The greatness and prestige begins with Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr, who after spending more than a decade as a player in the National League,  managed the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers for four seasons. With the advent of the American League in 1901, “Connie Mack” became manager, treasurer, and part owner of the new Philadelphia Athletics. He would go on to win – and lose – more games than any manager in major league history. Mack would also build, break down, and rebuild World Series-winning teams before settling into a nearly two-decade long routine of losing games and cashing dividend checks. A team that got off to a good start, but finished fourth, he once said, would be the best kind of team to have.

“A team like that will draw well enough during the first part of the season to show a profit for the year, and you don’t have to give the players raises when they don’t win.” – Connie Mack

Still, Mack won. From 1901-1914, the A’s won three World Series, six pennants, posted two second place finishes and had just one losing season. After getting swept 4-0 in the 1914 World Series, by the “Miracle” Boston Braves, an angry Mack dealt or sold away all of his best players. After a decade of losing, the franchise enjoyed another remarkable stretch from 1925-1933, including two World Series titles, three AL pennants and four second place finishes.

Sadly, the Mack club would never again rise to prominence after 1933, and would only post two seasons with winning records (1949-50) before the club was sold to Arnold Johnson in 1954 and he moved it to Kansas City.

The team’s shift from Philadelphia is long forgotten for most of today’s baseball fans, and predated the Dodgers and Giants shift from New York to the West Coast by three years. There have been no songs, books or poetry written to mourn the loss of the Philadelphia A’s, so we won’t attempt to do so here. However, despite all of the years that they occupied the second division of the AL, Connie Mack’s White Elephants also fielded some of the best nines ever to play the game.

Despite efforts to keep the club in the City of Brother Love, the Mack heirs finally sold the club to Arnold Johnson who would move the A’s to Kansas City to serve as a glorified farm team to the New York Yankees. It would be an insurance salesman named Charlie O’ Finley who would move the franchise to Oakland, change the A’s forever.

As defacto GM, O’Finley would build baseball’s last “real” dynasty. He would also open the door to a baseball future that would drive him from the game.  Finley finally got out in August of 1980, selling the club to Walter J. Haas, who controlled the Levi-Strauss empire. The club had finished 54-108 in 1979, so Finley had hired Billy Martin to run the whole operation. At first, the move was genius. Martin, the Oakland native, was 83-79 in his initial season, and followed it up by winning a share of the division title in the strike-shortened 1981 season. But the winning came with a price, because as the returning hero, Martin filled his front office and scouting department with cronies rather then the best people he could find. The result was chaos, and the new ownership group started giving more and more responsibility to young executive Sandy Alderson, a Dartmouth grad and ex-Marine.

When the bubble burst after a 68-94 season in 1982, Alderson would take over in 1983. It had been a three-year roller-coaster ride with Martin, who was also the club’s GM for the 1981 and 1982 seasons, but there was more to come.

Alderson would preside over four straight losing seasons while he rebuilt the A’s, finish at exactly .500 in 1987, and would win three pennants and one World Series during 1988-1990. Five losing seasons would follow before he gave way to his young assistant, who would become of the most talked about GMs in baseball history.

Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” fame has led to a change in the game of baseball we see being played today, surely, but for all of the praise, Hollywood treatment and near-Messiah status among the new baseball intelligencia, the pennants and World Series titles are non-existent. The franchise may eventually move to San Jose, a move that many feel would create the kind of revenue streams that would allow Beane to finally build a winner. But until that happens, to mention Beane in the same sentence as Connie Mack, Charlie Finley – or even Sandy Alderson – isn’t remotely fair.

And now, here are the All-Time Athletics:

Franchise Player – Rickey Henderson

“The only thing I wish I could figure out is how I got misunderstood regarding the type of person I really am and what I accomplished … Just because I believed in what I was doing on the field and dedicated myself to playing the game, does that mean I’m cocky? Does that mean I’m arrogant? People who played against me called me cocky, but my teammates didn’t.  I brought attention, fear.” — Rickey Henderson, Baseball Digest (Feb. 2003)

Let’s put a couple of things in perspective in regards to Rickey Henderson. Yes, he could be churlish and indifferent, a showboat whose “snatch catches” drove managers and teammates insane. But he was the best leadoff hitter in baseball history and a lethal weapon for nearly every one of the 3081 career games he played in. He was the last of Finley’s great players, signed as a high schooler from the Oakland streets, and made his debut in 1979. From 1979-1984, he stole over 100 bases three times, scored more than 100 runs four times, and did not have a an OBP lower than .398 in any of those seasons, save for his rookie year. He would return after a stint for the Yankees, where would score almost 300 runs in his first two seasons there, and arrived back in Oakland in time to help them win the 1989 World Series against the Giants. Of his 25 seasons, Henderson would play 14 of them in an Oakland uniform. He is the franchise leader in walks, runs scored and stolen bases. Only Bert Campaneris has more hits and games played in team history.

1B – Jimmy Foxx

Like Henderson, economics caused the exile of this homegrown HOFer to Boston in 1934, but before he left, “Double-X” proved he was the best first sacker in A’s history. He played 11 years for the Philadelphia A’s, in a town where the Phillies were an afterthought. From 1925-27, he would have three unremarkable cups of coffee with the big club, if you consider getting big-league at-bats at the ages of 17, 18, 19 unremarkable. As a 20-year old in 1928, he hit .328 with 13 Home runs and 79 RBIs with a .416 OBP in a little over 400 at-bats. The next year, he would hit at least 30 homers, drive in at least 130 runs and hit over .300 every year except 1931. Some of the seasons contained within that stretch are some of the most incredible years ever put together by a single player.

2B – Eddie Collins

As a GM, Eddie Collins helped delay the breaking of baseball’s color barrier in Boston. As a player with the 1919 “Black Sox”, he is best-known among today’s fans as they player who “ratted” out the eight men who would ultimately be banned for life by Judge Landis. But in 13 years as an Athletic, Collins would hit .337 with a .423 OBP. Though he made more than his fair share of errors, he also posted impressive fielding numbers during his career, and is considered more than just a passbale defensive player. Comparatively, when the Oakland A’s website decided to put together it’s All-Time “Oakland A’s” team, the best 2B they could come up with was Mark Ellis, who hit .265 with a .331 OBP in his A’s career.

3B – Sal Bando

Carney Lansford (10 seasons, .288/.343/.404 with 201 HRs and 548 RBIs) is a popular pick among many contemporary A’s fans, and if we cared about being contemporary, we might have picked him over Bando. But Bando (.259/.359/.418 with 212 HRs and 796 RBIs) was the captain of the team that won three straight World Series. Arguably, As far as the postseason goes, Bando’s numbers are remarkably similar to his career numbers, as are Lansford’s, with the former hitting more postseason home runs and the latter hiting for a higher average. Still, while Lansford was a very good player, and often underestimated, there are no ties in baseball, our pick is Bando.

SS- Bert Campenaris

“Dagoberto” is the all-time franchise leader in games played and hits. Bruce Markusen writes an excellent quick bio here. In an era where we judge players by their size and/or by the numbers that they post, “Campy” might not even get a chance to play at the minor league level, least of all the bigs. Traditional scouts would probably look at the 150-160 pound frame he carried throught his career as far too frail, but he stole a lot of bases, and scored a lot of runs and played on three straight World Series winners. Miguel Tejada will get some votes here as well, but like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, Tejada’s Oakland career — while worth discussing — can’t truly be considered as “All-Time” player until evidence of PEDs can be truly measured. Outside of Tejada, Mike Bordick had some decent years in Oakland, and Chick Galloway did as well in Philadelphia from 1919-1927, but we’ll take Bert.

C- Mickey Cochrane

When people talk about the best catchers of all time, Yogi Berra, Roy Campenella and Johnny Bench are often the most mentioned, and rightfully so. All three are Hall of Famers, World Series champions and won multiple MVPs. Mickey Cochrane is as well known for being the player that Mutt Mantle named his son for as he is for winning the AL MVP in 1934 for Detroit in 1934. Yet when you look at his nine seasons in Philadelphia, wjere he hit .321/.412/.490 with an OPS of .902, he has to be in the conversation.  Terry Steinbach, despite a few good offensive years in Oakland, is just not the player Cochrane was.

LF- See Henderson, Rickey

CF- Dwayne Murphy

Unlike many of our picks here, Murphy did not play for a winner. His lone appearance in the postseason was 1981, and he subsequently played for losing teams thereafter. For his A’s career, spanning 10 seasons, he hit .247 with 153 homers, 563 RBIs and played a very good defensive CF as well. In 1984 he hit 33 homers with 88 RBI, his best season ever.

