Here is the link to the last ticket swap thread that is now way down the list of diaries: http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2006/10/5/12023/3994

I have one extra ticket for tomorrow if anyone wants a bleacher seat in LF (Section 136 row 39 seat 3). $26 for the ticket was the price I paid including fees. As long as you don't mind sitting next to me and my 2 and a half year old, you can have the ticket for the same price. Email me at john10car @ mac.com if interested.

LET'S GO A'S!!!!

I went last night with my in-laws, but they're unavailable tonight. Anyone out there that is ticketless and would like to sit with me so I don't have to sit alone? I don't have tickets yet but would am planning to get tickets off the Angels exchange before noon. I'll also accept an extra ticket if someone has one (I'll pay for it of course).

I'd also be interested in any pregame consumption of adult beverages if anyone has plans.

BTW, what is up with Boston fans? No matter what park you go to, they show up decked out in Red Sox gear whether their team is playing or not. Saw it last night, earlier in the year at San Diego, and at the Coliseum. It's just wierd.

My stupid friend is afraid of water so I have an extra ticket for tonights game that I would rather not have go to waste. It is a standing room only ticket, so you won't have to sit in a wet seat (What a deal!) If someone wants it, they can have it free of charge. Shoot me an email at the address below and leave a phone number I can reach you.

johntb -AT -berkeley -dot - edu

Anyone else with extra tickets feel free to post here.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is great news as the A's have avoided arbitration with Milton Bradley and Kiko Calero. Bradley seems like he could be a steal at $3 million a year. Arbitration likely could've led to a much bigger hit and if he's healthy, Bradley could produce quite a season in green and gold. - Blez]

Yippee, no arbitration for Milton!

here's the link for the press release

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland A's today announced that they have agreed to terms with outfielder Milton Bradley and right-handed pitcher Kiko Calero on one-year contracts for the 2006 season.
Bradley was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers with infielder Antonio Perez in exchange for Andre Ethier on December 13, 2005. He batted .290 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in 75 games with the Dodgers last year in a season interrupted by injuries twice. The 27-year old Bradley has a .269 career batting average with 54 home runs and 233 RBI in 534 games in the Majors.

Calero made 58 relief appearances with the A's last year and was 4-1 with a save and a 3.23 ERA. He allowed a .216 opponents batting average and first batters faced hit .170 which ranked sixth lowest among American League relievers. The 31-year old Calero has a 2.97 ERA in 125 career appearances.

Bradley and Calero were among the five arbitration eligible players on the A's roster that had not signed for 2006. The remaining three are right-handed pitcher Juan Cruz, catcher Adam Melhuse and infielder Mark Ellis.

Continue reading this post »

Jerry Crasnick has an ESPN insider article on free agent veteran bats still available. Here is a snippet from the portion of the article on Frank Thomas. What he has here is really nothing different from Susan Slusser's article yesterday

Although Thomas has been dogged by ankle problems, he showed enough pop to make clubs think he can have an impact if healthy. He batted only .219, but hit 12 homers in 105 at-bats for a .590 slugging percentage. Thomas also helped amend his image as a "me first" guy by cheering on his teammates with his foot in a cast during the World Series. And unlike the other sluggers on the waiting list, he hasn't encountered a hint of steroid speculation.

...

Oakland remains a prime Thomas suitor

...

Signing Thomas might create enough of a logjam that the Athletics have to move a hitter -- most likely outfielder Jay Payton. But that doesn't appear to be a major impediment to a deal.

The trading of Jay Payton if Thomas is signed is being discussed in OaktownIn06's Diary. Personally, I think it would be a mistake to move Payton if we are only doing so out of fear that he will blow up like last year in Boston because he was not getting enough playing time. Here's three reasons why: (1) Bradley (2) Kotsay (2)Thomas.  All three of these guys have an injury plagued history and I suspect Payton would be getting plenty of at bats.

But the poll below deals with the appropriately named "Big Hurt". If healthy, this Walt Hriniak protégé would be a heck of a pick up (Here are Thomas' career numbers). Most people agree with that theory, but because that is a huge IF, the debate about Oakland's interest in Thomas mostly centers around his health. How many at bats do you think Frank Thomas will have in 2006? Cast your vote below.

Poll

Big Hurt at bats in 2006?

11%

<150

16 votes

44%

151-300

60 votes

36%

300-450

49 votes

8%

>450

11 votes

136 votes | Poll has closed

I had a blast at AN day. It was a bit weird talking to people that you kind of know well, but not really at all, but I got over it and enjoyed my internet buddies nonetheless.  I didn't get to meet everyone, but the people I did talk to were really cool. I also enjoyed watching the A's winning a game. So, with AN land sulking tonight, I thought I would post pictures from the last game we won. Remember those days? It seems like an eternity ago. Enjoy!

