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In a year where Josh Reddick was arguably ousted from the American League All-Star team, Oakland Athletics fans can eat the chip on their shoulders—as the right fielder did against his former employer. 

Reddick was named American League player of the week due in large part to his first career grand slam against Bobby Valentine’s struggling Red Sox in the 20-2 massacre in Oakland. 

The Athletics’ OF accounted for four home runs, 10 RBI, 12 hits and scored six times over their flawless week that left the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians winless against Oakland. 

The American League is no cakewalk for top-notch player-of-the-week contenders. 

Reddick prevailed over the likes of other AL standouts such as Texas Rangers‘ Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Mike Trout—ever heard of them? 

Not only did Reddick produce on the offensive front, but also made the replay reel for a diving stab during Oakland’s visit to Cleveland, preserving Brett Anderson’s two-hitter in the series opener.

Reddick joined Oakland’s player-of-the-week fraternity with fellow teammates Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Moss that received the unique recognition earlier this season.

The award was born from Reddick’s lineup demotion where he batted in the sixth spot against the Indians in the opening game of the series.

Bob Melvin, who has been notorious this year for crafting the perfect lineup, dropped Reddick from his normal third spot due to his struggling bat.

Apparently, this ignited Reddick’s inner slugger.

Reddick rode the sweep of the Indians into the three-game bout against the Red Sox where the potentially spiteful former employee played with vengeful intent. It was a perfect storm.

Oakland’s man-of-the-hour currently leads the A’s in homers with 28. 

Though Reddick missed the opportunity to accompany Ryan Cook to Kauffmann Stadium in Kansas City for the All-Star Game, MLB has awarded recognition where it was due.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox and Indians, it came at their expense. 

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When people mention the name of Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane, many adjectives follow: Overrated, brilliant, shrewd and ring-less are a few. And while there are those who may never give Beane the credit he deserves for having built a solid small-market playoff contender during the 2000s, the job he has done in 2012 simply cannot be overstated.

Understand, the A’s were simply supposed to be a bad rebuilding team working towards a new stadium in Oakland or elsewhere. It was expected that their nucleus would not be solidified until at least 2014, and this was supposed to be the year when the bottom finally fell out completely to allow the A’s to reload through the MLB Draft like the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays.

Instead, the Oakland A’s sit on top of the American League Wild Card and a mere four games from the top of the AL West standings. Much has been made of this story, but considering that Beane made moves that all seemed to shake in Oakland’s favor, it is high time he is given the credit due for turning this team into a mostly unlikely playoff contender.

The moves Beane made have turned a middling franchise into the talk of baseball. And here are his best of 2012 and why he should be Executive of the Year.

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As the 2012 MLB season trickles down to the final stretch, a handful of teams are seeking playoff berths, while others seek vacation destinations following game 162. 

For the first time since 2006, the Oakland Athletics are putting their postseason paradises on hold. 

Oakland’s midseason surge peaked in July during the 19-5 stint and has yet to fully subside. 

Boasting a 31-14 record since the All-Star Break break, Bob Melvin’s Athletics have patched up their 2012 season quilt with variations of miscellaneous fabrics—and boy, is it warm. 

Following the series-opening 20-2 demolition of the Boston Red Sox, the A’s preserve the top spot in the AL wild card race in front of the Baltimore Orioles on the shoulders of these second-half standouts. 

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Baseball is so unfair. How can a small-revenue team like the Boston Red Sox hope to contend against a big-market team like the Oakland Athletics?

Yesterday was an example of how momentum in baseball is not always simply seeing who the next day’s pitcher is. Sometimes, it is a direct reflection of the team.

The Oakland Athletics are a team that, against all odds, have arrived at September in the lead for a playoff position. They are doing it with deep pitching and power from multiple sources. Seven Oakland hitters are in double digits for home runs.

And it seemed like they hit all of them last night against the Red Sox last night.

Boston’s West Coast road trip has seen the Red Sox do their best Houston Astros impersonation. They were swept by the Angels and looked like they were totally unprepared to play in Oakland.

In their last 17 games, Red Sox pitchers have surrendered five or more runs 12 times. That’s a problem.

Then came last night. Last night’s 20-2 A’s victory looked and felt like a major league team playing a minor league squad. It was an embarrassing massacre during which the Athletics not only looked like the big bullies, but they did so with former Boston Red Sox players.

