This blog derailed near the time the A's season did. Hope springs eternal, of course, particularly in spring. So, let's quickly recap the last 8 months.

July 8 

Rich Harden traded. Sure, he's fragile. But Gallagher has some promise, I hear. Murton I've heard of. Still, the trade doesn't feel right. This is all we could get from the dominant-when-healthy Harden?

July 13

Oakland Athletics surrender the look of a playoff team. Duchscherer, ink on his "best AL pitcher" label still wet, throws seven solid innings before Street lets it get away. K-Rod then ends a near-miraculous comeback; and for the first time in recent memory, I know the postseason is out of question by the All-Star break. The gravity of the moment doesn't seem to affect my wife and father-in-law as it does I.

July 17

Joel Blanton traded. I'm not surprised, but it does seem the dismantling has begun. The prize appears to be Cardenas, a second basemen. Outman looks like a serviceable reliever. Our rotation is looking pretty thin.

July 27

Ziegler breaks the consecutive-scoreless-innings-to-start-a-career record. The season's highlight, no doubt. A wonderfully obscure and old record (but impressive, no doubt) for a great guy, by all accounts.

August 7

The A's lose their 10th in row. Kansas City, Boston, and Toronto have swept us consecutively. This is what they mean when then speak of the dog days. Offense is non-existant.

September 28

The season ends at the merciful hands of J.J. Putz. September brought us two 4-game winning streaks and ends with a five-game losing skid.

 Nobody notices.

October 22

Mike Gallego is named 2009 third base coach. Nice!  A touching nod to my earliest days as a baseball fan, Gallego the unsung, slick-fielding second basemen. Or, I always assumed his bouncing athleticism to be emblematic of a good fielder. What happens to Tony DeFrancesco, I wonder? Didn't it seem he was being groomed? Can a manager be sent back down to Sacramento?

October 27

Philadelphia defeats Tampa Bay in a relatively non-descript World Series. Great stories, both of them, but Tampa Bay feels like the real winner. Their first winning season in history, surpassing everyone's expectations. Seems like they're built for the long-run, too.

November 4

We elect a new president. Huzzah.

November 14

Carlos Gonzalez is traded. Didn't see this one coming. Street's time had run out, I assumed with the emergence of Ziggy, but I understood Carlos to be untouchable -- the gem of the Haren deal. Greg Smith is gone, too. That's the real disappointing one for me -- he didn't seem as though he'd be a necessary piece in this trade, and he I thought he showed real promise as a solid lefty, a 3-4 starter. And that pickoff move! The booty: Matt Holliday. I am stunned.

A genuine offensive star, acquired for two-up-and-comers and an exiled reliever. Usually the A's are on the other end of deals like this. Does Beane think the time to win is now? He must -- Holliday only has one year remaining on his expensive 2-year deal, and you can't think that Oakland will improve on that or suddenly become a prime destination for marquee free agents. Anyway, Holliday's a great player. Hits for average, power, runs and fields well. I know, I know, the home/road splits are troubling, particularly coming to the Coliseum, but he instantly becomes the best hitter on the team. A threat not seen since Giambi/Tejada/Chavez of the early 00's.

January 7

Validating the rumors, Jason Giambi inks a one-year $5.25m deal, with a club option for another. GREAT deal. Not sure what this means for Barton, but no A's fan can be unhappy with this deal. You basically know what you're getting  -- a fan favorite who might swat 30 homers for a very reasonable investment.

February 24

Fremont is dead. After what seems like months of silence, it appears the flailing economy has killed the A's Ballpark Village pipedream in Fremont. I am not disappointed.

March 6

 Oakland signs the best available shortstop, Orlando Cabrera. And Nomar, on the same day! Crosby's days in Oakland are likely over. Suddenly this lineup has some pop to it. Lots of injury potential, too, but Beane didn't overpay for anyone this offseason.

 March 16

 Lew Wolff kicks Oakland in the shins. He says he's not interested inworking on a stadium deal here. No surprise, of course -- this was the reason the Fremont courtship began. I suppose there was a glimmer of hope after that plan collapsed. Or a glimmer of hope that he might decide the Coliesum wasn't so bad after all. San Jose now looks likely. Vegas also a possibility, I guess. Any others (Sacramento, Portland, Ukiah) seem highly unlikely to me. 

March 23

A's are 12-12-1 in Cactus League play. Nobody knows what a spring training record means, so let's be happy with .500. Plenty of decisions yet to be made before the April 6 opener, but we'll get into that in subsequent posts.