I continue to be more and more impressed with left-hander Greg Smith. He lost last night to Joe Saunders and the Angels, but he’ll win most of the time if he pitches the way he did. I’m not sure he throws any two pitches the exact same speed, and he mixes his stuff like he’s been doing this for years.

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Repeat after me — “It’s still early,” — before you call the A’s upcoming series at Anaheim a big one. But it does stand out as much as a late April series can, because we’re about to find out whether the A’s can hang with the AL West’s big dog.

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Frank Thomas was in the clubhouse when the media was allowed in this morning, and he was in the lineup hitting fourth for the A’s. That’s how quickly these things can take place.

The quick rundown:

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Just got to the park, opened my e-mail and received an A’s release that Frank Thomas has agreed to terms with the A’s. More on this later, obviously, but I imagine this will have huge ramifications for Jack Cust and Mike Sweeney.

More later.  

Did my annual, “What Team Would You Rather Be?” column regarding the A’s and Giants today? Wanna hear from fans out there in A’s nation? What do you like most about this team, and aside from the lack of power, what do you like the least? And what should they do regarding Frank Thomas? Sign him, or pass on him?

Incidentally, Rajai Davis, a symbol for some of the Giants’ poor management, is now an Athletic.

So Frank Thomas in an A’s uniform? Whadda ya think? You intrigued?

Haven’t had a chance to talk to any of the A’s management about this topic yet (not that they’d tell me what they’re thinking anyway), but my extreme first instinct is to say, “Sorry, let’s pass.” I love Thomas, and his bat was huge for the A’s in their run to the 2006 American League Championship Series. I’m just not so sure he’s the greatest fit on this team at this time.

That’s the problem with baseball in April. It’s impossible to draw definitive conclusions. But one of the things I’ve liked about the A’s so far is the youthful energy, and their legs. This A’s team runs the bases with an aggression I haven’t seen in years, and that has a tangible effect both on energy and the chemistry of a lineup.

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This one falls under the category of “ex-A’s,” but since a lot of you have never really lost your love for Miguel Tejada, here’s an interesting item. Tejada now admits he’s two years older than previously thought.

Does this make you change your minds about the A’s decision to let him leave after the 2003 season? Not mine. I always felt that if the A’s kept Tejada and let Eric Chavez depart, they may have gotten over the hump in 2004 or 2005.

Would love to know how the Astros feel about this.

OK, straw poll time. How many of you, on the day that Nick Swisher was traded to the Chicago White Sox, would’ve guessed the A’s would return from their first domestic road trip of the season tied with the Angels and Boston Red Sox for the best record in the American League?

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You should already know this, but today is the 61st anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball. And I say you should know it, because Jackie Robinson Day deserves every bit the observance as Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, etc.

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Recovering from a medical procedure today, so getting a nice opportunity to just veg on the couch on watch ball. Happy to see that snowflakes aren’t falling in Chicago, but it does look frigid. Hardly recognized Nick Swisher in his Chicago White Sox uniform and with such a well-groomed facial appearance.

Saw none of Sunday’s games, but spent much of the day reading about it, and just heard Curt Young tell Ray Fosse that he’s never seen an occasion where every player on the field was frozen. 

Don’t know how long MLB is going to continue to keep its head buried in the sand about how dangerous it is to have teams play in those conditions. We see it every year, and eventually, somebody is going to take a fastball in the face, because they can’t see it through the snow.

Anyway, keep that in mind when you see the lack of offensive numbers early. It’s brutal to hit in weather like that.