For the first time in the ten years since I moved to Los Angeles, the city is abuzz with Spring Training news and planning, despite the recent economic crunch. And for good reason too; the Los Angeles Dodgers have moved from Vero Beach, FL to Glendale, AZ and even though tickets are not on sale for the games yet, the Dodgers expect to open their 2009 campaign on the west side of the U.S. this year.

Anticipating the mad rush to book the LAX/Phoenix flight, I was forced to make Spring Training plans early.

I love Spring Training. It is truly one of the highlights of the season for me; a chance to see the new A's team up close and personal; to get great seats for $20-ish a ticket, along with the possibility of a chance meeting with any number of Major League Baseball players in a favorite restaurant.

It's a relaxed atmosphere where you are likely to see A's players, management, and broadcasters milling about; where hopes of the upcoming season are high, and excitement is in the air. Could this be the team? Will these be the players?

I know that some ANers have picked the second weekend in March as their Spring Training vacation, so if you are looking for some AN friends, feel free to respond in this thread. Likewise, if you are looking for a weekend to go, I'd recommend that one. A's home tickets went on sale in November, and many other parks will go on sale in the upcoming two weeks, including (I'm assuming) the brand-new Dodgers Spring Training Stadium.

So let's talk about Spring Training. Favorite restaurants, favorite parks, best seats, favorite players. Let's get ready for 2009!

It’s no secret that people are spending less money (or have less money to spend) this year. Almost everyone has been affected in one way or the other by the recent economic crisis, and I would have to think that baseball is not immune to the financial crunch.

As we watch the winter meetings, and hear about more and more players signing contracts that resemble Monopoly money for most of us, do we find ourselves resenting the amount of money in baseball?

I’m hoping this discussion goes the way of the economical, not political, but I am curious how the recent spending crunch will affect you, as an individual baseball fan, this upcoming season. I don’t think things will change for me personally; I have already picked my week at Spring Training, and I plan on going to more A’s games than last year, largely due to the convenience of the A’s playing the NL West this season. 

Has the economy affected how you will watch baseball? Are you less inclined to buy the extras; stadium tickets, Extra Innings packages, baseball vacations, etc?

On a broader note, do you think the free agents will suffer due to the economy? Obviously not the big money names like Teixeira and CC, but will it affect those on the fringe?  Have we already seen it with K Rod not getting the huge payoff some predicted and Furcal struggling to find a team to pay out?

Another interesting thing to note is how the stadiums themselves might be affected by the reduced spending, especially in the corporate realm. New York has been hit as the center of the financial markets in the US; every day brings more stories of layoffs and high-salaried employees losing bonuses, and in a lot of cases; even jobs.

You have to wonder how this will affect the new Yankee Stadium; things that seem to go during corporate cutbacks are company party expenses, bonuses, and luxury items, such as corporate seats and boxes at the game. And with the price of individual tickets rising, can people afford to attend games? It is likely that the first year of the stadium has been handled, but what of 2010? 2011? Will Yankee Stadium be able to recoup the money spent? Will this affect other stadiums or future plans as well?

How do you see this affecting baseball?

From MLB.com yesterday:

A few years ago, Mark McGwire was widely considered a lock for Hall of Fame enshrinement.
How times have changed.

McGwire, who retired as the No. 5 home run hitter of all time (he's now eighth), looked like a stone-cold lock for immortality back when he called it a career following the 2001 season. Since then, the question of illegal performance-enhancing drugs in baseball became a front-burner issue, and McGwire was the first true casualty in Hall of Fame voting.

It's that time of year again; this year marking the third time that Mark McGwire will be up for the Hall of Fame vote. Blez covered this issue in 2006 and again last year, but I thought I'd rouse it one more time, a few years removed from the feelings, mostly to see if anything has changed.

My gut feeling is that McGwire was kept out of the Hall the first year as 'punishment', and every year since is just another year away from the glory years, away from the days when he was a near-certain shoo-in. I think his best bet for the Hall was early, and he received nearly the same attention last year as he did in 2006 (that is to say, not much). There aren't many reasons to think that this year will be different.

However...

I find my attitude towards McGwire changing the more time passes, and the more I see things revealed about baseball during the time in which he played. He is no longer a baseball hero to me, but he is also no longer the villian he once was. I can look somewhat objectively at his career numbers and think that maybe he should be in the Hall, even after it all.

McGwire had a pedestrian .263 career batting average, but it was more than balanced out by his sheer power (.588 SLG) and amazing homerun total. He is currently eighth on the all-time homerun list with 583 career homeruns, including 70 in the 'season that saved baseball'. McGwire won a Gold Glove, was a perenial All-Star, and finished in the top ten of MVP voting five times. He even has a ring!

