On Sunday I had the chance to be a part of the A’s BlogFest portion of FanFest, but because I have not had time to transcribe any of the interviews yet, I am just going to throw out some of my (belated) thoughts on the event as a whole.

I did want to do more than just BlogFest so I arrived at the stadium around 9:30 AM and by that time the line was backed up all the way to the BART ramp. I was not able to get an autograph “coupon” so the first thing I did was line up for a picture with a player. I missed the video highlights because I was in line, but my friends were nice enough to hold my spot so I could watch the player introductions.  The energy inside the arena was amazing, actually very similar to how I left the coliseum in 2012.

I was given a season ticket autograph session, which was with Ty Waller, but had to leave the line so I could make it to BlogFest on time. Missing out on the coupon and the season ticket autograph meant no autographs for me this year. I was, however, able to get photos with Sean Doolittle, Seth Smith, Michael Taylor and AJ Griffin so it wasn’t a complete loss.

I won’t get into too much detail about the interviews since I will be doing a separate post for those, but as expected we got to sit down with Manager Bob Melvin, assistant GM David Forst and third base coach Mike Gallego. Jarrod Parker was supposed to be there as well, but had to skip FanFest this year because he was sick. Anyway, as before, really enjoyed the experience and it was nice meeting other A’s bloggers I have been tweeting with since this blog started.

Overall, I would say it’s a vast improvement over last year’s FanFest. Even though 3,000 more people showed up this year than last, the crowds seemed to be a lot more controlled and I had a better idea where to go. I don’t know if it’s because they moved part of the autograph session outside or because they were a bit more organized this year, but whatever it was it seemed to help. That being said, I do miss the days when it was at the Coliseum and we could choose whose autograph and photo we wanted (have I ever mentioned how much I despise surprises??).  For the second year in a row I did miss out on most of the Q&A because most of my time was spent standing in line, but even with spending an hour at BlogFest, I was able to accomplish a lot more than last time.

It had it’s flaws, but I would have to give the day an A+. It was great escaping “Giants Country” for a few hours and having a day focused on the A’s and only the A’s. It’s been too long since we had something to look forward to and you could feel the optimism coming from all around. The excitement for baseball in Oakland may be at an all-time high and I think all of us (fans, players and managers/coaches) are looking forward to repeating the magic from the 2012 season.

In case you missed it earlier today, the A’s dropped their last game against the Blue Jays earlier today. The loss comes right before the A’s face off against their division rivals, who are only a half a game on their tail in the division and the wild card race.

Here’s some extra news and notes from today:

• A.J. Griffin was placed on the DL earlier today with a right shoulder strain.  Griffin’s MRI came back negative yesterday, but the DL stint is just a precautionary move.
• Brandon McCarthy is expected to return from the DL later in the week and will replace Griffin in the rotation.  McCarthy pitched a rehab game in Sacramento last night and went 6 innings, allowing 2 hits, no runs, walked 2 and struck out 9.
• Outfielder Michael Taylor was optioned down to Triple-A today in order to make room for relief help.
• Before the game (RHP) Evan Scribner and (LHP) Pedro Figueroa were both recalled from Sacramento to help out a taxed bullpen. Both pitchers made relief appearances in today’s game, Scribner threw 2 clean innings and Figueroa pitched 1.
• Yoenis Cespedes returned to the lineup today after missing yesterday’s game with a wrist injury.  He went 0-4.
• Brett Anderson made a rehab start tonight in Triple-A, he threw 70 pitchers over 4.1 innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.

Athletics:  11  Tigers:  4

It was an offensive explosion for the A’s tonight, who scored a season high 11 runs on a season high 13 hits.  Almost everyone in the lineup contributed to the win, but Josh Reddick and Brandon Inge were responsible for 9 of the 11 runs scored.

Lines of the Day:

• Tom Milone:  7 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 Earned), 1 BB, 6 SO.  Milone had a nice bounce back after his 2 previous poor starts.  He started off the game by allowing a double to Austin Jackson who eventually scored on a double-play ball, but found his groove and eventually would retire the last 11 batters he faced.
• Josh Reddick: 4 AB, 4 H, 4 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 2 HR.  When you’re hot, you’re hot and Reddick is right now.  He had a career high 5 RBI, it was the first time he hit 2 home runs in 1 game and he now has a career high 8 home runs.
• Brandon Inge:  5 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 4 RBI.  Brandon Inge now has 4 home runs and 16 RBI in his last 5 games.  Oh and there’s this too:

• Seth Smith:  4 AB, 3 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB.  Lost in all the home runs and 4 RBI games is Seth Smith who has been quietly having a productive year for the A’s.  After tonight’s game he now has a .402 OBP in 30 games and hitting .385 in his last 10.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Andrew Carignan: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB.  Carignan was called up today to replace Jim Miller who threw 3 innings in lasts game, his ugly line didn’t hurt the A’s today, but he proved exactly why he was pitching mop-up duty.
• Daric Barton:  5 AB, 0 H, 2 SO.  Barton was the only player in the lineup who did not reach base tonight.  His first base counter part, Kila Ka’aihue, went 2-5 with 2 runs and 1 RBI and both hits were doubles.

