Beane Counting: The Oakland A's - Page 2

Kelric · 07-22-2007, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hendu Style

Monday, October 1, 2007

It's on to the playoffs against the AL East Champion New York Yankees (94-68).

Booooo hissssss.

Hendu Style · 07-23-2007, 07:04 AM

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

A's Stun Yankees to Win ALDS

NEW YORK (AP) -- In a symbolic passing of the torch, A's pitching phenom Tim Lincecum outdueled Yankees future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, as Oakland beat New York, 8-2, to win the fifth and final game of their American League Divisional Series on Tuesday night.

Lincecum struck out 7 batters in 6.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, for his first career playoff win. Bobby Kielty paced the A's offensive attack, hitting two solo homeruns off Clemens.

"Not bad for a number eight hitter, huh?" joked Kielty, who raised his postseason average to .211 with the 3-for-4 performance.

The win comes two nights after Oakland's come-from-behind thriller in Sunday's ALDS Game 5, when rookie first baseman Daric Barton hit a 2-out, 3-run homerun off of Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, to give the A's a 6-5 win, forcing Tuesday's decisive Game 5.

"I still get goose bumps thinking about that one," said Barton, who went 3-for-3 on Tuesday. "We'll savor this a little, but we've got to get after it against the Jays."

The A's will face Toronto in the American League Championship Series. The Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-2, to take the series, 3-2. Game 1 of the best-of-seven ALCS is Thursday in Oakland.

Dagrims · 07-23-2007, 08:55 AM

Grats to the A's. This has been an interesting dynasty to read. Back in June, you mentioned that Lincecum could be out for eight months; was that really eight weeks, or did he have some very quick recovery?

Good luck in the league finals!

Kelric · 07-23-2007, 01:05 PM

At least the Yankees are out, even if the Blue Jays are in.

Hendu Style · 07-23-2007, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dagrims

Grats to the A's. This has been an interesting dynasty to read. Back in June, you mentioned that Lincecum could be out for eight months; was that really eight weeks, or did he have some very quick recovery?

Good luck in the league finals!

That should have read "eight weeks," not "months." It's been corrected.

Thanks for the well wishes in the ALCS... we're going to need all the luck we can get!

jaykno14 · 07-23-2007, 07:46 PM

Good idea Hendu!

I was curious though, are you playing OOTP 2007, and if so what roster set are you using?

Hendu Style · 07-23-2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykno14

Good idea Hendu!

I was curious though, are you playing OOTP 2007, and if so what roster set are you using?

Yes, I'm playing OOTP 2007 with the CubbyFan23 roster set (99% sure, I'll have to check when I get home to make sure).

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 03:36 AM

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Buck Stops Here: A's Headed to World Series

TORONTO (AP) -- The Oakland A's are headed back to the World Series for the first time since 1990, beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-4, in Game 5 of the ALCS.

"This is a special group of kids and I couldn't be happier for them," said manager Bob Geren. "Everyone counted us out when (Eric) Chavez and Swish (Nick Swisher) went down. Goes to show you, anything can happen if you put your mind to it."

Having Travis Buck back in the lineup certainly didn't hurt. The rookie outfielder missed the entire American League Divisional Series against the New York Yankees, but brought a hot bat to the ALCS. He hit .565 against the Blue Jays, including a span of two games when he went 9-for-10 at the plate with 3 homeruns and 9 RBI.

"Whoa, my swing was really, really there this series," said Buck. "I made some good, sweet-spot contact and when that happens... good things happen. I could get used to a lot of days like this one."

The A's should hope so. They face the New York Mets in the World Series stating Thursday. The Mets swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, and took 4 of 5 from the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. Nick Swisher, who has missed the entire postseason with a bicep injury, is expected to be available for the Series opener at Shea Stadium.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," said Swisher.

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 04:28 AM

Tuesday, October 26, 2007
Amazin' A's Beat Mets in World Series Game 7

NEW YORK, NY (AP) -- It wasn't pretty. But then again, what about this team ever is? The Oakland A's wrapped up their dream season against the New York Mets with an 8-1 win in Game 7 of the World Series.

Their motto for the season was "Win or Die Trying." They certainly live up to it, overcoming injuries and three elimination games against New York.

"They never let up and they never stopped trying the whole season," Athletics manager Bob Geren proudly told reporters. "They hustled and fought all year long. They are a very special bunch of guys."

Rookie first baseman Daric Barton was named World Series MVP. He hit .556 for the Series with 1 homerun and 8 RBI, including a 3-for-4, 4 RBI night in Game 7.

"I can't believe it," said Barton, who was called up to play for the A's at the All-Star break. "Macha gave me a shot at playing first base and I never let it go. Now I'm never letting this trophy go."

After Oakland dropped the first two games of the World Series at Shea Stadium, the A's faced long odds. Those odds got even longer when they dropped Game 4 in Oakland, digging themselves into a 3-1 series deficit.

"I told the dudes, just don't quit," said Nick Swisher, who had been out of the lineup since the A's AL West-clinching win against the Angels on September 28. "When they kept me on that playoff roster instead of shutting me down for the year, that showed me something. I was like, 'Dude, if they think we're going to the World Series, I better not let them down.' And I didn't, you know?"

The A's apparently responded to Swisher's pep talk, winning games 5, 6, 7 by a combined score of 29-7.

"Hot bats, good pitching," stated backup outfielder Bobby Kielty.

The A's dedicated the World Series Championship to Eric Chavez, who suffered a torn groin muscle and missed the postseason. He hopes to return to the field by Spring Training.

"It's bittersweet," said Chavez, who has played his entire 10-year Major League career with the A's but has never been on the field for a World Series. "I wish I could've been there for them. But I can't help but think that my injury somehow motivated them a bit to keep winning and keep playing."

"We owe it all to guys like Chavy," said Game 7 starting pitcher Rich Harden. "Guys like him and Bobby Crosby, they laid the foundation for us. We won't forget what they've done for this team."

