Yardbarker: Keith Foulke

Athletics lose again - need to find answers soon

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:59:33 -0500

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....

Deadline passes on the A's, or has it?

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:57:10 -0500

So the trade deadline has come and gone and many veteran A's players have probably taken the time to breathe a long sigh of relief. Even though it would be exciting to be part of a pennant chase elsewhere, many inside the clubhouse still believe that this team can make the playoffs. It's unknown if Billy Beane really believes that, or Bob Geren for that matter, but as long as the leaders in the clubhouse still believe it, then it must be true...

Ziegler extends record, Ellis ties one: A's still swept by Royals

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:05:00 -0500

Even when things seem to go right for the A's lately, something goes terribly wrong and they add to their mounting deficit of games that they trail the Angels and the Red Sox. Records were broken and tied Wednesday, reports about Frank Thomas coming back this week along with Keith Foulke's eminent return would seem to bode well for this struggling team, but it turns out to be all for naught…at least on Wednesday...

Athletics News: Thomas to be in lineup by Friday, Foulke to Triple-A

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:09:49 -0500

It was announced today that Frank Thomas has been given the green light to play as early as Friday of this week. It will be a much needed boost for an Oakland A's team that has been pathetic at the plate nearly all season, especially as of late.

Athletics go down in Oakland: homeruns by Royals beat the A's

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:45:09 -0500

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...

Fantasy History of Saves

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:22:09 -0500

The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame analyzes the fantasy history of strikeouts in the last installment of a series investigating statistical trends over the past 3 decades

Billy Beane: GM Genius Or Trigger Happy Fool...You Decide

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:25:07 -0500

Watching Mark Mulder leave after just three hitters last night reminded me of how good Oakland A's General Manager Bill Beane can look at times. Let's see, he traded... www.rawsportsblog.com

AccuScore Closer Report - 7/7

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:00:47 -0500

There is a new look to the Closer Report this week with expanded coverage of bullpen situations around baseball and rankings for the top fantasy closers and middle relievers. This week AccuScore analyst looks at the All-Star relievers, and has a problem with the selection of one player in particular. Also, the trade deadline is approaching so which closers could be swapping uniforms in the near future?

Windy City Showdown - Cubs vs. White Sox All-Time

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:52:03 -0500

The classic Windy City debate, which franchise is better? Not just this year, but of all time? Whatifsports tries to settle the debate by simulating a 7-game series of all-time greats 1,000 times. Ernie Banks, Sosa, Sandberg, Maddux, Mordecai Brown, Sutter against Shoeless Joe, Big Hurt, Robin Ventura, Eddie Collins, Fisk...and other players who had great years in Chicago. Who wins???

Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame - Closers Get the Snub

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:41:46 -0500

FBHOF.com and Razzball.com complete the inductions of the best players of the fantasy era by completely ignoring the closers. They simply aren't great assets to a Fantasy Baseball team. Found out why and who the best closers of the fantasy era were, even though they miss out on the plaque.

Top 11 MLB players that should be traded

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:23:44 -0500

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

11. Rich Harden, SP, Oakland A's. He's dominant when healthy, and not nearly healthy enough for the small market A's to make a commitment to. Even though the team is 7 games above .500 and has an outside chance at the post-season this year, the plan is for 2009, and considering that they've got Chad Gaudin in the bullpen, Harden will go to a rich contender that's willing to overpay for a guy whose shoulder gives off a ticking sound. There's also this: his home park makes him look better than he is, not that he's not filthy.

10. Adrian Beltre, 3B, Seattle Mariners. He's better than you think -- it's no fun to be a right handed power hitter on a Mariner team that seems to be allergic to getting on base, and he's been battling nagging injuries to boot. Despite that, he's got 14 homers, plays very good defense, and even runs a little. If Ortiz and Youkilis are both out in Boston, he'd be a fine stopgap solution, and the Mariners are more than happy to move assets right now.

9. Ken Griffey Jr, OF, Cincinatti Reds. It's Fire Sale Time in Cincy, with everything but the youngest SPs wearing a red tag. Griff has hit his 600th, so there's no more attendance boost to get from him being around. With the team 13.5 games back, he's a prime target to go to any team that thinks he'll be rejuvenated by a pennant race. The only problem is that his .760 OPS might convince many that he's already done.

8. Randy Wolf, SP, San Diego Padres. Another historic injury risk, but a heck of a lot cheaper on the wallet and prospect list. Wolf could be especially effective in the AL, where they haven't seen him much before, and a once around the league novelty burst might give his new team a lot. The Padres being in last in the crowded NL West also might loosen their hold.

7. Erik Bedard, SP, Seattle Mariners. This spring's shiny new penny -- albeit one that took an ungodly amount of time to acquire -- is now the most attractive albatross on a team that loses two out of every three games and has just lost its general manager and coach. Moving Bedard now is sending him out at low value, but he's a proven AL East talent with a lot of upside. Besides, no one wants Carlos Silva.