A’s Extras:

• Along with the Andrew Carignan call up, Collin Cowgill was also called up while Michael Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.  Cowgill played center tonight for the A’s and went 1-5.
• According to Jane Lee, every thing went well today for Yoenis Cespedes during batting practice and if everything goes well tomorrow he should be back in the lineup tomorrow night.

For more on the Detroit Tigers please visit Motown Lowdown.

 Athletics:  9  Rays:  5

It was a morning game for us West Coasters and today I decided that no matter what the outcome of this game would be, I would remain optimistic about this team.  I’ve been hard on them lately, especially their offense, instead I should be praising them for this run they have given us.

I don’t want to question why the A’s keep winning or why they aren’t looking like that 90 loss team that everyone projected in the off season, I just want to enjoy watching A’s baseball while this lasts and if we’re lucky enough maybe it will never end.

The game didn’t start off great, Tom Milone allowed 4 runs in the first and instead of giving up in the first inning I decided that it was okay because the A’s had 8 more innings to come back from that very small deficit.  That’s exactly what the A’s did, they scored 5 in the 3rd inning (all with 2 outs) and went on to win the game 9-5.  So it turns out that a little bit of optimism goes a long way.

Lines of the Day:

• A’s Bullpen:  4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO.  Today it was Jerry Blevins, Ryan Cook, Brian Fuentes and Jordan Noberto that held on to the A’s lead.  The bullpen combined for 15.1 inning pitched, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB & 13 strike outs in this 3-game series against the Rays.
• Brandon Inge:  2 AB, 1 H, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HR.  Inge hit his first home run as an Athletic today, it was a 3-run shot that got the A’s back into the game and came off of (LHP) Matt Moore.  He also had a sac fly in the 7th inning to collect his 4th RBI of the game.

Jerry Blevins was one of the few bright spots tonight (Photo: Kimberly*/Flickr)

Rays:  7  Athletics:  2

It might not be fair to blame this loss entirely on Tyson Ross, however the A’s would have had to have scored at least 8 runs to beat the Rays today and the A’s have failed to score more than 6 runs in a game this season.

Lines of the Day:

• A’s Bullpen:  4.1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 SO.  The bullpen, which consisted of Pedro Figueroa, Jerry Blevins and Jim Miller, was stellar tonight only allowing 1 base runner over the last 4 plus innings of the game.
• Jonny Gomes:  3 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 1 HBP*.  Jonny Gomes wins by default for being the only player to have a multi-hit game tonight.  *Doesn’t it feel like at least 1 player on the team gets hit by a pitch every single game??

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Tyson Ross:  3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.  Tyson Ross has now allowed 20 H, 16 ER and 3 BB over his last 2 starts, all over 7.1 innings pitched.
• A’s Offense:  32 AB, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 13 SO.  Another anemic day for the A’s bats.

A’s Extras:

• Cliff Pennington hit his first home run of the season tonight, it came off of relief pitcher Brandon Gomes in the 9th inning.
• As expected Coco Crisp has landed on the 15-day DL with an inner ear infection, Michael Taylor started in left field for him today and batted in 9th spot, he went 0-3 with 1 SO.

 For more on the Tampa Bay Rays please visit Cowbell Clankers. 

(Photo: Kwong Yee Cheng/Flickr)

This will probably be the hardest series for the A’s thus far, Tampa Bay Rays (17-8) have won 9 of their last 10 games and the series will begin with Oakland facing one of the best left-handed pitchers in the league.  This 3-game series is the last one before the A’s head home to start a 6-game home stand, so here’s hoping they end on a high note.

Friday 4:10 PM PST:  (RHP) Tyson Ross (1-1) Vs (LHP) David Price (4-1)

• Tyson Ross got knocked around by the Baltimore Orioles in his last start, he allowed 11 hits, 9 earned runs, walked 1 and struck out 1 over 4 innings.
• Not surprisingly, David Price is off to a strong start this season.  His last start was against the offensive juggernauts that are called the Texas Rangers, he was able to hold them to 6 hits, 2 runs over 6.1 innings of work which lead to him collecting his 4th win of the season.

Saturday 4:10 PM PST: (RHP) Bartolo Colon (3-2) Vs (RHP) Jeremy Hellickson (3-0)

• In his last start Bartolo Colon had another strong outing for the A’s.  He pitched 8.1 innings against the Baltimore Orioles, allowed 7 hits, 2 earned runs (which came in the 9th inning), walked 1, and struck out 5.
• Despite his effective outing against the Seattle Mariners in his last start, Hellickson was handed a no decision.  He pitched 7 innings. allowed 6 hits, only 1 earned run, struck out 7, and walked none.  In his first 5 games, he has yet to take a loss this season.

