The Gift That Keeps on Re-Gifting

Billy Beane's Christmas came early this year and the gift he gave to A's fans was a gift he had helped wrap himself.

Ken Macha (finally) has been introduced as the manager of the Oakland Athletics.

There were no reports on whether Art Howe let the door hit him in the ass on the way out.

Free (?) Agency

Scott Hatteberg's option has been picked up for this year and Greg Myers option has not. The difference? Oh, about $100,000.

With Hatteberg solidifying himself in the number two spot in the batting order (Scott Hattberg OWNS RIGHT CENTER), playing 1st base, DH'ing and acting as third catcher there was no need to pay Crash $1.1 million to be a back up catcher at age 37. The A's opted for a $100,000 buy out of Crash's contract and will most likely sign him to a deal below $300,000 prior to Spring Training.

Notable Quotable

A hip shot from a retiree:
"The thing I love is how Scioscia plays the game. He has your defense on its toes because whether they're up or down he's hitting and running, moving runners, bunting. As a defensive player I know the chaos that causes. I hope that shines a light for this organization. To just play 90-foot baseball and then wait for a home run--that's a lot of pressure to put on a young team and young pitchers. Putting pressure on a defense doesn't take ability, it just takes management to make it go forward."
--Randy Velarde, retiring Athletics infielder

No News Like Good News with Gary Gnu

The Mets have announced an 11:00 am (PST) news conference to officially announce Art Howe as manager of the New York's National League train wreck.

In other news, Bud Selig is slapping hands.

The Commissioner's Office is fining the Mets $50,000 for the leaks surrounding the Manager-Go-Round during the World Series.

Let's see; a payroll of $100 million, franchise value $450 million, possible contract $14-15 million...fine about illegal specualtion regarding the contract $50,000.


PRICELESS

"Yah, that seems about right."

Okay, Selig is slapping wrists in a Paul Lynde manner rather than Hammurabi.

A punishment of 4 thousandths of the total of the proposed deal is hardly worth envoking.

This is more ridiculous than the $50,000 the Rangers had to pay for illegal tampering with Grady Fuson.

Why are we surprised?

This is the Bud Selig era of administration. Screw up, cook books and make sure you win friends and influence people through bribes, kick backs and abusing your power.

By the way, did anyone else see the CBA deal? It's been gutted. The world draft is out, compensation for free agents is back in. Nothing has changed. So the Player's Association basically handed Seligula his ass and he kissed their feet for the ordeal.

It reminds us of Christopher Columbus weeping at the foot of the throne to regain his titles just before his death.

Some have been saying that Seligula doesn't get credit for saving baseball from a strike.

Please.


When administration does not have the balls to get a decent deal and caves in to the demands of labor, that's not leadership. That's pandering. That's basic business administartion 101.

Basically what the late August snafu boiled down to was Selig being unable to avoid the confrontation altogether months in advance to save MLB the sake of the embarassment. Any significant changes agreed to have been dropped. Sniff, sniff, does anyone else smell George Steinbrenner's legal team?

The drums may be uinaudible right now, but Seigula's ass is in a sling over this. As the next contract looms or if another ambitious owner decides to mount a coup, Bud Selig might just be the next Richard M Nixon. Without the charisma and warm and fuzzy feelings.

We find it amusing that Selig does anything. You would think that Sandy Alderson would have stepped in and starting taking control of the PR situation.

RANTINGS, ER, RATINGS

We don't really think that Nielsen Ratings are the way to go to when discussing MLB or sports at all, for that matter.


We live in Northern California and the yelling and screaming we heard this season during the World Series was louder than last year. Sure it was because the Giants were involved, but there are far more Barry Bonds haters than people realize.


Further, don't people get together to watch major sporting events? Don't they go to bars and restaurants?


Our streets were littered with cars several times in the last weeks.


A great AP article stated that ratings were down, even in California. Yah, might have something to do with the fact that 75,000 to 100,00 people weren't at home. Instead they were working security, driving the buses and serving the beer at the games. Not to mention the games started when most of them were still in traffic.

The key is that NBC and some of the other networks have realized that cost efficiency now translates into pointing out week ratings to keep the cost of labor down. While NBC execs are trying to win back the cast of Friends for another year (please, God, Buddha, Krishna, NO!) they are slamming ER and the West Wing (can't say we care too much) to try and lower the cost of keeping those shows and still keep their ratings high enough to stay on the air.

LABOR

John Sickels recently pointed out that the draft language of the draft (we love labor jokes) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement has been gutted. One of the rallying cries of Seligula was the draft. Now MLB has basically given in to the Player's Association on everything.

