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Archive for October, 2013
One week after arguably the finest performance of his young NFL career, quarterback Terrelle Pryor suffered through a nightmarish afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Pryor threw three interceptions and was sacked 10 times, unraveling in the second half of the Oakland Raiders’ 24-7 loss to the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. It wasn’t all on Pryor. The Raiders’ offensive line lost two more starters and completely crumbled under the pressure from Kansas City’s swarming defense. Oakland managed only 90 yards after halftime. The problems on offense completely offset an otherwise solid day by both the defense and special teams, although Sebastian Janikowski’s ...
The Oakland A's won't have to worry about losing a large quantity of players this offseason in free agency as they only have two players who can test the open market.  Those players are the A's two All-Stars in Bartolo Colon and Grant Balfour. Most of the players who were instrumental in bringing a second straight A.L. West title to Oakland are under team control.  Then there are the several players with contract options such as Coco Crisp, Kurt Suzuki, Chris Young and Brett Anderson. Anderson can be bought out for $1.5 million or can have his option exercised and be on ...
One of the biggest questions facing the Oakland A's front office in the offseason is what to do about Bartolo Colon.  As the veteran explained to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the right-hander doesn't plan to stop pitching anytime soon: Three more years?  That's a bit bold considering he will be 41 years old in May. It's hard to see any team giving Colon a three-year deal, but a two-year contract isn't off the table. Plenty of teams are desperate for starters. Colon is certainly getting up there in age, but it's impossible to ignore the results. In 2013, Colon was one ...
The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders are both fighting for legitimacy this weekend at Arrowhead stadium. The 5-0 Chiefs need to keep winning to prove that an easy early schedule isn’t the reason for their fast start, while the Raiders are trying to prove they are more than a surprise 2-3 team.  It's not quite a playoff environment, but it has the potential to feel that way because Chiefs fans will be attempting to break the Guinness world record for loudest crowd roar in an outdoor sports stadium. Rivalry games are usually the most fun when there is a lot at stake for both ...
Matt Snyder of CBSSports.com is reporting that the Oakland A's will pick up their $7.5 million option on Coco Crisp to keep him in Oakland for at least one more year. The news was confirmed by Oakland's general manager Billy Beane within 24 hours of being eliminated from the playoffs. Crisp provides the A's with a proven leadoff hitter who can get on base (he had an OBP of .335), and he showed a rare amount of power as he hit a career-high 22 home runs.  Crisp didn't compromise his speed with that power as he stole 21 bases as well.   Crisp ...
The Oakland A's season is over, but they can't hang their heads down for long because now is the time to get started on improving this team.   General manager Billy Beane has done a good job in finding the pieces to make this team competitive the last two years.  He has usually had to find those pieces by trading his best players for MLB-ready prospects who fly under the radar.   This year, Beane has a very easy, yet important, decision to make.  Beane doesn't need to make a trade.  All he has to do is exercise a club-option on one ...
When the Oakland A's were eliminated from the postseason in 2012 by the Detroit Tigers, there was still a sense of accomplishment and a moral victory.  The A's had come from behind and thrived in the role of the underdog, as they won the A.L. West on the last day of the regular season and then took the Tigers to a winner-take-all Game 5. After losing in the fifth game, the A's came back on the field for one last standing ovation from a sold-out O.Co Coliseum crowd thanking their team for an amazing ride. The A's did much of the same ...
Another year, another loss in the Division Series for the Oakland Athletics. There are some teams that are better equipped to perform well over the course of 162 games as opposed to a short series, though it's not like the A's didn't have chances to defeat Detroit.  No matter. While the rest of the baseball world focuses on what is sure to be an epic clash between the Tigers and Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, Billy Beane and his staff are busy preparing for 2014.  The good news is there likely won't be a lot of reshuffling for the A's, ...
The Oakland A's lost Game 5 of the ALDS, and while guys like Yoenis Cespedes and Grant Balfour earned themselves a high grade, too many of the other A's players earned a C or lower. Of course when that happens, losses happen. The series overall was quite close. Game 1 featured a tight one, with the Detroit Tigers coming out on top 3-2. The A's answered in Game 2, beating Justin Verlander 1-0. The offense picked up a bit in Game 3, netting Oakland a 6-3 win. But in Game 4, Detroit tied it up by winning 8-6. Close, until Game 5 of ...
The Oakland A’s opted to start rookie Sonny Gray in Thursday’s deciding Game 5 of the ALDS against the Tigers after he struck out nine batters over eight scoreless innings in Game 2. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old was no match for Justin Verlander and the Detroit offense in Game 5, as the A’s were eliminated from the postseason with a 3-0 loss. Gray, meanwhile, allowed three earned runs on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts in five-plus innings. While the A’s all-too-familiar early elimination from the postseason is a major disappointment, Gray was not. In fact, given the circumstances surrounding the ...