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Billy Beane Wants You To Be Patient

Tom FornelliPosted Aug 22nd 2008 11:43AM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, AL West

Before the 2008 season started it was a well known fact that the Oakland Athletics were in a full-blown rebuilding process. They'd traded away both Dan Haren and Nick Swisher for prospects as general manager Billy Beane felt it was necessary to restock the shelves of Oakland's farm system. Then the season started, and a team that was supposed to struggle was playing surprisingly well, and even in the playoff hunt.

Still, this did not sway Beane from his vision, and he traded away Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, and Chad Gaudin at the deadline. Since then, Oakland has not been winning much. In fact, they've lost 21 of their last 27 games, and it doesn't look like things will get too much better over the final weeks.

Beane knows this, and though he realizes it's tough to watch at times, he doesn't want Athletics fans to abandon ship just yet. Land will be ho some day, he promises.
"Listen, the performance lately has been a little rougher than anyone would like to go through," Beane said by phone before the A's 2-0 victory over the Mariners on Thursday. "But we didn't make any bones about what we were going to do when we said we were going to go through a rebuilding.
Continue Reading Billy Beane Wants You To Be Patient

Will Brad Ziegler Ever Allow a Run?

Tom FornelliPosted Aug 14th 2008 2:37PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, AL West, MLB Milestones

On May 30th, the Oakland Athletics called up relief pitcher Brad Ziegler from their Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats. He was brought up to the team just to give a new look from the right side of the bullpen thanks to his side-armed delivery, and hopefully get a few outs as well.

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say nobody within the Oakland organization was expecting to get what Ziegler has given them so far. Over the last two and a half months, Ziegler has appeared in 29 games and pitched 38 innings. During those 38 innings of work, Brad has given up 21 hits. You know what he hasn't given up during those 38 innings? A single run. Hell, he hasn't even given up an extra-base hit.
"I honestly thought I'd have success when I got up here," Ziegler said Tuesday in a telephone interview, "but this is ridiculous."

"I understand that most baseball statistics even out over time," said Ziegler, 28, a former mathematics major at Southwest Missouri State. "I know it's not going to last. But after I do give up a run, I'm hoping to bounce back and reel off another 20 or 30 scoreless innings, just because I think that's my job as a reliever. To me that seems very possible if I just go and execute pitches."
Continue Reading Will Brad Ziegler Ever Allow a Run?

Eric Chavez's Season Is Over

Tom FornelliPosted Aug 5th 2008 10:03AM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, AL West, MLB Injuries

In the 2007 season Oakland third baseman Eric Chavez was limited to only 90 games thanks to a bad back and a bad shoulder. As a result, he spent the winter rehabbing from not one, not two, but three separate surgical procedures done on his back and both shoulders. Well, the good news is, neither his back or left shoulder have been a problem for Eric since he returned from the disabled list at the end of May.

The bad news for Eric is that more problems with his right shoulder this season have limited him to only 23 games, and that total isn't going to get any higher as Chavez has decided to have another procedure done on his shoulder that will end his season.
Assistant general manager David Forst said Chavez elected to have surgery now, rather than after the season, to increase his chances of being healthy in time for spring training.

"He's been dealing with this shoulder problem for a long time," Forst said. "Going in to repair the problem is his best chance now to open up next year feeling 100 percent."
Ah yes, so that way when he comes back healthy next season and hits .290 with 23 homers and 70 RBI before the All-Star break, he can then be traded for prospects. Hell, maybe Eric is faking the whole thing just because he really likes living in Oakland (it happens) and knows being on the disabled list is the only way he can keep from getting traded.

Huston Street Has Lost His Job

Tom FornelliPosted Aug 4th 2008 1:13PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, AL West

There were plenty of rumors swirling throughout baseball that the Oakland Athletics were looking to trade their closer Huston Street before the deadline, with the latest rumor being a deal with the Chicago White Sox, but when the deadline passed Huston was still a member of the Oakland Athletics. Though now Street is probably wishing he had been dealt.

Why? Because he is no longer the only closer in Oakland, as he's now going to be sharing the role.
The move undoubtedly is spurred by Street's difficulties this season salting away victories, though Geren went to great lengths Saturday to de-emphasize those struggles.

