Introducing the Cuban Cespedes: Your 2012 Oakland Athletics Thread

Coco doesn't want to move to left:

"I'm going to make all the plays," Crisp said. "If someone feels there's someone better than me, it's hard for me to believe. Unless he's a demigod come down from the heavens, no one is going to outshine me in center field."

that is not a real quote?!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/14/SPJ51N7HOO.DTL

so Ramirez (minus 50 days) now. wtf, Oakland outfield.

probably not a half bad gamble on a minor league deal

manny will never ever see the field tho

by that i mean the outfield

ya, true.

but one can hope.

how Brandon McCarthy got sabermetric religion and rose from the ashes.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7602264/oakland-brandon-mccarthy-writing-moneyball-next-chapter-reinventing-analytics-espn-magazine

Cespedes plays today

Apparently a demigod has indeed come down from the heavens. Bob Melvin made it official Monday that Yoenis Cespedes will start the season as his center fielder and that Coco Crisp will move to left field.

Whats with the obsession of putting all glove no bat types in LF these days?

Seth Smith will be there to take over once they trade Crisp at midseason, don't worry.

"my shit doesn't work on opening day"

"opening day"

Beane must have loved Brandon Allen's attempted bunt.

My signals don't work in Japan.

@jimcaple
Cespedes must love major league life. He hits first HR and after game Japan hosts give him big check for 1 million yen -- $12,000.

http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg618/scaled.php?tn=0&server=618&filename=376z.png&xsize=640&ysize=640

@LookoutLanding
Holy motherfuck Yoenis Cespedes

god that cespedes homer was an utter missile

Y Cespedes homered to center (462 feet)

Yoenis is going hard

this guy is gonna be a lot of fun

him, justin upton and matt kemp singlehandedly justifying the existence of west coast baseball

just for posterity's sake: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20411309

he keeps it real - 13 abs, 3hrs, 7ks.

Two True Outcomes.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1FJjESBCdmY/T4Qc9B09lpI/AAAAAAAAAMk/oPrEio3daVQ/s500/reddicktoss.gif

wau

no cutoff man, no cred

sweet jesus - who threw that?

josh reddick

Four assists already.

dont run on this man

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20703963&c_id=mlb

Not quite as impressive as the Ankiel laser, but still very good. A great outfield assist is probably the most exciting play in baseball, no?

The GIF one impressed me more than the Ankiel. It seems like a longer throw, and he had to run and turn.

Colon's 38 consecutive strikes:

http://www.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20742157

^^^ just noticed this now. Wow!!

And yeah, according to Neyer, it's a record (although pitch-by-pitch data only has only been recorded since the late 1980's).

inge to oakland?

@dfeldy
Eric Chavez played his last game at 3B for the #Athletics on 4/24/09 - Brandon Inge will be the 19th to play 3rd for the A's since.

Don Zimmer next

Reddick batting as an Occupier w/ face scarf in Boston chill

@ESPNStatsInfo
Elias Says Brandon Inge is 2nd player in history w/ 4 games of 4+ RBI over a 5-game span.

Cespedes to DL w/ hand strain

and yr new closer Brian Fuentes

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/5/13/3018168/brian-fuentes-grant-balfour-oakland-as-closer

Stock Watch: Hamilton's up, but so is Inge while Pujols plummets
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/19043221/stock-watch-hamiltons-up-but-so-is-inge-while-pujols-plummets

http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/cbss/ui5/authors/100x100/14451.png

haha i saw heyman's tweet linking to that story and as all "lol, andy"

http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/.2AXPHzcfaYeow_7ioOs6g--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTg2MDtjcj0xO2N3PTY1NztkeD0yO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9ODU7cT0xMDA7dz02NQ--/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20120530/9128.jpg

a lot of the yahoo pics are like that now! like some guy hurriedly took the pic from the far end of a hallway. it's fucking bizarre!

BLUE
Why u not give me time when pitcher in leg kick?

^^^^^

http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20120530/9128.jpg

LOL hamilton

too much caffeine in cf

BEHIND BLUE EYES

Blue eye syndrome

ya, no problem, i'll just snag this and.... uh...

anybody got a stream for this?

OH, WOW

vipboxsports.eu

can u summarize the rally? I'm leaving work for nearest screen in 10 mins

Ham and Wash yappin', Ham pointin' skyward.

