All A’s, all the time!
Cespedes put on the 15 pounds on muscle this offseason by flipping 400 pound tires under the supervision of a professional trainer (who adorably calls him “Yoeniâ€). Added bonus, Cespedes grins warily at a clearly crazed A’s fan wearing an autograph-festooned batting helmet on top of a bucket cap.
Speaking of weight: AJ Griffin blames his having added “the freshman 15†on all the irresistibly tasty treats available to the modern big league ballplayer. Then last summer, feeling portly, AJ lost 20 pounds, sapping his strength and leading to suckiness. So this year he’s going for a steady 240-ish.
Brandon Moss is cultivating his shift-busting bunt skills this spring.
Bob Melvin and the managers of lesser teams will attend an MLB-run workshop on the new instant replay rules tomorrow, after which the A’s brain trust will start planning out their strategies around its use.
CSNBA will only show two A’s spring games live: Tues 3/18, 1:05p vs CWS and Fri 3/28 at SF. Also per that link the Sun 3/23 game vs the Cubs will be on WGN. MLB Network has eight A’s games (but only one live): Sun 3/2, Mon 3/3, Thurs 3/6, Tues 3/11, Sun 3/16, Tues 3/18 (live), and Tues 3/25. Have not been able to find a schedule of spring radio broadcasts yet.
Five weeks from tomorrow!
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
Anyone have a link to wacc’s opening night tailgate event? What time is he starting up?
He’s planning to start at 2pm.
Thanks! That’s about when I hope to arrive as well.
The last few years in particular I have found the Opening Night parking lot scene to be just amazing. Such a great vibe, funky and soulful and spirited. Not only very Oakland, but also uniquely A’s.
Schedule permitting, me and the keg may try to blag a ride with you.
That would only add to the delightful rolling party atmosphere that I am already excited for. I want to start packing the van now.
I’ll start the ribs.
Thanks, and go As.
I loved the people doing the electric slide last year; I hope they’re back for more.
I should be at the game with a bunch of boring scientist types, I’ll swing by for a beer.
As luck would have it, we’ll have a scientist with a keg of beer to make them feel welcome (and demonstrate by example how not all scientists are boring).
Pfft, cosmologists.
Pfft yourself, engineer.
Ouch.
Burns like sulfuric.
By the way, keep your eye on the cover of Journal of Applied Physics (says the engineer) in about a month or so.
Cool!
And in the spirit of your publication year (at least until recently) we got rejected by Nature.
For which paper?
does nature count as publishing? Isn’t that a periodical for us commons?
Nature counts like quintruple.
But the weird part is that, while it’s way more presitgious, you also do have to write your paper with less technical detail than normal. Or at least that is the case in my field, where we tend to submit 15-20 page papers to the Astrophysical Journal or Phys Rev D.
That is true everywhere, I think. PRL, Nature, Science, etc. are more advertisements of results than real research papers IMO. But you better have some kind of result to publish there (like net energy gain from an implosion, even if it is short on details.
So would you drop your beaker and walk off if you got published in People?
Who wore it better?
“I’m the best scientist in the game! When you come at me with a sorry problem like inability to properly explain the self-seeding behavior of cryogenic hydrogen isotopes, that’s the result you’re gon’ get!”
Awesome.
I’d say I’m in good company, but I didn’t even bother with Nature Materials (much less Nature). The paper I’m most proud of, where we demonstrate legit record-breaking material properties, has been rejected twice. It is still under consideration at a third place, but it really has jaded me on the concept “expected impact.” How can that be known a priori anyway, and how is demolishing the previous world record not impactful?
The J App Phys paper I thought was kind of lame – too specific to be important – but oddly the editor liked it.
Full Broadcast Schedule
First radio broadcast Wednesday.
Also lists 3/13 as CSNCA but 3/18 on MLBN (which makes more sense, since 3/18 is a Tuesday afternoon).
AJ can really smell the tailgates too, amirite?
I hate spring training and fake games that don’t count. Wake me in April.
you’ll miss opening day
I’m okay with that. Just make sure we win, if you don’t mind.
Robowriters are coming
Rumors of trout and 6 year $150M
And ye shall hear of trouts and rumours of trouts: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
After all that bitching, I’ll be in Oakland in April after all. Around 4/20.
cool. as a vacation?