Mike Piazza announced his retirement after the game. Piazza hit .303 with 6 HR in 142 at-bats for Oakland in 2007, and was 0-for-2 with a strikeout in the World Series.

"I can't think of a better way to go out," said Piazza, a 12-time All-Star selection and winner of the 1993 NL Rookie of the Year Award. "I've had plenty of individual accomplishments in my career, but nothing beats this."

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 04:35 AM

Sunday, October 28, 2007

In case you haven't heard, we won the World Series. That should explain my brief absence from the blogging world. So sue me.

We spent the last couple of days -- ahem, how shall I put this? -- "enjoying ourselves" in New York. What did you expect? It's a group of twenty-something's who just won the World Series in the Big Apple. They deserve it.

People know me as the "Moneyball" guy. But if this World Series has taught me anything, it's that some things just can't be calculated. You can put together a magical formula involving on base percentage, slugging percentage, and quality starts... but at the end of the day, you can't measure heart. This team has overcome so much this season... the guys in the front office played such a small role compared to those guys who grinded it out all season long... the players and the coaches. They deserve all the credit.

The team will regroup for a parade at Jack London Square on Wednesday. Our owner, Lew Wolff, flew me out of NYC on his private jet today (I have got to get me one of those things), and we discussed the past season and looking ahead to 2008.

There's obviously a lot on the plate for next year. We're working on a new stadium deal in Fremont. Winning the World Series should certainly help sway the voters next month. In the meantime, we're under lease at McAfee Coliseum until 2010.

Lew and I talked about what we need to do to position ourselves for another playoff run in 2008. With such a young group, there's no need to really replace a lot of players, but we still have to evaluate things, position-by-position. Bobby Kielty is eligible to become a free agent this offseason, so we're working on a contract extension to keep him in Oakland for the next few years. There's also a strong crop of players to look at in the free agent market. New York's Alex Rodriguez is clearly the head of the class, but he will likely command a $20-$30 million yearly salary. We're working on a budget of about $95 million (for players and personnel), so we won't be making a big splash in the free agent market, but we'll have enough to work on some extensions and make some nice additions to our ballclub.

But, for now, I'm going to enjoy this a little bit. Hope to see you all at the parade in Oakland.

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 04:39 AM

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

The parade... the parties... the celebration... it's all over. It was fun, but it's time to start looking back and learning what we can about this past season, so we can move ahead to 2008.

As promised before, I'm analyzing our only trade of the season. We'll take a look at all of the players involved and the stats they put up in 2007.

1-12-07

A's Got:
SP Tim Lincecum
11-5, 3.98 ERA, 142.1 IP, 163 K

CL Brian Anderson
5-4, 3 SV, 3.41, 74 IP, 73 K (AA Midland)

Giants Got:
CL Justin Duchscherer
7-5, 26 SV, 2.48, 69 IP, 66 K

RF Chris Snelling
.282, 18 HR, 30 2B, 96 R, 90 RBI

1B Dan Johnson
.259, 16 HR, 74 R, 67 RBI

To be perfectly honest, the Giants got the most benefit from this deal, at least for the time being. Duchscherer made the smooth transition from setup man to closer and from the AL to the NL. We're really going to miss having his arm in the bullpen.

Snelling had a hell of a year. I didn't want to part with him, but we had to trade him to make it happen. I still like our outfield with Swisher-Mitchell-Buck, but he would've been a huge asset for us.

Johnson did pretty much what we expected him to do, and it would've been tough to find at-bats for him at first base or DH.

Lincecum had an up-and-down rookie year for us, which was to be expected. It's easy to forget he's only 23. We gave up a lot to get him, but watching him pitch, I have no regrets. Anderson is progressing nicely in AA-ball. He could be another arm for us a few years down the road.

Overall, I would grade the trade a B- for us, and a B+ for the Giants.

Gerry58 · 07-24-2007, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hendu Style

Friday, August 28, 2007

Should be September 28, 2007 right?
Great replay and congratulations on the WS!

Gerry

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerry58

Should be September 28, 2007 right?
Great replay and congratulations on the WS!

Gerry

Dang it, some intern is supposed to edit these blog entries for me. I'll put her on waivers and save us some payroll.

Thanks for rooting us on, Gerry. See you at Jack London.

-Billy Beane

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 05:06 AM

Friday, November 9th, 2007

Rich Gets Richer: Harden Wins Cy Young

NEW YORK -- Rich Harden always had the blazing fastball, the knee-buckling curveball, the natural look of a No. 1 starter.

Still, something was missing: Rich Harden.

For all his talent, Harden could never put together an injury-free season. That is, until 2007. Now, he's the dominant ace everyone envisioned, and he has an American League Cy Young Award to prove it.

Harden won a surprisingly one-sided vote Friday, beating out Jeremy Bonderman, becoming the second A's pitcher in six years to take home the honor.

Harden, who led the league with 18 wins, was listed first on 17 ballots and second on the other 11 for 118 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He was the only pitcher named on every ballot, easily topping Bonderman, who received 68 points.

The Detroit Tigers' right-hander got eight first-place votes for the highest finish of his career, while Phillip Hughes of the New York Yankees received three and came in third.

"After the season, yeah, I've been thinking about it a lot," Harden said during a conference call from Oakland. "And one of the prevailing thoughts was the fact that maybe I won't get it. Maybe it was going to go to somebody else. A lot of crazy things came into my head."

Barry Zito was the last Cy Young Award winner for the A's, winning in 2002.

Harden's manager, Bob Geren, was voted American League Manager of the Year.

Major League Baseball also announced its inaugural "Hank Aaron Award," presented to the top hitters in both the American League and National League. Commissioner Bud Selig instituted the award in honor of Aaron, who remains baseball's career homerun record holder. San Francisco's Barry Bonds finished the 2007 season with 750 career homeruns, 5 away from tying Aaron's record.

