If you are in Northern California you will be able to tune into “Inside Baseball. The Winter Version”, tonight Thursday on 1550 AM beginning at 6 PM.

Shooty Babitt and I will talk about the stories of 2005 plus speculate on the other moves which are sure to happen next month.

Carl Foster joins us previewing the Pac 10 basketball game between Cal and USC.

We can take some calls tonight at 1 888 610 4627.

Marty [Read more →]

Miguel Tejada, Manny Ramirez, and Troy Glaus all will have new homes in 2006.

Glaus is first to relocate.

Looks like Glaus will end up in Toronto for Orlando Hudson, one of the best fielding second basemen in the game plus the versatile Miguel Batista (to Arizona).

So with Glaus coming aboard, what do the Blue Jays do with Corey Koskie, Shea Hillebrand, and Eric Hinske, players who are all DH/1B/3B?

JP Ricciardi could look to his pal in Oakland and send Hillebrand this way giving Ken Macha that righthanded bat he still craves for his lineup.

Certainly would be less messy than staying in the Tejada hunt.

The Red Sox and Cubs have extra money to burn because of the near miss on Rafael Furcal by Chicago and the defection of Johnny Damon to NY, they will spend that money, you can count on it.

Kevin Millwood likely will cash in in Boston, while the Cubs are dead serious about going after Tejada.

Where does this leave Jeff Weaver, a very serviceable righthander?

Could be back in LA with the Dodgers or maybe with the Angels joining his brother Jared who is close to pitching in the big leagues.

The Weavers won’t make you think of Dizzy and Paul Dean or the Niekros, Phil and Joe, but in todays game they appear healthy enough to throw 200 innings which is worth 8 million per year.

Crazy but true.

Happy holidays,

Marty
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One thing is certain, whenever the NY Yankees make the Boston Red Sox look silly by signing one of their star players or scooping up a free agent that the Sox wanted to sign, Boston’s ever PR conscious front office springs into action.

That’s where Miguel Tejada comes in.

Tejada has made it clear that he wants out in Baltimore.

The Orioles are petrified that Tejada could poison the 2006 season if he isn’t traded ala the way that Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmiero torpedoed the Birds in 2005.

So what are the possibilites?

Click below for more! [Read more →]

Marty; The morning paper brings us the news that the Giants exchanged Alfonzo for Finley. Yesterday we learned that the Yankees had signed Damon, to play center field and lead off, for four years, at thirteen million a year. The Yankees were competitive without Damon; by solving their center field problem they may have a lock on their division. The Giants improved simply by ridding themselves of Alfonzo. The addition of Finley cannot hurt. There may be a certain symbiosis accompanying these respective transactions.

Click below for more of Ed’s thoughts on the Giants.

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Tonight live from Crogan’s Montclair in Oakland Inside Baseball the Winter Version returns on 1550 AM KYCY, the unofficial new home of the 2006 A’s baseball broadcasts.

Show starts at 6:30 PM and runs for 70 minutes leading into the pregame of Cal men’s basketball.

Guests lined up are Shooty Babitt, Ken Macha, MLB’s Dodger writer Ken Gurnick, and Tyler Blezinski from AthleticsNation.com, if he is feeling better (hit with the flu bug) plus Carl Foster live from the Pete Newell Classic in Oakland.

If time permits we will take some on air phone calls at 888 610 4627.

By the way check out the Bill King T-shirts at Athleticsnation.com, they are a work of art and great holiday gifts.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

The 2006 World Baseball Classic is scheduled
to have a total of 16 teams, 39 games and
over 400 superstars representing their
countries from the USA to Italy, but
Cuba might not be there. This is a problem
for Cuba more than for anybody else.

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

by Glenn Dickey
Dec 14, 2005

THE A’S TRADE for Milton Bradley was a shocker, and the combustible Bradley brings a potential for trouble, but it also shows that A’s general manager Billy Beane is putting together a team which could contend seriously for the World Championship.

Meanwhile the Giants. . . well, they’re still playing the Barry Game. [Read more →]

Milton Bradley is the new A’s rightfielder.

During Bradley’s phone conference with the Bay Area media he was asked if he had any problems while playing in Los Angeles.

Bradley said his physical injuries stopped him last year, but wouldn’t acknowledge any issues he had with teammates especially with Jeff Kent.

Click below for more!
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If the Giants can acquire ex Cardinals Matt Morris they figure to have a very decent starting rotation in the not very decent National League West.

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

Seems like the A’s attention has been drawn to former Chicago White Sox star Frank Thomas as the team’s answer to its pressing need for a legitimate righthanded bat to protect Eric Chavez in the line up.

I wouldn’t go that way.

The A’s don’t have room for a misstep at this position. Money is always an issue and if the team whiffs on a contract with the Big Hurt it will not be able to dig its way out of the probelm until midseason, if at all.

Thomas’s nickname says it all. The Big Hurt can’t run a lick plus he is coming off a very serious ankle injury.

Click below for more! [Read more →]