Ryan Dempster pitching for Texas TEX OAK
B Moss walked. 5 1
J Reddick doubled to deep center, B Moss scored. 5 2
J Donaldson singled to center, J Reddick to third. 5 2
S Smith singled to center, J Reddick scored, J Donaldson to second. 5 3
D Norris hit for G Kottaras. 5 3
D Norris grounded out to second, J Donaldson to third, S Smith to second. 5 3
C Pennington popped out to first. 5 3
C Crisp doubled to right, J Donaldson and S Smith scored. 5 5
S Drew walked. 5 5
Y Cespedes safe at second on error by center fielder J Hamilton, C Crisp and S Drew scored. 5 7
B Moss grounded out to first. 5 7

man, donaldson

oh, I remember Ryan Dempster

Ham and Wash yappin', Ham pointin' skyward.

― Andy K, Wednesday, October 3, 2012 9:20 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hamilton needs to stop blaming god for all his problems

let that boy cook

fifth straight game for cook

Oof

YO

what is going on with that outfield?!

Woo hoo okay now I think I can celebrate.

some espn intern or w/e wrote this game note which idk i think it just reads weird? did he want them to start craig gentry?

Research Notes
Josh Hamilton had 3 errors in 679 innings in CF this season entering the game... He had just 1 error in more than 993 innings in CF in the previous 3 seasons combined. The Rangers have one of the best defensive center fielders in the league on their roster, but they started one of the worst in this game that will decide the AL West.

wheres billy beane

lol didnt know he came out to 'tallica

no injuries in this celebration plz

Have fun at yr wild card game Texas.

‏@Athletics
The #Athletics are the fifth team in #MLB history to win a division or pennant after trailing by 13 or more games.

‏@TylerKepner
So the first time ALL SEASON the A's have been alone in first place is the last out of Game 162? Wow.

@MatthewPerry

Money ball!!!!

‏@jazayerli
The A's won 74 games last year, TRADED THEIR TWO BEST STARTERS FOR PROSPECTS, & won 94 games and the AL West. But sure, Moneyball's a fad.

‏@Athletics
We are fAmily!!! #OCTOBERnie pic.twitter.com/Y1TWkdI4

now they've gone too far

Oakland still has a shot at the #1 seed in the AL if the Yankees blow it.

Does the top seed face the team with worst record or the wild card winner?

I wd think WC, first is first.

A great Cinderella reprise, the kind we all watch baseball for.

(except clemenza, who just gets excited by the Tiger set-up hitters tonight)

yea top seed plays wc winner

unless they're in the same division.

i don't think so?

i'm so happy this happened with dallas braden hurt

yes, teams in same division can play each other

huh. no idea where i got that idea then.

it is new thang

kind of the worst thing abt new setup. just abolish divisions.

nah i like divisions, but same-division ALCSes definitely feel a lot more right than ALDSes, with rivalries and what not

had no memory of Scott Sizemore being on the roster.

Doolittle's intro music should be "With a Little Bit of Luck."

First team to come from 5 back with 9 left.

i had no memory of grady sizemore until you just said that name

RIP

when I saw the SIZEMORE jersey my first thought was Ted?

Beane interview

http://www.athleticsnation.com/2012/10/25/3553788/still-playing-moneyball-an-exclusive-interview-with-billy-beane

December 21, 2012

To all concerned and interested:

I believe our organization has been and continues to be a positive member of the City of Oakland and Alameda County community.

Our policy regarding the JPA is to agree on the most mutually beneficial lease relationship to remain in the O.co Coliseum. To that end, we seek a lease extension that will allow us to remain here for the next five seasons. Our president, Mike Crowley, who has administrated our lease for the past 16 years, has full and complete authority to enter into a lease agreement that we hope will be beneficial to our fans, the City and County, and our organization.

Yes, we need a new baseball venue, and sadly, we have not found any path to one in the City of Oakland or in the City of Fremont. None of the three City of Oakland administrations that we have operated under has ever presented a realistic approach for a new ballpark to us. The lack of viable options here is not the fault of any public administration or private party, but rather is due to broader circumstances that impact the elements needed for a Major League Baseball venue.

Regardless of the outcome of our efforts to obtain a new facility in the City of San Jose, we would remain at our current venue for a minimum of five years. If an opportunity arises for the JPA to implement a new or renovated stadium for the Raiders or any other tenant, our lease would have a cancellation clause in favor of the JPA.

I stress that the A’s organization certainly prefers to remain in Oakland for the next five years rather than being forced into looking elsewhere for a temporary home venue. If possible, we should retain the 130 full-time jobs and the almost 800 union jobs that encompass a full baseball season, the fun of the A’s,and Major League Baseball in Oakland for five more years.

I believe the A’s have a great deal to contribute to the area for the next five years, and even thereafter. I further believe, and hope that having the benefit of a five year income stream and the jobs our organization brings in will be viewed as a benefit to the City and County. Simply, Mike Crowley needs an authorized party with whom he can negotiate and complete a new five year lease between the JPA and the A’s.

Thank you for any time and consideration you can afford this request.

Sincerely,

Lewis N. Wolff