First of all, I'd just like to say sorry to paris7 for screwing up on the Giants' GOG; I'll do my best not to mess up next time!

In 2006, the Oakland A's signed Frank Thomas, an aging veteran to a deal in hope that he would bring success and experience to a young Oakland team. The haters came out in full force - "Old men can't hit!" - and it seemed that Thomas would be almost similar to David Justice in 2002; a veteran who can't hit.

Well, we all know what happened: Thomas hit 39 homeruns and finished in the Top 5 in MVP voting, and the A's went to the postseason for the first time since 2003. Lucky for everyone, after a beautiful sweep in the ALDS versus Minnesota (kudos to Barry Zito for out-dueling Johan Santana), Oakland lost in the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers; come on - a WS appearance would've been too much, right? In any case, Thomas had a great year for Oakland, and I hope he gets into the Hall of Fame; he deserves it.

So, years went by and Oakland had a lack of power that would make Reggie Willits laugh. One man, J*** C*** provided some real power, but I won't bring him up again. He was a lefty. Oakland lacked a right-handed batter until Josh Willingham hit 29(!) home runs and drove in 98 runs - almost hit the 30 HR/100 RBI mark. When Willingham filed for free agency and the A's didn't make any move on him, many fans (me included) were furious with Beane - you spend 7 mill on Coco but not on Willingham?

Now, a 25 year-old with long shaggy hair from Savannah, Georgia is providing power from the right side of the plate once again in Oakland (well, him and Cespedes but Yoenis has been out for a while now). Enter Josh Reddick.

Reddick is one of the main reasons that the A's are winning. Last night he hit his team-leading 10th home run - he has 22 RBI and is actually batting .280. Impressive. In fact, I'll go as far to say that Reddick is better than Josh Willingham, for multiple reasons:

1) Defense: To be perfectly honest, having Willingham in the outfield is like having a piece of pork out there. He can't run (no range), and he can't throw. He is not a good defensive outfielder. On the other hand, we've all seen Reddick gun down runners from deep right and make sliding/diving/leaping catches. Recently, he slid to stop a line drive, jumped up and fired a bullet to second to nail a runner. Against Boston he flipped over the wall to try to rob Ortiz of a home run. Josh has 5 assists and a .986 FLD%. The Twins' Josh: 2 assists and a .974 FLD%. And we all know that Reddick is just a better fielder.

2) Price Tag: Willingham was considered a steal when the Twins signed him for 3 yrs/21 million. The A's can pay Reddick next to nothing. This will be the case in future years.

3) Age: Yes, Willingham is good player, but he's 33, 8 years Reddick's senior. The chances are, Reddick will continue to hit for many years while Compliant Pork while wind down and fall apart.

4) Swag: First of all, let me say this: Willingham is a stand-up guy. I mean, he is a solid, calm, down-to-earth person who's very friendly, and he's exceptionally modest in interviews. Reddick's a nice guy as well, but he's more hardcore than Willingham. Reddick reminds of Nick Swisher: shaggy, fun, and a damn good hitter. Basically, someone who either is or has the potential to be a clubhouse leader, and a hard-nosed one at that.

The Boston Red Sox are in the dump, and Bailey has a broken hand. Sweeney may be hitting over .300, but he has 0 HR and just 12 RBI. Reddick has been the A's top hitter this year, and right now there's no doubt who won that trade.

And in the end, my favorite thing about Reddick may not be his power or his arm: it's his attitude. This guy reeks of grittiness, and the A's need that. they have a manager who can get the job done, who can teach the players and motivate. Now, they need clubhouse leaders, and with Inge on the DL due to a groin injury, Reddick seems like the kinda guy who can stand up and lead by example. He's still young, so I think the fact that he could hit 30 homers and drive 100 runs this year while playing great D and leading the A's is great.

Oh, by the way, Reddick suddenly has 12 walks. He had two in all of April but has 10 this May and his OBP has jumped to .337. This kid is good...

You know you like my style...

