Blog Archives

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

Saturday, Dec.01/2012

How important was Cespedes to The A's Lineup?  They went 83-47 with him in the lineup and 12-20 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.   He is signed for 3 more years.

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):

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.

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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