Jeff Fletcher | December 24, 2011

Bob Nightengale tweeted this morning that MLB sources tell him the A’s will be getting approval to move to San Jose by February.

This comes a day after Billy Beane said in his Gio Gonzalez conference call that he has to assume the A’s will get a ballpark until he hears otherwise.

I think all of this matches up with what I, and a lot of other people, have believed for some time.

First, Beane must know something. If he really had no idea about the ballpark, he could have kept Gio and Cahill and tried to be more competitive this year. They are still cheap, and if the A’s bandaged together some one-year deals for hitters, they could have at least made a cursory run at contending. Remember how they were chic picks to be good 12 months ago? But the fact that he’s totally punting 2012 and giving up controllable players tells you he’s not interested in a patchwork team. He’s interested in making a very good team in two or three years.

The second part of all this is: Why are the Giants territorial rights going to finally stop being an issue, after all these years?

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Jeff Fletcher | December 24, 2011

So far, I’ve checked the names of Jeff Bagwell, Barry Larkin, Mark McGwire and Tim Raines. I eliminated Alan Trammell after giving him another look, so I’m down to just four more guys on my bubble: Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Larry Walker and Bernie Williams. Here we go with a close look at Edgar…

For starters, let me say that, when I was a kid, I was a die-hard Seattle Mariners fan. And I died a lot. From 1980 to 1997 (when I became a full-time baseball writer and abandoned by team allegiances), the Mariners mostly sucked.

Anyway, I rooted pretty hard for them. And Edgar Martinez was a big part of things when they finally turned it around and became good. In fact, his hit to win the 1995 NLDS against the Yankees is probably the pinnacle of my entire life as a sports fan.

But I have to put all that aside now.

The question is whether Edgar Martinez belongs in the Hall of Fame.

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Jeff Fletcher | December 23, 2011

It’s time to start filling out my Hall of Fame ballot.

The guys I voted for last year, who didn’t make it, were Jeff Bagwell (explanation here), Barry Larkin, Mark McGwire and Tim Raines. I’ll start by voting for all of them again.

Some of the guys who have come closest for me in the past have been, alphabetically: Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Alan Trammell and Larry Walker. (Jack Morris and Lee Smith? I have not voted for them, and I’m perfectly comfortable with those decisions, so I don’t feel the need to revisit them. Rafael Palmeiro? I think he was an overrated compiler, far from the top at his position in his era. I also feel Dale Murphy has a decent case, but I’ve looked at him for at least five years and still not voted for him, so I’m done with him.)

So, this year I will look closely again at Edgar, McGriff, Trammell, Walker and — the only newcomer worth a sniff — Bernie Williams.

We’ll start with Trammell, since he’s been on the ballot the longest. He also seems to be the new Bert Blyleven, which is to say he’s become a “cause.” A few of my friends who I respect very much, like Scott Miller and Tracy Ringolsby, both wrote recently that they feel Trammell is one of the most underrated players on the ballot. Scott went so far as to say that Larkin should not get in unless Trammell is.

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Jeff Fletcher | December 22, 2011

It’s pretty easy to see that the A’s are unloading players like mad. They’ve already traded their top two starting pitchers from last year, and their closer may be gone by the time I’m done typing this.

Yes, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey are the only A’s to be All-Stars over the past three years, and all three may be gone by New Year’s Day.

But I think this is a good thing, in the long run.

See, the only way to have a very good, affordable, team that can stay good for a few years is to have a lot of good young players all at the same place in their careers. That’s why the A’s were so good in 2000-2003, despite what Hollywood would have you believe. It’s because Hudson, Mulder, Zito, Chavez and Tejada were all young and good at the same time.

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Jeff Fletcher | December 12, 2011

A lot of you out there in the Twitterverse are killing the BBWAA today for the statement that Ryan Braun won’t lose his MVP, even if he’s suspended for a violation of baseball’s drug policy. You want to know how the same organization can hold PED users accountable when it comes to the Hall of Fame (see McGwire, Mark), but not for annual awards.

But you’re looking at it wrong.

The point is not whether PED use is right or wrong, or whether it should be considered in voting. The question is whether you can rewrite history.

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Jeff Fletcher | December 12, 2011

I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with baited breath to hear what I think of all this Ryan Braun stuff, so here goes…

First, I am reserving judgment on whether he’s even guilty at the moment. I know it’s easy to just assume that everyone accused is guilty, but given the fact that Braun has played his entire professional life in an era when he’s been tested, I find it at least plausible that he’s clean. Second, people who know Braun seem to be legitimately shocked. Third, MLB still hasn’t announced the suspension, which means they are still wading through the process. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s guilty or innocent at this point.

Now, what about the MVP? No way you can take it away from him. Voters voted with the best information they had at the time, and Braun won. End of story. BBWAA secretary treasurer Jack O’Connell has said as much.

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