Kuzul

Not a whole lot of insight to this posting, just thought it would be fun to post some of the A’s funnier commercials from past seasons.

The A’s put together several commercials each year. These are the ones I was able to find on YouTube. Starting with 1981 and Billy Ball, then skipping all the way to 2005 and finishing up with the full play-list of 2010 commercials.

The A’s filmed their 2011 commercials in the very beginning of spring training, and they promise to be of their usual comedic quality.

If you have links to any commercials that I did not include, please attach a link in a comment for me to add them in.

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I admit that if the Athletics had lost this game, I would probably have fallen into the crowd that says “well this is just spring training and doesn’t matter, we’ll get them in the regular season.” Thankfully, the A’s took care of business (and the Giants) today behind a solid pitching performance and plenty of support from the lineup beating the World Champion Giants, 6-0.

In his three innings of work, Brett Anderson gave up only one hit and one walk while striking out five. Anderson was followed by a scoreless inning from Joey Devine, two scoreless innings from Fernando Cabrera, an inning from Gabe DeHoyas, and a combined inning from Fautino De Los Santos and Brad Ziegler. Ziegler returned to the mound to shut down the Giants in the ninth.

On the offensive side, the A’s received contributions from Coco Crisp (1-3, two RBI), Daric Barton (1-3), Mark Ellis (1-3, one RBI), Eric Sogard (1-3) and Michael Choice (2-4).

The A’s got the scoring started in the first inning when Mark Ellis singed on a fly ball to San Francisco center fielder Aaron Rowand, scoring Coco Crisp. Oakland pushed two more runs across in the fifth inning on a Coco Crisp single to right fielder Nate Shierholtz, scoring Landon Powell and Michael Choice.

In the seventh inning, the A’s scored another run when Jai Miller scored as Josh Willingham reached base safely on an error by San Francisco left fielder Thomas Neal. Michael Taylor reached on another error by San Francisco in the seventh inning, scoring Josh Donadson to give Oakland a 6-0 lead.

Brett Anderson was credited with the win, improving to 1-1 in his spring appearances. Madison Bumgarner received the loss for the Giants, moving to 0-2, although he did not give up an earned run in his three innings of work.

The Giants allowed three unearned runs to the Athletics on four errors by Mark DeRosa, Miguel Tejada, Thomas Neal and Charlie Culbertson. Oakland had one error by left fielder Michael Choice.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s fair to say that on the diamond Milton Bradley has been given his fair share of chances. Bradley has worn out his welcome with the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs already. Anyone with knowledge of Bradley’s career would safely assume that he is a ticking time bomb, waiting to destroy the Seattle Mariners and their clubhouse.

Entering Spring Training, Bradley was expected to compete for the starting job in left field for the Seattle Mariners. Bradley has been a productive hitter throughout his career when he is healthy, and he appears healthy so far in spring games this year.

The negative attention that follows Bradley, and the huge distraction that will hang over his head for the duration of the 2011 season as he deals with legal proceedings and his pending divorce are too much to justify keeping Bradley on the 25-man roster for the Mariners however.

Too many red flags have popped up to reasonably think that Bradley will make it through the entire season without any incidents that would be a detriment to a Seattle clubhouse that could post multiple young impressionable prospects by mid-season.

New manager Eric Wedge and Bradley have a history of conflict dating back to their time together in Cleveland. The situation became so bad between the two that Cleveland was forced to make a decision between the two, eventually sending Bradley to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bradley claims the feud is behind him and he is ready to move on.

On January 18, Bradley was arrested in Los Angeles on charges that he made felony threats to his wife Monique. The Marines responded at the time with the standard team response that they were still learning all the facts, and take the matter very seriously. Although he was served with a restraining order on January 24, it did not appear that Bradley would wind up facing criminal charges in the matter, and would remain with the Mariners for the 2011 season to play out his contract.

Radaronline.com reported earlier this morning more details of the events that transpired leading up to the January 18 arrest. While in New York for New Year’s Eve, Bradley and his wife apparently began an argument that quickly escalated into a case of spousal abuse.

