Look who the Orioles picked? Bet Santana is Pissed!

Today, as I predicted would happen in a previous post! That the Orioles would and indeed they did forfeit their first round, 17th overall draft pick. But the question then was "Will it be Santana or Jimenez? Well today we got our answer. Ubaldo Jimenez whose been on the free-agent market for wuite some time now has signed with the Orioles for four years and $50 million.

Jimenez
(Getty Images)

The Orioles were really in desperate need of a proven 5th starter. Even after signing Suk-min Yoon, there is no guarantee that he will produce in the majors even with his spotless 24-0 record last season with the Kia Tigers in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).

The Orioles kind of alienated themselves from AJ Burnett by cancelling contracts and sparking bad blood with former Oakland Athletics' closer Grant Balfour and  OF Tyler Colvin. They lost out on Arroyo to the Diamondbacks who would have been better for them than both Burnett and Jimenez who have draft picks tied to them while Burnett did not. Jimenez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 32 starts for Cleveland last season. He turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Indians, so Baltimore would have to forfeit its first-round draft pick to sign him.

As I blogged a few days ago it was time that the O's finally gave in and gave up that draft pick. They were out of options otherwise unless they signed Santana or Jimenez. They ultimately went with Jimenez ... It will be interesting to see where Santana will end up and who still needs a starter and is willing to give up their best draft pick ... my point in this blog was to talk about Jimenez! But I'm kinda off onto topic number #2 ....

Are free-agents who turn down a qualifying offer from their current team really truly free if they have a draft pick attached to their name??

I'd say hello no! But I will get to that in second. I mean yes, the Tanaka signing basically held everything in stasis for the entire month of January which I found disgusting and unfair! Then to be the last pitchers left because you are controlled by a draft pick and no one wants you? To me that means that even if you have played long enough and finally become a free agent but because you couldn't decide you have to feel dragged down. Because while you can blame Tanaka for January, both Ubaldo and Santana should have been signed by now ... I guess Mr. Jimenez has now. 

Ervin Santana
 (Image courtesy of Jaime Squire/Getty Images)

The Orioles needed a closer and a starter and probably would have done better without being overly picky about team physical. I would bet - if I actually had any money - that Grant Balfour has a great year for the Tampa Bay Rays. I don't know too much about Colvin except that he too got screwed by the Orioles over a physical. I personally think that the Orioles need to loosen the reins a bit and chill out or they wouldn't have had to spend $50 million and a first round draft pick to get Jimenez ... if he has a Cy Young year then he may be worth it but who sees that in the stars right now?

The question as of this moment is what teams is desperate for a starter and which teams are brave enough to give up that first round pick?? And how would you feel if you were Santana? Is there anyone in the hunt left for a starter?? Betcha he didnt think that it would be like this come mid February!! Can't wait to find out!!

A's Update: Cook and Doolittle Both Delayed by Injury!!

Ryan Cook
Getty Images

It is definitely a good thing that the Oakland Athletics beefed up their bullpen with strength and depth this off season. Even with the loss of closer Grant Balfour to free agency, the A's were able to bring in some very capable relief pitchers in Luke Gregerson, Jim Johnson and Eric O'Flaherty. O'Flaherty who is coming off of Tommy John surgery, will not be ready until May at the earliest but should still be a huge help to the Athletics after today's disturbing news.

It was announced Friday, via Jane Lee on Twitter, that both of the A's main set up men, Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle, are already dealing with injuries,

@JaneMLB Cook will be a couple weeks behind. He's been dealing with shoulder inflammation. Melvin thinks he will be ready by OD.

@JaneMLB Doolittle also dealing with a setback. He has a right calf strain that will hold him back from throwing for a few days.

Ryan Cook's injury is more of a concern than Doolittle's since it involves the arm but seeing that as of now it is only inflammation there is a strong chance of recovery before the season opens.  Cook, 26, has a 2.30 ERA with the Athletics since coming over from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Trevor Cahill deal. In 2o13 with Oakland the right-hander was had a 2.54 ERA in 67 1/3 innings pitched.