Death and Taxes

So basically Bud Selig badmouthed baseball for 18 months until push came to shove in late August and then tried to patch the game back together with his CBA deal. Sort of like the King telling the peasants that they wouldn't have to pay taxes for the land they live on this harvest...but they're going to war next spring against a king in another land so they've all been conscripted as well as being required to pay double taxes and produce twice as much next year.

Chat Wrap: Barry Zito

Courtesy of ESPN.COM

Zito is an avid surfer and student of yoga and meditation.

Welcome to the ESPN.com moderated chat room. On Tuesday, October 22, Oakland A's starting pitcher Barry Zito hit chat to talk about his season, and winning the Major League Baseball Players Association's Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher. Since 1994, the winner of this award has gone on to win the American League Cy Young Award.

Zito, who went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 2002, led all AL pitchers in wins. He finished third in the league in ERA and recorded 182 strikeouts for Oakland's AL West championship club. In just his third season in the majors, Zito became the third different A's hurler to win 20 games in the past three years.

Zito was the ninth overall selection in the June, 1999 draft. He made the jump to the major league squad the following year and went 7-4 with a 2.72 ERA. But it was the 2001 season that solidified Zito as one of the top pitchers in the AL. After starting the season 6-7, he dominated the final two months of the season, going 11-1 with a 1.32 ERA in his final 13 starts.

A star off the field, Zito has appeared in an episode of HBO's Arli$$, was a guest on the Howard Stern Show and played guitar for a national audience on The Late Show with Craig Kilborn.

The following is a transcript of the October 22 chat:

Barry is heard regularly on ESPNRadio's AllNight with Todd Wright in The Zito Files.

For a list of upcoming ESPN.com chat guests, visit the Community section.

Barry Zito: Hello everone. Glad to be here. I'm ready for your questions!

Dave(Philadelphia): Barry you are the best pitcher in my mind. Will you be upset if you dont win the Cy Young?

Barry Zito: No, I won't be upset. The awards I have received, I am very thankful for. Other players gave me the award and that means a lot to me. I am so honored to accept those awards.

David Haller (Upland): What frustrates you the most about the major league lifestyle?

Barry Zito: The travel is tough .. you don't realize it during the season but it's like taking a break from life for 8 months. In the offseason I call people I haven't called all year and catch up on current events. You just don't have time during the season.

Auggie: Barry, huge fan of yours, keep up the good work. Are you disappointed you didn't get to pitch twice against the Twins? And what's it like to have 4 months off a year?

Barry Zito: Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed because I would have liked to try and make an impact. It's tough to make an impact on a series when you only pitch once. It's just how the rotation worked out.

Mark: Who do you think is the best all around athlete in baseball, defensively or offensively?

Barry Zito: That's tough .. I'm not sure. On our team, a guy like Eric Chavez or Mark Mulder, those guys could play any sport and be good.

Bryan, Fremont: Hey Barry - great year, congratulations! Are you pretty confident in the A's ability as an organization to keep you guys together for some time? Get Tejada locked up? And push a new stadium deal? Would that be incentive enough to keep you around when the time comes? Next time your in Fremont and want to jam, drop a line! Good luck in the Cy balloting! Cheers, Bryan

Barry Zito: Yeah, I think a lot of the talk about us falls under Tejada's ordeal. If we can get him signed and the team shows they want to honestly do something and win, that would help. Obviousley getting the new stadium would be a big step.

Mike (San Diego): Barry, you're certainly a player with a unique style so I was wondering what your Halloween costume is going to be this year. Any suggestions for me?

Will (Minneapolis): Barry thanks for the teriffic season. I am a little concerned with Tim Hudson and his eradic performances. What do you think might be causing him to lose his edge? His strikeout numbers are way down and he just has been as dominant as he once was. He is only 26... do you know if he is wearing down?

Barry Zito: I don't know yet .. I'm anxious to make sure I get a good one this year. I might be going to the Playboy Mansion.. if I do that, I have to have something good.

Sorry, forgot to answer that second question..

I think a lot of people base those thoughts on his win/loss record which isn't really fair. His ERA is still good and I think the hip may have been bothering him. But I wouldn't worry.

jeremy (boston): Barry, like so many, 'm obsessed with your curve ball. Could you give us weekend hacks a few grip and release pointers? I'm going to be the only guy who needs tommy john surgery just from playing catch.

Barry Zito: The key to a curve is to keep the back of your hand in line with your forearm. You don't want to flex your wrist .. that leads to injury. That can be avoided with proper mechanics.

Tim: Sacramento, CA: Give us the dirt Barry. You are rooting for the Angels, aren't you?

