picking guys who have really "succeeded" anywhere else. Often it's a scrap heap guy who blows up. Of the pitchers who have thrown a pitch for the A's this year:

5 made their debut for another team, but pitched their first "full" season for Oakland - Tom Milone, Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook, Jordan Norberto, Evan Scribner
4 signed as free agent - Bartolo Colon, Grant Balfour, Jim Miller, Brian Fuentes
2 were out of the major leagues for at least a year before Oakland gave them a shot - Brandon McCarthy, Travis Blackley (pitched in BP for Giants before being released and claimed by A's this year after not pitching in the majors since 2007)
6 drafted and developed by A's - Tyson Ross, Sean Doolittle, AJ Griffin, Dan Straily, Pedro Figueroa, Andrew Carignan
4 acquired via trade but made MLB debut for A's - Jerry Blevins, Graham Godfrey, Brett Anderson, Fautino De Los Santos
1 purchased as minor league free agent - Pat Neshek
1 claimed on MLB waivers - Rich Thompson