The A's have announced that Tyson Ross has been optioned to Sacramento. Ross' extremely erratic season made his demotion a foregone conclusion in my opinion.

Obviously the interesting part of this transaction is Chris Carter being called up. Is Carter here to sit on the bench as with most of his previous stints with the A's. Or is he going to be the latest addition to the 1B carousel? Could he FINALLY be getting his chance to show what he can do with regular PT?

You mean carousel like you see at the carnival or perhaps the circus?

NO WAY this guy gets a full time opportunity. He'll split time with Moss against the lefties, etc...if you have two quarterbacks, you have NONE. Gotta love it.

Moss two weeks full time at a new position
Kila two weeks full time
Allen- whatever chance he got he didn't deserve but call it 2 months in 2011 and 7 ab's
Barton- 6 years
Carter- ??????

So what do you two suggest be done with Carter? Whose spot does he take? I certainly don't want to see him anywhere near the OF. Maybe a DH or 1b platoon?

Well...not sure how he fits into the plans at this point. I was kind of surprised by the call up. 50 ab's ago Moss was the savior. Now....well....he looks like what I thought he'd look like. Personally, I would have given Moss another month or so to see how he did. I think he earned that opportunity with his play when he was called up. That means pretty much everyday- against righties and lefties. If they truly believe in Chris Carter (or anyone for that matter) then they need to have him in the lineup everyday. 1b, dh. I am with you though.....nowhere near the outfield. You played sports before...as have I...it is really tough to play when you don't know if you are going to be in the lineup everyday or not. Hard to find a rythym. I do think that makes it a lot tougher.

If all they see Carter as is a one trick pony and career pinch hitter then that's the role he should fill for the A's currently. Personally I don't think he has the swing to hit at the major league level.

at least Moss swings and missed, barton just looked and missed! Gotta agree though I think Moss deserves more time. We all know this team wont win the division or even a wild card but they are fun to watch. My vote goes to Moss to finish the year. Maybe Carter is being showcased for a package deal that would include Crisp. My own feelings though "as long as it aint Barton" they could put Tenace18 or Catfish71 in and I wouldent complain! This kid pitching tonight for the A's is an interesting story and I enjoy seeing how they handle the pressure and the situations that a MLB game brings GO A's!!!!!

I'm not sure he has the swing either as his AAA numbers have dropped the last two years. Part of that drop in production might be frustration. I know I would be frustrated. Moss was clearly a stop gap as he is playing out of position and after his hot first week, has shown he isn't much of a hitter. I'd platoon them for a while and then give Carter a spot for a couple of months to see how he hits. If he gets some PT in Arlington, that could build confidence since the place is a power hitter's paradise.

I agree about finding a rythmn. When I started, it was great. I'd miss a couple of shots and not be looking over at the bench each time. When I came off the bench, I knew if I didn't make a shot within a few minutes, I'd likely be heading back shortly. It definitely made me tentative. It has to be much worse trying to crack a MLB lineup.

Put me in that camp as well with everything you wrote. The club is exciting. It's nice to know that for the most part they can at least compete. The offense still disappears at times but it's not nearly as bad as it was.

Exactly.....not to mention seeing pitches at the major league level is much different than anywhere else.

Texas has GOT to feel a little uneasy about the A's today. the A's took 3 of 4 in Oakland and had a great chance of taking 3 of 4 at Arlington! I think Texas took Oakland for granted the last few years ( with good reason ) but this A's team is EXCITING!!!! we finally replaced some bad parts and moved forward. I love the way Norris approachs his at bats ( Ha! he was even the DH this weekend! what's that tell ya! ) I hope we can keep Inge at 3b next year I really like his game, I dont care if he hits 225, his power is a treat at the 5, 6 or 7 spot and forces the pitcher to,...pitch! what was frustrating this and last year was the Barton fiasco and the uncertainty at 3B, I really believe our outfield problems are solved and the A's are going to learn hard this year ( Cespedes making easy mistakes, pitchers walking the first batter in later innings and i.e. Weeks making wierd chances with runners on base) I really think the A's have a shot at putting fear in(playoff) teams during the second half and should be considered a contender next year. I will MAN-Up and say to Billy beane...:Sorry you made some good selections and trades this past winter, I hated them but in the end, you were right"...