Barry Zito: Yes. I am. It's the truth man. I pull for AL teams. Every since I was raised in San Diego, I have been a Giant and Dodger hater.

Chris Johansen (Atlantic City): Barry, congrat's on another great season. Did you guy's look past the Twins this year. I think the Yankees did.

Barry Zito: We knew what to expect. We had played them all year. Radke was the key to their success. And A.J. had a great postseason. They just stepped up and we didn't. We learn every year that we need to step up that much more.

Andy (Orlando): How is Art Howe as a manager?

Barry Zito: Very mellow. He just lets us do what we do and is a big reason for our success. He just lets us play and disciplines when he has to. He is very laid back.

Marco (Hartford): What was it like appearing on the Howard Stern show ?? Were you nervous ?

Barry Zito: I was very cautious. I didn't want to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. I knew he would try to get me to say something controversial. I'm going to try and be on the TV show this offseason.

Mike (Scottsdale): Hey Barry, do you have a home recording studio at home so you can pen your original work?

Barry Zito: Yes. I'm just getting it next weekend. There is a guy coming in from the Midwest to show me how to use it all. I'm really concentrating on my music this offseason.

Branden (Virginia: Barry you are a awesome pitcher, when you become a free agent will you please come to the yankees?

Barry Zito: That's a long way off man .. if the A's do what we hope, I'm staying in Oakland to get this dynasty rolling.

Tony.E (Chino, Ca): the Rally Monkey, your opinion?

Barry Zito: I like the Rally Monkey. Love it. It's a cool bit. They play the music and they have the quote with the kid saying "I see Monkey". It's great.

Yumi: Hi Barry. I love your sytle... My question is, how would you pitch to Bonds, if you are allowed to pitch to him? Thanks.

Barry Zito: I'm not unless I absolutely have to. A lot of people say it is not the manly thing to do but do you want to save your pride or win a World Series?

Emmett (Va. Beach): Good Luck in the Cy Young race-you certainly deserve it. As a big fan of the A's for 30 years, what do you feel like you all are missing to get you to a championship?

Barry Zito: We aren't missing anything. It's no key ingrediant. We have just not played our best in the last series of the year. We have showed we are good enough, we just have to step it up for the next postseason.

Nick (Portland, OR): If Billy Beane ends up leaving Oakland, what would that mean to the A's?

Barry Zito: That would not be good at all. The players are doing it on the field but to put together what he has is unprecedented in baseball history. He has put together so many studs and they are all really special guys.

Eric Rohloff (Vernon NJ): Barry thanks for the teriffic season. I am a little concerned with Tim Hudson and his eradic performances. What do you think might be causing him to lose his edge? His strikeout numbers are way down and he just has been as dominant as he once was. He is only 26... do you know if he is wearing down?

Barry Zito: I think some people base that on his win loss record and that isn't really fair. His era was sub 3 so I don't think he is losing his stuff. His hip probably hindered him a little.

Jen, NYC: So Barry, I hear that you are also a big fan of the band Guster. What is your favorite song by them?

Barry Zito: The Green album is the only one I have and I love it. I think it's called Lost and Gone Forever.

Will (Boston): Barry, if you had to vote for either Derek Lowe or Pedro Martinez for the Cy Young, who would you vote for and why?

Barry Zito: I don't know. I don't really know the criteria. I have seen Pedro twice and Lowe once this year. I don't see it as much as everyone else so it's not really fair for me to say.

Joe (Orlando): Do you hang out with any of your teammates during the offseason?

Barry Zito: Yes, a little. I enjoy hanging out with the guys. Adam Piatt is coming to L.A. and a former teammate Mark Belhorn will be coming out. I'll probably see Mulder and Hudson a few times also.

Mike (New York, NY): Barry -- what are your favorite DMB tunes? What do you think of their new album "Busted Stuff"? Continued success and I hope you win the CY!

Barry Zito: It changes so often.. right now I think it's an unreleased song called Help Myself.. it's written in a very strange key. He pulls it off though.

Mike (Los Angeles): Have you ever jammed with Scott Spezio and Sandfrog?

Barry Zito: I have not. I don't know where he lives but I would love to get with him.. I think he only plays electric though.

Andy (Seattle): your show--the Zito files. Why does it rotate so much, and is there some sort of schedule I just haven't been able to decipher?

Barry Zito: It's basically whenever they have time. It's pretty ambiguous .. there is no set schedule.

Angela (Berkeley): Do you think the A's poor preformance in the playoffs will affect the atomosphere in the clubhouse nex year?