Yet...he's probably not going to enter the Hall, and maybe that's a fair decision. And maybe I'm basing my feelings on pure baseball, because I think his numbers put him there. Of course I also think (and will argue for hours) that the Hall of Fame is missing Pete Rose on pure baseball ability. But maybe there is more to the honor than just being great at baseball.

I have never considered myself a die-hard McGwire fan (I always was a Canseco girl; what does that say about me?!), but if I had a vote in this contest, it would be yes. And I couldn't have said that two years ago.

I wish all of you an amazing holiday, and lots of turkey, or turducken, or tofurkey, or whatever you will be eating today.

I dub this the "As an A's fan, what am I thankful for?" open thread.

I'll start. I'm thankful that we are at least trying to compete for 2009. And I'm thankful that we still have our A's in Oakland, at least for another season.

According to Eric Chavez,

"I'm about three months or so out from surgery right now, and rehab has been going really, really well," Chavez said. "I'm not going to start with baseball activities until January or late December, but talking to the doctors and trainers, we all pretty much feel like I'm ahead of schedule. So if I had to guess right now, there'd be almost no doubt; I fully expect to be ready for everything by the time Spring Training starts.

"And I fully expect to play third base."

From Mychael Urban's mailbag:

I've been hearing that Chavez won't be healthy next season. Are we kidding ourselves by hoping that he is?
-- Justin D., Stockton, Calif.

Have you heard this from anyone with a medical background and access to Chavez's most recent post-op evaluations? Have they been supervising his offseason workouts? If so, go ahead and believe them.

If not, all you have to go on is Chavez's word, and when is the last time Chavez flat-out lied or was overly optimistic about anything baseball related? The answer is never. He's as honest of an athlete about himself as you'll ever find, so when he says that rehab is going well and he expects to be healthy, I'm going to take him at his word.

Assuming that we all are going to take Chavez at his word, how do you see his impact on the team this season? I don't feel the same hopelessness about Chavez as I do about some other players. In certain cases, I think that the touted talent might be overrated, and I cringe every time someone says "They never lived up to their potential", because I really think the bar was set too high. I feel that Chavez did (and perhaps still does) have all the potential in the world, he did not live up to his only because of injuries. I think it's a shame that we didn't get a healthy Chavez, and I will always wonder what he could have been for the A's had he stayed healthy through the years.

Now that we are looking at him as a possible third baseman candidate this season, I don't know what to think. I have missed his defense in every way possible, and I agree with Urban (gasp!) when he says that Chavy tells it like it is; he isn't one to be overly optimistic. I have a small glimmer of excitement about Chavez that I haven't had in quite a while. I have missed him, and nothing would thrill me more than a successful season from him this year.

Thoughts?

NEW YORK (AP)—Lew Wolff has a way to shorten baseball’s postseason: Make the first round best-of-one.

“I’d make it one-game-and-you’re-out for the first series,” the Oakland Athletics owner said Wednesday. “It would be exciting. It would be great.”

Begun in 1995, the division series has been a best-of-five competition. Some people have advocated it be expanded to best-of-seven, matching the league championship series and the World Series. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has repeatedly said he favors the current format.

Wolff said he hasn’t brought up his concept with Selig.

“No, I’m afraid to do that,” he said.

link

This is one I haven't heard. I've heard plenty of advocates who wish to expand the LDS to seven games to match the LCS, but this is the first time I've heard someone suggest a single "Win or Go Home" game for the first round. Maybe as an A's fan, Wolff thinks that having a five-game series just prolongs the agony of the eventual Game 5, and we should get it out of the way before fans become invested in the series. Or maybe Wolff was just kidding.

Nevertheless, as the potential 2009 World Series Game Seven on November 5th looms closer, no doubt baseball is rooting for some West Coast teams this season, if for no other reason, than to postpone a decision. Because something might need to be done about the playoff schedule.

But what? Are the playoffs fine the way they are? Are they too long? Too short to really pick "the best" team? Should the season be shortened to accomodate the playoffs? Do the playoffs allow for too many days off?

Discuss.

Update: Matt Holliday will be on KNBR at 4:30PM, talking about the trade. Thanks Louis for the tip!

Since there appears to be absolutely nothing going on with the A’s lately, let’s talk about the season premiere of LOST starting on January 21st.

(snip)

Maybe I shouldn’t use the automatic post feature too many days in advance during the off-season.