RF – Reggie Jackson

Most fans think of Reggie Jackson as “Mr. October” of the “Bronx is Burning” Yankees and his wars with Billy Martin. But Reggie was another of Charlie Finley’s HOFers who played nine seasons for the A’s before playing his five-year stints at New York and California. During those nine-years, he fought with hks teammates, won three World Series, including winning both the AL MVP and World Series MVP in 1973. That year, he hit .310 with six RBIs against the Mets, who should have selected him in the 1966 MLB draft, but according to rumors, declined to pick him because he was dating a white woman. Instead, Charlie Finley picked him, and a Hall of Fame career started. His A’s totals are 269 HRs and 776 RBIs over 10 seasons. His final season, fittingly, was played in Oakland, in which he still managed to hit 13 homers and 43 RBIs.

RHSP – Chief Bender

Tim Hudson has pitched longer for the Atlanta Braves now then he did for the Oakland A’s, and as much as we’d like to put him or Catfish Hunter into this spot, it’s hard to argue that anyone but Bender would be the top right-handed starter for any All-Time A’s club. His 38.1 WAR is higher than either Hudson or Hunter, and while Eddie Rommell and Rube Waddell’s WAR numbers are higher than Bender’s, he was a more valuable pitcher to the A’s during his career than Rommell. Waddell only pitched six years in an A’s uniform, and Bender — who was the right-handed complement to Eddie Plank — ranks only behind Plank and Lefty Grove in all-timer wins by an A’s pitcher.

LHSP – Lefty Grove

This is perhaps the hardest decision on the list; Eddie Plank or Lefty Grove? Plank is the franchise leader in WAR, post a 63.9 mark over 3860.2 innings and posting a 284-162 record with a 2.39 ERA. Grove (195-79, 2.88 ERA) is second all-time in WAR among A’s starters, a 59.6 mark over 2401 IP. Each won a pair of World Series with the A’s, and each was sent packing by Connie Mack once their prices went up. Ultimately, the decison comes down to this; Grove, in our opinion, was more dominant during his career. He didn’t pitch as long, but had better individual seasons against his peers than Plank.

Closer – Dennis Eckersley

“Eck”  is in the Hall of Fame because he revolutionized the closer position, aided and abetted of course by Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan. His ridiculous numbers are evidence alone. In 1989 he threw 57.7 innings, struck out 55, walked only 3.  The next year, he posts a 0.60 ERA over 73.3 innings, 72 strikeouts ant issues just 4 walks.  Sure, Rollie Fingers pitched more innings in his A’s career, and won three World Series with the “Swingin’ A’s” and gets major points for that, but Eck was more than just dominant, he was virtually unhittable for a few years.

Manager – Connie Mack

For of his faults, and he had many, Mack simply was better at his job than any other A’s manager. He beat Yankees teams that had Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and he beat Red Sox teams that had dominated the AL for years. Had he been a tad more visionary, could have begun another dynasty that would have saved AL baseball in Philadelphia, but that reality doen’t obscure his accomplishments. Dick Williams was incredible, but couldn’t work for Finley. Perhaps if he had stayed, maybe the A’s win four straight titles instead of three. As impressive as La Russa’s run as A’s manager was, his teams should have won more. Losing to the 1988 Dodgers and the 1990 Reds while boasting the array of talent he had at his disposal hurts his case.

Our featured bloggers that provided us with the in depth Report Card series that has just concluded are back to give everyone an in depth look at what the off season holds for the major league teams they cover.  A look at what each team needs, what each team has already gained and lost, and some of the youth in each team’s system will be examined in these articles.  You can find all of the author’s information at the bottom of the article.

After finishing 2011 with a disappointing 74-88 record the Oakland A’s head into an offseason full of questions that range from who’s going to play the outfield in 2012 to where the team will be located.  There may not be a lot of winning baseball in Oakland but there’s a never a dull moment either with so much uncertainty hanging over the franchise.

Key Free Agents Leaving The Team
Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp, David DeJesus and Hideki Matsui.  That’s just Oakland’s entire starting outfield and full-time designated hitter.

Key Areas Needing Improvement
Outfield and designated hitter because they’re all hitting the road as free agents.  In-house options include Ryan Sweeney, Michael Taylor, Jai Miller, Jermaine Mitchell, Chris Carter, Brandon Allen and Kila Ka’aihue but none of them are proven commodities as everyday Major League players.

The A’s could also use a better option at third base where the top candidate to man the hot corner in 2012 is convereted second baseman Scott Sizemore who doesn’t provide the kind of power a team usually looks for out of the position.

Pieces That Are In Place
The pitching staff remains a strength, even with Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson on the mend from season-ending injuries.  Gio Gonzalez was an All-Star in 2011, Trevor Cahill is young enough to rebound from a rough season, Brandon McCarthy had an outstanding campaign that flew under the radar and Guillermo Moscoso came from out of nowhere to deliver quality innings at the back of the rotation.

The bullpen is also solid with closer Andrew Bailey backed up by veterans Grant Balfour, Brian Fuentes and young fireballer Fautino De Los Santos.

Second baseman Jemile Weeks is easily the most valuable position player the A’s have right now after his outstanding rookie season that saw him hit .303 with 22 stolen bases and flashes of outstanding defense.

Possible Trade Pieces Within The Organization
If you believe the rumor mill just about everyone wearing green and gold is a trade candidate, especially if Major League Baseball gives the A’s permission to move to San Jose.  In that case Beane is expected to go into full rebuilding mode in an attempt to have an outstanding young team in place by the time the team moves into a new ballpark in the South Bay.

Gonzalez and Bailey have been the subject of a lot of trade speculation so far and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them go to the highest bidder if Beane can get an offer to his liking.

Young player to watch for in 2012: Grant Green  
The former shortstop and first round draft pick out of USC was converted to center field last year and appears to be on the fast track to the majors.  Green followed an outstanding 2010 in Single A with an up-and-down 2011 that ended with some playing time in Triple A at the end of the season.

Considering the fact that free agent defections will leave the A’s looking for a new set of outfielders there’s no one blocking Green’s path to Oakland.  A strong few months in Sacramento could land Green in the big leagues around the All-Star Break.

Jason Leary
www.junkball.wordpress.com and www.swinginas.com
@JunkballBlogger

These report cards were written by twenty nine talented individuals across the internet that keep a close eye on the team they cover.  It was the first of our “Featured Blogger” series.  The second part, an Off-Season Outlook, will be brought to you the remainder of this week.  The same writers will return in the Spring to provide a 2012 Season Preview about the teams.

This year’s Featured Bloggers are listed below along with their website and the link to their Report Card:

American League East
Baltimore Orioles - Austin Gisriel, Seamheads
Boston Red Sox – Michael Lynch, Seamheads
New York Yankees – William Tasker, The Flagrant Fan
Tampa Bay Rays – Yossi Feins, The Rays Rant
Toronto Blue Jays – Peter DeMarco, Some Thoughts On Baseball

American League Central
Chicago White Sox – Terry Keshner, Planet Back
Cleveland Indians – David Henderson, Tribe Cards
Detroit Tigers – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Kansas City Royals – Todd Fertig, I-70 Baseball
Minnesota Twins – Von Hendry, Seamheads

American League West
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Bryan Grosnick, Roto Hardball
Oakland As – Jason Leary, Junk Ball
Seattle Mariners – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Texas Rangers – Dan Edmonson, Chicken Fried Baseball

National League East
Atlanta Braves – Andrew Martin, Baseball Historian
Florida Marlins – Eddie Gilley, Eddie Gilley Blogspot
New York Mets – AC Wayne, Mets Public Record
Philadelphia Phillies – Matthew Buesing, Fire And Ice Sports
Washington Nationals – Aaron Somers , District On Deck

National League Central
Chicago Cubs – Robert Harris, Blue Batting Helmet
Cincinnati Reds – Gary Schatz, Full Of Schatz
Houston Astros – Michael Barr, Fan Graphs
Milwaukee Brewers – Paul Heinz, Paul Heinz.com
Pittsburgh Pirates – Ryan Sendek, Analysis Around The Horn
St. Louis Cardinals – Daniel Shoptaw , C70 At The Bat

National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks – Patrick Lagreid, Baseball On My Brain
Colorado Rockies – Michelle Hoag, Rockies Woman
Los Angeles Dodgers – Paul F Sullivan, Sully Baseball
San Diego Padres – Michael Metzger, Padres Trail
San Francisco Giants – Julian Levine, Giants Nirvana

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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BaseballDigest.com aims to keep up that tradition.  This season, we bring you a Report Card on each team in Major League Baseball from writers that cover that team directly.  At the bottom of each write up, you will find the writer’s name, website, and any other pertinent information.  

The A’s entered 2011 as a trendy playoff pick after acquiring Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham and David DeJesus  to bolster the offense behind a stellar young pitching staff that carried the team to an encouraging .500 finish in 2010.

But the season unraveled quickly as losses, injuries, subpar performances and a firestorm of criticism cost manager Bob Geren his job well before the All-Star Break.  Bob Melvin took over but having a different Bob filling out the lineup card didn’t make much of a difference as the A’s crossed the finish line in third place in the AL West at 74-88, 22 games behind the Texas Rangers.