Barry Zito: No. I think now, there will be no letting down until that last out of the last game. We played hard and battled this year but in 2001 we let up a little. We will be that much more determined next year to win a World Series ...

Thanks for all the great questions.. I always enjoy talking to you guys and hearing what is on your mind. We'll try and do this again sometime. Take care!

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Art Howe to Manage Mets

Howe 'bout that? Art Howe is rumored to have agreed to a deal with the Mets. Now, he might even take a few of the A's with him as most managers do. Including Terrence Long who started with the mets.

Think it's a stretch?

Consider that Billy Beane loudly hinted that the A's would not ask for compensation if Art were to be hired away by the Mets. A key lesson in public relations, business and politics: pay close attention to what is not being said.

What may very well end up happening is the A's get the decidedly upper hand in a few "deals" whereby the A's get compensated without direct compensation.

NEW YORK -- Art Howe has agreed to a four-year contract worth $9.4 million to manage the New York Mets, a baseball source told The Associated Press on Thursday.


ESPN News Report: Piniella agrees
Newsday reported Thursday that Lou Piniella, unable to negotiate with the Mets after the Mets failed to reach a compensation deal with Seattle, agreed in principle to a $13 million, four-year deal with the Devil Rays.


The newspaper said Oakland bench coach Ken Macha, yet another of Alan Nero's clients, will replace Howe, and that he has agreed in principle to a multiyear contract for almost $1 million a year.


The Athletics permitted the 55-year-old Howe to negotiate with the Mets even though he has a year remaining on his contract.


Macha has interviewed with several teams about their managerial openings -- including the Mets.


The Devil Rays, based in Piniella's hometown, offered him their managing job Tuesday.


Howe, who guided Oakland to this season's AL West title and three straight playoff appearances, will be formally introduced as the team's new manager next week, after the World Series, the source said on condition of anonymity.


Commissioner Bud Selig has barred teams from making major announcements during the Series.


The Mets met with Howe and agent Alan Nero on Wednesday after it was clear that first choice Lou Piniella would not be available. The Mets were unable to get permission from the Seattle Mariners to talk with Piniella, who asked to leave that team to manage closer to his home in Tampa, Fla.


The Mariners granted permission only to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who reportedly have reached an agreement in principle with Piniella, another Nero client.


With Howe leaving Oakland, that job reportedly will go to bench coach Ken Macha, one of several candidates interviewed by the Mets. Macha also interviewed with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers.


Howe became a fallback candidate for the Mets' job when the Athletics offered to release him with no compensation. He was interviewed last week, but the Mets chose to wait until it became clear that no agreement could be reached with Seattle.


The Mets fired Bobby Valentine on Oct. 1 after finishing in last place despite a $95 million payroll. Owner Fred Wilpon said he wanted the next manager to come with a history of winning.


Howe fills that requirement.


Hired as the Athletics' manager before the 1996 season, Howe has become the third-winningest manager in franchise history. His team won 103 games this season but lost a five-game playoff to Minnesota, the third straight year Oakland has been eliminated in the first round.


He spent five years as manager of the Houston Astros before moving to Oakland.


New York newspapers were critical of the Mets' move.


The Post ran a back-page headline saying, "LOU-SERS -- AND HOWE'' and added in smaller type, "Mets settle for A's skipper after Piniella fiasco.''


Newsday also made it clear on its back page that Howe was not the Mets' first choice, saying, "Howe & Why -- With Piniella Unavailable, Desperate Mets Agree To 4-Year Deal With Art."

What's next? The A's sign Ken Macha as manager, Bob Geren becomes bench coach and the A's grab a catcher, pitcher and infielder for trading Howe plus Corey Lidle, Terrence Long and a player to be named later.

We're looking at the Arizona Fall League numbers right now and they look great. By the way, do you know what team team the A's players play for in the Arizona Fall League? Do you know what team the New York Mets players play for in the Arizona Fall League?


No hints.

See My Vest

MLB is playing a wonderful game of poker that might actually be more entertaining than its World Series. Make no mistake, the Manager de Jour issue in MLB is a direct result of teams not being allowed to annouce hirings and/or firings during the World Series. Therefore, managers to be and mangers who were and their agent(s) are making more noise in the dark than can be cursed.

The big situation is that Lou Pinella, Art Howe and Ken Macha are all represented by the same scum of the earth agent, Alan "Burn it All" Nero.

You would think that there would be a conflict of interest. In reality, agents make their bread an butter off of conflict of interest.

While a lot of the leaks to the media finding their way to the printed page are basically covert counter-intelligence to drive a seperate deal up or down it is interesting that Bob Geren, the AAA manager of the A's is still waiting in the wings.

