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202 ‘WOB’ Awards Since Opening Day – Find Out Who

Sully baseball hosts a 20 Min Daily Podcast http://mlbreports.com/2013/04/27/sully-baseball-daily-podcast-april-27-2013/

‘Sully’ Baseball (Paul Francis Sullivan) hosts a 20 Minute Daily Podcast Every Day – 365 Days a Year – unless its a Leap Year – and then he is going to do another one.

check out Sully Baseball’s 20 Min Daily Podcast Right here

Don’t forget to Subscribe on iTunes HERE. RSS Feed here

WOB Stands For ‘Who Owned Baseball’  It is based on a Daily Look at the best players from the baseball games the day before. Our Lead Writer – Paul Francis Sullivan – (please call him ‘Sully’),  keeps a running total for the yearly leaders every day – and we will update the standings here every day on this page.. 

Agree or Disagree with him on the players he selects – leave him a comment at info@sullybaseball.com.  Follow him on twitter. 

So Bookmark this Page – and be part of the new phenomena of #WOB – If you reverse WOB it also means Players that take a BOW for being the best players of the night! Read the rest of this entry

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Who Owned Baseball Yesterday (May 20th) – Updated Yearly ‘WOB’ Standings

Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 7.21.26 AM

Yan Gomes hit a walk off, come from behind, 3 run homer in the bottom of the 10th to cap off a 3-5 day as the Indians won a bizarre 10-8 game over the Mariners.

R. A. Dickey pitched 8 strong innings letting up only 4 hits and 2 earned runs as the Blue Jays got a much needed win over the Rays, 7-5.

Brandon Belt went 4-5, homering and scoring 4 times as the Giants demolished the Nationals 8-0.

And Patrick Corbin threw his first career complete game, improving to 7-0, as he let up only 3 hits and 1 run in Coors Field, striking out 10 for the Diamondbacks 5-1 win over the Rockies.

They all owned baseball on May 20th, 2013

My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.

At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Young vote.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON.

To View The List of just the nightly winners (WOB dedicated Page) starting from Mar.31/2013 – today click here Read the rest of this entry

Who Owned Baseball Yesterday (May.19) – Updated Yearly ‘WOB’ Standings

Miguel Cabrera

In a losing cause, Miguel Cabrera hit three homers, reached base 5 times, scored three and drove in 5 runs. (His critics would point out that he made an error.) Despite his best efforts, the Tigers lost to Texas 11-8.

Matt Moore pitched seven terrific innings, holding the Orioles to a single run. The Tampa Bay Rays won 3-1 and swept a series in Baltimore that could come back to haunt the Birds later.

Carlos Gonzalez got on base four times and got RBI hits in the first and fifth as the Rockies blanked the Champion Giants 5-0 in Coors Field.

And Ricky Nolasco pitched 8 strong innings, letting up only 1 run and struck out 11 as the Marlins enjoyed a rare win, 2-1 over the Diamondbacks.

They all owned baseball on May 19th, 2013

My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.

At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Young vote.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON.

To View The List of just the nightly winners (WOB dedicated Page) starting from Mar.31/2013 – today click here Read the rest of this entry

The Athletics Enter The Quarter Pole At .500: Its Better Than It Looks

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Tuesday May.14/2013

Cespedes has struggled this year - hitting for a 3 Slash Line of .212/.283/.748.  However the team always better when he is in the lineup.  They were 4 - 10 with the big fella out of the Lineup.  Cespedes left last nights game with an illness - after cracking his 7th HR.

Cespedes has struggled this year – hitting for a 3 Slash Line of .212/.283/.748. However the team always better when he is in the lineup. They were 4 – 10 with the big fella out of the Lineup. Cespedes left last nights game with an illness – after cracking his 7th HR.  With the longball Monday night, Cespedes now has hit 31 HRs and driven in 101 RBI in his 1st 155 Games and 586 At-Bats.  Billy Beane signed him as  a Free Agent last winter – prior to the 2012 year.  He finished 2nd in Rookie Of The Year Voting and 10th in AL MVP Voting.  His salary at 4 YRs/$36 MIL deal looks pretty good right now.  He made $6.5 MIL last year, will make $8.5 MIL this year – and will earn $10,5 MIL for both 2014 and 2015.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

The Athletics will enter game #41 at the record of 20 Wins and 20 Losses.  Last nights win was a sigh of relief for the Oakland club and their fans.