You know a baseball story is big when it actually breaks into Monday Night Football. There I was, watching some team masquerading as the 49ers actually playing football semi-successfully, and there was a “Game Break” for baseball news.

For anyone who has ever watched one minute of the NFL, Game Breaks are hardly ever about baseball, and never about the A’s. I started to tune out the latest Manny/Jeter/Boston/Yankees news when all of a sudden I heard, “Oakland A’s”. They were covering our trade! This is big, people!

Not that we should judge a trade based on the media attention that it received, but the outside reaction is great. Personally, I am thrilled with the addition, the direction the team is going, and the words “We Are Competing for 2009” have never sounded so sweet, particularly after the excruciating months of July, August, and September of this year. It’s nice to have something to write about and look forward to. (Insert shameless plug for ticket sales here.)

Billy Beane has made some amazing trades; he has made some shocking trades, and overall, you could probably argue that there are very few of his trades that have really come back to haunt him. For every Hudson trade that hasn’t panned out, we have a Mulder trade that just keeps on giving, and although we have been playing with Bobby Crosby as our shortstop for years, have watched Ethier develop in blue instead of green and gold, and have watched a number of ex-A’s in the 2008 playoffs, by and large, A’s fans have trusted Beane and the teams he has fielded.

I understand that in any trade, you must give away talent to get talent in return, and don’t get me wrong, I really love this trade (assuming we can lock Holliday into an actual contract), but I can’t help but wonder if what I'm experiencing is the reverse Crosby effect. I feel that Beane waited far too long for Crosby to turn into the player he was projected to be, was far too patient in this wait, and may very well have expected too much from him from the start. But in any case, I feel that we have seen what Crosby has to offer the A's, and at best, he's a servicable middle infielder.

In the case of Carlos Gonzalez, I have the opposite feeling. I wonder if we've seen even a glimmer of who this player could be in a couple of years; if we let him go for the sure star a little too early. Gonzalez had a disappointing rookie season, to be sure, and a dismal second half, but were there flashes of superstar that showed on occasion? In two years, are we going to regret letting this player go when he finds his power stroke and is hitting for average?

Will it be worth it? Will Holliday be who the A's think he will be? Can the A's keep him? Will his year(s) with the A's outpace Gonzalez' performance in the years he would have played in Oakland? Is playing for 2009 worth it? Could the A's have waited out another season for their young talent to develop?

Probably.

Then I remember July, August, and September. I remember the empty(ier) seats at the ballpark. I remember 80 comment game threads here on AN.

And then I think of .325/25.

Welcome to Oakland, Matt Holliday! We'll nickname you soon.

From the New York Daily News (and nice 'stash, Bob!)

Could the 19-year "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcasting partnership of ESPN's Jon Miller and Joe Morgan be coming to an end? And will their ESPN Radio call of the Rays-Phillies World Series be the final chapter?

"We expect both Jon and Joe to be back in the Sunday night booth next season," an ESPN spokesman said.

Of course there is a big difference between "expect" to be back and definitely returning. So there is something up here. Miller and Morgan have spent nearly two decades together. During that time their relationship has had its rocky moments. That's no secret.

What's coming to light is how unpopular Morgan has become with many of his ESPN colleagues, who are less than thrilled with the way he prepares for a telecast. Some of them also don't respond well to what they call Morgan's haughty attitude, which he has displayed during some of his more outspoken performances in internal ESPN meetings.

Prone to on-air mistakes, Morgan also has come under some intense media scrutiny. And during those moments when he's made a mistake, the give and take between him and Miller can sound strained. But some of this stuff (if you don't take it all seriously) is kind of funny.

Thought some of you would be interested in this little tidbit. I personally credit Fire Joe Morgan, which has provided plenty of data to support their case over the years.

Here are some gold gloves to take a look at, and don't forget to stop by AN next week to discuss the big awards.

There are certainly times when the baseball fan in me wars with my allegiance to the team I love. I didn’t choose to love baseball; baseball chose to find me, but I do feel like I picked the Oakland A’s as my team. Maybe my elementary-school self loved the colors; the green and gold so different from the usual reds and blues; maybe it was the rebellion of youth spawned from being raised in an all-Giants family, or maybe there was just something about the team of the early 80’s that would grow into the dynamic powerhouse at the height of the now-questioned, but certainly much-enjoyed era of baseball, but for whatever the reason, I have now ended up aligned squarely with the small-market, new-school, post-Moneyball team that still clings to Oakland as home.

It’s not popular on AN to complement anything that is produced, directed, invented, or sold and packaged by ESPN and its constituents. It’s not okay to harbor any fondness for the big-market teams, and it’s certainly a bannable offense to show affection for either the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, and I realize I’m risking my AN status with the following posts, but I am baseballgirl, so maybe everyone will understand.

