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A’s back with new set of expectations

Josh Reddick
Center fielder Coco Crisp strutted back into the Bay Area with puffed-up hair and a retro-style beard. Red-headed right fielder Josh Reddick slicked back his locks and added even more inches to his bushy beard as part of an ongoing competition. General manager Billy Beane still had his hair combed clean but picked “a terrible time,” he said, for a sun spot to be removed from his nose. The A’s are back, and with plenty of new looks. Read More

Bob Melvin will be with Oakland A's through 2016 season

Bob Melvin has repeatedly described the comfort of managing right at home in the Bay Area — and Billy Beane has described the comfort in having a winning, “modern-day” manager leading the A’s. Melvin is staying put in the very place he wants to be well into the future. The A’s manager received a two-year contract extension Monday that takes him through the 2016 season. Read More

A's general manager Billy Beane taps international market again with Hiroyuki Nakajima

A’s general manager Billy Beane hopes he got another significant addition from the international market. The A’s finalized a $6.5 million, two-year contract with Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima on Tuesday, filling a void created by the departures of Cliff Pennington and Stephen Drew. “There are some things when you’re here in Oakland that just feel right. This one felt right,” Beane said. “The longer we went on, the more information we got, we said let’s take a chance on the unknown as opposed to going down the road of the known.” Read More

A’s bring on Hiroyuki Nakajima as shortstop

Two people with knowledge of the negotiations said the A’s agreed to sign shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima of Japan’s Seibu Lions. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because there had yet to be a formal announcement. The AL West champion A’s called a news conference for today afternoon described as a “major announcement.” Nakajima agreed to a $6.5 million, two-year contract. The deal also includes a $5.5 million option for a third season, one of the people said. Read More

Reliever Pat Neshek reaches agreement with A’s

Right-handed reliever Pat Neshek and the A’s reached agreement on a one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration. The AL West champion A’s rallied around Neshek after his newborn son, Gehrig, died 23 hours after his birth just before the playoffs began last month. Oakland players took the field wearing patches in the baby’s honor during their five-game division series loss to the Detroit Tigers. He went 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA in 24 appearances with the A’s after being acquired from Baltimore on Aug. 3 for cash considerations. Read More

McCarthy healthy, ready for normal offseason

Pitcher Brandon McCarthy is ready for a normal offseason after being medically cleared this week to resume his regular routine, less than three months after being struck in the head by a line drive and undergoing emergency brain surgery. “Everything’s good,” McCarthy said by telephone Thursday. “This last month I have taken the rest part very seriously. I have a couple little projects I’ve picked up, I read — I’m actually really good at being lazy. It kind of worked out well timing wise.” Read More

Melvin will welcome back Bartolo Colon to A's roster

Bartolo Colon will be welcomed back to the A’s with no hard feelings — at least by newly crowned AL Manager of the Year Bob Melvin. Melvin said Wednesday he is “thrilled” the right-hander will return to the club next year after his 2012 season ended with a 50-game suspension Aug. 22 for testing positive for testosterone. Read More

A’s Melvin, Nats’ Johnson recognized as leagues’ best

Young rosters, small budgets, limited expectations. No matter. Bob Melvin of the A’s and the Washington Nationals’ Davey Johnson won big right away and were chosen as managers of the year Tuesday after guiding their teams to huge turnaround seasons. Melvin beat out Baltimore’s Buck Showalter for the AL honor in a close vote by a Baseball Writers’ Association of America panel. In his first full season with Oakland, the rookie-laden A’s made a 20-game improvement, finished 94-68 and stunned just about everyone by winning the AL West with baseball’s lowest payroll. Read More

A's magic finally fades with elimination from playoffs

The A’s finally encountered the one hurdle too tough to overcome in this surprising season: Justin Verlander. The A’s struck out 11 times against last year’s AL Cy Young winner and MVP and were unable to complete an improbable comeback in the AL Division Series, losing Game 5 to the Detroit Tigers 6-0 on Thursday night. Oakland overcame losses in the first two games of the best-of-five series and a two-run deficit in the ninth inning of Game 4 to force the decisive game against the Tigers. Read More

Comeback A's rally in ninth, stun Tigers to force Game 5

Jonny Gomes and Coco Crisp
Seth Smith, Coco Crisp and the never-say-die Oakland Athletics forced a Game 5 of their AL division series against the Detroit Tigers with their most memorable comeback yet.Smith hit a game-tying two-run double off closer Jose Valverde in the ninth inning and Coco Crisp capped Oakland's most dramatic comeback yet with a two-out RBI single as the A's staved off elimination for a second straight night with a 4-3 victory in Game 4 Wednesday night. Read More
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