We finally made it to the Dog Days of August where the pitchers now move to the head of the class.

If a team has five good starters watch out, four plus a decent bull pen and it’s OK, three starters and some question marks, and I’ll see you later.

The August schedule shows stretches of six to twenty games without a day off for most teams. Couple the schedule with some hot weather back East and you can see why a deep staff is a necessity for success.

With that in mind let’s see who will benefit from the first tough fortnight (two weeks) in what is the stepping stone to September baseball.

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While the hot pennant races and struggling labor talks have taken the front seat of the baseball talk these days, the reality of steroid induced players will never leave.

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By Amaury Pi-González

The Athletics have two league MVP

candidates this year, one is Barry Zito

who is signed and secured by Oakland,

the other one plays everyday; Miguel

Tejada and he is not signed and secured

for the future here.

(Note) The best pitchers win the Cy Young

Award, therefore there is no doubt Tejada

will be the MVP of the A’S and even maybe

of the American League since Zito is a pitcher. [Read more →]

The A’s had a strong pitching rotation in the early 1980’s. Billy Martin allowed the pitchers to go deep in the game. Steve McCatty, now pitching coach for Detroit, was one of the big four of those staffs. He is Shooty Babitt’s guest on Right Off The Bat Saturday at 11:50 AM Pacific right here on loveofthegameproductions.com, the A’s web site, and 610 AM KFRC in Northern California [Read more →]

Mark Redman has emerged as one of the top lefthanders in the league this season. He is my guest on Right Off The Bat Friday beginning at 5:50 PM Pacific right here on loveofthegameproductions.com, the A’s web site, or 610 AM KFRC in Northern California. [Read more →]

As we have witnessed the fact that the A’s are just not playing really good baseball these last two weeks, there is some room for optimism. While within the last two weeks the A’s pitching has been mediocre at best, the offense under-achieving, and defense a disappointment, you can’t be hopeless when you have the raw pitching potential the A’s have. While the hitting is scuffling, you don’t have to score tons of runs to win a game pitched by Mulder, Hudson or Zito–just a few. [Read more →]

That guy from Easton baseball is a plain idiot. My amateur baseball league has just switched from aluminum to wood because the out-of-control scoring and the danger to pitchers and fielder. This guy obviously has not played baseball every or he would know that lousey hitters become much better with a lighter, stronger aluminum bat that clearly has a bigger sweet spot and more pop. The switch to wood bats has brought scores down and only one person has been injured from a batted ball and that was a broke finger. Last year an infielder received a concussion, dental work, and dozens of stitches to his face off a ball hit by a smaller player. [Read more →]

As the manuvering continues today in the trading market, the idea remains to get players who can make a difference over the last four weeks of the season.

September is precisely the time when the pennants are won or lost.

Will Cliff Floyd be enough to counter the Yankees, who are hitting homers and scoring runs at a record pace?

Will Scott Rolen be the glue in the Cardinals line up to bring the Central home?

Now that August and the Dog Days are just around the corner let’s look at the possibilities. [Read more →]

Fans click on to This Day In Baseball History with Jamie Moyer. Each day I will bring you a story about a significant event that occurred on the day. What makes these shows special is the guest I interview was there to witness the moment. See you again with the Daily Dish when I return from Cooperstown on July 31st. [Read more →]

He was one of Tony La Russa’s secret weapons in Oakland and now he’s a coach for the Rockies. Mike Gallego is my guest on Right Off The Bat Tuesday at 5:50 PM Pacific right here on loveofthegameproductions.com, the A’s web site, and 610 AM KFRC, in Northern California. [Read more →]