AL MVP Award: Wily Mo Pena, Boston
.312 avg, 45 HR*, 125 RBI*, 102 R (6th)

NL MVP Award: Stephen Drew, Arizona
.324 avg (6th), 33 HR, 101 R, 109 RBI

AL Cy Young Award: Rich Harden, Oakland
18-8*, 2.66 ERA*, 240.1 IP (3rd) 229 K (2nd)

NL Cy Young Award: Carlos Zambrano, Chicago
17-7 (T4), 2.86 ERA*, 242.2 IP*, 232 K*

AL Hank Aaron Award: Joe Mauer, Minnesota
.358 avg*, 12 HR, 91 RBI, 13 SB

NL Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera, Florida
.333 avg (3rd), 39 HR (T4), 108 R (4th), 116 RBI (5th)

AL ROY Award: Dustin Pedroia, Boston
.315 avg, 16 HR, 49 2B*, 84 RBI

NL ROY Award: Carlos Gomez, New York
.322 avg (7th), 39 2B, 6 3B, 11 HR, 83 R, 47 SB (4th)

AL Manager of the Year: Bob Geren, Oakland
85-77, won AL West

NL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin, Arizona
92-70, won NL West

* = led league

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 05:15 AM

Saturday, November 17, 2007

The start of the free agency period is just around the corner, and we had only one significant player who was eligible. We were hoping to hammer out an extension with Bobby Kielty before the deadline, but we just couldn't come up with a deal in time. We'll let him test the waters, but hopefully we'll have Bobby back in Oakland this season.

Some primetime players are on the market. Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, and Richie Sexson headline the list. Believe it or not, we could actually find a way to fit one of those guys under our payroll, but I think I can find better ways to spend $25 million this offseason.

Some of the guys on my radar:

LF Barry Bonds, Giants
He's no longer an everyday player, but he fits right into our offensive philosophy: get on base and hit homeruns.

SP Matt Morris, Giants
Another former Giant... he was actually cut loose from his old contract before it expired, so someone should be able to sneak in and get him for a bargain price.

CF Aaron Rowand, Phillies
Can play all three spots in the outfield. He's not going to draw many walks, but he has some pop in his bat and is a good defender in the field.

MR Juan Rincon, Padres
By my estimation, he's one of the best setup men in the game. I would love to get this guy in our bullpen, but he may draw top dollar if someone wants to convert him into a closer.

CL Brian Fuentes, Rockies
Everything I just said about Rincon, but with the roles switched around. He's a lefty and I don't really see him as a closer, but he would make an incredible setup man and lefthand specialist. Again, it depends if a team wants to sign him as a closer, in which case he'll be out of our budget.

SP Mark Buehrle, White Sox
Coming off a down season (12-17, 4.89), so I don't know how much he's going to command on the open market. But I'd imagine there are enough desperate teams out there with holes to fill in their rotation. Still, I'll keep an eye on him and see if he slips through the cracks.

We also got through salary arbitration today... we were able to save some money on Mark Ellis... he will make about half as much as he did in '07, but Chad Gaudin got a big pay bump. We tendered an offer of about $3 million, but now he's making twice that.

Our arbitration results:
SP Chad Gaudin - $5.8 million
2B Mark Ellis - $1.8 million
MR Santiago Casilla - $1.3 million
2B Marco Scutaro - $1.2 million
SP Lenny DiNardo - $648k
LF Jack Cust - $380k

Now on to free agency...

TheSayWhatKid · 07-24-2007, 05:26 AM

Hello. I'm an A's fan. This is great! It must be the roster set. I started a 2007 dynasty using the Lahman set and it's not gone well at all. About like it's been for the real A's so far.

Question, did you tune your strategies any to favor OBP? Or did you leave the strategies alone?

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 06:36 AM

November 25, 2007

Even a GM has to have a vacation! I was hoping to get a little R&R in Scottsdale, but I imagine the Winter Meetings in Arizona won't exactly provide a relaxing atmosphere. Hopes are high in Oakland this season and I'm doing all I can to meet and exceed our goals. I hope our fans are excited as I am about this offseason.

Our first order of business of the offseason was signing Bobby Kielty (.241 avg. in 58 games). He's a guy who doesn't put up huge stats, but you can't overestimate how much we need him in the clubhouse. He agreed to a 2-year, $1.1 million deal. We wound up paying less for him as a free agent than we would've had we agreed to his agent's request for an extension. Go figure.

November 29, 2007

Here's a deal that puts men on base and butts in the seats. Barry Bonds has agreed to a 1-year, $1.37 million deal (with $1.5 milion in incentives) to come to Oakland this year. Word is the phones have been ringing off the hooks in our ticket office. In case you've been living in a cave, Barry hit 16 homeruns last season, leaving him with 750 career homeruns... five away from tying, six away from breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755. This is probably it for Barry this year. He knows it. We know it. He hit only .241 last seaosn, but he also drew 100 walks. We see him as a DH and pinch-hitter.

December 8, 2007

ESPN and the like is reporting a rumor that we were close to pulling the trigger on a deal with Florida that would've brought us Oakland native Dontrelle Willis (14-12, 4.91). For once, the rumor was actually true. I won't disclose the details, but I can tell you they wanted us to include Kurt Suzuki in the trade, and that was just too much.

Earlier this week, we were able to ink a deal with CF Aaron Rowand (.259, 9 HR, 54 RBI). He's coming onboard for a one-year contract worth $640,000. He gives us another option in the outfield, and could end up taking over the centerfield job if we decide to send Jermaine Mitchell back to AAA for some more seasoning.

We also signed 3B Corey Koskie to a 1 year, $1.2 million deal. He was injured all of '07, so we got him for a song. Given enough playing time, we hope he can return to form, when he was capable of hitting .250-.270 with 25 HR's. More importantly, he's a great fielder, and will be our insurance policy if Eric Chavez can't come back from that groin injury.

The big signing so far this offseason came from the Dodgers, who landed free agent 1B Russell Branyan with a 4-year, $70.7 million deal.

Some unpleasant news to report... I had to let Kevin Parker go as our team doctor. We just had a very rough season last year injury-wise, and we both thought it was best to go our separate ways. We're replacing him with Michael Workings, an arm specialist (not to be confused with an arms dealer).

