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The Rangers have made coaching changes by firing bench coach Jackie Moore and first base coach Dave Anderson, who may have lost his job because of some critical TOOTBLANs.
The ten Ford Frick Award finalists have been announced, including Bill King! Also a finalist: everyone's favorite, Hawk Harrelson.
Joe Posnanski breaks down the reasons for the absence of a unanimous Hall of Famer. Summary: there are a lot of clowns in the BBWAA. I feel sorry for Susan Slusser. Her job means she has to put up with these clowns.
The Astros are making a series of coaching changes.
Justin Masterson could be used as a closer for the Indians. Remember, I've predicted a blown save by Chris Perez by way of a home run.
Howard Bender's bold predictions for 2013 were not incredibly accurate.
Caption this! It's an angry Ranger fan caught on camera during Monday night's game.
In case you haven't heard, Mat Latos' wife was reportedly attacked at PNC Park last night. She has been tweeting quite a bit about the events. She even referenced a fellow SB Nation blog, our good friends over at Red Reporter.
CBS sports' Mike Axisa gives us a position-by-position preview of tonight's game.
John Hickey wrote about the top of the A's bullpen.
THIS JUST IN: Veteran 2B Dan Uggla has been left off the Braves' playoff roster. Uggla hit 22 HR this year, but hit just .179.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 2, 2013
It is speculated that Elliot Johnson, with a career wRC+ of 65 and a wRC+ of 45 this season, will handle second base. Mike Axisa says it seems they will start Freddy Garcia in Game 4 (if necessary). Tim Hudson is injured, and they have left Paul Maholm off the roster, in addition to Scott Downs. To see the reaction from Atlanta, check out the article on Talking Chop.
Today's issue of the San Francisco Chronicle included a lengthy article by Susan Slusser on right-handed reliever Dan Otero.
Hickey also has an article about Stephen Vogt.
On this day a year ago, the A's defeated the Rangers 3-1. Travis Blackley went 6 strong innings, aided by some excellent defense, and the combination of Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour held Texas scoreless for the final three. The offense came mostly from Derek Norris and Jonny Gomes. Nelson Cruz's terrible defense gave the A's a run. I personally attended this game, and it was one of the best I've ever been to. It will be hard to ever forget the blazing heat, roaring fans and improbable victory to put the A's in a tie for first place with just one game to go. Before the series got underway, Nico said the second game of the series, between Blackley and Matt Harrison, would ultimately decide the division. He was right!
