This Week Inside Baseball and Right Off The Bat
This Thursday I will broadcast Inside Baseball from Phoenix Muni beginning at 6PM Pacific on 1550 AM around the Bay Area.
Rick Hurd national baseball writer from the Contra Costa Times will be with me.
On Saturday Right Off The Bat returns for its ninth season.
First show will be at 10:30 AM Pacific on 1550 AM.
Right Off the Bat will be on before every A’s radio game this spring 90 minutes before first pitch.
I’ll look forward to comments and maybe we’ll have time for some phone calls during the pregames from Arizona.
Marty
0 comments
Bring it on!! It’s baseball 2006.
Jerry Feitelberg
Marty,
I have very high expectations for the A’s with my primary concerns being health at a few key positions and Jason Kendall. The A’s are very deep in the starting rotation and bullpen. More than any other team in the major leagues, the A’s are equipped to survive a major injury or two on the pitching staff. They need to keep Crosby, Bradley and Kotsay off the disabled list. I would expect Frank Thomas to start the season on the disabled list and not be rushed back. It wouldn’t bother me if he doesn’t join the lineup until June.
Macha needs to give his players regular time off. He has resisted doing this with Crosby but he really needs to keep him fresh over the course of the season. Crosby should get a day off at least every other week.
Jason Kendall lost all of his power when he had thumb surgery a few years ago. He has been in steep decline for over three seasons. Melhuse needs a greater share of the catching duties. Of the five men in the starting rotation, Melhuse should catch at least two of them. Ideally, one of the A’s numerous catching prospects will shoot through the minors quickly so Kendall can be dealt to a team looking for “veteran presence” behind the plate.
Assuming the lineup remains healthy, it looks strong and the bench has several good role players who can fill in for a week or two without a huge drop off. I think if Kotsay and Bradley both spend a lot of time on the disabled list, it could be a tight race with the Angels. If they both remain healthy and play up to their abilities, along with Bobby Crosby, the A’s have a chance to dominate the American League. The Yankees and Red Sox are getting very old and top heavy. Both teams appear close to collapsing under their own weight. They have dealt nearly all of their prospects and their rosters are filled with old, expensive veterans whom non-contending teams will not be willing to accept in a trade. If a team can’t develop it’s own star players or prospects as trade bait, it eventually paints itself into a corner. Witness the Yankees of the Don Mattingly era. I think the A’s match up very well with the White Sox. This could be the perfect time for the A’s to put all the pieces together.
One last item, I think Jay Payton needs a new home. Actually, he needed to traded before Frank Thomas was signed. If he were more of a team player instead of a “me” player, he would be a great fourth outfielder. We know he can be a big distraction if he feels he isn’t playing enough. With a healthy A’s roster, he shouldn’t get any more than 350 at bats. There are several teams in need of help in centerfield and I wish Billy Beane had dealt Payton before he started running his mouth and diminishing his trade value. He may have been able to get a good minor league prospect for him earlier. Now it will be difficult. All it took was an injured relief pitcher to get Payton last year and if he pisses in the A’s soup, Beane may not be able to expect much more than that by the end of spring training. One thing I’m certain of — the A’s cannot afford to pay $4,000,000.00 to a disruptive part-time outfielder. Payton played over his head after the A’s obtained him last year. Compare his A’s stats with his non-Denver career stats and you’ll see he’s not the player who wore green & gold last year. I guess we could call him the second coming of John Mabry. Beane was wise not to fall in love with Mabry. He must now avoid the same potential trap with Payton.
Mark Murphy
Marty:
Why not 9:30 AM? Let’s get it on! It’s been a long winter.
Joe
Is it me or does it seem extremeley hard to believe that Miguel Cabrera, one of the best young hitters in the game, just signed a contract for 472K? I actually think ESPN might have been playing a trick on me with this.
I’ve never seen something like this. Seriously. I don’t know why a player of that caliber and all the people in his camp would agree to this. Thats less than William McGillicudy makes.
Don’t know who that is?
No?
Don’t feel bad. Neither does anybody else.
He’s in charge of putting the tips on the players’ shoe laces.
–Ned
Cabrera isn’t arbitration eligible Ned, once he is he will say good bye to the Marlins.
How about Lucy McGillicuddy?
Joe Kennedy and Saarloos looked good today.Zambrano was lights out for the Cubs.
Marty
what about AM 1220 for us southbay types?
what about AM 1220 for us southbay types?
I’ve been in touch with 1220 and it looks like they will carry Right Off The Bat and Inside Baseball as their schedule permits which is fine with me.
6PM starts during the week, Saturdays should be OK, some Sundays early games may be a problem, but I’m OK with the arrangement, who knows next year they might have the whole package if they upgrade their signal to 50,000 watts.
We’ll try to put ssome ROB’s on the website from spring training too.
Marty
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