Yes. My MOTHER will be with me.
Is that an acronym?
No.
Will you and Mom be attending any A’s games? First game of the year vs Texas is Monday 4/21.
And Sunday 4-20 does suggest a certain irresistible tailgate party theme.
The week before. Mom doesn’t tailgate. Not because she doesn’t want to, bit because I don’t want her to.
No 4/20 partaking for me.
Sat 4/19 then, no theme. Come on, your Mom is a lifelong Midwestern farm gal, I would think she’d love a party centered around grilled meat.
*perks up*
Thanks, and go As.
Bring your meat, bitch.
Bring your tits and ass… and by that I mean chicken breasts and rump roast.
and by that I mean tits.
and ass.
Thanks, and go As.
Isn’t4/19 the Donaldson bbobblehead?
Easter on 4/20 is either perfect or totally ridiculous. Im not sure which yet.
Confirmed. 4/17-4/20.
Right on! Did you decide to stay in Oakland?
Ugh. My aunt is in charge of that shit. She just said she doesn’t want to stay in Oakland because there isn’t a pool. I said, “Um… it’s April. I’m fucking bringing a parka.”
Duh…It’s California!! You always need a pool. Let me guess, she expects there to be movie stars by it too? Plans on surfing under the golden gate and then heading to sit on the Hollywood sign?
No.
Well, April could see anything from cold drizzle to mid-70s sunniness, impossible to know. Supposedly the one you were telling me about does in fact have a pool, though.
Yes, I’ve walked through the grounds of the Claremont many times when I lived in Rockridge, in fact there are a couple of pools there.
Even at my regular stays on the crappy strip of airport hotels on Hegenberger, many of them have pools. Why you would come from the Midwest to California and then want to sit next to a hotel pool for more than 2 minutes, I can’t quite fathom.
We recently had a crisis at work when our very new — both to the company and to the Bay Area — booked our Sacramento bureau chief into the Travelodge on Market Street (in San Francisco), because it was close by and cheap. Before checking in, he did a Google search – mostly to check the address. Public radio journalists generally like cheap and convenient, as long as the first few things that come up when you Google a place aren’t “bedbugs”, “The room was kind of dank but we thought we were ok until we examined the blankets and discovered what looked to be poop”, and the ever-popular””man found severely beaten“. None of the standard hotel booking places could offer anything for a day-of reservation in SF for less than $300. There were some decent options in the East Bay and Peninsula but nothing convenient for someone who had left his car at home. Then for some reason I remembered the Berkeley City Club and the day was saved.
It might not be the best place for your family holiday. It doesn’t have TV in the rooms. But it does have a very elegant indoor pool.
very new assistant.
This is why I go alone.
Remember that time Ruben Sierra decided to bulk up in the off-season, and then totally sucked? Something about his arms being so big they interfered with his swing or something.
remember that time nick swisher added 20 pounds in the off season, and then totally raised his BA slightly, his OBP slightly, lowered his SLG slightly more than slightly, and overall raised his WAR by .8 from the previous season, but then the year after that kinda sucked for chicago?
yeah i have no idea what i’m saying.
Going to the Lego Movie with 6 kids. Should be much fun, if I live.
The Lego Movie was even better than I hoped, really funny, self-consciously satirical without being at all jaded. I think the adults in the audience liked it more than the kids.
Everything is awesome!
I’m excited to see it.
‘Twas. Sound was a bit much for the 3-year old at first, but after she got used to that, she enjoyed it immensely. It goes without saying that Master Builder Spawn1 loved it.
I haven’t taken the kids yet but god i hate that stupid song from that stupid movie.
It fits the plot well, though.
The recent movie song I want to hate but can’t keep myself from liking is Pharrell’s “Happy,” from Despicable Me 2.
The LEGO movie is the first movie my kids have not categorically said “no” to, so I will be taking them eventually. The crias are bonkers for LEGOs, so they actaully have some interest.
I love that song. Especially when it’s covered by 8 rescue dogs!
“We’ve come too far…to give up who we are.”
hi. the countdown is on!
Yesssssssssss!
