28-year old righty reliever Brad Ziegler has set a new major league record for consecutive shutout innings to start a major league career with 27 and counting. The sidearming Ziegler has been awesome this season as he has only allowed 16 hits and walked 6 batters in the 27 innings he has pitched. The more amazing part about Ziegler is that he has only whiffed 13 batters this season which means that he’s pitching to contact and still has not been giving up any runs. Ziegler broke George McQuillen’s record which had stood since 1907. He pitched in 6 games (5 starts) in 1907 and he was 4-0 with a 0.66 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. McQuillen pitched in 273 games (173 starts) in his major league career and he was 85-89 with 14 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. His record shows that McQuillen was pitching in a “dead ball era” which makes Ziegler’s accomplishment that more amazing for the A’s this season.

The Oakland A’s seem to be in fire sale mode despite being 52-49 on the season. The A’s are now 10 games behind the Angels in the A.L. West and 7 games behind the Red Sox for the Wild Card. With that in mind it seems that Beane has his finger on the red button on his desk with the idea of blowing up the team. Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Emil Brown, Matt Murton, Huston Street and Alan Embree could all be on the move by July 31st. Beane still has his biggest trade chip in All-Star righty starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer who is leading the American League in ERA. He has stared 17 games for the A’s this season and he is 10-6 with a 1.87 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has allowed an amazing 77 hits in 115 innings which no one could have seen coming. The A’s would likely demand a haul similar to what they got back for Rich Harden in order to pull the trigger with Duchscherer.

The Oakland A’s have decided to designate reserve infielder Donnie Murphy for assignment. He played in 42 games for the A’s this season and he was 19 for 101 (.188 avg, .585 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers and 13 RBIs. Murphy also whiffed 37 times which is another reason the A’s decided to let him go. The A’s have recalled 28-year old switch hitting infielder Brad Conrad to replace Murphy on the roster and the bench. He made his major league debut last season and he went 0 for 3 with 2 whiffs. Conrad played in 93 games in AAA ball this season prior to being called up and he was 88 for 364 (.242 avg, .805 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 21 homers and 67 RBIs. Conrad has one thing in common with Murphy and that is whiffing at a alarming rate as he struck out 94 times in AAA this season.

The Oakland A’s have placed starting 1B Daric Barton on the 15-day disabled list with a neck strain. Barton has played in 89 games for the A’s this season and he is 62 for 277 (.224 avg, .638 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 2 homers and 25 RBIs. The A’s have recalled 1B Wes Bankston from AAA ball to replace Barton both on the roster and at 1B. Bankston has played in 10 games for the A’s this season and he is 12 for 39 (.308 avg, .787 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. It’s possible that Bankston could cut into Barton’s playing time if he plays well while he is out as Barton has been a huge disappointment for the A’s this season.

The Oakland Athletics have traded Joe Blanton to the Phillies for Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman and Matt Spencer. 27-year old righty Joe Blanton has not pitched well this season for the A’s. He started 20 games for the A’s this season and he was 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Blanton finished his career pitching in 122 games (118 starts) for the A’s in which he was 47-46 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. 20-year old lefty swinging Adrian Cardenas was the biggest key of the trade as he was the Phillies’ #2 prospect coming into the season according to Baseball America. Cardenas has played in 67 games in A-Ball this season and he was 80 for 259 (.309 avg, .818 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He will eventually be the starting 2B for the A’s down the road. 23-year old lefty starting pitcher Josh Outman was the #4 rated prospect in the Phillies’ system coming into this season according to Baseball America. Outman has pitched in 33 games (5 starts) in AA-Ball this season and he is 5-4 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. 21-year old lefty swinging Matt Spencer was the #28 prospect in the Phillies’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America. Spencer has played in 84 games in A-Ball this season and he is 76 for 305 (.249 avg, .684 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers, 41 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The A’s are raising the White Flag on this season but they are really stockpiling quality prospects for the future. Still, the major league club will suffer because of the moves the team has made the last couple of weeks.