2009 Oakland A's thread

Why is Nomar still on this team? Just another personal move that makes no sense to me.

The guy should be let go and have even somebody in AAA, even a "filler" guy who may not have a long term future with this team like Carson whos doing very well down there play the last month of the season...and let Nomar go to a team in a playoff chase and actually let him be on the roster of that team if they make the postseason.

One more day till the deadline.

The only good thing about this upcoming series against KC is the A's don't have to face Grienke.

In terms of a draft spot, A's at this point would be 7th.

According to Geren, Wallace won't be a SEP callup.

Slusser says there's a chance Nomar does eventually does get to finish off this season and maybe his career with a contending team.

Let him go, best for both sides to part ways now.

Some minor league updates...

-Cardenas .292/.370/.417 with 3 2Bs/3 RBIs in his past six games.

-Carter since coming up to AAA. .261/.261/.304 with 2B/5 RBIs. He starts slowly every level, did so in 08 at A+ and this past season at AA.

-Wallace hitting .368 this past weekend, lack of XBHs concerning dating back to a week and a half ago.

-Weeks after a slow start at AA, past ten games, .313/.353/.531 with a 2B/2 HRs/10 RBIs 3/3 SBs in his past ten games.

-Ross looking good his past two outings at AA. 13 IP, 4 hits, 0 ERs, 3 BB, 9 Ks. 4.28 ERA/1.20 WHIP in 7 starts now.

-Capra at A+, very hitter's friendly league has a 3.18 ERA/1.26 WHIP in 7 starts but has 12 Ks per 9 IP, very impressive.

-Leon is pitching out of his MIND! 5.2 IP, 3 hits, ER, 0 BBs, 9 Ks tonight.

In his past 12 outings now, he's gone 39.2 IP, 25 hits, 4 ERs, 7 BBs, 39 Ks, 0.90 ERA/0.81 WHIP.

Originally posted by ninerpride:
It's not whining it's the fact. There's a bias and if you don't want to admit, fine, go live in your orange and black world where everybody there feels like they should get their asses kissed.

Be like sports fans all over the country not being able to complain constantly about the biased a network like ESPN is towards everybody outside of the New England/NYC area where they show their highlights first on almost every show and have some BS 5-6 minute segment afterwards analyzing every stupid detail about such and such game or player.

And screw this thinking that the A's fans aren't there so why appeal to them as during the past decade on CSNBA or when it was FSNBA, the A's drew the 2nd highest ratings on the network per game just behind SFG and drew consistently better than both the W's and Sharks.

I'm not asking for equal time, I know the A's will never get it since every media major media outlet is based in SF and or has a bunch of SF fans running the station it seems but when it's that blatant, you get tired of it and I'm not the only fan here who doesn't see it.

There may be SF bias but the fact is the A's are one of the worst teams in baseball and their isnt much interest in the team. That is why they get little mention these days. If the A's were in the race for the playoffs they would be getting much more attention and respect.

Look at this site and the apathy for the A's. You are basically talking to yourself now. If the A's were in the hunt there would be many fans in here posting.

Course they'd be getting more attention but I'd expect some respect by not having to be the very last highlight of the night like this whole debate started with when the A's game FRI was in the last segment. And then to see it basically as a "throw in" with only three highlights, none showing how well Cahill pitched, just another reason why A's fans and there are many, not just me, are fed up with the media here locally when it deals with coverage.

There must've been 2-3 different segments about the both football teams as I mentioned earlier. Telling me you couldn't have stuck the A's 20 sec package as it was earlier in the broadcast.

As for when the A's do well? Heck it's happened in the past with the lack of respect the A's received when they did do well. Back in 06, A's when they not only clinched the AL West but also advanced to the ALCS, just look at the newscasts here locally pre Comcast Central and none had them had the A's "breaking news" anywhere near the top of the news telecast, and I remember even till this day as I was flipping thru the channel those two nights that the story was "relegated" to the usual back end of the news cast during the sports segments...something I doubt would take place hell even if SF ever reaches the playoffs again and I'd be willing to bet they'd be the top story on the entire newscast if that were to take place as EVERY SINGLE time they made the playoffs earlier this decade or were playing a playoff game, top story of the newscast.