Sean showing his classic move dubbed by fans as "Doolittling"
Doug Pensinger/Getty

The left-hander Doolittle, 27, had a 3.13 ERA in 2013 in 69 innings with the Athletics last season. Since being called up in early 2012, the former first baseman turned pitcher, has a 3.09 ERA and 9.3K/9 in 116 1/3 total innings.

Thankfully for the Oakland Athletics, their bullpen and their concerned fans it appears that both pitchers will be ready for Opening Day. It will also be a good time to test the bullpen's new depth, during Spring Training and not during the regular season. If for some reason the pair are not ready for Opening Day the A's stellar relief staff, considered by many to be the best in baseball, should be able to hold down the fort until Cook and Doolittle are healthy again.

For More News From Around the League Check Out MLB Nation

Pitcher Yoon and Orioles agree on Contract ...

..."Pending Physical." Could this spell disaster for the Orioles?

On the surface, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli, it appears that Korean pitcher Suk-Min Yoon and the Orioles have agreed, tentatively, to a three year, $5.75 million contract. Yet the Orioles haven't said much regarding the deal because ... wait for it ... it depends upon Yoon passing a physical.

The ball club is understandably keeping relatively quiet regarding the deal, most likely waiting for the completion of the physical.  With the drama that the Orioles have already been through this off season, "pending a physical" could easily mean deal or no deal.

The Orioles have had very public spectacles over physicals this off season. The first with closer Grant Balfour whose two year, $15 million contract seemed all but a done deal that is until the physical. Although the All-Star closer insisted that he was healthy and that his shoulder was just fine, Balfour's physical revealed issues surrounding his knees and wrists. The deal was promptly dropped by Baltimore and Balfour had to find another team with which to sign. The Aussie was not a very happy camper after this deal fell through telling the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser that Orioles general manager, Dan Duquette, did not treat him with "respect" and that the Orioles had just "lost their best chance at winning." Balfour went on to sign a two year, $12 million contract with one of his former teams, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Another public extravaganza surrounding an Orioles reportedly done deal, pending a physical, involved outfielder Tyler Colvin. The deal was reported to be a guarenteed Major League Baseball contract but it was reduced to only a minor league contract, to which Colvin would not agree, after a physical revealed issues with Colvin's back. He did not accept the minor league deal and is still a free-agent. Rumors reveal that there is a chance he could accept the Orioles minor league deal as a fall back if he is unable to sign a MLB deal with another club. Regardless of what happens to Colvin, it was just another public situation, revolving around a physical, that the put the Orioles in the spotlight.

While most every MLB team requires a physical when signing new players, this has seemingly been a problem in Baltimore. It has created negative press for the Orioles and so it is not surprising that they have not made any big, official announcements regarding adding Yoon to their starting rotation.

It makes sense for the Orioles, who have been looking for another starting pitcher, to go after Yoon especially after free agent pitcher AJ Burnett signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Yoon, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez are the main free agent pitchers left on the market. Plus, Santana and Jimenez will not only expect large contracts, the team that signs them will also have to give up a draft pick to either the Kansas City Royals, for Santana, or the Cleveland Indians, for Jimenez, in order to complete the deal. Both Santana and Jimenez rejected their former teams' offers of $14.1 million at the end of last season, thus tying themselves to one of the teams' draft picks. With Yoon the Orioles will not have that issue.

Yoon, 27, has been a consistent pitcher in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) and is hoping to make the jump to MLB with the same success as his countryman, Hyun-jin Ryu has done with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last season with the Dodgers Ryu was 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA. Yoon had breakout year in 2011 in the KBO Yoon going 17-5 with a superb 2.45 ERA in 172.1 innings pitched to go along with 178 strikeouts. 2012 wasn't as spectacular in 2012 but still managed to put up strong numbers and in 2013 Yoon had a shoulder issue that kept him to playing in only 30 games for his KBO team, the Kia Tigers. Once recovered the Tigers asked Yoon to close games instead of starting them and the Korean hurler ended up with seven saves by the end of the season. The now supposedly healthy Yoon could be an excellent addition to the Orioles, being the much needed starter or even the closer for the club. Baltimore has been actively looking for both this winter.