Now it's off to the Winter Meetings... it feels like the calm before the storm right now. We'll see what happens.

December 14, 2007

The Bronx Bombers wasted no time kicking off the Meetings by dropping a bombshell... the Yankees traded CF Johnny Damon (.278, 14 HR) and his $12 million salary to the Twins for reliever Jesse Crain. The Yanks aren't known for slashing payroll, so everyone is scratching their heads. Brian Cashman obviously has something up his sleeve. That, or he's just trying to free up some payroll to re-sign A-Rod.

One of the biggest catches in the free agent market is staying put. The Braves re-signed Andruw Jones to a 3-year, $63.6 million deal. We made an offer to Andruw, but nowhere close to the kind of salary he will be getting in Atlanta.

One of our coveted free agents -- Juan Rincon (3-2, 3.92, 5 Sv) -- signed a 2-year, $12.6 million contract with the Mariners. Seattle is not going to use him as a closer unless they unload JJ Putz, which is unlikely... so they're paying $6.3 million a year to a setup man.

We were able to add some depth to our infield, signing 1B/3B Morgan Ensberg (.241, 21 HR) to a 3 year, $3.24 million deal, with a team option on the third year. Between Ensberg and Koskie, we should be able to play the matchups pretty well... and now we don't have to rush Chavez back if he's still not 100%.

Now, the big deal. We swung a 5-player deal with the M's today:

Seattle Gets:
SP Chad Gaudin (9-8, 3.79)
SS Bobby Crosby (.268, 22 HR, 85 RBI)
1B Jason Stokes (.246, 21 HR)
LF Jack Cust (.211, 10 HR in 95 games)

Oakland Gets:
SS Alberto Mraz

I absolutely hate parting with Gaudin, but that's what it took to get the deal done. He would've been a great #3 or #4 starter for us... now he goes to a division foe and will probably anchor their rotation soon. Crosby and Cust will immediately start at SS and LF/DH, respectively. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 30 homers for them this season. Stokes, I'm not so sure about... Seattle just re-signed Richie Sexson to a 4-year deal, so they're probably going to groom Stokes to eventually take over the 1B job.

I know this is a move that I'm going to get scrutinized for... you never trade impact players to a team within your division, but in this case, I had to make an exception. Simply put, Mraz is the best prospect I've seen in quite some time. We've been watching this kid since he was 17, and had him rated as the #1 player in the 2007 Draft. He slipped all the way to #6 overall to the Mariners, and we've been trying to find a way to land him ever since. He's got range like the Mets' Jose Reyes... silky smooth shortstop. And the way he stands there at the plate... he looks a lot like A-Rod right now, or Frank Thomas in his prime with the White Sox. Great eye... and everything that comes off his bat sounds pure. As you can probably tell, I'm pretty high up on this kid. He may not quite be ready for the bigs, but he will be within a year or two.

There were other reasons to pull off this deal. We were able to cut about $10 million in payroll. That frees up even more money to add some depth via free agency and, yes, make a concerted effort to sign Alex Rodriguez. Yes, A-Rod. I'm not going to hide it. We're interested. A guy like that doesn't come along every day. Are we going to outbid every other team out there? No. We're not going to overpay. But we're going to put together a strong bid, and hopefully the promise of a World Series ring will bring A-Rod to Oakland.

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSayWhatKid

Hello. I'm an A's fan. This is great! It must be the roster set. I started a 2007 dynasty using the Lahman set and it's not gone well at all. About like it's been for the real A's so far.

Question, did you tune your strategies any to favor OBP? Or did you leave the strategies alone?

Yeah, OBP is cranked up pretty high. Don't know if it will make much difference, since I'm the one making the decisions... but I'm trying to play Beane Ball as much as possible. Young kids mixed in with bargain veterans, offense over defense, power over speed, and OBP over AVG. But a lot of this could change... just like Beane... he tends to change strategies to try and stay ahead of the curve.

Hendu Style · 07-24-2007, 07:05 AM

December 20, 2007

We've added another high OBP, high Slugging Percentage bat to our lineup. Free agent Jim Thome (.238, 20 HR, 82 BB) has agreed to a 2-year, $1.76 million deal. He should split time at DH with Bonds. Imagine that kind of combo 5 years ago... Bonds and Thome. Our lineup is built for power... we may have to talk to the folks at McAfee about bringing in the fences by about ten feet.

January 2, 2008

Bad news in the A-Rod Sweepstakes. Scott Boras announced today that his client, Alex Rodriguez, had chosen the Detroit Tigers. I never pegged Alex as a Detroit kinda guy, but money talks in the world according to Rodriguez. He signed for 4 years and $83.5 million... about $2 million more per year than we were offering. I hate to think we lost out on him by a couple million, but that money can be used to fill other holes, and I'm not going to sacrifice too much just for one player. Future Hall of Famer be damned.

January 10, 2008

We've added a much-needed arm to our pen. We signed Brian Fuentes (3-3, 3.33 ERA, 30 SV) to a 2-year, $3.0 million contract. We have no plans of using him as a closer, but he will serve as a great lefthanded setup man. I think the bullpen was our biggest weakness last year, and this signing is certainly a step in the right direction.

January 28, 2008

With the departure of Bobby Crosby to Seattle, we were left scrambling to find a new shortstop this offseason. I was hoping that A-Rod could fill that void by moving him back over from 3B, but that didn't work out. The market has been pretty thin on shortstops, so we're going with a short-term solution. Orlando Cabrera (.276 in 22 games) is solid defensively and can hold down short until Alberto Mraz is ready for a call-up. We got Cabrera for $1.36 million over two years.

That wraps up the offseason... were signed seven free agents without adding much to our payroll or giving up compensatory draft picks to other teams. With some high salaries coming off the books in 2008 --
Estaban Loaiza ($8.3 million) and Mark Kotsay ($7 million) -- we are positioning ourselves for a windfall in next year's free agent market. Looking ahead, that crop could include Johan Santana, Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia, Travis Hafner, and Adam Dunn. Either one of those three pitchers would make a great addition to our rotation, and Dunn or Hafner would be a perfect bat for our lineup: great power and draws tons of walks.

