Mychael Urban

Just filed a story on A's free agents, but I'm not sure how quickly it'll be posted, so here's the latest thanks to the immediacy of the blogosphere ...
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Six members of the 2009 A's are eligible to hit the open market this offseason, and one -- right-handed swingman Edgar Gonzalez -- has been out there for a few weeks. He was removed from the 40-man roster when he was sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento on Oct. 10, allowing him to become a free agent immediately.

OAKLAND, Oct. 3, 2009 -- Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, so this will be my final blog of the regular season. Nothing but wind sprints around The Coli ...
... Kurt Suzuki is the team's MVP, and nobody is a close second -- no matter what Bob "Waffle House" Geren says.
... Geren's next definitive statement that doesn't involve Andrew Bailey's Rookie of the Year candidacy will be his first. That has to change. It's OK to say a guy stunk after he gives up five runs in 4 1/3 innings, Bob. If you don't, you lose credibility left and right.

SEATTLE, Oct. 1, 2009 -- At the suggestion of a reader who wants to hear more of the coaching staff's thoughts on the development of the team's young players, I had a chat with A's hitting coach Jim Skaalen (a k a "Skee") today.
Solid cat. Straight shooter. After we talked, I wrote a fairly long story on the progress some of the young players have made, and you can find it at oaklandathletics.com. But I didn't want it to get so long that the scroll bar looked like a sawed-off Pong paddle -- scares off readers, studies show -- so I decided to dispense some of Skee's thoughts here.

SEATTLE, Sept. 29, 2009 -- The Baseball Writers Association of America does not allow MLB.com writers into their membership, so the only postseason award on which I get to vote is Comeback Player of the Year.
Rajai Davis, by the way, finished third on my ballot -- I'm the guy who got him on the ballot in the first place.
I have mixed feelings about not having a vote in the other biggies.

OAKLAND, Sept. 23, 2009 -- A couple of things I've written about the pitching staff over the past week or so brought a flood of e-mail and posts, so I figured I'd use this forum to address the two most popular topics.
The first, by far: Why no Justin Duchscherer in the piece about next year's starting rotation?
Simple. He's not under contract next year. He's a free agent this winter, and given the plethora of quality young and inexpensive starters in the organization, I don't like the odds of Duke being asked back.

OAKLAND, Sept. 18, 2009 -- Congrats to Kurt Suzuki and Dallas Braden, who were honored in a pregame ceremony tonight as the co-winners of the annual Dave Stewart Community Service Award.
Braden, who still can't even jog because of the nerve problem in his left foot, has done the bulk of his charity work in downtrodden Stockton, feeding the less fortunate on Thanksgiving and sponsoring a couple of Little Leaguers being raised by a single mom. I've never seen anyone with such pride and passion for his hometown. An honor richly deserved.  

ARLINGTON, Sept. 15, 2009 -- The coolest part of Monday night's win for the A's, by far, was the enthusiasm radiating from rookie reliever Jeff Gray after Brett Tomko picked up his 100th career victory with a five-hit shutout.
In the oft-jaded world of pro sports, you don't often see an athlete turn into a 10-year-old before your very eyes, but that's exactly what Jeff did last night. He was so happy to have witnessed such a special moment in Brett's career, and his joy was infectious.

CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2009 -- I've been covering the A's for nearly a decade now, and seeing Mark Kotsay in a White Sox uniform today before the game led my mind to wander a little.
Where that led me was to was team made up of the best Oakland players -- one at each position -- that I've covered while on the beat.
Self-indulgent? Yeah. Isn't virtually every blog? But hey, there's debatable stuff in here, too. Feel free to chime in. We're talking 2001-present only here. Enjoy.