(RHP) Jarrod Parker will face the Diamondbacks today.

Today’s lineup: Collin Cowgill LF, Eric Sogard SS, Yoenis Cespedes CF, Manny Ramirez DH, Josh Reddick RF, Kurt Suzuki C, Brandon Allen 1B, Josh Donaldson 3B and Wes Timmons 2B.

In case you missed it:

More moves have been made the past day, yesterday the A’s optioned  pitcher Neil Wagner, infielder Chris Carter and outfielder Michael Taylor to Triple-A Sacramento.

Today, catcher Derek Norris was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, while non-roster invitees outfielders Brandon Moss and Jeff Fiorentino and catcher Ryan Ortiz have been reassigned.

The A’s also announced that Yoenis Cespedes will start in center field on opening day in Japan, which moves Coco Crisp to left.

Athletics: 10  Royals: 8

Well it wasn’t a pretty game.  The A’s pitching allowed 11 Hits, 8 Runs and 5 BB, but thanks to a big hit by Eric Sogard, the A’s were able to come back in the 8th inning and win it.

Lines of the Day:

• Eric Sogard: 2 AB, 1 H, 3 RBI.  Sogard continued to hit this Spring, he is now hitting .370 (10-27) with 8 runs and 6 RBI this Spring.
• A’s Defense:  No errors today, the errorless streak is now at 1 game.

Ugly Lines of the Day: 

• Graham Godfrey: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 Run (4 earned), 1 BB.  After retiring the first two batters he faced in the sixth inning, Godfrey allowed a double, two singles and a triple which lead to 3 runs and blowing the A’s lead.
• Yoenis Cespedes: 3 AB, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 Strikeout.  Cespedes was the only player in the starting lineup who did not record a hit today.

Worth Mentioning:

• Tom Milone pitched 3.2 innings, he allowed 4 hits, 2 runs (2 earned), 1 HR and had 1 strikeout.
• Josh Donaldson went 2-4 today, he has had multiple hits in his last three games.
• Michael Taylor is 3-15 (.188 AVG) this Spring, he has 2 R, 1 RBI.
• Fautino De Los Santos had his first save this Spring, he pitched 1 inning, allowed 0 hits, 2 BB and had 2 strikeouts.
• Daric Barton is expected to play in his first Spring Training game tomorrow, he will DH.

Athletics: 6  Reds:  3

It was a nice day for newly acquired outfielder, Yoenis Cespedes, who went 2-2 today with a single, a home run, a walk and 2 RBI.   I’m very excited to see more of him, and lucky for us, he will be back in the lineup tomorrow.

Lines of the Day:

• See Above
• Bartolo Colon:  4 IP, 3 H, 1 Run (earned), 4 strikeouts.  Colon looked great in the first two innings of the game, the fourth inning wasn’t spectacular, he allowed a single and a double, but was able to get out of the inning with only surrendering one run.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• No stand outs today, overall a pretty good day for most.

Worth Mentioning:

• The errorless streak has ended at one game, Josh Donaldson committed his 2nd error in Spring Training, Cliff Pennington committed his 4th and Michael Taylor had his 1st.
• Brad Peacock pitched 3 innings of relief, he allowed 3 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and had 2 strikeouts.
• Manny Ramirez went 0-3 today, but thanks to two errors he was able to reach first base twice.  He is now 0-8 this Spring.
• Josh Donaldson is 4-6 in his last two games with 2 runs and 1 RBI.

Tomorrow the A’s face the Royals at 1:05 PST, probable pitchers are (LHP) Tom Milone Vs. (LHP) Bruce Chen.

Update: You can see Cespedes’s home run here.

(RHP) Tyson Ross will take the mound today at Phoenix Muni against the Dodgers.

Today’s lineup: Coco Crisp CF, Eric Sogard 3B, Kurt Suzuki C, Manny Ramirez DH, Brandon Allen 1B, Cliff Pennington SS, Michael Taylor RF, Brandon Moss LF and Wes Timmons 2B.

Today’s game can be heard on MLB.com.

In case you missed it: Two of the A’s starting pitchers from last season made their debuts for their new teams yesterday:

Gio Gonzalez pitched 3 impressive innings for the Washington Nationals, he allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 BB and 2 strikeouts.

Guillermo Moscoso pitched 2 innings for the Colorado Rockies, he allowed 5 hits, 4 runs (4 earned), 2 BB and 1 strikeout.

For those of you who are interested, Trevor Cahill will make his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks today and the game can be seen on MLB Network at 12:00 PST.