Elephant Rumblings: AFL Wrap, Oakland’s 40-Man Dash, Putting WAR in Context

A’s Coverage:

• A's could tweak 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft...
• Jim Callis highlights Sean Murphy’s AFL Championship game performance, calling him the league’s top catching prospect, and maybe the AFL’s top overall defensive prospect...
• A’s In The AFL – November 13-18 Final Update...
• Cooperstown Confidential: Oakland’s Mad Managerial Search of 1973-74...

MLB News:

• Braves prospect Ronald Acuna named Arizona Fall League MVP...
• The stove is always cooking in Dipoto-land; Mariners make third trade in four days...

Baseball Interest Stories:

• Dave Cameron’s Putting WAR in Context: A Response to Bill James...
• Joe Posnanski thinks James has a point about WAR being flawed...
• Three unheralded free agent pitchers who could be difference makers, and for good measure, three unheralded hitters too...
• 5 underrated free agents on the market this offseason...
• The Colorado Rockies are better at drafting QBs than the Denver Broncos...

Today in Baseball History:

• 1934 - 17-year-old pitcher Eiji Sawamura gives up one hit, a home run to Lou Gehrig, as the touring major league All-Stars win in Japan, 1 - 0. At one point, Sawamura strikes out four future Hall of Famers in a row: Charlie Gehringer, Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, and Gehrig. Also visiting Japan as part of the big league All-Stars, catcher Moe Berg shoots movie film showing the roofs of Tokyo. The film will allegedly be used as a guide by United States bombers during World War II.
• 1957 - The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics execute a 13-player trade. Among the players involved are second baseman Billy Martin, outfielder Gus Zernial and pitcher Mickey McDermott, who are headed to Detroit. The Athletics acquire pitcher Duke Maas, catcher Frank House, and outfielders Bill Tuttle and Jim Small.

Best of Twitter:

• David Freese’s dog meets his newborn, and it’s as cute as you’d expect...

• A nice summation of the A’s AFL Championship game performance...

• Long pants, or high-socks?