Bob Geren, you see, was the best man at Billy Beane's wedding.

New York Guests

Art Howe apparently will not be guiding the New York Mets next season. Honestly, could you see Art holding up to the New York media for a solid season? He had a hard enough time in 2000 and 2001 during the week of the Division Series.


At a time when the search gets tough (teams are not allowed to announce hirings during the World Series) it seems everything will come out today or have to wait 10 days. Then they'll gte lost in the 2002 season awards.


Billy Beane has a fish or cut bait scenario and the next several days will be crucial to the 2003 A's. Beane told the Mets he would not expect compensation if the Mets hired Beane out from under his 2003 contract. If an AL team should request an audience with Howe, say the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, you could expect Beane to get the centerfielder (Randy Winn) he has been after for six months. Things become a little more difficult if the Seattle Mariners ask about Howe. Can the A's really afford to let Art go to its nearest division rival? Don't say Anaheim is closer because we still feel like 2002 is rather Bret Boone...flukey.

As we have said in the past, we like Art and think he is a good manager, especially bridging the gap between older and younger players for teams in transition. But, he is not a playoff or crunch time manager. In reality he is a tweener. Howe could be a vital asset to a superior manager like Lou Pinella (who usually handed Art his ass when they went head to head) in the mold of Don Zimmer to Joe Torre.

Art might be a better fit in Tampa Bay and could help a down and out team find its way to just plain awful, maybe even horrible.

The real issue is that both Ken Macha and Art Howe are Pittsburgh guys. If Pittsburgh decides that Lloyd McClendon is as stupid as he sounds, both Art and Ken would jump ship wherever they are at to get the job at PNC Park.


You can hear the rustling in the sound bites that Macha and Howe are waiting things out. Macha is in more precarious water, he might wait so long the sand bar might emerge and he'll be stuck without a home. Beane might try to talk Macha into staying as bench coach and becoming manager after Howe leaves following the 2003 season (come on, grow up, Art is headed for the door). Bob Geren, the Sacramento River Cats manager (the A's AAA team), is primed and ready for a job in the major leagues and he could do a lot worse than starting as bench coach for a team where he has managed most of ther players at the beginnings of their careers.

Who in the What, Now?

Here are some of the issues Peter Gammons has pointed out with the A's in his October 16th column at ESPN.com:

...both the Mets' and Devil Rays' first impressions were that the M's are driving a hard bargain on the compensation, and if it goes too long, don't be surprised if the Mets talk more earnestly with Art Howe, although that window closes quickly.


Ken Macha's interview with the Mets was reportedly very impressive, but the school of thought seems to be that the Oakland bench coach is the Cubs' first choice, and the Cubs are the best job out there -- unless Dusty Baker decides to move on Seattle. Of course, if Howe went to the Mets, Macha would be Billy Beane's first choice, although Oakland Triple-A (Sacramento River Cats) manager Bob Geren is a future big-league skipper.


...Oakland owner Steve Schott has given the Red Sox the runaround in their attempt to talk to Billy Beane. Schott would like to sell the club, but he has treated Beane as a commodity, not a human. And everyone knows Schott has no intention of ever getting Miguel Tejada signed, so the A's have gone about as far as they can go.


Oakland still hopes to sign Ray Durham, figuring that the Yankees will go for defense and Boston won't give up the draft choice. One possibility is Colorado...

Confused. Yes, so are we.


Gammons says that Schott wants to sell the team, that's no secret. That he won't try to sign Miguel Tejada to a long term deal is also no secret. If you're selling a car you really don't want to put in a new expensvie 8 Track deck when cassettes are just around the corner. Sure, you hear the same music but cost and resale are the big issues. It's hard to unload a high ticket item when the buyer doesn't want one of its main features (see; Giambi, Jason) and will have to spend money to replace it.

The real brain twister is that Gammons reports the A's are looking into Ray Durham. That's not so much news as it is confirmation. A lot of local and regional sports writers like to echo each other and 'report' items that are really just recirculated. If it gets circulated to the opposing coast, usually that is significant enough that the rumor or issue didn't die or was not denied.

But if the A's aren't going to sign Tejada to a long term deal, why would they look at getting Durham as a Free Agent unless they were thinking ahead; plugging Ellis in at short and Durham back at second should the experiment in the outfield go awry?

There's nothing like a non-denial denial.


There's been a lot of talk on the West Coast on the subject, but if the northeast is anything, it's Peter Gammons.


There's Harvard Yard, Fenway Park and Peter.


