Back Again and Nothing Missed.

I guess I'm just as inconsistent as ever regarding this whole update deal, but here's my commitment to at least one update each week from here on out.

That's putting my credibility on the line and, although I may not have any in the virtual world, like a 19 year old in debt, I'd sure like to build me some credit...

Well everyone who may or may not exist that reads this - here's to the most disappointing A's season since...well I don't know. There have definitely been a few disappointing ones but the expectations put forth at the beginning of the year really make this season a shot through the heart. None of my aforementioned predictions came true and even worse, everyone on the offensive end decided to imitate the stock market of 1929.

The sad part is, with all of the expectations, people seem to be ashamed of who they're rooting for (if they're A's fans). Nobody should let that get to them. If the A's go 0-162, and judging by the local media, they might as well, I will still be an A's fan. So should every A's fan. It's times like these that turn the good times into great ones.

I will never make this blog about myself, and that's a guarantee, but I want to share my past Sunday with the ancient beings that uncover this writing median. I was in Cancun with my roommates for the 7 days prior to Sunday, August 14th. I had tickets for that day and being physically mobile was the last thing I wanted to do. All signs pointed to me not going; my girlfriend was working; my roommates were hungover; my roommates are Giants fans; and my phone was stolen so I had nobody to call and invite. But after hearing about CJ Wilson's comments regarding A's fans, I promised myself that the last thing I would do is not show up. I will not prove him right. When I sat there by myself in the RF bleachers that day, I was hoping Kara would walk by and ask me why I was sitting alone on Diamondvision.

Although that never happened, here's what I'd hoped to get off my chest:

"I came here by myself because I refuse to let some idealistic, left-handed bag-of-wind who wears two X's on his glove without truly knowing what it means, to be proven right. Of all the titles I may have warranted throughout my young life, being an A's fan is the one I'm most proud of"

That's all because I'm quite tired, but my next post will surely be about baseball...

Few quick thoughts though...

1. Sogard > Pennington (Sogard for SS!)
   
2. Don't offer arbitration to DeJesus
3. 50/50 on inking Willingham
4. Jai Miller needs an audition
5. Grant Green's recent switch to OF kills his original value
6. Sonny Gray should get a shot at the rotation in ST since Anderson's out
7. Michael Taylor needs to start in 2012
   
8. Brandon Allen should be our 1B in 2012
9. Love Matsui, but hope hes not back in 2012
10. Chris Carter needs to be the 2012 DH
    
11. Michael Choice should skip double-A
12. Michael Choice should compete for a spot in 2012
13. Anthony Recker should learn to play defense
14. Anthony Recker should be our catcher if he accomplishes #13
    
15. Connor Crumbliss has the most amazing patience ever
16. Connor Crumbliss can't play defense (OF's been solid though)
    
17. Connor Crumbliss should and might make the Majors on patience alone
18. We shouldn't give up on Daric Barton
19. Daric Barton should give up on 1B (D's good but come on!)
    
20. While at NYU, Adrian Cardenas should creatively write himself a way utilize his glove
    

Oakland A's 2011 Season Preview

The 2010 A’s finished 81-81, becoming the first Athletics team since 2006 to not post a losing record. Unfortunately, unlike the 2006 team, they also failed to post a winning record. Though it may not deviate from any other preseason plan, the 2011 A’s face winning expectations they’ve not seen in years.

The 2010 season was plagued by injuries and an anemic offense, using the DL more than any other team in baseball, and finishing 11^th in runs scored. While it may not guarantee a healthy 2011, the A’s did away with Head Athletics Trainer Steve Sayles in place of former Rays Assistant Athletic Trainer, Nick Paparesta. Solutions to the offense required a bit more innovation on behalf of General Manager Billy Beane. Here’s a look at the offseason additions and subtractions taken by the A’s on the offensive side of the game.

Additions	2010 WAR	Subtractions	2010 WAR
David DeJesus	2.6	Eric Chavez	-0.4
Andy LaRoche	-0.6	Jack Cust	2.4
Hideki Matsui	1.9	Rajai Davis	1.2
Josh Willingham	2.7	Gabe Gross	-0.6
		Jeff Larish	-0.5
Total	6.6	Total	2.1

This analysis, though not a sure-fire predictor of the future, illustrates a +4.5 WAR – essentially 4 to 5 more wins over the course of the 2010 season using the A’s offensive additions, as opposed to their subtractions. While five more wins would still leave the A’s four games back of the AL Champion Texas Rangers, it speaks volumes to the improvement of the team that took place in the offseason in simply one aspect: offense.