Although Yoon has deemed himself healthy and proved it at the end of his 2013 season in Korea, it is possible that he may fail his physical. Anything is possible but according to CBS' Jon Heyman's sources it is unlikely. Fortunately for the Baltimore Orioles it looks like the the third time might just be the charm.

For More on Yoon and the Orioles Check Out Sports Unbiased - Your Alternative Source for Sports

Is Fernando Rodney the Last Hope for the Orioles, Mets? Who Will Win Out?

**IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON YOUR MOBILE & CANNOT SEE IT - TRY SWITCHING TO "VIEW ON WEB" OR "WEB VIEW" & YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT!** (Sorry about that)

With pitchers and catchers set to report to Spring Training in just weeks, there are still teams in need of key players and the free agent pool is getting smaller by the day. The Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets have this problem and both need to fill the same key role. They need a late-inning reliever, preferably an experienced closer.

Grant Balfour

The Orioles traded their closer Jim Johnson to Oakland then proceeded to blow off a what seemed like done-deal with former Oakland closer Grant Balfour due to medical concerns about his wrist and knee. The Mets, who have basically ignored their bullpen needs this off-season, seemed to have suddenly remembered that their closer, Bobby Parnell, is coming off of neck surgery and may be a liability in the closer role. With just a group of youngsters to back up Parnell, it seems they need a

Fernando Rodney

plan “B” as well.

For more and to find out how Fernando Rodney fits in this situation go to Sports Unbiased! - Your Site for all Sports, News, Polls and Predictions!

Garza Signs 4- year Deal with Brewers

Dominoes Start to Fall; Brewers Sign Garza to 4 Year Deal

28-year-old right-hander Matt Garza is the first domino to fall after the Tanaka signing. Everyone’s been ready for it to start happening and happening quickly as the free-agent pitchers need homes and all the teams waiting out to see if they would get Tanaka are now scrambling to get their starting rotations in order.

Honestly, the Brewers were a huge surprise in the Garza signing as they were not in the race to sign the Japanese phenom and were until today the only big league club to have yet to sign a free agent. So Garza has agreed now to a four-year, $52-million deal, pending a physical. It  is a good fit for them though to bolster their rotation. Garza started 24 games for the Texas Rangers last season and posted a 3.82 ERA.

With those numbers though do come concerns about his health. He’s had trouble the last few seasons battling a rib cage strain in 2013 and elbow issues in 2011-2012. But the physical should answer any questions there. But there are still the questions of his temper and sometimes erratic behavior. A quick and poignant example would be the tirade Garza took to on Twitter after Oakland Athletics’ second baseman Eric Sogard bunted in a run. He openly disrespected and violated the privacy of not only Sogard but of Sogard’s pregnant wife Kaycee making Garza look at best, a bit unstable. But the key factor is that they guy can pitch, period. And that is what the Brewers need.

Garza was in Milwaukee Thursday apparently to take a physical and when the contract is confirmed by the club, he will become only the fourth pitcher in Brewers history signed for at least four years. The others were Jeff Suppan, Yovani Gallardo and Ben Sheets.

Garza will join the Brewers expected starting rotation of Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta,Marco Estrada and Tyler Thornburg. Thornburg is likely going to be the depth in the rotation, ending up in a relief role as he is relatively new and unproven. Gallardo is entering the final year of his contract in Milwaukee and with the addition of Garza could be used as trade bait.

Garza started out his career being drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Twins in 2005 and made the big league club by 2006 after the departure of Lohse to the Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2007 where he was highly successful in the tough American League East Division. In 2008 he was named MVP of the American League Championship Series and in 2010 he threw a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers.

Garza is a surprising yet good addition to the Brewers. In his 3 seasons in the National League with the Chicago Cubs he went 21-18 with a 3.45 ERA. Overall in his career which includes last season with the Texas Rangers, Garza, is 67-67 with a 3.84 ERA. Hopefully for the Brewers this surprising turn of events will be beneficial as long as Garza stays healthy and off of Twitter. 

