Tag Archives: Oakland A’s

20 Baseball Hall of Famers Who Ended Their Careers On Weird Teams

Sports teams are nothing without their players. You tend to associate sports teams with an iconic player or two for long periods of time, especially back when players would spend all or most of their careers with one team.

That time is long gone, but there will always be guys like Derek Jeter, who spent his entire playing career with the New York Yankees and would just look weird in another team’s uniform.

After a baseball player’s skills start to decline, it’s easy to lose track of them in the day-to-day business of baseball. There are hundreds of players who unceremoniously retire every year because they didn’t receive an offer from a team…but if a player has a long track record of being very good, those players will probably get a few extra contracts at the tail end of their careers. Hall of Fame-level players will almost always get that treatment if they are still healthy enough to suit up.

Here are twenty Baseball Hall of Famers that ended their careers on weird teams.

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Sweetbob’s Fantasy Baseball F/M/K – June 3rd

We are now nine weeks into the 2018 baseball season.

As temperatures rise, so do more baseballs. Power numbers really get cranked into overdrive in June and July. Don’t sleep on power hitters off to slow starts. J.D. Martinez and Josh Donaldson both didn’t get hot until this time last year.

There are a few teams recently changed closers and a few more could lose their jobs soon due to poor performance and/or trades. Who should you target on the waiver wire?

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe a couple young guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on June 3rd, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

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Sweetbob’s Fantasy Baseball F/M/K – April 15th

We are just over two weeks into the 2018 baseball season.

You’re just starting to really get your lineup dialed in, but recent injuries probably threw a wrench into things. Middle infielders will start to be scarce on the waiver wire if they keep getting injured at this rate. Recent injuries to Rougned Odor, Jonathan Schoop and Elvis Andrus have left fantasy owners hurting for solid replacements. 

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe some guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on April 15th, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

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Sweetbob’s Fantasy Baseball F/M/K – April 8th

We are just a little over a week into the 2018 baseball season. You are still trying to figure out your lineup. If you’re a streaming-heavy guy, figuring out which guy you should drop to free up a streaming spot can be an issue.

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe some guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on April 8th, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

Before I begin, let’s go over the F/M/K terminology. The guys that I list under “F*ck” are guys that are currently hot and you need to pick them up. “Marry”, are guys that you need to stick with the whole season, even if they are struggling a bit. “Kill”, are guys that need to be dropped for better players in the free agent pool.

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2018 MLB Season Preview: Oakland A’s

The Oakland A’s aren’t too far away from their ‘Moneyball’ days. They still rely on young homegrown talent and basic sabermetric strategies that Billy Beane helped usher into baseball. They just lack some of the star power like when Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi and Barry Zito were first breaking into the big leagues.

Another issue with this A’s team is that their best young pitchers are either not quite ready for the Majors or will miss the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Can Billy Beane compete with this group of players or will they need to add another starter to get through the year?

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Oakland A’s.

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2017 MLB Season Preview: Oakland A’s

2017 MLB Season Team Preview Oakland A's Trevor Plouffe funnyThe Oakland A’s were far from their ‘Moneyball’ days last year. They have been hit with injuries to their starting rotation and Sonny Gray is expected to start the year on the DL again this year.

The AL West could be one of the most dominate divisions in baseball. Houston has come of age and are now one of the favorites, Texas should be an offensive powerhouse and Seattle made some big moves this Winter.

Oakland was able to land some good prospects when they traded Rich Hill and Josh Reddick at the deadline last year. If Gray gets healthy and returns to form, do they try to move him as well?

Here is the 2017 MLB season preview for the Oakland A’s.

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2016 MLB Season Preview: Oakland A’s

Khris Davis oakland a's 2016 mlb season preview america's white boyThe Oakland A’s was far from their ‘Moneyball’ days last year. They faced an uphill battle from the start with Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and other pitchers fell victim to major injuries.

The AL West could be one of the most dominate divisions in baseball. Houston has come of age and are now the favorites, Texas is always looking to get better, the Angels have Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, and Seattle could make a move with a new manager.

Does Oakland finally pull the trigger and trade ace Sonny Gray for a huge load of prospects?

Here is the 2016 MLB season preview for the Oakland A’s…and enjoy our #BadMSPaint Khris Davis picture.

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MLB Best Early Over Bets

Oakland A's 2015 Sonny Gray Over Under BettingBaseball bettors are a month into the 2015 MLB campaign and if you’re a regular of sportsbook online betting, you’ve noticed these teams lighting up the scoreboard to start the season.

Here are the most outstanding – but still early – MLB Over bets:

Oakland Athletics (11-16 SU, 20-6-1 O/U)

Not all great Over bets are great scoring teams. Some are horrible defensive units. And then you have the perfect storm of great offense and poor defense, such is the Oakland A’s. They’ve been bashing the cover off the ball through the first month of play, averaging 5.11 runs on a .268 BA, but also giving up plenty of runs on the other side of the plate. Oakland’s bullpen is to blame, boasting a chunky 4.93 ERA and five blown saves already. The A’s are a profitable 12-1 O/U in the Bay Area but don’t return home until May 11, facing a pair of Sox – Red and White – for six games.

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How Did We Do?: 2014 MLB Team Win Over/Under

San Francisco Giants Hunter Pence 2014 CelebrationIt’s time to pop the champagne, guys!

Before the season began, we wrote a team preview for each MLB team. We broke down all the new players, former players, possible fantasy sleepers and (most importantly) picked an over/under win total.

We’ve always done really well with our MLB Over/Unders in the past and we kicked ass in 2014.

We went 19-11 on the year. We hit on all the sleepers, but missed horribly on the Texas Rangers. Vegas definitely cleaned house on them this year. I don’t know a single person who picked their under win total.

We list all the teams and what their over/under win totals were at the beginning of the 2014 MLB season. See which ones we hit and missed on this year.

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Cubs trade Samardzija & Hammel to Oakland for Prospects

Jeff Samardzija Jason Hammel Trade Chicago Cubs Oakland As Addison RussellThe Chicago Cubs FINALLY made the trade fans knew was coming for a long time.

Cubs’ fans assumed it would take two separate deals to trade both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, but they found their trade partner in the Oakland A’s.

The Cubs need young pitching, so you would expect the deal would surround some young arms. Right? Not exactly.

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2013 MLB Team Preview: Oakland Athletics

Coco CrispThe Oakland A’s were one of the major surprises in 2012. Not only did “Moneyball” do well at the box office, but the A’s made their first playoff appearance since 2001.

The A’s have a few breakout performances last season. Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes, Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook pushed Oakland to the next level. Manager Bob Melvin really outdone himself with his roster.

Can Oakland repeat last year’s performance or was it a case of being lucky in one-run games?

Are the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers too talented to surpass in the AL West?

Here is the 2013 MLB season preview for the Oakland A’s. Continue reading