I highly recommend "The Pitch That Killed" by Mike Sowell. It chronicles the fatal 1920 beaning of Ray Chapman of the Indians by Carl Mays of the Yankees. I dare say it might be the best baseball book I have ever read.

The best thing is that I found this while looking for another baseball book at my local library. I just wanted to share this with my Green and Gold brothers and sisters who might be interested.

So much for cronyism as providing a means for the A's owner to have any influence on his fraternity pal Bud Selig in getting a deal for the A's and their aspirations to move to San Jose. Not that we would ever, as A's fans want favors from a former used car dealer anyway. Be careful of the company you keep...you might end up not being distinguished from them in the long run. How are we to interpret Mr. Selig's comments that the A's can move wherever they want.

Asked whether the A's might consider leaving Northern California altogether, he said they could go anywhere that would win approval from the other owners.

"They could be all over the world, for that matter," Selig said.

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This is stupid. Really, I am the very last person to do a GOG about a game between the A's and the San Francisco Giants. For one thing, I HATE everything about the National League. Well, what I hate is that they refuse the DH, which is fine for them but shouldn't apply to exhibition interleague play. I also know absolutely next-to-nothing about the Giants. I am a total homer, and have almost no idea who is on their roster. Yes, I actively ignore the Giants, as opposed to my occasional, spurious interest in the Brewers or the Dodgers or the Mets.

But, abandoned to my lonely task as GOG-Mod (for which I was neither nominated nor selected), here goes with a quick-as-fire fill-in GOG.

Stuff

Fangraphs A's page

Other Team page

Probable Pitchers

Do Your Homework! Score Your Last GOG - #14

The Questions

1. Series Outcome. Three Games. What a bore. [3 points]

2. Hitting Question. The A's may have 33 homeruns, but they sit last in the league with a BA of .215, based on a BABIP that is league worst at .256. What is the A's BA for the series, +/-.010? What is their BABIP, +/-.010? [3 points each, 6 total] Consolation questions - score points for these only if you are not correct on the earlier questions: Is the A's BA higher or lower than .215? Is their BABIP higher or lower than .256? [1 point each, 2 possible - but only if you miss the higher scoring questions]

3. Starting Pitcher Question. Of the 6 starters, how many will have a Game Score above 50? Whose will be highest? Whose lowest? Which A's pitcher gets a hit? Which A's pitcher lays down a successful Sacrifice Bunt? (Obviously, "None" is acceptable for these last two.) [2 points each, 10 total]

4. Someone interesting from the Other Team. Well, I am sure there isn't one, but I did read a fangraphs article about some raking hitter named Cabrera but not on the Tigers. Yeah, it confused me, too, even more so when I found out his name was "Melky." To his credit, he already has 50 hits, and leads the Giants in both Runs and in RsBI. What are his PA / H / Runs / RsBI? [2 points each, 8 total]

5. An Athletic on Fire or Not. Dude, this is so Josh Reddick. He now has 10 homeruns, and an OPS that is a very un-A's-like .883. Guess his HR / H / K. Does his OPS reach .890, yes or no? [2 points each, then 1 pt., 7 total]

6. Some interesting Statistic or Comparative Metric. Fangraphs has been strongly pushing the Shutdown/Meltdown stat as a replacement for the Save, which they rightly think skews salaries, contract length, etc. A Shutdown is when a relief pitcher increases his team’s win probability by 6% (0.060 WPA), and a Meltdown is the opposite (-.060 WPA). Name a pitcher from each team who gets a Shutdown and one from each team who gets a Meltdown ("None" is acceptable for any of these.) [2 points each, 8 total]

7. Obligatory WPA. Name the three players from each team with the highest WPA in the series, in any game. (That is, a single game could have two or even all three of these!). As always, you can guess the same player twice if you think they will have two of the highest WPA scores. [3 points each, 18 possible]

(Possible points = 60.)

Answers must be poted by Gametime (7:05 p.m.).

As a current college student, I'm completely aware that you cannot judge an entire school year by looking at one quarter (see my classic 2.0/3.0/4.0 slash line from last year, I'm a late-season student). But it is very difficult to not be excited by the first fourth of this season's "rebuilding project."

