http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/21304 Recent articles about Carlos Gonzalez en-us The Oakland Athletics have been wheeling and dealing since the end of the 2007 season. Some of the moves have been met with praise by A's fanatics, while others have caused plenty of rumbling amongst the faithful fans in green and gold. Tonight, A's fans will get to see first hand how some of that trading has affected the club today, while Wednesday night will give fans an opportunity to see how it might have affected the team for seasons to come... Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:00:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304541 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304541 Something has gotta' give, right? The A's can't remain as icy cold as they have since the end of the All Star break could they? When they've gotten stellar performances from their pitching, they've still managed to be outscored by the opposing team. When they've gotten some hitting, the opposition seems to have outpitched the A's pitchers. On a day when the Oakland Athletics ace, Justin Duchscherer, was pitching, you'd expect the latter wouldn't be the case in a loss, but on Thursday night it was.... Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:59:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303143 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303143 Another loss for the A's makes it now 8 in a row, and this one has to be more frustrating for the players than the past 7. This was not only a game the Athletics HAD to win, it was one that they should've won. Huston Street, already in jeopardy of losing his closer's role, blew a one run lead in the bottom of the ninth to seal the fate of the struggling A's... Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:28:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301900 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301900 The following is commentary and interviews from yesterday's (7/20) Sunday MLB on TBS broadcast between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees with announcers Chip Caray and Ron Darling, and interviews with Bob Geren of the A's and Joe Girardi of the Yankees. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Oakland A’s @ New York Yankees Game announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling Darling on the frequent adjustments of the Yankees' line-up due to injuries: “Joe Girardi was saying he’s had the opening day line-up only four or five times, but there won’t be a lot of teams weeping for the Yankees’ injury problems.” Darling on whether the Yankees can make a run to get into the MLB Posteason: “(The Yankees) have everything right in front of them. Can they make a run? Of course they can, they’ve done it in the past. More importantly, they’ve got to get good starting pitching every single day, they’ve got it from (Mike) Mussina, they’ve got it from (Andy) Pettitte… Joba (Chamberlain), of course everyone knows about him out there. Most importantly, they’ve got to get a good start every fifth day; if they can do that than once their offense starts clicking they can win 10 or 11 straight, that’s how good they can be.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to Oakland A’s manager Bob Geren during the game. Geren on the solid pitching of A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer: “You have a guy that goes out there and leads the league in ERA, every time (Justin Duchscherer) goes on the mound you feel like you have a real good chance to win. He does a great job of giving our bullpen a break and pitching deep in the game and just feel like we don’t need to get too many runs when he’s out there.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi during the game. Girardi on the offense of Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano: “(Robinson Cano) has been outstanding hitting .340 the last month. He’s been really hot since the break and had four hits yesterday (Saturday), he’s really hitting the ball hard. Even his outs are line-drive outs so we’re excited about the way he’s swinging the bat.” Darling on the complexity of managing a baseball team today: “The coaches and managers today show up at the ballpark at 11 or 12 in the morning for a night game, they are on those computers looking at data to see how they can catch an edge. It’s a much different job than when I played 25 years ago. You have to really have big shoulders and thick skin and be able to get very insular, just be with your ball club and block out all that outside stuff that happens in this town.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte tagging A’s center fielder Carlos Gonzalez when he slid head first into first base: “That is an ill-advised play, you should never slide head first into first base. Luckily Andy (Pettitte) didn’t step on his finger, but nice job by the veteran left hander to get over there and get to Speedy Gonzalez.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte throwing to both sides of the plate: “A lot of you youngsters in the summertime go to a lot of clinics to learn how to play this game. Well, this man (Andy Pettitte) right here is putting on a clinic if you want to learn how to pitch to both sides of the plate. The thing about Andy that you like is he has such command of the outside corner, he’s thrown more change-ups than I’ve seen him throw in a long time. On the left handed hitters he’s really been going with fastballs and sliders away and occasionally that standard beautiful cutter that he throws down and in to the right handed hitter that is just impossible for them to lay off.” Darling on Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek being up for a new contract: “Jason Varitek adds a lot to that Boston mystique. He’s been their biggest team leader, he’s their captain. But if you start thinking as a general manager that ‘I should give contracts based on past service’ than you’re in harm’s way. You should give it based on what Jason can bring to your team and if that means that the captain that’s hitting .214 deserves a two-year contract with options that kick in if he plays a certain amount of games, than I think that’s a good thing.” Darling on comments made by Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon that he wanted to close the MLB All-Star Game: “I think that (Jonathan) Papelbon got ‘New Yorked’ because some of the comments that he made. I think that he was saying as an athlete he (would have been) proud to close the All-Star Game, but of course it belonged to Mariano Rivera who pitched excellently in that All-Star Game. Rivera, what do you say about him, just the greatest postseason closer, greatest reliever of all time.”Source:TBSMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29). Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:36:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300158 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300158 Momma said there'd be days like this. That doesn't make it any easier to swallow though. By the end of the first inning, the A's would need to score more than five runs to have a chance to win the game, a feat that they've accomplished only five games over the past 26, well now 27... Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:56:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300005 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300005 ***This is a special farce written by site contributor Alex Ubeda*** After being benched for three days in a row, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones and his agent Scott Boras asked for a trade and the Dodgers responded. The Dodgers are sending Andruw Jones and his $36 million contract to the A's for 22-year-old [...] Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:25:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298508 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298508 When are the Oakland A's going to field a team that can hit? It seems like they'll never have a team that can consistently score four or more runs in a game. When the Kansas City Royals are outplaying you, it's time to do a little self reflection. Rather than reflect, recently the A's have been deflecting trade rumors. Hopefully, after the trade deadline, some of the players who have tightened up will be more comfortable and able to break out of this obnoxious and demoralizing hitting slump that has led them to only 2 wins over the past 11 games... Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:37:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298036 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298036 Once again a former Athletic did damage to a struggling A's team that can't seem to get on track since the All Star break ended. The A's who have only won twice since the break, got the type of pitching that they desired over the weekend but Zack Greinke (8-7) tallied up 11 strike outs in 7 1/3 innings allowing only 1 walk and 2 earned runs to lead the Royals past the A's 4-2... Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:45:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297542 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297542 The following is commentary and interviews from yesterday's (7/20) Sunday MLB on TBS broadcast between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees with announcers Chip Caray and Ron Darling, and interviews with Bob Geren of the A's and Joe Girardi of the Yankees. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Oakland A’s @ New York Yankees Game announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling Darling on the frequent adjustments of the Yankees' line-up due to injuries: “Joe Girardi was saying he’s had the opening day line-up only four or five times, but there won’t be a lot of teams weeping for the Yankees’ injury problems.” Darling on whether the Yankees can make a run to get into the MLB Posteason: “(The Yankees) have everything right in front of them. Can they make a run? Of course they can, they’ve done it in the past. More importantly, they’ve got to get good starting pitching every single day, they’ve got it from (Mike) Mussina, they’ve got it from (Andy) Pettitte… Joba (Chamberlain), of course everyone knows about him out there. Most importantly, they’ve got to get a good start every fifth day; if they can do that than once their offense starts clicking they can win 10 or 11 straight, that’s how good they can be.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to Oakland A’s manager Bob Geren during the game. Geren on the solid pitching of A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer: “You have a guy that goes out there and leads the league in ERA, every time (Justin Duchscherer) goes on the mound you feel like you have a real good chance to win. He does a great job of giving our bullpen a break and pitching deep in the game and just feel like we don’t need to get too many runs when he’s out there.” TBS’ Chip Caray and Ron Darling spoke to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi during the game. Girardi on the offense of Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano: “(Robinson Cano) has been outstanding hitting .340 the last month. He’s been really hot since the break and had four hits yesterday (Saturday), he’s really hitting the ball hard. Even his outs are line-drive outs so we’re excited about the way he’s swinging the bat.” Darling on the complexity of managing a baseball team today: “The coaches and managers today show up at the ballpark at 11 or 12 in the morning for a night game, they are on those computers looking at data to see how they can catch an edge. It’s a much different job than when I played 25 years ago. You have to really have big shoulders and thick skin and be able to get very insular, just be with your ball club and block out all that outside stuff that happens in this town.