Regarding the event, Monique Bradley says, “Milton cursed and yelled at me for approximately five minutes and then he grabbed a glass from off the coffee table and threw it directly at my head from across the room.”

“The glass shattered on my head and I started to bleed. As soon as Milton saw me bleeding, he started crying and begging me to forgive him. He stated that he lost it and that he would kill himself if I left him. I did not know what to do.”

According to the documents, Monique was in the bathroom attempting to stop the bleeding when hotel security reported to the room. Milton opened the door and informed them that everything was alright, and Monique never went to a hospital.

Monique Bradley filed for divorce from Milton on February 16 citing irreconcilable differences.

Bradley has a meeting with the Los Angeles city attorney on March 9. The Los Angeles city attorney will have no jurisdiction over the incidents in New York, however the meeting is a result of the domestic case between Bradley and his wife. No reports of pending charges in the New Year’s eve have come forward, with the exception of his wife’s divorce filing.

This is just the most recent in a string of run-ins with the law though.

In 2004 Bradley was arrested for allegedly confronting a police officer in Ohio. Bradley pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to three days in jail for the incident. Later that same year he was charged with failure to comply after driving away from police after failing to sign a speeding ticket.

While with the Dodgers in 2005 Bradley threw a plastic water bottle at a fan, and also confronted a Los Angeles Times reporter in the clubhouse.

Bradley had run-ins with his managers in Cleveland, Oakland and Chicago, wearing out his welcome each time. His frequent clashes with Chicago manager Lou Piniella led to him being traded to Seattle before the beginning of the 2010 season.

Bradley has never been able to control his emotions on the field and has found himself to be a distraction at every stop. Presumably his personal life never factored into his emotional outbursts.

Any baseball implications aside, this is a terrible situation for Milton Bradley’s family. It would be hard to argue in Bradley’s defense were his wife seeking sole custody without visitation, however this is not the case. In her filing she is asking for spousal support, as well as legal and physical custody of the children, however she is granting Milton visitation rights.

How will Bradley deal with the mental strain that will result from losing his marriage and everyday interaction with his children?

With an existing history of problems between himself and new manager Eric Wedge and his history of past incidents in every city where he has played; the situation appears to be a ticking time bomb with his ex-wife now pouring lighter fluid around the perimeter.

$12 million is a large check to write to tell a player to go home, or in this case go find another home, but it is a small price to pay to avoid the damage that Bradley can cause when he finally does explode.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Let’s face it, the Mariners 2010 season was forgettable, just down right awful. At 61-101, only the Pittsburgh Pirates were worse in 2010 at 57-105.

The Mariners will likely struggle to compete in the AL West again this season. The Texas Rangers are the reigning American League Champions, the Oakland Athletics spent the offseason improving every part of their roster, and the Los Angeles Angels are poised to improve on their 80-82 season if health cooperates this season.

The Mariners have some very promising prospects that figure to contribute in 2011 and could help them to compete in the near future.

The Cliff Lee trade in 2010 landed the Mariners prospects Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Justin Smoak. Current organizational top-prospects Michael Pineda and Dustin Ackley figure to be in the mix with Seattle this season as well.

The Mariners, under new manager Eric Wedge, will look to build on their strengths and work to address their weaknesses. With an abundance of young talent and 23 non-roster invitees in attendance, the Mariners will have options to address each of these concerns.

While not much news has come out of Spring Training yet, let’s take a look at 10 things we have already learned about the Seattle Mariners in the early stages of Spring.

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With not a lot of competition for roster positions existing thanks to the added roster depth during the offseason, let’s take a look at who’s filling each spot on the A’s roster right now. As things change during the spring, we’ll update and reevaluate as necessary.

During the offseason, the A’s said goodbye to Justin Duchscherer, Eric Chavez, Travis Buck, Jack Cust, Ben Sheets, Gabe Gross, Rajai Davis, Henry Rodriguez and Vin Mazzaro.

