With spring training coming to an end it is time to look at some of my observations going into the season opener on Sunday night.

The A’s and the Giants both had good springs in that there were no major injuries, the new players seem to be fitting into their teams and the returning veterans are ready to play.

So, how will it turn out. Click read more and I’ll tell you my picks. [Read more →]

This week the final rosters of major league teams will be settled. I always like to watch the box scores the last week of spring training because now you really get to see what is on the mind of the various general managers.

The Giants have to decide what to do with Livan Hernandez and Robb Nen.

The A’s need to maker another statement about Miguel Tejada, eat some crow for the PR gaffe last week, and let the fans know that the club is open to being creative with the MVP shortstop.

Let me explain. [Read more →]

Now we are heading into the last week of spring training, it’s time to take a closer look at the teams.

With the season only a week or so away, some AL West teams still have question marks.

Ill tell you what I think below. [Read more →]

The 2003 major league season officially gets underway on Thursday when the first exhibition games are played in Arizona and Florida.

Having observed baseball for a long time, I have some thoughts on the value of the performances you will see coming from the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues.

Also, the new procedure for inducting worthy former players and executives into the Hall of Fame got off to a terrible start Wednesday when the pompous Hall of Famers couldn’t find anyone worthy of joining their private club.

More on both of these topics below. [Read more →]

If you have been anywhere near the Bay Area the past week, the most debated baseball topic has been the public request by Hall of Famer to be Rickey Henderson that he be allowed to play his final season (I guess he means 2003) with his home town Oakland A’s.

His request has fallen upon deaf ears within the A’s hierarchy. Not surprising, because Rickey has been here before, most recently in 1998, and his skills had dropped so noticeably that Billy Beane let him go at season’s end with hardly a handshake good bye.

Now, it’s 2003, the team has been in the playoffs three consecutive years without advancing beyond the first round.

Rickey is still playing. Can Rickey help this team achieve its goal of a World Series appearance?

Click “Read more” and I’ll tell you my opinion. [Read more →]

Money, money, money that is the word that drives 95% of the transactions the Athletics make. Billy Koch showed that he could lead a bull pen that won the AL West, his upside is tremendous, he had just scratched the surface of big time closing, but he is sent packing to the White Sox.

Why?

Click “read More.” [Read more →]

Baseball fans never get a day off from following and speculating about their favorite teams.

The last two weeks have been something to watch. More is expected, but let’s see what has transpired so far.

The A’s continued their march towards creating a budget that will be one of the lowest in baseball when they dispatched Cory Lidle, one of their few marketable players, to Billy Beane’s best friend and adviser on life affairs, Toronto’s JP Riccardi, for a bucket of balls and two broken bats.

Talk about a one sided deal, this one makes the Ted Lilly deal look like one of the best of the century, any century.

Click “read more” for more views on the game. [Read more →]

I know I wrote the story over one month ago, but it is hard to believe that the Bay Area has lost both Art Howe and Dusty Baker.

Both franchises will soon learn that it isn’t that easy to manage successfully in the big leagues. Baker and Howe both learned through many tough ball games what it takes to be a winner in the dugout.

So, now we have Eric Musselman, Bill Callahan, Ken Macha, Buddy Teevans, and Jeff Tedford as skippers in Northern California.

We lost Baker, Howe, Jon Gruden and Tyrone Willingham for truthfully no valid reason.

Rich club owners are not used to hearing the word “No” from any employee and Dusty Baker made it quite clear to everyone within fifty miles of him that he was not interested in coming back. Peter Magowan never took Baker’s threat of departure seriously.

The Giants now will look for a replacement.

Click Below for more. [Read more →]

The 2002 baseball season came to a close Sunday night in Anaheim. The World Series effectively ended Saturday night when the Angels came back to win game six, 6-5.

Going into the Giants clubhouse after the game, the players all put up a brave front saying that the late inning loss wouldn’t carry over to Sunday night.

They were wrong. The Giants came out flat, notwithstanding the poor pitching by Livan Hernandez, the team didn’t hit at all and barely resembled the machine that scored 16 runs on Thursday night.

Saturday night’s comeback win was one of the top ten games I’ve ever seen and definitely made me feel what a world series really was .

Now, the A’s have a new manager, Ken Macha, and the Giants will probably have a new boss next week.

Click “read more” for some baseball talk. [Read more →]

Game Six is the third critical game in a seven game series. Already we have seen the Angels win game two in Anaheim evening the series at one game each.

Next, The Giants won the second critical game, winning game four, evening the series at two games each.

Now, the Angels try to even the series at three each, forcing a game seven.

The sixth game is a beautiful game to watch in any series. If the trailing team in the series wins the game, then the ultimate takes place, one baseball game for the championship, game seven.

If the series ends after six games, a sudden chill permeates the air as we realize baseball is gone until the flowers bloom and the sun shines brightly over head next spring.

Let’s take a look a some of my favorite game six stars from past World Series games and figure out what will happen this year. [Read more →]