ESPN.com - Oakland Athletics

OFFSEASON PLAYER MOVEMENT

Player signed	Player lost
1B Scott Hatteberg (option picked up)	INF Olmedo Saenz (free agent)
OF Chris Singleton (free agent)	RHP Jeff Tam (free agent/Blue Jays)
RHP Jose Silva (free agent*)	C Greg Myers (free agent/Blue Jays)
LHP John Halama (free agent)	2B Ray Durham (free agent/Giants)
LHP Ed Yarnall (free agent)	RHP Mike Fyhrie (released/Phillies*)
	LHP Mike Venafro (free agent/Braves)
	INF-OF John Mabry (free agent/Mariners)
Acquired via trade	Players traded
RHP Roy Smith (Indians)	Cash
INF Mike Rouse, RHP Chris Mowday (Blue Jays)	RHP Cory Lidle
RHP Keith Foulke, C Mark Johnson, RHP Joe Valentine and cash (White Sox)	RHP Billy Koch, LHP Neal Cotts, OF Daylan Holt
RHP Jeremy Fikac (Padres)	Player to be named or cash
1B Erubiel Durazo (Diamondbacks)	Player to be named (Blue Jays), cash (Diamondbacks)
*Minor-league deal

Complete Player Movement | Free Agent Signings

Erubiel Millionaire


	Durazo

First baseman and designated hitter Erubiel Durazo agreed to terms with the Athletics on a one-year contract Jan. 28. Durazo, who had been the only unsigned player on the Athletics' 40-man roster eligible for arbitration, signed for $1,065,000. Oakland acquired Durazo in a deal Dec. 15 in which the A's sent Jason Arnold to Toronto, the Blue Jays sent Felipe Lopez to Cincinnati and the Reds sent Elmer Dessens to Arizona. Durazo has a .278 career batting average with 47 home runs and 149 RBIs in 287 major league games.

Stark: Beane stalked Durazo

Hot Stove Heater: A's
ESPN.com contributor Gary Huckabay takes a look at the Athletics in Hot Stove Heaters: "How do the A's manage to keep costs under control while fielding a team that makes the postseason on a regular basis? The short answer is that they're the best club in baseball at picking up cheaply available talent. Nowhere is this more evident than in the bullpen. The A's understand the concept of statistical scouting. Instead of overreliance on subjective scouting reports, the A's front office knows the value that minor league statistics have in forecasting future performance. So they take some of these relatively simple statistical tools, and identify players with performance records that really stand out and bode well for future performances, even if the scouting reports on these guys don't jump off the page.

Sickels: Minor-league report

Rogers: Infields of dreams

Singleton added to outfield


	Singleton

The Athletics shored up their outfield Dec. 23, signing Chris Singleton to a one-year contract with a club option for 2004. Singleton batted .262 with nine homers and 50 RBI last season for the Orioles. He also had 30 doubles and 20 stolen bases. "We've always liked Singleton a bit in the past," general manager Billy Beane said. "When he became available, we were very aggressive in pursuing him. He's a good defensive player, an outstanding baserunner and a great guy in the clubhouse, too." The acquisition of Singleton allows the A's to move Terrence Long from center field to left field, which would improve their outfield defense.

KURKJIAN: ACES HIGH

The A's are the first team in modern baseball history to have a different 20-game winner three years in a row, and all three were 25 or younger when they won their 20 games. Barry Zito (23 wins last season), Mark Mulder (21 victories in 2001) and Tim Hudson (20 wins in 2000) should continue to improve, which means the A's not only will contend again this year, but are nearly assured of winning 90 games.

