by Glenn Dickey
Oct 18, 2005

NOBODY HAS more at stake in the National League Championship Series than St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony La Russa. If the Cardinals lose, La Russa may be looking for another job.

La Russa is the best manager I’ve watched closely over an extended time. (Billy Martin was the best for a short period, but he always self-destructed after a time.) [Read more →]

by Glenn Dickey
Oct 07, 2005

THE DEPARTURE of Ken Macha is a sad story for both Macha and the A’s. He seemed a good fit for the A’s, and he won’t be able to get as good a job anywhere else.

But don’t blame Billy Beane.

Beane is an easy target for writers who want to blast away without thinking. Ever since “Moneyball” was published, Beane has been portrayed as an ego out of control, sometimes by writers who didn’t even read the book. [Read more →]

by Glenn Dickey
Sep 28, 2005

THE ATLANTA BRAVES and the Oakland Athletics both took on massive overhauls of their teams this season. The Braves have clinched the National League East. After a gallant run, the A’s fell short in the American League West, being eliminated by the Angels last night.

What’s the difference? The Braves have Andruw Jones. The A’s have Eric Chavez. Both are their team’s best players, but they’re really only comparable with their defense; Jones is a superb center fielder and Chavez is the best third baseman I’ve seen since Brooks Robinson, who is the gold standard. [Read more →]

by Glenn Dickey
Sep 16, 2005

MANY PEOPLE wondered why the A’s, representing a city which is more than 50 per cent black, did not have a single black player on the roster in the period in between their optioning out Charles Thomas and signing Jay Payton. Was this deliberate?

In fact, as the always perceptive Joe Morgan explained to me, it’s the system, which is why the percentage of blacks in baseball has fallen to nine per cent. [Read more →]

by Glenn Dickey
Aug 18, 2005

THE OAKLAND A’S started miserably, 17-32 for their first 49 games. In their next 65 games, they won 49, a .753 pace. Now, they’ve lost four straight and five out of six.

What’s happening? It’s called baseball, the most unpredictable of our major professional sports. A team can score 12 runs one game, none the second. The best pitcher can be knocked out in three innings, and the best hitter can strike out four times in a game. That’s why they play such a long schedule because, in 162 games, the best and worst will average out. [Read more →]

Putting A Wrap on Hall of Fame Weekend

This year’s induction festivities in Cooperstown, NY, delivered a much-needed boost to the local economy, as large groups of Cubs and Red Sox fans spent gobs of money along the village’s Main Street. According to most estimates, about 25,000 to 28,000 fans visited Cooperstown on induction weekend—the highest figure in the last five years. In recent years, more modest crowds have generally ranged from 15,000 to 20,000 fans…

Click below for more about the Hall of Fame’s marquee weekend. [Read more →]

By GEORGE ESTRADA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SEATTLE — When Amaury Pi-Gonzalez was a boy in Cuba, he would stand a broom upside down on his porch and pretend to call baseball games. Now he’s living his dream in the radio announcer’s booth in two different major-league ballparks.

Pi-Gonzalez, 60, does Spanish-language play-by-play for the Seattle Mariners and the San Francisco Giants, which leads to lots of frequent flier miles. [Read more →]

by Glenn Dickey

EVEN BILLY BEANE didn’t expect the torrid 37-13 run the A’s are on.

“I thought we had a good group of players,” said the A’s general manager in a telephone conversation. “We just got killed by injuries early. We had no bodies. But the team stayed together and then they started playing well, but no, I certainly couldn’t have anticipated this. But, I’ll tell you what, I’m really enjoying it.’’

Click below for more. [Read more →]

The Yankee clubhouse is known as the Bronx Zoo.

The Red Sox aren’t very far behind.

Terry Francona is losing his grip on the world champions.

First, Francona has his team mad at him for naming Anaheim’s Bartolo Colon to the all star team instead of his own pitcher Matt Clement. The slight costing Clement his $250,000 all star bonus. [Read more →]

IT WAS ONLY about six weeks into the season when some writers were saying Billy Beane had been taken in the trades which sent away Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, which shows again that it’s a mistake to make early judgments on trades which involve young players.

The season isn’t quite at the halfway mark, but the Mulder trade is looking good for the A’s right now. Dan Haren has a six-game winning streak and he appears to be a pitcher who can be a solid starter for years. Kiko Calero has pitched well in relief when he’s been healthy, as he is now. Daric Barton is only 19 and is a couple of years away, but everybody who’s seen him says he’s a top hitting prospect. He’s been shifted from catcher to first base but the A’s think he can play the outfield, too, which would improve his major league opportunities because Dan Johnson looks more and more like a fixture at first for several years. [Read more →]