Rotation: B-
Oakland entered the year counting on a rotation led by Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden to keep them in the thick of the playoff chase.  Even though Anderson and Braden suffered season-ending injuries fairly early in the year and Cahill struggled with inconsistency the rotation still managed to be Oakland’s strength.

Gonzalez was an All-Star, Brandon McCarthy emerged as one of the free agent steals of the winter and Guillermo Moscoso came from out of nowhere to post a 3.38 ERA in 21 starts.

Bullpen: C
Along with the rotation, the bullpen looked to be a major strength for Oakland heading into 2011.  Free agent setup men Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes were added to a unit that already had Brad Ziegler, Michael Wuertz and Craig Breslow ahead of closer Andrew Bailey.

Unfortunately for the A’s, Bailey opened the season on the disabled list Ziegler was traded and Fuentes, Wuertz and Breslow all had off years.  When healthy, Bailey was as solid as ever and rookie Fautino De Los Santos showed flashes of being a dominant power arm out of the bullpen.

BD Report Cards brought to you by Seamheads

Catchers: C
As usual, Kurt Suzuki carried the load behind the plate for the A’s with backups Landon Powell and Anthony Recker appearing about as often as a sellout crowd in Oakland.  I think there were several moments during last season where the seldom-used Powell was covered in a visible layer of dust at the end of Oakland’s bench.

Suzuki calls a solid game and plays decent defense but his offense continues to stagnate since hitting its peak in 2009.

Infield: C-
On Opening Night Kevin Kouzmanoff, Cliff Pennington, Mark Ellis and Daric Barton were in the starting lineup.  By the end of the season Pennington was the only one left from an infield that was expected to provide solid defense and decent hitting but failed in both departments.  The defense was a sore spot all year and Oakland never got the kind of offensive production you would expect out of the corner infield spots.

The emergence of fleet-footed rookie second baseman Jemile Weeks was one of the few bright spots in a painfully disappointing season for the A’s.

Outfield: C+
A starting outfield of Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp and David DeJesus delivered a mixed bag of production as injuries limited each player to about 130 games.  Willingham hit for power but not much else, Crisp leveraged a relatively empty average into the league lead in steals and DeJesus had the worst year of his career.

Defenisively, Willingham lacked range, Crisp lacked a respectable throwing arm and DeJesus matched the worst fielding percentage of his career.  The only backup outfielder worth noting was Ryan Sweeney who followed a career-long trend of playing stellar defense while looking relatively helpless at the plate.

Top Offensive Player: Josh Willingham
Hitting 29 home runs and driving in 98 runs for one of the weakest offenses in baseball makes Willingham an easy pick as Oakland’s top offensive player.  Sadly, like most top offensive performers to wear white shoes before him Willingham is expected to depart the A’s as a free agent which will leave the club with a couple of compensation draft picks and a huge hole to fill in the lineup.

Top Pitcher: Gio Gonzalez
Gonzalez built on a solid 2010 campaign by earning a trip to the All-Star Game and winning 16 games with 197 strikeouts for a team that spent much of 2011 flirting with last place.  Not bad for a control-challenged 25-year-old southpaw.

Walks will always be a problem for Gonzalez, who led the league with 91 free passes, but as long as he can keep his cool and his fastball-curveball combo working he should have a few more seasons with 15+ wins and close to 200 punchouts ahead of him.

How many of those will be in an A’s uniform is a good question as the small market club is seemingly always on the verge of turning its roster over.

Jason Leary
www.junkball.wordpress.com and www.swinginas.com
@JunkballBlogger

Epstein fired manager Mike Quade on Wednesday after just a little over one season in Chicago. The Sun-Times has the story.

Dodgers fans are ecstatic that the McCourts are selling. The LA Times has the full story.

The Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander was the most dominant pitcher in the game en route to 24 wins. Jose Bautista didn’t match his 54 home runs of a year ago, but had another 40+ home run season. Lance Berkman looked like his career was done in 2010, but he hit 30 home runs this season and is an NL MVP candidate. Jacoby Ellsbury was the king of the AL DL a year ago, but this season was a candidate for both the comeback player of the year and AL MVP awards.

Curtis Granderson had a bust out season, topping 40 home runs for the first time in his career. Teammate Derek Jeter picked up his 3,000th hit, while another, Mariano Rivera, broke the all-time record for career saves. Across town, Jose Reyes won his first batting title in what might be his last year as a Met.  Albert Pujols had an “off” year and still hit 35 dingers and Matt Kemp met and exceeded all expectations.  With all of that in mind, the finalists for the individual awards in each league should look something like this…

AL MVP – Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano (NY), Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS), Jose Bautista (TOR), Justin Verlander (DET)

AL Cy Young – Justin Verlander (Det)

AL Rookie of the Year – Jeremy Hellickson (TB), Ivan Nova (NY), Eric Hosmer (KC), Mark Trumbo (LA), J.P. Arencibia (TOR)

AL Manager of the Year – Manny Acta (CLE), Jim Leyland (DET), Ron Washington (TEX), Joe Girardi (NY)

AL Comeback Player of the Year – Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS), Melky Cabrera (KC)

NL MVP – Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder (MIL), Matt Kemp (LA), Lance Berkman (STL), Justin Upton (AZ)

NL Cy Young – Ian Kennedy (AZ), Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee (PHI), Clayton Kershaw (LA)

NL Manager of the Year – Kirk Gibson (AZ), Ron Roenicke (MIL), Clint Hurdle (PIT), Charlie Manuel (PHI)

NL Rookie of the Year – Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel (ATL), Danny Espinosa (WAS), Javy Guerra (LA)

NL Comeback Player of the Year – Carlos Beltran (NY,SF), Lance Berkman (STL)

But baseball isn’t about the individual, it’s about the teams.

Early on the Indians, Royals, and Pirates played beyond expectation. In fact the Indians held first place in the AL Central for 85 days. The three teams would eventually fade, but the Arizona Diamondbacks did just the opposite. They were six games under .500 in mid-May, but played at a torrid pace the rest of the season to win the division title. Meanwhile Boston and Atlanta entered the final month of the season as virtual locks to make the post-season only to be eliminated on the final night of the season.

The LA Dodgers and the Mets had ownership and money issues, the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds were huge disappointments, and the Baltimore Orioles, despite much promise, finished last in the AL East for the fourth straight year. In the end the Yankees, Tigers, Rangers, Phillies, Brewers, and Diamondbacks captured their divisions while the Rays and Cardinals entered the playoffs as wild card entries.

What’s that? How did the Baseball Digest team do at predicting the post-season teams? Let’s take a look.

Well it appears, ahem, one person knew what they were talking about with the AL East. Yes, that would be me. Michael Maher, likewise, was the only one of our bunch who had the insight to pick the Tigers in the AL Central. He was also the only one to pick the Rays to win the AL wild card. Four out of seven dentist, er writers, chose the Rangers correctly in the AL West, while none of us had the Diamondbacks sniffing a title in the NL West.

Bill Ivie stuck his neck out picking the Braves to win the NL East, while everyone else selected the Phillies. Needless to say, his neck hurts. Bill’s beloved Cardinals didn’t win the NL Central as he had selected, but he was brought joy on the night of Game 162 when they made the post-season. Meanwhile Simon Sharkey-Gottlieb, Kirk Verner, and Matt Wilson all correctly chose the Brewers for the Central crown, but just like the NL West, no one got the NL wild card correct either. So the finally tally of correct predictions..drum roll please…four writers with 3 right each. Meanwhile Josh Landsburg, Mark Healey, and Bill Ivie…um, better luck next year. (In fairness, Bill did get 2 playoff teams correct, just in the wrong spots)

Michael Maher 3
Drew Sarver 3
Simon Sharkey-Gottlieb 3
Matt Wilson 3
Shai Kushner 2
Kirk Verner 2
Josh Landsburg 1
Mark Healey 1
Bill Ivie 0

Please check back after the league championship series for updated standings, and be sure to bookmark Baseball Digest to view all of our post-season coverage.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. will give the keynote address at the Hutch Award Luncheon on Feb. 1, 2012. Proceeds will benefit early cancer detection research at the Hutchinson Center .

This year’s Hutch Award nominees are:

• Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals
• Tony Campana, Chicago Cubs
• Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
• Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
• Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
• Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Justin Masterson, Cleveland Indians
• Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
• Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox
• Josh Willingham, Oakland Athletics

The Hutch Award recipient will be selected this fall through a vote of all surviving former awardees. A total of 46 players have been honored since 1965, when Mickey Mantle accepted the inaugural award. Baseball’s Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie McCovey and Lou Brock all received the Hutch Award; in recent years Jamie Moyer, Craig Biggio, Jon Lester, Mark Teahen and Tim Hudson have joined their ranks.

The Hutch Award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of legendary baseball player and manager Fred Hutchinson. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – founded by Fred’s brother, Dr. Bill Hutchinson, after Fred succumbed to cancer at age 45 – is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the understanding, treatment and prevention of cancer and related diseases.