Josh Willingham is one piece to the A's revamped offense

Another area of improvement that received attention this winter, albeit attention often coming in the form of raised eyebrows, happened to be the bullpen additions, most notably RHP Grant Balfour and LHP Brian Fuentes. The interesting part of these signings, while most people (including Billy Beane himself) make the claim that the A’s plucked the two relievers off the open market because they had money to spare, is that the A’s finished 6^th in bullpen ERA in 2010, despite have the best team ERA in the AL. Although there is little room for improvement on behalf of the starters, the bullpen was merely “above-average” in comparison to the rest of the league. The additions of Balfour and Fuentes solidify the bullpen, as well as strengthen the entire pitching staff.

This spring, open spots on the team can be found at the backup-catching position (Powell and Donaldson), the fifth starting pitcher (Cramer, Harden, McCarthy, Outman, and Ross), and the utility infielder (LaRoche, Sogard, Timmons, and Tolleson). In traditional A’s fashion, these competitions will likely meet their conclusion in the final spring series again the Giants in the Bay Area, just before the final cut.

Even though defending American League Champions are what stand in between the A’s and a division title, there is little doubt that improvements have been made, and expectations are high in the East Bay for the first time in a long time.

MLB Network's Top 10 Catchers Right Now; Suzuki Somehow Makes It

The cohesion of my affinity for MLB Network is obviously a result of the networks primary focus: baseball. As obvious as that may be, a lot of the decisions made in the "Top 10 Right Now" series has certainly reiterated a position of player-evaluation that works in sharp contrast with my own method. I'll admit that I may be helplessly biased toward the A's at times, but personally I only think two of the Athletics truly are in the top-10 at their positions right now. I'm well aware that MLB Network has also placed two Athletics in the Top-10 Right Now at their respective positions, (Andrew Bailey, and one I'll reveal after further reading). Obviously the A's strength is their pitching, and teams carry 5 starting-pitchers, (as opposed to one true starter at each non-pitching position) making it much harder for Anderson, Cahill, and Gio to crack the top 10 (which they did not). I'm actually completely fine with that. I think Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez are both better than Cliff Lee, while Josh Johnson and David Price probably could have been closer to the top as well, but the list wasn't necessarily "controversial" by any means.

Ironically, what's bothered me most is the one position-playing Oakland Athletic that did make a list - Kurt Suzuki. Now don't get me wrong, I love any national publicity for any Athletic. I don't dislike Suzuki one bit, but he was one of the worst-hitting MLB catchers to play in over 100 games last season, while throwing out just 21% of would-be base stealers. On the other hand, Daric Barton had the second-best WAR among AL 1st-basemen, and fails to get mentioned. That didn't surprise me at all, as I'm not expecting MLBN to start using WAR as their primary metric, but Barton was easily the most valuable position-player in Oakland last season. He was arguably the best defensive 1st-baseman in baseball last year (unarguably by UZR). He walked more than anyone in the AL, and finished second overall in walks to Prince Fielder. I wont start a petition for Barton to be on the list, but when Suzuki makes it based on Jeter-like intangible, "little-thing" nonsense, like handling his young pitching staff, it's unsettling to know Barton was left off.

Here's what the Top-10 Catchers Right Now looked like for the curious ones...
10. Matt Wieters
9. Kurt Suzuki
8. John Buck
7. Carlos Ruiz
6. Carlos Santana
5. Yadier Molina
4. Victor Martinez
3. Brian McCann
2. Buster Posey
1. Joe Mauer

MLB Network's Top 50 Calls All-Time

I was trying to search for some of MLB Network’s “Top 50” countdowns online and I noticed I couldn’t find much. Here’s what I was able to gather from their top 50 broadcasted calls of all time. I didn’t get the idea to write them down until #22, so the details are scarce on a lot of them and unfortunately there’s some I’m completely missing. For some I was only able to note the team, but for all the ones from #22 and below, I was able to gather the announcer too. Sadly, some may be upset that I was able to provide less detail regarding the moment following #22, and for that I apologize.