"I actually talked with (Street on Friday) and just said with the way [Jerry] Blevins is throwing and [Brad] Ziegler is throwing, I could potentially use anybody in any situation right now," [Manager Bob] Geren said.
Street has had some struggles this season, converting 18 of his 23 save chances, which gives him the lowest save percentage of any closer in the American League. Still, Street's been pretty effective for the A's in his career, and considering that the team traded away anybody who could help them win this season, I'm kind of surprised to see they suddenly care about it now.
Continue Reading Huston Street Has Lost His Job

On Deck: The Second Day

Pat LackeyPosted Aug 2nd 2008 12:30PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Angels, Athletics, Braves, Brewers, Red Sox, Yankees, AL East, AL West, NL Central, NL East


On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Oakland Athletics (53-55) at Boston Red Sox (62-48)- 7:05 PM EST
As debuts go, making two nice catches and scoring both of your new teams' runs in a 2-1 win that helped end a slide of 5 losses in six games is a pretty nice way to start off a career with a new team. That's exactly what Jason Bay did last night with the Red Sox. The thing is, anyone that follows the Red Sox can tell you that it's going to take a whole lot more than that from the guy that's replacing Manny Ramirez in the lineup.

Tonight, he gets his second start in left field at Fenway while the Red Sox try to stave off the Yankees (who they're 2.5 games up on) and/or catch the Rays (who they're three) games behind. Whatever happens to the Red Sox down the stretch, Bay's going to play a huge part in it.
Continue Reading On Deck: The Second Day

Rumor Mill Roundup: July 31

Andrew JohnsonPosted Jul 31st 2008 12:41PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, Mariners, Marlins, Mets, Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Twins, White Sox, MLB Rumors

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- The Red Sox, Marlins and Pirates are indeed working on a three-way deal that would send Manny Ramirez to South Florida, Jeremy Hermida and prospects to Pittsburgh and Jason Bay (and possibly reliever John Grabow) to Boston. The trade is still a long way from being completed, however, with the teams expected to haggle right up to the deadline on the prospects heading to the Pirates. The deal is fragile because it involves three teams and prospects from both Florida and Boston, so it could go right down to the wire, and there's always a chance the deal collapses.

But there is also a different feeling in Boston this time around with Ramirez, much like the feeling in 2004 when GM Theo Epstein swallowed hard and got rid of the beloved Nomar Garciaparra. If the three-way deal with the Pirates collapses, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Red Sox would then deal directly with the Marlins. And remember this: while the Red Sox would love to have Manny Ramirez in their lineup in October, it won't be as difficult as you'd think to replace his production over the final two months of the season because he is so poor defensively.

- GM Kenny Williams has already added future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox's roster, but he might not be done. With Scott Linebrink on the DL and closer Bobby Jenks just off of it, Chicago is looking for bullpen depth. Williams and the White Sox have been connected with Oakland closer Huston Street for a few weeks now, and there are indications from the Windy City that he'll make a final push to acquire him before the 4PM ET deadline. Eamonn Brennan has already covered the Nick Swisher-Street swap speculation already at FanHouse and correctly assumes that a deal is unlikely.
Continue Reading Rumor Mill Roundup: July 31

Nick Swisher for Huston Street? So Crazy It Just Might Work

Eamonn BrennanPosted Jul 31st 2008 10:56AM by Eamonn Brennan (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, White Sox, MLB Transactions

The most common follow-up to this morning's Ken Griffey Jr. bombshell is, I think, surprise. Not surprise that the Reds would trade Griffey away, but surprise that the Sox would acquire someone of The Kid's stature without so much as a position for him to play. Jim Thome's the DH, Paul Konerko the sort-of DH sort-of first baseman, and Nick Swisher and Jermaine Dye patrol the two relevant outfield spots. Where will Griffey play?

If crazy speculation -- and White Sox radio analyst Steve Stone -- have their say, Griffey might be heading to center. Just after ... drum roll ... Billy Beane trades Huston Street for Swish.

Insane, right? According to the guys at BTF, that rumor is merely a product of Stone's imagination, so take it with a grain of salt. But it does make sense: Beane is looking forward to next year, and knows he can't re-sign Street in the offseason; the Sox are going for broke this season and need to add arms; and they trade five years of Swisher for a half-year of Street.

See? It sort of, kind of, maybe makes a little bit of sense. Plus, the Sox already traded for Griffey; how crazier could things get?