In return, the A’s welcomed Hideki Matsui, David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, Rich Harden, Brandon McCarthy, Trystan Magnusun, and Daniel Farquhar.

The most publicized roster battle is for the fifth starter position, however the backup catcher position and utility infielder role are also up for grabs early on. Adam Rosales will likely remain the utility infielder, but he is currently injured and not expected to return to the team until early May, opening a spot on the opening day roster.

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Nearly two years removed from season-ending Tommy John surgery that interrupted his very promising rookie season, Josh Outman is back on the mound for the Oakland Athletics in spring training, and it appears he is ready to pick up right where he left off.

In his first live action during a scrimmage game against his own teammates Outman looked like his old self pitching against his teammates.

While limited to only 20 pitches during the intra-squad game, Outman allowed only one hit on a Coco Crisp single up the middle. Pitching at only a 90 percent exertion level, Outman was reaching 92 MPH on the radar gun.

More importantly though, he is pitching completely pain-free.

“After everything he’s been through, it’s good to see him do that,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “His velocity was pretty good, and he had a pretty good changeup.”

During his rookie season in 2009, Outman posted a 4-1 record with a 3.48 ERA and a 7.1 K/9 ratio in 12 starts. This season Outman is trying to earn the fifth starter spot in the Oakland A’s extremely talented rotation.

Outman’s primary competition this spring, Rich Harden, has already suffered a setback giving Outman an increasing edge in the competition. While his velocity is down a little from where he was in 2009, Outman still is proving to be a very effective pitcher.

“If I can stay in the low 90s, that’s all I can really ask for,” Outman said. “Two years [since surgery] will be June, and they say that’s when your velocity comes back. Hopefully, by after the All-Star break, I can get back into the middle/upper 90s where I was able to get to.

“Even if I stay 90-93 right now, I can pitch with that and I can get people out with that. I’m happy.”

Unlike Harden, Outman has felt great all spring while showing off his surgically repaired elbow. 

“I feel pretty comfortable with my elbow [being] recovered and I’m ready to compete in games,” Outman said. “I’m not going to say I wasn’t a little nervous, just getting back out there and facing major league hitters again. As far as worrying about my health, I don’t have any issue with that.”

If both Harden and Outman emerge from spring training healthy the A’s will have six major league starters they can add to the roster (with Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross and Bobby Cramer also major league quality options).

Perhaps the only thing that didn’t look the Josh Outman of 2009—his socks.

The clubhouse attendant forgot to have Outman’s preferred green stir-ups available to him, prompting Outman to wear yellow knee-high socks with the green stir-up stripe dyed into the sock.

“I hadn’t done this in so long that they forgot to get me stirrups,” he said. “That’s why I’m wearing these Little League socks.”

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With A’s owner Lew Wolfe on record as saying he believes the 2011 A’s team is better than the 2006 team which won the American League West, I decided to take a look at both teams and see how they compare against each other.

With not a single at-bat this season, not even a Cactus League game yet this spring, it is hard to truly compare the current roster with the 93-win team from 2006.

Just for the sake of comparison, we’ll use the 2011 Bill James Projections from fangraphs.com to see how the two rosters stack up.

What do you think? Will the 2011 Oakland A’s fare better than the most successful A’s team since our 1989 World Series Championship team? I definitely look forward to your feedback and input.

This will be part 1 of 3 with a rotation analysis and bullpen analysis following up over the weekend and into next week.

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Over the offseason, the A’s addressed their lack of power in the lineup primarily by signing Hideki Matsui and trading for Josh Willingham. One returning Oakland player decided to take it upon himself to address his own lack of power during the offseason, however.

With Spring Training now in full swing, one of the most pleasant surprises early on is the physical condition of returning first baseman Daric Barton.

Barton, acquired by the A’s in the December 2004 trade that also sent starting pitcher Dan Haren to Oakland in exchange for Mark Mulder, is entering his seventh season in the Athletics’ organization. Barton burst onto the scene in his September call-up in 2007, batting .347/.429/.639 with four home runs and nine doubles over 72 at-bats in 18 games. Barton was supposed to be a symbol of Beane’s rebuild success.

