RADIO INSIGHT: TuneIn Becomes Oakland Athletics Flagship Broadcaster

“The Oakland Athletics are moving their game broadcasts to their “A’s Cast” 24/7 streaming channel on TuneIn.

The franchise becomes the first MLB franchise to move to a completely streaming audio platform after spending the 2019 season on Salem Media Conservative Talk “860 The Answer” KTRB San Francisco. The games will be available for free in most of Northern California and as part of TuneIn’s premium service elsewhere in the country. The franchise will also continue to operate an eleven station network based at Bonneville’s 1140 KHTK Sacramento.”

Bay Bridge spanned: A’s, Giants make 1st trade since 1990

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The first baseball trade in almost 30 years between two teams separated only by a bay and a bridge happened Saturday, when the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics completed a deal.

In a move to add experience to their bullpen, the A’s got right-hander Burch Smith from the Giants for cash.

The last time Oakland and San Francisco made a trade was on Dec. 4, 1990, when the Athletics acquired outfielder Ernest Riles from the Giants for outfielder Darren Lewis and minor league pitcher Pedro Pena.

“So that broke the string, huh?” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.

Not sure what is stranger- how long it has been since those two teams have made a deal, or that the last deal they made was the year after one beat the other in the World Series…..

Why A’s players don’t mind trade-offs with extended protective netting

OAKLAND—Back in December, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred declared that all 30 ballparks will extend their existing protective netting in advance of the 2020 season.

The movement has its reservations among fans but seems universally supported among players. Even in Oakland, where ample foul ground already buys added insurance.

“It will be tougher to interact with the fans, maybe to throw a ball to them,” A’s shortstop Marcus Semien said Friday at the team’s media day. “I love throwing a baseball to a kid. But, at least they will be safe.”

An NBC News investigation last year found at least 808 reports of fan injuries from baseballs from 2012 through 2019. The total was “based on lawsuits, news reports, social media postings and information from the contractors that provide first aid stations at MLB stadiums.”

Alameda County agrees to sell its share of Oakland Coliseum to A’s

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to sell its ownership in the Coliseum complex to the Oakland A’s, capping a years-long effort by the county to get out of the sports business and all but securing the baseball team’s future in the East Bay.

The unanimous decision comes after months of fighting with the city of Oakland over whether the county should be allowed to sell its share of the stadium site, which is jointly owned by the county and the city. The city filed a lawsuit in September to block the sale but has since dropped the suit.

The county has been trying to reduce its involvement in professional sports after running up millions in debt renovating the Coliseum for the return of the Raiders from Los Angeles in 1995. The sale of the complex would save the county up to $13 million a year in debt payments.

The A’s, who have shared the Coliseum with the Raiders, hope to redevelop the area into a “multisports facility” that would include affordable housing and parks. The city, which will remain the co-owner of the site, would have to approve future plans.

Amidst the chaos of Winter Meetings, the A’s embrace the calm of hitting their 2020 target – The Athletic

“We’ve been looking forward to this window right now for quite some time,” Melvin said. “To see it all come together at the same time going into the season, albeit there is still a lot of youth, is really exciting. I don’t know that in my tenure here that we have had both a position player group and a pitching group this talented to this point. We’re all excited about that.”

Driving much of Melvin’s excitement is the prospect of folding young southpaws Jesús Luzardo and AJ Puk into the A’s starting rotation.

Padres get infielder Profar from A’s, deal Allen

After dealing Luis Urías to Milwaukee in a trade last week, the Padres found themselves in need of help at second base. It didn’t take very long for general manager A.J. Preller to find it.
The Padres acquired second baseman Jurickson Profar from the Oakland A’s on Monday for catcher Austin Allen and a player to be named or cash considerations.

Arneson: Athletics Should Moneyball a Ballpark

The Oakland A’s. Team Moneyball. The organization out of all human organizations in all human societies in all of human history that is most famous for turning life into a math problem.

Back when statistical analysis in baseball started to become a thing, a lot of old school types tried to argue against it. And they kept getting their asses handed to them, because they didn’t understand sabermetrics. Their arguments (“Batting average and RBIs are good enough! Watch a game, not the computer!”) were utter crap. This is a point I’ve made before, but the best arguments against sabermetrics are made by the people who actually understand sabermetrics, who know what its true flaws and blind spots are.

Sure, the math in ballpark building is different from the math in baseball games. But sabermetrics is not just about the math. It’s about how you think about the game.

A’s GM David Forst says bullpen improvement main priority for 2020

MLB’s hot stove season has been lukewarm, to say the least, especially when it comes to the A’s. But they need arm help, especially in the bullpen.

Last year’s reliever squad sang a different tune from what we heard in 2018. The A’s led all of MLB with 30 blown saves last season, and that’s something A’s general manager David Forst wants to make sure doesn’t happen again.