For more news check out MLB Nation

Balfour to Sign with Tampa Bay Rays

Is the " Grant Balfour Saga" Finally Over? Can the All-Star closer RAGE again? 

Fortunately for the former Oakland Athletic it appears the answer is yes! After first being rejected by the Orioles for medical reasons and just last week being in talks the Washington Nationals to possibly become their eighth-inning set up man, it was announced today that the Tampa Bay Rays are most likely the team that Balfour will end up with and he will not have to take a set up role. He will be able to pitch the inning he loves. Balfour is a closer through and through and he loves to RAGE in the ninth! According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal the contract with the Rays is for two years and $12 million, only $3 million less than his potential contract was going to be with the Baltimore Orioles.

Read more at Sports Unbiased - your site for all Sports News, Polls and Predictions

Nats Interested in Balfour; Overbay inks Minor League Deal with Brewers

Nationals Interested in Balfour

Free agent closer Grant Balfour may have finally found a home with the Washington Nationals — or at least they have expressed their interest, according to a source at  MLB.com. Balfour was an All-Star closer for the Oakland Athletics last season. Unfortunately for Balfour, the Nationals have had their closer,Rafael Soriano, signed to a two-year, $28-million contract since January 2013. If Balfour ultimately makes a deal with Washington, he would have to pitch in the set-up role. 

After leaving the A’s via free-agency this off-season, both Balfour and the Baltimore Orioles expected him to be their new closer. But after a physical on Balfour, the Orioles rescinded their offer of $15 million for two years because of issues with his wrist and knees, though it was first reported that it may have been his throwing shoulder. Balfour was unhappy about this and voiced his opinion to the media. He made a statement to The San Francisco Chronicles’ Susan Slusser who tweeted,

Balfour told me he told (Orioles’ executive vice president Dan) Duquette that he deserves to be treated w/ respect and he was not & #Orioles just lost their best chance at winning.

He is also quoted by Slusser as saying,

I am 100 percent fine. I am the All-Star pitcher I was last season. My shoulder is fine. Everything’s fine. I’m ready to come out there in the ninth inning, do what I do.

Last season with the Athletics, Balfour, 36, acquired 38 saves in 65 games and posted a 2.59 ERA. He also beat Oakland’s record, previously held by Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley, for consecutive saves.

As of today, the Nationals’ roster is at the 40-man limit, so if they were to sign Balfour, someone would have to be traded or designated for assignment. According to a baseball source that could be reliever,Drew Storen. Storen struggled towards the end of the 2012 season for Washington and in the National League Division Series that year. He lost his job as closer in 2013 when Soriano was signed. During the 2013 season, his struggles continued to mount and he was eventually sent back to Triple-A Syracuse but did finish the season with the Nationals.

As the Nationals are in the process of fine tuning their roster before Spring Training and Grant Balfour is still available and looking for a place to play in 2014, this might just be the right match.

Read more on MLB Nation - delivering the latest news, insights, and analysis from around the league.

Overbay Inks Minor League Deal with Brewers

Even quite a few other options available to play first base in 2014, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Lyle Overbay to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The signing was announced on Twitter earlier today by the team’s official account.

This comes as a bit of a shock as just last week they also signed Mark Reynolds to a minor league contract complete with an invite. Not to mention the fact that there will be three other players, Juan Francisco, Sean Halton and Hunter Morris, also competing for a spot at the big league level.

Overbay, 36, has played with a number of teams in his career including the Brewers. In his two seasons with Milwaukee, Overbay hit.289 with 35 homers and 87 doubles, setting a club record in his first year with 53 doubles.  He spent last season with the New York Yankees appearing in 142 games and hitting .240 with 14 home runs and 59 RBI.

After first breaking into the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Overbay was traded to the Brewers in 2003 and became their starting first baseman in 2004 and 2005. He was then traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where he spent five seasons after which he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent in 2010. Since then he has played with the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox and the Yankees and has been released three times.