That sparks a lot of talk about Terrence Long if Durham is going to try to outfield. At the time of the trade for Ray Durham from the White Sox Durham led the AL in errors by a second baseman. Mark Ellis has shown that he is the A's answer at second for several more years (at a minimum salary to boot). If Durham takes over in center, even on a part time basis, the A's might be looking to unload Long.

Weddings

Weddings are horrible. Especially weddings out of town. Especially weddings out of town when the laptop crashes.

A full week of posts and articles down the drain.

Save to disk you suggest?

What, is this the middle ages?

Bring me the head of Bill Gates and whatshername from HP.

Joe Morgan: IDIOT

From an October 11th chat session at ESPN.com:

Tom (New York): Is Dusty Baker a real candidate for the New York Mets job even though the Giants are two wins away from going to the World Series?


Joe Morgan: He's a candidate for some job other than the Giants. He has had problems with them second-guessing. I think Dusty wants to move on. I don't think he will be back with the Giants, although he is the best manager in the game.

Inlaftion

Both teams in the ALCS are basically holding 'FOR SALE' signs next to their logos. Both the Angels and Twins are on the market. How much does their team value increase with the national exposure of a playoff run?

If Carl Pohlad wanted money to contract, he could sell the Twins for a lot more with another World Series title than he could get from MLB via contraction. Same with the Angels. If Disney needs fast cash, seeing the Angels win a title could make their eagerness to sell the team look like a drug dealer surrounded by crackheads with full wallets. Yah, that is a delicious anaology.

Imagine the motivation Pohlad could give the Twins players, "Hey, if you jerks win the Series and the value of the club goes up at least $25 million, I'll sell the team to the first guy who dusts himself off fresh from a turnip truck dump."

Pull the Other One

Are you kidding us? The Anaheim Angels are selling their World Series tickets for $60-$175
We don't have to remind anyone that the A's tickets were more expensive than that, correct? The cheap seats at the World Series were set at $110.

This is not New York City we're talking about. We're chatting about blue collar Oakland. A city where a low-income housing project has a higher priority than a $500 million sports complex and business promenade.

This is Anaheim we're talking about in the scope of Hollywood and harboring the baseball Championship sentiments of all of Southern California. An area whose two professional football teams happen to be UCLA and USC so they won't be a distraction.

So Cal, an area where breast implants, nose jobs and cellular phones are required gifts for 16th birthdays now has the ability to throw their disposable cash at a baseball team in the playoffs. Will we see a Beverly Hills 90210 reunion (we'd prefer a Ben Stiller Show reunion, sans Ben Stiller and Andy Dick)? Are the kids form that 70's Show going to be sitting behind one dugout and Malcolm in the Middle behind the other?


You don't think FOX is going to buy a ton of tickets and put their stars that happen to reside locally in Southern California in good seats at the games? You don't think ABC is trying to get John Ritter and Drew Carey front row seats down the lines in an effort for free face time?

You got sick of seeing Jack Nicholson at Lakers games during the playoffs? Wait until you see the hoards of media whores and hangers on at Angels games this week.


Start the Charlie Sheen Denise Richardson watch!

Hell, we'll sit through it if we don't have to hear any mention of the Angels in the Outfield movie.


Does Christopher Lloyd know how to read a script or does his agent have a rubber stamp?

Jiminy Jillikers

The Fall Out of the 2002 Season Continues

In all manner of manifestation the anger and resentment from the A's front office is outwardly directed inward.

Huh?

They're mad at each other through themselves.

What?

They screwed up big time and don't have anyone else to blame and they are racked with guilt.

Oh.

Billy Koch is Fallout Boy

Billy Koch wants to kill himself.

From ESPN.COM:

Koch: 'I cost us'
How will closer Billy Koch handle his disastrous Game 5 performance in the ALDS? Give him 5½ months. Koch was called on to start the ninth inning to keep Oakland's 2-1 deficit at just that against the underdog Twins. But he allowed a two-run home run to A.J. Pierzynski, then a single, walk and run-scoring double that left the A's trailing by four runs. "I cost us," Koch said Oct. 7 in an interview with The San Jose Mercury News. "We played hard and I don't think any guy has a reason to hold his head low except for me, because I want to kill myself." Koch, who did not talk to reporters after the game, told the newspaper he watched video of his performance so many times afterward that general manager Billy Beane had to leave the room.

That's what he told reporters on Monday . If Billy wants to come out of this with a solid reputation the A's need to get on the horn to Dennis Eckersley in a hurry. In 1988, when Eck gave up the shot to Kirk Gibson, he stayed and answered every last question from the media. From reporters to beat writers to the clean up crew. He stayed until everyone was satisfied. It was Eck's first full season as a closer, but it certainly wasn't his first year as a professional.