For more information about the Hutch Award, including a full list of past recipients, or to learn more about the luncheon, visit www.fhcrc.org/hutchaward.

Talent is outstanding, and worth paying a great amount of money for, if one can stay on the field.

It doesn’t matter if your starting rotation consisted of a fantasy list including Sandy Koufax, Cy Young, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux in their prime. If those same names spend more time on your DL as opposed to your manager’s lineup cards throughout the year, all you will ultimately get out of them is increased jersey sales revenue. You certainly won’t see anything from them where it really matters.

Concessions? Yes. Box scores? No.

This season many teams have been bit by the injury bug, serving as an insurmountable force in the win-loss column. For example, on paper, the Chicago Cubs should have been a contender in the National League Central for 2011. Despite off the field problems in Flushing, New York, the Mets had a roster that could have competed for the wild card longer than they already have. With an elimination ‘E’ already posted for in the Cubs’ row of the MLB standings and one looming for the Mets (3 games until the Mets reach elimination for 2011), a large reason why they have had the season they’ve had is injuries. The Cubs lost a significant amount of their starting rotation to long term injuries this season and the Mets lost over half their starting lineup to nagging, recurring visits to the DL.

The Chicago Cubs are an aging team and injuries were bound to become a great issue for them at some point. 2007 and 2008 saw the Cubs capture NL Central division titles. 2008 may have been their last true chance to win it all any time soon as the team is getting older and the injuries continue to pile up. The Mets nearly reached the World Series in 2006, had giant collapses in 2007 and 2008 and injuries have haunted them since.

The Cubs are making an effort to test younger talent and hopefully nip this trend in the off-season. The potential spoiling injury bug is one plot line Mets fans are all too familiar with.

I attended Opening Day at Citi Field a couple years ago and the loudest boos were for the athletic trainers in the announcing of the organization members. Not even Luis Castillo received boos at the decibel that the team’s trainers walked out to. Certainly the way key injuries have been handled regarding key star players recently (Reyes and recently traded, Carlos Beltran, especially) has not pleased the Mets faithful. It also may have been a release of frustration after years of watching their promised stars of the future go down with injuries for decades.

Jason Isringhausen, who turns 39 today, is a perfect example. Isringhausen was drafted by the Mets in 1991 and before he even put on a New York Mets uniform, the media hype surround him completely. After Dwight Gooden energized New York City with his performance on the Shea Stadium mound for years, Mets fans were hungry for someone to follow in Dr. K’s dominant footsteps. The New York media responded by putting Isringhausen and fellow minor league pitchers Bill Pulshipher and Paul Wilson in the spotlight as the next great Mets talent on the mound. The trio was labled ‘Generation K’ and the shoes to fill became even larger as fan expectations grew.

Unfortunately for Isringhausen, Wilson and Pulsipher, injuries would prevent them from growing into the three-headed beast fans hoped they would become. Before you knew it, the 1993 and 1994 seasons had come and gone and it wasn’t until 1995 when all three pitchers were healthy enough to start for the Mets. While Isringhausen posted a 9-2 record in his rookie campaign over 14 starts, he would hit a major health speed bump battling injuries such as tuberculosis, a wrist injury and three serious injuries on his pitching arm.

The September 1996 issue of Baseball Digest highlights the disappointing Mets trio in this feature on MLB pitching corps falling short of promise.

Isringhausen wouldn’t see action for the Mets again until 1999. Time in between appearances became longer as did his walk to the mound. It was no longer the distance from the dugout to center stage. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, here are your 1999 New York Mets’ was no longer the back drop to his introduction. His trip to the mound would be a jog in from the outfield wall from here on out for the Mets as he was moved to the bullpen to start the 1999 season. 1999 provided a dramatic playoff run for the Mets, full of story book moments. Isringhausen would experience none of them however, as he would be shipped to the Oakland Athletics at the trading deadline that July.

It was with Oakland that Isringhausen embraced his new closer role and made a name for himself among the elite of the game. His late-game impact was felt immediately as he reached his first All-Star game (2000) and Oakland made the playoffs in 2000 and 2001. This gave him much-needed playoff experience for when he would reach the post-season the four out of the next five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Isringhausen had his best years with the Cardinals, sharing the thrill of capturing division titles in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, making it to the World Series in 2004 and 2006. The Red Sox spoiled his first trip in 2004 with their miracle sweep of the last four games of the ALCS and the World Series. It was a bittersweet ending to a season where Isringhausen led closers with 47 saves. In 2006, he looked to follow up a strong 2005 where he finished second among closers in ERA at 2.14 and made the All-Star team. Isringhausen was successful in his bid, helping lead the Cardinals to the post-season despite having one of his poorest statistical outings that year. Isringhausen was out with a hip injury throughout the team’s efforts that fall and rookie Adam Wainwright had to take over his duties as the team’s closer.

Since that championship season in 2006, Isringhausen has spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds.

This year, he found his way back full circle to his original MLB home, the New York Mets. The 2011 Mets have been desperate for some ‘good-news headlines’ and Isringhausen has been a bright spot in a season full of dark times for the ballclub. On August 15, 2011, he saved a 5-4 decision against the Padres, earning his 300th save and a place in MLB history along 22 other pitchers to notch 300 saves in their careers.

Two All-Star appearances, a World Series ring, big-city-rotation-star hype and a place in the MLB history books among the great closers in the game. His road has been a long one, collecting nearly 800 strike outs along the way. Unlike Pulsipher and Wilson who couldn’t live up to their share of the ‘Generation K’ hype, Isringhausen took his time and found a way to make an impact on the game after all. In his fifteenth year of major league service, it will be interesting to see if his career ends full circle in Flushing, NY, or if a new chapter is in the wings waiting to begin.

Also Born Today:

Darren Bragg turns 42 today. The MLB journeyman and Waterbury, Connecticut native played for nine different teams over his ten years as a major league player (Mariners, Red Sox, Cardinals, Rockies, Mets, Yankees, Braves, Padres, Reds). A .255 lifetime hitter, Bragg found himself coaching players in his post-MLB career. In 2007, he was the hitting coach for the Dayton Dragons, the A-ball affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Bragg currently runs a company called ‘The Hit Club’ where he dispenses his major league level knowledge of the art of hitting to high school baseball players.

Joe Rudi turns 65 today. A left fielder from Modesto, California, Rudi played fifteen years in the league, spending most of his time with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. Rudi helped lead the A’s to a championship three-peat from 1972-1974 and had a career best 181 hits in 1972.

Ryan Maloney is a staff writer for BaseballDigest.com, author of the popular Chicago Cubs blog titled ’Prose and Ivy, and a contributing writer to MLB.com.

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George Kell had an impressive major league career than spanned fifteen seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles. In addition to being named an All-Star ten times, Kell batted over .300 nine times, including beating out fellow Hall of Famer Ted Williams for the AL batting title in 1949 while striking out just 13 times that season.

In a July 2006 Baseball Digest article, Bill Dow wrote about fan favorite George Kell. Click here to check out the article!

Kell’s 13 strikeouts in 1949 were par for the course during his playing days. In over 7,500 plate appearances, he struck out just 287 times. By contrast, he walked 621 times during his career.  He twice led the league in hits and had 385 career doubles to go along with 50 triples.

After retirement, George Kell began a forty year broadcasting career for the Detroit Tigers that spanned 1957-1996.  In 1983, the Veteran’s Committee inducted Kell into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The beloved announcer passed away in his sleep on March 24th, 2009.

Also Born Today:

Hall of Famer George Davis(1870-1940) was a sensational ballplayer at the turn of the century, leading the league in outfield assists before shifting to the infield and leading the league again at the shortstop position. He was the first player in history to hit a triple and a home run in the same game.

Julio Franco(b. 1958) appeared in 23 MLB seasons between 1982 and 2007, despite spending the 1995 season in Japan and playing in Japan, Mexico and South Korea between 1998 – 2000.  He played one game as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999.

Mark Bellhorn(b. 1974) played ten seasons in the big leagues, but may be best remembered as a member of the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.  Bellhorn homered in Game 6 and Game 7 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees, and became the first second baseman to homer in three straight postseason games when he slugged a two run homer against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series.

Michael Maher is a senior writer for BaseballDigest.com.  He can be reached at MinorLeagueSpotlight@Gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @BD_Maher and check out his blog.

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After a deal for Rich Harden fell through at the last moment, the Boston Red Sox took a risk on another brittle pitcher, the Seattle Mariners Erik Bedard. To land the talented, but often disabled lefty, the Red Sox and Mariners got the Los Angeles Dodgers involved for a three team deal.