OverBay, who turns 37 this week, has played in 1,446 games over his thirteen-year career hitting .267 with 342 doubles, 147 home runs and 640 RBI.

Read More on MLB Nation - delivering the latest news, insights, and analysis from around the league.

Bye, Bye Balfour Rage ....

We all knew it was coming. We all dreaded the thought but today it became official. Former Oakland Athletics' closer Grant Balfour is now a Baltimore Oriole. We took their closer, Jim Johnson, for infielder Jemile Weeks (yeah, big loss there ... *hopefully obvious sarcasm*) and catcher David Frietas. That's a pretty good deal in my opinion! Just a quick switcharoo!

But the question begs, why Johnson and not Balfour?

Johnson is set to make $11 million in 2014. Balfour signed with the Orioles for 2 years and $15 million. The A's could have afforded to keep Balfour. Rumor has it though the All-Star closer wanted a three year deal when in talks with Oakland. Being that Balfour is 35, that is a large contract to ask for and it's not likely that the A's were offering any more than a year. Even after coming off a career and All Star caliber year in which he surpassed Hall of Famer, Dennis Eckersley to become Oakland's consecutive save leader with 44 straight, it's not the Athletics' usual method of operation to offer guarentees. That is why they lost out to the San Francisco Giants in their attempt to acquire starting pitcher, Tim Hudson, they offered two years and $23 million just like the Giants but the Athletics' organization likes options and refused to grant Hudson the no trade clause that he wanted.

Johnson on the other hand is 30, coming off back to back 50 save seasons and is going to be a free agent in 2015. This gives the Athletics youth and flexibility. It's certainly no secret that the Athletics are all about flexibility. Just look at the bench and bullpen depth and Manager Bob Melvin's style of changing things up. It appears to be a good fit and the right choice for Oakland,

However the fan's adoration of Balfour could have been a reason to keep him. Absolutely a fan favorite Balfour inspired, fan Will MacNeil, of the infamous Oakland Right Field Bleacher Crew to create the "Balfour Rage". 

The Rage truly took on a life of it's own when Balfour entered the game. It began in the bleachers and became contagious to the crowd. Fans began to follow MacNeil's lead, wearing gigantic "Hulk Fists" and thrashing and swinging their arms in the air! The bleachers alone turned into a mosh pit. 

The stadium would go dark the music would start, a video of Balfour, who was recently named "The Biggest Potty Mouth" in baseball by ESPN because of his crazy swearing fits on the mound, played on the screen. San Francisco Chronicle's beat writer and President of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA), Susan Slusser, tweeted Balfour's response:

@SusanSlusser on Twitter : I asked Grant Balfour how he feels about being named "The Biggest Potty Mouth" in baseball and he said, "I don't give a (bleep)." #Athletics

 Everyone was metal for that moment where he confidently strolled to the mound with Metallica's "One" blasting across the O.Co Coliseum. All the fans raising and pumping their "Hulk Fists" like crazy kids at a rock concert, truly was a virtual mosh pit! I personally got to participate in the front row of the right field bleachers courtesy of Mr. MacNeil! It was exhilarating to say the least. To be honest it was pretty A-mAzing!! Wow! 

We also got our head banging on for set up man Sean Doolittle who's walk up song, "For whom the Bell Tolls," is also by Metallica. So I think that the fans need to take solace that while Blevins and Balfour are gone we can still rock our heads around for Doolittle. Known as "Doo" to most fans, he also inspired the phenomenon of "Doolittling" (see the pic below). 

"Doolitting" in my condo watching the ALDS!

So to all the A's fans out there ... well we are gonna have to figure out what to do with the Foo Fighter's "The Pretender" and welcome Johnson with open arms. There is always something special about a closer to find be it their potty mouth or walk up song, it's always something special. 

"The Sandman," icon Mariano Rivera will always be thought of when Metallica's "Enter Sandman" is played (even on his final day to play baseball the trending Twitter hashtag was #ExitSandman). 