Rumor Mill Roundup: July 23

Andrew JohnsonPosted Jul 23rd 2008 9:00PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, Padres, Pirates, Red Sox, Reds, Rockies, Yankees, MLB Rumors

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- So what are those pesky Yankees up to anyway? First things first: they are absolutely in the AL East race, just three games behind the Red Sox and 3 1/2 behind division-leading Tampa Bay. They've also got clear needs -- namely pitching depth and offensive help, either at catcher, now that Jorge Posada's season is in doubt, or at one of the corners.


New York's top brass will meet tomorrow in Tampa to discuss what, if any, moves they should make before the deadline, but indications are that the team is willing to deal prospects and make a run. The name with the most heat is Mariners left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who wouldn't be a flashy pickup, but would give the Yankees a reliable innings-eater to put at the back of their rotation. He'd certainly be an upgrade over Darrell Rasner or Sidney Ponson. Seattle is not impressed with center fielder Melky Cabrera, but has been scouting New York's Double-A affiliate Trenton. That's where the Yankees' top hitting prospect, Austin Jackson, has been playing all year.

- Concerns about Huston Street's performance and stuff don't seem to be scaring off teams. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Reds have shown some interest in the Oakland closer. Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty certainly can't consider his team a contender, but there is reason to think it can make a run as soon as next season, and Street isn't eligible to be a free agent for another three years. He also has two players with uncertain futures -- Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. Dunn is the type of player you'd figure A's GM Billy Beane would covet, but he might have to send more than Street to land the slugger.
Continue Reading Rumor Mill Roundup: July 23

Rumor Mill Roundup: July 22

Andrew JohnsonPosted Jul 22nd 2008 6:45PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Angels, Athletics, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Orioles, Rockies, Tigers, MLB Rumors

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- Sometimes with trade rumors, it's just a matter of connecting the dots. The Dodgers have a scout in Tampa Bay for this week's Rays-A's series, and with Los Angeles tied with Arizona atop the NL West, you can bet he isn't there to check out Evan Longoria. Back in Tinseltown, manager Joe Torre announced his intentions to showcase give Andy LaRoche plenty of time at third base over the next few weeks.

Even considering Ned Colletti's apparent antipathy for young players, LaRoche is the one prospect who seems to have been jerked around the most. Oakland GM Billy Beane appears willing to deal just about any of his established big leaguers, and the Dodgers could use help just about everywhere. Reliever Huston Street is the obvious target, but shortstop Bobby Crosby and starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer could also end up on the move. LaRoche would be a more than handsome return for any one of those players.

- Brian Fuentes continues to be the hot commodity on the relief market. According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, scouts from seven different teams have watched Fuentes pitch over the last few days, including almost all of the big boys from the American League. Fuentes gave up five runs in a loss on June 30 and since then has been utterly dominant, striking out 13 and walking none in his last seven appearances. Elsewhere, the Cardinals are reportedly stepping up their interest in Baltimore closer George Sherrill.
Continue Reading Rumor Mill Roundup: July 22

Huston's Street Value Is Dropping

Tom FornelliPosted Jul 21st 2008 2:18PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Athletics, AL West, MLB Gossip

Now that the Oakland Athletics have traded Rich Harden, Chad Gaudin, and Joe Blanton I don't think there's much doubt left that Billy Beane is probably going to try to ship his closer, Huston Street, to a contending team as well. At this point, it seems as though anything not nailed down and over the age of 23 in Oakland is a serious contender to be traded this July.

The problem is, that while there are plenty of teams out there right now looking for some bullpen help, it seems the market for Street isn't what the Athletics thought it would be. Aside from the fact that Huston blew his second consecutive save on Sunday afternoon, some scouts are saying his velocity has dipped, and his dropped arm angle is causing his pitches to flatten out.

I'm not sure if this is keeping teams like the Brewers, White Sox, Mets, and Red Sox from looking at Street as a possibility, but it's probably going to diminish the return Oakland gets for him. Another problem for Beane and the Athletics is the fact that Colorado's Brian Fuentes has been pretty untouchable of late, and that hurts Street's value as well.

Still, of all the teams that need bullpen help, only one is going to land Fuentes, and after that Street will be the most desired reliever on the market. If I had to guess where he'd end up, I'd say Milwaukee (if they don't land Fuentes or another reliever first) just because they have such an abundance of prospects, definitely need help in the pen, and they've showed this season they're willing to pull the trigger on a deal.
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