Perhaps in complete defiance of a team that was painful to watch for most of this year, I decided that the 2008 season would have to become a little more about baseball and a little less about the A’s. And there seemed no better year to visit the baseball powerhouses of the East than this one; especially with the stadium closure in New York. 

I reasoned that if I was going to temporarily dabble in the dark arts, I should keep the visit as brief as possible, so I attended a Friday night game at Yankee Stadium and a Sunday afternoon game at Fenway Park.

Although I had driven by Yankee Stadium briefly on a previous visit, actually showing up to a game was an entirely different story. There is a reason why legends were made here; why the grounds are hallow; why the aura seems to transcend the current season and forces open a window to the past when you are inside the park. Love or hate the Damn Yankees (and 2001 certainly cemented where I stand on that particular issue), Yankee Stadium is a magical place.

 It was a beautiful Friday night in the Bronx as ten of us attended the 22nd-to-last game at the stadium. Despite arriving at the park a good three hours before the game, we were one of the last people allowed in line to tour Monument Park in center field, where Vlad almost killed half of our tour group during his batting practice.

But we saw what we came to see:

 
The players took the field with as much fanfare as I've seen from a club, and the Yankee "roll call" was no doubt the best part. If you watched the last Yankees game of the season, you have seen this, but there is nothing like seven professional athletes waiting like little kids to have their names called so they can turn around and acknowledge the crowd. Johnny Damon was the highlight of the routine, and he couldn't keep himself from waving at little kids periodically throughout the game.

The game itself was nothing special; unless you enjoy a pitching duel between the Yankees and the Angels, and despite all the offense both teams would throw up during the next two nights, Friday's game went into the ninth 0-0. We got to see Mariano come out of the 'pen to pitch the ninth; and become the losing pitcher. Of course, that meant that I got to see another K-Rod save, which would still be a haunting memory if the ALDS had ended differently. I have discoved one way to root for the Yankees though; have them play the Angels while you are in New York in a ballpark straight out of Field of Dreams.

At the close of every fifth inning, the counter ticked off one more game from the long schedule of Yankees games; ours went from 22 to 21. The recorded seventh inning stretch was way better than it seems on TV, and really, the whole experience was like stepping back in time.

 
I understand how some die-hard fans can be upset about losing this park, even if it is a good thing. The Yankees have enough money to be playing in a state-of-the-art facility; with real concession stands, and bathrooms, and restaurants, and sky boxes, and they have been hanging onto Old Yankee Stadium, afraid to let go. I can see why. The memories aren't the same when taken to another park, but new ones will have to be made.

Hopefully, they will be tinged with a certain amount of green and gold.

Just in case you missed innings 1-5 1/2, I have "borrowed" the Gameday summary to catch everyone up. Of course, the game was re-aired this afternoon, so everyone could see baseball played underwater (I'm pretty sure The Little Mermaid was wearing a Ray's hat), but it will officially resume tonight at 5:37, tied 2-2, after Pena came up HUGE for the Rays with the last-second RBI hit. We will join the Phillies at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Rays had already activated their 'pen, but the Phillies had their ace on the mound (Hamels finished six innings with 75 pitches), and his spot is first up to bat. I can only assume that the Phillies pinch-hit, go to the bullpen, and use Hamels for a possible Game 7 on Friday. (Game 6, if necessary, will be played tomorrow night in the not-looking-like-such-a-bad-idea Dome in Tampa Bay.) Game time temp will be about 40 degrees with a wind-chill making it about 10 degrees colder.

Game scoring summary so far:

Bottom of the first:
Rollins flies out.
Werth walks.
Utley HBP.
Howard K's.
Burrell walks.
Victorino singles. 2-0 Phillies.

Top of the fourth:
Upton grounds out.
Pena doubles.
Longoria singles. 2-1 Phillies.

Top of the sixth:
Iwamura K's.
Crawford grounds out.
Upton singles
Upton steals second base.
Pena singles. 2-2, game tied.

Lineups where we left off:

Iwamura, 2B
Crawford, LF
Upton, CF
Pena, 1B
Longoria, 3B
Navarro, C **the top of the seventh inning will start here**
Baldelli, RF
Bartlett, SS
Balfour, P

Rollins, SS
Werth, RF
Utley, 2B
Howard, 1B
Burrell, LF
Victorino, CF
Feliz, 3B
Ruiz, C
Hamels, P **the bottom of the sixth will start here**

And after all that, I think we should get some more baseball.

LET'S GO RAYS!