Unfortunately, as this is an A’s blog, there was not one Athletics call on the countdown, though there were a couple done in a game the A’s experienced some famous misfortune. It’s a shame Bill King isn’t admired a lot more posthumously – I definitely expected to see Scott Hatteberg’s walk-off to seal the 20^th consecutive victory in 2002, as it was truly unforgettable (both the call and the moment). Despite that, I’m surprised at least one of Ken Korach’s calls weren’t on the list. They couldn’t easily put Tejada’s walk-off home run off Eddie Guardado in the 17^th consecutive win as one of the better calls ever, and the same goes with Braden’s perfect game. My perceived injustice is only magnified by the presence of Hawk Harrelson’s call of Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, in which he screamed “Alexei,” and subsequently screamed “YES.” Quite profound for the vocabulary-impaired, I suppose. I thought technical play-by-play involved painting a picture of some sort. Either way, the subjectivity involved in a national network’s countdown tends to leave the less-noticed teams near the bottom, or in this case, entirely off the list.

Despite that, it’s hard not to love MLB Network. Since I failed in collecting the announcer for each call, I listed what information I did have, starting with the team in which the call focuses on. Here’s the list...

MLB Networks Top 50 Calls of All Time

50. Detroit Tigers: Armando Galarraga’s near perfect game in 2010

49. Houston Astros: Chris Burke walk-off HR in the 18^th inning

48. Chicago White Sox: Scott Podsednik walk-off in 2005 World Series

47. San Francisco Giants: Jon Miller calls Barry Bonds’ 71^st HR

46. Atlanta Braves: Jayson Heyward HR in 1^st MLB plate appearance

45. Milwaukee Brewers: Bob Uecker calls Ryan Braun HR vs. Cubs

44. Arizona Diamondbacks: Luis Gonzalez GW-single off Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of 2001 WS

43. New York Yankees: Chris Chambliss HR at Yankee Stadium, crowd storms field

42. ???

41. New York Mets: Endy Chavez robs HR in Game of 2006 NLCS

40. Chicago White Sox: Ken Harrelson calls final out of Mark Buehrle’s perfect game

39. New York Mets: Jesse Orosco K’s Marty Barrett to win 86’ WS in Game 7

38. Cincinnati Reds: Pete Rose breaks all-time hit record

37. Montreal Expos: Final out of Dennis Martinez’ perfect game

36. Detroit Tigers: Kirk Gibson hits HR off Goose Gossage in 84’ WS

35. St. Louis Cardinals: Willie McGee’s 2^nd HR of Game 3 in 82’ WS

34. New York Yankees: Bucky Dent HR in 1978 AL East Tiebreaker at Fenway Park

33. ???

32. ???

31. New York Mets: Robin Ventura’a Grand Slam single in Game 5 of 99’ NLCS

30. Boston Red Sox: Joe Buck calls Red Sox’ final out of 2004 WS vs. St Louis

29. Chicago Cubs: Ernie Banks’ 500^th career home run

28. San Francisco Giants: Either Jon Miller or Duane Kuiper call Bonds’ 756^th HR, sets all-time record

27. St. Louis Cardinals: Jack Buck calls Mark McGwire’s 62^nd HR to set single-season record

26. ???

25. Boston Red Sox: Joe Buck calls David Ortiz’ walk-off HR in Game 4 of 04’ ALCS

24. ???

