Bob Melvin
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3.2K3Last place A’s: Mike Gallego first to walk the plank
I remember reading an article on SFGate last summer concerning the shared complexities, triumphs and failures of Mike Gallego and Tim Flannery, respectively the third base coaches for the A’s and Giants at the time. Gallego shared an anecdote where he had told Coco Crisp to “go, go, go!” and Crisp stopped at third because […]
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2.2KJake Smolinski left lasting impression on A’s
Last September the A’s were wrapping up a second half free-fall, one which saw them squander their divisional lead and nearly their grip on the second Wild Card spot. In the middle of that month the Texas Rangers began a series in Oakland, and they were merely playing out the string. Their most successful manager […]
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2.4K1Is Josh Reddick an All-Star?
One rather weird and unsightly aspect of being a major league manager is the month-long campaigning they do every June for certain players to be included in the All-Star Game. Normally it begins with a question from a media member over whether someone is worthy of the honor, and then the skipper will inevitably agree […]
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2.1K5Another false dawn or a turnaround for the A’s?
There have been very few moments this season when the A’s have made overtures toward turning their awful season into something more palatable. But almost without fail, whenever it looked like Oakland was ready to make a push in the right direction, they usually took two steps backwards. But perhaps we might have some actual […]
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2.4K3Washington, D.C. (Defensive Coordinator)
The A’s had a good weekend. Hell, they had a great weekend. They won both games against the Rays in Tampa Bay, their first “winning streak” since April 14. Billy Burns had his first-ever big league home run, and his first-ever homer hitting left-handed, even in the minors. That came on the first pitch of […]
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2.4K2Are the A’s really this bad and the Astros really this good?
Are the A’s really this bad? Yes. Sorry, but they stink. Are the Astros really this good? No. But I wanted to take a closer look at Houston because they certainly are off to a flying start. In the last days of the 2014 season, the Astros came to the Coliseum for a weekend series […]
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2.2K6The second-guessing of Bob Melvin
Managers can never really win. The only time a skipper can escape blame is if he wins a World Series, but even then there will be critics who will point out all the managerial mistakes. They’ll mention the bad pitching changes, confusing lineups, favoritism of one player over a better one, stupid pinch-hitting, ridiculous replay […]
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2.8K310 things that are actually going right for the Oakland A’s
The temptation to lash out in this space again and point a finger at the shortcomings and general malaise of the A’s shall be rebuffed today. It’s too easy to mention all the errors and the poor bullpen, along with the embarrassing fact that Oakland has the worst record in the American League. Instead I […]
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3.5K4Astros sweep A’s to cap off a bizarre first 20 games
Last-ros? Try First-ros. Houston departed Oakland yesterday with a three-game sweep and left a stadium filled with confused players and angry fans. How could this be? The A’s are the big, bad franchise that has made the playoffs the previous three seasons while the Astros are a rebuilding team that is years away from contending, […]
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2.4K7Bud Selig will not miss Oakland
Rob Manfred officially became the Commissioner of Major League Baseball on Saturday. Alan H. “Bud” Selig will now spend his retirement as a part-time history professor and a full-time advocate for his legacy. After being at the forefront of illegal collusion with other owners, he led the 1992 palace coup which removed the real Commissioner, […]
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2.1K20What I will/won’t miss about A’s players sent packing after roster shake-up
Firstly, I would like to say that it is with great pleasure that I have accepted the role of Oakland A’s columnist for Bay Area Sports Guy for the 2015 season. I have been a frequent visitor to this site for many years and therefore it is a pleasure to be a part of the […]