In addition to Bedard, Seattle also sent right-hander Josh Fields (the pitcher, not the former White  Sox third baseman) to Boston. The Red Sox dealt catcher Tim Federowicz, and pitchers Juan Rodriguez and Stephen Fifer to the Dodgers for outfielders Trayvon Robinson and Chih-Hsien Chiang, who Boston then spun to the Mariners. Despite some time on the DL, Bedard appeared to return to his old form this season and is a low risk move for Boston. He’ll eventually take the place of Andrew Miller in the rotation, with Clay Buchholz likely out for the season with a back injury, but for now Boston will employ a six man rotation.

San Diego Padres set up man Mike Adams and  closer Heath Bell both heard their names thrown around in numerous rumors all week. As things came down to the wire on Sunday it was first announced that Bell had been dealt to the Texas Rangers, but it turned out it was Adams that was being sent to Texas. He’ll team with another pickup, Koji Uehara, to strengthen the Rangers’ pen. In return the Padres received pitchers Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans are having the time of their lives right now. Normally the Pirates are sending veterans to other teams in July, but after acquiring Derrek Lee from Baltimore on Saturday, the Bucs picked up outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Padres on Sunday. The Pads will get a player to be named later or cash.

The Dodgers and Cardinals finalized their deal for Rafael Furcal. The shortstop and cash went to Missouri for outfielder Alex Castellanos.

Arizona added to their bullpen by sending slugger Brandon Allen and pitcher Jordan Norberto to Oakland for reliever Brad Ziegler.

Deals can still be made as the calendar turns to August, but players must pass through waivers in order to be moved.

No reason has been given, but sometime after the stroke of Midnight, the Red Sox and A’s deal for Rich Harden fell through. No word on whether or not a deal may still be worked out.

UPDATE 7:10 AM

WEEI’s Alex Speier (toh to HardballTalk):
“A review of medicals after an agreement on the parameters of the deal, according to a baseball source, led to uncertainty about what kind of contribution the Red Sox could expect from Harden down the stretch, and whether he would be able to make enough starts to justify the trade.”

Rich Harden is one of the most brittle players in baseball, but when he’s on he’s practically unhittable. And now he’s a member of the Boston Red Sox. GM Theo Epstein was hoping to land a pitcher at the deadline due to the tenuous status of Clay Buchholz, who has been out since mid-June with a back injury. He’s slated to see a specialist on Monday and may be out for the rest of the season.

To land Harden, the Red Sox dealt Lars Anderson and a player to be named later to Oakland. Anderson, who was the Red Sox top rated prospect in 2009, was blocked by Adrian Gonzalez at first base and could get a chance to start for Oakland. The 23-yr old is still developing his power as well as his footwork at first base.

Harden was in his second go round with Oakland after playing his first 5+ seasons in northern California. Due to a variety of back and arm issues, Harden has made more than 20 starts just three times in his nine year career.  With strikeouts (better than 9 per 9 innings) driving up his pitch total, Harden has become a 5-6 inning pitcher, but he’s an improvement over Andrew Miller in the rotation.

Done Deals

Boston – Kansas City: The Red Sox have added to their depth by picking up Mike Aviles from the Royals for infielder Yamaico Navarro and pitcher Kendal Vez. In Aviles, the Red Sox get a player who can play 2B, SS, and 3B, all positions that have seen players banged up this season. He also swings a decent stick. Aviles fell victim to the youth movement in KC and was sent to the minors at one point this season. He could face a demotion again when Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie returns from the DL.

Texas – Baltimore: The Rangers spoke with a number of teams about relievers and were hoping to land the Padres’ Heath Bell.  But the asking price was too high for the pitchers that Texas most coveted. So instead, the Rangers went a cheaper route by sending corner infielder Chris Davis and pitcher Tommy Hunter to the Orioles for Koji Uehara.

It’s a low risk move for both teams. Uehera is good, but not outstanding. He’s a strikeout pitcher despite not having overpowering stuff, but also can’t be used on back-to-back days due to his tendency to get banged up. Davis has been a productive hitter in the minor leagues, but hasn’t been able to put it together in “The Show”. He strikes out way too much and can’t hit left-handed pitching. Unless the Orioles deal Derrek Lee, Davis will probably only see occassional playing time at DH and 1B.

Hunter is a #4 starter at best. He pitches to contact and isn’t going to blow anyone away.  The Rangers’ number one pick in 2007, Hunter got off to an 8-o, 2.31 start last season, but went 5-4, 5.07 in his final 14 starts plus one relief appearance. Hunter is also an injury risk and missed a good chunk of this season with a groin injury.

Detroit – Seattle: The Tigers wanted to shore up their starting rotation for the stretch run and feel they did so by picking up Doug Fister from the Mariners. Fister can’t be judged by the 3-12 record he amassed with a bad Mariners club. In 21 starts, Fister allowed less than a hit an inning and walked just two hitters per nine innings while he struck out 5.5 batters. He also allowed just four home runs and had a 2.8 WAR with the Mariners.

Reliever David Pauley accompanied Fister to give the Tigers some depth in their bullpen. In return, Seattle received pitcher Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells, third baseman Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later.

Furbush is a 25-yr old left-handed strikeout pitcher that was used as both a starter and reliever by the Tigers. No word yet if he’ll replace Fister in the rotation or Pauley in the pen. Wells is a fourth outfielder that can play all three outfield spots, but doesn’t hit much.  Martinez is a highly touted third baseman, but only the second best hot corner man in the Tigers organization. The 20-yr old Venezuelan is still developing his power, but had pretty good splits (.282/.319/.405) for Single-A Erie.

Arizona – Washington: The Diamondbacks added to their rotation by sending infielder Zach Walter, a former 9th round draft pick, to the Nationals for veteran starter Jason Marquis. The soon-to-be 33-yr old joins his sixth organization after 1+ seasons in the Nation’s capital. Marquis was 8-5, 3.95 in 20 starts this season and averaged six innings each time out. With a WHIP over 1.4 and 0.8 WAR, Marquis is a shaky back-end-of-the-rotation starter. He missed most of last season with elbow surgery.

Rumors

Ubaldo Jimenez: The Rockies have reportedly lowered their demands since they have yet to make a deal.  The Red Sox, Reds, and Indians are said to be negotiating the most, while the Yankees are still in play.

Hiroku Kuroda: The Dodgers right-hander really doesn’t want to leave LA, but has reportedly told the cash-strapped team that he’d be willing to accept a trade to the Rangers, Red Sox, or Yankees.

Josh Willingham and Ryan Ludwick: The A’s and Padres outfielders are still being talked about and are expected to be moved at some point this weekend. Right now it appears A’s GM Billy Beane is asking too much for Willingham.

Heath Bell: Unless the Padres lower their demands, the team’s closer won’t be going anywhere.

Denard Span: The Nationals have been working for days to try to land the Twins’ outfielder. A rumor spread earlier this afternoon that the Twins were trying to get the Yankees involved in a possible three-team deal.

Rafael Furcal: The shell-of-himself shortstop is close to being sent from the Dodgers to the Cardinals.

Update 7:20 PM

Hiroki Kuroda has refused to waive his no-trade clause and will remain an LA Dodger. The ramifications of Kuroda off the market is that the Rockies can now boost their asking price back up for Ubaldo Jimenez.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Born in 1919 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Davis(unlike the movie version) actually went straight from college ball at Duke University to playing infield for the Philadelphia Athletics for three seasons beginning in 1940.  He played 86 games with the 1942 Athletics before being drafted into the United States Navy during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1946, he returned to Duke for further schooling, and began his seven year career throughout the minor leagues.  Aside from Costner’s Crash Davis being a catcher rather than an infielder, another difference between the movie and reality was that Crash Davis didn’t own the all time minor league home run record. In his minor league career, he slugged just 51 homers.

In an August 1981 issue of Baseball Digest, Art Rosenbaum wrote about the great nicknames in Major League Baseball, including “Crash” Davis. Click here to read the full article!

The real Crash Davis had a much more impressive major league career than the Crash Davis in the Bull Durham story, who had spent just 21 days in the big leagues.  Crash Davis’ first big league hit came off Spud Chandler of the New York Yankees, went on to win AL MVP honors three years later, on August 11, 1940.  Though Davis struggled to establish himself as an everyday player, he did manage to slug a few big leagues  home runs near the end.  In 1942, he cranked homers off Yank Terry of the Detroit Tigers and Dizzy Trout of the Boston Red Sox in games where the score was decided by one run.

Upon returning from military service, Davis caught on with the Lawrence Millionaires in Massachusetts for two years before moving on to join the Durham Bulls for the 1948 season.  With the Bulls, Davis led the team with 50 doubles(a league record) and 171 hits overall. He played alongside Babe Birrer, a brief big leaguer who went on to compile 18 years and 139 wins in the minor leagues.  Birrer played eight seasons in the minors after his last big league game; which  evokes the character trait of Kevin Costner’s Crash Davis, who had spent years trying to get back to the big leagues.