Balfour and his Aussie Swear Jar should be a big hit in Baltimore. I hope Johnson has the personality to be an Oakland Athletic. As fans we look for that and embrace it. Until we get to know Johnson's personality, I am hoping that Doolitting and head banging as usual to Metallica will hold us over. But you never know.

Jim Johnson might just be able to capture our hearts they way guys like The Eck (Dennis Eckersley), Izzy (Jason Isringhausen), Grant Balfour and other closers of the past have.

Welcome to the "Pit" as our favorite baseball commissioner, Bud Selig called it or as fans like to think of it sometimes as the "Mosh Pit" .... Jim Johnson. Welcome to Oaktown. Now about getting a Metallica song for you ..... all good things happen in time and there are approximately 56 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training ... you'll learn in time Jim and as of now we welcome you and say "Bye Bye Balfour Rage"! (very sadly apparently, as the lamentation continues on Twitter and Facebook) 

As A's fans are used to change, we and as much as I will miss Mr. Balfour, our Awesome Aussie, I'm keeping my head up that 2014 will be our year! Let's Go Oakland!!

MLB Hot Stove: A's Busy In Week Leading Up To Winter Meetings

The Oakland Athletics were having a quiet Major League Baseball Hot Stove Season up until early last week. Last Monday they signed free-agent pitcher Scott Kazmir to a two year, $22 million deal thus ending their pursuit of veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon.

They also traded minor league infielder Jemile Weeks and a player to be named later, for the Orioles’ closer Jim Johnson who will replace free agent closer Grant Balfour. Balfour is in talks with a handful of teams, including the New York Yankees. After coming off a career year in 2013, Balfour will command more money than the Athletics would be willing to spend. Coming off an All Star year in 2012, Johnson, the American League saves leader, went 3-8 with a 2.95 ERA and 50 saves with Baltimore last season.

Finally it seemed like general manager Billy Beane and the A’s were making some big deals this off season, yet Oakland’s movement did not end with the signing of one key player and the trade for another; the organization made quite a few other changes and decisions as well.

The A’s decided to tender contracts to each of their nine arbitration eligible players: outfielders Josh Reddick and Seth Smith, infielders Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie, relievers Jesse Chavez, Jerry Blevins, and Fernando Rodriguez, catcher John Jaso, and to the surprise of many, their longest tendered player, backup first baseman, Daric Barton. The A’s then turned around and traded Smith to the San Diego Padres for set up man, Luke Greggerson.

Image courtesy of Getty Images

In keeping Barton the A’s kept with their strategy of recent years emphasizing a focus on team depth and player on base percentage. Barton will likely back up the A’s usual platoon duo Brandon Moss and Nate Freiman.

Read the rest of my article on Sports Unbiased, your website for all Sports News, Polls and Predictions! (and my articles! lol)

MLB Hot Stove: Oakland Athletics Update

The Major League Baseball Hot Stove season has been quiet for the Oakland Athletics, not to be unexpected for a small market team competing in a market where their free agent outfielder, Chris Young, who's numbers were dismal after his move to the American League last season, can command a one year $7.25 million dollar deal with the New York Mets. A signing like that is an indicator that player values on the market are very high this season.

Last season Chris Young was the highest paid player on the Athletics in 2013 making right around eight million dollars. To put this in comparison the highest paid player on the Yankess, Alex Rodriguez made $29 million last season. Having one of the lowest payrolls in the league the Athletics have little chance of signing what they need to make a run at what would be their third straight American League Western Division title: a little help in the bullpen, a veteran starting pitcher, and a big bat.