After taking 2 out of 3 versus the New York Yankees in the Bronx last week, they were swept in Cleveland in a 4 game series (including that debauchery of a call by Angel Hernandez on the Adam Rosales Game Tying HR) – before losing two of three to the Seattle Mariners.

The A’s have seen their quick start of 12 -4  turn into a barely .500 season thus far at 20 – 20.

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MLB Monthly Power Rankings May 2013 (Podcast Version)

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Sunday, May.05/2013

The Triple Play Show will have 5 shows per month.  Each show will be about 1 hour

The Triple Play Show will have 5 shows per month. Each show will be about 1 hour.

By The Big Ticket Show ( AKA Triple Play Podcast on http://www.mlbreports.com)

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

One month down in the MLB season and that means it’s time for some Power Rankings! Chuck Booth the czar of MLBreports.com joins us in studio to rank every team from worst to first. Where does your team rank? Read the rest of this entry

Oakland Athletics Payroll In 2013: A’s Organizational Rosters + Depth Charts – (MLB + MiLB)

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Monday, Apr.29/2013

How important was Cespedes to The A's Lineup?  They went 82-47 with him in the lineup and 12-21 without him.  He was the biggest reason the team has soared into the playoff race and wont the AL East.  Beane secured him Free Agency last year without trading any prospects.  Cespedes clubbed 23 HRs.  So far in 2013, the team has gone 10 - 2 with the big Cuban and 4 - 8 without him.

How important was Cespedes to The A’s Lineup? They went 82-47 with him in the lineup and 12-21 without him. So far in 2013, the team has gone 10 – 2 with the big Cuban and 4 – 8 without him.  Clearly he is the teams MVP.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website  here  

You guys are all in for a treat.  Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website.  He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs.  We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams. 

Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective.  If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.

In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball.  He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job.  So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!

Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis.  After you click on it….Bookmark it.  There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page.  Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!

For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Athletics Organization click here

MLB Hard Talk 101 – Can The A’s Do It Again?

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Who Owns Baseball – Updated Apr.28/2013

Travis Hafner

Travis Hafner homered and tripled as the Yankees overcame shaky pitching to beat the Toronto Blue Jays.

Matt Moore of the Rays dominated the White Sox, striking out 9 in just six innings.

Bryce Harper continued his torrent pace as the Nationals once again beat the Cincinnati Reds.

Travis Wood shut down the Marlins lineup giving the Cubs a rare series win.

They all owned baseball on April 27, 2013

My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.

At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Young vote.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON Read the rest of this entry

Who Owns Baseball – Updated Apr.27/2013

Anibal Sanchez

Pitching ruled Friday in an unbelievable way.

How much so?
Kyle Kendrick threw a complete game shutout against the Mets and Wei-Yin Chen threw 8 shut out innings on the road against the A’s. And neither of them owned baseball last night!

Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals threw a masterful one hit shutout against the Cincinnati Reds.

For the American League, Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez set a franchise record of 17 strikeouts as he dominated the Atlanta Braves.

Meanwhile some hitters had quite a good night as well. Carlos Beltran‘s two home runs helped the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh.

With all the star power in the Tiger lineup, it was Matt Tuiasosopo who dominated, driving in five of Detroit’s 10 runs.

They all owned baseball on April 26, 2013

My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.

At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Young vote.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON Read the rest of this entry

Who Owns Baseball – Updated Apr.26/2013

Clay Buchholz

Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox dominated the Astros and improved to 5-0.

Alex Gordon of the Royals smashed a grand slam that sunk the Tigers.

Gio Gonzalez shut down the Reds as the Nationals prevailed.

Gabby Sanchez homered the Pirates to a come from behind victory against the Phillies..

They all owned baseball on April 25, 2013

My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.

At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Young vote.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON Read the rest of this entry

Who Owns Baseball – Updated Apr.25/2013

Jordany Valdespin

Last night was another wild and loopy night of baseball with come from behind wins, dramatic homers and dominating pitching.

But with all the drama in the National League yesterday, was I really NOT supposed to pick Jordany Valdespin and his walk off grand slam for the Mets?

The National League pitcher who owned baseball was Edinson Volquez of the Padres. He shutdown the hottest team in baseball, the Brewers, for seven shutout innings giving San Diego (the coldest team in baseball) a much needed win.