*23. New York Mets: Bill Buckner’s E3 in 1986 WS

22. St. Louis Cardinals: Harry Caray’s call in October of 1964

21. New York Yankees: Phil Rizzuto’s call in September of 1961

20. St. Louis Cardinals: Jack Buck’s call on September 9, 1998

19. Boston Red Sox: Dick Stockton calls 1975 World Series

18. Atlanta Braves: Skip Caray’s call of Francisco Cabrera driving in Sid Bream in the 92’ NLCS vs. PIT

17. Seattle Mariners: Dave Niehaus calls 1995 ALDS

16. Seattle Mariners: Dave Niehaus calls Griffey Jr. scoring to win 95’ ALDS vs. NYY

15. Los Angeles Dodgers: Vin Scully in September, 1965

14. New York Yankees: Vin Scully calls final out of Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 7 of 56’ WS

13. Philadelphia Phillies: Harry Kalas calls Mike Schmidt’s 500^th HR

12. Los Angeles Dodgers/ Brooklyn Dodgers: Red Barber calls 1947 WS

11. Minnesota Twins: Jack Buck calls Kirby Puckett’s walk-off HR to force Game 7 of 1991 WS

10. San Francisco Giants/ NY Giants: Jack Brickhouse calls Willie Mays’ catch in 1954 WS

9. Boston Red Sox: Al Michaels calls Dave Parker’s HR against Angels in 86’ ALCS

*8. New York Mets: Vin Scully calls Buckner play in 86’ WS vs BOS

7. Toronto Blue Jays: Tom Cheek calls Joe Carter’s walk-off HR to win 93’ WS

6. Atlanta Braves: Milo Hamilton calls Hank Aaron’s 715^th HR to set all-time record on 4-8-74 (A’s won WS that year)

5. St. Louis Cardinals: Jack Buck calls Ozzie Smith’s HR in 85’ NLCS (“Go crazy folks!”)

4. Pittsburgh Pirates: Mel Allen calls Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off HR in Game 7 of 1960 WS vs. NYY

*3. Los Angeles Dodgers: Vin Scully calls Kirk Gibson’s walk-off HR in Game 1 of 1988 WS vs. OAK

*2. Los Angeles Dodgers: Jack Buck calls Kirk Gibson’s walk-off HR in Game 1 of 1988 WS vs. OAK

1. San Francisco Giants/ NY Giants: Russ Hodges calls Bobby Thompson’s “shot heard around the world”

(*play appears twice)

Strengthened Bullpen Solidifies Formidable Staff; Additions Make for Serious Spring

The additions of both Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes may not be earth shattering news within the baseball world, perhaps with the exceptions of those living either Down Under or in Merced, but the righty and lefty off-season acquisitions bolster a relief corps that finished 6^th in the AL in ERA in 2010, and perhaps more importantly, a pitching staff that finished 1^st.

Andrew Bailey, the Oakland anchor, is getting a solid foundation in 2011, thanks to GM Billy Beane

The road to recovery from Tommy John Surgery may prove to be just one of a few obstacles both Josh Outman and Joey Devine will face this spring. Outman, who’s been out since June of 2009, is considered one of the top candidates for the 5^th starter job, while Devine looks to stake his claim in the Oakland bullpen, despite not having made an appearance since his stellar 08’ campaign. Outman’s candidacy is likely to be challenged by the returning Rich Harden, and former White Sox prospect Brandon McCarthy. LHP Bobby Cramer could also prove to be a dark horse, as could Tyson Ross, and were both formerly accompanied by RHP Clayton Mortensen, who was recently sent to Colorado in exchange for fellow righty Ethan Hollingsworth.

LHP Jerry Blevins may be the most obvious and likely odd man out in the wake of the Balfour and Fuentes additions, the predominance of righties in the pen could help his chances. Unfortunately, the names Balfour, Fuentes, Bailey, Devine, Breslow, Wuertz, Ziegler, Blevins, Harden, McCarthy, and Outman are all viable candidates for the pen, (possibly one of the last three if they don’t win the 5^th spot) but 6 relievers tends to be the maximum in the AL. That likely means four, but possibly five proven pitchers may find themselves on the short end of the stick, and somewhere other than Oakland to start the 2011 season.

Harden Returns, Willingham Acquired

One day after the A’s ended their disappointing streak on the open market with the additions of Hideki Matsui and Brandon McCarthy, Billy Beane added a familiar face to the Oakland roster. Rich Harden agreed to a 1-year, $1.5 million deal. The very next day, Beane acquired OF Josh Willingham from the Washington Nationals in exchange for RP Henry Rodriguez and minor-league OF Corey Brown.