Read the rest of my article on Sports Unbiased, your website for all Sports News, Polls and Predictions! (and my articles! lol)

Oakland Athletics: 2013 Recap and 2014 Predictions

This season was truly a sensational season for the Oakland Athletics, albeit a quiet one compared to the also spectacular season they had in 2012, winning the AL West on the final day of the season. Hopes were higher for the Athletics in 2013, returning with their team pretty much intact the odds of a repeat in the AL West were good. The Athletics won two more games in 2013 (96-66) than in 2012 (94-68) and they did it in a much more subdued fashion. The A's fought through injuries, Josh Reddick's wrist being one of the biggest, yet had enough depth to remain consistent. They won at least 16 games in each month of the season except July where they experienced a slight slump but that didn't put a hiccup in their step as they ended the season with their second consecutive American League West Title, making them a good candidate for World Series victory.

www.facebook.com/JenRainH20

Unfortunately for the Athletics the 2013 American League Division Series ended in the exact same fashion as the 2012 ALDS, being shut out by Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers in game five. What went right for the A's in 2013 to get them back to the postseason? And what went wrong for them to lose again to the same team and the same pitcher in game five of the ALDS?

The Athletics were dominant all season, more than once stringing together mini streaks of 8 or 9 games. They had dominate pitching in CY Young candidate 40 year old Bartolo Colon and later on with mid season call up Sonny Gray. Closer Grant Balfour broke Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley's consecutive save streak with 41 straight saves. The two other notable names of the A's bullpen were set up men Sean Doolittle and Ryan Cook along with long relievers Jesse Chavez (who pitched an amazing 7 innings in the 18 inning marathon against the New York Yankees in July) Pat Neshek and Jerry Blevins. The A's bats were on the majority of the time but more often than not they relied on the big hit or the big home run from one of their players, like 1B Brandon Moss, 3B Josh Donaldson, CF Coco Crisp and in the case of the aforementioned 18 inning game, rookie Nate Freiman hitting a walk off single against the great Mariano Rivera.

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Relying on the big hit became a problem for the A's in the playoffs when they were required to hit against the Tigers three aces, 21 game winner Max Scherzer, ERA leader Anibal Sanchez, and the always incredible Justin Verlander. The A's won the second game of the series with young call up Sonny Gray out pitching Verlander and the third game in Detroit again depending on the long ball. Come game five the Athletics were forced to face their nemesis, Justin Verlander, an almost unhittable pitcher, who took a no hitter into the 7th inning until Yoenis Cespedes's base hit in the bot of the 7th inning broke up the no-no. The problem is that Detroit got their one long 2 run shot off of Sonny Gray courtesy of Miguel Cabrera and ended up winning the game 3-0 while the A's were waiting for that one big long ball that never came.

In short the A's need a big, dependable and possibly even well known bat in 2014. It's the consensus of many that they must bring someone in to help the lineup a little bit. However, there are definite chances that those big hits could come from guys like Reddick who played all season with a wrist injury and finished with only 12 homeruns while the year before he hit 32 homeruns and won a Gold Glove. Brandon Moss hit 30 homeruns this season so there is a good chance that he could emerge into the spolightlight the way another of the A's, Josh Donaldson, did this season. Cespedes is another candidate to be a great homerun hitter next season hoping that he stays healthy, he won the Home Run derby in 2013 but did not produce as well in regular season games. Finally when it comes to clutch hits one cannot forget to mention team leader and all around clutch guy, Coco Crisp.

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All of these players, barring a crazy unforseen trade should be on the A's roster come opening day 2014. Even though all of these players have proven themselves offensively, the question remains: will the A's try to acquire a big bat?

There are rumors that the A's will trade players like started turned long reliever, Brett Anderson and there have been rumors that they may be interested in acuiring David Price. Still this doesn't seem likely as the A's are in talks with Bartolo Colon about pitching another season. Colon, at the age of 40 and having spent a stint on the disabled list, still finished second overall in the American League in both ERA and Wins! He had one of his lifetime best seasons and the A's believe that he has a few more years in him. They have already resigned team leader, 33 year old, Coco Crisp who is coming off of a career year. Overall it is not likely that they A's will be making too many changes to their already talented roster. At this point closer Grant Balfour isn't in that picture. At 35 and having had the best year of his career, Balfour can command more money than the A's would be able and/or willing to pay. But there have been talks about mid season call up Dan Otero stepping up in the closer's role, Doolittle and Cooke (who did struggle at the end of the season) are also in contention. for the closer roll.