Hunter looking good since being demoted down to AZL and in his debut at A- at VAN SAT.

5.2 IP, hit, ER, 2 BBs, 5 Ks.

For all the control issues he had at A ball, the one thing he did was make hitters look kind of foolish when he wasn't BB'ing everybody in sight. Although in those 5.2 innings since, he has hit a couple of hitters.

38 hits and only allowed 2 HRs in 47.1 IP at KC earlier this year.

If he could get his control settled, I'd expect a great year for him in 2010.

Originally posted by ninerpride:
Course they'd be getting more attention but I'd expect some respect by not having to be the very last highlight of the night like this whole debate started with when the A's game FRI was in the last segment. And then to see it basically as a "throw in" with only three highlights, none showing how well Cahill pitched, just another reason why A's fans and there are many, not just me, are fed up with the media here locally when it deals with coverage.

There must've been 2-3 different segments about the both football teams as I mentioned earlier. Telling me you couldn't have stuck the A's 20 sec package as it was earlier in the broadcast.

As for when the A's do well? Heck it's happened in the past with the lack of respect the A's received when they did do well. Back in 06, A's when they not only clinched the AL West but also advanced to the ALCS, just look at the newscasts here locally pre Comcast Central and none had them had the A's "breaking news" anywhere near the top of the news telecast, and I remember even till this day as I was flipping thru the channel those two nights that the story was "relegated" to the usual back end of the news cast during the sports segments...something I doubt would take place hell even if SF ever reaches the playoffs again and I'd be willing to bet they'd be the top story on the entire newscast if that were to take place as EVERY SINGLE time they made the playoffs earlier this decade or were playing a playoff game, top story of the newscast.

Its very simple. If they win they will create more excitment in the Bay Area, will get more media attention, and you will have more people to chat with in the A's thread. Until that happens, the A's will be lucky to get any mention and certainly not before the Giants, Raiders, or 49ers.

And as I said previously, the A's when they were winning just three years ago in 06, not that far away from right now...the A's didn't get the type of coverage IMO had SF been in the A's place.

Earlier this decade when both teams made the playoffs it seemed every year, A's never got the coverage especially "placement" in the local news telecast that SF did. I hear the arguments from SF fans saying oh well SF draws better than the A's do, so what? You still got a good segment especially here in the east bay sports scene that would probably have liked to seen the A's over the past decade when something good happens to the org like clinching a playoff berth or coverage after each postseason game, get at least almost equal billing that the media would've given to the team across the bay, which wasn't the case.

As after every time SF clinched a playoff spot and or after postseason game they were the #1 story on each newscast, the A's weren't and were relegated to the usual back end of the telecast treatment....it's not just me again, a lot of A's fans I know and speak with on other MBs have seen the obvious gap in news coverage between the two teams regardless if both teams stink or both teams do something "special".

It's one thing for KNBR and I guess now CSNBA's shows like Comcast Central and Chron Live to have a bias which we've seen over the years and just recently with CSNBA, but it's another thing for the regular news media outlets especially on TV here locally to show the bias that they have and probably will continue to do so.

I've brought this issue up before many times but look at the 06-07 W's. They clinched a playoff berth, maybe the biggest story in sports the past half decade here locally and you'd think with the excitement, they would've gotten possibly top story billing but they didn't. After Game 1 of the playoff series against DAL, KNBR the supposed "home station" of the W's didn't even have a postgame call in show. Yes it was a Sunday but hell, both SF teams during stupid preseason/exhibition/non PLAYOFF games get postgame call in shows on weekends. Telling me KNBR couldn't have called in somebody that night to let the fans call in after a game, which the W's won, that the fanbase was waiting a good dozen or so years.

IMO if these special sporting "events" and or "moments" don't happen to take place with a SF based team, it gets relegated to second status with some here in the media.

Want more of a SF negatively towards it seems everything not based in the "city"?

