San Jose wants the A's

Major League Baseball hasn't told San Jose whether it wants to seriously consider moving the A's to town, so the city continues to pursue the idea with a report that says a Major League baseball team makes sense for the area.

Who's not in favor of moving a team to where it is most wanted? Since San Jose is in the Giants' backyard, their "nay" vote doesn't count.

Ziegler out with flu

It turns out that A's closer Brad Ziegler's medical condition was simply a bout with the flu. It kept him out of action again on Saturday.

Michael Wuertz pitched again in the closer role for the Oakland A's, notching his second save of the year in a 3-2 victory over Seattle. Wuertz may be getting the save opportunities because Santiago Casilla is on the DL with a strained right knee ligament.

Fantasy Impact: We believe it's safe to say that Ziegler is the closer the moment he returns. With Casilla out, Wuertz is the top candidate for stray saves.

A's get Giese

Dan Giese did a nice job in 20 games with the Yankees last season, posting a 3.53 ERA, but the addition of new Yankees arms made the 31-year-old expendable. The pitching strapped Oakland A's picked him up when the Yankees placed Giese on waivers Wednesday, optioning Giese to Triple-A.

“I wasn’t surprised. I thought someone would pick him up,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before New York faced the Baltimore Orioles. “The job he did for us last year was really, really good. The thing is, he can do a lot of different things for a club. He can start, spot start, long relief, an inning— he’s always going to throw strikes (and) you know what you’re going to get, for the most part, every day. That’s why I felt a club might take a chance on him.”

Giese might get a shot at the Oakland rotation should either Trevor Cahill or Brett Anderson falter in their rookie campaigns. Giese ultimately might end up a swing man, like the role Chad Guadin handled for the A's in recent seasons.

A's to sign Cabrera and Garciaparra?

One day after closing in on a contract with shortstop Orlando Cabrera, the Oakland A's are close on signing Nomar Garciaparra. He and Cabrera wouldn't be battling for playing time.

If signed, Garciaparra would provide depth at first base and third base, as well as serve as a righthanded bat off the bench.

Because of injuries, Garciaparra played in only 55 games for the Dodgers last season, hitting .264 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs.

Cabrera and Garciaparra won't take time from one another, but neither is a great fantasy option. Garciaparra won't play enough to make a dent. Jason Giambi and Daric Barton will get the lion's share of time at first, and unless Eric Chavez goes down (which is likely), Garciaparra won't get much time at third, either.

Cabrera is an average to above fantasy guy at short, but at 34 his value is likely to slip more toward average than above in the coming seasons.

San Jose A's?

The San Jose Mercury News believes the "San Jose Athletics" has a nice ring to it. Now that the A's Fremont move has fallen through, the team will restart it process to find a place for a new stadium.

Does MLB want to have two strong and healthy franchises in the Bay Area — or will it continue forcing one team to play in an outdated, mutated multi-purpose stadium in the wrong area code?

I realize that's not how the fundamental question about the A's future is usually framed. Instead, it goes this way: Will the Giants allow the A's to build a ballpark in Santa Clara County, where the Giants own territorial rights?

Wrong. As I have noted, those "territorial rights" do

not "belong" to the Giants. Those "rights" are the property of Major League Baseball, which permits the Giants to claim them. But the "rights" can be overturned with one swift vote by MLB owners.

I think the "territorial rights" argument will be a tough sell: see Orioles/Peter Angelos vs. proposed Washington Nationals. It's a complicated process, however, moving the A's. This will probably play out a while.