Tampa Bay’s excellent second year lefthander Joe Kennedy opposes Barry Zito in the series finale Sunday. Kennedy is Marty’s guest on Right Off The Bat beginning at 11:50 AM Pacific right here on LOTGP.com, the A’s web site, or KFRC 610 AM in Northern California. [Read more →]

Even though it would take a lot of nerve to do it, the Reds should trade Ken Griffey, Jr. to the Athletics.

I know you will say, it can’t be done. Griffey is a hometown hero who is playing in front of his boyhood friends and family.

In addition, the Reds move into a new park next year. Junior is the center piece of the franchise.

You argue, the Reds need him, they are in contention this year.

Here’s why it could and should happen.
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The Rocket in Fenway Park pitching for the Yankees. It still doesn’t seem right.

Pedro Martinez got the Sox off to a great start with his 3-1 victory Thursday night against the Bronx Bombers.

Maybe Pedro is exorcising the Curse of the Bambino by challenging to drill The Babe in the butt if he faced him in a game.

Can Clemens get victory number 288 tonight?

Are the Yankees going to need more pitching help with David Wells and El Duque nursing back injuries?

Let’s see?

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GIANTS WILL HAVE A TOUGH TIME REPLACING THEIR POWERFUL #2 HITTER IN THEIR LINEUP.

RICH AURILIA: HE WILL BE MISSED

By Amaury Pi-González

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Jeremy Giambi scored 173 runs in his big league career including one in the playoffs. If he would have scored one more run in last year’s ALDS, he probably still would be an Oakland A today.

By not sliding in that rendezvous with fate in game three of the series against New York, Giambi sealed his eventual departure from the A’s.

It was just a matter of time.

Considering all the circumstances, was it a good deal, Jeremy Giambi for John Mabry? [Read more →]

The Giants lost a game they may have won Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks when the umpiring crew blew three critical calls.

The A’s changed three players on their roster, then went out and lost to the Baltimore Orioles, in a game they should have lost in 9 innings, but rallied to tie in eight and then went on to lose after 14 excruciating frames.

What about the player moves Tuesday for the Giants and A’s?

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The National League features some excellent match ups Tuesday with some of the hottest pitchers in the league going head to head.

Who has the advantage?

Let’s look. [Read more →]

By Ernie Montella

Check out philadelphiaathletics.org for original story.

I suppose you could say that it was the scripted “A’ on the players uniform I noticed as I handed the dealer $6 for that packet of musty looking newspaper clippings tucked into an equally tattered plastic bag. It was May 1998 and I was out of town at a sports memorabilia convention just browsing around hoping something would catch my eye. For some reason out of thousands of collectibles in the room I was drawn to a bag of old newspaper clippings. [Read more →]

THE LOST ART OF KEEPING SCORE

BY ALAN GOLDFARB

As someone who covers baseball, I take a fat white-covered, spiral-bound book with me to every game. It’s a small book really, but when one peruses its pages, wonderful stories are revealed. The stories are told, however, not in words, but in symbols. The symbols are so cryptic, that in another time, they could very well be mistaken for hieroglyphs. [Read more →]

Mickey Vernon outpointed two of the all time best, Al Rosen in 1953 and Ted Williams in 1946, to win his two two American league batting titles. Vernon played in the major leagues from 1939 thru 1960, four decades, in a wonderful major league career. Mickey Vernon lives in Pennsylvania and is our guest live via telephone on Tuesday at 5:50 PM Pacific right here on LOTGP.com, the A’s website, or 610 KFRC AM, in Northern California. [Read more →]