Unfortunately,  2008, his first full season in the majors, was a forgettable campaign. Barton played in 140 games for Oakland in 2008, but was only able to put together a hitting line of .226/.327./.348 with nine home runs and 47 RBI. As a result of his poor season, he found himself demoted to Triple-A Sacramento just before the start of the regular season in 2009. Bouncing back and forth between Sacramento and Oakland, he only managed 54 games in the majors, batting .269/.372/.413 with three home runs in 160 at-bats.

Last season, Barton emerged as one of the games most under-rated first basemen. His batting improved as he provided the A’s with a batting line of .273/.393/.405 with 10 home runs and 57 RBI. He played in an impressive 159 games for the A’s. Obviously happy with his improved offensive game, it was his range and defense at first base that most caught the attention of the A’s front office, as well as his teammates and A’s fans.

“I called him when he didn’t get the Gold Glove and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, are you serious?’ But with Daric, day in and day out, you see him get to balls no one else possibly could get to. It’s a crying shame no one has acknowledged that,” said teammate Dallas Braden recently.

“Whenever I hear people talking about our need for an upgrade at first base, I chuckle,” A’s general manager Billy Beane had to say. “We’re perfectly happy and very pleased – his defense in our opinion is amongst the best at the position in the game, his on-base percentage is good and both are getting better. … He’s a championship-caliber first baseman.”

In fact, his game had improved so much that ESPN’s Evan Brunell called him one of the game’s best first-basemen, placing Daric in the same breath as New York’s Mark Teixeira and Philadelphia‘s Ryan Howard.

Looking to improve on his promising 2010 season, Barton hired a personal trainer over the offseason and went to work on entering camp this year in the best shape of his life. Working out daily with Southern California trainer Brad Davidson, Barton reportedly has lost ten pounds of fat while adding fifteen pounds of muscle. His body-fat percentage dropped four percent.

“When I went down to Triple-A in ’09, everything hit home. I’ve started to realize more and more that I need to concentrate on my career,” Barton admits.

His new physique has him feeling great with a bat so far this spring. “I’ve never felt so good swinging the bat,” Barton said. “I knew right away things would be better, taking batting practice. I would say I have more pop.”

If Barton has indeed added more power to his game, he will have removed the one argument his detractors have against him. While Barton (once projected to be a 25 home run caliber hitter) plays at a position primarily known as a power position, his career high (albeit in only two full seasons) is ten home runs.

Hitting in a lineup that will offer him more protection and with better conditioning that helped add “pop” to his swing again, it is a realistic possibility that in 2011, Barton could finally put his full game together and double his home run total from last season. What a boost that would be to an already improved Oakland lineup.

“He looks great, awesome – a start contrast with where he was a few years ago,” Braden said. “This shows how concerned he is about health and preparation, and obviously that spills over to every other facet of the game. As a friend, I’m excited for him.”

While Braden, “as a friend”, is excited for Barton; as a fan, I am excited for the A’s 2011 season and what Daric Barton brings to the table.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Oakland A’s stadium situation has taken yet another interesting turn.

Over the last two weeks I have outlined the A’s desire to move from Oakland to San Jose.

I have also written how Governor Jerry Brown plans to eliminate redevelopment funds and the impact it will have on both the Oakland and San Jose sites.

It now appears that General Manager Billy Beane’s future with the team will hinge on Major League Baseball’s decision of whether or not to allow the A’s to move south to San Jose.

Bob Klapisch of FoxSports writes an interesting article in which he states that those close to Beane have indicated that this will be his last go-around with the team if they are not allowed to move to San Jose.

If Bud Selig and his committee decide to uphold the Giants territorial rights to Santa Clara county, Beane will hand over his duties as General Manager to current assistant-GM David Forst.