FSU, the 19th is also a day game.
You got something against grilled meat for breakfast?
I like my eggs fertilized.
Also, I’m coming in my PJs.
TWHS
As far as I know that would be a first for one of our tailgates.
You offering?
No, I’ve fertilized all the eggs I plan on fertilizing already, thanks.
Worst. Souvenir. Ever.
I didn’t know you were into boobs.
Australia’s feelings are hurt because Zack Greinke “can’t think of one reason to be excited for” the season opener down under. It could have been worse; he could have insulted their boot
I still watch Survivor…there’s something I find riveting about televised human duplicity. The new season starts Wednesday, and one of the contestants is Marlins President David Samson, who in order to participate took a six week leave of absence from the team during the season including the trading deadline.
Samson could do well on Survivor, since he is apparently a real sleazeball whose resume includes both an alleged RICO violations around the very shady sale of the Expos to MLB, as well as the also allegedly illegal shenanigans around the fleecing of Miami for the new Marlins stadium. He’s Jeffrey Loria’s former stepson and longtime co-conspirator.
Wooo. Nice!
Just remember that Red Sox owner John Henry was part of that sordid affair.
HA HA
Indeed.
That may be the dumbest group of “smart” people ever assembled.
Seriously, real mutton heads. And for a guy who claims he’s a huge Survivor devotee, David Samson made some super obvious first-few-days mistakes. So glad his smug weaselly ass got sent packing.
Me too. I was worried they may go after someone else but he was pathetically idiotic. That was like going all-in before the ante and then flipping over your 2 – 7 before anyone calls/folds. Trying to make a end game move within minutes of arriving? WTF.
who hasn’t been involved with alleged RICO act violations
The Stranger: There’s just one thing, Dude.
The Dude: And what’s that?
The Stranger: Do you have to use so many cuss words?
That must’ve been a lot of fucking work.
This sent me to the google machine to find out which film has more uses of the word fuck, Lebowski or Glengarry Glen Ross, one of my favorite cussing movies. And it turns out wikipedia has a list. Of course.
Props to the folks that made that documentary. 9 times per minute!
Also, fuck, I still need to see Wolf of Wall Street.
It was pretty good but I wouldn’t call it amazing or anything.
DiCaprio was solid. I hated Peter Brand’s role though, awful casting choice IMO.
Thanks, and go As.
The main problem for me was I spent the last 5/6 of the movie wondering when McConaughey’s character was going to come back, and then getting sad when I realized he wasn’t coming back.
Citation Fucking Needed.
Thanks, and go As.
” classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″>
hmm… not sure why some of the html tag properties are showing up there.
speaking of cussing too much
reply fail
I was a little bit confused about that one. It was a bumpy ride, but not *that* bumpy.
Stick to your guns Wash! And you too, Scioscia.
Holy [bleep]! He’s [bleep][bleep]!
That’s some bleeping bleeped up logic. The manager who did worse than me did this more than I did, so obviously I should try and be more like him.
Bottom line.
Well, the first four letters in analytics are…
(Ron, people think Scoiscia’s an idiot too.)
Telling the press that you don’t have confidence in half of your lineup? Now that’s the mark of a true player’s manager.
This kind of rant would be amazing in August after the team just finished a 2-7 road trip. For him to unload like that in February is really something else.
Yeah, I thought that was nuts too. I mean, he named some pretty decent hitters there.
He has been rewarded with a contract extension.
Yay!
That’ll show them. You’ll never get a $100 million contract extension unless your manager has confidence in you.
speaking of cussing too much (here)
Obligatory Gif
Has it been mentioned here that you can now select your exact seats off of a map when buying on the A’s website now, rather than just picking a ticketing category and hoping for the best? Well, you can. It even shows things like where the overhang ends in a section. I guess they finally decided that they needed to at least try to match the experience you can get on StubHub.
About time. Hell, fans have been able to do this for Raiders games for at least three years, in the same damn building. And the Raiders are hardly at the pinnacle of ticket-sales technology.
Hell, fans have been able to do this for Stockton Ports games for at least two years.
That’s awesome news though and I had not heard it.
