GreenNGold89
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I think he is tired. ****. 
The Oakland Athletics 2013 Season Thread
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by Johnny_Cakes,
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Bring someone in, Bob.
GreenNGold89
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******g broken bat.
GreenNGold89
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Cook made the pitches, tough luck. Hopefully Doolittle can get some rest and it helps him out.
Let's get the W. This loss would hurt.
Let's get the W. This loss would hurt.
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It would also cement your point about runners stranded in scoring position.
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Damn it.
GreenNGold89
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The bullpen had a tough day but they have been great all season so I'll give them a pass. Now this offense with RISP...
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Redeemed ourselves with an offensive seventh inning and put away the Brewers for a 6-1 win. Should have swept them, but that's baseball for you.
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Good series, I think the Sox are going to be a lot harder to beat in their yard than in Oakland.
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They're on an eight game losing streak, I expect us to at least win the series.
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I guess it also helps that they went 16 innings today and used 8 pitchers. 
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I went through this thread just to find out how few of us are here. There's maybe 4-5 different users in here
GreenNGold89
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Welcome to the organization Billy McKinney
GreenNGold89
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I'm happy we tied it up but how many damn solo jacks can this team hit? !>:
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I hope Beane saw this Mckinney guy play in person, the scouting reports are really disheartening. Meh power, below average arm and speed, and he can only play one outfield position...In any case, I wish him the best.
This Cespedes guy though!
This Cespedes guy though!
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Enough solo shots to win!
Rosales with the Walk-off.
(Though I don't really care much for the guy)
Rosales with the Walk-off.
(Though I don't really care much for the guy)
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I wonder what Nakajima will be like once he's up.
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Only 0.5 games back! Wild card leaders too! Can't wait to attend games once I go back home after the school year ends down here in LA.
GreenNGold89
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I hope Beane saw this Mckinney guy play in person, the scouting reports are really disheartening. Meh power, below average arm and speed, and he can only play one outfield position...In any case, I wish him the best.
This Cespedes guy though!
What reports did you read? For the most part, I heard positive things about the guys offense although his power hasn't developed yet. And yeah, his defense seems very questionable so far.
24. Oakland Athletics: Billy McKinney | LF, Plano (Texas) West HS
You better be able to hit if you're projected to play in left field at the next level, and McKinney can do absolutely that. The Athletics outfield is deep right now, but knowing how Billy Beane works that could change in a heart beat, giving him a chance to be the A's everyday left fielder in a few years. He's going to have to work very hard on his defense, though. -- Crawford
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GreenNGold89
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Ces with 4 homers since Puig got called up. I wonder if they have some bet going on.
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24. Oakland Athletics: Billy McKinney | LF, Plano (Texas) West HS
You better be able to hit if you're projected to play in left field at the next level, and McKinney can do absolutely that. The Athletics' outfield is deep right now, but knowing how Billy Beane works that could change in a heartbeat, giving McKinney a chance to be the A's everyday left fielder in a few years. He's going to have to work very hard on his defense, though. -- Crawford
McKinney is a pure bat, a left field-only high school hitter with strong hands and a consistent (but not quite ideal) left-handed swing that projects to hit for average and some power in pro ball. His swing is very simple and has great follow through, but he loads so high and deep that he nearly bars his lead arm and has a longer path to the zone than is necessary. He's very balanced through contact with excellent hip rotation and loft in his finish. I particularly like how quickly he can accelerate his hands from the loaded position, which is how he has success now.
McKinney is limited to left field due to a below-average arm and below-average running speed, which means he absolutely has to hit to be a significant pro prospect -- the floor for a left field-only player is, in effect, org player, because such a player can't serve as a fourth outfielder. McKinney has the swing and bat speed to make that concern immaterial.
63. Dillon Overton, LHP, 6'2'' 160lb, Oklahoma University
Summary :
Overton is a finesse lefty who came into the year with some first-round hype, but his velocity was down early in the year and he missed some time with a sore elbow as well, pushing him off my top 100 entirely. He's mostly 87-91 when fully healthy with a good changeup and a long, slurvy breaking ball at 76-80 that he uses in spots where he'd be better off with the changeup.
