April 1, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; General view before the game between the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

While this suit challenges the overall business model of Major League Baseball, alledging that they have conducted anticompetitive practices in not allowing the Athletics to move to San Jose, where it is believed they will drastically increase revenue, the one aspect that strikes a chord with me is what deals with the MLB constitution.  The suit claims that the league-wide constitution expired last year, and was never renewed by the owners, and thus any provisions such as territorial rights owned by the San Francisco Giants, would no longer be valid.

Everyone has their opinions as to what should be done with the Athletics, many are adamant that the team needs to stay in Oakland no matter what, some feel the only true solution for success is to move down to San Jose where revenue will be plentiful, and others simply want a solution where the Athletics remain in the Bay Area.  I fall into the latter category, while I would absolutely love to see the Athletics stay in Oakland, where I do believe the team belongs, I’d much rather have them move to San Jose than leave the Bay Area altogether.  There is no doubt that residing in the East Bay gives the Oakland A’s a lot of what makes them special, and a lot of that might be lost by relocating to the South Bay, but it’s still better than having no team at all.

There’s no doubt that a move to San Jose would alienate a lot of fans, and that’s a shame because the Athletics are such a fun team to root for.  But as made evident by this weekend’s embarrassing incident in the clubhouse, the O.co Coliseum has gone far past being just being outdated, it’s embarrassing.  While we all stood up for the Coliseum a few weeks ago when Jon Heyman made his infamous comments about “ATandT” Park during the Bay Bridge Series, there is no defending something like this.

For the longest time all we’ve wanted was some kind of answer, regardless of whether we would like it or not.  Dealing with the unknown of this situation has grown tired, and it is refreshing to see someone finally taking action.  This litigation process will undoubtedly take a while on its own, but at least we can take comfort in knowing they might actually be working towards a resolution.

Billy Beane got his man! And there aren’t USA Today pictures of Billy McKinney… (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

The book on McKinney is that he has one of those classic left handed “sweet swings.”  The first name that comes to mind when I hear that associated with the Athletics is Ben Grieve, that’s a horrifying thought but hopefully McKinney has better tools than Ben did.  He projects to stay at a corner outfield spot due to his general lack of speed, but he figures to hit for both average and power.  Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com proclaimed he just might be the best pure high school hitter in this year’s draft, high praise indeed.

He figures to start playing in short season ball, much like Addison Russell did last year after his signing.  With youth on his side, McKinney will have plenty of time to gradually develop and nurture his skills so he can be a productive hitter for the Athletics in a few years.

The Athletics have also signed their fourth round pick Dylan Covey, a 2010 first round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers with the 14th overall pick.  He didn’t sign with the Brewers after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

So far so good for the Athletics in draft season.

May 14, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Chris Resop (44) pitches the ball against the Texas Rangers during the tenth inning at O.co Coliseum. The Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics 6-5 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The primary purpose of this move is to help find a combination of relievers who can solidify the back end of the Athletics bullpen, which has struggled mightily this season.  Resop, one of the prime suspects in this case, had started the season quite strongly as he didn’t allow a run in his first 7 appearances.  But he had allowed 11 earned runs in his 12 appearances since then.  His ERA made a steady ascent from a nice and tidy 0.00 all the way to 6.00 in a matter of weeks.  The final straw came on Tuesday night when he surrendered two solo home runs to the Texas Rangers in the top of the 10th inning to put the A’s down by two, they would rally for 1 run but fell short.

Hideki Okajima was a late addition to the fold for the Athletics, and showed some signs of his former self with the Boston Red Sox during Spring Training.  But consistency was still lacking and he was sent to Triple A Sacramento to continue working on his stuff in hopes of getting a call up to Oakland.  In 16.2 innings with the River Cats Okajima has posted a 2.16 ERA with a WHIP of just 0.78.  His command has been there as well, walking just two batters while striking out 18.  He will be a useful veteran presence in the bullpen for the Athletics and will be available tonight for Bob Melvin.