Looks like I’m going to be moving on Opening Day :(
My New Season’s resolution is going to be to make it to at least one tailgate though.
boo
I could come down for the Opening Day tailgate. Or I could have a colonoscopy that afternoon. Guess which one I chose! Given that the A’s haven’t started a season 1-0 since 2004, I think the sedation is just as well. I’ll open the season the following night. (I may find a similar excuse to lop ALDS Game 5 off the schedule in October.)
No front row opening day seats for me :-(
Oh no! As we draw closer to 3/31 there’s a chance one of my tix might become available, if Nurse Upgrade can’t get the day off. Won’t know for awhile though.
Thanks but I’ll need two. Still plenty of tickets available though – just not front and center!
you best make it.
$25 “convenience fee” for a pair of tickets, or twice face value on stubhub … bah!
Box Office now open Mon-Fri 10 am to 5 pm, Sat 10 am to 3 pm, for the convenience fee dodging consumer. But with Opening Night tix having gone on sale early via online only, a really big chunk of the inventory got snatched up by fee-payers before box office was even an option. I ended up eating the fees myself for fear of being shut out altogether.
i waited too long last year and had a terrible under the overhang in 203 or some such section
Same here.
I leave for Europe at 7am on Saturday so I guess $25 is more convenient for me, but it sure feels like gouging.
I won’t bother going in if I have to.
I haven’t looked that far ahead on the calendar yet anyway so I dunno if I’ll have my boys with me or not.
Thanks, and go As.
I’m going to the Oakland airport mid-day tomorrow if you want me to pop over and grab a pair for you at the box office. Lemme know.
Maybe so. I’ll be in touch, thanks.
I mean… I might have to be a Jays fan for awhile.
Thanks, and go As.
Wow. Is that authentic apparel?
Fangraphs has 2014 ZiPS projections now. Jeff Sullivan took a look at the players with the biggest difference in their ZiPS vs Steamer wOBA projections. No A’s players highlighted there, but I had to share one line:
You know the Eric Chavez era is long forgotten when a bunch of A’s players stand united against Chavismo:
aj.
There was also a group supporting Chavez, but they tweaked their back and are now day-to-day.
Keebs is going up against Posey in the Face of MLB thing right now. I’m actually thinking about making a Twitter and voting because fk Posey and fk the Giants.
twitter is a good thing to have.
So how does this voting thing work? Just send a tweet with #EricSogard and #FaceofMLB in it?
Masturbate. Every time you cum an elf gets his pointy ears.
I don’t know how to masturbate. Can you link me to some video tutorials?
Here’s a classic video for you.
I’ll be honest, I’m scared to click that.
I clicked. Its glorious.
I’ll just take your word for it.
Come on… you know you want to. Just… click it…
Sogard advanced, 55% to 45%. It’s become hilarious at this point, just a massive trolljob overall. But then, it has led to some fun pics people have been making.
Motoi Yamamoto is an artist who works in salt.
Woo! Fake games!
I know that who pitches when is not really telling in early spring training, but are the A’s planning on stretching Jesse Chavez out as a starter heading into the year?
I’m always in favor of making every one a starter if they can possibly cut it. But Chavez in the long-relief role was a really nice luxury.
They have in the past. Technically speaking he is a starter, just one that they’ve used in long relief.
This bothers me more than it should, but you just know that with a guy like Punto on the team, the manager isn’t going to resist batting him second.
I’m hoping that he hardly ever starts a game during the regular season and is used purely as a defensive replacement.
Whereas I’m hoping that he platoons with Sogard.
What about Callaspo?
He’ll be our starting first baseman after Moss injures himself during a bunt attempt (and Barton extends his apartment lease in Sacramento).
Callaspo is a significantly better hitter from that side, but Punto is a significantly better fielder. It’s probably about a wash overall, but I hate the idea of Lowrie/Callaspo defense up the middle on a regular basis. Maybe it will depend partly on who’s pitching.
Are we sure that Punto/Callaspo/Sogard will all make the roster? I’d agree that it’s likely, but not sure if it’s 100%.
It sure sounds like they all will, which means that Vogt, Barton, and Taylor are battling for the last spot on the roster.
Fuld too, right? He seems like at least as good of an option as Taylor.