A little confused by some of your points. I'll summarize what I agree with and I'll start with what I don't. Texas is 50-30 and has the best record in the majors. I highly doubt they are uneasy about anything Oakland A's right now. Have the A's shown the Rangers they are capable of compeating and not be doormats anymore? Yes....are the A's threats to the Rangers postseason hopes or is Michael Young staying up nights worrying about Travis Blackley? No.

Inge...while he has definitely been an upgrade since he started with the A's, I don't think he's that much better than Sizemore. Perhaps the two of them can duel it out next year but both are definitely better than some of the other jokes they've tried over there (Kouz, Donaldson, etc...). What bothers me about Inge is his defense. It hasn't been as solid as I would like. But, the thought of him being able to go deep is nice. However, I don't think we're "all set" over at 3B.

Turns out BB had a really good offseason in some ways. The Cahill trade looks great. The Gio trade looks fair to both teams and helped the A's because of the mulitude of players although Gio has been really good this year too. The signing of Cespedes has been really good as well. I don't agree they'll be "contenders" next year. They are what they are and the A's tend to beat up on the teams worse than them which is a start. Then the Yankees come in and sweep us back to reality. I still don't agree with many of the roster moves so I still don't like the signing of Crisp and Gomes. (You can throw Manny in there too but no harm, no foul as they say besides a little fan frustration). I wish Taylor was playing everyday and I'm glad Carter got the call as well. What I do like A LOT with BB lately is that he is not afraid to change it up lately. Moss, Carter, Inge, Hicks, Norris.....all guys that weren't even on the 25 man when the year started and doing fairly well.

Lastly, I do see the A's having a strong 2nd half. But these pitching injuries will really take a toll. They may/should shut down Milone/Parker in September as this is their first full year. Just because the offense is significantly better doesn't mean it is good. Hopefully the Barton fiasco is behind us but there are still question marks over there as well. All in all, I am hopeful that the improvements continue.

Happy to see them competing again. That part is awesome.

fair enough. but look what the A's did in Texas? except for one disasterous inning in two games the A's were on the verge of victory. The A's lineup today is markedly different than last year. The fact that a 200 million dollar lineup can be at only .500 playing a 35 million dollar lineup has got to be an insult! I do think the A's could be contenders next year! "If" and "if" is a big two letter word, but IF Anderson can come back strong, IF Parker and Milone can continue to shine, IF Griffin can be a solid pitcher ( which I certainly think he can) the "209" and Mccarthy or maybe even Straily can round out a solid rotation. Our bullpen is great. Inge is waaaay better than Kouzmanoff ( unfair to lump Inge in with that guy, I know) and Sizemore is really unproven although I do like what he did in the short time he has played. Anyway I am encouraged by the lightening of the "dead wood" and the "battle" that each player gives during an at-bat. Barton had 4 walks in yesterday's game, and that is 3 walks to many, you gotta figure he had at the very least ONE pitch in each at bat to hit so he failed at least 4 times, that's what that line tells me, we dont want to watch someone walk, we want our firstbaseman to HIT, HIT and HIT!

Inge is not way better than Kouzmanoff. In fact, if you look at their offensive numbers, Kouz has better numbers across the board-- BA, OPS, OBP and SLG. Defensively, I haven't been impressed with Inge. No hitting and no D is not a good combination.

I hope that Inge is not given a chance to compete with Sizemore because frankly he doesn't deserve it. Sizemore was adjusting to a new position last year and still OPS'd .778. Inge will be lucky to get above the .686 OPS he has currently and he's 35 while Sizemore's 27. The A's should be thankful for Inge's lucky start and understand they need to quickly turn the page on him and move on as soon as possible.

