A’s

Every Thursday, Swingin’ A’s will unveil a top Oakland A’s prospect. Starting from number 10 and finishing with number 1, be sure to stop by every Thursday to see who makes the list of the Top 10 Oakland A’s prospects. We’ll start with No.10, SS Grant Green, who will look to rebound in 2012 after a so-so 2011 campaign. After posting so-so numbers in 2011, Oakland’s Grant Green may need to have himself a stellar 2012 campaign in order to win back some of the support from fans. Aside from his power leaving him last season, Green struggled with the strike [...]

Taking a moment to look back, look ahead, and fire off some random observations as I turn the page on the calendar to February.  I’ll keep this month’s installment shorter than usual since I’m sick as a dog and the magic of DayQuil is wearing off fast. I’m probably a few dozen keystrokes away from passing out in front of my computer. LOOKING BACK • The rebuild/youth movement made an abrupt shift toward veterans when general manager Billy Beane added Coco Crisp, Bartolo Colon, Seth Smith and Jonny Gomes to the roster which left me scratching my head. If the [...]

Well, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, A’s manager Bob Melvin already knows who will be his Opening Day starter in Tokyo. It may only be January, but according to Oakland’s skipper, pitcher Brandon McCarthy will get the nod to open the season for the A’s in their Tokyo series against the Mariners. Melvin also noted that the recently acquired Bartolo Colon will get the nod in the second game of the opening series, which starts on March 28th. The remainder of Oakland’s rotation remains one big mystery. Dallas Braden is currently recovering from shoulder surgery, but could be ready [...]

The A’s designated Adrian Cardenas for assignment on Thursday after the team signed free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes. Cardenas, 24, appeared in 127 games last year with Oakland’s Triple-A team the Sacramento River Cats. In 545 at-bats, Cardenas hit .314/.374/.418 with five home runs and 51 RBIs. The decision to designate Cardenas for assignment seems to make sense on the surface. The A’s had him playing all over the place last season, with Cardenas splitting time between left field, short stop, third base, and second base. It is obvious, to anyone following the organization, that the A’s just didn’t have [...]

Every Friday, Swingin’ A’s will make a prediction about the A’s 2012 season with the help of our “crystal ball.” The series, appropriately titled “Crystal Ball Fridays,” will continue through the week before Opening Night. Enjoy.  As absurd as it may sound, the Oakland A’s are reportedly interested in adding Manny Ramirez to the roster this year. The power-starved Athletics could use a little help in the power department this year, but even Manny’s presence in the lineup doesn’t guarantee much production. Ramirez, 39, would have to serve his 50-game suspension first before making any kind of contributions on the [...]

The A’s have made quite a few moves this offseason, with the trades of Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill making the big sporting headlines this winter. The additions of Bartolo Colon and outfielder Jonny Gomes, though, haven’t garnered much front-page attention. Oakland’s acquisition of Colon, the former Cy Young winner from the Angels, makes sense, but only because the team’s starting rotation remains in a state of mystery. The team has plenty of young starters to choose from to help fill out the rotation, but because this is 2012 and not 2015, the front office has no intention of rushing [...]

Prince Fielder just signed with the Detroit Tigers. What have the A’s done lately? Oh, nothing much. They traded away several of their most talented players in an attempt to go “younger,” and have added a veteran presence to the clubhouse with the signings of Bartolo Colon and Jonny Gomes. Talk about building towards the future. The front office has also been preoccupied with trying to relocate the team southbound in San Jose. While the front office continues to work towards a new venue in San Jose, fans are left wondering what to do in the meantime. The Athletics have [...]

Every Friday, Swingin’ A’s will make a prediction about the A’s 2012 season with the help of our “crystal ball.” The series, appropriately titled “Crystal Ball Fridays,” will continue through the week before Opening Night. Enjoy.  With Andrew Bailey now sporting a Boston Red Sox jersey, the A’s will need someone to fill their empty closer role. Oakland’s bullpen offers a few options for Bailey’s old spot, but who will be Oakland’s closer in 2012? Oh Crystal Ball, please tell us who’ll be closing games this year for our beloved green-and-gold… Well, the A’s 2012 season figures to be a [...]

Over the next couple of days Swingin’ A’s will take a closer look at some of the prospects the Athletics scored in the Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey trades. We continue our overview with right-handed pitcher Raul Alcantara.  The A’s love pitching. They really do. Just take a look at some of their trades recently. They’ve traded pitchers only to acquire more pitchers.  Brad Peacock, Tom Milone, A.J. Cole, Jarrod Parker, and Raul Alcantara are just a few of the pitchers you might see on the mound come 2015 or whenever this “rebuild” is officially completed. For the sake of this post, though, I’ll just [...]

Over the next couple of days Swingin’ A’s will take a closer look at some of the prospects the Athletics scored in the Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey trades. Next, we take a look at Tom Milone, who could join Oakland’s starting rotation this year.  The A’s may not have Trevor Cahill or Gio Gonzalez anymore, but the team isn’t exactly hurting for starting pitching either. Oakland parted ways with Cahill and Gonzalez last month in trades that signaled to the team’s dwindling fan-base that the A’s are interested in rebuilding. The rebuilding phase, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that Oakland’s pitching staff will be [...]