Episode 12 – The Seats Are Made For Dolls

It’s been a while, yes, but the Tarp Talk gang is back. A little late but the guys talk about possible winners of the closer spot (now Balfour, phew) , and what the rest of the roster should look like, and how small the plane seats are for Wishinsky.

We, actually I Spencer, apologize for this getting to you guys so late. I’ve had to deal with some family stuff, which as I hope you will understand, took some precedence over this. We have in no way abandoned this. We all love doing this very much. Stay tuned as the season gets under way, we have some very unique and fun things planned. As well as some kick ass guests for you guys. All designed to bring you the A’s in a way that will not only entertain, but inform you. Again, my apologies, and I, and we, look forward to sharing this season with you. Go A’s!

(Who’s staying up all night for the game? Raise your hand! /raises both hands)

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Time: 49:05

• Introduction
• Who Should the Closer Be? Brian Fuentes or Grant Balfour?
• Who Should man Third Base? Josh Donaldson, Eric Sogard or Adam Rosales?
• Thoughts on Yoenis Cespedes
• Outfield Jam: Who’s in? Who’s out?
• Who Should man First Base? Brandon Allen, Daric Barton or Kila Ka’aihue?
• Final Bullpen Spots? Andrew Carignan? Jordan Norberto?
• Any spring surprises?
• Airline Reviews
• Dumb Tweet of the Week

Episode 10 – Does He Know About Microclimates?

The gang is back! After a week off where there was no real news Tarp Talk returns this week. Of course we had to talk about the Yoenis Cespedes signing. What does this do for the outfield depth chart? Is another trade imminent? What kind of player is he going to be? And of course, we also had to talk about Coco Crisp, and we probably talked about him way too much. And there is a little Manny Ramirez talk in there as well. After that it’s the Dumb Tweet of The Week, as always, and a preview of what to expect from each of us in the upcoming week.

If you wish to send us a question or just want to say hello, the podcast can be found on Twitter (@TarpTalk) and via e-mail tarptalkpodcast@gmail.com. As always thank you for listening.

Direct Download Time: 46:29 

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• Introduction
• A’s sign Yoenis Cespedes
• What is the outfield set up with the addition of Cespedes?
• Can we flip and outfielder to get something of value?
• What is Crisp’s value – both on the field and on the trade market?
• Do we want Manny on the A’s?
• How much of a role will options play in roster decisions?
• Dumb Tweet of the Week
• Future writing plans for the Tarp Talk crew

Links
A’s ‘Likely’ to Sign Manny Ramirez by Grant Brisbee

Episode 9 – Alan’s Cat Agrees

The Tarp Talk gang goes to the farm in this episode (literally and figuratively)! This week we are joined by Jason Parks ( @ProfessorParks ) to talk about the Rangers. Of course now when you talk about the Rangers you have to talk about Yu Darvish, which is what Jason so kindly does. What kind of pitcher can he be? How does the NPB stack up to MLB? Does he really have 12 pitches? All of these plus questions about the starting rotation, moving guys from bullpen to the starting rotation, and Mike Olt are talked about.

You can find Jason more at Baseball Prospectus, the Up And In Podcast, as well as Texas Farm Review.

The guys delve into what went on at Fan Fest this weekend, Gomes and Manny Ramirez, and Wishinsky gets unusally worked up about Edwin Jackson.

If you have any questions feel free to send them to us at tarptalkpodcast(at)gmail(dot)com. The hosts of the show can be found on Twitter at @davidwiers (self-explanatory), @cuppingmaster (Alan), @oakfaninva (Spencer), and @tvprcretireplan (Wishinsky)

As always, thank you for listening!

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• Introduction
• A’s FanFest, how was it, what happened?
• Jonny Gomes comes to Oakland, Adrian Cardenas is DFA’d which we provide big time analysis on
• Is Manny being Manny something we could tolerate in Oakland?
• Edwin Jackson: Is he a fit for the A’s?
• Jason Parks comes on to talk Texas Rangers baseball
• How good is Darvish? Is Colby Lewis really a #1? Rangers offensively are there any problems?
• Dumb Tweet of the Week

Episode 7 – If Jamie Moyer Is Still Pitching In 2015…

The Tarp Talk gang is back with Episode 7. The Athletics had a busy week on the trade front, free agent signing front, and the avoiding arbitration front. The gang talks about the Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman for Seth Smith trade and why most of them don’t like it. We also touch on the Bartolo Colon signing and how it will affect the starting rotation. We talk about the one-year deals the A’s gave Brandon McCarthy and Joey Devine to avoid arbitration and the much talked about Yankees – Mariners trade. As always we finish with the Dumb Tweet of The Week and say goodbye.

If you wish to follow the podcast on Twitter it can be found at @TarpTalk. If you have questions they can be sent to tarptalkpodcast(at)gmail(dot)com. The hosts can be found on Twitter at @cuppingmaster (Alan), @davidwiers (self-explanatory), @oakfaninva (Spencer) and @tvprcretireplan (Wishinsky).

As always, we hope you enjoy listening.

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Time: 52:18

• Introduction
• Moscoso and Outman are shipped to the Mile High City
• Smith Comes Back to Sea-Level
• Win-win? Win for Oakland? Win for Colorado? Or the ever rare Lose-lose?
• Does Kurt Suzuki become a better player with less time behind the plate?
• A’s sign Bartolo Colon
• Is the Colon signing or a potential signing of Oswalt a bigger risk?
• McCarthy and Devine avoid arbitration
• The Yankees and M’s make a deal
• Win-win? Win for Seattle? Win for New York? Or the ever rare Lose-lose?
• Dumb Tweet of the Week

Links
John Sickel’s Ratings of the Mariners’ Prospects
Pedro Martinez on Karim Garcia