In fact, if Red Sox fans wanted to feel anything positive about last night, they could feel good about old friends who are doing well elsewhere.

One-time Red Sox Brandon Moss went 4-5 with a homer and four runs batted in. Former Boston catcher George Kottaras homered twice and drove in five runs.

Josh Reddick, the Red Sox’s right fielder in 2011, doubled and hit a grand slam. 2007 world champion Coco Crisp did not get a hit, but walked and scored.

The Red Sox used to be the ones that stole players from Oakland. They won the 2004 World Series with big contributions from Johnny Damon and Keith Foulke.

Now, it is the Red Sox who are playing out the string with a lineup that resembles a split squad spring training game.

The A’s? The American League West-leading Texas Rangers are only four games ahead of them. They are ahead in the wild-card race and are taking their momentum to October.

They have won 13 of their last 15 games including seven straight. Will their winning continue? They are playing the Red Sox again today.

If yesterday is any indication, the Red Sox are not even in the same league as the A’s.

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Do not be fooled by the logjam in the American League Wild Card standings.

Although there are five teams within 2.5 games of each other for that Wild Card play in game, in reality this is about three teams: the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Tampa Bay Rays.

That is all you see on the sports networks; that is all you hear on the radio. 

Except there are still 38 games to play for the surprising Oakland A’s, who have managed to win in ways that would surprise even the most faithful fan, still just 0.5 games out of those standings. Like the other surprise team in this picture (Baltimore), the A’s face a daunting September schedule that looms as a potential derailment on the playoff train.

That said, the A’s fortunes will largely hinge on how much of a cushion they can give themselves as they embark on the next 16 games of their season.

Starting tonight against the Kansas City Royals, the A’s play four teams with a combined record of 30 games under .500 in 2012. Even though 10 of the 16 are away from the Coliseum, the A’s will have to win in double figures to position themselves for the playoffs.

Let’s start with the Royals.

At 49-65, it has been another long year for Kansas City. Some of their young talent in the field has not lived up to the hype (namely Eric Hosmer). But despite their record, they have played the A’s tough, splitting six games so far this year. With Jarrod Parker’s elongated rest between starts, Brandon McCarthy and Dan Straily pitching, the A’s have to get at least two in this series.

From Kansas City, Oakland comes home to face the slumping Cleveland Indians.

A surprise team earlier in the year, the Indians have faded quickly. Posting a record of 10-21 since the All-Star break, Cleveland has been relegated to playing out the string in 2012. The A’s play the Indians seven times between Aug. 17 and Aug. 30. The aim should be to win five games against a team that has sunk down the stretch.

The A’s host the Minnesota Twins from Aug. 20 to Aug. 22 in Oakland.

In many ways, the Twins were the team that jump started Oakland into postseason contention, as the A’s swept them at Target Field to begin the second half of 2012. That series was in stark contrast to the three-game sweep Minnesota gave the A’s during their nine game losing streak in late May.

The one constant between the two teams has been that Josh Willingham has bashed the A’s. So far, Willingham has hit five home runs in six games against his former team. Keeping him (somewhat) in check and getting to Minnesota’s weak starting rotation will be key. Two out of three games here should be a minimum, with a sweep being the ultimate aim.

Finally, the A’s will travel to St. Petersburg from Aug. 23 to Aug. 25 in a big three-game series against current Wild Card leader Tampa Bay.

The Rays took two of three from the A’s in Oakland as its starting pitching allowed a measly five runs in three games. The series is even at three games apiece, but Oakland will need to play well at Tropicana Field as that set sandwiches series between Cleveland and Minnesota. 

Ultimately, I feel the A’s will have to win 89 games to qualify for the postseason. I project that based on the number of teams still playing, the schedules of the other contenders and, ultimately, the schedule that awaits Oakland.

With that said, to have a reasonable chance to get to that figure, the A’s will have to win 11 of the next 16 games, thus putting their record at 72-58 going towards September.

While the team does have the benefit of playing every other contender, Oakland’s schedule is fourth toughest (.507 opponents win percentage), and they play 27 of the final 48 games on the road.

