At this point, people either love or hate how outspoken new Oakland Raiders punter Chris Kluwe is during his time away from the football field. We happen to fall into the former category. We caught up with Kluwe during Raiders OTAs and he didn't disappoint, giving us the scoop on a new project he's working on as well as breaking down his favorite new video games. Uber nerdom, activate. Read more Oakland Raiders news on BleacherReport.com
The Oakland Athletics pitching staff is not quite up to par as a whole if you use the successful backdrop of last season as a barometer. But decent performances and excellent individual parts, like Bartolo Colon and Grant Balfour, are keeping the A's afloat as Oakland's offense rains down on opponents.Those two pitchers are clear favorites for the top spot in a power ranking of the A's hurlers who have logged at least 20 innings (sorry, Thursday winner Jesse Chavez). Beyond them is the real question, especially considering the sophomore slumping of three returning starters.Before Thursday's victory over the New ...
Before the season began, I predicted the Oakland Athletics would win 92 games and just miss the playoffs. After two months and a chance to re-evaluate, the odds to win the division are better, but only barely.There's great reason to believe the A's can legitimately compete for the AL West crown. There won't be any come-from-behind surprises this year. In fact, if anyone still thinks this team is a fluke, they clearly haven't watched enough baseball.It's not my doubt in the A's, it's the talented competition that causes concern.Let's take a look at a few roadblocks standing in Oakland's way, ...
There is little argument to be made against the fact that the 2013 season will be another rebuilding year for Reggie McKenzie, Dennis Allen and the Oakland Raiders. Playing in an AFC West division that the vast majority will virtually hand to the Denver Broncos before the season even gets underway, it can be fairly easy to write the Raiders off early. At the same time, despite their salary-cap issues, significant roster turnover and number of holes at various spots on the depth chart, this team, like every other in the NFL, will be expected to compete by both its ...
For one moment, Nick LeGrande got to feel like a kid again.Forced to stay indoors with a rare blood disease, Nick was able to throw out the first pitch prior to Wednesday's game between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that Nick threw it from Kansas City.How was it done? According to the Associated Press (via ESPN), all it took was a little bit of technology.
LeGrande and his family, including parents Mike and Shari, were taken to a mini baseball stadium. It was constructed by Google at its Kansas ...
This is part of a series of videos grading NFL teams' offseasons, from the opening of free agency to the end of the draft, up through OTAs and minicamps.The Oakland Raiders suffered through a pretty miserable 2012. 2013 may not be much better, but there are signs that general manager Reggie McKenzie has the team headed in the right direction. In the video above, I give my grades for free agency and the draft, as well as the offseason overall.Let us know in the comments below where you agree or disagree and what kind of grade you would give the Raiders for their work this offseason. Read ...
After 66 games, the Oakland A's have established themselves among the best teams in the major leagues with a 39-27 record.In the process, the A's have received stellar performances from multiple players who have merited consideration for the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York.To put that idea into proper perspective, the only time that Oakland sent more than one player to the All-Star Game in the past eight years was in 2010 when Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey were chosen.Oakland has not sent multiple position players to the Midsummer Classic since 1991 and no position player has ...
It's safe to say that 2013 is going to be an interesting year in Oakland.With a whole slew of new faces—most of them younger and unproven—there aren't a whole lot of expectations this season. That said, there's a strange sense of hope and excitement hovering over the team thus far.So as we look to the 2013 schedule, a few games jump off for a number of reasons—some are must-wins, some are statement games and some are simply confidence boosters.These aren't necessarily the most important games of the season and they aren't necessarily the easiest, but they are the five that ...
The most pleasant surprise for the Oakland A's this year has been the performance of catcher-turned-third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson was hot at the end of 2012 after a call-up from Triple-A Sacramento and has continued his hot hitting in 2013.With the success that Donaldson has had at the plate—a .324 batting average and .394 on-base percentage—he is getting a push from A's fans to be sent to the All-Star Game. Donaldson is starting to get the attention that he deserves, as he recently surpassed Kevin Youkilis of the New York Yankees for the fifth spot in votes at third ...
With the initial voluntary OTAs now wrapped up, the Oakland Raiders will move into their mandatory minicamps. As these offseason programs continue, we will get a better idea of just how the Raiders’ depth chart will shake out heading into the regular season. While a few positions are relatively set, there are many that could go in a variety of directions. Having said that, it is never too early to predict just what directions those may be. Here is a post-OTA prediction of what the Oakland Raiders’ final depth chart will look like.Begin Slideshow