Perhaps you are right about Inge....but going with a Plan A of Sizemore who is a converted middle infielder coming off a major injury with 1/2 of a decent season after being given up on by another organization with no veteran as insurance doesn't seem smart to me. Doesn't look like Parker will be ready going by his AAA stats. We all know there is a long way to go between now and next spring but I don't think having Inge around if only for ST would hurt. Or perhaps a different veteran.....

Edit: We saw what Plan B was this year (Donaldson, et al) and it wasn't pretty.

Somehow I can't imagine it will be difficult to find another Brandon Inge type to back up Sizemore. Maybe one who can actually hit or field? Perhaps Inge can get an invite to ST but I don't want to see him anywhere near a starting lineup next season.

As for Sizemore, he didn't suffer a throwing arm/shoulder/elbow injury so I'm not that concerned about his recovery. While ACL tears hurt (the surgery's aftermath is much, much more painful) and require a lot of rehab, he's young and plays a position where it shouldn't put that much strain on his leg. If he was in CF or catching, it would be a little different. Also, Sizemore only had 200 abs with the Tigers over parts of two years, so it appears they didn't give him a chance, choosing to keep Inge, who in over 500 abs in 2010, OPS'd at .718 with 13 hrs. While I'm sure they don't care much now because the Tigers have the best RH hitter in the game playing third, I believe Sizemore is definitely a big upgrade over Inge.

Well i dont agree that sizemore is a better option than inge & i def dont think sizemore is any more than a utility guy that should spend most of his time on the bench & pinchhitting. His career numbers are very pedestrian and surely we can come up with a better option than either in the offseason.

A'S FOREVER

this is what im liking right now, at almost everysingle position there is competition for game time, everyone knows they have to be there best, or someone else can step in.

I can respect all that but I think they need a veteran or someone as insurance over there at 3b. Not talking guys like Rosales or Sogard either. I personally wasn't thrilled by what I saw from Sizemore. What surprises me a bit is that you are quick to dismiss Moss but here are some stats on them both:

Sizemore:

511 mlb ab's .711 OPS
1860 minor ab's .841 OPS

Moss:

751 mlb ab's .711 OPS
3656 minor ab's .829

Pretty darn similiar if you ask me. Moss is only about a year older and he's OPS'ng .979 for the A's this year. My point is that we all have our favorites and I think our perceptions are skewed a bit by what we want to see or ab's we do see/miss.

I am certainly not saying either is the answer but just bringing up the similiarities between the two.

Edit: I agree that it shouldn't be hard to find a Brandon Inge type to backup or compete. Why didn't the A's this year then?

Other than the fact that Sizemore, even with a small sample size, has better career offensive numbers than Inge? I'm not saying Sizemore will produce like Chavez from 2000-2005, but he'd have to regress considerably to be as bad as Inge has been. I'm not saying that won't happen, but it's unlikely.

If it were so easy to find players that are better than Sizemore's .787 OPS from last year, the A's would have a team full of them and they wouldn't have picked up Inge.

Those numbers are pretty darn similar, although to be fair Sizemore played in Detroit and Oak, two pitcher's parks, while Moss was in Boston and Pittsburgh, both hitter's parks. However, in Moss's one season with significant ABs (2009) he OPS'd .668 vs. Sizemore's .778 last year. But one is a corner OF/1b, while the other is playing 3b. 3b is a far more important position, IMHO. If Moss could play 3b, it would make more sense to equate the two but he doesn't. Also, I wouldn't place too much emphasis on Moss' limited abs this year. I somehow don't see him hitting 70 hrs which is what his 81 abs this year projects to.

Sizemore got hurt in spring training which makes finding players a lot more difficult. Lots more players available following the season and before spring training and of course, after the season starts, as with Inge.

Inge is not fielding balls he easily gobbled up, with his history of groin injuries not surprising.

Ken Macha quote: "When signing players with injury histories they get injured." Also referring to Brandon McCarthy. Heard that on our radio broadcast. :) Also the above analysis on Inge.