Beane

Things are not looking to good in Oakland right now. The A’s are trying to gain approval to build a new stadium in San Jose, but MLB and Bud Selig are apparently far too busy right now to deliver a decision that’s been nearly three years in the making. While the team waits around for a decision, rumors have been circulating around Oakland that seem to suggest that GM Billy Beane would be willing to listen to offers for all of his players not named Jemile Weeks. That means the A’s would be willing to deal young players like Trevor Cahill, [...]

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane recently stated during an end of season address to the media that he has no plans to leave Oakland. It has been long rumored that Beane, who was recently portrayed by Brad Pitt in the movie “Moneyball,” could begin pursuing other posts outside of Oakland. Given the team’s recent stadium and payroll constraints, Beane could very well walk away from the job that helped establish him as one of the best GMs in the game. The A’s, currently mired in a playoff drought, are facing a ton of questions regarding their future in the [...]

Heading into the 2010 season, many expected the newly revamped Seattle Mariners to clash with the Los Angeles Angels for the division crown. The Mariners, who added players like Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley, Casey Kotchman and Cliff Lee to their roster during the offseason, had hoped their aggressive offseason would lead to a division title in 2010. After all, the Angels lost players like John Lackey, Chone Figgins, and Vladimir Guerrero that offseason. Many baseball experts, writers, and bloggers like myself, seemed certain that the Mariners would give the Angels a run for their money in 2010. I even went [...]

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 [...]

Oakland A’s GM, Billy Beane may be the smartest GM out there, but he is not without his mistakes. Earlier this offseason, the A’s GM signed free agent OF, Coco Crisp, to a one-year, $5 million contract. Crisp, who is coming off an injury plagued 2009 season (shoulders), was among Beane’sfavorite players this offseason. Now, Beane has made some ludicrous deals before in the past, but he really screwed up this one. Dishing out $5 million to a guy like Crisp, who has little to no significant trade value, is a really bad investment. However, in his defense, Beane did [...]

Seldom do the Oakland A’s dish out major bucks to free agent, let alone a pitcher—but this offseason Billy Beane and the A’s front office lived life on the so-called “edge” and signed SP Ben Sheets. All it took to bring Sheets to Oakland was a one year, $10 million deal plus incentives. The deal was a bit of a shock, considering it was Oakland that Ben Sheets decided to sign with. Nevertheless, the A’s are taking a risk signing Sheets, 31, who failed to pitch in the 2009 season. The A’s are surely hoping that Sheets will return to [...]

When the A’s started rebuilding after the 2007 season, they knew starting pitching would be an element for success. The A’s traded away Dan Haren to Arizona in exchange for group of talented young prospects. One of those prospects ended up being 2009 AL ROY Candidate, Brett Anderson. The A’s used Anderson as a starter in their young rotation last season. The results at first weren’t exactly great. Anderson’s ERA in four April starts was 5.01. It later ballooned to 6.38 for five May starts. And for five starts in June his ERA was 5.00. However, as the season progressed, [...]

With the 2010 season just months away, the Oakland A’s are heading into Spring Training with a new look infield as well as an improved starting rotation. Oakland A’s GM, Billy Beane addressed several areas of need this offseason by adding 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (.255/.302/.420, 15 HR, 88 RBI), CF Coco Crisp and IF Jake Fox (.259/.311/.468, 11 HR, 44 RBI). With Kouzmanoff the A’s addressed their need for an everyday third-baseman with potential to hit for some power. Aside from the offensive production each player should bring for the A’s, their defense will be most critical. The A’s seemed [...]