But we won't get too far ahead of ourselves here. We've got a World Series title to defend this upcoming season, and I have no plans on handing it over to the Mariners or Tigers.

Gerry58 · 07-24-2007, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hendu Style

January 2, 2008

Bad news in the A-Rod Sweepstakes. Scott Boras announced today that his client, Alex Rodriguez, had chosen the Detroit Tigers. I never pegged Alex as a Detroit kinda guy, but money talks in the world according to Rodriguez. He signed for 4 years and $83.5 million... about $2 million more per year than we were offering. I hate to think we lost out on him by a couple million, but that money can be used to fill other holes, and I'm not going to sacrifice too much just for one player. Future Hall of Famer be damned.

Wow, Damon and now A-Rod...

did you turn the AI off for the Yankees?

Gerry

07-23-2007, 07:04 AM	#22
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	A's Stun Yankees to Win ALDS Tuesday, October 9, 2007 A's Stun Yankees to Win ALDS NEW YORK (AP) -- In a symbolic passing of the torch, A's pitching phenom Tim Lincecum outdueled Yankees future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, as Oakland beat New York, 8-2, to win the fifth and final game of their American League Divisional Series on Tuesday night. Lincecum struck out 7 batters in 6.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, for his first career playoff win. Bobby Kielty paced the A's offensive attack, hitting two solo homeruns off Clemens. "Not bad for a number eight hitter, huh?" joked Kielty, who raised his postseason average to .211 with the 3-for-4 performance. The win comes two nights after Oakland's come-from-behind thriller in Sunday's ALDS Game 5, when rookie first baseman Daric Barton hit a 2-out, 3-run homerun off of Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, to give the A's a 6-5 win, forcing Tuesday's decisive Game 5. "I still get goose bumps thinking about that one," said Barton, who went 3-for-3 on Tuesday. "We'll savor this a little, but we've got to get after it against the Jays." The A's will face Toronto in the American League Championship Series. The Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-2, to take the series, 3-2. Game 1 of the best-of-seven ALCS is Thursday in Oakland. Last edited by Hendu Style; 07-24-2007 at 03:48 AM.

07-23-2007, 08:55 AM	#23
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,829	Grats to the A's. This has been an interesting dynasty to read. Back in June, you mentioned that Lincecum could be out for eight months; was that really eight weeks, or did he have some very quick recovery? Good luck in the league finals! __________________ "Read books, get brain."

07-23-2007, 07:46 PM	#26
jaykno14 Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 453	Good idea Hendu! I was curious though, are you playing OOTP 2007, and if so what roster set are you using? __________________ Current Dynasty: A New Kind of Brew My Past Dynasties Around the World My Nationals Dynasty Rejuvinating the Great Red Machine<--#70 Dynasty of 2005! Building a small market team-The Milwaukee Brewers dynasty thread Arizona Dynasty

07-24-2007, 03:36 AM	#28
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	Buck Stops Here: A's Headed to W.S. Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Buck Stops Here: A's Headed to World Series TORONTO (AP) -- The Oakland A's are headed back to the World Series for the first time since 1990, beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-4, in Game 5 of the ALCS. "This is a special group of kids and I couldn't be happier for them," said manager Bob Geren. "Everyone counted us out when (Eric) Chavez and Swish (Nick Swisher) went down. Goes to show you, anything can happen if you put your mind to it." Having Travis Buck back in the lineup certainly didn't hurt. The rookie outfielder missed the entire American League Divisional Series against the New York Yankees, but brought a hot bat to the ALCS. He hit .565 against the Blue Jays, including a span of two games when he went 9-for-10 at the plate with 3 homeruns and 9 RBI. "Whoa, my swing was really, really there this series," said Buck. "I made some good, sweet-spot contact and when that happens... good things happen. I could get used to a lot of days like this one." The A's should hope so. They face the New York Mets in the World Series stating Thursday. The Mets swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, and took 4 of 5 from the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. Nick Swisher, who has missed the entire postseason with a bicep injury, is expected to be available for the Series opener at Shea Stadium. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," said Swisher.

07-24-2007, 04:28 AM	#29
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	A's Win 2007 World Series Tuesday, October 26, 2007 Amazin' A's Beat Mets in World Series Game 7 NEW YORK, NY (AP) -- It wasn't pretty. But then again, what about this team ever is? The Oakland A's wrapped up their dream season against the New York Mets with an 8-1 win in Game 7 of the World Series. Their motto for the season was "Win or Die Trying." They certainly live up to it, overcoming injuries and three elimination games against New York. "They never let up and they never stopped trying the whole season," Athletics manager Bob Geren proudly told reporters. "They hustled and fought all year long. They are a very special bunch of guys." Rookie first baseman Daric Barton was named World Series MVP. He hit .556 for the Series with 1 homerun and 8 RBI, including a 3-for-4, 4 RBI night in Game 7. "I can't believe it," said Barton, who was called up to play for the A's at the All-Star break. "Macha gave me a shot at playing first base and I never let it go. Now I'm never letting this trophy go." After Oakland dropped the first two games of the World Series at Shea Stadium, the A's faced long odds. Those odds got even longer when they dropped Game 4 in Oakland, digging themselves into a 3-1 series deficit. "I told the dudes, just don't quit," said Nick Swisher, who had been out of the lineup since the A's AL West-clinching win against the Angels on September 28. "When they kept me on that playoff roster instead of shutting me down for the year, that showed me something. I was like, 'Dude, if they think we're going to the World Series, I better not let them down.' And I didn't, you know?" The A's apparently responded to Swisher's pep talk, winning games 5, 6, 7 by a combined score of 29-7. "Hot bats, good pitching," stated backup outfielder Bobby Kielty. The A's dedicated the World Series Championship to Eric Chavez, who suffered a torn groin muscle and missed the postseason. He hopes to return to the field by Spring Training. "It's bittersweet," said Chavez, who has played his entire 10-year Major League career with the A's but has never been on the field for a World Series. "I wish I could've been there for them. But I can't help but think that my injury somehow motivated them a bit to keep winning and keep playing." "We owe it all to guys like Chavy," said Game 7 starting pitcher Rich Harden. "Guys like him and Bobby Crosby, they laid the foundation for us. We won't forget what they've done for this team." Mike Piazza announced his retirement after the game. Piazza hit .303 with 6 HR in 142 at-bats for Oakland in 2007, and was 0-for-2 with a strikeout in the World Series. "I can't think of a better way to go out," said Piazza, a 12-time All-Star selection and winner of the 1993 NL Rookie of the Year Award. "I've had plenty of individual accomplishments in my career, but nothing beats this."

