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Archive for May, 2012
The lack of punch in the Oakland lineup has recently caught up with the A's.Currently on an eight-game slide, the A's went from plucky early season surprise to seemingly the also-ran they were expected to be. The only problem with that assessment is that the A's have not had their full assortment of weapons deployed at one time. That will begin to change in as soon as 27 or so hours.With players returning from the disabled list, suspension or perhaps even just an early-season malaise, the A's lineup has the potential to look a lot different than it has over ...
As countless rookies pile into training camps across the NFL, several veterans—and even those just entering their sophomore campaign—become forgotten men.I call them the "who's" of the NFL.And each season, a number of those "who's" blossom into household names. Celebrated figures. Think Miles Austin in 2009, Arian Foster in 2010 and Navorro Bowman in 2011.It's the classic who-to-hoot journey, and here are 10 candidates to make the trip in 2012.  LB Paul Kruger, Baltimore Ravens Fans in Baltimore are familiar with Kruger, a second-round draft pick in 2009, but only as a pass-rush specialist. They’ll see the whole package this year, ...
In 2011, American League teams were shut out 11 times on average. That’s roughly one every 15 games. The Oakland Athletics were slightly above the median, however—15 times the team could not muster a single run. This season, the Oakland Athletics are in pursuit of eclipsing that mark—by the All-Star break. By putting up another bagel in yesterday’s 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins, the A’s have now been shut out an amazing nine times through 51 games. Oakland’s offense is on pace to put up 28 bagels for the entire season.The MLB record for most games being shut out ...
It was a similar script from much of this 2012 season as the A's were shut out and mustered only three hits in a 4-0 defeat to the Twins at Target Field.The three-game sweep by the Twins stretches the current losing streak to eight games. Tyson Ross took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. The big damage came again from Josh Willingham, as the former A's slugger continues to torment Oakland with his 10th home run and three total RBI.In contrast, Francisco Liriano looked like the dominant pitcher from 2006, not the ...
The Oakland A's are certainly in need of any help that they can get at this point.They have been dreadful since Yoenis Cespedes went on the DL, losing 14 of 21 games and seven in a row.The help they need will return over the weekend, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Cespedes will return on Friday and Brandon McCarthy will start on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals: Melvin says the plan with Cespedes is still to have him join the team Friday. #Athletics— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) May 30, 2012  Slusser also tweeted, "McCarthy came out of bullpen session well, is a go for Saturday."The news ...
Shortly after the end of another disappointing season for the Oakland Raiders in 2011, general manager Reggie McKenzie was hired and given the difficult task of putting the pieces together to get the Silver and Black back on the winning track.A little more than four months later, McKenzie has already shown himself to be a true leader who knows what it takes to get the job done. When he was introduced during the press conference back in January, he stated, "no matter who the player was on the team, they would all have to continue to prove themselves, and every single ...
Nearly every team has players that will frustrate the fans. Whether that is a draft pick that doesn't perform or a starter that can't stay healthy or a backup that is supposed to become a starter, there are frustrating players on every team.Typically the frustration comes from a production issue, either volume or quality. Sometimes it is the consistency of the work that causes the frustration.Frustration usually fades quickly when there is resolution to the main problem. The player could answer his critics with a good season or the player could be released by the team and the fans will ...
The Oakland Athletics have been known for years to have one of the most productive farm systems in MLB. The Sacramento Rivercats, Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, have won four Pacific Coast League titles since 2000 and have seen countless players advance to play in the majors either in Oakland or elsewhere.Current A's second baseman Jemile Weeks was a Rivercat in 2011 before being called up to replaced an injured Mark Ellis midway through the season, and performed so well that he forced Oakland general manager Billy Beane to trade the veteran Ellis to make a permanent spot for Weeks.Here's a look ...
After a 13-3 regular-season record and trip to the NFC championship game, it's clear why the San Francisco 49ers are the football darlings of the Bay Area. In those glistening red and gold uniforms, the 49ers adopted coach Jim Harbaugh's philosophies and had the best turnaround in the league last season.Across the bay, the Raiders, who started hot with Jason Campbell and finished mild with Carson Palmer, finished third in the AFC West despite having the same 8-8 record as the division-winning Denver Broncos. Dennis Allen, with an offseason to teach Carson Palmer the playbook, will look to take the ...
Talk about a good walk spoiled. Brian Fuentes gave up a two out, three-run home run to former Oakland slugger Josh Willingham and the A's lost their seventh straight game, 3-2 in Minnesota. Fuentes took the loss, giving up all three runs on two hits and a walk. The blown save negated a solid start by Jarrod Parker, who went six shutout innings and was staked to a 1-0 lead when Colin Cowgill singled in the first run of the game in the seventh inning. Coco Crisp, who has been mired in an awful hitting slump, went 2-for-2 with a walk ...