http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/ STOP CASTING POROSITY! An Oakland Athletics blog. en-us Wed, 4 Feb 2009 02:21:00 PST Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST support2007@baseballtoaster.com 60 http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1182040.html Ken Arneson confronts his white whale in the final blog entry on BaseballToaster.com. "Load the harpoons, gentlemen, it is showdown time. Today, my adventure as a baseball blogger ends. I'm going down, and I'm taking Moby Dick with me." http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1182040.html Wed, 4 Feb 2009 02:21:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1204907.html I've told Wuertz jokes than this one. Fear not, there's only one blog post left on Catfish Stew. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1204907.html Mon, 2 Feb 2009 16:44:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1197458.html The setup is to see Rickey sized up by the choir invisible hand have really worried. Walks off the teams, get the best hitter, Rickey stole second straight Outta Town. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1197458.html Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:46:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1195012.html Ken Rosenthal says the deal is done, pending a physical. Buster Olney says it's for $4 million in 2009, with an option for $6.5M in 2010, or a $1.25M buyout. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1195012.html Tue, 6 Jan 2009 14:33:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1191909.html Rickey Henderson reaches another milestone today. Next milestone: election to the Hall of Fame. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1191909.html Thu, 25 Dec 2008 08:22:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1188706.html First, I confess I am writing this post mostly to tease Jon for his wishy-washy-ness. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1188706.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:29:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1179559.html Actor Jeff Bridges has the story. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1179559.html Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:59:14 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1175387.html Today, Billy Beane officially traded three lemons for an overripe, spotted banana. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1175387.html Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:22:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1174537.html So Matt Holliday may or may not be an Athletic. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1174537.html Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:54:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1164969.html Mark Ellis will be back, according to ESPN. It's a 2-year deal, with a team option for a third, at about 5 to 6 million/year. That sounds fair to me. It doesn't block their best 2B prospects, Jemile Weeks and Adrian Cardenas, who are both a couple years from being ready. With the youth movement, the vast majority of the team will hold pre-arbitration salaries, so there's plenty of room in the budget for this modest salary. Assuming Ellis fully recovers from his minor shoulder surgery and stays somewhat healthy, this is a good deal. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1164969.html Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:57:08 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1144253.html Confession time: Your correspondent did not expect the A's to be very good this year. In those heady days of spring training, when all teams start out 0-0 and everyone is mathematically alive, I looked at the 2008 handiwork of Billy Beane and saw 95 losses, a last-place finish, and 1979-sized crowds dotting the Coliseum's many available seats. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1144253.html Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:04:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1133586.html There's something funny about these two consecutive pictures I took today, one minute apart. There's a setup and a punchline, but I can't figure out the middle. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1133586.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:35:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1132469.html Your single-season saves record-holder Francisco Rodriguez -- and hey, that distinction worked out well for Bobby Thigpen, didn't it? -- likes to celebrate each of his saves with an elaborate dance as if he's never closed out a game before. I may have mentioned my dislike of this practice once or twice or possibly every time he does it, which would be roughly a jillion times. I am not alone in my disdain. This item from the San Francisco Chronicle suggests that the Athletics, while respectful of K-Rod's accomplishments, find his theatrical prancing to be... let us say "distasteful." I would not go so far as to suggest that they wouldn't be the least bit sad to see Francisco Rodriguez get run over by a stray AC Transit bus mid-celebration. That is my wish, not theirs. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1132469.html Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:29:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1127210.html All the players I like are now gone. Rich Harden was traded. Justin Duchscherer is probably lost for the year. Eric Chavez is out for the season, and may never grace the hot corner again. Frank Thomas is out for the season, and may never play again. Mark Ellis is out for the season, and may never return to Oakland. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1127210.html Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:47:01 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1116212.html When your team is in the process of completing a 10-20 August run, you look for entertainment wherever you can find it, since it's certainly not located on the field of play. So it was with some relief that I spotted the following in the Chronicle's write-up of the A's 10th and final win in the month of August over the weekend: http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1116212.html Mon, 1 Sep 2008 17:24:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1115144.html One of the nice things about living where I do is that I can step outside my front door, walk approximately a half-mile to the southwest, hang a sharp left, and I've got an excellent view of the Coliseum from across the San Leandro Bay. This view comes in particularly handy when the A's decide to shoot off some fireworks. So that's four nights of free entertainment for each of team's in-season Pyro-Spectaculars... at least until the A's perfect the Molecular Disruption Ray that only lets paying customers watch the fireworks. Really, it's the next logical step after you've tarped off the upper deck. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1115144.html Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:59:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104377.html The A's had two of the biggest coups in the draft, according to Jim Callis at Baseball America. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104377.html Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:18:49 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104370.html Trevor Cahill will start against Japan on Wednesday (4am PT). The game is meaningless to the US medal chances, as they have already qualified for the semifinals. But it should be interesting to see how Cahill does against a quality team like Japan. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104370.html Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:11:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104361.html ShysterBall has a conversation about the worst seats you ever had at a ballgame. Here's my contribution: http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104361.html Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:03:09 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104134.html The A's have been awful in August, but they've also had a pretty tough schedule. The only sub-.500 team they've played this month is Detroit, who aren't exactly patsies themselves. By contrast, they'll only play three games in September against a team (the Angels) currently above .500. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104134.