Earlier this afternoon, the A’s continued their rebuilding process by sending their “ace” at the beginning of the ‘08 season to Philadelphia in exchange for three minor league prospects. Blanton, the A’s Opening Day starter, was struggling this season in Oakland, as he had been very inconsistent with his (5-12) record and a 4.96 E.R.A. The haul of prospects that the A’s pulled back in this deal were second baseman Adrian Cardenas (the second ranked prospect in the Phillies’ system according to Baseball America before the season’s start), AA level pitcher Josh Outman, who was the fourth ranked prospect, also according to Baseball America, and is (5-4) with a 3.20 E.R.A. , and outfielder Matt Spencer who is hitting .249 this season at Class A Clearwater. Cardenas is just 20 years old, Outman is 23, and Spencer is 22. All three of these players will be sent to the A’s farm system, and with Blanton vacating the starting rotation Gio Gonzalez may be called up into the rotation, but no decision has been made yet. I (Jordan) feel like this was a good move for Beane to make at this time, because he is continuing to make it clear that he is in full rebuilding mode. I respect that he is sticking with his guns from the offseason. There will be more on this, and the Harden trade in our next episode of Athleticscast. Please make sure you all weigh in on these roster moves by emailing us at hosts@athleticscast.com, by calling us at 415-691-6185, or by posting your thoughts on this page. Take care, and Let’s Go Oakland!!!!

Today the Oakland A’s traded right handed starter Rich Harden, and Chad Gaudin in exchange for outfielders Eric Patterson, Matt Murton, pitcher  Sean Gallagher and minor leaguer John Donaldson. This marks the end of the Harden era and further signals the A’s desire forego competing this year for a chance to make the playoffs next year. Stay tuned, more to come.

Baseball America is reporting that the A’s and 16-year old Michael Inoa of the Dominican Republic have agreed to a contrat with a $ 4.25 million signing bonus. This kid is 6 foot 7, and at 16 has been clocked at 96 mph on his fastball, but is regularly about 91-93 mph. He is supposed to have an excellent curveball and a “dirty” splitter. It is nice to see the A’s continue to build their farm system, and this kid has me excited for the future. He is projected as a 1 or 2 starter potentially, and with our already good amount of young arms in the rotation and on the farm, things look good for the future as far as pitching is concerned.

Hey what’s up A’s fans, this is Charles here with another series recap. This week the A’s traveled to Arizona for an interleague matchup against the talented Diamondbacks where they lost two out of three.

On Tuesday the A’s pummeled the D-backs 15-1 in what was Brandon Webb’s worst start of the year. Justin Duchscherer cruised through 8 innings of work while only giving up 1 earned run. Brandon Webb stumbled through 3 1/3 innings while surrendering 7 earned runs. Mark Ellis had a huge day going 3-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI, while Rajai Davis also tacked on a homer run and 3 RBi on a 2-2 night. Bobby Crosby and Eric Chavez each had a home run and two RBI, while Carlos Gonzalez, Kurt Suzuki and Cust each had an RBI. 

On Wednesday the Diamondbacks returned to favor by beating the A’s 11-1. In his first start against his former team, Dan Haren pitched 7 strong innings while giving up one earned run. For the A’s Joe Blanton was awful in his 3 innings as he gave up 8 earned runs. Kurt Suzuki went 2-4 and recorded the only RBI for the A’s while multiple D-backs had big nights. Chris Young had a three run home run, Stephen Drew had a two run home run and Dan Haren had a 3 run double to open the game wide open as Arizona took game 2 of the series.

In the rubber game of the series on Thursday, Arizona beat the A’s 2-1 to take the series. Greg Smith started for the A’s and pitched 5 innings and gave up one earned run, while Doug Davis pitched 6 innings for Arizona and gave up 1 earned run. Jack Cust had a bloop RBI single that landed on the fair line to score the only run for the A’s. Chris Young went 2-2 with an RBI, while Justin Upton went 2-3 with the the game winning home run in the 8th to lead Arizona to the win. 

Following the series loss to Arizona the A’s head back to Oakland to face the surprising Florida Marlins for a three game series. On Friday night former Sacramento King Mark Hendrickson(7-5, 5.74 ERA) will face Rich Harden(4-0, 2.53 ERA). Saturday night will bring a matchup of Ricky Nolasco(7-4, 4.35 ERA) and Dana Eveland(5-5, 3.56 ERA). The finale on Sunday will feature Andrew Miller(5-5, 4.87) and Justin Duchscherer(7-4, 2.08 ERA). Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great weekend and remember to live smooth.

After losing a series against the Yankees, the A’s traveled across the bay where they completed a sweep of the Giants. The A’s were able to combine good pitching with timely hitting to start another winning streak. Lets begin with Friday nights game which featured throw back jerseys worn by the Giants.

Greg Smith started for the A’s against former A’s ace and former Cy Young award winner Barry Zito. Smith had a shaky start but picked up the win for the A’s as he pitched 5 innings and gave up one earned run, which was scored by Omar Visquel on a steal home. Zito lasted 5 and 2/3 innings and gave up 4 earned runs. Daric Barton had a nice game at the plate going 2-3 with an RBI. Jack Cust also tallied 2 RBI, while Chavez and Ryan Sweeney each had an RBI as the A’s beat the Giants 5-1. Fans were also treated to a moment of comic relief as the sprinklers went off in the infield during the bottom of the 9th inning. That would be the only laughs the Giants fans had during the weekend.

On Saturday the A’s beat the Giants once again this time by a 4-0 margin. Rich Harden had another strong outing for the A’s pitching 6 innings and not giving up a run. Matt Cain started for the Giants and lasted 7 innings while giving up three earned runs. The A’s scored two earned runs with the help of Jack Cust and Daric Barton who each had an RBI. The A’s scored their additional two runs on wild pitches to complete a 4-0 shutout. 

The A’s completed the sweep of the Giants on sunday with a 5-3 win. Dana Eveland started for the A’s and picked up the win after throwing 6 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run. Kevin Correia started for the Giants and took the loss after a 5 1/3 inning 5 earned run outing. Eric Chavez had a great game going 3-4 with 2 RBI, and Carlos Gonzalez, Bobby Crosby, and Daric Barton all had one RBI for the A’s. Randy Winn, Brian Bowker, and Benji Molina supplied the runs for the Giants in a losing effort. Street came in and picked up another save for the A’s, his 13th of the season. With the series sweep over the Giants the A’s now head to the desert for a three game series against the D-Backs.

Tuesday night Justin Duchscherer(6-4, 2.20 ERA) will start for the A’s against Brandon Webb(11-2, 2.73). On Wednesday, Joe Blanton(3-9, 4.23 ERA) will oppose former A’s ace Dan Haren(6-4, 3.41 ERA). The series will conclude on Thursday with Greg Smith(4-5, 3.62) facing fellow lefty and Cancer survivor Doug Davis( 2-3, 3.99 ERA). Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great week and remember to live smooth.