No, it didn't help the A's win the series, but it did help Eckersley as a person and a player. The next year he had what amounted to the best season ever for a closer until he topped that in 1990 and again in 1992.

Billy is not handling the situation well and the psyche of a closer is of a delicate nature. Ray Ratto chimes in with his take on the tragedy. The most telling line, "His (Koch's) were not the only fingerprints on the body".

We aren't too worried about Koch. This is a guy who wears a "My parents told me I could grow up to be whatever I wanted...so I became an asshole" T-Shirt."

Even Jason Isringhausen decided he had enough clout to chip in: "I don't think the Twins beat the A's. I think the A's beat themselves. I'm sure they're still a little bitter. The last three years they've been beaten in the first round. They've got to figure out something different."

Radioactive Man

I don't know who the bigger jerk is right now, Steve Schott, Ken Hoffman or the Billy Beane. Schott and Beane both criticized the Oakland fans for not turning out in force for the playoffs . Apparently the A's front office didn't realize that they were gouging a public already gouged to their ends. We wrote about this a lot and apparently there are still people who don't get the picture.

Look, the A's played all of their playoff games during the day. That is not good, especially during the first few weeks of school. You're not going to get the age 15-25 crowd you normally would. The economy stinks. After spending hundred of dollars just to watch the A's in the regular season, you're suddenly expected to fork over hundreds more just for the opportunity to buy tickets to possibly watch a handful of games.

The push for season tickets by the front office in conjunction with the playoff tickets was shameful. A $50 deposit for 2003 tickets was not so bad, but coughing up $730 on the spot for a playoff ticket strip was asking too much. Even $660 for just the ALCS and World Series.

Do you want to know how expensive seats were? Tickets for the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS are still cheaper than tickets for the A's in the ALDS.

Their operators actually said that it would be hard to get individual tickets to playoff games and that Mt Davis seats were the most likely scenario. Further, the A's shut down their ticket operations 12 hours before Game 1 essentially forcing everyone into a walk-up sale situation or giving the notion that the game was already sold out.

To complicate matters more, Game 5 fell on a day in which the Giants were playing as well as the 49ers and there was an anti-war protest that pulled in a few hundred thousand people. The traffic was so bad that people were being urged to drive to the stadiums before 6:00 am or even getting a room at one of the nearby hotels.

The bottom line is this; the A's lost the last two ALDS. Why should their fans be subjected to more disappointment? Win the ALDS and then watch the stadium sell-out. Most fans were in the same boat we were, waiting out the storm. Had the A's gone onto the ALCS we would have been in the front row of rightfield with our "Player to be Named Later Fan Club" banner and Elephants in Oakland ID badges.

A few writers have picked up the cause celebrate and have started to beat the drums of Disgruntled Fan VS Idiot Millionaires. David Steele writes about the cheap Schott delivered by the A's owner.

In a rare move we are printing a Mark Kreidler piece. We don't like Kreidler because for the most part...well, for 90% of the part, he is an idiot and usually tries to be funny but fails miserably.

Sometimes they'll let anyone use a computer, including morons who don't even know how to follow a timeline.
Because of this article and some general misconceptions surrounding this issue, we are going to offer our report on the situation this weekend.

One Week

It was seven days ago that there was excitement in the air and thoughts of World Championships hung in the air like the smell of freshly cut oak firewood.

A week later that smell is replaced by the animal manure still stuck to the bottom of your shoes that you swear you were able to scrape off.

Before the First Pitch

Hindsight being 20/20 and all it's easy to look back at the last three ALDS and think what mistakes were made and how could they have been avoided.

In 2000 it was the rotation itself, not so much the pecking order. The A's were the underdogs, but a lot of people thought they had a chance to knock off the New York Yankees. Gil Heredia opened the series followed by Kevin Appier, Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Heredia again in Game 5. Terrence Long's troubles in centerfield did not help matters and the A's went down in flames in the 5th game. Remember Mark Mulder hurt his back in early September and was not available the rest of the season. That, coupled with the stretch run down to the final day of the season prevented Art Howe from aligning his rotation to open the series with their number four starter instead on their number one or two.

In 2001 it was the pecking order and the inability of the A's to close out a series. The A's were favored and jumped to an early 2 games to 0 lead. The A's went with their four man rotation and left Gil Heredia out in the cold, completely off the post-season roster. Cory Lidle coughed up a six spot in Game 4 prior to Jermaine Dye breaking his leg on a foul off his bat. Game Five was Mulder unable to secure the win for the A's. Two series, four opportunities to close out the series, 0-4. Oh yah, some guy didn't slide in Game 3. Of course, why was he in there running in the first place?

