Jan. 21, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Former New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza attends the game between the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. Denver won in double overtime, 119-114. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

So this year the Hall of Fame voting really packs a punch, with many players who were front and center of the steroid era making their first appearances on the ballot.  I’ll get to them shortly.  But there are a few players on this ballot who spent some time in Oakland during their careers as well.  Some of those players may fall in that steroid category as well.

Mark McGwire was the first steroid era player to be subjected to the voting process, and he hasn’t come anywhere close to getting in.  It is beginning to look like he may never make it in.  He and Jose Canseco were among the first to use steroids in baseball, and right now he’s the scapegoat in this process.

Other former Athletics such as Mike Piazza who spent part of the 2007 season with the club.  He didn’t show the same kind of power he did earlier in his career, but still hit a respectable .275/.313/.414 in 329 plate appearances.  Todd Walker played the final 18 games of his Major League career in Oakland in 2007 as well and hit .271/.288/.292 before being released.  Walker has absolutely no shot at making the Hall, but his presence on the ballot has to be gratifying for him.

Tim Raines played for the Athletics in 1999 at age 39 and hit .215/.337/.341 in 164 plate appearances, he played once more for the Montreal Expos, and the Baltimore Orioles, and finished his career with the Florida Marlins.

This year’s vote will be a major test as to what the psyche of the voters is towards suspected PED users.  I think ultimately Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa will all make the Hall, but perhaps not this time around.  I expect Jack Morris to finally make that push over the edge and get in, and Craig Biggio should get the votes as well.  I’d like to see Jeff Bagwell get in with Biggio, that would be a great moment for the Houston Astros before they prepare to suffer a beatdown at the hands of the A’s (hehe).  I think Mike Piazza will get the votes as well, and he is more than deserving as perhaps the best power hitting catcher of all time.

I feel like it’s not fair to single out certain players for their alledged PED use when it’s pretty clear there was rampant use across the league.  Who knows what the pitchers these guys were taking (See Roger Clemens), and it’s simply a part of baseball history that can’t be ignored.  It’ll most definitely be a fascinating vote breakdown when it’s all said and done.

Pregame ceremony including a jet flyover at O.co Coliseum (Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE)

It was a night of “unusuals” for two main reasons, first the impressive display of power not seen in Oakland since the likes of Jason Giambi first wore the white spikes, or perhaps harkening back to the Bash Brothers era with Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, and second, the large crowd that was there to witness it.  It’s been a constant thorn in the side of dedicated A’s fans that the Coliseum is largely empty most games these days.  But this night, 35,067 fans jam packed the place to get the first true look at the 2012 A’s.

I arrived roughly an hour before game time, the trek from the North Bay down 580 and 880 is nothing short of arduous, so I consider that an accomplishment.  We (myself and my wife-to-be) settled into our cozy seats in section 119, feeling every bit as excited as the bleacher creatures who had been there since the parking lot opened at 2PM.  A little pomp an circumstance took place, fireworks, color guard, an oversized flag, and don’t forget the sweet jet flyover.  A moment of silence for the victims of that horrible shooting at Oikos University in Oakland earlier in the week was a very nice touch as well.  The introductions of the players were the norm, “And now the Assistant to the Travelling Secretary!”  It was good to see Dallas Braden there and get some love, he seemed to appreciate it too.  A big welcome to Oakland from me to Jonny Gomes, the aforementioned pride of Petaluma.  The part everyone was waiting for certainly was the introduction of CF Yoenis Cespedes, he probably received the loudest ovation of all.

The game itself was not all that unusual, the A’s shot themselves in the foot a few times, gave the Mariners extra outs and it cost them the game.  Brandon McCarthy didn’t have a lot of help, but he did not help himself either.  It was a game that I think most realistic A’s fans in attendance knew wasn’t going our way fairly early on in the evening.  The error by Josh Donaldson was frightening to me, his throw led Jemile Weeks right into the runner, causing him to collide with his left arm and shoulder, spinning him around.  We’ve seen this before, and guys easily get separated or dislocated shoulders for their troubles in this situation, thankfully Jemile did not receive such punishment.  The game became almost comical when on consecutive plays Cespedes and RF Josh Reddick caught potential sacfrice flies only to drop the ball during the transfer to the throwing hand.  The runner on 3rd Chone Figgins respected the arm of Cespedes and was simply bluffing, but he scored easily on the fly to Reddick.  Neither were errors, but ominous signs of the defense we have to look forward to.