I suppose. He would be useful as a pinch runner, although Gentry and Punto/Sogard can already do that job. And I guess he’s a better defender. I still feel like Taylor has more upside with the bat, though, and I think he’s out of options whereas Fuld can be stashed in Sacramento.
I was tossing Fuld’s name in there, but I think I would prefer Barton or Vogt anyway.
is this like a stanford reunion
All right now, baby it’s all right now.
And Freiman.
My guess is that it will be Barton, unless they reverse course on Jaso catching, in which case it would be Vogt.
For some reason I’ve been getting the vibe that they are anxious to take advantage of their new full ownership of Freiman to get him some action in AAA. I suppose if he has a huge spring he could make it over Barton.
giminez
See, it worries me that we are already talking about guys like Barton/Vogt/Taylor making the team even when everyone is healthy.
So when people aren’t healthy, even worse players are going to be taking up roster spots.
Are we? OK, pitching aside there are what 13 spots?
Jaso/Norris
Moss
Callaspo/sogard
Lowrie/Punto
Donaldson
Cespedes
Crisp/Gentry
Reddick
that leaves the last spot for one of Barton/giminez/Vogt/Fuld.
Is taylor out of options? Fuld? Giminez?
I assume friman will be in AAA
Fuld per cots
and
that is an expensive pinch runner
Fuld and Gimenez both suck.
I’m not sure what the problem with Vogt is, he’s about average (maybe better) for a second-string catcher, and a luxury for a third-.
And while I’m not a fan of Barton, he’s not entirely useless either.
Most teams, even championship ones, have players like that somewhere on the roster.
I’m most worried about middle infield. After Lowrie, Sogard/Callaspo/Punto seem like a bunch of different flavors of meh.
I worry about middle infield defense, since Lowrie doesn’t provide much of that either. I think that Lowrie/Callaspo would be pretty decent middle infield offense, if we just don’t give a shit about run prevention.
I’ll admit I have not followed every A’s roster move in the offseason, but I’m pretty sure nobody’s name is Giminez anyway
My (more optimistic) take is that Barton/Vogt/Taylor are not terrible choices for the 25th spot on the roster. And we have enough of them that the quality of replacements isn’t going to drop off that much as injuries happen. Now it would suck if injuries happened to the point that *all* of those guys were on the ML roster and accumulating significant at-bats. But pretty much any team is screwed if they lose that many players.
I just believe that the 25th man you start the season with inevitably becomes an important part of your team as the season goes on and injuries and people sucking start to accrue.
For example, Barton and Vogt were 25-30 when the season began last year and they both ended up starting by August through Game 1. Who are the 25-30 for us this year if Barton/Vogt are already 25? And last year, I think the A’s stayed pretty healthy by A’s standards at least
Barton is a fine 25-30 player. He can replace moss or a corner outfielder. and play replacement level or better. Vogt is a catcher. as we saw, he can hold his own at replacement or better.
Chris young was 23/24 last year. Sure we expected better but was replacement level.
adam rosales was replacement level as the 19/21 player.
Brandons hicks, allen and inge, Lukes hughes and montz, Jemile weeks, Kila Ka’aihue, george kottaras, kurt suzuki.
These players all suck and played significant roles in the past 2 division championships.
I agree with colin SS is the big ledge that we best not fall off, cuz that one has very little depth. But outfield? I am comfortable with the first five.
I agree with the overall point, but I’d say it’s not exactly that the A’s did “fine” with those guys you listed, it’s that they did “fine” because they were able to limit those guys’ appearances by finding guys like Moss, Carter, Donaldson, Gray, Norris, Griffin, Straily instead when the injuries did start piling up.
At what point does that ledge get filled with the kid? All the right things are being said right now about Russell staying in the minors. But if he is doing well and something happens in June/July and we are contending do you pull the trigger, do you go shopping, or do you hope that Rosey has been DFA’d again?
I don’t think you try to forecast ahead on that one. You really have to make him force the issue. Until he does, he’s a non-entity this season. All plans should be with the thought that he won’t factor in the MLB this season.
And what do you shop with Straily/milone/Griffin?
What do you want in return? Rollins? bogarts? (is enough left for him) Avilas ? escobar? Cabrera?
