Swingin' A's

This is a packed episode. First, we pay tribute to Tony Phillips who recently passed away, then we have two fan guests on to discuss where they see the team going in 2016 and finally we have Joseph DeClercq from Athletics Nation on to discuss the recent Chris Coghlan trade.

Jane Lee has been covering the Oakland A’s for MLB since 2008. She was great enough to give us an hour of insights into the plight of 2015 as well as what to look for going into 2016. There are a ton of question marks surrounding this team and, hopefully, some of those are resolved today.

Josh Phegley, catcher for the Oakland A’s, sat down for a chat with Tony and discussed the A’s fan base, his desire for a sign in the outfield, and what was missing in the 2015 bullpen that could’ve helped the team win more games. There’s also a sneak peek at another Hardly Serious podcast at the end for you to enjoy.

The A’s need for a new place to play ball is not diminishing and nobody knows that better than Rhamesis Muncada, founder of New Ballpark. He joins us for the second time and gives us an update on the goings on revolving around getting a new park.

The end of the season is here and the brightest moment of the year may have been two terrible outings by two beloved pitchers.

If you think it’s been weeks since the last podcast, you’re right. Today we’re getting all caught up, chatting with Nick Houser about the Melvin contract extension and listening to some listener voicemails. 

Brodie Brazil is the host of CSN’s Pregame and Postgame Live as well as other programming associated with the Oakland Athletics. He was kind enough to chat with us about his work, his story and a bit about his favorite baseball team.

Melissa Lockard from Oakland Clubhouse returns to the podcast to discuss the recent draft, explain how signings work and gives us an update on the performance of our players “finding their game” at the minor league level.

To say that the A’s have struggled in 2015 is like saying the Titanic had a leak. With errors and blown saves and runners left on base on the rise, the A’s have been tough to watch and tough to talk about. In what may be the most depressing baseball podcast of all time, Tony Frye vents about the current state of decay the team is suffering.

Susan Slusser stops by the ole podcast to discuss her story and her new book all about the Oakland Athletics. If you’re not hip to who Susan Slusser is, you’d better get hip because she’s one of the best in the business and we had an enjoyable conversation.

Tony chats with Nick Houser about spring training, what to expect from the 2015 A’s and how much patience the team should have with injury prone players. It’s opening day, baseball is back!

Sports radio personality Damon Bruce sits down with Tony Frye to chat about A’s ownership, Oakland leadership, internet trolls and Will Ferrell. You may disagree with what he has to say but you’ll never accuse him of hiding his feelings.

It’s a big day for our podcast. We’ve got A’s All Star closer, Sean Doolittle with us for about an hour. He talks about his injury rehab, Twitter memes and pace of play issues. 

A’s radio broadcaster Vince Cotroneo was gracious enough to give us some time and chat about his work with the A’s and the responsibility he feels about giving you a game. He also does nothing to help us figure out who Fake Fosse is.

Fellow A’s fan and writer Nick Houser joined Jason and Tony to answer and debate some questions submitted by Swingin’ A’s readers and listeners. Everything from Vogt to Richard Sherman is covered. Also, Tony announces a FanFest contest.

Melissa Lockard is the authority on Oakland A’s minor league news. She spent some time chatting with Tony about the most recent trades, what it means for the farm system and where she sees the big league club going in 2015. It’s a great chat with a true expert.

Tony, Jason, Jennifer, and Nick all gather around and have a heartwarming chat about the best and worst moments of the 2014 A’s season. It’s a magical moment that will forever be remembered in podcasting history.

Tony Frye sits down with Oakland’s new RHP, Chris Bassitt and talks about leaving Chicago and whether he can grow a solid beard. Then Jason Burke and Tony chat about recent A’s trades and try to figure out what Billy Beane is planning. There’s also a new segment involving some pretty hot Fake Fosse tweets.

Eireann (Erin) Dolan is funny. Eireann Dolan is smart. Eireann Dolan is less hairy than her boyfriend, A’s closer Sean Doolittle. In this week’s episode, Tony has a lovely chat (much of which could be put in the podcast) with one of Twitter’s most beloved A’s Ladies. You’re going to love this one, guys!

Jason and Matt sit down with Tony and discuss the Earth shattering news that Josh Donaldson had been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.