By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
The Oakland Athletics acquired infielder Jed Lowrie and right-hander Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros for first baseman Chris Carter and two minor leaguers on Monday.
Bob Melvin has repeatedly described the comfort of managing right at home in the Bay Area _ and Billy Beane has described the comfort in having a winning, "modern-day" manager leading the Oakland Athletics.

The face is hardly wrinkled and the long blond locks appear unchanged, but Brad Pitt, who will turn 49 in December, is increasingly preoccupied with the passage of time and the thought that his rarefied place in movies is fleeting.
The face is hardly wrinkled and the long blond locks appear unchanged, but Brad Pitt, who will turn 49 in December, is increasingly preoccupied with the passage of time and the thought that his rarefied place in movies is fleeting.

Throughout the season, as the Washington Nationals marched to a major league-best 98 victories, they shunned talk of individual awards. The World Series title, they said, was all that mattered.
Forget the movie about these Oakland A's. Already been done and, besides, Brad Pitt has moved on to other things.
Forget the movie about these Oakland A's. Already been done and, besides, Brad Pitt has moved on to other things.
Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy becomes uneasy each time he is called to the bathroom for a random drug test, even though he's confident he's completely clean.
Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy becomes uneasy each time he is called to the bathroom for a random drug test, even though he's confident he's completely clean.

The Washington Nationals bolstered their inexperienced catching corps Friday afternoon, trading for Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki in exchange for Single-A catcher David Freitas. Suzuki is expected to become the team's everyday catcher.
The state of Rhode Island is having trouble collecting some of the millions it lent former pitcher Curt Schilling, another reminder why chasing celebrity is almost always a bad thing.
The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics arrived in Japan on Friday, five days before opening Major League Baseball's 2012 season at Tokyo Dome.
After watching the YouTube promotional video of the five-tool outfielder with a sculpted body and freakish athleticism, the Oakland Athletics were eager to see Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes up close.
Manny Ramirez found a taker in Oakland _ at a bargain price.
Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure "Hugo" leads the Academy Awards with 11 nominations, among them best picture and the latest director honor for the Oscar-winning filmmaker.
Nakajima starts off as the shortstop but Beane said there will be plenty of chances for Lowrie to play all over the infield.
"He's got a real big arm," Beane said. "His record, his ERA are probably a little bit misleading. He's another guy to add to our bullpen depth, which was one of our strengths last year. We felt like we were giving them a pretty good package. This addition helped us get over the finish line."