I believe the number one thing we can take from our start to the season is that this is a much more well coached and scrappy team than we've had in season's past. That clubhouse swagger that we loved in the Scutaro/Swisher/Bradley era seems to be coming back. The team is gelling around solid starting pitching, a shockingly outstanding bullpen, speed and agressiveness on the basepaths, and a steady dose of the longball. Granted, this team is NOT hitting. Weeks, Pennington, Suzuki, Barton and Crisp are posting dismal lines. But despite a team batting average near the famed "Mendoza line" we are hovering around and above .500, showing that while this team lacks a murderer's row lineup, they do have the "it" factor that a winning team possesses.

Let's take a look at some surprises, disappointments, and the team's pitching and hitting MVPs so far, followed by a look ahead.

SURPRISE: Kila Ka'aihue, 1B. Okay, if you said the Kila Monster would be batting near .300, providing some clutch hitting, and even getting consistent playing time as the season started, you're definitely lying.

DISAPPOINTMENT: Coco Crisp, OF. Now, I know he's injured, and I know he's capable of being an above-average MLB outfielder. But for 7 million dollars a season, money that could've been put into additional pieces in the bullpen or corner infield, he's a massive liability. I love the way he plays, but he needs to be shipped elsewhere. Cowgill, Cespedes, Reddick, Smith and Gomes, Ramirez and Michael Taylor is fine by me.

SURPRISE: Jarrod Parker, SP. Through his first 4 starts he has looked wild at times, and still looks like he's finding himself on a major league mound. But number don't lie. His ERA is in the low 2's. He's getting out of jams like a proven vet. Along with Cook and Cowgill, the Cahill trade is looking like a classic Billy Beane special.

DISAPPOINTMENT:Tyson Ross, SP. Take his two starts against the Slegna out of the equation and he's been among the worst starting pitchers in baseball. I really hope he turns it around since he's local and seems like a great guy, but the second Peacock is ready or Braden/Anderson is healthy he's headed to Sacramento.

SURPRISE:Yoenis Cespedes, CF. Yes he's injured, and yes his average is a bit too low, but he's provided a middle of the order presence along with Josh Reddick that is scary when Jemile and Coco/Cliff get on base. Also, he hits moonshot homers and he's been a great hitter with runs on. If he gets and stays healthy, look out!

First Quarter MVP's: Ryan Cook, Josh Reddick. Josh Reddick is on pace for 35+ homers and 100 RBI's and Ryan Cook has been nothing short of perfect through 40 games. It's safe to say that without these two we'd be a good 3-5 games under .500. I'm as shocked as anyone that the Bailey and Cahill trades seem to have been won already.

Final First Quarter Report Card

Hitting: C+. There have been a few standouts and a few early disappointments. But if Jemile, Cliff and Coco can heat up, and Inge can stay healthy, this grade can improve.

Starting Pitching: B+. McCarthy has been fantastic, as has Parker, and every starter has had at least two fantastic outings. However, Colon and Ross's inconsistency and Milone's tendency to either pitch like Sandy Koufax or Jim Mecir depending on where he's playing are troubling. All in all, I'm happy.

Relief Pitching: A. Jordan Norberto, Ryan Cook, and even Brian Fuentes have been lights out. Grant Balfour has not. But based simply on the fact that at the beginning of the season I saw this group as a liability, and the fact that they're a top 5 statistical bullpen so far, this is a solid A.

Defense: B. Josh Donaldson is a bum. There, that being said, the defense has been average, at times great and at times poor. But no more Kouzmanoff error-fests and no more Mark Ellis perfect fielding percentages ensure that this unit will not be amazing and not be awful.

Coaching: A. Thank the (insert your favorite deity here) for Bob Melvin. In my opinion it's not a stretch to say he's the most competent manager here since Art Howe or even Tony LaRussa. He's a good strategist and has our beloved green and gold playing over their head. Also, he is passionate and a good players coach. Most importantly however, he is not Bob Geren. I'll leave you with that beautiful thought.

According to a report by ESPN, Bud Selig is saying it is up to Lew Wolff to consider additional options for a new ballpark. Asked if he would approve a move by the A's, he said it would depend on where.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7942133/oakland-athletics-move-bay-area-possible-bud-selig-says

Yahoo is coming out with a similar story that seems to imply that Selig believes A's should explore options outside of the Bay Area.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/selig-oakland-move-might-considered-170107301--mlb.html;_ylt=AkJ1.RzuWxDsVedJqmtKrW85nYcB

Is the end of the A's to San Jose? Living in the South Bay, I have been crossing my fingers really hard for a San Jose move. If they instead move out of the Bay Area, this would really sting.

This raises a lot of questions. Are the A's going to stay in the Bay Area? Where might the A's explore moving to outside of San Jose? What do you think are now the odds that the A's move to San Jose?

Updated:

Latest press release from MLB.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120517&content_id=31537436&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

As people have been saying in the thread, it looks like this is just a continuation of the Status Quo.

Some of you may know me from my art creations for Jeffro's blog postings when he was a contributor (Here and Here)...

Jeff and I have been coming up with crazy A's ideas for years, and I finally learned how to screen print. So we're making shirts! This is the first one, Yoenis Es Mi Hombre! Check em all out, like us on facebook, suggest new ideas for designs, or whatever.

I'll be posting them all as they get made. Until then, Go A's!

via www.ofsherwood.com

Links

Us

OA.com

Probable Pitchers

Them

TexasRangers.com

Lone Star Ball

Do Your Homework

GOG #13 vs Anaheim

Fangraphs

Baseball Reference

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Hi. I haven't ventured on here in ages......

It's been several years since I've been able to go to KC to see the A's play because I've had the opportunity to go to Spring Training instead. I didn't get to go to Arizona this year, so I'm going to KC the first weekend in June. A bunch of us use to meet up and tailgate and stuff. I've gone through the last six months of posts on here and didn't see anything.

I was just wondering if it was still a thing. Which I guess you already knew I was going to ask since it's in the headline. So not only do I over exaggerate but I'm horrible redundant. And I'm awkward at ending things.....So.....the end.

I think I speak for most of us when I say that this A's season has been a pleasant surprise thus far. I know they had a similar start last season before the wheels came off. But this team seems to have an extra spark that was missing last season. Being a realist, I came into this season hoping the A's could hover around the .500 mark. But if they can ever get healthy (which seems highly improbable given the A's propensity for injuries), I think the A's have a decent shot to finish with a winning record. Billy Beane may have had his best offseason as the A's GM this year. While Cespedes is the crown jewel, getting Reddick for Bailey has proven to be a great move (nice to see a real professional hitter in the green-and-gold). I know Sweeney has a nice avg (but I won't miss a 225 lb. singles hitter). Seth Smith is starting to look like a solid left-handed bat and was worth the price of Moscoso and Outman. The Cahill deal has been great so far, with Parker looking like the A's ace of the future and Cook being the best reliever in the pen (he really should be the closer in my opinion), and Cowgill could be a nice reserve outfielder some day. As much as I miss Gio, Milone has been solid, Peacock has been tearing it up in Sacramento and Norris could be the heir apparent behind the plate. NTS (Not too shabby). The unheralded move of signing Johnny Gomes has paid dividends as well, giving the A's a powerful bat and much needed toughness. Really happy the A's scooped up Inge to man 3rd, as all other options have looked horrible. Really comfortable with the outfield once they get Crisp and Cespedes back, like Suzuki and Recker behind the plate w/Norris waiting in the wings, love Weeks and Pennington up the middle (the hits will come for these guys), and DH will be set once Manny arrives. Not that sold on our first base options though. Kila has played decently, though I was expecting more power from him. I just don't get what the A's see in Barton though. One of the worst-hitting first basemen of all time. Would have rather kept Allen, brought up Carter or given Gomes some reps at 1B then continually waiting for this guy to prove he doesn't suck. If they can hold it together until Anderson and Braden come back, we could be in the hunt well into the dog days of summer. Well done, Mr. Beane. Let's go, A's!