07-23-2007, 01:05 PM	#24
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 3,992	At least the Yankees are out, even if the Blue Jays are in.

07-24-2007, 04:35 AM	#30
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	Reflecting on the World Series Sunday, October 28, 2007 In case you haven't heard, we won the World Series. That should explain my brief absence from the blogging world. So sue me. We spent the last couple of days -- ahem, how shall I put this? -- "enjoying ourselves" in New York. What did you expect? It's a group of twenty-something's who just won the World Series in the Big Apple. They deserve it. People know me as the "Moneyball" guy. But if this World Series has taught me anything, it's that some things just can't be calculated. You can put together a magical formula involving on base percentage, slugging percentage, and quality starts... but at the end of the day, you can't measure heart. This team has overcome so much this season... the guys in the front office played such a small role compared to those guys who grinded it out all season long... the players and the coaches. They deserve all the credit. The team will regroup for a parade at Jack London Square on Wednesday. Our owner, Lew Wolff, flew me out of NYC on his private jet today (I have got to get me one of those things), and we discussed the past season and looking ahead to 2008. There's obviously a lot on the plate for next year. We're working on a new stadium deal in Fremont. Winning the World Series should certainly help sway the voters next month. In the meantime, we're under lease at McAfee Coliseum until 2010. Lew and I talked about what we need to do to position ourselves for another playoff run in 2008. With such a young group, there's no need to really replace a lot of players, but we still have to evaluate things, position-by-position. Bobby Kielty is eligible to become a free agent this offseason, so we're working on a contract extension to keep him in Oakland for the next few years. There's also a strong crop of players to look at in the free agent market. New York's Alex Rodriguez is clearly the head of the class, but he will likely command a $20-$30 million yearly salary. We're working on a budget of about $95 million (for players and personnel), so we won't be making a big splash in the free agent market, but we'll have enough to work on some extensions and make some nice additions to our ballclub. But, for now, I'm going to enjoy this a little bit. Hope to see you all at the parade in Oakland.

07-24-2007, 04:39 AM	#31
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	Postseason Analysis - Evaluating our only trade Tuesday, November 6, 2007 The parade... the parties... the celebration... it's all over. It was fun, but it's time to start looking back and learning what we can about this past season, so we can move ahead to 2008. As promised before, I'm analyzing our only trade of the season. We'll take a look at all of the players involved and the stats they put up in 2007. 1-12-07 A's Got: SP Tim Lincecum 11-5, 3.98 ERA, 142.1 IP, 163 K CL Brian Anderson 5-4, 3 SV, 3.41, 74 IP, 73 K (AA Midland) Giants Got: CL Justin Duchscherer 7-5, 26 SV, 2.48, 69 IP, 66 K RF Chris Snelling .282, 18 HR, 30 2B, 96 R, 90 RBI 1B Dan Johnson .259, 16 HR, 74 R, 67 RBI To be perfectly honest, the Giants got the most benefit from this deal, at least for the time being. Duchscherer made the smooth transition from setup man to closer and from the AL to the NL. We're really going to miss having his arm in the bullpen. Snelling had a hell of a year. I didn't want to part with him, but we had to trade him to make it happen. I still like our outfield with Swisher-Mitchell-Buck, but he would've been a huge asset for us. Johnson did pretty much what we expected him to do, and it would've been tough to find at-bats for him at first base or DH. Lincecum had an up-and-down rookie year for us, which was to be expected. It's easy to forget he's only 23. We gave up a lot to get him, but watching him pitch, I have no regrets. Anderson is progressing nicely in AA-ball. He could be another arm for us a few years down the road. Overall, I would grade the trade a B- for us, and a B+ for the Giants.

07-24-2007, 05:06 AM	#34
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	2007 Postseason Awards Friday, November 9th, 2007 Rich Gets Richer: Harden Wins Cy Young NEW YORK -- Rich Harden always had the blazing fastball, the knee-buckling curveball, the natural look of a No. 1 starter. Still, something was missing: Rich Harden. For all his talent, Harden could never put together an injury-free season. That is, until 2007. Now, he's the dominant ace everyone envisioned, and he has an American League Cy Young Award to prove it. Harden won a surprisingly one-sided vote Friday, beating out Jeremy Bonderman, becoming the second A's pitcher in six years to take home the honor. Harden, who led the league with 18 wins, was listed first on 17 ballots and second on the other 11 for 118 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He was the only pitcher named on every ballot, easily topping Bonderman, who received 68 points. The Detroit Tigers' right-hander got eight first-place votes for the highest finish of his career, while Phillip Hughes of the New York Yankees received three and came in third. "After the season, yeah, I've been thinking about it a lot," Harden said during a conference call from Oakland. "And one of the prevailing thoughts was the fact that maybe I won't get it. Maybe it was going to go to somebody else. A lot of crazy things came into my head." Barry Zito was the last Cy Young Award winner for the A's, winning in 2002. Harden's manager, Bob Geren, was voted American League Manager of the Year. Major League Baseball also announced its inaugural "Hank Aaron Award," presented to the top hitters in both the American League and National League. Commissioner Bud Selig instituted the award in honor of Aaron, who remains baseball's career homerun record holder. San Francisco's Barry Bonds finished the 2007 season with 750 career homeruns, 5 away from tying Aaron's record. AL MVP Award: Wily Mo Pena, Boston .312 avg, 45 HR, 125 RBI, 102 R (6th) NL MVP Award: Stephen Drew, Arizona .324 avg (6th), 33 HR, 101 R, 109 RBI AL Cy Young Award: Rich Harden, Oakland 18-8, 2.66 ERA, 240.1 IP (3rd) 229 K (2nd) NL Cy Young Award: Carlos Zambrano, Chicago 17-7 (T4), 2.86 ERA, 242.2 IP, 232 K* AL Hank Aaron Award: Joe Mauer, Minnesota .358 avg, 12 HR, 91 RBI, 13 SB NL Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera, Florida .333 avg (3rd), 39 HR (T4), 108 R (4th), 116 RBI (5th) AL ROY Award: Dustin Pedroia, Boston .315 avg, 16 HR, 49 2B, 84 RBI NL ROY Award: Carlos Gomez, New York .322 avg (7th), 39 2B, 6 3B, 11 HR, 83 R, 47 SB (4th) AL Manager of the Year: Bob Geren, Oakland 85-77, won AL West NL Manager of the Year: Bob Melvin, Arizona 92-70, won NL West * = led league