Crash Davis played just the one season with the Durham Bulls and moved on to Raleigh Capitals and Reidsville Luckies over the final three seasons of his professional career.  The phrase “Art mirrors life” has an especially strong meaning with the teams that Crash Davis played with, and the teammates who continued on years after their best(and often brief) big league days were behind them.  The fictional Crash Davis could easily represent many of the minor leaguers of the day. Cecil “Turkey” Tyson, for example, played with Davis on the 1949 Raleigh Capitals and had just one at bat with the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies.  His minor league career included 15 seasons, hitting .309 with nearly 2,000 hits. He last played in 1952, eight years after that single at bat in the major leagues. Mike “Iron Man” Kash is another teammate of Davis who logged 20 years in the minors without a whiff of the big leagues.

In retirement, Crash Davis went on to coach high school and legion teams, and he became a minor celebrity in his own right when the movie featuring his namesake hit the big screen. He passed away in August of 2001, but his connection to the great Bull Durham story is retold throughout minor league ballparks where players young and old are trying to get one more shot at the big leagues.

Also Born Today:

Tim Hudson(b.1975), the three time All-Star and four time top 10 Cy Young Award finisher has eight wins on the 2011 season and 173 for his career with the Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves. Since having Tommy John Surgery in 2009, he has won 27 games and has had an ERA of 3.14. Despite a 1-3 postseason record, he has a career 3.46 ERA in 10 games over 54+ innings.

Robin Ventura(b.1967), a two time All-Star, six time Gold Glove winner, and owner of 294 career home runs may be best remembered for his 1993 rumble with Texas Rangers icon and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.  Ventura charged the mound after being plunked by Ryan, and was put pummeled by the Texan upon arrival. The incident is replayed regularly at Rangers home games.

Bob Purkey(b. 1929, d. 2008) was a five time All-Star who spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds. The knuckleballer was a member of the 1961 Reds that lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series.  He won 129 games over 13 seasons, and his best year arguably was in 1962 when he notched 23 wins and finished third in the MLB Cy Young Award voting.

Michael Maher is a senior writer with BaseballDigest.com.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BD_Maher or check out his blog.

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Richard Michael Gossage was born in 1951 in Colorado Springs, CO where he still makes his home today. After a stellar career at Wasson High School, Gossage was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 9th round of the 1970 amateur draft. He appeared in 13 games combined that year for the Gulf Coast rookie White Sox and low level ‘A’ Appleton Foxes with mixed results, but a year later as a starter he made everyone in the organization stand up and take notice.

24 of Gossage’s 25 appearances for Appleton in 1971 were indeed as a starting pitcher and he excelled. An 18-2 record, 1.83 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 187 innings jumped off the page at everyone. He also allowed just 141 hits and 50 base on balls. His performance earned the 20-yr old an invitation to the big league spring training in 1972. He then continued to open eyes that spring and went north will the ball club.

Manager Chuck Tanner, who later became Gossage’s manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the front office decided to move Gossage to the bullpen despite his prior year’s performance. It was felt that his electric stuff would work even better out of the pen. He made 36 appearances his rookie season, but despite a 7-1 record, his other numbers weren’t up to his minor league standards. He walked five batters per nine innings, allowed 72 hits in 80 innings, and posted a 4.28 earned run average. Control issues would be the reason was Gossage shuttled back and forth between the Majors and minors the next two seasons.

Bob Rubin of the Miami Herald profiled Gossage after the reliever saved 33 games in 1980. Click here to read all about it.

It wasn’t until 1975 that the player nicknamed “Goose”, by teammate Tom Bradley, (because of the way he stuck his neck out when looking for the sign from the catcher) started to put it all together at the Major League level. He led the American League that year with 26 saves, struck out 130 batters in 141.2 innings pitched, and allowed 99 hits (just three of which were home runs). His play earned him the first of his nine All-Star appearances, and he finished sixth in the 1975 AL CY Young voting.

Despite his fabulous year, the White Sox decided to move Gossage back to the starting rotation for the 1976 season. The results were semi-disastrous. Goose lost 17 games, struck out just 130 in 224 innings, and allowed 214 hits. The team led by Paul Richards also lost 97 games, so that winter owner Bill Veeck decided to make some changes. In December, Gossage along with lefty Terry Forster were shipped to Pittsburgh for outfielder Richie Zisk and pitcher Silvio Martinez. Zisk hit 30 home runs and produced 101 RBI in his one and only year in Chicago and never approached those numbers again. Meanwhile Gossage’s best days were ahead of him.

Back in the bullpen in 1977, Gossage saved 26 games and combined with Kent Tekulve and Grant Jackson for one of those dominant relief corp in baseball. But free agency loomed for Gossage and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, despite having the reigning AL CY Young winner Spark Lyle on his team, was greatly intrigued.  And whatever George wanted, George generally got. He landed Gossage with a six year deal on November 22, 1977. It was a move that eventually led to third baseman Graig Nettles’ famous quote on Lyle, “He went from CY Young to sayonara.”

Gossage’s intro to New York was a rough one. He lost the first game of the season when he gave up a 9th inning home run to none other than Texas’ Richie Zisk. His next appearance was a blown save to Milwaukee and another loss. After mop up duty in his third appearance, Gossage lost another ninth inning game, this time to Toronto. His 0-3 record led to boos when the Yankees returned home. Gossage loves to retell the story today of when center fielder Mickey Rivers jumped on the hood of the bullpen car, yelling “NO”, to stop Gossage from entering a game.

Though he also had a blown save in the ’78 All-Star game, Gossage turned things around (a league leading 27 saves) and helped the Yankees come back from a 14.5 game deficit to Boston in the AL East. He then protected a one run lead in a one game playoff between the two teams, getting Carl Yastrzemski to pop up to Graig Nettles to end the game. Gossage went on to make four All-Star appearances while with New York, led the league in saves twice and finished third in the AL CY Young voting in 1980. But Gossage began to clash with owner George Steinbrenner as the 1980′s marched on and he decided to depart as a free agent after the 1983 season. He signed with San Diego and helped them to their first World Series with 25 saves.

After four years on the left coast, Gossage spent time with the Chicago Cubs, had a second tour with the Yankees before rounding out his career with the Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, and Seattle Mariners. He also pitched in Japan during the 1990 campaign. In 22 big league seasons, Gossage finished with 310 saves and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Today, the Goose is active in youth sports and serves as a Spring Training instructor for the Yankees.

Also Born Today:

Gary Matthews Sr. (San Fernando, CA 1950): “Sarge” was a star baseball player at San Fernando High and was selected as the 17th overall pick in the 1968 amateur draft by the San Francisco Giants. The southern California native made his MLB debut in northern California for the Giants in 1972, hitting .290 with four home runs in 20 games. He then won the NL Rookie of the Year award a year later when he hit .300 with 12 HR and 58 RBI. After five years by the Bay, Matthews signed with Atlanta as a free agent. He spent four years there and made his first All-Star team before being dealt to the Phllies prior to the 1981 season. He was a member of the 1983 NL pennant winning team and also reached the playoffs with the Phillies in 1981 and the Chicago Cubs in 1984. Matthews retired after splitting the 1987 season with the Cubs and Seattle Mariners.

Jesse Crain (Toronto, ON 1981): The Canadian born Crain attended the University of Houston and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 2002 draft. Crain debuted with the Twins in 2004 and finished eighth in the ROY voting in 2005 when the reliever went 12-5, 2.71 with one save. Crain had his ups and downs for the next several seasons, but in 2010 he put up strong numbers with 60 strikeouts in 68 innings. The timing couldn’t have been better as the free agent to be signed a three year deal with the Chicago White Sox during this past off-season.

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Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

On Wednesday the Texas Rangers cut ties with hitting instructor Thad Bosley, replacing him with Scott Coolbaugh.  As Lone Star Ball pointed out,  Bosley was the third hitting coach in 18 months with the Rangers, replacing Clint Hurdle, who the year before replaced long-time coach Rudy Jaramillo.  The Rangers hitters hardly noticed, posting an .260/.320/.445 line (with a .333 wOBA) in Jaramillo’s last season, a .276/.338/.419 line (also a .333 wOBA) last year, and a .265/.331/.432 line (.340 wOBA) this season.  Hurdle left to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates; why is Bosley out?

Most of the rationale can be summed up as “it’s not personal, it’s business”.  B0sley was good at what he did, but for whatever reason his personality and way of addressing his charges rubbed some the wrong way.  Initial player reaction focused on Bosley’s communication shortcomings, and emphasis on the mechanics of the swing.  This Elvis Andrus comment is representative: 

“I think for me I need a hitting coach that can teach me and make me better mentally more than physically,” Andrus said. “I wish him the best, but he was more physical and technique. I don’t get into much mechanic stuff. I’m more like a mental guy.

So basically the Rangers felt,  ‘We know how to hit the ball.  Mechanically we’re sound otherwise we wouldn’t be playing at this level.  We want advice on how to approach at bats, which you’re not giving us.’

