Beaneball

Everybody else in the baseball blogosphere is making their predictions. I'm obviously terrible at that, so instead, I'm going to put here who I'm rooting for. Any team that's higher on the list would be rooted for over any team lower on the list were they to meet in a series.

1. Padres: I jumped on the bandwagon along with all the other sabermetric idiots a few years ago, but I haven't forgotten about them. The man responsible for Billy Beane being in the A's front office (Sandy Alderson) is down there, Ramon Hernandez is down there, and my brother met Adam Eaton right after he (Eaton) got drafted.
2. Cardinals: Mark Mulder was always my favorite of the Big Three. I can't really root for Tony LaRussa, but I can root in spite of him.
3. Braves: Tim Hudson was my second favorite of the Big Three. How can a team with 76 rookies on the roster not be a top rooting interest?
4. Angels: It's heretical, because they took the A's out, but I really dislike the four teams below that much.
5. Astros: I have an irrational hatred of Roger Clemens. I shouldn't. I should just admire what he's done, that he's still going strong, that he should be the Cy Young winner in the NL this year. But I can't. I just dislike the man, as fans sometimes do, and can't root for him unless someone on the other side irks me more.
6. White Sox: I despise Ozzie Guillen. That's the end of it. His obnoxious comments, his "smart ball," his choking gesture, and so on. There's nothing to like about the man.
7. Yankees: Speaking of heresy, are the Yankees really here, not last on the list? I actually like Alex Rodriguez. I know, that makes me one of two people in the entire world who do (his mom might be the other one ... maybe), but I can't help it. I love Gary Sheffield for all his surliness. Same for Randy Johnson. Hideki Matsui is awesome. On the other hand, it takes all of that positive stuff just to keep the Yankees out of the cellar, because they're still the Yankees.
8. Red Sox: The new Yankees. I'm sick of "Big Papi." I'm sick of "clutch hitting." I'm sick, even, of Johnny Damon. I'm sick of Curt Schilling. Ugh.

So, if I were God, and the series all went the way I wanted them to, they'd go: Division Series: Padres over Cardinals; Braves over Astros; Angels over Yankees; White Sox over Red Sox. Championship Series: Padres over Braves; Angels over White Sox. World Series: Padres over Angels.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Baseball at 10:02 | |

From the AP (at SFGate.com) comes the news that Dave Hudgens won't be back next year as the A's hitting coach. The A's will offer him another position within the organization. Oakland just doesn't seem to fire its coaches like other teams do. Many owners and GMs would have gotten sick of Art Howe and sent him packing before the Mets gave him tons of money to take him away. Many owners and GMs would have been through six or seven hitting coaches in the time the A's have had two (though granted, Hudgens has had two tours of duty, before and after Thad Bosley). How much does a team-wide hitting coach matter? Some players will listen, some won't. Some will benefit, some won't. Let's not spend too much time worrying about it.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Baseball, Oakland A's at 09:56 | |