Wasted

Ken Macha is not Feisty. In fact, Ken is well centered. There has been a lot mentioned how Ken Macha was Billy Beane's man all along and that Art Howe was just an inheritance. Not exactly true. Beane could have forced Howe out at any time. He didn't have to renew his deal or sign him to an extension. Along those lines, Ken will not kowtow to Beane the way Art did and then go whine about the last reliever on the roster to save face. Beane knows that and respects the fact IF Ken is going to disagree with a Beane decision or "SUGGESTION" Macha will have a valid argument and supporting evidence. It won't be a power struggle ala Mothra and Godzilla where Art Howe was the Japanese guy next to the bus that gets squashed...Like we've written before. Art is not a great manager. He is not a bad manager. He's is a good manager and he is competent at his job. You could do a lot worse out of the managers in baseball today. That written, the Mets will still lose 90 games and Steve Phillips' torso will be in the East River while his head is on a pike in Times Square when that eventuality occurs.


A lot of professional sports team like to wax philosophical about team chemistry. Can you create it, can you pinpoint it, does the hip hop music have to be that loud-the fact that it's hip hop is bad enough? With the signing of Ron gant and having David Justice around as, ugh, whatever it is David Justice will be doing, the A's are frothing in team chemistry. It's long been a staple that the A's clubhouse is a barrel of monkeys, a ton of fun, Animal House without the actual university, etc. With Gant and Justice it's a good feeling that a veteran presence doesn't mean "an older stiff that won't screw up that often". The veteran presence actually brings something to the table. Ron Gant spanked 18 homeruns in only 102 games last year. That's a darn fine right-handed bat to come off the bench and spot start. Of course, that pushes Eric Byrnes, Adam Piatt and Jason Grabowski even further down the list. Above Gant on the list is Terrence Long and Chris Singleton. Jermaine Dye isn't on 'the list'. Jermaine Dye is the right-fielder. The Singleton and Long just happen to play in the same outfield as Dye.
The A's Trapper Keeper has some news on the Miguel Tejada Issue, which is still not an issue. Miggi got picked up by a helicopter that landed in rightfield on Monday that whisked him away to go shoot a TV commercial. You know damn well that the A's had nothing to do with that. What's more expensive, packing up TV equipment or flying a helicopter around? What has more risk and danger involved? Stick Miggi on a bus next time or bring the crew to him. Why should the 'talent' have to travel. Miggi needs new management and publicist for his 'outside of baseball' stuff.
If Central Casting ever needed a mid-sized Italian hired muscle Frank Menechino would be on the set by Noon. Frankie could have a second career as a double or extra. He'd have the resume and background. There's a lot of waiting involved in baseball and there's a lot waiting in TV and movies. Waiting six hours for Delta burke to get out of her trailer or 10 just so the genius director of Species can get the hallway lighting just right. Sorry, a friend of ours used to do extra work. Wasn't really work. Standing around the craft services table and watching Ben Stein hit on the 'bigger' women isn't exactly work. It's more like fodder for a screenplay.
If Tim Hudson came out of the pen in a motorized wheel-chair, he could have Trey and Matt as the newest A's fans.
Miggi doesn't have to worry about stuff like money and stuff. That's what agents are for. So, his agents will meet with Beane and DePodesta this week and they will have a general idea of what the A's aren't going to offer and what they aren't going to find on the open market. Only the Mets, Rangers, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, White Sox, Cubs and maybe Cardinals could afford Tejada on the open market. A few of those teams already have super-shortstops so it could be difficult to find a new, lucrative home. Everyone else will just have to waive as the free agent tour begins. In reality, the only thing that would keep Tejada in Oakland is a nasty rumor about his age, a health problem, a severly crippled (beyond depressed free agent market) free agent market or a delayed flight. That's about it.