J. P. Arencibia of the Blue Jays owned baseball with his home run and key 11th inning single that sparked Toronto’s victory over the Orioles.

And all due respect to Yu Darvish and his amazing start against the Angels, but Alex Cobb of the Rays owned baseball as Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 2-0 behind his 8 1/3 shutout innings. 

They all owned baseball on April 24, 2013

My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.

At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Young vote.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON Read the rest of this entry

Yankees Week Two – Getting Right in Cleveland + A Triple Play = 4 – 1

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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Week Two for the New York Yankees was a far more fun ride than Opening Week.  An offensive outpouring in Cleveland followed by taking 2 out of 3 from Baltimore has left the Yankees within striking distance of 1st place in a very strange AL East.  Now the Yankees enter the second half of April within striking distance of 1st place in a very strange AL East.

Week Two for the New York Yankees was a far more fun ride than Opening Week. An offensive outpouring in Cleveland followed by taking 2 out of 3 from Baltimore has left the Yankees within striking distance of 1st place in a very strange AL East. Now the Yankees enter the second half of April within striking distance of 1st place in a very strange AL East.

By Nicholas Rossoletti (Yankees Correspondent/Trade Correspondent):

In baseball, a momentum turn can be a slight thing.  A player getting a seeing eye single through the infield that turns him from slumping to streaking. A pitcher getting a lucky hop that turns a rally into a double play.

For this Yankees team, the momentum turn seems to have been C.C. Sabathia‘s gem against the Tigers on a Sunday afternoon.  

The Yankees used that 7 Inning performance to jump-start the second week of the season. In almost every regard, Week Two was the anti-thesis of Week One.

After Sabathia dominating the Tigers’ line-up and the Yankees getting after Detroit ace Justin Verlander, the Yankees headed to Cleveland where it was either raining or the Yankees were scoring runs.

After Opening Week, the 11 and 14 runs scored in the first two nights in Cleveland allowed the fan base to breathe easy.  This run shed some light on an issue I wanted to look at this week.  

Before the season got under way, my pre-season piece focused on the Vernon Wells trade and keeping the faith in a Yankees front office.  

The line-up’s ability to score runs has been largely based on the performance of their veteran acquisitions in the off-season (and the fact that Robinson Cano is absolutely an offensive superstar).

Pronk Cometh:

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Athletics 8 Game Win Streak Is Nothing New To Pattern Formed Since Last Year

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Friday, Apr.12/2013

Oakland Athletics' Jed Lowrie has made Billy Beane look like a genius once again - with clubbing 16 hits, (8 of the Extra Base Variety), Scoring 10 Runs and Walking 6 times so far in the teams 8 - 2 start.  He has an OPS of 1.258 thus far.

Oakland Athletics’ Jed Lowrie has made Billy Beane look like a genius once again – with clubbing 16 hits, (8 of the Extra Base Variety), Scoring 10 Runs and Walking 6 times so far in the teams 8 – 2 start. He has an OPS of 1.258.  He was acquired from the Houston Astros in a February trade which sent Chris Carter the other way.  The man can play several defensive positions well.  He is due for Arbitration at the end of this season, before becoming a Free Agent in 2015.  Beane doesn’t seem to make a bad move these days.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

Hands up.. How many people would have thought that the Oakland Athletics would start the 2013 season with the best record in the Major Leagues so far?

Of course this website is not surprised at all.  Jonathan Hacohen (Website Founder and current Oakland A’s Correspondent) wrote a brilliant piece in the 1st week of July/2012 – breaking down Billy Beane‘s new MoneyBall Philosophy here.

I have to admit something right now..  I had not seen the movie “MoneyBall” even by this time.  Yes…brutal and I was kicking myself for not seeing it before hand.

After the movie, I did some digging and was extremely flabbergasted with what I found about Beane’s magic.  I wrote a Roster Tree for the Hitters and Pitchers in the organization.  I studied every single transaction to back track how each of the current member of the team had arrived in an Oakland uniform.  You can find that 2 part series here.

Can the Oakland A’s Do it Again in 2013 Preview:

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Athletes vs. Actors – PEDs vs. Plastic Surgery

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Wednesday April.3, 2013

Alex Rodriguez is an admitted PED user - and claims only to have done this while playing for the Texas Rangers.  With the new Biogenesis scandal surrounding him - how much more would his legacy be tarnished if he was found to have cheated in New York City?