The crowd was at its angriest on two occasions.  When Jemile reached base on a throwing error, and went all the way to 3rd when 3B Kyle Seager airmailed the ball to the Seattle bullpen, only to have the entire play wiped out when the home plate umpire decided he fouled the ball off his foot.  Jemile subsequently swung at strike 3 that appeared to be around his eyeballs.  The other play that angered the masses was the sacrifice fly that plated Brendon Ryan, but after further review later on, a nice slide and a lack of blocking the plate by Kurt Suzuki was the culprit.

The A’s tried to spring to life in the 8th, but it was far too little too late.

I felt very similar to how Chris Townsend described it on A’s Talk on 95.7 The Game afterwards as we made our way back north.  It was an ugly game, and if we see this a lot we most likely won’t see a ton of wins, but Yoenis Cespedes gave us all reason to watch these guys all season long.  Watching that home run on television simply does not do it justice, watching it in person does.  I’m hopeful a few of the fans who attended last night’s game were sold on the idea of attending more to see the power display that can be put on by Mr. Number 52.  I know I’ll be there (next game Monday night vs. the KC Royals).  I hope to see many of you as well.

Check me out on Twitter @SeanD25, see my take on everything else baseball at Baseball Obsessed, and follow everything Swingin’ A’s @FS_SwinginAs.

Will Carter live up to all the hype? (Photo Courtesy of media.scout.com)

Well, maybe they’re not exactly “bash brothers” like Conseco and McGwire were in the late 80′s/early 90′s, but A’s prospects Chris Carter and Michael Taylor figure provide the power that Oakland has been missing for several years.

Carter, 23, was named the A’s top prospect due to his very productive season in the minors. In his impressive 2009 campaign, Carter hit .329 with 28 homers, 115 RBIs and a .992 OPS. In his minor league career, the 23 year old has managed to hit 67 homers, and knock in 219 runs (275 Reg. Season games). Carter also performed well in critical games, which is evident by his nine homers in 19 playoff games. And despite doing most of his damaged in Double-A, where his .337 with 24 homers, 101 RBIs in 125 games, Carter is expected to make an easy transition into Triple-A and eventually the big leagues.

Carter is expected to join the A’s sometime this season, but as of now, Carter isn’t expected to break with the major league team. The A’s want to make sure that he’s ready before he gets the call up to the majors. Make no mistake, once Carter is up in the big leagues, he’s there to stay.

Another key prospect, is OF Michael Taylor, who was brought to the A’s via trade with Toronto. In the trade, the A’s sent prospect, Brett Wallace (acquired from Holliday trade), to Toronto. Despite having high praise for Wallace, the A’s must’ve felt that he wasn’t going to be able to play third-base in the majors—since they traded him shortly after acquiring him.

Taylor, the A’s second-highest rated prospect, is close to major league ready. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound outfielder, is considered by the A’s to be a five-tool player. Here’s a little bit of what A’s GM, Billy Beane said about acquiring Taylor, “We just think that not only is he a good prospect and player now, he continues to get better every year.” (Mercury News).

With Taylor, the A’s finally have a player who could potentially hit 25 or 30 homers in a single season. In 314 minor league games (only 30 in AAA), Taylor has hit .314. Last season, the 24 year old, hit 20 homers (Double-A/Triple-A split). And in 2008, he hit 19. The A’s are desperately counting on Taylor to be a player who will provide the “thunder” in the middle of the lineup for years to come. In my own opinion, Taylor seems to be the real deal—and he should have no problem adjusting to the majors. 

Although both players aren’t expected to open with the A’s, both are expected to appear sometime in the future. Until then, A’s fans will have to wait patiently to see a reincarnated “Bash Brothers” do damage in Oakland.