In 2002 the A's had a full week to decide what to do with the rotation. Art Howe and the coaching staff along with the Billy Beane and the front office crunched the numbers and went with a three-man rotation rather than four. Rather than starting the series with Mark Mulder, the team's Ace of Aces, they went with Tim Hudson. Minnesota's much publicized difficulties with lefthanders not withstanding; it possibly was the right move. Had the A's won the series, they would have had Barry Zito pitching Game 1 of the ALCS on three days rest or Cory Lidle on a week's rest with Zito pitching Game 2 with four days rest. Game 3 would have Hudson pitching on five days rest.

Be that as it may, the object of the playoffs is to advance. Something the A's have been unable to do three consecutive years. With six opportunities to close out a series in three years, the A's are 0-6. That translates into an organizational crisis. The A's are not in danger of being labeled the Buffalo Bills of baseball as the Twins Geek referred to. They haven't even been able to get to the big dance to do that. The A's are in danger of being the Atlanta Braves West of playoff baseball. Consistently winning but unable to do much of anything in the playoffs.

Game 1 2002 ALDS

The playing field was in bad shape due to an Oakland Raiders game 36 hours prior to the first pitch. The Twins had been in town a month earlier under similar circumstances and the field was fast but ultimately not a major concern.

CRITICAL DECISIONS: Art Howe pulling Tim Hudson too early, pinch-hitting for Scott Hatteberg.

As it turns out, Hudson was having cramps/spasms in his hips and the move might have been precautionary rather than for effectiveness. Howe did not utilize the medical replacement option and immediately brought in Ted Lilly who immediately didn't get anybody out. Pinch-hitting for Scott Hatteberg in the sixth was a move made too early in the ball game.

CRITICAL MASS: The outfield defense.

David Justice fielding the RBI double by Jacques Jones was awful. It could have been an out had he played it correctly, or even just a runner advancing single had Justice played in conservatively off the wall. Later, Terrence Long was shaded well over into left field, not left center, left field, for AJ Pierzynski's ground ball up the middle that ended up being a triple. Mark Ellis dove for the ball and just missed it. Ellis was shaded closer to first to help Olmedo Saenz who pinch-hit for Scott Hatteberg in the sixth.

GAME REMEMEBRED: The Twins early errors. Yup, the Twins made some early errors, but the A's actually had to get a few hits to drive those unearned runs in. The A's had a hit in all nine innings of the game and scored only five runs.

Game 2 2002 ALDS

CRITICAL DECISIONS: Pitching to Eric Chavez with 1st base open.

Maybe. Do you really want to intentionally walk a guy in the first inning?

CRITICAL MASS: David Justice's triple.

A triple down the line means one of two things; it was smoked, the ball was nearly foul. A few inches more and it would have been a foul ball. As it is the 3 run triple counted for 3 of the 4 RBI Justice collected in the entire series.

GAME REMEMBERED: Eric Chavez' three run shot in the first Mulder stable, not sloppy for six innings. A's have a hit in 15 consecutive innings.

GAME 3 2002 ALDS

CRITICAL DECISION: Torii Hunter's fielding of Ray Durham's sinking line drive in the first. Durham scores on the play and it's labeled an inside the park homerun. The first of four on the day for the A's.

The A's got solo shots from Durham, Hatteberg, Terrence Long and Jermaine Dye.

CRITICAL MASS: Jermaine Dye quickly getting in the hole 0-2 on his first two at bats but lacing several balls just foul. Twice in the same at-bat Corey Koskie dove for balls that were just foul. Dye homered in his third at bat.

It became a running theme for Jermaine Dye to be down 0-2 the entire series. Dye was constantly swinging at balls well out of the strike zone but still able to extend his arms and make some contact.

GAME REMEMEBRED: The A's looked like the Twins from game 1 with several misplayed balls and Barry Zito squirting a ball out of the back of his hand while on the mound.

GAME 4 2002 ALDS

CRITICAL DECISION: Art Howe bringing in Ted Lilly starting David Justice in leftfield against a left-handed pitcher. Gardenhire starting David Ortiz.

Nobody is sure what Art's fascination is with bringing in Ted Lilly. Lilly pitched only once out of the bullpen prior to the post-season and didn't pitch well. Starting Justice in left allowed at least two runs to score in game 4 and possibly three hits. Singles were doubles and the Twins would look for an extra base on any ball hit to left. Justice didn't help matters with and 0 for 3 at the plate. When Dav