Oakland A's tid bits

Athletics Nation is my favorite Oakland A's blog, and Blez has the ability to get access to a surprising number of sources for interviews and information. The coup de grace ? A one-on-one interview with the man himself, Billy Beane. Check out part 1 here, part 2 here. The conclusion I am hoping will be on site tomorrow.

Also in the news, for those of you who don't know, Erubiel Durazo is having a monster season with the A's this year, especially this week when he went 4-for-4 with 3 HR. Aaron Gleeman at the Hardball Times has some interesting statistical analysis regarding Durazo :

Of course, with the improved power and the fact that Durazo's batting .326 after
hitting just .259 last season, he has more than made up for the lack of walks.
According to Value
Over Replacement Player, Durazo has been the 12th-best offensive player in
the American League this season and he ranks as the 27th-best best position
player in the league according to Win Shares Above
Average, which takes defense into account (Durazo is primarily a designated
hitter).Just for fun, if you combine this year's batting average and power with
last year's plate discipline, you get the following offense from Durazo:
.326/.441/.536. That would be good for fourth in the league in batting average,
first in on-base percentage, ninth in slugging percentage and fifth in OPS.
Maybe next year.

Read the whole thing here, it is very interesting.