Of Rising Stars, the Angels as Champs, Buck's Plummeting Stock and Lew Wolff as Rachel Phelps

That theme is really summed up in one word: earned.

I find it hard to argue that Buck has earned a shot at being an everyday MLB player. Considering his numbers in AAA and that Ryan Sweeney is a better defender/comparable offensive player.

sorry trav, i know it’s not so glamorous

I also see no reason why the “Buck was treated poorly by management” and “Buck has failed to prove anything in AAA” theories can’t both be true.

That trying-to-lose conspiracy theory is just ridiculous, though. I wonder if Urban is just being sensationalist for the sake of stirring up interest.

He is fine – remember this is his JOB. Being controversial and stirring the pot are important, would we be discussing this at all if he wasn’t controversial?

Props, Urban. You have managed to walk the line between being as stupid as a Giants fan and scientific as an A’s fan. Both fanbases have their complaints, but we still listen to what the guy has to say.

I like his picks for breakouts too btw. Again, total un-researched gut sentiments on his part, but they aren’t bad ones. Devine can “breakout” by staying healthy, Sweeney…we know…, Cahill…definitely a possibility.

While I can’t agree with Urban that Devine will have a breakout season, because he already had one, I do think a lot of people have forgotten about him at this point. He’ll be reminding a lot of people as to why he was acquired in this first place soon enough.

I also agree on Barton. I like his stroke and he shows signs of maturation since the pool incident. Compare this to Buck. I was surprised when reading the interview with him the other day that his attitude is still the same as always. Particularly when he comes off like: “I have held my tongue in the past b…b…but help! help! I’m being repressed.” It mainly goes to show that Travis Buck’s biggest fan is Travis Buck. He seems to have one hell of a sense of entitlement.

Cahill? It all depends on his breaking stuff. I’d consider it a breakout year if he solidified himself as a #4, but I think most of his work toward this goal is going to be happening in Sactown. Ultimately, I think he’ll be waiting until next year to prove himself in Oakland, unless he gets shipped off. As much as I hate to say it the #5 slot is Gio’s to lose. I’m not a big fan of his past record as a whole and he really needs to work on his composure. On the other hand, he has shown flashes of brilliance and has a gruesome curveball.

(1) The A’s don’t owe Buck anything other than what’s stipulated in his contract. I don’t think there’s a “Keep Giving Me Chances No Matter How Well Other Outfielders Are Playing” clause. Because only Jeff Francoeur gets that kind of deal.

If he produces like mad and forces his way into the starting lineup, great. If not, whatever. Outfielders, we got. (Side note: Producing like mad during Spring Training will likely be dismissed just like any other good Spring Training performance by a marginal player, right? So he’s really got no shot. He’s just going to be auditioning for a trade. My gut feeling, anyway).

(2) The Major League reference is pretty apt, actually. Duke is the beat-up vet who relies on guile and chutzpah to make up for crappy velocity. Raj Davis is Willie Mays Hays, the no-name singles hitter and base stealer. Jack Cust— duh, Pedro Cerrano. The only real difference is that it’s Eric Chavez— an infielder, not a catcher— who plays the role of the washed-up former great that was masterfully portrayed by that cagey modern day thespian, Tom Berenger.

Oh, and Kouzmanoff is the sissy 3rd baseman who’s too worried about his precious looks to get in front of a screamer down the baseline. And you can tell him I said that (please don’t tell him I said that).

I felt like I was reading something out of the Sun or some other sensationalist tabloid like the National Enquirer… Holy smokes! Beane is intentionally tanking the team to move to San Jose?

What else does Urban know that we haven’t found out about! The landing on the moon was faked? JFK was killed by a CIA conspiracy? The fluoride in our drinking water is a government plot to poison us? The Jews/Bush were behind 9/11? Wow!

(did you think i was gonna say Jason Kendall?)

… sub-.240 batting average for SIX DAMN YEARS, it’s laughable…

I have never subscribed to any conspiracy theories that the A’s are intentionally drawing fewer fans, or losing games, to “make a better case” for San Jose — mostly because they wouldn’t need to. Very few fans come to A’s games already; the case for moving the team is already made if they want to make it. Plus, the more fans you have in Oakland and the more popular the team is, the easier it is to build a fan base in San Jose.

That being said, Urban is correct: It’s easy to see WHY conspiracy theories would abound because the A’s entire promotional/marketing is so phenomenally and epically pathetic that it gives the appearance of actively trying to get people NOT to be A’s fans or come to or listen to games.

It’s the utter incompetence of this aspect of the A’s that makes one wonder “Is this some sort of bizarre conspiracy? Because no organization could be that incompetent at marketing its product.” Well the A’s are, but I can see where it be hard for people to accept that this is what’s going on and that the team actually wants people to participate when they sure don’t act like it.

The ONLY reason he didn’t recieve the same treatment that Buck is getting now is because he was signed to a Major League contract through his arbitration years. If the team had any capable replacements in the pipeline, and was saddled with a long-term commitment to him, Crosby would have been relegated to the proverbial shit heap a lot sooner.