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After striking out 10 Yankee batters over seven scoreless innings on July 20th, Oakland A’s pitcher Tommy Milone was 9-6 with a 3.34 ERA. In his past three starts, against Toronto twice and Tampa, he has been battered for 16 earned runs in 19 innings (7.58 ERA).

He dropped all three of his starts to even his record at 9-9 and his ERA ballooned to 3.91.

That rough patch has led to many a fantasy owner jumping ship. The question is, should you swoop him up?

He certainly has use as a streamer at the very least. In his home starts, Milone is 5-3 with a 2.13 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. On the road it has been a different story, as he’s 4-6 with a 5.77 and a 1.53 WHIP.

He has also been hit hard during day games (5.68 ERA compared to 3.40 at night). That kind of split differential makes it tough for full-time ownership.

Milone pitched well for Washington last year (3.81 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 26.0 innings) and was a dominant force for Triple-A Syracuse (3.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP). Tommy has illustrated great control throughout his career, which helps keep his ERA and WHIP down. 

He has the goods to make batters miss so continued success in the strikeout department wouldn’t be unexpected.

Milone is owned in about 45 percent of Yahoo! and 35 percent of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues. He does have some value, but right now he’s best served as a streamer during home night starts. I’d sit him out today on the road against the White Sox, though.

Also check out:

• Can Carlos Lee be a Fantasy Factor?
• Should You Be Looking At Hisashi Iwakuma?
• Is Lorenzo Cain Able?
• Can Wei-Yin Chen Continue to Deliver?
• Need Speed, Add Justin Ruggiano

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Going into Tuesday’s action, the Oakland A’s have found themselves losers of their last three games and six of their last 10.

They’re trending downwards at the wrong time of the season.

In what has been a surprising season to say the least, Oakland sits 5.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for the lead in the American League West and just a half game out of Wild Card contention.

Of course, yesterday they owned one of those Wild Card playoff berths.

So it goes in Major League Baseball.

Over the last 30 days, rookie Yoenis Cespedes has been the only player on the team to have been performing at an impressive level.

In his last 23 games and 85 at-bats, Cespedes is batting .412 with five home runs and 19 RBI.

Josh Reddick, the man who started the season on fire for the A’s has cooled off significantly. 

Before the All-Star break, Reddick owned a .268/.348/.532/.880 batting line with 20 home runs, 43 RBI, and 15 doubles and four triples.

Through his first 83 games and 314 at-bats, he managed 84 hits while scoring 52 runs. In essence, he was the MVP of the A’s.

Since the All-Star Break, it has been a completely different story.

Reddick has just a .226/.263/.441/.703 batting line. In 23 games and 93 at-bats he has managed 21 hits with six doubles, a triple and four home runs with 13 RBI.

While the bat is willing, he’s just not able to get on base.

The pitching on the other hand has a debt of gratitude to pay towards A.J. Griffin, the only pitcher with three wins in the past 30 days (and five starts) for the A’s.

Only Bartolo Colon has a better ERA (2.70 versus 2.25) over the last 30 days. Colon, however, is 2-1 in his last five starts.

Both Tommy Milone and Jarrod Parker have ERAs north of 5.00 in the past 30 days of baseball.

What’s more, closer Ryan Cook has only converted three of his last seven save opportunities.

Objectively, the A’s appear to be playing some pretty fractured baseball. They are giving away their shot to play late into October.

With two games left against the Angels before heading to Chicago for a series with the White Sox, the next five games will certainly serve as a measuring stick for the A’s, answering the question, “Are they a legitimate playoff team?” for certain.

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Ryan Cook allowed a ninth-inning game-tying home run for the second straight game. Toronto scored twice in the 11th inning to stun the Oakland A’s 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.

David Cooper blasted Cook’s 1-1 fastball to right center field to tie the game at one. The A’s had a chance to win in the 10th inning, but Josh Reddick struck out looking with the bases loaded. 

Oakland got a great performance from their bullpen until the ninth inning, as starter A.J. Griffin left after just 1.2 innings with tightness in his right shoulder.

Jordan Norberto was fantastic, going 3.2 shutout innings. The A’s scored their only run in the second inning after a Brandon Inge walk and wild pitch. Derek Norris hit an opposite-field slicing double to right field to make it 1-0.