07-24-2007, 05:15 AM	#35
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	Offseason Preparations Saturday, November 17, 2007 The start of the free agency period is just around the corner, and we had only one significant player who was eligible. We were hoping to hammer out an extension with Bobby Kielty before the deadline, but we just couldn't come up with a deal in time. We'll let him test the waters, but hopefully we'll have Bobby back in Oakland this season. Some primetime players are on the market. Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, and Richie Sexson headline the list. Believe it or not, we could actually find a way to fit one of those guys under our payroll, but I think I can find better ways to spend $25 million this offseason. Some of the guys on my radar: LF Barry Bonds, Giants He's no longer an everyday player, but he fits right into our offensive philosophy: get on base and hit homeruns. SP Matt Morris, Giants Another former Giant... he was actually cut loose from his old contract before it expired, so someone should be able to sneak in and get him for a bargain price. CF Aaron Rowand, Phillies Can play all three spots in the outfield. He's not going to draw many walks, but he has some pop in his bat and is a good defender in the field. MR Juan Rincon, Padres By my estimation, he's one of the best setup men in the game. I would love to get this guy in our bullpen, but he may draw top dollar if someone wants to convert him into a closer. CL Brian Fuentes, Rockies Everything I just said about Rincon, but with the roles switched around. He's a lefty and I don't really see him as a closer, but he would make an incredible setup man and lefthand specialist. Again, it depends if a team wants to sign him as a closer, in which case he'll be out of our budget. SP Mark Buehrle, White Sox Coming off a down season (12-17, 4.89), so I don't know how much he's going to command on the open market. But I'd imagine there are enough desperate teams out there with holes to fill in their rotation. Still, I'll keep an eye on him and see if he slips through the cracks. We also got through salary arbitration today... we were able to save some money on Mark Ellis... he will make about half as much as he did in '07, but Chad Gaudin got a big pay bump. We tendered an offer of about $3 million, but now he's making twice that. Our arbitration results: SP Chad Gaudin - $5.8 million 2B Mark Ellis - $1.8 million MR Santiago Casilla - $1.3 million 2B Marco Scutaro - $1.2 million SP Lenny DiNardo - $648k LF Jack Cust - $380k Now on to free agency... Last edited by Hendu Style; 07-24-2007 at 05:22 AM.

07-24-2007, 05:26 AM	#36
TheSayWhatKid Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 30	Hello. I'm an A's fan. This is great! It must be the roster set. I started a 2007 dynasty using the Lahman set and it's not gone well at all. About like it's been for the real A's so far. Question, did you tune your strategies any to favor OBP? Or did you leave the strategies alone?