“We need to get better. We need to try and catch the Astros and get out of that one-game playoff,” Forst told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos. “We have a number of things to do, but addressing the bullpen is definitely at the top of the list.”

The AL Wild Card has been a thorn in the A’s side in their last three playoff appearances. They’ve lost the wild-card game each time, including a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in October.

Mind you, current events being what they are, it may be about to be easier for them to catch the Astros than they are acknowledging here…..

A’s promote Bobby Crosby in series of player development staff moves

The A’s are making some moves this offseason. But before they make a series of roster moves to their major league club, they’ve been keeping busy with the upcoming player development staff.

The team announced Tuesday some new and old faces will join the organization in a variety of roles.

The A’s have promoted former shortstop Bobby Crosby to manager of the High-A affiliate Stockton Ports. Crosby served as a coach for Double-A Midland last season.

Well, this answers the question as for whatever became of Bobby Crosby….

Braves’ [stuff] doesn’t work in the playoffs, either

The Athletics have been something of a punching bag over the years because executive vice president and president of baseball operations Billy Beane was famously quoted in Moneyball saying, “My [stuff] doesn’t work in the playoffs. My job is to get us to the playoffs. What happens after that is […] luck.”

Since 2000, the A’s have reached the playoffs 10 times. They have advanced into the ALCS just once, in 2006, when they were swept out by the Tigers. They’re 1-6 in the Division Series and 0-3 in the AL Wild Card game, accounting for their last three playoff losses (2014, ’18-19). To call their performance in the playoffs disappointing would be an understatement.

The A’s, however, are not the only team whose [stuff] doesn’t work in the playoffs. The Twins, who were just swept out of the ALDS by the Yankees, haven’t reached the ALCS since 2002. They have failed in their last six appearances in the ALDS — mostly against the Yankees — and lost the AL Wild Card game in 2017 as well (to the Yankees).

A consideration of losing streaks in the playoffs, albeit one that has gone out of date since between when I found it and when I posted it…..

The Las Vegas A’s? Baseball commissioner tells Oakland it could happen

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made it clear to Oakland officials that the A’s proposed waterfront ballpark and the team’s desire to develop at the Coliseum is an “all in one” proposition — and that the city needs to drop its lawsuit over the Coliseum land sale to the A’s or risk the team relocating to another city.

And apparently, everyone got the message.

“He kind of laid down the law,” said City Councilman Larry Reid, who also sits on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority. He attended separate meetings Manfred held last week with Mayor Libby Schaaf and council President Rebecca Kaplan.

“He talked about how it was five years ago that he became commissioner, how he had resisted the A’s moving to San Jose back then,” Reid said. “Then he talked about his frustration with the lawsuit and how the city needs to make it go away.”

There are things that could be said about this- I’ll leave it to all of you to have your thoughts…..

Source: A’s interested in Manny Ramirez

Just BillybeingBilly.

The Oakland Athletics are “very interested” in making Manny Ramirez their designated hitter next season, a source told ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com.

Ramirez, 39, has been working out in Miami since December and has plans to have open workout sessions for clubs interested in his services at the end of January.

Last week, ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reported that the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays had a look at Ramirez batting in an indoor cage.

“The Orioles and Blue Jays saw Manny work and Baltimore liked what it saw, but Oakland has been the team that has expressed the most interest, even before having him work out,” the source said.

Ramirez, a .312 lifetime hitter with 555 home runs and 1,831 career RBIs over 19 seasons, was reinstated by Major League Baseball from the “voluntarily retired” list after the Dominican player opted to leave the game instead of serving a second suspension for violating the league’s banned substances policy in 2011 while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Camden Depot: Rick Peterson Breaks Fewer Pitchers?

Jon Shepherd takes a first look at Rick Peterson’s record in keeping pitchers off the disabled list.

Rick Peterson and his pitching lab will apparently be in full effect for the Orioles in 2012.  His analytical technique has been hailed as a major prevention tool against injuries.  I have disabled list numbers of starting pitchers from part of his tenure with the A’s and all of his tenure with the Mets, giving us a time line from 2001 to 2007.  I also have disabled numbers of Orioles’ starting pitchers in 2009 and 2010.

Jonny Gomes to Sign with A’s

The Oakland Athletics are poised to sign Jonny Gomes, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser points out that he’s a local favorite set to join the club after Billy Beane indicated after the Seth Smith trade that he could be looking for more depth in the outfield.

Gomes, 31, has spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays but was with the Cincinnati Reds for a couple seasons and then spent part of 2011 in DC. He’s never been an especially good hitter (being kind to the guy with the mohawk, ok?) but does have a little pop, with a career line of .242 / .329 / .451. If you’re playing at home, think Adam Dunn without the walks.

Thanks to Ferg.

Orlando Cabrera To Retire From Baseball

OH NO, EXPO!

