Shards of what remain of Barry Zito and the rest of Oakland A's pitching staff are still being recovered after yesterday's 14-0 threshing at the hands of the Texas Rangers. We're certain the Arlington faithful are downright giddy about their latent power display, as well they should be. This beating reminded everyone that there is-indeed--a real pennant race fomenting in the AL West. However, the Rangers should take a very hard look at the all-encompassing big picture scoreboard-the Athletics won that series by dominating the small things. And they beat Texas by going toe-to-toe with one of the best offenses in the American League. Moreover, the real battle was won in the trenches-through superior bullpen action, sans Joe Kennedy, Scott Sauerbeck and the rest of the DL boys, a smothering defense and timely hitting from Jay Payton, not through caveman-like hacking at off-speed pitches that Ranger batters have mastered. more ›

The Oakland A's will win the American League West. Yes, this year! We (SFist) are not accustomed to making barrel-chested predictions that eventually turn to fool's gold as it often does on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" -- we're merely pointing out the obvious: the Oakland A's will win the AL West this year. Despite their anemic, Milton Bradley-less performance last night at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels and Joe Saunders-- who they made seem like a young Ron Guidry than the junk-ball throwing Tommy John clone that he is-- the A's will win more of those tightly-sewn games than the Angels, or god forbid, the perennial flame-out Texas Rangers. And they'll do it without resident genius Billy Beane making a nano-move during the trade deadline frenzy. more ›

You still the man, Rick . . . You still the man. more ›

With the start of the upcoming baseball season less than a week away, SFist's sports desk will try and break the new season down for y'all, round-table, free-form, discussion style. In the next few days, we'll debate the winners, the losers, and all the in-betweens. This discussion could be great, it could be lame, it could be meh. We guess we'll find out more ›

We know, we know: It's Barry Bonds Week in Bay Area baseball. That's very exciting, but there's also a pennant race going on just across the bay from 24 Willie Mays Plaza. After Monday night's 2-0 victory in Cleveland, the A's are a game behind Los Los Angeles Angeles de Anaheim Anaheim in the AL West and 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the AL Wild Card race. There are only so many ways to write that it's all going to come down to 4 games against Los Los Angeles Angeles at the Coliseum at the end of September, though, and to exhort our readers to get over there and get behind the green and gold, so we'll be back with that message in a week or so. Today, we've got bigger problems. Bigger problems, even, than Harden's oblique or Crosby's ankle. Media problems. more ›

Local sportswriters are abandoning the A's bandwagon this season like it was, well, a sinking ship. In February, Ray Ratto predicted a 60-win season on ESPNews (later, he amended that to 65. Thanks, Ray). Then, Bruce Jenkins rhapsodized about intelligent baseball, threw up his hands and conceded the AL West. We can never tell what the hell Scott Ostler is talking about, but we're pretty sure this, which includes the season's first lazy connection of Zito to Zen, wasn't optimistic. SFWeekly, so right about other important matters, named the 2006 A's the Bay's best baseball team. Finally, SFist itself (ourselves?) had the nerve to call the A's "questionably GM'd," as though that weren't heretical. more ›

New SFist Jake gets us up to speed on what the A's have in store for us this season. more ›

In breaking news, Billy Beane has shipped the Oakland A's ace, Tim Hudson, to the Atlanta Braves for three young players who, well, won't cost so much. From Atlanta's point of view, we think this may have something to do with the Mets signing Pedro Martinez. So the "Big Three" is now down to two, and since Mulder seems to have problems with his back and shoulder and Zito with his head, the days of A's pitching dominance may well be over unless Mark Redman and Rich Harden become the stars they looked like in triple-A. more ›

SFist brings you yesterday's baseball madness in a nutshell or two: with only three games left this weekend to finish the season, the Giants, Dodgers and Athletics all won, the Angels lost, and the Astros didn't play, leaving the Giants, who are playing the dreaded Dodgers this weekend, three games back of Los Angeles in the NL West and tied with the Astros in the Wild Card race, and the A's, who are playing the abominable Angels this weekend, tied with Anaheim in the AL West. Can you imagine a more sickeningly exciting scenario for a Bay Area baseball fan? And about yesterday's games: young Jerome Williams was huge for the Giants and young Bobby Crosby was huge for the A's. more ›

Five games left, three back of the Dodgers, tied with the Cubs, a half game up on the Astros, and Milton Bradley losing his mind in LA. Does that say it all? Not if you're an A's fan. Then it's five games left, tied with the Angels, three distant games ahead of the Rangers, and Ichiro getting ready set a major record on the home turf. more ›

SFist had high hopes for a series sweep for the Giants throughout last night's game against the Astros, but the bullpen had different ideas. Taking a three-to-two lead into the ninth inning, the San Francisco relievers did their best early-August impression by allowing five ugly runs, costing Jason Schmidt a well-deserved victory and chipping away at his fading Cy Young chances. more ›

Back in the halcyon days when SFist was launching and the Giants were getting their collective ass handed to them by the lowly Cincinnati Reds, it was looking pretty grim down at Third and King, and SFist was starting to think about next year for San Francisco baseball. But, oh, how things have changed. SFist got its playoff tickets in the mail yesterday and is pretty psyched about the idea of October baseball as the Giants are coming together at just the right time. more ›

Bay Area crime roundup more ›

Whether you like Barry Bonds or not as a person, you have to respect him (actually, be in awe of him) as a ballplayer. And since you probably don't ever have to have lunch with the guy, it seems best to reserve your judgment of him to what he does on the field. So in case you aren't a big seamhead, SFist wants to point out that Bonds hit the 699th home run of his career in last night's win over the Snakes in Arizona, putting him on the brink of being only the third player in the history of the game — out of the 16,000 people who've had the privilege of swinging a bat in the big leagues — to reach the 700 mark. As of now, he's only fifteen homers shy of Babe Ruth's career total and fifty-six short of Hank Aaron's mark. With the Giants playing their next three games against the awful Brewers in their Milwaukee homer dome, Miller Park, expect Bonds to knock out number seven hundred in the next couple of days. 715 should come a month or two into next season and, barring injuries or huge season next year, he should get to 756 sometime in 2006. more ›