I can’t see the union of availability and affordability.
Jaso catching makes this team so much better. Guaranteed we beat DET in the ALDS if Jaso was playing instead of Vogt.
Yes. I’ve muttering this all winter like a crazy person.
You transposed the “this” and the “all.”
I just don’t see that at all. The difference between them is awfully small once you account for defense.
HE GUARANTEED IT!
that is all I need to know.
Joe Namath, Justin Wilson, George Zimmer, and the llama.
Over the course of a season, maybe. But in a short series against that pitching staff, I think Jaso’s .400 OBP against righties would quite likely have tipped the balance. He certainly would have had better at bats against Scherzer.
Yes, this. Vogt was so sorry in high-leverage situations (according to my fuzzy rage-fueled memory) that I have to think Jaso would have been some kind of improvement.
I really hate Vogt.
You got a problem with -0.4 WPA for the series?
FUUUUUUUU
-0.2 in game 4 alone. He even managed to have a negative WPA in the game that he won with a walkoff hit.
That’s awfully misleading, though. He had a long but ultimately unsuccessful AB against Verlander in that game (Game 2) that got praise from both teams for what a great battle it was.
True. It was epic.
Wow, I had forgotten about that already.
Well, I mean, wtf has he done for us lately? Absolutely nothing for more than 3 months, that’s what. Guy’s lazy.
Verlander was +0.84 WPA for that series. If you add in the one game he pitched against Boston, he put together +1.12 WPA in just three starts. 23 IP, 1 ER, 31 K, 3 BB, 1 HR.
Worst part? I knew as soon as game 4 ended that it would go exactly that way.
This.
Thanks, and go As.
I like Vogt.
But surely you think Jaso is a better option for LHB catcher, no?
Overall yes, but only a little bit. Jaso’s defense is really bad, and I don’t get why no one seems to care about that. I mean, I’m not going full Fosse and claiming that only defense matters for a catcher, just that it does count. And while some aspects of catcher defense are still hard to measure, it seems pretty clear that Jaso is not good at any of it.
I’ll take your word for it on the defense. But man, Vogt has a sorry plate approach compared to Jaso and that’s a very visible shortcoming.
Also, the hair.
Well is Vogt’s defense any good? I feel like I heard “Ball in the dirt — past Vogt” quite a few times last year. But his arm seems to be the best out of the trio, not that that’s saying much.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself and call today a must win game, but…
Thanks, and go As.
I liked it better when we opened the spring season against the Brewers.
WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!
I for one appreciate it when the local newspeople who lick up the snot that drips out of their nose on live TV are kind enough to out themselves as Giants fans.
Your link just goes to the A’s website.
Ironic mistake, given my editorial snark. Fixed now.
Not enough boobs in this thread for Mike.
pretty much always true
Thanks, and go As.
RIP Bushman
A former rival of mine… Of course he outlasted me in our battle for the tourist dollar in front of the excursion boats, but then again, I wasn’t meant to be a lifer and he was.
I don’t know if he will be missed, but I don’t want him to reincarnate as a tree sloth, either.
What was your shtick?
I made up songs about people as they walked by.
Sometimes the boat owners would tip me to talk shit about the Bushman (They hated the Bushman), so I’d sing a song to the people who walked past me before the Bushman…
“Oh the guy over there’s not a bush not a bush, but that bush over there might be a guy… You can give your money to him or to me, but at least I don’t make little children cry!”
So much win.
You are awesome.
This just in. A’s farm system sucks.
They just don’t know that Ynoa is the next Verlander.
And neither does his talent.
At least we’re not the Angels.
Choioce is not even listed as a ranger to watch. He was what our #2?
Not really worried seeing as our rotation is fucking bargain and solid for a good 3-4 years. Ynoamean?
Holy shit.
So if everything breaks perfectly, we can jump to the bottom of the middle-third?!?
So are we doing a WACC/FSU hybrid thing for opening day?
Looks that way, come one come all. So long as fans are allowed to park where they want to the tailgate should draw a huge and awesome crowd.