Last season, Orlando Cabrera batted .238 with the Indians and Giants, posting a 61 OPS+. The season before that, he posted a 76 OPS+. The season before that, he posted an 85 OPS+. Orlando Cabrera has been declining, and just turned 37 years old. As a free agent, Cabrera didn’t drum up much interest, which I’m guessing is why he’s intending to hang ‘em up. Enrique Rojas:

  “Orlando Cabrera to retire from baseball, he said in Colombia radio station. Thanks for memories!”

Cabrera had a long career that’ll be difficult to forget. He debuted with the Expos in 1997, and remained there until the giant Nomar Garciaparra three-way trade in 2004. That year, with the Red Sox, Cabrera won a World Series. He wound up with the Angels, earning the unfortunate nickname “The Wizard of O.C.”, and then he wound up with the White Sox, and the A’s, and the Twins, and the Reds, and the Indians, and the Giants ... He remained a shortstop to the end, and collected 2,055 hits. He will always be remembered as a pest. An absolute pest.

A’s trade Moscoso, Outman for Seth Smith

#### THE GOLDEN GLOBES!

Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s continued their extreme offseason makeover Monday with yet another trade. This time Beane shipped pitchers Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscoso to the Rockies for outfielder Seth Smith—who has been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason.

Smith, 29, has served mostly as a fourth outfielder type for the Rockies since 2008, but he got a career high 533 plate appearances last season. He hit .284/.347/.483 with 15 homers, 32 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He hasn’t played center field since 2008, so he’s best used as a corner outfielder. He’ll likely be the starter in left field with Coco Crisp in center and Josh Reddick in right. Of course, prospect Michael Taylor is going to figure in the mix at some point.

One item of note: Smith’s career splits indicate he was hugely helped by Coors Field. He’s hit .296/.366/.559 at home and .257/.332/.418 on the road. And Oakland plays in one of the worst hitters’ parks in the majors.

Moscoso, 28, was 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 128 innings last season. Outman, 27, was 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. And, again, we’ll note that these two pitchers are going from having a very pitcher-friendly home park to one of the most hitter-friendly yards in the bigs.

Oakland manager Melvin excited about Japan series

The Athletics and Seattle Mariners open the regular season with a two-game series at Tokyo Dome on March 28-29. Many hoped the series would feature a showdown between Matsui and countryman Ichiro Suzuki, but Melvin said the A’s likely wont be re-signing the 37-year-old free agent Matsui.

“Matsui was a great fit for us last year and we all loved having him on our team,’’ Melvin said at a press conference on Monday to promote the series. “But this year it doesn’t look like a fit for us based on the personnel we have going forward.’‘

...Suzuki also had a down season in 2011. For the first time in his career, He failed to reach 200 hits - finishing with 184 - and hit a career-worst .272. Other numbers were lower too, including on-base percentage, infield hits and home runs, while he struck out a career-high 69 times.

Former Seattle star Ken Griffey Jr., who now serves as a special consultant to the Mariners, said he expects Suzuki to bounce back this season.

“Ichiro is going to be fine, you can ask these two guys (Melvin, Wedge) if a guy had 184 hits they wouldn’t be complaining,’’ Griffey said. “But you are looking at a guy who is a special athlete. He had one hiccup in his career and come this time next year we won’t even be talking about this. He is going to come into this season determined and with a little fire.’‘

Hiccup?...That was a freakin’ Dave McNally tally if ever!

Phil Rogers: Bean-counting GM Beane deserves a better place to work

And furthermore

(bullet) MLB should have a minimum payroll. It would require all teams to at least attempt to be somewhat competitive, and fairness is an issue. For instance, how much of an advantage will the Angels and Rangers have in the wild-card race because they have 19 games each against Oakland?

(bullet) According to Bill James’ projections, the Athletics’ most productive hitter next season will be DH Brandon Allen, with a slash line of .243/.327/.449, 22 home runs and 71 RBIs.

(bullet) Melvin is a major upgrade in the dugout, probably the best manager they’ve had since Tony La Russa (although Art Howe was much better than the movie’s portrayal by Philip Seymour Hoffman suggests).

(bullet) MLB scoffs at Forbes’ projections, but they’re the best available.

(bullet) Wolff is very close to Selig, but so far that does not appear to have gained him any advantages.

(bullitt) There are bad writers and there are good writers - and then there’s Rogers.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

On DVD: Moneyball’s deleted scenes reveal the numbers game

The deleted scene in question features Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) discussing the team’s relief pitchers with field manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The two butt heads several times in the film, as Beane recommends fielding undervalued, unorthodox players over the objections of the more conservative Howe.

This time he’s singing the praises of Chad Bradford over Mike Magnante. He concludes his own pitch by telling Howe to bring Bradford out of the bullpen no matter what. “If we’re in, let’s say to make it easier on you, any situation. OK? Righty, lefty, two outs, one out, the umpires want to finish the game throwing darts … Bradford!”

