Barry Zito

Remember the days when the A’s actually, I don’t know, won baseball games? For those of you who need a little refresher, the video of the week will do just the trick to remind you of the days when the A’s were actually competitive. The clip, which happens to be an old commercial from 2004, features two thirds of Oakland’s “Big Three” as Mark Mulder faces off against Barry Zito. The clip is rather humorous, and the reaction from Mulder at the end is priceless. Mulder and Zito won a combined 28 games for Oakland in ’04, with Mulder going [...]

Heading into the season, many believed that Oakland’s pitching staff would be enough to keep the team in contention throughout most of the year. Unfortunately for the Athletics, early injuries to starting pitchers Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson helped to derail the A’s hopes for playoff contention this year. Earlier this year, I praised Oakland’s strong starting rotation, even dubbing them the “Fab Four.” In retrospect, however, Oakland’s starting staff fails in comparison Oakland’s driving force during the early 2000′s: “The Big Three.” In comparison to the original “Big Three,” Oakland’s new “Big Three,” (forget about the Fab Four reference, [...]

The Oakland Athletics entered the season with a certain sense of optimism, but two months into the season, the A’s have fallen off the rails a bit. Led by manager Bob Geren, the A’s have been annoyingly inconsistent at the plate, and as a result, the team has failed to support a very talented starting rotation. Critics of the A’s will likely point to the team’s inability to score runs as the primary factor holding the team from reaching its potential, but there are other factors in play when considering the reasons why the A’s haven’t lived up to their [...]

Remember when the A’s began dismantling their highly acclaimed “Big Three,” a rotation that included the likes of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito? If you do, then you’ll also remember that the trade the took Mulder away from the confines of the Coliseum and into St. Louis, was the one that brought Daric Barton and Dan Haren to Oakland. The deal, much better than the one that sent Hudson to Atlanta, definitely had its perks for the A’s. Haren turned out to be a very solid starter during his time in Oakland, and Barton had a lot of [...]

Great starting pitching and a cast of solid hitters proved to be a recipe for success for the A’s in the early 2000′s. Remember the days of Oakland’s “Big Three” of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito? Remember how they helped mold the A’s into perennial playoff contenders year in and year out? Those days may be over, but it seems a new generation is upon us. A’s GM Billy Beane has done a pretty solid job in laying out the foundation for yet another “Big Three.” Young hurlers like Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and Gio Gonzalez just might [...]

So much for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma playing in green-and-gold next season. According to the SFChronicle, and the A’s official site, the A’s talks with Iwakuma have stalled. The A’s reportedly posted a $19 million posting fee in order to negotiate with Iwakuma, but if a deal is not completed by December 7, the A’s will get their posting fee returned. The A’s, according to rumors, offered Iwakuma a four-year deal worth about $15.25 million. Iwakuma’s agent, meanwhile, argued that the A’s offer was far too low. In fact, according to reports, the Iwakuma camp was looking for Barry Zito [...]

With the World Series finally over, expect the MLB Hot Stove to quickly heat up. The Oakland A’s, who are expected to have a little more financial flexibility this offseason, could make some noise this winter by adding a bat or two. The A’s will have at least $20 million to play with this winter, and have plenty of minor league talent to put together a package deal for a proven slugger. While it’s a stretch to say that the A’s will have a chance to sign multi-talented OF Carl Crawford, baseball is a funny thing, so anything can happen. [...]

The Oakland A’s have a couple of player options to deal with this winter, but more importantly, they have the opportunity to address their anemic offense this winter. The A’s are expected to have over $20 million to spend this winter after they dump Ben Sheets‘ $10 million contract and decline Eric Chavez’s $12 million option for 2011. While A’s owner Lew Wolff has said in the past that he does not expect the team to make any surprising moves this winter, it’s difficult to imagine a completely quiet winter this year for Oakland. This has to be one of [...]

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 Oakland A’s trailing the Texas Rangers in the AL West race by 7.5 games, it seems likely that the A’s will miss out on a chance to play in the post-season. They’ve had their opportunities, however, to make up some serious ground recently. As an optimist, however, I still hold out hope that the A’s will make a serious late—and I mean late—season run. But if they don’t catch Texas, however, there’s always next year. The A’s figure to be an even better team next season, especially since their pitching will more than likely continue their growth and [...]