Sports: The A's & Raiders Hire Some Help

Both the Raiders and the A's made moves today, in the hopes of building for the 2010 season.  The A's signed pitcher Ben Sheets to a 1 year $10 million deal and the Raiders hired Hue Jackson as their Offensive Coordinator.

The A's attempted to make a splash this off season with their Sheets signing, after making few trades and being turned down by other second tier free agents.  Sheets didn't pitch at all last season because of elbow surgery, but brings a wealth of experience and upside to an otherwise very young pitching staff.  Sheets was 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 2008, but then had to sit out all of 2009 recovering from his surgery.  The A's were one of the many teams who went and watched Sheets workout a few weeks ago and obviously came away very impressed.

The Raiders, meanwhile are flailing for relevance and success, but I do believe this is a positive hire for the team. Hue Jackson has a good history of working with quarterbacks and helping them reach their full potential.  38thNotes is no fan of Jamarcus Muscle, so hopefully Jackson can impart some wisdom and teach him some hard skills.  He certainly can't make him any worse at least. We are still waiting to see if Tom Cable comes back as head coach, but hopefully Cable and Jackson can mesh their ideas and put a positive product on the field.

Coolhand and I talk a lot about the abusive relationship we're in with the Raiders, A's, and Warriors, but both these signings were in the right direction.  Only time will tell what happens with our teams, but the Warriors drama is enough for me right now.  There will be more to come as Spring Training approaches for the A's and when we hear more about Cable and the Raiders.