Here's just one that took place recently with Ratto "trying" to explain the recent updates on the potential new A's park down in SJ when he wrote in a recent article in the chron that the A's were asking the city of SJ for public financing for the new park. When in reality the A's would be asking for help in a potential parking structure that would help with the transit down in the south bay both for potential Sharks and A's games. But if you read the article without knowing the FACTS, you'd think it was Ratto trying to drum up negativity for a new park in SJ for the A's since it's very unlikely that any public money will go into building the actual park itself and boom, Ratto throws in that line to create what many A's fans is a negative misconception for the public if they hear the A's are asking for money to build a potential park in SJ which they'd be against.

Although Ratto has said publicly that the whole TR issue between the two teams isn't gonna be a huge factor as some have thought it'd be over the years and as I've pointed out many times in the past so at least he's totally ripping EVERYTHING positive about a potential A's move down to SJ but previous articles like the one I mention just gives A's fans more reasons why to dislike the SF media here.

Krol already pitching within the A's org.

Perfect IP at AZL earlier last week but has been moved up A- at VAN and made his "pro" debut SUN. 1.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 0 BBs, 2 Ks.

Reading those who were there, said the defense cost him those two runs and they should've been unearned.

One guy who continues to impress at the big league level is Powell.

He struggled early in the season, his rookie season, although still showed good power even though his AVG was low.

But since the break, .317/385/.543 with 2 2B/2 HRs/8 RBIs with 4 BBs/6 Ks but only in 35 ABs.

A former first rounder in 04, question from 04-07 was who was the A's C of the future between he and Suzuki. Well Powell always had the better physical skills. 6'3" 250 big target behind the plate and had huge upside as a hitter as he showed when he was healthy for part of his minor league career. In fact at the end of 06 I believe, Powell was actually ahead of Suzuki for most A's fans but then he tore up his knee yet again and Suzuki surpassed him and looks like he's entriched as the A's starting C until maybe 2012 or 2013, whenever he becomes a FA. Suzuki had the better defensive skills and "instincts" with him being named the Bench award winner at CSUF his senior year in college. As a hitter, didn't know what he could become and probably wasn't gonna be better than Powell, but Suzuki has turned into a pretty solid offensive C.

This is what I posted the very day this thread was created on what I thought Suzuki would do this season...

Quote:
C-Suzuki probably the team MVP last season. He may not be a star but I'd take a solid year from him both with the bat, .270 AVG with 30 2B/10+ HRs/60+ RBIs and his improving D and calling games.

....276 with 30 2Bs/11 HRs/62 RBIs so Suzuki has lived up to what I had hoped he'd do and more so as he has a month left to improve on those #s. Although the AVG has gone down in AUG, his power/HRs have increased with 5 this month.

Course what Suzuki brings as a C behind the plate is golden.

Powell if he can stay healthy and prove that he can be the hitter he's shown this year he's been for even 400-500 ABs as a 1B/DH platoon type player, be huge for this lineup at least short term. I hate "on pace" projections but you average out his #s this year to even a 140 game schedule, he'd hit you around 15-20 HRs/80+ RBIs.

Although at this time, a Suzuki/Powell C combo looks really good for the next few years.

Looking at what DLS is doing so far in his rehab at AZL...

3.86 ERA/1.38 WHIP with 16 K/4 BB ratio in 11.2 IP

...true it's against guys who probably are 3-4 years younger than he is and he should be overpowing them, I hope he has a 2010 season like Leon is having.

Hopefully he's 100% healthy by next spring, something I don't think he's at right now as he's just about one full year removed from TJ. But hope the A's put him in the pen to start the year as they did with Leon and extend his innings late in the year as Leon is a SP prospect I guessing.

Guessing the A's will send DLS to A+ where he started 08, he'll be 24, if he's anywhere close to his 08 form where he was considered the A's top prospect in the system...I'd expect him to advance quickly thru the system and could spend half the year in A/A+ and then the other half at AA, if he's doing well at AA at this time after being promoted, could see him being moved to AAA by year's end to possibly pitch in the playoffs if SAC is in it although if he's a SP or being stretched out late during the late AA season, he could be moved back to the pen at AAA.

Still don't see DLS realistically coming to the bigs until at the earliest mid 2011 but more likely late 2011, start of 2012, that's if health wise and production wise, he's doing okay.

Check your TV listings, MLBN replaying 74 WS.

Bad Gio showed up but A's offense backing him big up.