September 22, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Tyson Ross (66) throws a pitch during the fourteenth inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-US PRESSWIRE

On the surface this really seems like a change of scenery type move, as Ross had always struggled in Oakland.  Over 3 partial seasons in Oakland, as a starter and in the bullpen, Ross posted a 5.33 ERA over 148.2 innings.  He made 21 starts over that time, often in situations where the A’s had exhausted almost all other options.  Ross always seemed like a good teammate, and he’s a local guy so it’s really too bad it didn’t work out in Oakland.  It was obvious though that he would never find any real success with the A’s, so a move to pitcher friendly (Although somewhat less so in 2013 and beyond due to the fences being moved in) Petco Park can only help his career.  He’ll join his younger brother Joe in the Padres organization, so without a doubt that has to be a silver lining for Ross.

A.J. Kirby-Jones was an intriguing fringe prospect for the A’s, seemed to show some signs of being able to hit in the lower minors with a .248/.382/.461 line with the Stockton Ports, going deep 21 times.  Chances are he’ll wind up in Double A San Antonio for the Padres in 2013.

On the receiving end, Andy Parrino played primarily shortstop for the Padres last season, he made appearances at 2B, 3B, and even a cameo in RF.  His numbers will jump off the page, but for all the wrong reasons.  His .207/.316/.276 line wreaks of Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales.  The knee jerk reaction to this deal is that Billy Beane was serious about bottom feeding, and this is going to be our starting shortstop in 2013.  I have a really hard time believing that.  Assistant GM David Forst told Susan Slusser that Parrino will be in the conversation for the starting gig, but personally that seems like an executive saying the right thing and talking up a new acquisition.  If the A’s want to seriously contend for the division once again, Andy Parrino simply cannot be the Opening Day shortstop.

Andrew Werner falls under the “throws left, has pulse” category.  He made 8 starts for the Padres last season, and posted a 2-3 record with a 5.58 ERA.  But as the 2012 season clearly demonstrated, you can never have too much pitching.  Werner will in all likelihood take over the organizational role that Tyson Ross filled, and he may find himself wearing out the I-80 corridor between Oakland and Sacramento throughout the season.

This is a minor deal in all aspects, none of these players are expected to have major impacts on their teams next year.  Sometimes perhaps GMs just make a deal for the sake of making a deal.  Hopefully Ross figures it out in San Diego, and maybe someone down there can iron out that horrific hitch in his delivery.

The 2012 season was the year of Brandon in Oakland, perhaps 2013 will be the year of Andrew.

It was a game that the A’s were in a position to win, but the Texas Rangers had other ideas.  For the second time on this road trip an Athletics starter turned in a really solid start as Dan Straily sidestepped defensive miscues to pitch 6.2 strong innings.  The A’s got themselves on the board first when Josh Donaldson hit a no doubt 2 run home run to the back of the bleachers in left center field.  Straily though was unable to convert the total shut down inning after a hit-by-pitch and an error put Michael Young at 3rd base, Mitch Moreland got jammed but muscled a ball to left to bring in Young.

September 24, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers teammates swarm third baseman Adrian Beltre (center) after his walk off single against the Oakland Athletics in the ninth inning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers won 5-4 beating the Oakland Athletics. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-US PRESSWIRE

The A’s would get that run back when Yoenis Cespedes launched his 21st home run of the season just as far as Donaldson’s.  Straily would settle down the scoring for a couple innings until Josh Hamilton, back in the lineup after dealing with some eye issues hit a solo home run every bit as far as Donaldson’s or Cespedes’ for his 43rd of the season.  The A’s would answer back again with a Pennington RBI single, and at that point it looked like the A’s were poised to grab game 1 of this series.

Dan Straily came out for the 7th inning after an ultra efficient 6 pitch 6th inning, he retired the first two batters without problem and was promptly removed from the game as Josh Hamilton came to bat. Over his 6.2 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (1 ER), and struck out 8 with 2 walks.

It appears that this was a predetermined move and Straily was not going to face Hamilton no matter what the situation was.  Jerry Blevins came in, who had retired Hamilton every time he’d faced him, but after a long battle Hamilton drew a walk.

Manager Bob Melvin took Blevins out and brought in Pat Neshek to face Adrian Beltre.  But a hanging slider up and out over the plate was crushed into the right field bleachers by Beltre who continues to be an A’s killer.  The game was tied and every bit of momentum the A’s had built evaporated in a few short seconds.

Ryan Cook blew away the Rangers in the 8th inning, paving the way for… Tyson Ross???  Yeah that Tyson Ross.  In a rather curious move with the likes of Grant Balfour and even Evan Scribner remaining in the bullpen, the tall right hander was tasked with keeping the Rangers off the board and attempting to send this game into extra innings.  Ross didn’t waste much time, which is the lone positive of this inning.  A Mitch Moreland single, another by Ian Kinsler, a sacrifice by Elvis Andrus, an intentional walk to Josh Hamilton, and a solid single up the middle by Adrian Beltre sealed the victory for the Rangers.

I know the bullpen has been worked real hard lately, and typically closers for visiting teams don’t enter a tie game, but this seemed like the moment to break that rule and save that tie.

It’s not bad enough that Beltre has repeatedly turned down chances to play for the A’s, he had to sign within our division and constantly come up huge against them.

