Manny Ramirez officially joined the Oakland Athletics Friday, even participating in a batting practice session in which he hit numerous home runs. A's manager Bob Melvin is excited about the addition and teammates look forward to seeing what the 39-year-old has left in the tank. “He can be a great example with his work ethic,” Melvin said. “We have some young kids and, who knows, maybe something will rub off.”"I think the guys are excited to see what Manny Ramirez is all about."Fans, on the other hand, remain somewhere between lukewarm and cautiously optimistic about the signing. Ramirez, a career .312 hitter with ...
A lot has been made of the Raiders' lack of draft selections in the 2012 NFL draft. The Raiders have just two, but are likely to be awarded a few more by the NFL when they announce compensatory picks in late March.The best pick that can be awarded is a pick at the end of the third round, and compensatory selections can't be traded.In the NFL there is a salary cap and salary floor to keep all the teams as competitive as possible, but when it comes to draft selections they are traded like currency for acquiring players or more selections.With such ...
Since Manny Ramirez got called up to the Cleveland Indians in 1993, we have seen him become one of the greatest batters in MLB history.Ramirez's career has generated over 500 career home runs, two World Series titles and a dynamic personality that has brought an extra layer of color to baseball.Yet all of these highlights have been overshadowed with the news that Ramirez tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women's fertility drug that is used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It was also reported that Ramirez also ...
The Oakland A's offseason has been a bit of a soap opera.Since what looked like a full blown fire sale by shipping off three good young pitchers (Cahill, Gonzalez and Bailey), things have taken a different turn. Billy Beane pulled the trigger on Yoenis Cespedes, the hot prospect from Cuba, telling A's fans that he is willing to spend some money to go along with the youth in Oakland. Although, don't forget about the huge contract he gave Cahill last year, as we know all too well with Beane, he is very impatient when he spends big bucks. DramaManny Ramirez is bringing ...
The NFL offseason has so far been full of some intriguing storylines. Not the least of which is the potential destination of a certain quarterback as the result of some likely controversy with his team from last season. No, not Peyton Manning. Jason Campbell. Duh. The seven-year pro has had a rough past couple of years. In 2010, his first season with the Oakland Raiders, Campbell was benched in favor of backup Bruce Gradkowski after just one-and-a-half games. Campbell was reinstated as the starter a few games later and finished out the season—in part because of an injury that Gradkowski ...
Commitment to Excellence.Does anyone really equate that phrase with the Oakland Raiders anymore? Hasn't it become more of a punchline than a mission statement?Unfortunately, the Raiders have usurped that phrase, even if it is false advertising, making it impossible for any other team to use it.Raiders fans continue to chant the mantra, but it rings hollow throughout the NFL and brings chuckles to other fans around the league.Yes, there was a time when hearing John Facenda narrate "The Autumn Wind" conjured up images of the Four Raiders of the Apocalypse—Jack Tatum, Ted Hendricks, Art Shell and Ken Stabler—mocking the lamentations ...
It's no secret that the Raiders' Reggie McKenzie inherited one of the more difficult front office challenges in recent years. Just weeks after cleaning out Al Davis' staff, he takes on the task of eliminating the team's "out of whack" contracts and preparing for a draft that only Mike Ditka could appreciate.At the moment, the Raiders officially have only a 5th and 6th round pick in the draft, but once compensatory picks are issued for the losses of Nnamdi Asomugha, Robert Gallery, Zach Miller, and Thomas Howard, they could have as many as five picks in rounds 3 through 6.Considering what the team ...
“No matter how cold the winter, there’s a spring time ahead…” – Pearl JamFootball season is over, the NBA is going Linsane and hockey is doing its thing. Meanwhile, baseball is ready, waiting in the on-deck circle. Pitchers and catchers have arrived to their respective camps in Arizona and Florida, with most position players due to report this upcoming weekend. Spring training is always an exciting time of the year, a symbol of blossoming new growth, where anything and anybody can get a fresh start to their baseball careers. No team exudes the essence of springtime more than the Oakland ...
The Oakland Raiders' new head coach, Dennis Allen, finds himself in a bit of a precarious situation for the 2012 NFL draft, as the Raiders do not possess a single pick in the first three rounds.Instead, Allen and the Silver and Black will look to build from within through the likes of now-healthy Richard Seymour, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush.The Raiders are excited after trading for Carson Palmer last year, but exchanged picks in the process. The emergence of Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore was another bright spot last season.Allen also mentioned that the team only cares about 40 times when ...
The 2012 NFL Scouting Combine is this weekend and serves as the starting line for NFL draft talk. The talk will accelerate faster than DeMarcus Van Dyke and top out at 4.3 speed by the time the draft actually arrives in April.We'll get the party started with Drafttek.com's seven-round mock draft. Drafttek uses a computer model to simulate the draft, based on team needs and their draft rankings.Each pick will be dissected with pros and cons of each player, and we'll ask questions: Is the player the best available at the position? Is the position a need? Are there other players ...