Klaoisch writes:

“In fact, Beane’s friends say this is his last go-round — if the A’s aren’t allowed to move to San Jose, he’ll officially pass the baton to assistant David Forst and look for a Plan B for the rest of his professional life. It’s anyone’s guess what would be next for Beane; remember, this is the same executive who turned down what should’ve been a dream job, controlling the Red Sox.”

Regarding the almost two year wait for an answer from Major League Baseball about their request to move to San Jose, Beane told Klapisch “It’s a complicated decision, so I understand the reason for the deliberation. We need a new venue.”

Since taking over as general manager of the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane has been handcuffed with financial decisions regarding players and the construction of the A’s roster.

A new stadium would remove some of the financial restrictions and allow him the ability to perform his job with the same capability as the other top general managers in the game.

Thinking back to the string of success in the early 2000’s, it’s hard to argue with Billy’s prowess as a general manager.

Sure he has had his mishaps along the way. Trading Andre Ethier for Milton Bradley, and Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Holliday instantly come to mind.

But he has also constructed a team with a young core built around solid pitching and defense which will compete for the postseason for years to come. He has also done it while having to reconstruct his roster seemingly annually.

“We’re all excited by the foundation we’ve laid with the young pitching,” Beane said. “It was a lot of fun being active this winter; it’s the part of the job that re-energizes you, the ability to be aggressive and make baseball moves that have an impact.”

Unfortunately for the A’s, without a new stadium, this team as currently constructed will also need to be broken up in a few short years for another rebuild to remain financially stable.

Without a new stadium, the A’s will not be able to afford the increase in payroll as their core of young stars reaches their late arbitration and free agent years.

It would appear though that his pending decision to step down as the general manager if the A’s are denied in their quest to move to San Jose is an admission that the A’s can not compete long term due to their state of financial limbo.

Major League Baseball’s delayed decision has already potentially cost the A’s the ability to build a new stadium thanks to Governor Brown’s elimination of the redevelopment funds and agencies statewide.

Both San Jose and Oakland are racing to complete preliminary steps to secure the bonds necessary to keep the project alive past the July 1 deadline for implementing the new state budget.

It would appear that MLB’s delay may also ultimately cost the A’s the general manager that is responsible for building the teams we have enjoyed watching compete over the last decade.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It feels like I’m having a flashback or experiencing déjà vu. Welcome back Rich Harden, to the disabled list that is.

Technically, Harden will not see the disabled list for his latest injury, at least not yet, but he did manage to strain his lat muscle during the first day of official spring training workouts for pitchers and catchers.

The injury, while it does not appear to be major, will set Harden back for a couple of weeks: “We’ll wait until he’s pain free,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “It’s estimated that would be two weeks.”

Harden does not seem too concerned about his most recent injury, stating that it reminds him of an injury he experienced during the 2008 season. He returned from that injury after a small stint on the disabled list and put together one of his best seasons, going 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA in a split season with Oakland and the Chicago Cubs.

“It’s frustrating,” Harden said of his current injury. “But I still feel like I can go out there and be healthy for the season after this.

“I can come back and pitch well, (but) I was excited to get going just because I was feeling so good.”

Harden spent the offseason working with A’s pitching coach Ron Romanick. The two worked on mechanics, fixing bad habits that Harden says he picked up after his trade from Oakland to the Chicago Cubs during the 2008 season. His work with Romanick has already included four bullpen sessions, so he won’t be too far behind schedule when he returns in approximately two weeks.

Speaking of his work with Romanick, Harden says: “Mechanically, I was feeling like I’m where I need to be. The ball was coming out real good.” 

Harden will still compete for a spot in the rotation when he returns to the mound, but in the mean time the attention will shift to two other starters returning from injury: Josh Outman and Harden’s Texas teammate Brandon McCarthy.

Outman hasn’t pitched since June 2009 after having Tommy John surgery, and Brandon McCarthy has struggled with shoulder injuries that kept him out all of last season. Technically also in the mix for the fifth starter spot are Tyson Ross and Bobby Cramer.

“I don’t think it changes anything,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said. “We added depth in the offseason, and we still feel very comfortable with it.”

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com