Without the elbow issue he'd be an early third-rounder for me, but his stock is all about the medicals at this point rather than the quality of his stuff.
71. Chad Pinder, 3B, 6'2'', 192 lb, Virginia Tech
Pinder projects as a fringy to solid-average regular at third base, the type of player who'd go in the fourth or fifth round in a stronger draft but could go as high as the late second this year. At the plate, his approach is quiet, with his hands starting somewhat low and minimal load before a slightly rotational swing that might produce 10-to-15 home run power at most. His bat speed is a tick better than average, but it's more of a strength swing than anything else. He turns his front knee in for his trigger, so he's late transferring his weight and his front side can go soft as he follows through. He should stay at third base with the hands and arm to make up for any lack of range at the position.
I don't see star potential here, but there are so few bats in this draft who might be average big-league regulars, especially in the infield, that he's a clear top 100 prospect even with the lack of ceiling.
You better be able to hit if you're projected to play in left field at the next level, and McKinney can do absolutely that. The Athletics' outfield is deep right now, but knowing how Billy Beane works that could change in a heartbeat, giving McKinney a chance to be the A's everyday left fielder in a few years. He's going to have to work very hard on his defense, though. -- Crawford
McKinney is a pure bat, a left field-only high school hitter with strong hands and a consistent (but not quite ideal) left-handed swing that projects to hit for average and some power in pro ball. His swing is very simple and has great follow through, but he loads so high and deep that he nearly bars his lead arm and has a longer path to the zone than is necessary. He's very balanced through contact with excellent hip rotation and loft in his finish. I particularly like how quickly he can accelerate his hands from the loaded position, which is how he has success now.
McKinney is limited to left field due to a below-average arm and below-average running speed, which means he absolutely has to hit to be a significant pro prospect -- the floor for a left field-only player is, in effect, org player, because such a player can't serve as a fourth outfielder. McKinney has the swing and bat speed to make that concern immaterial.
63. Dillon Overton, LHP, 6'2'' 160lb, Oklahoma University
Summary :
Overton is a finesse lefty who came into the year with some first-round hype, but his velocity was down early in the year and he missed some time with a sore elbow as well, pushing him off my top 100 entirely. He's mostly 87-91 when fully healthy with a good changeup and a long, slurvy breaking ball at 76-80 that he uses in spots where he'd be better off with the changeup.
Without the elbow issue he'd be an early third-rounder for me, but his stock is all about the medicals at this point rather than the quality of his stuff.
71. Chad Pinder, 3B, 6'2'', 192 lb, Virginia Tech
Pinder projects as a fringy to solid-average regular at third base, the type of player who'd go in the fourth or fifth round in a stronger draft but could go as high as the late second this year. At the plate, his approach is quiet, with his hands starting somewhat low and minimal load before a slightly rotational swing that might produce 10-to-15 home run power at most. His bat speed is a tick better than average, but it's more of a strength swing than anything else. He turns his front knee in for his trigger, so he's late transferring his weight and his front side can go soft as he follows through. He should stay at third base with the hands and arm to make up for any lack of range at the position.
I don't see star potential here, but there are so few bats in this draft who might be average big-league regulars, especially in the infield, that he's a clear top 100 prospect even with the lack of ceiling.
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A's select prep outfielder McKinney at No. 24
CHICAGO -- Billy McKinney sounded slightly embarrassed when admitting he's yet to see "Moneyball," but vows he'll add it to his to-do list this week.
Excuse him if it doesn't happen until next week. McKinney has a dream to start living out.
The 18-year-old prep outfielder was selected by the A's at No. 24 in the first round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas' Plano West High School on Thursday.
The Angels, Brewers and Nationals did not have first-round selections.
Oakland tabbed two other players on the first day of the Draft, taking left-hander Dillon Overton out of Oklahoma at No. 63 in the second round and Virginia Tech shortstop/third baseman Chad Pinder at No. 71 with their competitive balance pick.
