FanHouse AlanEmbree

On Tuesday night's game between the Nationals and Rockies, Alan Embree earned the win without even throwing a pitch. For one night, at least, he got to live the life of a fantasy baseball team owner.

The real story here, of course, is that the win statistic suddenly seems a little trivial. Baseball experts across the board have always agreed that wins are the definitive pitching statistic. ERA? WHIP? Maybe those nerds at the acronym factory are on to something, because a zero-pitch win just doesn't seem right. Then again, Embree was up against the Nationals, and everyone wins against the Nationals.

Wednesday morning's Dugout is after the jump.

If you picked Jim Tracy as the NL Manager of the Year, pat yourself on the back.

Even though he wasn't a manager when the season began, he's looking like a pretty sweet pick right about now. The Rockies were 18-28 when they fired Clint Hurdle, and they are 22-7 since elevating Tracy from bench coach, heading into a showdown series with the first-place Dodgers starting Monday night.

Of course, Hurdle wasn't that bad of a manager (he got the Rockies to the World Series in 2007) and Tracy isn't that great of a manager (the Dodgers and Pirates both let him go).

SAN FRANCISCO -- You don't have to hang around the Rockies for very long to get the feeling that Dexter Fowler is just about to blow up. In a good way.

By all accounts, Fowler just needs to meet his offensive potential and get the right publicity, and he could one day be one of those players who attain "face of the game" status.

Before you dismiss that as hyperbole, listen to Todd Helton.

The Oakland Athletics are expected to activate Huston Street from the disabled list today. The closer has been out with an elbow injury since the beginning of May. In his absence Alan Embree filled in as the A's closer, and did a very good job, converting 10 of his 12 save opportunities.

He did such a good job in fact, that Street is going to be used in a setup role for the time being.

Huston Street stood at his locker before Sunday's game, addressing the team's plan to activate him today -- "it's about 95 percent," manager Bob Geren said -- and put him on the mound for the first time since May 12.

Then Alan Embree walked to his locker, which is adjacent to Street's, and noticed the interview in session.

"He can set up for a while," said Embree, chiming in. "He can be my setup man."

Typically, Embree wasn't serious. But for the immediate future, Street won't have his old job back. "I won't use him to close a game the next outing or two or three -- but in the sixth or seventh inning, to make sure he's ready to do that," Geren said.

It's probably the smart thing to do, working Street back in to his closer's role slowly. The way elbow injuries are, the A's don't want to put Huston right back in during high stress situations. Street will probably in a setup role for the first week, maybe two depending on how his arm feels, before reclaiming his role as Oakland's closer.

Moneyball aficionados rejoice! Oakland A's owner and managing partner Lew Wolff has extended team president Michael Crowley and General Manager Billy Beane's contracts through the 2014 season. Of course, an extension for Beane was hardly a pressing matter -- his old contract had him locked up through 2012 -- but simply finding Jack Cust off the scrap heap earlier this year was probably worth a couple of years itself.

Beane's trademark is making a lot out of a little, and that's continued so far this year. Case in point? Finding Cust; having the foresight to sign Alan Embree, who's held the bullpen together as the interim closer in place of the injured Huston Street; and inking Lenny DiNardo, who's pitched even better in three starts (0.52 ERA) than he has in relief (1.83 ERA), just to name a few.

The A's currently sit in third place in the AL West, which is misleading considering they're also five games above .500 and have won eight of their last 10. They're still operating on a shoestring budget, though hopefully that will change before the end of Beane's contract whenever the team moves into the eventually-to-be constructed Cisco Field. Can you imagine what this guy could do if he hand the financial freedom to routinely make $40 million mistakes like Brian Cashman can?

Update: Some sites are reporting this as a "seven-year extension" for Beane. That's flat-out wrong -- his current deal wasn't going to expire at the end of this year, but rather in 2012 as part of an extension he first signed when Wolff first took control of the team in 2005.

It appears as if Nick Swisher will be sticking around for a while, as the Athletics have locked him up to a new five-year contract with a club option for a sixth season, which means Swisher will be locked up through his second year of free agency at maximum.

At 26 years old, this is a great signing for Oakland. They've just bought themselves two extra seasons of Nick Swisher in his prime before he can leave Oakland for a big money deal just as others such as Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada have done. Not to mention the relative cost of the deal, which is relatively inexpensive at $26.75 million. The option is for $10.25 million with a buyout for $1 million, which gives the A's a cheap out if Swisher's stats go south.

This also ensures that they have most of the key components of their team locked up through at least '09, important for the original low budget "Money Ball" club:

The A's now have eight players under contract beyond the 2007 season, not including Mark Ellis and Jay Witasick, who have club options for next season. The eight players and the years they are signed through are: Swisher (2011, club option 2012), Eric Chavez (2010, club option 2011), Bobby Crosby (2009), Alan Embree (2008, club option 2009), Rich Harden (2008, club option 2009), Dan Haren (2009, club option 2010), Mark Kotsay (2008), Esteban Loaiza (2008, club option 2009).

But most of all, they lock up a class act.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Nick Swisher Grows Hair for Cancer Patients