2010

The Oakland Athletics lost one of their own to the dark-side this week, as Eric Chavez signed a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees. Most will point out that, Chavez, 33, has not been a productive player for some time now, but the A’s former Gold Glove winner will certainly be missed. The A’s cut ties with the third-baseman when the team decided not to pick up Chavez’s option for the 2011 season. The A’s signed Chavez to a six-year deal worth $66 million in 2004, and got just two productive years out of Chavez in return. Injuries derailed [...]

The Oakland A’s surprised many people this year, as the team finished with a .500 record and a second-place finish in the American League West. The team, anchored by a stellar cast of young arms, stayed in the division race for much of the year before losing out to the eventual AL Pennant winners Texas Rangers. While the A’s missed out on the playoffs for a fourth straight year, the team did show a ton of promise and upside in 2010. Heading into 2011, the A’s will be led by their young rotation that led baseball in quality starts (109). [...]

The A’s made some adjustments to their roster on Sunday, and according to the A’s official website, the team moved John Meloan and Justin Souza to Triple-A Sacramento. The A’s also shuffled Gabe Gross and Jeff Larish around by placing them in Triple-A as well. Gross and Larish, however, opted to become free agents rather than accept the trip back to the minors. Gross, who joined the A’s this past off-season, batted just .239 with a home run and 25 RBIs. You could say that Gross’ performance was hindered by the fact that the A’s used him in the lineup [...]

It’s no secret that the A’s biggest strength heading into next season will be their starting pitching. The A’s have essentially laid out all the foundation for yet another “Big Three” with Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and Gio Gonzalez becoming the second coming of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito . The A’s offense, however, will need more than just a tweak or two this off season. A’s GM Billy Beane’s number one priority should be to improve the offense this winter. The A’s ranked 17th in batting average (.256), 16th in OBP (.324), 26th in SLG (.378), and [...]

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that I had my doubts about 1B Daric Barton prior to the start of this season. Barton, 25, proved me wrong, however. I’m glad he did. Heading into spring training, many thought that the A’s had lost hope in Daric Barton, as they had long-time 3B Eric Chavez shift over to first. Chavez, coming off yet another surgery, was supposed to share time at first with Barton, who had failed to live up to the hype that once surrounded his name. The A’s also had highly-touted prospect IF/OF Chris Carter at first, and [...]

Say it ain’t so, Joe! According to FOXSports.com, the Oakland A’s pitching coach, Curt Young, who has spent 27 years within the organization decided to decline his contract for the 2011 season. According to the report, Young left the team in order to pursue another opportunity within the league. Young joined the big-league team in 2004, and has served as the team’s pitching coach ever since. The A’s young rotation, which includes Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and Gio Gonzalez pitched well this past season thanks in part because of Young’s guidance. It is disappointing news for the A’s, who led [...]

I know I already addressed this issue in a previous piece earlier this month, but the San Francisco Giants are really starting to drive me nuts. The Giants have the Philadelphia Phillies within one game of elimination, and that’s really disturbing to me for some reason. While I can’t discredit the Giants’ stellar pitching staff, the team was not a big pre-season favorite to make it the World Series. While they have yet to do so, the team is pretty much on the verge of sending Philly home packing. But my argument has nothing to do with the Giants-Phillies, but [...]

With the regular season finally over, it is time to take a look back at the 81-81 2010 Oakland Athletics. Heading into the season, the A’s were optimistic about their chances in a weakened AL West, and for many fans this season had its share of missed opportunities. The Ben Sheets deal will probably stand out as the year’s biggest bust, but there’s no denying that this season saw a young pitching staff make significant strides in their growth and development. Heading into next season, the A’s will have their work cut out for them, but they’re just a few [...]

Despite being eliminated from playoff contention this past weekend, the Oakland A’s are ready to just finish this season on a high-note. The A’s, who finished their final home-stand on Sunday, went 47-34 at home this year compared to last season’s mark of 40-41. The A’s will head to Anaheim on Monday to face the Angels, who are currently two games behind the A’s for second-place. This season has not been kind to the Angels, who lost Kendry Morales earlier this season, but they’re still trying to finish the season strong. The A’s, who have seen their young pitching mature [...]

With less than one month to go before the regular season ends, the Oakland A’s are currently behind the first-place Rangers by 7.0 games. The Rangers (75-62) are 3-7 over their last 10, and are currently on a four-game skid. Meanwhile the A’s are 5-5 over their last 10. The Rangers’ lead in the west is still very comfortable, but the A’s are still hanging around in the division. The A’s young core of arms is getting better with each passing day, and as a result of their growth, the team owns the league’s 4th best ERA (3.53). Guys like [...]