Elephant Rumblings: Oakland’s Offseason Plan, Chris Smith Released, Bay Team Early Giancarlo Favorites

A’s Coverage:

• Jon Heyman’s offseason notes, including his understanding of Oakland’s plans...
• Oakland Athletics outright RHP Chris Smith; Smith elects free agency...
• What the ’02 Athletics, the ’16 Cubs and the ’17 Dodgers have in common...

MLB News:

• Yankees decide not to bring back Joe Girardi as manager...
• Astros, Dodgers make World Series history with record 8 home runs in Game 2...
• Dustin Pedroia out seven months following knee surgery...
• Brewers RHP Chase Anderson signs two-year extension...
• MLB trade rumors: Giants 'early favorites' to acquire Giancarlo Stanton...

Baseball Interest Stories:

• The inexplicably bonkers World Series Game 2, explained in 11 stats...
• The Marlins Should Move into the Future by Honoring Their Past...
• “Despite what John Smoltz spent most of the game telling the audience, the decision to remove Hill early didn’t doom the Dodgers.”
• Who Ya Got, Generational Shortstop Edition: Houston’s Carlos Correa or L.A.’s Corey Seager?

Today in Baseball History:

• 1911 - Danny Murphy of the Philadelphia Athletics has four hits as the A's beat the New York Giants, 13-2, to win the World Series in six games. Philadelphia puts the game out of reach with a seven-run 7th inning.
• 1971 - Vida Blue of the Oakland Athletics wins the American League Cy Young Award by a 98-85 margin over Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers. Blue was 24-8 for Oakland, posting 301 strikeouts, eight shutouts and a 1.82 ERA, becoming the youngest pitcher to win the award.

Best of Twitter:

• Hard to root against the guy...

• A fun chart...