Alex Rodriguez is an admitted PED user – and claims to only have done this while playing for the Texas Rangers. With the new Biogenesis scandal surrounding him – how much more would his legacy be tarnished if he was found to have cheated in New York City? It is clear that the penalties enforced by MLB for such violations are not enough of a factor – to prevent their players from trying to gain an advantage. While MLB has adopted increasingly higher suspensions for positive tests than prior to 2005, they are still not high enough to prevent kids from trying out these enhancers, because the rewards still outweigh the risk.

By Lori Martini (Senior Reporter and Baseball Writer):

As an actor, especially being female it is very tough competition. There are fewer roles for women and more female actors than men. To make matters worse, nobody wants you when you get older, which makes our time frame as a working actor very slim if one is even lucky enough to be a successful working actor.  

Some women turn to plastic surgery to try to obtain roles for parts that really should be played by 30 or 40 somethings, yet the casting notices dictate that you must look 20′s.  

Not only are there these unrealistic roles, but lately I’ve been seeing more and more degrading roles out there for women such as being topless, OK with performing simulated sex acts – even as far to be OK with being peed or defecated on.  

Seriously, how much more are they going to push the envelope, yet not expect men to do the same?

Alex Rodriguez Admits To Steroid Use:

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Oakland A’s Player Roster in 2013: State Of The Union Part 2: The Pitchers

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Sunday, Mar.24/2013

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A's in his 2012 Rookie Season.  The A's will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013.  The  former University of San Diego Pitcher yielded a 1.13 WHIP during his time last year.  As the teams #4 Starting Pitcher on the depth chart, Griffin should be able to see some favorable matchups in 2013.  If he throws like 2012 again in 2013, he might very pole vault to being the ace of the rotation.  We may have another 3 – 4 staff that contend for the AL Cy Young like the days of Hudson, Mulder and Zito.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

Billy Beane has always recycled his great starting pitchers once they hit the experience level that he could not pay them for.  His new crop of pitchers include Jarrod Parker, Brett Anderson, Tommy Milone and new Starter A.J. Griffin

They also are bringing back Bartolo Colon for the 2013 season, despite taking a 50 game suspension for PED use last year. Billy Beane is a master tactician on assessing  a players worth and especially pitchers.  Just like the hitters, the pitchers are all mostly in the 25-30 Age bracket.  He has a quality set of controllable relief pitchers in the barn to close out games too.

A.J. Griffin at University of San Diego:

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Its Going To Be A Different Season Without Grady Sizemore And Pronk

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Wednesday, March.13/2013

it

2013 will mark the 1st time in a decade that neither Travis Hafner nor Grady Sizemore will be on the Cleveland Indians.  For a 4 – 5 years stretch these guys were amongst the best offensive players in the game.  Injuries decimated them from action and prevented the team from contending.  So how will they be remembered in Cleveland?

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

I first went to Progressive Field in the opening week of 2007.  I was supposed to see a doubleheader with the Mariners in town to play the ‘Tribe”.  What I received instead was a foot of snow and a cancellation.  I went to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame instead.  That is one cool place to go if you do have a weather related suspension of a game.  I was disappointed because I wanted to see Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner light it up for the Cleveland Indians.

I made the drive back to Toronto for a game indoors.  As I was driving to Toronto – it was announced that the Cleveland Indians were going to be moving their 3 games series versus the Angels to Miller Park.  I was already heading to Wrigley Field for my 1st ever visit and bought tickets to the 1st and 2nd game of the Series in Milwaukee.  I would have  a chance to see the Cleveland team play after all.  I am a Yankees fan – however I really wanted to see this duo swing the sticks.

Grady Sizemore Highlights – Mature Lyrics so Parental Guidance is Advised:

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Chris Carter: The Future Star That Will Make Billy Beane Regret His Trade Mistake

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Monday February 11th, 2013

Chris Carter had a 3 Slash Line of .239/.350/.864 in 218 AB during the 2012 season. He clubbed 16 HRs and 39 RBI. He hit 11 HRs in just 122 AB away from o.co Coliseum. At just Age 26 - and team controllable until 2019, it is weird that Billy Beane would trade away the slugging 1B/DH

Chris Carter: A career .283 hitter in the minors, with a .378 OBP and .535 SLG. The perfect combination of power and patience. He will prove to be the one that got away from Billy Beane.

