Braden’s grandma tells A-Rod to “stick it” Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/10/2010 @ 6:10 pm)  A’s pitcher Dallas Braden may have the coolest grandmother in the world. From the New York Post: Braden, the A’s left-hander best known for his dust-up with A-Rod over pitcher’s mound etiquette, yesterday hurled the 19th perfect game in major league history, shutting down the Rays, 4-0. But his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, who rasied him in Stockton, Calif. (home of the 209 area code), after his mother, Jodie Atwood, died of cancer when he was a senior in high school, had the last word — appropriately on Mother’s Day. “Stick it, A-Rod,” the feisty granny told Bay Area reporters after her grandson had completed his gem. As Braden was approaching perfection, Rodriguez had nothing but good wishes for the 26-year-old. “Something I’ve learned throughout my career is it’s much better to be recognized for the great things you do on the field,” Rodriguez said before the Yankees played last night in Boston. “Good for him. Even better, he beat the Rays.”
A-Rod has kept his cool since his dustup with Braden, but how funny is it that Rodriguez tried to make Braden out to be a nobody after the incident and then the A’s pitcher goes out and hurls a perfect game less than a month later? It was the biggest middle finger that Braden could have given A-Rod. It was also ironic that another unwritten rule was broken during one of Braden’s start. During the fifth inning of the game yesterday, Rays’ slugger Evan Longoria tried to bunt for a hit, which is regarded as a sin when a pitcher is in the midst of a perfect game. Personally, I think that unwritten rule is flat out stupid (the entire point for hitters is to get on base anyway they can, remember?), but if anyone were upset by Longoria’s bunt attempt, I can’t blame him or her. Evan Longoria bunt? Come on. Photo from fOTOGLIF
Dallas Braden pitches perfect game against Rays Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (05/09/2010 @ 6:15 pm)  Forget what I said about this being a slow news day in baseball — Dallas Braden just pitched a friggin’ perfect game against the Rays, seemingly out of nowhere. This is just 19th perfect game in the history of professional baseball. It’s only been a couple of weeks since Braden threw a (somewhat justifiable) hissy fit over Alex Rodriguez walking over his mound. A-Rod responded by citing Braden’s handful of big league victories in front the fawning media. Well, now the Yankee better stay off Braden’s territory as he’s vaunted himself into an elite category of pitchers. Photo from fOTOGLIF
Dallas Braden rips into A-Rod again Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/07/2010 @ 3:58 pm)  A’s pitcher Dallas Braden still hasn’t gotten over A-Rod’s decision to run across the mound following a game last month and has decided to stir the pot with more comments. From ESPN.com: Braden said he was particularly peeved that Rodriguez dismissed his actions and words merely because Braden hasn’t done much as a major leaguer yet. “There’s two ways that I can comment on that, and I’ll give you both of them,” Braden said to CSN Bay Area. “One, I was always told if you give a fool enough rope, he’ll hang himself, and with those comments, he had all the rope he needed. No. 2, I didn’t know there was a criteria in order to compete against A-Rod.” Rodriguez also is a selfish player, Braden added. “He’s an individualistic player,” Braden told CSN Bay Area. “He plays for the name on the back of the jersey, not the front. I don’t know if he’s noticed, but he doesn’t have a name on the back over there so he should play for the name on the front.”
If this was the first time A-Rod had broken one of the unwritten rules of baseball, then I would call out Braden for overreacting. But this isn’t, and I happen to find the pitcher’s comments funny. That said, at some point Braden is just going to have to get over it. The game was two weeks ago – let it go, my friend. Photo from fOTOGLIF
2009 MLB Preview: #15 Oakland A’s Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/24/2009 @ 12:53 pm) 
Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams Offseason Movement: In one of the biggest trades this offseason, the Rockies’ dealt outfielder Matt Holliday to the A’s in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street and Greg Smith. Oakland also brought back Jason Giambi, who played for the A’s earlier in his career, and signed free agent Orlando Cabrera. Top Prospect: Trevor Cahill, RHP Some would say that LHP Brett Anderson deserves mention here, but his ceiling isn’t as high as Cahill’s and he suffered a forearm injury in spring training, which probably cost him a roster spot this year. Cahill has a chance of landing in the starting rotation now that Anderson and Gio Gonzalez have been sidetracked by injuries. He has the potential to be a future ace and even if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster this season, he could be called up at the All-Star break if the A’s our out of contention. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: MLB Tags: 2009 MLB Preview, 2009 MLB Projections, 2009 MLB Team Previews, 2009 Oakland A's Outlook, 2009 Oakland A's Preview, Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Dana Eveland, Edgar Gonzalez, Gio Gonzalez, Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, MLB Preview 2009, Orlando Cabrera, Sean Gallagher, Trevor Cahill
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