Generic Genetics

One of the great opportunities a blog offers is lack of a deadline. Unless it is self-imposed. We don't have to be 'journalistic' in our approach. We get to shoot from the hip, go over the top or just be 'professional' about what we do. We can make all sorts of wild and crazy statements and still be 'professional' in the way we present information and we can still make mistakes and later correct them. We provide facts as well as opinion and sometimes people trip over which is which. We still value our opionon and hope you do, too. We try to be inbetween the regular fluff and crap you get tired of reading about in the mainstream media and above bulletin board stuff you'd find in a chat room.


Enough of that clap-trap.


The Baseball Prospectus Pizza Feed was enjoyable. If you have an opportunity to get a seat at one, we highly suggest you do. And bring something to take notes with. Ask questions and rent a sense of humor if you have to. Oh, and insist on a free T-Shirt. Preferably not one that the BP.com author is wearing at the time, though.


We received our copy of Baseball Prospectus 2003 and it hasn't disappointed us, yet. There have been improvements in the forecasting and the way the stats are presented, but the real reason you buy BP2K3 is for the writing. Every so often we'll drop a little flavor of what BP has to say about the A's or other players in baseball. We''ll also try and explain some of the numbers, in case you just can't wrap your head around some of the analysis tools.


Miguel Tejada's agents are due to talk with the A's this week. Most likely about whether or not they should meet in public or private and if they eat who gets to write off the meal as a tax deduction. Hopefully, they will make progress on these, ugh, scenarios and the Miguel Tejada Issue, which is now capitalized, but still not an issue, will continue to be an non-issue issue.


We have mentioned the role of support players every so often here. Sometimes that last guy in the bullpen doesn't get the regular work he needs and tries to strike out the side; when there's already one out in the inning. Or the 5th outfielder gets an at-bat a week and tries to show everyone why he still has a MLB uniform on by swinging at a first pitch offering anywhere within the realm of the stadium he's playing in. Have you ever heard the sports terminology of 'staying within yourself'? Well, translated as an athlete it essentially means, "you suck, don't screw up or you're right back on the pine, again, Slappy". But, as an athlete you're thinking,

"Well, then, why am I out here? Do I suck or are they trying to motivate me. Nah, can't suck. Too good to suck. Look how great this uniform fits. Maybe they want to trade me and they are just showcasing me. Wait, how long have I been thinking...DUCK!"

Try performing while trying to figure that out.


Such is the curious case of one Eric 'EXCELLENT' Byrnes. A reserve outfielder by position, pinch runner extraordinare and mop-up guy as defined by Art Howe. With Ken Macha, hopefully we will see Byrnes get a fair shake. Although the deck is stacked against him by 'the list'. Hopefully the A's won't see a need to trade Byrnes or package him as part of a deal anywhere. He's enthusiastic and has speed. He just doesn't have enough at-bats in Oakland to justify an immediate return to Sacramento.


He deserves better than he has received and it's only his good attitude that keeps him on the roster. If you can remember back far enough, a few outfielders have pooped off in the media about playing time and it cost them their locker space in Oakland. Rich Becker, Robyn Jennings to name two. We could mention Ben Grieve, but a lot of people have just healed scabs from their bloody scalps scratching their heads for several years trying to figure Grieve out.


We also mentioned Jeremy Brown a few weeks ago. Brown has made the A's once stripped catching department stocked. Which is appropos since Brown is built like a refrigerator box, only with more acute right angles. He looks like to prototype player video games use to portray a catcher. Does this mean Ramon Hernandez is on the bubble? If you mean trading block, dunno, what do you think? By the way, if anyone can get us a picture of any professional sports team's trading block, that would be great.


A nasty drawback of Spring Training is some sports writers haven't been thinking about baseball since the last time they were forced to do so. We have a bone to pick with the Sacramento Bee and we're edging all the corners and offering their sports department an opportunity to reply. Of course, we'll probably get the brush off, but they simply haven't done an honest job covering the A's over the last 18 months. Hell, the River Cats are in their backyard and they don't even post boxscores worth reading.


One of the Springs more interesting issues is going to be players without options who might be packaged for a deal. Both Adam Piatt and Chad Harville are out of options though both might stay with the club. It would be hard to tell if any team outside of Boston, Toronto or Texas wants to go to the mat and try and talk with Billy Beane about either player. If we had to lean, we'd say Harville to St. Louis for Michael Neu which would allow the A's to jump the Rule 5 statute of keeping a player on the 25 man roster or being returned. The A's could slip Sacramento Neu along the 40 man roster and watch him in the bullpen and wait to see how the first two months of the summer transpire.


Look, somebody on the pitching staff will be injured on ineffective. It's just a fact of baseball. It's still a wonder if Jim Mecir's children will ever not be grounded. But apprently Jim is looking much better and might be around by May if not sooner. With his current salary and the stocked pen and the lack of healthy closers elsewhere...


Alex Belth has the tail end of the Ken Burns interview and Mike's Rants has the next installment.
of the Hall's of Relief.