Day 2 of the Draft continues with Rounds 3-10, streamed live on MLB.com on Friday, beginning with a preview show at 9:30 a.m. PT. And Rounds 11-40 will be streamed live on MLB.com on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.
MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 100 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of Draft-eligible players. You can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.
McKinney committed to Texas Christian University in November but is likely to forgo college plans in favor of beginning a career with the same club he grew up rooting for, despite living less than an hour from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
"My dream is to become a big league ballplayer, and hopefully I can start that dream soon," McKinney said by phone. "I know the college coaches would love to have me there, but I'm just going to try to achieve my dream of becoming a Major League baseball player.
"Obviously, growing up 45 minutes from the Texas Rangers, you can't really be too proud about being an A's fan without getting some heckling. I've always just liked the way the A's play. I'm just very glad I got picked by them."
For the first time in the Billy Beane era, the A's opted for a high-school player with their first pick in back-to-back years, having taken shortstop Addison Russell at No. 11 last June. Before that, the A's hadn't drafted a prep player in the first round since pitcher Jeremy Bonderman in 2001.
The A's are hoping their decision to stray from the college pool and pluck from the high-school level, before a rarity in the organization, shows Russell -- playing at Class A Stockton -- and McKinney just how committed they are to grooming them into impact players at the Major League level.
Not one position player on the A's current roster is homegrown, and only three pitchers (Sean Doolittle, Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin) were drafted by Oakland.
"I've always said that we take the best player on our board, regardless of class," A's scouting director Eric Kubota said. "Certainly there was a long stretch where we favored college players, but I never thought it was a conscious effort not to take high-school players. It's just that the way the board has fallen the last few years that it's worked out that way."
The left-handed McKinney, who stands 6-foot-1, led Plano West to the Class 5A semifinals this season, hitting .394 (39-for-99) with six home runs and 32 RBIs to go along with a .585 on-base percentage using a swing he says he models after Josh Hamilton. He also drew 36 walks in 130 plate appearances and struck out only six times.
"Hamilton just has a beautiful swing," he said. "I try to keep my swing as short and compact as it can be."
Primarily a center fielder, McKinney noted he feels comfortable in any outfield spot. The same goes for first base, though remaining in center would be his preference.
"I believe in my abilities to stay in center," he said. "I hope I can, but I just do whatever I can to help the team win."
"We think he has a chance to go out and play center field," Kubota said. "He'll probably have to rely some on instinct. He's not your pure athletic center fielder but very instinctive and, in a lot of ways, reminded us of Mark Kotsay.
"You can say his tools are more average than plus, but he makes up for that in the outfield with instincts and jumps and reads. He's a very instinctual player, and that's why we think he has a chance to play center field. It's hard not to like the way this kid plays. He plays the game with intensity and energy. He's just the kind of guy that people will enjoy watching."
Oakland's current center fielder, Coco Crisp, has a club option for 2014, with 2010 first-round Draft pick Michael Choice lingering in Triple-A Sacramento. Choice is expected to make his big league debut by 2014, while McKinney said he has no time frame in mind when it comes to getting to The Show.
He just knows he'll have finally seen "Moneyball" when that time arrives.
"I'm for sure going to watch it in the next few days, no doubt in my mind," he said.
At the very least, he's already spoken to the man who inspired the movie. It was A's general manager Billy Beane who called McKinney on Thursday night to inform him the club was about to select him.
"I was surprised I even got words out when I heard that he said his name," McKinney said. "I was just astonished that it was him.
"There were other teams that were more open about it and talked to me a lot more. I didn't know that they were this interested, but I'm happy they were -- very happy."
Overton, Pinder complete A's second-round picks
CHICAGO -- After taking a high-school player with their first Draft pick on Thursday, the A's opted to go the college route with their next two.
Oakland used its second-round selection to take left-hander Dillon Overton out of Oklahoma at No. 63, before plucking Virginia Tech third baseman/shortstop Chad Pinder at No. 71 with their competitive balance pick.
These selections followed their decision to draft outfielder Billy McKinney with the No. 24 pick.