It also hurt that Clint Hurdle had a much more outgoing personality than Bosley.  Anytime you replace a dynamic personality with a more reticent one people will start to assume the new guy is more reserved because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Bosley was a more successful hitter during his playing days than Hurdle, so clearly he knew of what he spoke, but perception is hard to change.  Couple that with his aforementioned lack of focus on the mental aspect of hitting, and Bosley fell out of favor in the clubhouse.

Coolbaugh was a former minor-league hitting instructor.  Many of the current Rangers have a history with him and trust him.  I doubt, however, we well see any appreciable change in Ranger offensive performance with him in charge.

Thursday the A’s fired Bob Geren.  Geren had been an unsuccessful manager based solely on wins and losses during his tenure.  Still, he had managed to hang on; many supposed it was due to his close friendship with GM Billy Beane.  Trouble was brewing in the clubhouse, and once Brian Fuentes aired his frustration with Geren’s managerial style publicly, it was only a matter of time before he was removed.  Suffering through a 9-game losing streak (thru Wednesday’s games) exacerbated the situation to where Beane was forced to do something.

Fans sometimes hate managers irrationally.  For a long time Tony LaRussa was a persona non grata in St Louis, even with his success in the post season.  That eventually changed with St Louis’ 2006 World Series title.  Irrational hatred was not the issue here.  Ultimately how fans feel towards their manager depends wholly on how successful the team is in the field.  Geren was never successful, so the fans never embraced him.  Questionable in-game decisions fed their mistrust.  If the A’s had not fallen completely flat these past 10 days, it’s doubtful he would have survived the entire season anyway.  These late developments gave Beane an excuse, and brought relief to the fan base.

Bob Melvin has stepped into the dugout, but he has a tough task ahead. Melvin will not wave a magic wand and turn the A’s lineup into the 1927 Yankees lineup, and 4 of his starters are still on the DL.  While the clubhouse will be a more pleasant place to work in, the team continues to struggle and he has his work cut out for him in trying to fix it.  It looks increasingly unlikely the A’s will challenge for the AL West title in 2011.

Mike Metzger is a Senior Writer covering the AL West for BaseballDigest.com.

Second Round

Neither Oakland nor the Angels had a second round pick this season.  Those picks went to Tampa Bay (in compensation for signing FA Grant Balfour) and Toronto (in compensation for signing FA Scott Downs) respectively.

Seattle – Bradley Miller, SS, Clemson. Seattle may have addressed their future needs at shortstop.  Miller was a C0-Captain of the Clemson Baseball team in 2011; his season ended yesterday when UCONN knocked the Tigers out of the NCAA tournament.  He is a First-Team All-American, and hit .419 overall this past season (including playoffs).  He has a good eye and good speed on the basepaths.

Texas – Will Lamb, LHP, Clemson. The Rangers announced drafting Lamb as a left-handed pitcher, but he also can hit the ball with authority.  In 59 regular season games he hit .348, with 11 doubles, 4 triples, and 3 home runs.  As a pitcher, in 2011 he appeared in 10 games (4 starts) and got hit pretty good, posting a 5.11 ERA in those 24 innings pitched.  In fact, he only threw 98 innings total in 3 years of college ball.  Some reports call him very athletic, but he’s an interesting second round selection as he will be a project to unlock his pitching potential.

Third Round

Seattle – Kevin Cron, 1B, Mountain Pointe AZ High School, and Carter Capps, RHP, Mt Olive College. Kevin’s older brother C.J. went to Los Angeles with the #17 pick, and his father is a former major league player, so there is good potential here.  Like his brother, he plays first base but can also catch.  The younger Cron was ranked the #5 high school prospect in the state of Arizona this season.

Capps is a right-handed pitcher, the 2011 Division II National Pitcher of the Year, and runner-up for Division II National Player of the Year.  Capps threw 118 innings this past regular season, striking out 129 hitters while walking only 18.  Opponents hit .191 against him.  He is scheduled to play in the Cape Cod League this summer for Harwich, so assuming that plan stays in place Seattle will get an early evaluation on how he fares against Division I competition.  On paper he looks like a beast.

Oakland – B.A. Vollmuth, 3B, Southern Mississippi. Vollmuth was taken in the 32nd round three years ago (Houston) but opted for college instead.  At Southern Miss he has been a three-year starter, and this season led the team in HR.  Oakland’s power production from their corner infielders has lagged the past few years, so picking a slugging first baseman makes a lot of sense.  Vollmuth might be a tough signee; his history proves he is willing to walk away from the negotiating table, and the this story on his selection implies his signing bonus amount will weigh heavily on his decision to sign or return for his senior year.

Los Angeles of Anaheim – Nick Maronde, LHP, Florida. Maronde was a starter on last year’s Gator team but spent most of 2011 coming out of the bullpen (31 appearances, 1 start).  The Angels will definitely groom him as a starter.  He is reported to hit 96 on the gun with his fastball, and have good movement on his secondary pitches.  This past season he stuck out 59 hitters in 38 innings, and opponents hit .179 against him.

Texas – Kyle Castro, RHP, Pleasant Grove HS, CA. There’s not a lot of data available on this righty from Northern California.  This story from late May talks about how he fared during an early CIF playoff game against a rival high school.  He is a multi-sport athlete, so in keeping with Texas’ second round draft pick he is an athletically talented guy who some growing to do.

The 2011 MLB Draft concluded Wednesday with rounds 31-50.

Mike Metzger is a senior writer covering the AL West for BaseballDigest.com.

The source of Fuentes’ frustration was in how he was used. Naturally this asked for a closer look.

Through 24 May, Geren had called Fuentes’ number on 23 occasions.  Eleven of those appearances were save situations.  One was with the A’s trailing – Fuentes’ first appearance of the season.  He appeared three times while Oakland held a large enough lead for it to be a non-save situation (the last time on 1 May).  He entered a tie game 8 times, including his 5 appearances in a row and 7 of nine from 3-23 May.

Five straight appearances with the game tied seems like a lot.  Over that span Oakland lost 7 of 10, so there were not many opportunities to save a game.  Here’s the usage chart for the A’s bullpen from 16 May, when Fuentes’ tie game appearance streak started, through 24 May when Fuentes was removed as closer.

Fuentes’ overall usage is not out of line with the rest of the bullpen.  Everyone got regular work, appearing in 4 or 5 games over this period, except David Purcey.  Purcey became a forgotten man, only appearing in the 19 May loss to Minnesota .  Purcey has since been dealt to Detroit.  Even Joey Devine and Trystan Magnuson, the man Devine replaced on the roster, combined for 5 appearances.  Geren’s personnel management is appropriate, in a vacuum.

Looking at the game situation, however, it becomes a little less black and white.  Why use your closer repeatedly in tie games?  Was it a lack of work for Fuentes?  Before the 16 May appearance it had been 7 days since Fuentes’ last appearance.  That made sense as he had not worked recently.  Then he worked four of the next six games, coming into all of them with the score tied.  What manager does that?  It was almost as if Geren suddenly decided regular work for everyone was the most important thing he could do, and he quit worrying about the game situation.

Holding out the closer to use a lesser reliever in a tight game with good hitters coming up usually backfires.  Perhaps Geren believed Fuentes was his best reliever, and wanted to get Fuentes in to face the opposition’s best hitters.  That’s a progressive way to manage the bullpen.  Based on the hitters Fuentes faced in his tie game appearances, however, Geren was not doing that.  Here’s the list.

• 16 May, T9:  1-2-3 hitters
• 18 May, T10:  8-9-1 hitters
• 20 May, B10:  9-1-2 hitters
• 22 May, B11:  1-2-3 hitters
• 23 May B8:  2-3 hitters

Fuentes was not consistently sent into the game to face the other team’s best hitters.  Twice he started off against the bottom of the order (18 and 20 May).  Ziegler and Purcey were both available on the 18th so Geren had other options.  Geren had little choice to use Fuentes on the 20th, because he had burned 4 relievers on 19 May in an 11-1 blowout loss.  Same on the 22nd, because Geren’s only other option in the eleventh inning was Purcey.  The next day he had Purcey (again) and Ziegler available for the eighth inning appearance, although at least in this outing Fuentes saw the 2-3 hitters in the order.

After looking at how often he was used, the game situations when he came in, and who he faced, Brian Fuentes had a legitimate gripe.  His  usage through 24 May was questionable.  Manager Bob Geren was bringing him into games at odd junctures and over-using him in general.  No wonder Fuentes was frustrated.  Calling out his manager publicly is never a politically savvy move, but he needed to say something.

“Losing my mom changed my life forever and gave me firsthand knowledge of how serious skin cancer can be,” said Braden. “I appreciate the chance to share my story and to spread the word about the dangers of skin cancer. I want everyone to know that early detection is key and that skin cancer is preventable. Things like putting on sunscreen, wearing a hat or other protective clothing and checking your body regularly are simple ways to stay safe while having fun in the sun.”

