Brett Anderson

Debut in Midland - 6IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 12 K's (two runs=solo shots)

Aaron Cunningham

Playing LF - 3/4, 2B, 1 R

David Hernandez

6.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K's

Matt LaPorta

2/4, 2 2B, 1 BB, 2 RBIs

Alcides Escobar

3/6, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBIs

Travis Snider

Same statline as Escobar (minus the double)

David Price

6 IP, 4 H, 2ER, 4 BB, 7 K's

 

I've been real impressed with the Midland debuts (Anderson and Cahill), but I also realize it's just one game for both.  That said, it's hard not to like what Brett did today.

 

Who else are you guys looking at tonite?

 

From Rotoworld:
"Giants placed RHP Russ Ortiz on the 15-game disabled list, retroactive to May 2, with elbow neuritis in his right arm."

-On Lincecum coming up-
Pros:  It would be his turn in the rotation.
He is a god.

Cons: Live on ESPN (is this actually a con?)
-Ryan Howard
-Chase Utley

He's not up yet, but if he does get the call, is this is a good thing?  Will he be there to stay?

If this has been posted somewhere else I apologize in advance, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/new...

Looks like a pretty good trade to me.  We have oodles of Catcher depth and with DJ hurt we needed some more offensive depth.  Stokes was a pretty good prospect until he became injury prone.

Hey ANers,

I was thinking about buying one of those custom jerseys on the MLB Shop (I am probably going to pick Haren) until I noticed the ugly looking white font that it shows on the back of the jersey.

I don't know if that is how it will look on the back of the jersey or if that is just the stock photo they use to give customers an idea.  

Has anyone ever bought a customized t-shirt on this before.  Does it look as crappy as it shows or does it actually come in the normal looking way like it would if you bought a chavvy shirt at a game?

Any insight into this would be great, a photo would be perfect.

This is the thing I'm looking at:
http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.js...

Lastly, I am know an official member of Gaudin for fifth starter.

-Sourstuff

First of all, if any of these sentiments have been expressed already, i apologize.  I have been out of the loop for a while, the transition out of college without internet for a while.

The whole Zito trading stuff has got me thinking about a rumor that was brought up in the offseason.  The one where the Phillies were proposing: Abreu, Lieberthal, Gavin Floyd to A's for Kendall and Zito.  I'm not sure if this was a true rumor, but I if I had to guess, I would say it is.  Especially since the Phils were trying to trade Abreu to everyone.

I'm thinking maybe this should be revisited.  I mean Abreu's OBP is amazing right now, and would fit well in the two hole.  It would also move Swisher to the five hole (as long as Bradley is injured), where I think he belongs.  And obviously we could dump Kendall's salary.  Lieberthal is hurt right now, and it doesnt seem it's bad, so he should be playing again.  I honestly couldn't care about him, but only as a throw in to the deal.  As for Floyd, sure i'll take him, but I'd much rather have Cole Hamels.  But with Cole Hamels playing unconscious right now, maybe we could get Gio Gonzalez.  Gio, Mike, and Bobby for Barry and Jason would be sweet.  And the phils have made no bones about the fact that they need pitching.  And with their lineup so lefthanded heavy, they could finally create the very balanced lineup of:

1. Rollins
   
2. Rowand
   
3. Utley
   
4. Burrell
   
5. Howard

Plus, they may want to stick it to the Mets by getting Zito.

Then kendall could charge the mound and take down Pedro with the Don Zimmer toss and ignite their fans.

Bobby Abreu is 32.  And that is the main issue.  But the prospect of the Bob squad with him and Croz (excuse me, "bones") would be awesome.

Maybe we could even sign Abreu to a 2 yr deal like we did Kotsay.  2ys, 24mil.  Free'd up from Kendall's contract.  Melhuse could start next year, then Suzuki in 2008!

This was way too long, for something that won't happen.  But i just felt like posting.

http://insider.espn.go.com/proxy/proxy.dll/insider/magazine/index?&action=login&appRedirect= http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fproxy%2fproxy.dll%2finsider%2fmagazine%2findex

The cool thing about this was while I was at a Brewers/Athletics ST game in March, my girlfriend and I and others took some pictures with him:

We were just hanging out in the stands after the game, when we see Huston, a camera crew, and a group of fans behind him.  The photographer shouts, "anyone want to be in a shoot for ESPN the magazine."  Obviously we hopped on that quickly, and we even sat next to him during the shoot!  Buster Olney was there, and he was happy to be recognized, even by a punk like me.  

Anyway, I think it's coming out tomorrow, and I am hoping we're in it!!

Was anyone else from AN in that shoot?

Huston, me, and my girl after the shoot.

In today's preseason game between the Twins and the Phillies, Chase Utley hit a triple and a double off of Johan Santana.  Despite the obviously miniscule sample size, I take this as an awesome sign.  If Utley improves his .219 average against lefties to at least .240/.250, will that make him the number one second baseman in all of baseball (if you don't have him there already)?  Or are people like Soriano, Kent, Figgins, and Mark Lemke (just kidding) still ahead of him.  

In an effort to not be one of those guys who writes a really short post and fills it up with FILLERFILLER, I have one more question.

What do you suspect the road to the majors for Brandon Wood and Kendry Morales is gonna look like?  Comeplete with promotions and cups of coffee.

i.e. Morales starts in Triple A in 2006.  Gets small cup of coffee in September.  Starts at first base in 2007 for the Angels.

Cheers,
chinmj

I think one of the weakest positions right now for top tier prospects (with the exception of 2b, and perpetually the catcher) is suprisingly the Shortstop position.  Obviously we got Brandon Wood at the top of the list but it really starts to thin out, and is very top heavy.  Who's next, Adam Jones?  Troy Tulowitzki?  Pennington? Let's assume that Joel Guzman gets moved to the OF as planned and so does Justin Upton:

Who would make up the top five?

1. Brandon Wood.
   
2. Probably Stephen Drew
   
3. ?
   
4. ?
   
5. ?

Or maybe this is just a lapse in judgement and memory and I am forgetting some studs.

According to Stark, the A's are the American League's third most improved team.

Number two under the Best Free Agents, 2 Million and under, Stark writes:
"2. A's guarantee $500,000 to Frank Thomas, a guy who got just 101 at-bats last year -- and still hit as many homers (11) as all the Oakland DHs combined."

He then rips us for signing Loaiza for three years, citing his .306 opponents batting average on the road.

Then there's this:
3. Mac Suzuki (A's): Not to suggest it's been a while since Suzuki won a game in the big leagues. But his last win was so long ago (Aug. 23, 2001), he gave up a home run to Delino DeShields in it.

Then Jerry "one of the few guys you can read for free" Crasnick redeems everything and picks the A's to win the West.

But then soils it with, "Ellis, who signed a two-year, $6 million contract two weeks ago, needs five homers to reach 33 for his career and break the record for a native South Dakotan."

Much love.

Links:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2330477
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2331387