Overton was initially drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in the 26th round three years ago, ultimately deciding to go to college and join the Sooners' staff alongside Thursday's third-overall pick Jonathan Gray.
That meant Overton received plenty of exposure to scouts during his junior season, when he went 9-2 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 22 in 86 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-2 southpaw, who sports a wiry frame that weighs in just over 170 pounds, would've racked up more had a left forearm strain not sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
A's scouting director Eric Kubota says the organization is "confident as to where he is medically."
"He's a guy that pitches anywhere from probably 88 to 94 [mph]," Kubota said. "He can really pitch with his fastball. He's flashed a plus breaking ball. I know he doesn't necessarily look like a power pitcher physically, but he can pitch that way at times. He's got a very good changeup. He's polished and has upside to his stuff."
Pinder, meanwhile, hit .321 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs in 60 games for the Hokies this season. He started the year at third base, then moved to shortstop midway through the season and is said to be able to play all over the infield.
For now, the A's are viewing him as a shortstop, the same position 2011 first-round pick Addison Russell plays.
"He's been mostly at third base through his career, but we were encouraged by his defense at shortstop and we do think he has a chance to stay at that position as his career progresses," Kubota said. "We have some guys on our scouting staff who really, really liked him. We saw him a lot through the spring, and we were particularly surprised he was still available because he really, really played well at the end of the season."
Pinder is the son of Chris Pinder, who was drafted by Baltimore in the seventh round in 1987 and played in the Minors with the Orioles and Indians.
CHICAGO -- Billy McKinney sounded slightly embarrassed when admitting he's yet to see "Moneyball," but vows he'll add it to his to-do list this week.
Excuse him if it doesn't happen until next week. McKinney has a dream to start living out.
The 18-year-old prep outfielder was selected by the A's at No. 24 in the first round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas' Plano West High School on Thursday.
The Angels, Brewers and Nationals did not have first-round selections.
Oakland tabbed two other players on the first day of the Draft, taking left-hander Dillon Overton out of Oklahoma at No. 63 in the second round and Virginia Tech shortstop/third baseman Chad Pinder at No. 71 with their competitive balance pick.
Day 2 of the Draft continues with Rounds 3-10, streamed live on MLB.com on Friday, beginning with a preview show at 9:30 a.m. PT. And Rounds 11-40 will be streamed live on MLB.com on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.
MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 100 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of Draft-eligible players. You can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.
McKinney committed to Texas Christian University in November but is likely to forgo college plans in favor of beginning a career with the same club he grew up rooting for, despite living less than an hour from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
"My dream is to become a big league ballplayer, and hopefully I can start that dream soon," McKinney said by phone. "I know the college coaches would love to have me there, but I'm just going to try to achieve my dream of becoming a Major League baseball player.
"Obviously, growing up 45 minutes from the Texas Rangers, you can't really be too proud about being an A's fan without getting some heckling. I've always just liked the way the A's play. I'm just very glad I got picked by them."
For the first time in the Billy Beane era, the A's opted for a high-school player with their first pick in back-to-back years, having taken shortstop Addison Russell at No. 11 last June. Before that, the A's hadn't drafted a prep player in the first round since pitcher Jeremy Bonderman in 2001.
The A's are hoping their decision to stray from the college pool and pluck from the high-school level, before a rarity in the organization, shows Russell -- playing at Class A Stockton -- and McKinney just how committed they are to grooming them into impact players at the Major League level.
Not one position player on the A's current roster is homegrown, and only three pitchers (Sean Doolittle, Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin) were drafted by Oakland.
"I've always said that we take the best player on our board, regardless of class," A's scouting director Eric Kubota said. "Certainly there was a long stretch where we favored college players, but I never thought it was a conscious effort not to take high-school players. It's just that the way the board has fallen the last few years that it's worked out that way."
The left-handed McKinney, who stands 6-foot-1, led Plano West to the Class 5A semifinals this season, hitting .394 (39-for-99) with six home runs and 32 RBIs to go along with a .585 on-base percentage using a swing he says he models after Josh Hamilton. He also drew 36 walks in 130 plate appearances and struck out only six times.