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:54:18 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104105.html Uh, oh. Justin Duchscherer has injured his hip. I'm assuming it's the hip he had surgery on last year. Bad news, for two reasons: one, I like the guy and want him to succeed. Two, a recurrence to an old injury hurts his trade value a lot. If I guy injures something and then gets it fixed, that's fine, but if he injures it twice, he'll probably injure it three times. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1104105.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:30:44 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1101838.html The A's signed Brett Hunter, their seventh-round pick out of Pepperdine, just before yesterday's signing deadline. Hunter is a top-two-round talent who fell because of injury concerns. But he spent the summer pitching for a collegiate all-star team, and pitched well enough to convince the A's he was healthy enough to play. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1101838.html Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:40:25 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1101833.html Brett Anderson started for the US against Canada, and yielded four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. But like Trevor Cahill the day before, Anderson ended up with a no-decision. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1101833.html Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:38:18 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1100584.html Trevor Cahill was the starting pitcher for the US in today's Olympic ballgame against Cuba. He got a no decision, pitching five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and four walks, striking out three. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1100584.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:45:49 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1099870.html I witnessed an end of an era today: Brad Ziegler's consecutive scoreless innings streak ended at 39 and whatever innings. Ziegler didn't have good stuff today: the Rays hit several balls hard in the previous inning, but they were caught at the warning track. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1099870.html Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:47:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1097520.html Another tidbit I noticed that I didn't include in my wrap up of last night's game: Brad Ziegler throws his first two warmup pitches on the mound using his old overhand motion before he switches to the sidearm delivery. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1097520.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:53:22 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1097515.html Help! The sanctity of my home has been violated by Albert Pujols! Won't anyone think of the children? http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1097515.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:39:02 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1097495.html I had plenty more important things to do, but when my brother-in-law called this afternoon and said he had seats he couldn't use right behind home plate, I thought, hmm...Gio's Oakland debut, Pennington's first game, could be interesting. OK, I'll go. Here's the wide angle view of the seats I had: http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1097495.html Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:41:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1096403.html Cliff Pennington has been called up to be the A's new third baseman, replacing the severly slumping Jack Hannahan at 3B. Pennington doesn't have much power--he profiles more as a shortstop offensively--but anything would be better than Hannahan at this point. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1096403.html Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:14:44 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1096341.html David Laurila at BP Radio has interviews with Jerry Blevins, Ray Fosse and Justin Duchscherer (mp3). If you're a serious A's fan, you can probably skip the Fosse interview--you've probably heard him say the same things a hundred gazillion times before, but I enjoyed hearing Blevins and Duchscherer. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1096341.html Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:28:25 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095431.html Melissa Lockard takes a look at Dan Meyer's future. Money quote: Meyer's biggest mechanical flaw, according to A's minor league pitching coordinator Gil Patterson (who I spoke on Saturday morning with about Meyer for Scout.com), is that he has a tendency to fail to finish some of his pitches, which causes the pitches to stay up in the strike-zone. We saw that on Saturday night on the three homeruns. However, when Meyer was finishing his pitches, his stuff was very difficult for the Tigers' hitters to handle. He got a lot of groundballs and was able to keep the hitters off-balance, for the most part. In addition, he worked at a much better pace than he did last season and generally looked a lot more confident on the mound. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095431.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:31:49 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095334.html The Mark Ellis trade market has suddenly picked up after couple of key broken bones to contenders. The Diamondbacks recently lost Orlando Hudson for the year, and today, Evan Longoria went down with essentially the same injury: a broken bone from a hit-by-pitch. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095334.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:58:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095175.html You think steroid king Barry Bonds is a cancer to the sport? He's got nothing on Zog Larson, who may be in a major league uniform sooner than you think. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095175.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:49:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095091.html Ex-A's report: Bobby Kielty, recently released by the Red Sox, has signed a minor-league deal with the Twins. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1095091.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:21:38 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094932.html Chris Carter (1B/3B/OF-Stockton) and Aaron Cunningham (OF-Sacramento) both make Kevin Goldstein's Monday Ten Pack ($) at Baseball Prospectus. Goldstein notes that the A's are moving Carter around trying to find a position for him to settle at, and Cunningham will likely challenge for a big-league job next spring. Cunningham's task shouldn't be too hard, considering two outfield roster spots are currently held by Emil (.289 OBP) Brown, and Rajai (.259 OBP) Davis. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094932.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:11:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094703.html Difference between the Dodgers front office, and the Athletics front office, in a nutshell: http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094703.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:39:28 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094697.html I'm glad Huston Street has some perspective on his recent slump: http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094697.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:17:43 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094681.html Breaking news from the San Francisco Chronicle: Going 3-21 is no fun. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094681.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:16:41 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094452.html Don't ignore the Never-Heard-Of Guy: I didn't like the Rich Harden trade at first glance, because in return for Harden and Chad Gaudin, the A's got three players I'm not too excited about, and another guy I had never heard of. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1094452.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:26:00 PST http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1093507.html Interesting interview with Brad Ziegler by BP's David Laurila. http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1093507.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:54:58 PST