Oakland Tries to Stay Alive in the ALDS

( Dave Reginek/Getty Images)

By Devin Pangaro | @devinpangaro

The Oakland Athletics are in a hole. A deep, dark cavernous abyss to be sure, but not entirely bottomless as they attempt to dig themselves out of the 0-2 disadvantage they currently find themselves in. They can really only blame themselves. While one can attempt to rationalize a 3-1 loss to Justin Verlander as nothing to be bent out of shape over, Sunday's loss was excruciatingly painful to watch unfold.

Solid relief pitching and sound defense, the two constants of this Oakland team suddenly failed them. The ever reliable Coco Crisp, a man whose defensive reputation for making highlight reel plays precedes him, suddenly cannot make a routine catch?

How did the three-headed relief monster of Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook, and Grant Balfour suddenly quiver in the cold, hostile territory of Detroit surrendering multiple late game runs?
Are my eyes playing tricks?

Perhaps this isn't the team that came within one game of leading the American League in wins. Perhaps the walk-offs and the good feelings are over. Perhaps, the A's will head home, bow to the home fans one last time and die by the sword for a final time in 2012.

Final Regular Season MLB Power Rankings - October 4, 2012

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

The road to the World Series begins on October 5 with the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals set to face off against the team they caught from behind last season to reach the 2011 playoffs, the Atlanta Braves in the afternoon play-in game. In the night game the Texas Rangers meet the Baltimore Orioles after each team succumbed to their division competitors in the final days of the regular season.

The division series this year will run in a 2-3 format, with the lower seed hosting the first two games of the series and then the final three games will be played in the higher seed's park.

The winner of each one game playoff mentioned earlier will determine who gets to welcome the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees to their respective ballparks. In the other matchups, the San Francisco Giants will host the Cincinnati Reds, and the Oakland Athletics will travel to Detroit to face the Tigers.

As for the rest of the league this is a time to evaluate the year and begin to shape rosters for the 2013 season. So, here are the final regular season rankings. Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Analyzing the AL Wild Card Race

(Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

By Devin Pangaro | @devinpangaro

The race for the American League Wild Card positions is not for the faint of heart. With four teams in the mix for two spots, the seasons waning days are set for excitement and heartbreak. One can't help but imagine Commissioner Selig holed up in an office, with an Emperor Palpatine like smile across his face as he watches this weekend’s games unfold. While the drama may never compare to the final day last season, be assured that the intensity and magnitude of what does remain should more than suffice. Four teams. Two positions. Everything is on the line. Let's take a look at the contenders.

Baltimore Orioles (89-67, +1 up on Wild Card 1)

Despite an underwhelming run differential for most of the season, Buck's bunch has defied expectations and stayed in the mix all season long, thanks to excellent starting pitching and clutch hitting. Failing to fall in September, Baltimore has held strong with a 16-9 record including four extra-inning wins that have added on to their record of 16 straight over the course of 2012. In fact, much of their success is derivative of their ability to win close games. They are currently a lead leading 27-9 in one run games thanks largely in part to an underrated bullpen led by AL saves leader Jim Johnson, and setup men Pedro Strop and Troy Patton. One thing to keep in mind is that this Baltimore team is very much fighting a war on two fronts. With the Yankees holding a precarious one game lead in the division, Baltimore must continue to click on all cylinders.

A cause of concern may be first year starter Wei-Yin Chen who has led the Orioles staff in a myriad of pitching categories in a very solid season. September however has not been kind to Taiwanese lefty. Whether it be exhaustion, or simply the league catching up to him Chen has struggled during the season’s final month. In five starts, Chen is 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA. Furthermore, he has allowed se
ven home runs in 29 innings making that his highest monthly total all season long.

Why are Professional Baseball Players still taking PEDs

(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

By Chris Carelli | @Chris_Carelli

-- This column was originally written for the September issue of Big Leagues Monthly | Magazine. --

The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is a major issue in sports, but this is a baseball magazine so I’m going to focus my efforts on trying to determine why professional baseball players still get caught taking these drugs after everything the sport has endured since the 2007 Mitchell Report.

There are many forms of PEDs, but the most typical of the bunch linked to baseball are anabolic steroids, typically testosterone, though designer synthetic drugs have become popular as well. Androstenedione or ‘Andro’ is another popular steroid known to be used. Human growth hormone (HGH) is also prevalent but requires blood tests to detect, where steroids can be found through urinalysis. MLB players are not currently tested for HGH. Lastly there is the old standby, greenies, better known as amphetamines by those outside the sport.

I’m not going to discuss the past transgressions of famous baseball players who have succumbed to PEDs or have been linked to them. We know who they are and the stories that are associated with each of them. I won’t deliberate on whether or not they did or did not take them. Instead, we’re going to try to figure out why, with a fairly uniform and well-tested drug enforcement policy, we still see professional ballplayers getting caught in the web of PED use.

First, we should review why they take the drugs in the first place. The long and short of it is the desire to rise to the top or maintain a presence at the top of the sport and the ease at which they can be found. Baseball players and athletes in general, especially superior ones, have a driving energy that supersedes anything we know as casual sports participants. Sure, we want to win when we’re playing our pickup games, but there isn’t millions of dollars being waved around the neighborhood park. The goal to reach star status or maintain it is penultimate to professional ballplayers, because being seen as a superstar leads to cash, loads and loads of cash.

Oakland A’s Look to Walk-Off with a Spot in the Playoffs

This column was originally written for the August issue of Big Leagues Monthly | Magazine.

By Devin Pangaro | @devinpangaro 

Success is such a funny word. How one measures it is completely up to the standards in which theyset. Take baseball for example. If you can average three hits every 10 at-bats, you're a success. Where else in life can you succeed 30 percent of the time and sit at the top of your chosen profession? For the 2012 season, success is very much in grasp for the Oakland Athletics. Some would you say it has already been accomplished. Eight months ago, the thought of a decent season seemed like a pipe dream for even the most loyal of A's fans.

(Keith Allison/Flickr)

In a winter of discontent, general manager Billy Beane traded the three players on his roster of the greatest value in Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey. In the course of a month’s time, Beane set forth to rebuild and retool the team with an eye to a prospective move to San Jose. This hypothetical relocation is at least three years away from happening, and standing in their way to dispute territory rights are the San Francisco Giants. With the assumption that the move will eventually be approved, A's management essentially told the fan base that they must endure yet another rebuild and lose their favorite players. To top that off, the team will be leaving the economically challenged city of Oakland in the near future.

For lifelong fans, that's a hard pill to swallow. For some, it’s a reason to turn their back on a team. For others, it provides a chance to curse the ownership and the disparity of finances in baseball. Yet some have kept the faith. They've trusted the process and track record of player development. They've rationalized and accepted the fact that the city of Oakland does not support the team, and some feel fortunate that ownership will at least keep them in the Bay Area.