This was the view from my seat

Melisa and other ANers

Me and Melisa

Mike Heath and his significant other

FormerHuntsvilleStar at his first A's game in Oakland

EasyRaider and his son

Hooray! Everyone cheers Kotsay's HR while Jerry (of kimNjerry) does his best impression of Kotsay rounding the bases

Me and the future GM of the Oakland Athletics, ohad. I'll be showing my grandkids this one.

Stupid Wave

Not AN day, but my kid couldn't make it and I was jealous of seeing everyone pictures of everyone else's kid and not mine

one more (couldn't resist)

Tonight's game was pretty depressing. I really thought we were going to take this one. Here I'm happy that Rincon is being defended on AN and then he goes out tonight and sucks monkey balls. Bad timing.

At least when I finally keel over after watching my beloved A's lose another heartbreaker, my family will know how I want my memorial service set up. I got the idea from a recently deceased Steeler fan. Of course, they'll replace the black and gold with green and gold.

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~29553~2954090,00.html

Fan takes loyalties to the grave
James Henry Smith was a zealous Pittsburgh Steelers fan in life, and even death could not keep him from his favorite spot: in a recliner, in front of a TV showing his beloved team in action.
Smith, 55, of Pittsburgh, died of prostate cancer on June 30th. Because his death wasn't unexpected, his family was able to plan for an unusual viewing Tuesday night.

The Samuel E. Coston Funeral Home erected a small stage in a viewing room, and arranged furniture on it much as it was in Smith's home on game day Sundays.

Smith's body was on the recliner, his feet crossed and a remote in his hand. He wore black and gold silk pajamas, slippers and a robe. A pack of cigarettes and a beer were at his side, while a high-definition TV played a continuous loop of Steelers highlights.

"I couldn't stop crying after looking at the Steeler blanket in his lap,' said his sister, MaryAnn Nails, 58. "He loved football and nobody did (anything) until the game went off. It was just like he was at home.'

The A's picked a plethora of high school pitchers in this year's draft. In fact, they picked 5 in the first 7 rounds. While Moneyball stresses using draft picks on college players (esp. pitchers), many here on AN, including myself, stated this change in strategy was just Beane & Co. exploiting another market inequity. So, is it true that college pitchers have become overvalued in recent years? I looked at the trends. Since the bulk of our HS pitchers were taken rounds 1-7, I focused on those rounds. Here are the results:

% High School Pitchers chosen per round
                     draft rounds
                  1-7       1-3        4-7
2001          44%      45%       41%
2002          42%      45%       39%
2003          32%      38%       28%
2004          24%      21%       28%
2005(-A's)  28%      35%       21%        

I was surprised to see just how large the change had been. From 2001-2004 the percentage has dropped ~50%. The trend rebounded slightly (ignoring the A's picks) in 2005 due to an increase in the early rounds while the % HS pitchers taken in rounds 4-7 continued to decrease. The A's chose 3 HS pitchers in rounds 5-7, so maybe those picks were the best steals. Perhaps the increase in %HS pitchers chosen in rounds 1-3 this year represents not a reversion of philosophy of the other teams, but a strong HS pitcher draft class (of which I've heard, but I have no idea if it's true). Regardless, it does appear that the A's were able to exploit an undervalued commodity. The funny thing is the A's were the ones that started everyone in the direction of college players. Kind of reminds me of "Trading Spaces" when Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd sell off all those orange juice commodities to the Duke brothers who are trying to corner the market, only buy back the commodities when the futures report comes out and OJ commodities prices drop, bankrupting the Dukes and making themselves rich.

Keough gets busted!

"Former All-Star pitcher Matt Keough was arrested for investigation of drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident after a collision that injured a pedestrian, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/04/05/sports/s153652D12.DTL

Yikes, doesn't sound good at all.  I do hope the injured pedestrian is ok.

I'm pretty sure Keough used to be our advanced scout, but I just checked out the front office directory on oaklandathletics.com and he is listed as "Special Assistant to the General Manager." So, I'm sure this won't effect the team. I wonder if he'll keep his position.

I was just reading a post by AN member TroyNeelorBust and it reminded me of something I stumbled across while screwing around on the internet. Turns out ol' Troy got in some pretty hot water a few years back. Here's a couple links.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020224a1.htm

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/evaders/evader_detail.php?id=42

Key line from the Japan times article:
"Neel made enough money during his stay in Japan to reportedly buy a private island in the Pacific that he says he wants to turn into a hedonist community for wealthy men."

Wow! I Think Troy might have cornered  the "where are they now" market.