11 HRS AGO - Will fans be charged money to enter Sutter Health Park, or will there just be a co-pay? | Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images The presumption seems to be that the A’s are moving to a launching pad in 2025, and so long as 40% of the rotation includes JP Sears and Joey Estes I suppose HRs will not be in short supply. But some of the notion of Sacramento as a hitter’s paradise comes from perception that does not necessarily mirror reality. Sutter is being contrasted with the pitcher friendly Oakland Coliseum, with its vast foul territory and evening marine layer. Certainly, a park with normal amounts of foul ground and no heavy fog will play more fairly for the hitters. The other perception altering factor is the temperature. It is presumed that any climate that reaches 100 degrees will be conducive to the long ball, but Sacramento is not the Las Vegas desert nor does it feature the Denver altitude. And HRs are only one measure of offense — hot days don’t help a ball scoot through Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - David Reginek-Imagn Images We could know the ALCS matchup by the end of the day It’s crunch time folks. Either we get a Game 5 in one series or the other, or we get to know the 2024 ALCS matchup that’ll determine who goes to the World Series. Things are getting serious and we love it. More drama! Two games on tap. Both American League. First up: the Cleveland Guardians will try to keep their season alive against the Detroit Tigers, who are a win away from their first ALCS since 2015. Detroit will be sending sophomore right-hander Reese Olson to the mound with a chance to send his team to the next round. Olson improved in his second full season as a major leaguer and is a big reason why Detroit is in this position. While a lot of the attention went to Tarik Skubal Olson was tied for second on the staff with 112 1⁄3 innings pitched while posting a solid 3.53 ERA. He’s made his postseason debut already, pitching five innings in relief during Game 1 but tonight will be his first Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - David Frerker-Imagn Images Four playoff games on tap today. Does anyone get knocked out? After alternating between the American League and National League playoffs for a couple days the two leagues will play all on the same day. The stakes are a lot higher on the National League side as both series enter Game 4. Someone could punch their ticket to the NLCS and today could be the last day for a club. Stakes are getting higher and higher and we are here for it. Today starts with the American League as the Cleveland Guardians continue their series with their division rival Detroit Tigers. Cleveland will send veteran Alex Cobb to the mound after acquiring him at the trade deadline for just this purpose. He was injured most of the year while rehabbing an injury but returned in time to make three starts. He was solid over that small sample posting a 2.76 ERA and we’ll see if he can keep that up now that he’s in the playoffs. He’s pitched twice in the postseason and looked solid in Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images MLB news roundup Good morning A’s fans, and happy Tuesday! We got news yesterday that Designated Hitter Brent Rooker was named one of the nominees for the Hank Aaron Award: Congratulations to Brent Rooker on being selected as a @MLB Hank Aaron Award nominee! Vote for Brent: https://t.co/Ez0LtepKnR pic.twitter.com/FmXp1zrBio— Oakland A's (@Athletics) October 7, 2024 The Hank Aaron Award goes to the best offensive performer in each league. It doesn’t matter if you’re a shortstop, left fielder, catcher, whatever. If you were the best hitter in the league, you are getting this award. To be nominated for this award is in itself a huge honor. And Brent Rooker is more than deserving to be nominated, and perhaps even cracking the top 5 in voting (dare say top 3?). This comes after the heart of the Athletics’ lineup smashed an impressive .293/.365/.562 with 39 home runs and 112 RBI’s, both career-highs. No he didn’t hit that awesome 40-homer threshold Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - Eric Hartline-Imagn Images A pair of playoff games in the other league Yesterday saw four playoff baseball games happen as both leagues got their Division Series started. The New York Yankees eked out a close win over the Kansas City Royals while the Cleveland Guardians started early against the Detroit Tigers and never looked back en route to a commanding victory. And that was just on the American League side. In the National League we saw the other New York team, the Mets, come from behind late to take game one against the Philadelphia Phillies while the Los Angeles Dodgers came out on top over the San Diego Padres thanks to a little help from superstar Shohei Ohtani. It was quite the day of baseball if you were lucky enough to have all day to watch it. Today will be a little less hectic but should be just as enjoyable. While the American League clubs get a day off after their Game 1, the National League will be playing on back-to-back days as we prepare for a couple of Collapse

10/3/2024 - Benny Sieu-Imagn Images MLB news roundup Good morning A’s fans! Yesterday saw three teams advance to the next round of the playoffs while one series will go down to a winner-take-all final game. Baseball fans were hoping they would all go the distance but at least one went to three games. The Royals knocked out the upstart Orioles but this probably won’t be the last time we see these two face off in the postseason. Both are extremely young and extremely talented but round 1 goes to the Royals. The Tigers meanwhile stunned everyone by sweeping the Astros out of the first round. It’ll be a different ALCS for the first time in eight years without Houston in there. And the Padres took down the Atlanta Braves in easy fashion down south, advancing to the next round to take on their rival from up North the Dodgers. That’ll be a fun series. The one series to end up going all the way will be the New York Mets versus the Milwaukee Brewers. New York took the first game and looked on its Collapse

10/2/2024 - Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images MLB news roundup Happy Wednesday, Athletics Nation! The 2024 MLB Postseason is underway, and the first games of all four Wild Card series are in the books. For the fourth straight season, the Athletics will see the playoffs as spectators only. But there are a number of former A’s with World Series hopes this fall, and as no teams were particularly dominant in the regular season, fans should hope for especially fierce competition and plenty of surprises this October. Lucas Erceg recently donned green and gold, but he came up big for the Royals yesterday with his first postseason save as Kansas City held on to beat the Orioles by a razor thin 1-0 margin. The winner of this best-of-three series at Camden Yards will advance to face the top-seeded Yankees in the divisional round. The other AL Wild Card game between the Tigers and Astros was also a low scoring affair, as one might expect from a matchup between Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Astros two-time Collapse

9/30/2024 - Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images MLB news roundup It’s Monday, Athletics Nation. Today is the first day of the post-Oakland era of Athletics baseball. The A’s played their final game in Oakland uniforms against the Mariners yesterday to close out a challenging season that was marked by struggles through the first half but saw the team greatly improve through the summer. The final stretch of the season was especially tough, as the reality of the team’s departure from the Bay Area became more palpable and the A’s again found themselves struggling to win games, going just 2-7 through their last nine games and getting swept by the Yankees and Mariners. The A’s were looking to hit the 70 win mark this year to demonstrate significant improvement and positive momentum, and a week or so ago the goal seemed very attainable. But the team fell just short, finishing with a 69-93 record. Some individual players fell just short of reaching big milestones, as well. Brent Rooker had a Collapse

9/29/2024 - Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images The A’s are winless since leaving Oakland for good. Does it mean the baseball gods have cursed the franchise? No, but I’m still processing their departure and pretending it means something definitely helps. It was, however, a strong effort put forth by the green and gold. After falling behind twice in the game, the A’s battled back admirably both times but ultimately lost the game by literal inches. The action got going in the bottom of the 4th with the Mariners lineup jumping on Joey Estes for three runs. The first came off a solo homer from Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh. Unlike the meatballs Estes was getting killed on in his last game against the Yankees, the victim this time was a change in the bottom-outside part of the zone that Raleigh was simply strong enough to pull over the fence in right field. The A’s came back the next couple of innings with their own power showcase. Brent Rooker started with a two-run shot off rookie starter Collapse