After the conclusion of the 2008 season, in which the A’s failed to reach the .500 mark, Billy Beane and Co. decided to trade away for Colorado’s prized slugger Matt Holliday. In that deal with Colorado, the A’s sent pitchers Huston Street, Greg Smith and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. As most of you already know, the Holliday deal was a total flop.
In 93 games with Oakland, Holliday hit .286/.378/.454 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs before getting shipped to the St. Louis Cardinals. And after being traded, Holliday hit .353/.419/.604 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. In return, the [...]

The A’s enter Monday tied for second-place in the American League West with the Angels, as both clubs trail the Texas Rangers by 8.0 games. In their last series, the A’s split a four-game set at home against the well-balanced Tampa Bay Rays. In fact, Oakland should have taken three games in the series if it hadn’t been for their shaky bullpen in game three.
All of that, however, is in the past. The A’s will embark on a 10 game road trip starting Tuesday, with stops in Cleveland, Texas and New York. This upcoming road trip is possibly the most [...]

When General Manager Billy Beane set out to rebuild the A’s back in 2007, we all knew that young pitching would most likely be the starting point. Since his massive overhaul took place following the Dan Haren trade, the A’s have seen young players like Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro mature into young studs.
For the sake of this post, however, I’m just focusing on the A’s young ace Trevor Cahill, who has already surpassed his win total from last season. Cahill owns an 11-4 record through 19 starts, and has a team leading 2.72 ERA. Along [...]

The Oakland A’s were dealt another blow, as Ben Sheets was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 20). The A’s veteran pitcher is out due to an elbow injury. In fact, it’s the same elbow that caused Sheets to miss the entire 2009 season.
The A’s, who have been adressing trade rumors involving Sheets, are uncertain where the veteran stands at now. The A’s were fully aware of the potential risks that came along with Sheets and his $10 million contract, but they were also aware of the upside Sheets would bring to their relatively young rotation. That’s [...]

The Oakland A’s are known for making their share of moves at the trade deadline, but General Manager, Billy Beane, insists that the team will remain relatively quiet this year. The A’s, who enter Tuesday one game below .500 and 8.0 games behind first-place Texas, have a few chips they could potentially deal before the deadline. Ben Sheets, who was signed this offseason for a healthy $10 million, could be dealt to a team looking for a solid arm. Sheets (4-9, 4.53 ERA), who has pitched better recently (1-2, 2.51 ERA in July), should stay in Oakland simply because of [...]

Despite the franchise’s recent struggles, the Oakland Athletics will be getting their own feature-length film. Brad Pitt will star as A’s General Manager, Billy Beane, in the upcoming flick, ‘Moneyball.’ The movie, which will be an adaptation of Michael Lewis’ best-seller, revolves around Beane as he tries to put together a winning team on a budget. The movie also stars Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright. As of today, Pitt has begun shooting the film in LA. For the full story on Pitt’s role as Billy Beane, you can click here.
Personally, I think this film is a [...]

While the Oakland A’s may be last in the league with just 52 team home runs, don’t expect A’s GM Billy Beane to call up top prospects Chris Carter and Michael Taylor any time soon. Aside from Carter and Taylor, the A’s do have some other talented prospects, who are playing the same waiting game that Carter and Taylor are.
Earlier this week, Swingin’ A’s had a Q&A session with A’s writer, Nathaniel Stoltz about the A’s minor league system. Topics included when fans can expect Carter and Taylor to see time in the majors, as well as other top prospects [...]

Never count out Billy Beane, not for a second. The guy is crazy, especially when it comes to dealing his players in trades. According to multiple sources, the A’s are thinking about dealing second baseman, Mark Ellis.
According to Jon Morosi of FOXSports, there’s a ‘40/60′ chance that Oakland would make Ellis available to other teams. The only thing standing in the way, however, is Ellis’ full-no trade clause. Ellis could, however, waive that clause if the team decides to deal him to a contending team.
Teams that could definitely use Ellis’ services include the Philadelphia Phillies, who are without Chase Utley, [...]

In years past, the Oakland Athletics have usually been reluctant to sign some of their most talented players to respectable contracts. This trend, however, needs to stop. In 2011, the Oakland A’s should have a pretty decent amount of spending money, as Eric Chavez ($12.5 million this season), and Ben Sheets ($10 million this season) will likely no longer be in Oakland.
This gives the A’s the chance to retain one of their most talented and brightest young players, Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki, who led the A’s last season with 88 RBIs, leads the team in home runs this season, with 10. [...]

Remember when the A’s were in first place? It wasn’t that long ago, really. Earlier this month the A’s were sitting atop the AL West, but have been rather inconsistent since then. Currently 2-8 in their last 10 games, the A’s sit in third place and are ahead of the last place Mariners by just 2.5 games. This current free fall is the result of poor pitching and inconsistent offensive production.
The A’s pitchers have struggled mightily on the road, and the offense has not been consistent enough to help out the starting rotation. Ben Sheets, the A’s $10 million man, owns [...]