The A's wish list includes a hard-throwing reliever, a right-handed pinch-hitter and a leadoff man to let Eric Byrnes hit in a run-producing spot. GM Billy Beane, who acquired Ted Lilly, Ray Durham and Ricardo Rincon last July, said he's still in the process of learning who might be available. As of now, he said it's the "usual suspects" being shopped and none of them are particularly appealing. "It sounds crazy when your club's seven games out of first and in second place, but I'm still not exactly sure what we need to get," Beane said. "If we hit on all cylinders with the players we have here now, I feel good about this club."

--One of the A's promising young prospects is recovering from a spinal cord injury that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Javier Herrera, an 18-year-old center fielder, collided with a wall during a rookie-level game in the Arizona League on Tuesday and had to be air-lifted to a hospital in Mesa, Ariz. A's assistant to the general manager David Forst said Herrera was released from the hospital Thursday and has gradually gotten the feeling back in his lower half. "I don't think any one's thinking about him playing at this point," Forst said. "We're just glad he's feeling better. Playing is probably secondary for a while."

--Noting that Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella stood by his bet and dyed his hair blond after his team won three in a row, manager Ken Macha of the A's made a pledge. "Maybe I'll get a buzz cut if we win five in a row," Macha said. "We can auction my silver hair off."

--The A's overhauled the way they take batting practice. They'll now split their time roughly evenly between taking hacks against coaches on the field and working on their technique in the cage with A's hitting coach Dave Hudgens. Before, they would spend 25 minutes hitting on the field and filter back to the cage whenever they felt they needed it. Now, it's 12 minutes on the field and 10 in the cage every day. It's something Hudgens has wanted to install since he took over from Thad Bosley early in June. "I want them talking about their own swings and each others' swings," Hudgens said. "I want feedback. The whole goal is whatever's right for them."

--Hitting coach Dave Hudgens has been working with OF Eric Byrnes regularly on trying to keep from jumping at pitches. When he does that, he tends to lose his grasp of balls and strikes. Byrnes was in his only slump of the year so far -- 1-for-20 -- going into Sunday. "We looked at some tape," Hudgens said. "He's been getting down his front foot down too late and jumping at some balls." Macha said he's toying with giving Byrnes a day off to work on the changes. "He might need a day to get his swing straightened out," Macha said.

--Two players who could help the A's may arrive in the next few weeks and GM Billy Beane won't even need to swing a trade to land them. Beane said the club's top pitching prospect, RHP Rich Harden, could join the A's rotation in the not-too-distant future and pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz might arrive even sooner. "To say his arrival is imminent is inaccurate," Beane said of Harden. "He's got to fit in somewhere and Aaron (Harang) has pitched better his last couple starts. But we certainly wouldn't hesitate to use Richie if we needed him." Saenz, meanwhile, has looked good in rookie games in Arizona. Once he can play nine innings at third base, he'll head to Class AAA Sacramento and he could join the A's before the All-Star Game. "He is close," Beane said.

--All the brass from the front office, including Beane, lined the batting cage to watch two of the team's top picks, Brian Snyder (first round, Stetson) and Andre Ethier (second, Arizona State) take batting practice Tuesday. Snyder falls into the A's pattern of drafting players whose appearance makes other teams pass. He's a stout third baseman with limited power, but a good batting eye. Teams first started noticing Snyder last summer in the Cape Cod wooden bat league. "I really opened some people's eyes," Snyder said. "I'm not your prototypical third baseman. I'm barely over six feet and I don't hit 40 home runs."

--It's been over a month since LHP Micah Bowie went on the DL and he's only now beginning to make progress in his recovery. Bowie hopes to be able to throw off a mound by this weekend and said when his elbow first became inflamed, he was concerned about missing the entire season. "Personally, as swollen and painful as it was at first, I'm very glad to be where I'm at right now," Bowie said. He hopes to return shortly after the All-Star break and he said he no longer fears the injury will cost him this season. "When it blew up, it blew up. It's not something that's going to linger," Bowie said.

BY THE NUMBERS
6 -- Number of RBI for Erubiel Durazo in his last 30 games. He drove in 38 runs in his first 52 games.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We've got a whole half left." -- INF Frank Menechino, on the A's quest to catch the Seattle Mariners.

Copyright (C) 2003 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.

Oakland Athletics Message Board
CarGo28 Reputation:94 Level:All-Star Since:Jun 5, 2008	October 6, 2008 4:47 pm Score: 97 Log-in to rate: Log-in to rate: Log-in to rate: The Official Oakland Athletics Offseason Thread Candidates to Be Traded: SS Bobby Crosby why: I'm not saying that Crosby will be traded, but the A's will surely see if there is interest. Crosby is set to make 5.5 million next season (an increase of 2.5 million) and Oakland is set to move ...(more) Reply to this thread (14 replies)
HurricaneDij999 Reputation:94 Level:All-Star Since:Mar 20, 2008	October 7, 2008 11:30 pm Score: 90 Log-in to rate: Log-in to rate: