Here's the latest from the AL West…
- Two investment groups have expressed interest in buying the Athletics and keeping the team in Oakland, reports Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. Neither group wanted to be publicly identified, though one also showed interest in buying the Dodgers before dropping out due to the expected $1.5 billion price tag. Lew Wolff, the A's managing partner, reiterated that he and partner John Fisher aren't looking to sell the team.
- Athletics outfielder Jason Pridie's 50-game suspension for drug use was officially announced today by Major League Baseball. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday, this was Pridie's second violation (hence the 50-game penalty) and it was for a "drug of abuse," not a performance-enhancing drug.
- Now that the Tigers have released David Pauley, John Hickey of CSNNW.com speculates that the Mariners might be interested in re-acquiring the right-hander. Pauley appeared in 58 games for the M's from 2010-11 before being traded to Detroit last July as part of the Doug Fister deal.
- Mike Napoli is in a similar situation to that of C.J. Wilson a year ago, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan as part of a Rangers mailbag. Napoli and Wilson were both looking for career-best contracts following their breakout seasons, while Sullivan notes the Rangers are wary of making that kind of commitment after just one season of top-tier performance. Wilson, of course, signed a free agent deal with the Angels this winter.
- In case you missed it earlier today, here's a wrap-up of Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine's interview with Bryan Dolgin of ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM radio.
Giving a contract based on offense is a lot easier than giving a contract based on pitching though. Granted, there have been times it failed (Dunn, Soriano) but more times than not it does work.
matier and ross are generally pretty good writers, i haven’t read this piece but in the past what i have read from them is pretty reliable and not just pulling news out of their badonks.
Couple of notes:
— Sure seems like the A’s get popped more than other teams for substance violations. I don’t have a list to go off of but I wonder if certain organizations are just a little more careless than others when stressing the downside to PEDS/Roids.
— I’ve been sympathetic to the A’s and their financial hardships. However, if there are solid offers on the table to take over the A’s Wolff should really consider it. If the managing owners aren’t willing to step up financially then let someone who will. It is in the interest of MLB as a whole to have 30 financially competitive teams.
— The Rangers were very shortsighted with Wilson. Had they locked him up after ’10 the pricetag would have been much lower than what he eventually signed for. Caution is good and all but if Napoli breaks out with a 30+ HR season (totally feasible if they limit his time behind the plate) the team will be looking for a replacement come the off-season because Naps will be out of the budget.
It was reported in this news bulletin — as well as being reported on Friday, when the story was first made public — that the drug test Pridie failed was for a drug of abuse, i.e. a recreational drug, and not for performance enhancing drugs or anabolic steroids.
Since the BALCO [Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative — note: Oakland is located in the “Bay Area”, a metropolitan grouping of cities and towns in the general area of the San Francisco Bay] scandal I have not noticed the Athletics organization getting “popped” more than other teams.
in regards to your last point, I’m not really sure thats true…
The Rangers spent much more on Darvish than Wilson, so it wasn’t that Wilson out priced himself, its that they preferred Darvish. This leads me to believe that if they want Napoli they will retain his services.
If the Rangers handed out contracts to everyone that had a career year the year before their contract was up they would end up like the Dallas Cowboys. Jon Daniels isn’t stupid. He wants people to earn their contracts and play out their affordable years. Keep the payroll as low as possible for as long as possible. It’s not like they don’t realize that they’re going to have to significantly up their payroll.
Napoli had a year so far improved from his career numbers that you just have to exercise caution.
Oh, and Jesus Montero of the Diamondbacks is a FA to be.
The A’s owners are willing, at a tremendous disadvantage playing in a minor league city with a terrible stadium/facilities. If the City of Oakand was serious about keeping the A’s a new stadium would have been built years ago. Move the team to San Jose and into a new stadium. Problem solved.
Keep the A’s in Oakland.
hell no, why should they stay in that bankrupt city with no money, when they can move to San Jose and be much better off?
Because Oakland is a place where, even though they don’t draw a huge amount of fans on a regular basis, have very dedicated fans who when winning drew 2.9 million fans a season (source from S.F. Gate article). The ballpark’s state is a bit of an issue, but if they could go back to the idea of building a park by the bay like the Giants did, then maybe more fans would show up if given a winning team*1 (which is a very real possibility by then with all the young talent the A’s have). This would no doubt be a hard task to complete and almost seems like a pipeline dream at this point (even though the San Jose plan seems borderline as well); but if the A’s were to replace ownership with one of these investors and commit to keeping the A’s in Oakland, then I would be for it. Plus, the A’s have had a lot of traditions and have been one of the more successful teams in baseball history up to 2007.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_Field under 66th avenue in Oakland and other options
P.S. I am not one of those Giants fans who only want Oakland to stay because of the Giants’ territorial rights in SJ. I am both a Giants and A’s fan and, either way, I am for the A’s having a better and bright future then what they have now.
They need a new stadium just like your Giants got 15 years ago—thanks to the A’s owners.
I think you misread my post. I’m saying the A’s should build a new park in Oakland.
Um, SJ is as poor, if not more so, than Oakland. Have you not noticed the mass lay offs of Police, Fire-fighters, teachers, and other govt employees? They’re in just as bad a state financially as the rest of the big cities in Cali.
Also, unless that good ole MLB constitution is changed, they in fact can’t move to SJ.
You are sadly mistaken. They are in the heart of Silicon Valley and many companies would be more than willing to invest in a relocation to San Jose. Comparing San Jose to Oakland in terms of civic/bureaucratic employment is ridiculous, Oakland is so much worse than every way than San Jose.
I want Pauley back in Seattle NOW.
Watch Napoli go to the freaking Astros in ’13 to help them adjust to the AL West.