It’s no surprise, however, when Howe does the opposite. Magnante promptly gives up a home run, and the crowd boos lustily. Beane then makes a rare (and illegal) trip to the dugout during the game to tell Howe what a costly f-you that was, and adds: “Those boos; they’re for you. Drink up.”

It’s a clever scene, probably cut only because we see so much sniping between Beane and Howe that their animosity is already clear.

Thanks to Nroll.

Kevin Goldstein: Athletics Top 11 Prospects

Five-Star Prospects
1. Michael Choice, OF
Four-Star Prospects
2. Jarrod Parker, RHP
3. A.J. Cole, RHP
4. Brad Peacock, RHP
5. Sonny Gray, RHP
6. Derek Norris, C
7. Grant Green, OF
Three-Star Prospects
8. Chris Carter, 1B
9. Collin Cowgill, OF
10. Raul Alcantara, RHP
11. Max Stassi, C

Nine More
12. Michael Taylor, OF: He made some improvements in 2011, but the A’s showed “confidence” in Taylor by acquiring Reddick and re-signing Crisp.
13. Josh Donaldson, C: He doesn’t have any star-level tools, but he has improved defensively and has always had solid power.
14. Yordy Cabrera, SS: He had an ugly full-season debut in 2011, but the seven-figure tools are still there.
15. Bobby Crocker, OF: This 2011 fourth-round pick is a big-time athlete with speed and power potential.
16. Aaron Shipman, OF: He could explode with some hitting refinements due to his speed and advanced approach.
17. Vicmal De La Cruz, OF: De La Cruz was beat up in the Dominican Summer League. His speed and bat are his best tools.
18. Ian Krol, LHP: He lost 2011 due to injury, but his instructional league showing has officials optimistic for a bounceback.
19. Miles Head, 1B/3B: Head came over in the Andrew Bailey trade. There is nothing pretty about what he does, but his power is significant.
20. Jermaine Mitchell, OF: He finally had his breakout season, but he is also 27 now.

BN: A Proposal To Break The Territorial-Rights Logjam Between The A’s And The Giants

With a doff of the chapeau to Mr. Calcaterra, a modest proposal indeed:

All of the two-team territories but one share the same counties: the Yankees and Mets; the White Sox and Cubs; and the Dodgers and Angels. Only the Giants and A’s split the counties surrounding their home cities. The A’s territory includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties; the Giants’ territory includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Marin counties, “plus Santa Clara County with respect to another major league team.” San Jose is in Santa Clara county.

Halo’s Heaven: Moneyblog

Billy Beane should have never written this comic strip.

Jonah Keri: The Myth of the Small-Market Window

We’re not selling blinds here.

There is a nugget of truth behind this Window obsession. Smaller-revenue teams have a tougher time signing premium free agents, or retaining their own top players past their initial six years of team control. That puts extra pressure on these poorer teams to bring up a bunch of great prospects all at once, then hope they get good at the same time before they get expensive.

But far more often it’s a bullshit excuse. It’s a vague, faraway goal that always seems several years out of reach. It’s a cover for cheap, greedy ownership, lousy scouting, drafting, and player development, and myopic trades. It’s a weak attempt to placate a fan base screwed over by years of management incompetence and indifference.

Or in the case of the Oakland A’s, their recent fire sale and justification for said fire sale, it’s a bold-faced ploy by one opportunistic owner to win territory from another opportunistic owner so that another city can hand out another $500 million check for another boondoggle stadium.

Jenkins: Billy Beane isn’t to blame for sad state of A’s

The Magic World of Bruce Jenkins: Homesick, that’s all.

Personally, I find it astounding that Beane’s still in Oakland - even if the A’s do get the go-ahead for San Jose. This is a 49-year-old man in the prime of life, absurdly overqualified to supervise three or four more years of utter irrelevance in the American League.

But I’m done lobbying for his freedom. This is a different kind of cat. As Beane weighs the elements of lifestyle and family, he’s obviously willing to trade prestige for a challenge.

And this is one hell of a challenge.

“I’m too competitive to ‘punt’ anything,” he said by telephone this week. “It’s not part of my DNA. I’ve got an emotional investment in this team, and if we’re playing in Oakland, then let’s make the best of the situation. I don’t leave for clear skies as soon as I start seeing the clouds. I keep thinking something will get better.”

...“Listen, this is the most challenging position we’ve ever been in, and when you’re moving good players, year after year, there is going to be some backlash. You’re in the wrong business if you think everyone is always going to pat you on the back, so if I’m part of the dartboard, so be it, it’s in the job description. But I want a team that has a chance to be better tomorrow, as opposed to worse. I understand the risk, but when you are coming off a third-place finish, I don’t see it as much of a risk.”