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Athletics 8 Game Win Streak Is Nothing New To Pattern Formed Since Last Year
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Follow @mlbreportsFriday, 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. 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): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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:
Arizona Diamondbacks First Week in Review
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Follow @mlbreportsTuesday, April.09, 2013
The Diamondbacks have started the 2013 season off great at 5 – 2 – including a great kickoff series versus the St . Louis Cardinals at home – before sauntering into Milwaukee and brutalizing that club for a 3 game stanza. The Starting Pitching looks a lit like it did in 2011 – and the Bullpen has been good in playing at two hitter friendly parks thus far for full series. They club has received contributions from everyone in their line up. The biggest impacts have been by Gerardo Parra, Martin Prado, and Paul Goldschmidt. The team lost the opener of the 3 game series vs Pittsburgh last night 5 – 3.
By Chris Lacey (Baseball Writer) Follow @aecanada12
The Arizona Diamondbacks had a very good start to their 2013 baseball season. The Diamondbacks have managed to start the season 5-1, and they are tied for first in the National League West division with the Colorado Rockies.
The Diamondbacks just finished a series sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. This is also the first time they have swept their opening road series in team history.
The Brewers did not have Ryan Braun play at all in the series, and the Brewers slugging Third Baseman Aramis Ramirez was injured in the first game. The Brewers still played very well without their two best offensive players unavailable.
2011 NL West Champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Mature Lyrics – Parental Guidance Is Advised:
The New Bash Brothers of Oakland – The A’s State Of The Union 2013 Part 1: The Hitters
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Sunday March 24th, 2013
With Cespedes (23 HRs)and Reddick (32 HRs) anchoring the middle of the lineup last year in the 2nd half – the Athletics belted an MLB Leading 112 Round Trippers after the ALL – Star Game. Many players clubbed the long – ball despite limited AB in the lineup. They also finished 3rd in the Major Leagues for the whole season on the road. This is bad news for teams in the AL West. The team looks to duplicate their incredible second half of power into a full season in 2013.
By Bernie Olshansky Follow @bernieolshansky and Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
The success of the Oakland Athletics was the surprise of the year in 2012. No one expected them to win the AL West after the Angels signed Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson and with the Rangers coming off of their second straight World Series Appearance. The A’s completely came out of nowhere with players stepping up that no one had heard of.
Josh Reddick proved to be a great acquisition from the Red Sox, hitting 32 bombs and driving in 85 runs. Cuban import Yoenis Cespedes also exceeded expectations after he was signed in the offseason, hitting 23 Homers and driving in 82. These two hard-hitting Outfielders served as mini Bash Brothers.
Of course, no pair of hitters could compare to the Bash Brothers of 1987 consisting of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, who combined for 80 HR.
But, seeing Reddick and Cespedes both have good hitting seasons could have reminded longtime A’s fans of the greatness that happened in 1987, Canseco’s second year and when McGwire was a rookie. Cespedes and Reddick, along with the rest of the Oakland Athletics’ cast brought excitement to the Oakland Coliseum for the first time in a few years. But, the big question is: was last year a fluke?
The Swinging A’s in 2013 – Mature Lyrics So Parental Guidance Is Advised:
Martin Prado Will Prove To Be A Valuable Player For The Arizona Diamondbacks
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Follow @mlbreportsSunday, March.17, 2013
The Arizona Diamondbacks will be able to use Martin Prado‘s versatility this season.He will provide some stability to the Third Base position for the team. He has also saw playing time at 2B and LF during his time with Atlanta. Prado is a consistent hitter whether there is a RHP or a LHP on the hill. In fact he has a .300 Batting Average for his career against Righties. Prado recently signed a 4 YR/$40 Million Contract with the NL franchise. He is set to earn $7 MIL this year – followed up by 3 years in a row of making $11 MIL per in 2014 – 2016.
By Chris Lacey (Baseball Writer) Follow @aecanada12
The Arizona Diamondbacks made several moves this off-season. The roster is completely different from last season. They traded OF Chris Young to the Oakland Athletics for SS Cliff Pennington. The other trade that they made will have an impact on this season and the future of the team was sending OF Justin Upton, and 3B Chris Johnson to the Atlanta Braves.
The player they received from this trade was 3B Martin Prado. They also acquired RHP Randall Delgado, and three more Minor League prospects. The three prospects were Nick Ahmed, Zeke Spruill, & Brandon Drury.
Martin Prado 2012 Highlights. Mature Lyrics – Parental Guidance Is Advised:
Arizona DiamondBacks Roster In 2013: State Of The Union
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Follow @mlbreportsSaturday, February.16, 2013
The Diamondbacks will look to regain the magic that aided them in winning the division in 2011.
By Chris Lacey (Diamond Backs Correspondent) Follow @aecanada12
Arizona Diamondbacks fans had some high hopes coming into the 2012 season after winning the division in 2011 and making their way back to the playoffs for the first time 2007. The 2012 off-season saw them bring in free agent OF Jason Kubel. The season started off great with a three game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, but when CF Chris Young went crashing into the wall to catch a deep ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates the team was never the same. The Diamondbacks are in tough division the NL West, which is known for pitching. They will have to rely on their young starters if they hope to compete with San Francisco Giants & Los Angeles Dodgers. The offense will have to get better with manufacturing runs and instead of depending on the long ball to score runs. They traded away RF Justin Upton and 3B Chris Johnson, but they brought in versatile player Martin Prado and pitching prospect Randall Delgado.