Since 1999, MLB players, coaches and staff have served as role models for their fans by stepping up to the plate for skin screenings through the Play Sun Smart™ program. All 30 MLB Clubs participate in the skin cancer screenings and reduce their risk for skin cancer by practicing sun-safe behaviors throughout the baseball season. Academy dermatologists have conducted more than 26,500 skin cancer screenings through the Play Sun Smart™ program.

“Skin cancer is one of the easiest cancers to detect in its early stages because the signs are right there on the surface of the skin. Early detection offers the best chance for successful treatment,” said Thomas E. Rohrer, M.D., chairperson of the Academy’s Sports Committee. “It only takes a few minutes to protect and check your skin, and it could save your life.”

Skin self-examinations consist of regularly looking over the entire body, including the back, scalp, soles, between the toes and on the palms. If there are any changes in the size, color, shape or texture of a mole, if a new mole develops or any other unusual changes in the skin occur, make an appointment to see a dermatologist immediately.

Just like their favorite Club and players, the public can find a free skin cancer screening in their area by visiting the Academy’s website at www.aad.org. Enjoy America’s favorite pastime while remembering to Play Sun Smart™. For more information about sun safety and the Play Sun Smart™ program, please visit www.playsunsmart.org.

The Play Sun Smart™ awareness program is one of several cancer-related initiatives supported by Major League Baseball. Other initiatives include Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), whose mission is to support the groundbreaking scientific research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated timeframe; the Mother’s Day Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer initiative, which is a joint partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, to help increase awareness of breast cancer and raise money towards the search for a cure; and the Prostate Cancer Foundation Home Run Challenge, which helps increase awareness of prostate cancer and raise money for the search for a cure as part of Major League Baseball Father’s Day celebration.

Texas.  The most obvious reason Texas came back to the pack is the loss of Josh Hamilton for 6 weeks.  Losing Nelson Cruz on May 3 did not help matters either.  Rangers went 15-21 without Hamilton and 7-9 without Cruz (those periods overlap).  The pitching looks consistent, posting a 4.07 xFIP in Mar/April and a 4.09 so far in May (through Tuesday).  But that’s heavily weighted to the starters; Ranger starters have a 3.88 xFIP this season, while their relief corps is second-worst in the league (4.61).  Losing two of their best hitters, and a struggling bullpen, has dragged Texas down to earth after a sizzling start.

Los Angeles. One could say the offense has been troublesome.  Mark Trumbo and Howie Kendrick are tied for the team lead in HR.  If you predicted that would be the case heading into the Memorial Day Weekend, stop by the office to pick up your prize. As compared to 2010, Angel power has dried up; they hit 32 HR in May of last year, but only 13 so far this season.  Further, as Jonah Keri pointed out last week, they are striking much more often than in years past, which may partially explain why a team with the fourth highest BABIP in baseball is 16th in runs scored.  The Los Angeles bullpen is one of only 4 (Texas is in this group too) with a negative WAR on the season.  The Angels are a half game behind Texas mostly because their starting pitching is third-best in the AL (again based on xFIP).  Their struggles appear to revolve around their offensive production and ineffective bullpen.

Seattle. Seattle’s season needs to be couched in terms of success instead of discussing.  A team not expected to hit has not hit; they are in a virtual dead hit with Minnesota for worst offense in the AL based on wOBA (MIN – .286; SEA – .287).  Their starting pitching appears to be for real.  The Mariners have the second-best starting corps in the league as measured by xFIP (only Oakland’s is better).  Michael Pineda has put early concerns he was not ready for the major leagues to rest and is currently a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.  Surprisingly the Seattle defense has not been that good; they are currently second-worst in the league, a bit of a surprise for a team boasting Brendan Ryan and Franklin Gutierrez (although Gutierrez just returned from the DL last week).    Minnesota snapped the Mariner win streak at six last night, but the Mariners rode that streak to within 1.5 games of the divisional lead.

Oakland. They are almost an exact of the Mariners – their pitching is slightly better than Seattle’s, their defense slightly worse, their offense virtually the same (.291 wOBA).   .  The much publicized and discussed public tiff between former closer Brian Fuentes and manager Bob Geren aside, little offense and sparkling pitching is the formula from last year so no surprises there.   Last year the A’s were the second-best defensive team in the American League. I believe their troubles with the leather are why they are in last place in the AL West.

Summary. The season prepares to roll into June and no AL West team has distinguished itself from the rest of the field.  It’s the only division in baseball where each team has at least a 10% chance to make the playoffs as of today.  Which team is best able to address its flaw (Texas – bullpen; Anaheim – bullpen, offense; Seattle – offense, defense; Oakland – offense, defense) will win the division.  Today the Texas Rangers remain the odds-on favorite to win the division, but that can change at any moment.  After all, who predicted everyone in the division would be within 2 games of each other at the end of May?

All of these nicknames pay homage to perhaps the most impressive clutch player in baseball history.  While there is a debate about the overall truth of ”clutch’ performances, there is no doubt that “Mr. October”, Reggie Jackson, ranks as one of the greatest postseason players in history.

In an October 1980 issue of Baseball Digest, John Kuenster wrote about Reggie Jackson putting up Hall of Fame numbers. Click here to read the full article!

Born in Wyncote, Pennsylvania in 1946 to a former Negro League player, Jackson wasted little time making his mark on the baseball world. Drafted by the Kansas City Athletics as the second overall pick in the 1966 Amateur Draft, he spent parts of just two seasons in the minor leagues before reaching the major leagues on June 9th, 1967.  For the 1968 season, the Athletics moved to Oakland and Jackson became an every day player, slugging 29 homers.

For the player and the team, the pairing proved to turn things around permanently for the franchise.  Coming off a 6th place finish in their first season in Oakland, Jackson’s 1969 season was a breakout year, when he slugged 47 home runs and at one point kept pace with the record setting 61 home runs hit by Roger Maris in 1961.  The 1969 season was the first of seven times he finished in the top 10 for Most Valuable Player.

After a down year in 1970 when Jackson hit 23 homers, he embarked on a terrific five year stretch that changed baseball in the Oakland, California area.  Between 1971 and 1975, he led the American League in home runs twice, and averaged more than 30 home runs a year.  He earned Most Valuable Player honors for the 1973 season, which capped off a tremendous stretch of success that included five straight trips to the postseason, including three straight World Series victories.  Though he missed the 1972 World Series with a torn hamstring, his presence was felt in the subsequent Series, which earned him MVP honors.  For his career, Reggie Jackson had a .357 batting average in 5 World Series.

On the heels of their 1975 ALCS loss to the Boston Red Sox, the Athletics shipped Jackson(along with two other players) to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell. The Baltimore Era of Reggie Jackson was short lived, as the New York Yankees signed the outfielder to a five year deal worth nearly $3 million dollars in November of 1976.

Jackson’s impact on the Yankees lineup was immediate, as the team reached the playoffs in four of his five seasons in The Bronx. The back to back World Series wins in 1977 and 1978 were the first for the franchise in 15 years.  After homering in Games 4 and 5 of the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yankee captain Thurmon Munson famously told reporters to speak with “Mr. October” during the series.  This came before the three homer game, which confirmed the name that would forever link the slugger among the greatest Yankees of all time.

Reggie Jackson’s best season in The Bronx was during the latter end of his tenure with the team. In 1980, Jackson slugged 41 home runs and hit .300, finishing second in the MVP voting.  His worst season as a Yankee came in 1981, which also happened to be his final season  with the team. Despite reaching the World Series for the third time in five years, Jackson clashed with George Steinbrenner and signed a five year deal with the California Angels during the off season to return to the west coast.

Though the Angels reached the ALCS twice with Jackson, he was unable to regain the mystique of “Mr. October” that he had garnered earlier in his career.  For his final season in the big leagues, 1987, Jackson signed with the Oakland Athletics.

Reggie Jackson retired with 563 home runs, good for 13th all-time. He also ranks first all-time in career strikeouts with 2,597. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993 on his first ballot, and wore a Yankee cap for his induction.  In addition to being a central figure  of The Bronx Zoo in the 1970′s and being the namesake for the “Reggie!” bar, Jackson has remained a part of American culture with appearances on various television programs and cameos in films.  He threw out the first ceremonial pitch at the new Yankee Stadium, and remains a special advisor to the New York Yankees.

Also Celebrating A Birthday:

Brooks Robinson(b.1937), spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Orioles and ranks as arguably the greatest third baseman in MLB history.  Robinson earned sixteen consecutive Gold Glove awards between 1960 and 1975 to go along with eighteen All-Star team selections.  In addition to his 1964 American League Most Valuable Player Award, he also earned series MVP honors for his role in the 1970 World Series and the All-Star Game MVP nod in 1966.  His number 5 was retired by the Baltimore Orioles at the end of his final season in 1977, and in 1983 he became one of just sixteen players to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Michael Maher is a senior writer for BaseballDigest.com and he can be reached at MinorLeagueSpotlight@Gmail.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @BD_Maher.

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