Awesome, kinda curious what attendance is going to be this year- looking at their recent success and baseballs weird ascendance amongst young hipsters; I’ve never ever seen so much A’s gear reppin’, I picked almost all my ST for weeknights practically, as I abhor long lines/ coliseum chode-ster cholesterol. Gawd I sound old heh…
I have definitely seen more A’s hats around the last month than I remember in any February for a long time. If the A’s are contenders all season long they could top 2 million. I also think that if demand is strong for the high demand games we might just see some tarps come off.
I’m down for tarps off, suck it Lew!
It was so FKing beautiful with the tarps off in the playoffs.
Yes yes yes
I’d be lying if I thought both weren’t very far fetched. But I wouldn’t mind in the least bit to eat crow over that. Not one bit.
Looks like a work from
ballparkhome Monday for me!Updating my CV for a grant application, I just realized its 20 years since my first paper.
NERD!!
this
Old man, but apparently 20 years well-spent.
How long since your first rolling paper? Every good CV includes that.
oh man, counting 20 years on my fingers overnight, i was sure “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity” was yours. alas, 2 years off. but there’s hope!
Very curious what some of you science types think about Elon Musk’s new battery factory. Wondering if he’s going to make big strides in the battery size/storage capacity connundrum.
Nah. He’s just going to set more things on fire.
I don’t know anything about the technical issues in battery research, but it seems like a good move from a business perspective, assuming they are really serious about developing mass market electric cars.
Batteries are one of the biggest limitations towards increases in feasible/affordable production electric technology, so attempts to address that are welcome. I don’t know about the science of it though
…but he probably still will.
Yup.
He seems like the kind of guy who would have spent the last five months stewing over that swing against Scherzer. I hope it motivates him in a positive way rather than breaking him. I really like Reddick.
Based on his history, he’ll just dig in and do worse. He needs some weed to relax and let that shit go.
According to Fangraphs swing numbers, Reddick actually swung at less stuff across the board last year than in his successful 2012
Slusser on the radio this morning said she thinks Barton makes the team out of Spring with Vogt coming up at some later point, and that if Gentry’s back issue lingers its Fuld > Taylor/Peterson for the 4th outfield spot.
taylor is out of options, I would guess.
Well, if Barton makes the team, then they’d only need a 5th outfielder spot since Barton could play first with Moss in the outfield.
Who is the DH in that scenario?
Jaso?
I think in this scenario Cespedes or Crisp is carrying a minor injury and needs a day at DH.
Correct. They’re going to carry 4.5 outfielders, basically.
I think you’re forgetting about Reddick.
Isn’t it like this?
LF = Cespedes
CF = Crisp
RF = Reddick
OF = Gentry
1B/OF = Moss
1B = Barton
Then Fuld, Taylor, Peterson go to the minors.
Yes, so if Barton makes the team over Vogt, Moss isn’t going to the outfield. Moss is going to DH with Jaso at C.
Either way you usually need five guys on a roster who can play the outfield. Since the A’s have Moss, they only need to carry four “true” outfielders and can instead carry all the scrappy middle infielders and defensive specialist first basemen they want.
Right, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with Barton vs. Vogt.
I think there are two separate issues here:
1) Guys who can play the outfield. Agreed, we have a lot of those, even if there are a couple of injuries. Not really an issue.
2) What bats are in the lineup. It looks like:
C – Jaso/Norris platoon
1B – Moss
2B – Sogard/Callaspo/Punto platoon
SS – Lowrie
3B – Donaldson
LF – Cespedes
CF – Crisp
RF – Reddick/Gentry platoon
That’s 8 slots that are at least OK. 2B is clearly not great, and who knows about Reddick, but all in all there isn’t much to complain about.
The problem is the 9th (DH) slot. Options are:
– Barton at 1B, with Moss moving to DH.
– Vogt at LH C, with Jaso moving to more or less full-time DH.
– One of those other platoon players hitting from his worse side.
As lenscrafter argued the other day, those are already not-great options, and an injury to one of the starters means we are getting two of those options (or Fuld/Peterson/Taylor), which makes it a lot worse. I wasn’t crazy about the Nelson Cruz idea, which I don’t think would be much of an upgrade, but it really would be better to have one more decent hitter instead of one of those utility infielders.