Jonathan Hacohen  (Lead Baseball Columnist, Oakland A’s Correspondent and Website Founder):  

Mark down the date of February 4th, 2013. The day that Billy Beane broke my heart. In preparing for my latest A’s feature, the working title of the article was “Chris Carter: The Next Great A’s Superstar”. Then fate intervened. Or rather, Beane decided to pull off one too many trades. After a successful offseason that saw the A’s GM bolster significantly bolster his playoff squad, Beane decided that one more blockbuster move was in order. Jed Lowrie was headed to Oakland, with Chris Carter (the good one), Max Stassi and Brad Peacock going over to the Astros. For the purpose of this piece, I will be focusing on the loss of Carter. Stassi is a former 4th round pick of the A’s and a young 21 Year Old catching prospect. With Derek Norris ready to grab the A’s catching job for the next decade, I can see how he was expandable. Peacock was a 41st round pick of the Nationals. A 25 Year Old arm that may develop one day, but crashed and burned last season in AAA. With the A’s pitching depth, I can see how he could be ticketed out-of-town for a change of scenery. But Chris Carter?  Really Billy??!! You worked your magic to get him in the first place from the Diamondbacks. I certainly hope that your return pans out (Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez). Right now, I simply cannot see the logic of this move.


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Billy Beane Found His Catcher in Seattle: John Jaso is Ready to Lead the A’s Back to the Playoffs

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Sunday January 20th, 2013

A .372 OBP in 2010. A .394 OBP last season. Can you blame Billy Beane for LOVING John Jaso?

A .372 OBP in 2010. A .394 OBP last season. Can you blame Billy Beane for LOVING John Jaso?

Jonathan Hacohen  (Lead Baseball Columnist, Oakland A’s Correspondent and Website Founder):  

My name is Jonathan Hacohen. And I am a John Jaso fan. There…I have said it. Feels very good to get it out. Ok, so I don’t own any John Jaso t-shirts or jerseys. I wouldn’t recognize him if I hit him with my car. But when #27 (formerly #28 on the Rays) comes up to bat, I know that good things will usually happen. Remember that .372 OBP in 2010? I sure do. So do many Tampa Bay Rays fans. For you see my friends, John Jaso is a special breed of baseball player. He is a catcher with patience. He won’t hit for great pop, but he finds ways to get On Base. That is a skill that served him very well back in his aforementioned first full MLB season.

From that season on, I came to expect great things from Mr. Jaso. But then 2011 hit. Or actually, he didn’t. A .224 AVG with a .298 OBP was good enough for the Rays to dump Jaso on the Mariners for Josh Lueke. Remember him? Do I really have to say more? The Rays, for all the talk of their poor offensive showing and need for major league bats, decided that John Jaso just didn’t fit into their system. So Jaso was off to Seattle and Jose Molina was brought on board. The same Jose Molina who hit .223 last season with a .286 OBP. The same Jose Molina who got paid $1.5 Million last season. John Jaso on the other hand got paid $495,200 last year. What did he do? Only hit .276 with a .394 OBP. Plus a .456 SLG for good measure. His reward? A one-way ticket to Oakland with a 30 second stopover in Washington. The man can’t win. A good or bad season, either way MLB GM haven’t shown faith in this kid so far in his career. But then, most GMs are not Billy Beane. Despite being apparently set at the position for 2013, Beane proceeded to trade for Jaso and dump George Kottaras, to catch with Derek Norris. Beane said on record that he would have kept Kottaras unless Jaso was made available. So does Billy Beane know something that Andrew Friedman, Jack Zduriencik and Mike Rizzo don’t? The answer is yes. Beane knows which players he wants and usually, he will get them at the end. Now John Jaso is set to bring flair, leadership and of course, On Base skills to Oakland. The playoff picture just got much rosier for the A’s. 


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Bartolo Colon: Ready For One More “BIG” Season in Oakland

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Sunday January 13th, 2013

bartolo colon

Bartolo Colon saw his 2012 season end early due to a PED suspension. He is scheduled to return in April. Does he have one more big year left in the tank?