This loss puts the A’s dreams of catching the Rangers for the AL West title on life support.  Now trailing by 5 games with 9 left to play, it’ll will take just about a clean sweep of the remaining 6 games against Texas to have any kind of chance.  Meanwhile in the wild card race the Baltimore Orioles split a double header today, so the A’s are 1.5 games behind the Orioles.  The Angels were off today so they gained a 1/2 game without lifting a finger and are 2 games behind the A’s.  At the moment it looks worse than it really is, the A’s still have a hold on a playoff spot by 2 games, but they really have to get their act together in a hurry or else the fast charging Angels will steal that spot from them.  Tommy Milone (13-10, 3.81 ERA) faces off against Yu Darvish (16-9, 3.90 ERA) as the A’s once again try to right the ship in the stormiest of stormy waters.

PS: Josh Reddick is now 0 for his last 27 with 2 walks in that span.  He was 0-1 with RISP.  The struggle continues.

Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

Absolutely nothing signifies the end of a season like expanded rosters in September. For the unaware, all teams are allowed to expand their rosters for one month only starting on September 1st. For non-contending teams, this affords fans and management a chance to watch prospects play at the big league level following the completion of the minor league season. The one provision of course. is that the prospect is added or already a member of the 40-man roster. For fans of underachieving and disappointing teams, this can provide optimism and build excitement for the future. For contending teams such as your 2012 Oakland Athletics, September will afford them the opportunity to amplify their roster with extra pitching, hitting, defense, and speed. Proper usage of the 40-man roster may prove helpful as the dog days of August transform into the final stretch run of September. With that said, here’s a look at some key players who may be on the way to help once the calendar month turns. Keep in mind that with the River Cats clinching their sixth straight Pacific Coast League division title, the A’s may be initially hesitant to strip Sacramento of their best players right before the playoffs, so many may join after September 1st.

Jemile Weeks

As amazing as this season has been, it hasn’t been all peaches and cream in Oakland for everyone. For instance, much was expected from Weeks after he injected excitement into the 2011 A’s with a .303/.340/.421 split upon his call up a year ago. Whether it was the pressure of being the unofficial poster boy of the A’s marketing push, or the league simply exploiting his weaknesses. Weeks completely and utterly fell on his face in 2012. Slumping to a .220/.305/.302 line, he found himself demoted to Sacramento upon the acquisition of Stephen Drew. Seemingly motivated to prove himself, Weeks has been on fire since returning to Sacramento hitting a robust .462/.548/.615 through six games with the River Cats. With Cliff Pennington and Adam Rosales doing little to put a grasp on the starting second baseman job in Oakland, it would come as no surprise if Weeks reclaimed his starting position in September.

Daric Barton

It’s hard to believe that this is Barton’s 8th year in the Athletics organization. During his tenure with the big club he has accomplished very little outside of strong 2010 season, where he notched an impressive 5.1 WAR on the strength of his ability to walk. Unfortunately he has largely been a colossal disappointment outside of that one year, with this season being no different. Barton was given a shot at nailing down the first base job after the release of Brandon Allen, and failed to provide any real value hitting .198/.325/.283 and being replaced by the production rich tandem of Chris Carter and Brandon Moss. Exiled and seemingly forgotten in Sacramento, Barton hasn’t exactly set the Pacific Coast League on fire hitting a pedestrian .248/.399/.407. With that said its hard to make the argument that Barton deserves to join the team in September based on his offense. However, he has always been an above average defender capable of making awe inspiring splits to save throwing errors as well as fielding his position adequately. The same can’t be said about Carter and Moss. A’s fans may not welcome him back with open arms, but Barton may yet help the team in September. As long as he doesn’t log too many at bats.

Dan Straily

The worldwide leader in strikeouts looked equally impressive and shaky during his 3 starts with the Athletics recently. While there’s no denying he has the stuff to succeed, his power slider/fastball combo certainly appears to be quite devastating. I question throwing a rookie who started the year in Double-A against the high powered lineups of the Rangers and Angels with so much at stake. There’s also the factor of workload. His 163 combined innings are already a career high and his confidence level could be severely hampered by a few bad starts in September. While it may be beneficial to have his talented arm in the bullpen, the 5th starter spot can be more then sufficiently held by Travis Blackley or the rehabbing A.J. Griffin who has shown no fear against tough competition as a rookie.

Tyson Ross

Perhaps the only man in the organization more loathed by Oakland fans then Barton, Tyson Ross has continually failed to impress in his stints with the A’s. In his latest spectacular failure, Ross imploded against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 23rd allowing 5 runs in the 5th inning after 4 spotless frames. Noticing that Ross seems to make a habit of being clobbered the second and third times through the batting order, the A’s sent him down immediately following the game with instructions to put in time as a reliever. With his potentially overpowering arsenal of two and four seam fastballs, change up, and power slider this may be the best role for Ross. Unleash him, and let him hold nothing back for one inning at a time and the A’s may have found themselves yet another effective late inning reliever.

Grant Green

Last but not least, Grant Green of the #freegrantgreen movement. Long have A’s fans clamored for his promotion as a replacement for Cliff Pennington and for very good reason. While Pennington has suffered in 2012, Green has put together a solid season in Sacramento hitting .294/.338/.452 while playing all over the field in extended stints at shortstop, second base, third base, and center field. While the former number one draft pick, may not be ready for prime time. He could log valuable time observing and filling in during a pennant race. While I’d be hesitant to thrust him into a starting role, it might be productive to have him get his feet wet by getting the odd at bat or start during the seasons final weeks. Similar to what the A’s did with Bobby Crosby during the final month of the 2003 season. Here’s hoping he has a better career then Crosby.

Others who may find their way to Oakland:

Catchers: Jason Jaramillo, Blake Lalli

Infielders: Brandon Hicks, Kila Ka’aihue, Eric Sogard

Outfielders: Collin Cowgill,  Shane Peterson

Pitchers: Jesse Chavez, Pedro Figueroa, Merkin Valdez