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…)

Where's Our Stadium, Lew? (Photo Credit: AP)

We all know that the Oakland Athletics play in one of dumpiest places in major league baseball, but did you know the team’s Triple-A affiliate plays in an oasis in Northern California?

Well, maybe not an oasis, but Raley Field is sure a heck of a lot better than Oakland’s O.co Coliseum. Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats, outshines O.co Coliseum in every facet of the game. From the atmosphere to the Food & Beverage, Raley Field is a much more respectable place to call “home.”

The A’s, meanwhile, can only watch as their Triple-A club basks in all the glory that is Raley Field. Mired in a tough stadium situation, one that has a stranglehold on their long-term planning, the A’s are forced to continue to play in the outdated Coliseum.  (more…)

Well, as noted before on this site, the A’s have a few talented hitters waiting to make an impact on the big-league level. Oakland’s pitching staff over the past few seasons has been a bright spot for an organization that hasn’t had a winning season since 2006, but the team’s offense has been the exact opposite of good.

It’s been terrible.

General manager Billy Beane, who was portrayed by A-Lister Brad Pitt in the film Moneyball, has seen his critics grow in population over the past few years.

With the larger market teams implementing the same techniques utilized by Oakland in the early 2000′s, the A’s are once again at the opposite end of the baseball spectrum, struggling to find an even playing field with the higher-up’s in baseball. As a result, Beane’s efforts to put a winning team together have fell short.

In recent drafts, the A’s have made a real effort in drafting talented young hitters. In this year’s draft, the A’s chose pitcher Sonny Grey, but overall, the A’s have tried to address some of their glaring problems on offense.  (more…)