With great relief from Norberto, Pat Neshek and Grant Balfour, it appeared the one run would hold up. But Cook could not hold the lead, blowing his seventh save in 18 chances.

Jerry Blevins took the tough loss, giving up two runs in the top of the 11th inning.

The A’s appeared to have a chance to escape damage, as Blevins struck out Jeff Mathis swinging with runners on first and second.

However, the throw by George Kottaras to third base was wild, allowing the running Edwin Encarnacion to score. On the next pitch, Moises Sierra doubled to left field, plating the final run of the game.

The loss drops the A’s to 58-49 and Oakland will try to win the series Sunday afternoon. Tom Milone looks for his 10th win and to bounce back from a rough start last weekend against the Blue Jays.

He will be opposed by fellow southpaw Aaron Laffey.

First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

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Jose Canseco, age 48, has left the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League and signed with the independent Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the North American League. 

The Valley Morning Star reports that Canseco—still an official member of the Tornadoes—will make his debut with the WhiteWings in the coming days. 

Canseco played 20 games for the Tornadoes, putting up numbers you would expect from a 48-year-old: .194 BA, one home run, seven RBI, and 24 strikeouts in 84 at-bats. Aside from his low numbers, the fact that his former club had no prior warning of his departure leaves a bad taste in their mouths. 

The Worcester Telegram spoke with Tornadoes’ owner Rich Breighner, who says he was shocked when he heard the news from his GM Jorg Bassiacos, Friday at 9pm via text message—several hours after news of Canseco’s new signing had been published in social media. 

I’m sure Canseco will draw some fans to the game, but if you can’t do things the right way, people won’t take you seriously. I truly hope Canseco is in this for the long haul, and sticks with the team for the remainder of the season. 

This signing is not the only reason Canseco is making headlines. On Friday the Boston Herald reported that Canseco filed for bankruptcy protection. 

Apparently, Canseco has less than $21,000 in total assets with more than $1.7 million in liabilities, along with a considerable amount owed to the IRS. All parties involved could not be reached for comment. 

With just over a month left to go before the end of the season you can bet this isn’t the last time we’ll hear about the former MLB MVP. 

Hopefully it’ll be positive news, dealing with monstrous home runs.

Devon is the founder and executive director of The GM’s Perspective. He is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals and Gateway Grizzlies. Currently, Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario, Canada, and can be reached at devon@thegmsperspective.com. You can follow The GM’s Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.

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The Oakland Athletics recalled their surprise phenom Daniel Straily in time to start last night’s game. I wrote in a previous article that the element of surprise might benefit Oakland. The borderline prospect suddenly became a strikeout machine against Toronto.

It was smart to bring him to the majors to record punchouts before any scouting report caught up with him.

What Straily experienced in his debut against Toronto was a microcosm of the 2012 Oakland season.

Straily contributed his share to meeting Oakland’s expectations. He is a young pitcher who virtually nobody has heard of, and who contributed on the big league stage ahead of schedule. He fits in perfectly with Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone and A.J. Griffin.

The 23-year-old right-hander was excellent in his debut last night against Toronto. He pitched six innings, let up a single earned run and five hits. He also struck out five batters while walking only one. And with the A’s cruising to a 4-1 ninth-inning lead, it was clear that Straily was the story.

Then Jeff Mathis homered with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning to tie the game. No doubt, a great number of sports writers were hitting “delete” on columns that were almost finished in the ninth.

The story was no longer Straily—now it was about a typical night in Oakland.

Runners were picked off by Oakland relievers. Ancient Omar Vizquel was thrown out at the plate. Each team put runners on. Oakland’s talented bullpen kept Toronto from scoring. The A’s left the bases loaded one inning.

Then Jemile Weeks tripled and Coco Crisp drove him home with a sacrifice fly. The A’s were walk-off winners again, keeping pace with Texas.

For the 13th time, the Athletics ended a game at home with the winning run crossing the plate. Thirteen out of 55 games there has been a reason to play “Celebration.” Twenty-three-and-a-half percent of all home games end with a walk-off hit.

I truly hope Straily stayed until the end. He would see 2012 A’s baseball perfectly laid out. The only thing predictable about this year in Oakland is that the hero of the game will never be who you are expecting.

Welcome to the club, Daniel Straily.

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