Sure, our General manager Billy Beane is hard at work trying to get us ready for the future, but we’re not interested in the future are we? We’re interested in the here and now, huh?

Well, unfortunately for our poor souls, we’ll have to wait a while before the green-and-gold become competitive again. The team has a few players to get excited about, but even they’re not figured to make much of an impact on what should be a year of player development in 2012.

Recent trade acquisition Jarrod Parker, the centerpiece of the Trevor Cahill trade, joins my list of the five players I’m most excited about heading into the new year. While some may feel the Cahill trade favored Arizona more than it did Oakland, I’m really excited to see what Gray, a former 1st round draft pick from 2007, can do with the A’s organization. (more…)