Today is more than just Wednesday though - it’s World Series Wednesday! I’m looking forward to watching this series get started. I’m blogging the World Series on Sports Cartel’s main page; you can see my series preview here and my Game 1 preview here.

But even with the Fall Classic beginning today, there are actually a couple A’s items to talk about:

1. Lew Wolff created some buzz with his statement yesterday that there is no way the A’s will stay in Oakland. There’s still a lot of uncertainty around the plans for Fremont and Cisco Field, so a statement like this just makes me roll my eyes. Don’t start throwing out the “it’s out of the question” smack until you have something finalized.

Being a non-resident A’s fan, I don’t feel strongly about where the A’s end up going (unless they come to my backyard - Green Bay, anyone??). I care that they get out of the concrete piece of crap they play in now and start becoming more Macy’s and less K-Mart, like a team that plays in the sixth largest television market in the country should be. I also care that, once they move, they are still called the A’s, still green and gold, and keep the elephant and the white cleats.

2. The A’s brought Hayward-native Don Wakamatsu on as bench coach. They’re still interviewing for one position - Rene Lachman’s vacancy - though there’s no indication what that will be as the coaches could be shuffled around before spring training. Bucky Dent and Tony DeFrancesco are both interviewing this week. The A’s seem to like to promote their AAA managers regularly so I expect it to be DeFrancesco, but I can’t help but like the idea of Bucky Dent, if only for the reason that the guy knows something about clutch hits. Anything to solve the A’s RISP woes…

3. J.J. Cooper of Baseball America answered my question during his chat today on ESPN.com. I asked him about Alexei Ramirez, who I brought up in the center field post the other day.

Kelly (Appleton, WI): J.J., what’s the word on Alexei Ramirez? What kind of attention do you think he’ll get on the FA market, and does he project as a starter?

J.J. Cooper: (2:15 PM ET ) There has been a ton of money wasted on Cuban prospects over the years so it’s hard to forecast stardom for anyone making the jump from Serie Nacional to the big leagues. But in Ramirez’ case he projects to be an everyday big leaguer, whether in the outfield, maybe third base or even shortstop. He’s got a good line-drive bat with a little bit of power. Teams will be interested.

So there you have it - likely not A’s-related, but it’s always fun when my question gets picked.

Enjoy Game 1 tonight. Former A Bobby Kielty should get in against the lefty Jeff Francis, so there’s a reason to watch - as if you needed one.

So it’s not pitcher-attacking bugs, walkoff home runs, or playoff sweeps, but the A’s actually did a few thing in the last few days and gave us a few things to talk about.

1. A few changes - no firings - were made in the A’s medical staff. Basically the team has added one, by promoting Larry Davis to a newly created position and promoted Steve Sayles to head trainer. Walt Horn comes up from Sacramento as will act as assistant trainer.

Clearly, something needed to be done here, and adding a guy can’t be a bad thing. Larry Davis is now the Coordinator of Medical Services, which is a new position in which he will keep an eye on things. The A’s are also going to be monitoring the guys more in the offseason, so hopefully we’ll see less DL time in 2008.

One thing I want to know though - does that mean Larry Davis won’t be wearing those tie-dyed shirts anymore? And even if he is, will we ever see them? Important things to keep in mind, indeed.

2. Eric Chavez is going to have back surgery tomorrow. The surgery is described as a microdiscectomy, which is similar to what Mark Kotsay had at the beginning of the season.

Chavez has already had shoulder surgery, so is he going to be fixed up like new for 2008? He should be ready for spring training, and I’m still holding out hope that he can regain form, albeit defensively and not offensively. I think Chavez can get back to his Gold Glove self, but the days of 30 home runs and 100 RBI are likely over. He is best-suited as a #6 or #7 hitter, and, with the presence of Jack Cust, I don’t foresee the A’s sticking him in the cleanup spot again. Thank goodness for that.

3. The A’s canned three of their coaches - Rene Lachman, Brad Fischer, and Bob Shaefer. This is supposedly so Bob Geren can get his own peeps in there. Who are Bob Geren’s peeps, you ask? Supposedly Texas’s Don Wakamatsu is Bob’s BFF (next to Billy Beane, of course) and could join the staff. We might also see Tony DeFrancesco, the Sacramento manager, on the staff.

So Tye and Ty get to stay, as well as Curt Young. I’m not surprised, as Curt has one of the league’s best pitching staffs and both Tye and Ty were new and late additions to the 2007 team.

Here’s a question: first base or third base? As in coach, I’m talkin’. I think being a third base coach would be fun because you’d get to flail your arms around a lot. Plus, you’d get to give the signs to the runner. But the first base coach gets a lot more fist bumps and company.

I’ll take third, because life is more exciting on that side of the diamond. The plays there affect that game more than they do at first base.

What would you pick?