Good summary. Thinking more about this, I expect to see a fair amount of Callaspo in the DH spot against lefties, with Barton at first if he makes the team.
Apropos of not much, I just noticed that Norris’ platoon split was crazy last year. 177 wRC+ against lefties, 33 wRC+ against righties.
Career split is 140/54, but that’s still with only ~260 PA for each half of the split (is anyone else surprised that he has logged equal number of PA vs LHP and RHP?). But even with appropriate skepticism about his true platoon split, I think it’s safe to say that Norris could be a damn good hitter as half of a catching platooon. I really hope that he and Jaso can manage to stay healthy and catch this year.
Are we not platooning Moss this year? I thought Callaspo or someone was going to play 1B against lefties.
Fuld has outs in his minor league contract.
This is fun.
Meh. The US, Soros, and Omidyar have been sponsoring these groups around FSU for years. And will continue to do so until they get it right or until it is no longer financially worthwhile to do so.
Sogard loses to David Wright? No fucking way! I smell a fix, somebody with MLB in NYC stuffing the ballot box to avoid having an anonymous non-star player from an anonymous non-star team as “the Face of MLB.”
this won’t make you feel better:
ignore the source.
Yeah – I think the 5am PST closing time was the only fix.
20% of total votes coming between 7 and 8 am Eastern?
I am not fully convinced.
Deadspin
the golden one commentor points out this and this
tagline?
Hijacked by bespectacled nihilism, for sure.
that is 51,747 to 14,665 in the last hour.
There’s lots of conspiracy theories flying around. Casey Pratt posted some map showing that a large chunk of the votes for Wright came from South Korea.
Totally. Also the contest ended at 8am eastern I think, so Mets fans had a chance to get in their last tweets while we were sleeping. I will say I sent what were my first and what could very well be my last tweets ever! I did get my tix for the nerd power night–love the tee.
What exactly was the point of this contest? Does the winner get featured in an ad campaign, or what?
I don’t know. Apparently there was one last year with Cespedes being the A’s representative
I haven’t been so outraged since Rory Fitzpatrick lost the NHL all-star vote.
too bad it was against a team of mine, but wow.
Today’s selection of A’s links from Phoenix (note that none are from the Oakland Tribune due to their idiotic limit of 10 articles per month before you have to pay for them and I’m too lazy for the clear history and cookies workaround):
Bruce Jenkins (aiee!) waxes rhapsodic about comfortable old Phoenix Muni. Worth it for this from Melvin:
“We almost take offense when people start bad-mouthing (the Coliseum) and the stuff that goes on over there.”
Yes, Sean Doolittle was working the new slider yesterday.
Joliet Jake Elmore Leonard, Mr. Versatility. On August 19 last year he played all nine positions in a game for the Astros. Trivia question: Name the only person to have done that for the Oakland Athletics.
(Elmore played all 9 positions for the Astros in various games during the season, but no more than 2 positions in any single game.)
Damn my feeble reading comprehension!
I’m going to bust you on your trivia question too. Here is the list of position players who have pitched for the Oakland Athletics (emphasis added), none of whom played all 9 positions in their entire careers.
Surprising that most of them didn’t allow any runs.
Usually in those blowout situations the other team tries to make some courtesy outs and get the game over with, the exception being somebody who’s 0-for-20 and needs a cheap batting practice hit. I guess the Rockies weren’t feeling so magnanimous that night.
If I remember right, in the 19-inning game Moss won with a homer last April, the A’s were completely out of pitchers and one of the position players was prepared to pitch the 20th if the game had continued.
Seth Smith maybe?
I was thinking a similar thought. The one I could think of was wrong because of the Oakland part I thought, but I was too lazy to do any actual research.
Also gotta love letting Gross go 2 and a third. I had to do a quick check because I would have just assumed Billy was still managing and was trying to blow his arm out as well.
My phrasing was off; the feat was accomplished in 1965 by a Kansas City Athletic. In my defense, the player is mostly associated with the team’s Oakland days.
Dagoberto. Bonus question, Minnesota edition: who did it for the Twins?
Cesar Tovar, of course.
I’ve missed you, Kay.
NORTH BAY PEOPLE! GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!
which would be much funnier if today’s actual headlines weren’t so similar.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26408115