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It is likely that the A's will find a strong bat to add to their roster. More than likely an aging player who is happy to DH and hit home runs, ala the sucess they had in 2002 with David Justice and in 2006 with Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas. The Athletics will not be renewing contracts or picking up options for neither OF Chris Young nor catcher Kurt Suzuki, leaving Derek Norris and John Jaso to platoon at catcher. Besides them and Balfour there are questions about rookie Nate Freiman and if he will be involved in the club's plans for next season. In the off season both Sonny Gray (left thumb) and Josh Reddick (wrist) will be having surgery but both are projected to be ready to go when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in the middle of February.

From the perspective of this writer I believe that the 2014 Oakland Athletics line up will look something like this:

Coco Crisp, CF
Josh Donaldson, 3B
Jed Lowrie, SS
Brandon Moss, 1B
Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Josh Reddick, RF
Seth Smith, DH
John Jaso and Derek Norris platooning at C
Eric Sogard / Alberto Callaspo platooning at 2B

But this line up does need to look out for up and coming players such as the AAA afiliate Sacramento River Cats Michael Choice who's shown potential and hit .302 last season with 14 home runs. And this pick may seem premature but after his performances in spring training, with the A's single A affliate the Stockton Ports and his so far impressive numbers in the Arizona fall league, Addison Russell has the potential to do big things in the Majors and it is entirely possible he could work his way to AAA Sacramento and into the show by the end of the 2014 seasons. It's also a good idea to keep an on relief pitchers Seth Frankoff and Bruce Billings who both pitched brilliantly in 2013 for the Ports and should soon be called up to AAA and possibly to the show by the end of the season! But predictions for the Atheltics pitching in 2014 are as follows

Starting Rotaton:
Bartolo Colon
Sonny Gray
Jarrod Parker
Dan Straily
AJ Griffen

The Bullpen:
Jerry Blevins
Sean Doolittle
Ryan Cooke
Jesse Chavez
Pat Neshek
Dan Otero

www.zimbio.com

Overall with a very similar team as in 2013 and with the continued leadership of 2012 Manager of the Year, Bob Melvin, the Athletics will have a chance to win the American League West for the third straight time. It will as with all teams depend on staying healthy and in the Athletics case keeping their bats alive. The A's pitching will be solid with the resigning of Colon and the talent in their farm system. The addition of a proven hitter might be the key to them finally getting past the American Division series for the first time since 2006.

*This posting can also be seen on Sports Unbiased (actually proof-read and edited! lol)* at http://sportsunbiased.com/mlb/18258/oakland-athletics-2013-recap-and-2014-predictions/

Terrible Baseball Writing at its Finest!

Yup! I found one of the absolute WORST pieces of baseball writing I've ever seen in my last 8 years working in and around the media and my last 28 years of reading baseball books, articles, watching games and documentaries but I have never seen anything this appalling! He calls Balfour "classless" but knows nothing about the A's nor the Balfour Rage! 

This so called "author" Connor Muldowney obviously has no knowledge of the team he is writing about! Do some RESEARCH! I don't know everything about the Tigers but I do research and write about other teams fairly! Balfour swearing on the mound as most of us know is his way of firing himself up and Martinez also should have known that being that we are in the POSTSEASON - shouldn't you know everything about your enemy? So how do they not understand where we get the #BalfourRage and the music and everything? Is everyone blind? Apparently they are when it comes to #Oakland who despite having the league's 3rd lowest payroll contends year after year! But really, just try a little research before you unleash this kinda crap to the world. It's classless of the author not to give #Oaktown the time ... he's not even watching his obviously, by the complete bias, beloved Tigers because had he watched the game this article wouldn't exist ...

Terribly researched and written Balfour article on RantSports! READ IT HERE!

RAGE ON GRANT! YOU ROCK!  

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

One of my fave pics of Grant Balfour, taken from my seat at the Coliseum during the 2013 ALDS Game 1 vs the Detroit Tigers! <3 10/4/13