"Hamilton just has a beautiful swing," he said. "I try to keep my swing as short and compact as it can be."
Primarily a center fielder, McKinney noted he feels comfortable in any outfield spot. The same goes for first base, though remaining in center would be his preference.
"I believe in my abilities to stay in center," he said. "I hope I can, but I just do whatever I can to help the team win."
"We think he has a chance to go out and play center field," Kubota said. "He'll probably have to rely some on instinct. He's not your pure athletic center fielder but very instinctive and, in a lot of ways, reminded us of Mark Kotsay.
"You can say his tools are more average than plus, but he makes up for that in the outfield with instincts and jumps and reads. He's a very instinctual player, and that's why we think he has a chance to play center field. It's hard not to like the way this kid plays. He plays the game with intensity and energy. He's just the kind of guy that people will enjoy watching."
Oakland's current center fielder, Coco Crisp, has a club option for 2014, with 2010 first-round Draft pick Michael Choice lingering in Triple-A Sacramento. Choice is expected to make his big league debut by 2014, while McKinney said he has no time frame in mind when it comes to getting to The Show.
He just knows he'll have finally seen "Moneyball" when that time arrives.
"I'm for sure going to watch it in the next few days, no doubt in my mind," he said.
At the very least, he's already spoken to the man who inspired the movie. It was A's general manager Billy Beane who called McKinney on Thursday night to inform him the club was about to select him.
"I was surprised I even got words out when I heard that he said his name," McKinney said. "I was just astonished that it was him.
"There were other teams that were more open about it and talked to me a lot more. I didn't know that they were this interested, but I'm happy they were -- very happy."
Overton, Pinder complete A's second-round picks
CHICAGO -- After taking a high-school player with their first Draft pick on Thursday, the A's opted to go the college route with their next two.
Oakland used its second-round selection to take left-hander Dillon Overton out of Oklahoma at No. 63, before plucking Virginia Tech third baseman/shortstop Chad Pinder at No. 71 with their competitive balance pick.
These selections followed their decision to draft outfielder Billy McKinney with the No. 24 pick.
Overton was initially drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in the 26th round three years ago, ultimately deciding to go to college and join the Sooners' staff alongside Thursday's third-overall pick Jonathan Gray.
That meant Overton received plenty of exposure to scouts during his junior season, when he went 9-2 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 22 in 86 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-2 southpaw, who sports a wiry frame that weighs in just over 170 pounds, would've racked up more had a left forearm strain not sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
A's scouting director Eric Kubota says the organization is "confident as to where he is medically."
"He's a guy that pitches anywhere from probably 88 to 94 [mph]," Kubota said. "He can really pitch with his fastball. He's flashed a plus breaking ball. I know he doesn't necessarily look like a power pitcher physically, but he can pitch that way at times. He's got a very good changeup. He's polished and has upside to his stuff."
Pinder, meanwhile, hit .321 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs in 60 games for the Hokies this season. He started the year at third base, then moved to shortstop midway through the season and is said to be able to play all over the infield.
For now, the A's are viewing him as a shortstop, the same position 2011 first-round pick Addison Russell plays.
"He's been mostly at third base through his career, but we were encouraged by his defense at shortstop and we do think he has a chance to stay at that position as his career progresses," Kubota said. "We have some guys on our scouting staff who really, really liked him. We saw him a lot through the spring, and we were particularly surprised he was still available because he really, really played well at the end of the season."
Pinder is the son of Chris Pinder, who was drafted by Baltimore in the seventh round in 1987 and played in the Minors with the Orioles and Indians.
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These last 2 games have been nuts.
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i'm still here. just not posting as often as i used to.I went through this thread just to find out how few of us are here. There's maybe 4-5 different users in here
great win yesterday, reddick had a sick grab to preserve the W.
josh donaldson continues to impress.
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Tough last 2, but overall amazing ball has been played the last couple of weeks.
A very needed off day today, get some rest and beat the crap out of the Yankees starting tomorrow...
A very needed off day today, get some rest and beat the crap out of the Yankees starting tomorrow...