Game #7 of the 2001 World Series – Gonzalez Game Winner – Can the 2013 DBACKS get back to the WS?
Arizona DiamondBacks Payroll In 2013: And Contracts Going Forward
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Follow @mlbreportsThursday, February.14, 2013
Arizona have won 5 Division Titles in just 15 years of existence – including winning the World Series in 2001. The franchise consistently is rated as one of the top rated front office organizations – and routinely rank as the most fan-friendly team in the MLB. The Franchise is 2nd amongst Expansion Clubs for Winning Percentage (.498) behind the Angels (.499.) The DBacks are only 10 games below .500 for their ALL-Time record (1210-1220). Will they be able to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in future years by increasing Payroll?
By Chris Lacey (Diamond Backs Correspondent) Follow @aecanada12
The Diamondbacks finished the 2012 season with disappointment as they struggled to get over .500 for much of the season. They lost the last game of the season to the Rockies that summed up what happened during the year. When they got good starting pitching, the defense would make a costly mistake, and then the offense would struggle to score any runs. The Diamondbacks enter the 2013 camaign with plenty of new faces on the club.
General Manager Kevin Towers has changed the makeup of this team these past two off-seasons. He has put an emphasis on players who can make consistent contact, rather than hitting the long ball. The Dbacks GM is always looking to improve upon the bullpen. He did this by taking a risk on Heath Bell who had a bad year with the Marlins, but Towers believes a change of scenery will help. Towers not only brought in bullpen help, but also signed some key players’ to long-term contracts that will aid the team to not only contend now, but for the future.
2011 DiamondBacks Post Season Highlights. Lyrics May Contain mature content so Parental Guidance is advised:
The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters
Saturday, Dec.01/2012
How important was Cespedes to The A’s Lineup in 2012? They went 82-47 with him in the lineup and 12-21 without him. He was the biggest reason the team soared into the playoff race and won the AL East. Beane secured him in Free Agency before the start of last year. He is signed for 3 more years at 9 Million Dollars Per Year.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
A few months ago, our Lead Columnist/Website Founder (Jonathan Hacohen) wrote a brilliant piece about the assembly of the Oakland Athletics roster. He called it “MoneyBall 2.” Right after the piece, the A’s surged to the greatest record in the second half of the season and won the AL West. The team is now constructed of power hitters and power pitchers. The man behind it all is Billy Beane. I will not get into too much of this philosophy as you can read that piece here. What I intend to do is to show the roster of how it was comprised by Beane in the form of a roster tree. It is just like a family tree, however this shows trades dating back 2,3,4,5,6 fold etc.. in order to show you the mastery of the GM’s ability to field a roster on a limited budget.
The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers: Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.
The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers click here.
Watch Out For the Oakland A’s: Top Pitching and Countless Walk-Offs
Wednesday July 25th, 2012
John Burns: Nobody would have told you prior to the season that the A’s would be 7 games over .500 in late July. With a 51-44 record the red-hot Oakland A’s have been one of the baseballs biggest surprises in baseball. Oakland is coming off a 4 game sweep of the AL East leading New York Yankees and that is when the A’s caught everyone’s attention. Oakland has a MLB-leading 11 walk-off victories this season. The A’s have the second lowest payroll in the league with $55 million and the New York Yankees who they just swept has a $200 million payroll. The A’s season so far has been basically a recap of the movie “Money ball”, how Oakland is having this success with virtually no superstar and such a low payroll is truly amazing. With the sweep of the Yankees the A’s are tied for a Wild Card spot. July has been a huge month for Oakland and they produced with a 15-2 record so far to show their GM Billy Beane they are serious. Add to that a 7-game winning streak. Still not convinced? Ask the Toronto Blue Jays and Ricky Romero. The A’s have taken 2-straight games in Toronto, including tonight’s 16-0 massacre. These A’s are a team to keep an eye on. Read the rest of this entry
AL West: Value Picks, Up-and-Coming Players and Red Flags in Fantasy Baseball
Friday March 9th, 2012
Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): While the Angels and Rangers should battle for first place and eclipse 90 wins each, the Mariners and Athletics will most likely lose ninety games apiece. Despite this dichotomy, from a fantasy perspective, the American League West might the most intriguing division in MLB. The Angels and Rangers are loaded with fantasy studs, although many come at a risk, while there a number of undervalued and up and coming players on M’s and A’s roster that need to be targeted in fantasy leagues in 2012.
VALUE PICKS:
Colby Lewis is easily one of the most undervalued pitchers in baseball. Most people are quick to credit his 2010 return to the major leagues as a fluke. Although a slight drop in velocity last year, his 2011 numbers were very similar to 2010. He is a safe bet for a dozen wins an ERA around 4 and strikeout rate around 8K/9. He is not going to blow hitters away, but he is an attractive start against division foes Oakland and Seattle and should be available for a relatively cheap price. Read the rest of this entry