The A’s plan to use Rich Harden as a reliever in 2011, though he may compete for the 5th-starter spot with Josh Outman and Brandon McCarthy. Harden came up in the Oakland system, first breaking into the majors in 2003. He was one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball prior to the 2005 season. Harden’s reputation as a hard-throwing, strikeout pitcher gradually became overshadowed by his current reputation as an injury-prone liability. As recently as 2007 Harden was the Opening Day starter for the A’s and will don the same uniform in the upcoming campaign (but will likely be used in a different capacity). The intentions for Harden in 2011 to work out of the bullpen are an understandable measure taken by the A’s, considering his history.

The acquisition of Josh Willingham from the Nationals addresses Oakland’s most pressing need – offense. Despite having one of the most dominant young pitching staffs in Major League Baseball last season, the Oakland offense was among the least productive. The infield boasted dazzling defensive numbers using various metrics that countered their quiet bats, but the outfield did neither - with the exception of Coco Crisp (who didn’t play the entire season). The A’s plan on using Willingham primarily in LF, Crisp in CF and the recent off-season acquisition from KC, David DeJesus in RF. Ryan Sweeney now becomes the A’s fourth OF, but should still see plenty of playing time as a result of his versatility in the outfield.

While the A’s have now added Willingham, Matsui, and DeJesus to their lineup, the lacking offense still remains an issue. The urgency of its acknowledgment has certainly been alleviated (to an extent), but Beane implied over conference call that the team is probably not done searching for help.

A's Add Matsui, McCarthy

After a combination of both disappointing results and a lack of development regarding the offers made to free-agents on their behalf, (some of which were reported to include Adrian Beltre, Adam Dunn, Lance Berkman, as well as the now infamous Hisashi Iwakuma) the Oakland Athletics finally found success on back-to-back days in the middle of December. On Monday, the 13th, the Athletics inked RHP Brandon McCarthy to a 1-year, $1 million deal that could be worth an additional $1.6 million in incentives. The very next day the A's announced the signing of the former Yomiuri Giant, New York Yankee, and most recently, Los Angeles Angel of Anaheim, Hideki Matsui. Matsui's deal was initially reported around $6 million, but a number of subsequent figures reported the deal at $4.25 million. The A's also avoided arbitration by reaching a 1-year agreement with reliever Joey Devine.

While the McCarthy deal is obviously the less publicized of the two, the A's added what many believe could be a diamond-in-the-rough starting-pitcher as a fifth-starter candidate. Those well versed in the career of Brandon McCarthy may be quick to point out that the 27-year old righty was ranked by Baseball America as the #49 prospect in all of baseball entering the 2005 season for the Chicago White Sox. Although his big-league progress has been hindered by shoulder injuries that have persisted largely since he was first called-up, in 8 minor-league seasons McCarthy's posted a 9.8 K/9IP, a 1.10 WHIP, and a 5.26 K/BB ratio that everyone with the exception of Cliff Lee would envy. Following the dissolution of the Iwakuma talks, the addition of McCarthy to the A's staff not only saves the club $18 million, ($19 million for the Iwakuma posting fee - $1 million for McCarthy) but sets up an exciting and interesting battle for the final spot in the Oakland rotation. Adding to an already talented top-4 in Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Dallas Braden, the two favorites for the fifth spot are McCarthy, and the recovering Josh Outman who missed all of 2010 due to Tommy John surgery that was undergone in the previous season. Bobby Cramer, Tyson Ross, and Clay Mortensen are among those who round out the remaining popular candidates for the job.

The addition of Hideki Matsui to the A's lineup aids an offense that was among the worst in 2010. While Matsui's power isn't quite that of Dunn, the 36-year old DH/OF provides a level of pop the A's have lacked for the past few seasons. Matsui will go into the 2011 season with a career .848 OPS - the only Athletics over .800 in 2010 were the recently departed Jack Cust, and the young 2nd baseman Eric Sogard, who accomplished the feat in 4 games. Adding Matsui as the A's primary DH allows the team to utilize a modified platoon at the position. The left-handed hitting Matsui can take the majority of games against righties, while the young right-handed hitting Chris Carter can ease into the position by taking most of the games against lefties. Although Hideki Matsui is certainly a welcomed bat in Oakland, it is unlikely that the A's are done with their search for more offense. Even if no deals are announced, it won't mean the A's didn't explore more options. It is hard to imagine Billy Beane will rest until every stone has been turned.