Jonathan Hacohen  (Lead Baseball Columnist, Oakland A’s Correspondent and Website Founder):  

Bartolo Colon (or Fatolo as he is known in inner-baseball circles), is set to make his major league return in April, 2013. Back in August, 2012 Colon received a 50-game suspension for the use of a Performance Enhancing Drug (PED). This suspension came a week after Melky Cabrera received his 50-game ban. With only 5 games left in his suspension, Colon will be back in early-April (health permitting). But as much as fans discuss his performance on the field, Colon’s weight always seems to be the center of attention. Generously listed at 5’11″ and 265 lbs. on the Baseball Reference site, Colon won’t be winning modelling contests anytime soon. Billy Beane said it best in Moneyball, when he made it clear to his scouts that the team wasn’t trying to sell jeans. They were trying to win ballgames. Regardless of his weight and appearance, as long as Bartolo Colon can get the job done, I say hand him the ball every 5th game. Babe Ruth wasn’t a small guy, but he sure got the job done. Colon may not have the talent possessed by Ruth, but he can still be effective on most given nights. When baseball has 1-2 pitchers falling to Tommy John surgery on a weekly basis, there is something to be said for a pitcher that can go out there and give his team a good chance of winning. That is the Bartolo Colon that the A’s are hoping for in 2013. With a $3 Million salary this year and approximately $2 Million in incentives to be earned, Colon has all the incentives in place to give the A’s the workhorse they need this upcoming season.


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Notable Performances from the Dominican Winter League

Sunday, January 13th, 2013

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Hector+Luna+Atlanta+Braves+v+Florida+Marlins+lkfCfyLsJcrl

Sam Evans (Baseball Writer): 

The Dominican Winter League had much more talent this offseason than in recent years. From Oscar Taveras to Miguel Tejada, some of the best baseball the DWL has ever seen was played this winter. In particular, four players have made this year’s DWL class a lot of fun. Hector Luna and Bartolo Colon are both MLB veterans trying to prove to their individual teams what they are capable of. Oscar Taveras and Miguel Sano, two of the top prospects in the minors, are trying to make it clear to the scouting world that they are destined for success. These four players provided numerous highlights and were essential to their team’s success during the DWL Regular Season. 

Oscar Taveras Highlights from 2012  – Mature Content so Parental Guidance is advised

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The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers And Analyzing Mulder, Hudson and Zito Post Oakland

Sunday, Dec.02/2012

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A's in his 2012 Rookie Season.  The A's will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look to the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner):

Yesterday we talked about the hitters of the Oakland Athletics current roster and today we will talk about their pitching.  This has been an organization that has thrived on brilliant drafting of young arms.  In the early 2000′s, the team featured three ace pitchers in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark MulderBilly Beane had to let each of them leave Oakland because they couldn’t pay them the kind of dollars needed to secure them long term.  With the exception of this year, Barry Zito has not lived up to his 7 Years and 126 Million Dollar contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants since leaving the Athletics. Despite a 15-8 year for the SF club this past year, he holds a 58-69 (.447) record for San Francisco lifetime with a 4.47 ERA.  He was 102-63 (.618)  and a 3.55 ERA with the A’s before leaving at the age of 29.   The guy made 18.25 Million in his Oakland days and has already pocketed 99 Million with SF.

Mark Mulder never was the same pitcher in the NL and was out of baseball four years after being traded to St. Louis.  His A’s career had netted him an 81-42 (.659) record with a 3.92 ERA.  He was only 22-18 (.550) and a 5.04 ERA with the Cardinals before retiring. As you will read in this article below, the franchise made a worthy trade in returns for this man.  Mulder made 25.3 Million in his contract with the Cardinals after making only 8.4 Million with the A’s.

Tim Hudson on the other hand, has been one of the better pitchers in the NL for the last decade, still towing the hill for the Braves at the age of 38.  He was 92-39 (.702) with a 3.30 ERA for the A’s.  He has since gone 105-65 with a 3.52 ERA for the Braves in in 8 years.  He definitely has been worth the $ invested (84.5 Million plus another 9.0 Million in 2013.) He only made 4.5 Million in his 6 years with Oakland.  The sandwich pick they landed for Hudson’s Free Agent signing was Travis Buck.  Unfortunately Buck only played 170 games for the franchise, hitting .250 with 18 HRs and 71 RBI in 571 AB.

Total Record for 3 other teams is 185-152 (.549) and they have made 208.8 Million away from Oakland, whereas they were 275-144 (.656) and made a total 33.15 Million Dollars with the Athletics.  I would say, Beane made the right decision in not signing them.

The Future of the Oakland A’s:  The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers:  Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.

For The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1:  The Hitters  Click Here

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