Inside Baseball with Marty Lurie & Shooty Babitt – Possible trade rumors: bye-bye Zito, bye-bye? Second half of the season: who needs to breakout for Oakland, Alex Rodriguez: Is New York getting to “E.Rod”? Is Frank Thomas Oakland’s MVP so far?

Segment one : Marty & Bruce Magowan.
Segment two : Marty, Bruce & Shooty (on location in California’s Central Valley).
Segment three: Marty, Bruce & Shooty.
Segment four : Marty, Bruce & Shooty.
Segment five : Marty, Bruce & Shooty.

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Marty; There is a lengthy article in today’s New York Times, captioned “Loyalty to Bonds Is Mystifying and Misplaced”. It is personally timely. Last evening, at the dinner table with five very articulate, highly opinionated, grossly intelligent, liberal in the best sense of that abused word, close friends, I was subjected to withering criticism for my “too moralistic attitude towards Bonds”.

The unanimous opinion of the five, two of whom are fervent Giant fans, was that the continued federal interest in pursuing Bonds was overkill, unworthy of the money spent and energy expended. Bonds wasn’t a bank robber, a rapist, a child abuser. He may have been a knowing steroids user but he was not doing anything illegal and many others were as guilty of using performance enhancing drugs. The possibility of criminal charges other than perjury was not then under discussion

Click below for more of Ed’s excellent article. Marty

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With all the wheeling and dealing expected to take place over the next week by teams in serious playoff contention, the key to getting to play October baseball lies not with the flashy new additions, but with the players remaining on the team.

No matter how the A’s add to their line up the most important hitters during the final two months are Mark Ellis, Frank Thomas, Nick Swisher, Eric Chavez, and Bobby Crosby.

Without significant improvements from Ellis, Crosby, and Chavez the A’s will find it very difficult to win the West.

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Is an All Star team made up of this year’s A’s and Giants capable of winning the World Series?

Before I answer the question these are the ingredients I am looking for in my team.

Two dominating starting pitchers who can pitch effectively through the end of October.

Three hitters having career seasons.

Speed at the top of the line up.

A four man ‘pen including a closer who is lights out.

A defense that makes all the routine plays plus an occasional great one.

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Inside Baseball with Marty Lurie & Shooty Babitt – A’s vs. Red Sox: a good test for Oakland?, Rangers or Yankees: who has a better pitching staff?, Angels bouncing back: Trouble for the A’s?, Trade Deadline: Time to get a Starting Pitcher?

Segment one : Marty & Shooty.
Segment two : Marty, Jeff Passan (National Baseball Writer for YAHOO! Sports) , Robert Buan & Shooty.
Segment three: Marty, Shooty & Robert Buan.
Segment four : Marty, Shooty & Robert Buan.

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Batter Up July 16th, 2006

Perhaps the most exciting time during the regular baseball season occurs around the all star break when the contenders contemplate which trades might improve their clubs.

With the long summer ahead pitching becomes a priority. Without a deep bullpen and reliable starting pitching the road to October becomes very precarious.

The AL West is such a close race that one or two key players will tip the balance.

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Rick Kaplan
Staff Writer

OAKLAND (July 8) – “I finally got my man,” Moneyball maven Billy Beane told ESPN late Saturday night.

“We’ve had our eye on Andre Ethier since last winter. He fits our profile perfectly. A multi-tool kid at the bottom of the salary scale who can step in and fill a role at the major league level right now.”

Beane continued enthusiastically, ” I can’t believe Ned Coletti (the Dodger GM) let Ethier go! He is the kind of blue chip prospect that organizations don’t normally sacrifice to their short-term goals.. They gave us a kid who is going to be a star for years to come. And for Bradley and Perez! Everyone likes Bradley, but the kid isn’t able to stay in the line-up. And Perez, another nice kid, is a marginal player, at least in the AL.”

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Batter Up July 9th, 2006

With the all star break looming after today’s games let’s take a look at the top performers in the major leagues this season.

If their first half performances stay on course for the rest of the season these players should garner their league’s postseason awards.

AL MVP: The White Sox are the best team in the AL notwithstanding the distractions of their manager Ozzie Guillen. The best player on the Sox is firstbaseman Jim Thome with former Athletic Jermaine Dye a close second.

If the Red Sox hold on in the AL East David Ortiz will be the reason the BoSox send the Yankees home in October.

Pudge Rodriguez is the MVP of the Tigers. Manager Jim Leyland has done wonders with the moody Rodriguez.

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By the way just got home from the all star game. Excellent baseball. PNC Park is a pleasure. The Roberto Clemente tributes were very moving. Interviewed Chuck Tanner and the original Frank Thomas, a power hitter from the 50’s….. Marty [Read more →]

Jul 12, 2006

IF THERE’S postseason baseball in the Bay Area this year, it will be in Oakland, not San Francisco.

The Giants improved their team with offseason moves, but their hopes for the postseason basically rested on Barry Bonds playing 120 games and being the hitter he was in 2004 and the division remaining as weak as it was the previous season, when the Padres won the title with just 82 wins.

Neither hope has been realized. The division is actually the only one in the National League with more wins than losses. Arizona seems to be dropping back – the Jason Grimsley case knocked the wind out of the Diamondbacks – but the Padres, Dodgers and Rockies all seem to be improved. That’s significant because the Giants play almost half their 162-game schedule within the division.

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Pitch Count: Good Or Bad?
by Glenn Dickey
Jul 05, 2006

FEW THINGS seem to rile long-time baseball fans more than the pitch count fetish in baseball. Many of us recall episodes from the past, such as Juan Marichal throwing in excess of 200 pitches in the epic 16-inning, 1-0 win over Warren Spahn. So, what’s happened since then? I see a couple of things:

1) Expectations have changed. In Marichal’s day, good pitchers were expected to throw complete games. Marichal actually had one more complete game than victories in his career, throwing as many as 30 in a season. That was because he knew how to pitch, conserving his energy as he went through the lineup, going for ground ball outs rather than strikeouts, saving his best fastball for the times when he needed it most.

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