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AUDIO/VIDEO
Video Staying in the Bay
Billy Beane explains his rationale for remaining in Oakland.
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Hot Tejada
ESPN's Peter Gammons explains why Miguel Tejada won the AL MVP award.
Standard | Cable Modem

Oakland Ace
Barry Zito wants to keep a level head after winning the Cy Young.
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Erubiel and the Beane stalk
AllNight: A's GM Billy Beane compares his dogged pursuit of Erubiel Durazo to a character out of Les Miserables. And Barry Zito has a contractual right to surf.
RealAudio

Beane there, done that
AllNight: A's GM Billy Beane tells Todd Wright that he never had a problem with Larry Lucchino's level of involvement. And he wishes he went to Stanford.
RealAudio

FEATURES

The Zito Files
News from Billy Beane: Barry Zito's bobblehead given away May 25.

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ULTIMATE STANDINGS

See how the Athletics fare among all 121 professional sports teams.

SportsNation's Ultimate Standings

Where do the Athletics rank?

"Durazo's almost been my Holy Grail. I have been following this guy for three years."
– GM Billy Beane, on acquiring 1B-DH Erubiel Durazo from the Diamondbacks

2002 AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
TEAM	W	L	PCT	GB
Oakland	103	59	.636	-
Anaheim	99	63	.611	4.0
Seattle	93	69	.574	10.0
Texas	72	90	.444	31.0
Complete Standings

Athletics Alternate 59Fifty Fitted Cap Our Price: $24.99	Athletics Replica Home Alternate Jersey Our Price: $77.99
View all team products

NEWS AND NOTES

The A's agreed to terms on one-year contracts with LHPs John Halama and Ed Yarnall on Jan. 17. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A's designated INF Luis Lopez for assignment.

The A's traded minor league OF John-Ford Griffin to the Blue Jays on Jan. 7 for a player to be named.

The Athletics on Jan. 2 acquired RH reliever Jeremy Fikac from the Padres for a player to be named. Fikac, 27, was 4-7 with a 5.48 ERA and led the Padres with 65 appearances last season.

INF Olmedo Saenz and LHP Mike Venafro were not offered contracts Dec. 20, making both players free agents. Venafro signed a one-year deal with Atlanta on Jan. 13.

The A's released RHP Mike Fyhrie on Dec. 16. Fyhrie spent three separate stints with the A's last season, going 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA in 16 games, four of them starts. The 33-year old Fyhrie was 7-2 with a 2.33 ERA in 13 starts at Triple-A Sacramento.

The Athletics declined to offer salary arbitration to OF David Justice, 1B John Mabry, C Greg Myers and INF Randy Velarde on Dec. 7. The four cannot re-sign with the A's until May 1.

2B Ray Durham signed a three-year, $20.1 million contract with the Giants on Dec. 7. The deal has a $7 million player option for a fourth season.

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ON THE FARM

Minor league affiliates:
Sacramento River Cats (AAA):
    Sched./Results | Stats | Official Site
Midland Rockhounds (AA):
    Sched./Results | Stats | Official Site
Modesto A's (A):
    Stats | Official Site
Kane County Cougars (A):
    Stats | Official Site
Vancouver Canadians (A):
    Official Site
Phoenix Athletics (R)


AVG	M. Tejada	.308
HR	2 tied @	34
RBI	M. Tejada	131
RUN	M. Tejada	108
SB	E. Chavez	8
WIN	B. Zito	23
SV	B. Koch	44
ERA	B. Zito	2.75
Complete Team Statistics: Batting \| Pitching


C	R. Hernandez	ROTATION
1B	S. Hatteberg	T. Hudson
2B	M. Ellis	B. Zito
3B	E. Chavez	M. Mulder
SS	M. Tejada	T. Lilly
LF	T. Long	E. Hiljus
CF	C. Singleton	CLOSER
RF	J. Dye	K. Foulke
DH	E. Durazo


Jan 29: Agreed to terms with first baseman Erubiel Durazo on a one-year contract.
Jan 18: Agreed to terms with pitchers Ed Yarnall and John Halama on one-year contracts.
Jan 7: Tradeed outfielder John-Ford Griffin to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named.
Complete Team Transactions

FEATURES
The Zito Files News from Billy Beane: Barry Zito's bobblehead given away May 25.


No significant injuries.