Since hidden link dumps are like, so last week.

Happy Valentine's Day/SAD (Singles Awareness Day). Share the love.

Slusser tells the story of Matt Keough, former A's pitcher and special assistant to Billy, and how he has learned from a dangerous mistake.

At a restaurant only a block from the intersection where his life changed forever, Keough, a 1978 All-Star pitcher for the A's, spoke matter-of-factly about his personal and legal troubles over the past 10 months. He has not had an easy time of it since that night in April when, after a family argument, he had too much to drink and got in his car.

On April 4, 2005, at about 10 p.m., Keough rear-ended another vehicle at a red light on Santa Margarita Parkway in this southeast Orange County town, near his home in Coto de Caza. The car he struck rolled into a pedestrian walking his bicycle across the street. Enrique Torres-Figueroa was briefly hospitalized with a knee injury.

Making matters worse, Keough wandered away after the accident. He said he did not flee the scene, as some reports indicated, but he was so disoriented, he walked toward some nearby shops where he was tracked down by police officers. His blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

...

One of the biggest factors in an alcoholic's recovery, according to Keough, is having a good job. There, he said, he is blessed in his position as special assistant to Beane.

"People don't know this about the Oakland A's: They treat people more like friends than employees," Keough said. "The perception of Billy over the years is that he's this fire-breathing, f-bombing monster, but everyone else in the front office, including me, is so much less patient than he is. He almost to a fault cares about people."

MARCO!...

What is Marco Scutaro's role going to be this year, now that Antonio Perez is in the mix?
-- Thomas F., Seattle, Wash.

Scutaro will probably be the primary backup to Mark Ellis and Bobby Crosby at shortstop, with Perez the primary backup to Eric Chavez at third. If Ellis and Crosby happen to be out or rested on the same day, I'm assuming Scutaro will play shortstop and Perez will play second.

...SCUTARO!

Also, more from Urban's mailbag:

Any suggestions for those of us in Sacramento who won't be able to listen to A's games on the radio this year?
-- David D., Sacramento, Calif.

You can catch all A's games on MLB Radio.

About Kirk Saarloos wanting to "look meaner" in the 'pen by shaving his head: Did you remind him of a certain Hall of Famer named Dennis Eckersley and his 'do?
-- Eli R., Chicago, Ill.

I did not. I was too busy rubbing his dome. Besides, Eck's wig was/is something no man should ever attempt to recreate unless you're appearing on "That '70s Show."

I haven't heard anything about Saarloos' "mean" look. I remember his mullet makeover last season, but did I miss something?

A cute Valentine's story about former A's prospect and ASU Sun Devil Andre Ethier.

With Ethier playing minor league baseball in California and Germaine still in Tempe, the two only talked about once a month and dated other people. ASU football coach Dirk Koetter even asked Germaine to "hang out" with Ben Olson, one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the country, when Olson - who, like Germaine, is a member of the Mormon church - visited ASU on a recruiting trip.

But that didn't work out, and Germaine and Ethier finally realized they belonged together and began talking every day. When baseball season ended and Ethier returned home, the two were a couple again. In December, Ethier brought Germaine to one of the couple's favorite pizza restaurants where both their parents were standing on the establishment's patio. Then Ethier dropped to one knee and proposed.

I think we can ALL agree with THIS Valentine's day poem. Well, almost all of us.

The Rangers have given Roger Clemens their Valentine... but does he, you know, like like Drayton instead?