The A’s might have a relatively harmless offense on paper, but that does not mean they’re absolutely horrendous. In Saturday’s game against the first-place Rangers, the A’s rather punchless offense got to former A’s-ace, Rich Harden, and beat the Rangers, 6-2. The A’s are hoping for another win against Texas, as the team tries to pull within 7.5 games of the Rangers. The A’s are also hoping to get closer Andrew Bailey back soon, as he should start to throw today. Getting Bailey back, who has been dealing with a strained rib-cage, would be helpful, but the bullpen has done a [...]

According to the SF Chronicle, there is a chance that OF Coco Crisp, who signed a one-year deal with Oakland, will start tonight in the opening game of the series against the Giants. Crisp, who was scheduled to make a Triple-A appearance tonight, is said to be taking batting practice in Oakland! Here’s the official scoop
Other NOTES:
Earlier today Chad Gaudin was released by the A’s. Gaudin had the fourth highest ERA in the AL, and had struggled in his last three outings. Gaudin’s second-stint with Oakland was obviously not what we all expected.
Barry Zito, ex-A’s ace, is scheduled to start tonight [...]

Vin Mazzaro, who just so happens to be one of my new favorite A’s players, will be making his 2010 seasonal debut against the Texas Rangers tonight. Yesterday, the A’s faltered against former-Athletic (also one of my favorite players), Rich Harden. Harden’s fastball isn’t what it used to be, but it consistently hit 93 mph on the gun last night. The A’s hitters looked silly and dazed, but they will look to improve tonight against Texas pitcher, Scott Feldman (1-2, 4.50 ERA).
Mazzaro, who went 4-9 with a 5.32 in 17 starts last season, will be filling in for the ailing [...]

At 9-5, the Oakland Athletics are in first place and hold a 2 1/2 game lead over the defending divsion champion Los Angeles Angels. The A’s starting pitching has been the main ingredient for success, but certain players on offense are making solid contributions early in the season.
Daric Barton, Ryan Sweeney and Cliff Pennington are the three players who have gotten off to solid starts for the A’s offense. Barton, who came to Oakland in the 2004 Mark Mulder trade, is finally starting to look like the highly-touted prospect he once was. Sweeney, who came to Oakland in the Nick [...]

Justin Duchscherer, who hasn’t pitched since 2008, will look to continue the A’s strong pitching. Last night, Dallas Braden struck out a career high 10 en route to an A’s victory over the Seattle Mariners in extra-innings.  
Duchscherer, who is 1-3 with a 4.37 ERA as a starter against Seattle, will counter the Mariner’s Ryan Rowand-Smith, who is 2-1 with a 3.11 ERA lifetime against the A’s.
The A’s hope Duchscherer can last six innings, especially after last night’s 10 inning affair. The A’s offense, however, will need to be much more productive. A’s catcher, Kurt Suzuki, who hit 15 homers [...]

I was in the ninth grade when I first read Michael Lewis’ best-selling book, Moneyball. Ironically, it was my math teacher, who was an Angels fan, that lent me the book. At the time, I was a probably the only A’s fan at my high school, which was located in the heart of “Angel Nation.” Regardless of my surroundings, I enjoyed the book and I really learned a lot about my favorite team, the Oakland Athletics.
But so much has changed since then. The A’s no longer have Nick Swisher, Joe Blanton, Chad Bradford and other players that were mentioned in [...]

Remember the A’s “Big Three” that consisted of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito? Do you remember how effective the three aces were for the A’s in early part of the 2000’s?
If you do remember, you probably remember how A’s GM, Billy Beane, dismantled the trio as well. After Hudson and Mulder were dealt (Hudson deal=bust for the A’s), Zito was left alone to man a staff that many seen as incapable of leading the A’s to the playoffs in 2005.
For the most part, the analysts were right when assuming Oakland would miss the playoffs in 2005. However, the [...]

Remember the Mark Mulder trade? Remember how shocking it was to see A’s GM, Billy Beane, dismantle the A’s “Big Three” of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito?
More importantly, do you remember who the A’s received in exchange for Mulder’s services?
Most notable is All-Star pitcher, Dan Haren, who is now pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks. But aside from the obvious, the A’s also received Daric Barton (and Kiko Calero) from the St. Louis Cardinals.
The A’s thought highly of Haren, but they also invested a lot of time and effort in Daric Barton. Barton, who is entering his third season [...]

Trevor Cahill A\’s Highlight
In the early 2000’s, the Oakland A’s had a rotation that featured the “Big Three”, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. Those three starters were responsible in making Oakland a perennial playoff contender  for the early part of that decade. But once the “Big Three” was completely dismantled by A’s GM, Billy Beane, Oakland experienced a playoff mini-drought.
The A’s last trip to the playoffs was in 2006, where Barry Zito led a trio-less staff. The A’s swept the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS and advanced to the ALCS only to get swept by the Detroit Tigers. [...]