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte tagging A’s center fielder Carlos Gonzalez when he slid head first into first base: “That is an ill-advised play, you should never slide head first into first base. Luckily Andy (Pettitte) didn’t step on his finger, but nice job by the veteran left hander to get over there and get to Speedy Gonzalez.” Darling on Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte throwing to both sides of the plate: “A lot of you youngsters in the summertime go to a lot of clinics to learn how to play this game. Well, this man (Andy Pettitte) right here is putting on a clinic if you want to learn how to pitch to both sides of the plate. The thing about Andy that you like is he has such command of the outside corner, he’s thrown more change-ups than I’ve seen him throw in a long time. On the left handed hitters he’s really been going with fastballs and sliders away and occasionally that standard beautiful cutter that he throws down and in to the right handed hitter that is just impossible for them to lay off.” Darling on Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek being up for a new contract: “Jason Varitek adds a lot to that Boston mystique. He’s been their biggest team leader, he’s their captain. But if you start thinking as a general manager that ‘I should give contracts based on past service’ than you’re in harm’s way. You should give it based on what Jason can bring to your team and if that means that the captain that’s hitting .214 deserves a two-year contract with options that kick in if he plays a certain amount of games, than I think that’s a good thing.” Darling on comments made by Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon that he wanted to close the MLB All-Star Game: “I think that (Jonathan) Papelbon got ‘New Yorked’ because some of the comments that he made. I think that he was saying as an athlete he (would have been) proud to close the All-Star Game, but of course it belonged to Mariano Rivera who pitched excellently in that All-Star Game. Rivera, what do you say about him, just the greatest postseason closer, greatest reliever of all time.”Source:TBSMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29). Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:42:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293142 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293142 A-Rod, meet the Duke; feel free to strike out now. Justin Duchscherer felt that giving up one run at home was enough for the night after Jason Giambi blasted a shot just over the right field out-of-town scoreboard. Sitting in the ballpark, that home run gave A's fans that uneasy, here we go again feeling. Even though it was early in the game, our guys have struggled on offense and any run given to the opposing team could spell doom. Giambi trotting around the bases at the Mac should have felt more like nostalgic, but it didn't. The pseudo Yankees fans were out in force and standing when the long shot went out. They were screaming like they were in a porn film opposite Giambi with his newly grown swinging seventies 'stash. Man crushes all around as grown men wailed with each Yankee to come to the plate early in the game. That all stopped in the bottom of the third. Giambi put too much facial hair on an easy toss to Rasner hustling to cover first and that put Travis Buck on first. Suzuki popped up, but then the bats came alive in the town. Hanahan bunted for a single. Crosby doubled. Cust shot a two-run single. Chavez singled and CarGo doubled in two. A six run inning and the Yankee faithful fell silent. The third inning, and the game, was over. Duke went on to a line in which he gave up just the one solo shot over seven innings. The A's put up another coulple runs in the following innings and the Yanks put up three in the ninth to make the score respectable. In the fith the score was 8-1 and this game was over. The A's media team should have pressed play and let "Celebration" blast through the Mac as everyone, including the few Yankees fans that stayed past the third, knew the game was done. Series tied 1-1, on to the rubber match. Stay tuned for a Game 3 preview. ***Thanks for reading. Please drop a quick comment.*** Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:08:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277222 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277222 You're not going to find any offensive studs on the waiver wire from here on out, but there's still a chance to get your hands on some reliable pitchers. AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams gives you a few batters who can fill your team's deeper slots, and some pitchers who can fill in for you if you wisely decided to pass up on guys like Justin Verlander and C.C. Sabathia. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:24:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275331 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275331 Jay Bruce, Clayton Kershaw, Carlos Gonzalez, and Ian Stewart have all gotten the call in the last few weeks. AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams ranks his top ten prospects for your fantasy team for the remainder of the season. Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:10:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273806 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273806 Jay Bruce had a spectacular debut week in Cincinnati, and should be a top fantasy option for the rest of the season. He wasn't the only top prospect reaching the big leagues however as Oakland called up Carlos Gonzalez. Elsewhere in this edition Ken Griffey Jr. nears a milestone, Bartolo Colon keeps winning, and Dontrelle Willis regains a starting spot. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:01:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273226 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/273226 Carlos Gonzalez was called up by the A's and went 2 for 3 in his first game. You should wait for Chase Headley, who might be called up this coming week, and is a much better option in all league sizes. Sat, 31 May 2008 18:34:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/272854 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/272854 How do Sean Gallagher or Chris Perez fit on your fantasy baseball team? When can we expect Clayton Kershaw or Jay Bruce? AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams takes a look at these questions and more in this edition of the Prospect Watch. Tue, 20 May 2008 07:45:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268894 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268894