07-24-2007, 06:36 AM	#37
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	Offseason - Winter Meetings November 25, 2007 Even a GM has to have a vacation! I was hoping to get a little R&R in Scottsdale, but I imagine the Winter Meetings in Arizona won't exactly provide a relaxing atmosphere. Hopes are high in Oakland this season and I'm doing all I can to meet and exceed our goals. I hope our fans are excited as I am about this offseason. Our first order of business of the offseason was signing Bobby Kielty (.241 avg. in 58 games). He's a guy who doesn't put up huge stats, but you can't overestimate how much we need him in the clubhouse. He agreed to a 2-year, $1.1 million deal. We wound up paying less for him as a free agent than we would've had we agreed to his agent's request for an extension. Go figure. November 29, 2007 Here's a deal that puts men on base and butts in the seats. Barry Bonds has agreed to a 1-year, $1.37 million deal (with $1.5 milion in incentives) to come to Oakland this year. Word is the phones have been ringing off the hooks in our ticket office. In case you've been living in a cave, Barry hit 16 homeruns last season, leaving him with 750 career homeruns... five away from tying, six away from breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755. This is probably it for Barry this year. He knows it. We know it. He hit only .241 last seaosn, but he also drew 100 walks. We see him as a DH and pinch-hitter. December 8, 2007 ESPN and the like is reporting a rumor that we were close to pulling the trigger on a deal with Florida that would've brought us Oakland native Dontrelle Willis (14-12, 4.91). For once, the rumor was actually true. I won't disclose the details, but I can tell you they wanted us to include Kurt Suzuki in the trade, and that was just too much. Earlier this week, we were able to ink a deal with CF Aaron Rowand (.259, 9 HR, 54 RBI). He's coming onboard for a one-year contract worth $640,000. He gives us another option in the outfield, and could end up taking over the centerfield job if we decide to send Jermaine Mitchell back to AAA for some more seasoning. We also signed 3B Corey Koskie to a 1 year, $1.2 million deal. He was injured all of '07, so we got him for a song. Given enough playing time, we hope he can return to form, when he was capable of hitting .250-.270 with 25 HR's. More importantly, he's a great fielder, and will be our insurance policy if Eric Chavez can't come back from that groin injury. The big signing so far this offseason came from the Dodgers, who landed free agent 1B Russell Branyan with a 4-year, $70.7 million deal. Some unpleasant news to report... I had to let Kevin Parker go as our team doctor. We just had a very rough season last year injury-wise, and we both thought it was best to go our separate ways. We're replacing him with Michael Workings, an arm specialist (not to be confused with an arms dealer). Now it's off to the Winter Meetings... it feels like the calm before the storm right now. We'll see what happens. December 14, 2007 The Bronx Bombers wasted no time kicking off the Meetings by dropping a bombshell... the Yankees traded CF Johnny Damon (.278, 14 HR) and his $12 million salary to the Twins for reliever Jesse Crain. The Yanks aren't known for slashing payroll, so everyone is scratching their heads. Brian Cashman obviously has something up his sleeve. That, or he's just trying to free up some payroll to re-sign A-Rod. One of the biggest catches in the free agent market is staying put. The Braves re-signed Andruw Jones to a 3-year, $63.6 million deal. We made an offer to Andruw, but nowhere close to the kind of salary he will be getting in Atlanta. One of our coveted free agents -- Juan Rincon (3-2, 3.92, 5 Sv) -- signed a 2-year, $12.6 million contract with the Mariners. Seattle is not going to use him as a closer unless they unload JJ Putz, which is unlikely... so they're paying $6.3 million a year to a setup man. We were able to add some depth to our infield, signing 1B/3B Morgan Ensberg (.241, 21 HR) to a 3 year, $3.24 million deal, with a team option on the third year. Between Ensberg and Koskie, we should be able to play the matchups pretty well... and now we don't have to rush Chavez back if he's still not 100%. Now, the big deal. We swung a 5-player deal with the M's today: Seattle Gets: SP Chad Gaudin (9-8, 3.79) SS Bobby Crosby (.268, 22 HR, 85 RBI) 1B Jason Stokes (.246, 21 HR) LF Jack Cust (.211, 10 HR in 95 games) Oakland Gets: SS Alberto Mraz I absolutely hate parting with Gaudin, but that's what it took to get the deal done. He would've been a great #3 or #4 starter for us... now he goes to a division foe and will probably anchor their rotation soon. Crosby and Cust will immediately start at SS and LF/DH, respectively. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 30 homers for them this season. Stokes, I'm not so sure about... Seattle just re-signed Richie Sexson to a 4-year deal, so they're probably going to groom Stokes to eventually take over the 1B job. I know this is a move that I'm going to get scrutinized for... you never trade impact players to a team within your division, but in this case, I had to make an exception. Simply put, Mraz is the best prospect I've seen in quite some time. We've been watching this kid since he was 17, and had him rated as the #1 player in the 2007 Draft. He slipped all the way to #6 overall to the Mariners, and we've been trying to find a way to land him ever since. He's got range like the Mets' Jose Reyes... silky smooth shortstop. And the way he stands there at the plate... he looks a lot like A-Rod right now, or Frank Thomas in his prime with the White Sox. Great eye... and everything that comes off his bat sounds pure. As you can probably tell, I'm pretty high up on this kid. He may not quite be ready for the bigs, but he will be within a year or two. There were other reasons to pull off this deal. We were able to cut about $10 million in payroll. That frees up even more money to add some depth via free agency and, yes, make a concerted effort to sign Alex Rodriguez. Yes, A-Rod. I'm not going to hide it. We're interested. A guy like that doesn't come along every day. Are we going to outbid every other team out there? No. We're not going to overpay. But we're going to put together a strong bid, and hopefully the promise of a World Series ring will bring A-Rod to Oakland.

07-24-2007, 07:05 AM	#39
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,450	Wrapping up the offseason December 20, 2007 We've added another high OBP, high Slugging Percentage bat to our lineup. Free agent Jim Thome (.238, 20 HR, 82 BB) has agreed to a 2-year, $1.76 million deal. He should split time at DH with Bonds. Imagine that kind of combo 5 years ago... Bonds and Thome. Our lineup is built for power... we may have to talk to the folks at McAfee about bringing in the fences by about ten feet. January 2, 2008 Bad news in the A-Rod Sweepstakes. Scott Boras announced today that his client, Alex Rodriguez, had chosen the Detroit Tigers. I never pegged Alex as a Detroit kinda guy, but money talks in the world according to Rodriguez. He signed for 4 years and $83.5 million... about $2 million more per year than we were offering. I hate to think we lost out on him by a couple million, but that money can be used to fill other holes, and I'm not going to sacrifice too much just for one player. Future Hall of Famer be damned. January 10, 2008 We've added a much-needed arm to our pen. We signed Brian Fuentes (3-3, 3.33 ERA, 30 SV) to a 2-year, $3.0 million contract. We have no plans of using him as a closer, but he will serve as a great lefthanded setup man. I think the bullpen was our biggest weakness last year, and this signing is certainly a step in the right direction. January 28, 2008 With the departure of Bobby Crosby to Seattle, we were left scrambling to find a new shortstop this offseason. I was hoping that A-Rod could fill that void by moving him back over from 3B, but that didn't work out. The market has been pretty thin on shortstops, so we're going with a short-term solution. Orlando Cabrera (.276 in 22 games) is solid defensively and can hold down short until Alberto Mraz is ready for a call-up. We got Cabrera for $1.36 million over two years. That wraps up the offseason... were signed seven free agents without adding much to our payroll or giving up compensatory draft picks to other teams. With some high salaries coming off the books in 2008 -- Estaban Loaiza ($8.3 million) and Mark Kotsay ($7 million) -- we are positioning ourselves for a windfall in next year's free agent market. Looking ahead, that crop could include Johan Santana, Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia, Travis Hafner, and Adam Dunn. Either one of those three pitchers would make a great addition to our rotation, and Dunn or Hafner would be a perfect bat for our lineup: great power and draws tons of walks. But we won't get too far ahead of ourselves here. We've got a World Series title to defend this upcoming season, and I have no plans on handing it over to the Mariners or Tigers.