6. Matt Holliday, OF, Colorado Rockies. The biggest hitter on the list is kind of like this year's Mark Teixeria -- a plus hitter from a hitter haven who's actually still really good. The only thing keeping him in Colorado is the plummeting Diamnondbacks, who have kept every team in the division in the hunt; the Rockies might just hang on to everyone and see if the return of Troy Tulowitzki can get them back in the race. In another week or so, we'll know if Holliday walks before his contract expires.

5. AJ Burnett, SP, Toronto Rockies. The Jays are a hard team to figure. On the one hand, you've got to think that general manager JP Riccardi is on thin enough ice that he's not interested in going out with kids and prospects. On the other, Burnett is clearly not getting better here, and the Jays are 10.5 back in what might be the toughest division in baseball. Burnett has always been a poor man's Josh Beckett, so maybe another team makes Riccardi an offer he can't refuse.

4. Adam Dunn, OF, Cincinnati Reds. Everything you can say about Griff goes double for the Three True Outcome hero, whose .219 batting average masks his reasonably useful .876 OPS. Even Dusty Baker has to be getting tired of playing veterans and ready to give the team entirely over to Jay Bruce and Joey Votto by now, right? Dunn seems to me to be the kind of guy that can help a team provided he's hitting 6th or 7th, and you just aren't counting on him carrying your team. (I realize Dunn is a sabermetric hero, but doesn't it matter that his teams never, ever win?)

3. Dmitri Young, 1B, Washington Nationals. A nice guy and a reasonable stick, but he makes no sense here, especially with Aaron Boone giving them good at-bats and Ryan Zimmerman eventually coming back from injury. By the time the Nats are in a playoff race, Da Meat Hook could be pushing 350 pounds, and probably still putting up above average numbers. The potentially season-ending injury to Nick Johnson (gosh, who saw that coming?) could keep him here, though.

2. Huston Street, RP, Oakland Athletics. Billy Beane loves to move closers for more then they are worth, and that really describes the ex-phenom, whose 4.32 ERA, good defesne and pitcher's park seems to say overrated... but his K/BB numbers, pure stuff and low HR allowed numbers could easily convince a team in need that he's just been pitching in bad luck. The A's have never bought into the ideat that pitching in the ninth is all that different from any other inning, and they'd happily go with Keith Foulke and Alan Embree if someone wants to put prospects in front of them.

1. C.C. Sabathia, SP, Cleveland Indians. Don't let the slow start fool you; he's been very solid recently, and he's an unrestricted free agent next year. With the Tribe 6.5 out and in fourth place in the Central, they are 1-2 weeks away from pulling the chutes on this deal and moving the big lefty for maximum benefit. Ceec is a horse, but he also eats like one, and that next contract is going to be costly.

AccuScore Closer Report - 6/10

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:04:22 -0500

Brandon Lyon hasn't given up a run since April 6. J.J. Putz suffered another injury, and Troy Percival is set to return. Find out where these three rank, and expanded middle reliever rankings in this week's Closer Report.

Is J.D. Drew's grace period over in Red Sox Nation?

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:54:05 -0500

As fans, we never love every player on the teams we root for, even when those teams win titles. There's always that one guy who can't seem to get with the program, who's constantly giving you angst. If he's not looking at a called third strike or hitting into a rally-killing double play, he's a last-minute scratch when you wake up at 5:45 a.m., turn on ESPN2, and find out Brandon Moss is playing right field for the Red Sox on Opening Day in Japan.

The Fantasy Baseball Weekly Roundup

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:47:17 -0500

The Boston Red Sox took on the Oakland Athletics for a two-game series in Japan. The much anticipated first game took place on Tuesday, March 25th. All of Japan was excited to see former Japanese phenom Daisuke "Dice-K" Matsuzaka take the hill against Oakland "ace" Joe Blanton. Instead of a pitcher's duel, it was left up to the bullpens to see who would take home the first victory of the season. In the end, Huston Street, the closer of the Athletics, blew the save, allowing Jonathon Papelbon to record his first save of the season (by the skin of his teeth). The Red Sox took the first game in the series, beating the Athletics 6-5.

Keith Foulke to the Oakland A's: The Fantasy Impact

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:20:33 -0500

Despite being out of baseball for a season, Foulke garnered interest from as many as five teams in the off-season. That's how desperate the crop for relievers is I guess. But in all fairness to those teams, a healthy Keith Foulke could be a valuable pitcher. Considering the guy is a control freak, posting a career 2.15 Ctl, he doesn't really need his old velocity to be effective (as Assistant A's GM David Frost stated, correctly for that matter). We'll also take a look at the Kansas City Royals signing pitcher Mike Maroth to a Minor League Contract and the Tampa Bay Rays signing infielder/outfielder Eric Hinske to a Minor League Contract.