A's players say they don't steal signs

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Could there be a little extra spice to the American League Division Series between Oakland and Detroit beyond the A's hoping for some payback after last year's Division Series loss?

Perhaps: In August, Detroit manager Jim Leyland suggested that Oakland was stealing signs, so thoroughly had the A's dismantled his team in scoring 34 runs in a four-game series at Comerica Park.

"I still think that they were getting something somewhere," Leyland said on Detroit radio at the time. "I'm just not believing. I know we made a lot of bad pitches, but I just don't believe you wear the ball out like that. I've seen a lot of games and a lot of series and I've seen teams get hot, but I'm a little suspicious that somewhere along the line they were getting something somewhere."

Since then, Leyland has said that he thinks the A's simply were swinging the bats well rather than stealing signs, and Oakland players scoff at the suggestion, anyway.

"We haven't stolen a single sign all year," third baseman Josh Donaldson said. "We don't have a guy in here who even wants a sign - some teams will steal pitch location (from the catcher) and we don't even do that. We laugh when catchers are changing signs because we don't want them, anyway."

Outfielder Josh Reddick said that sign-stealing would only mess with his approach.

"If I know what's coming, I always swing whether it's a fastball down the middle or a 50-foot slider, so I prefer not to know," he said.

As for the high-scoring games?

"We plan on doing that again," Donaldson said. "We don't need their signs."

King a finalist: For the seventh time, A's radio broadcaster Bill King is a finalist for the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick award. King and Giants announcer Duane Kuiper are both on the 10-man final ballot after finishing in the top three of the fan vote. The 20 voters for the award include the 16 living Frick recipients. The winner will be announced Dec. 11.

Ken Korach, who was the late King's broadcast partner and now is the A's lead radio voice, noted that if King is not elected this time, the next opportunity would not come for three years, because the award is newly based on three different eras, and this year includes King's era.

"We all think Bill is the best candidate and should get it, but I'm sure people in other markets feel the same way about their guys," said Korach, whose book about King, "Holy Toledo," was released this summer. "Let's hope it happens this time. It would be nice because if he doesn't, it's a moot point for three years."

Sewage news: The Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority said Wednesday that a review of the three sewage incidents at the Coliseum this season determined that all were "man-made and not the product of faulty infrastructure."

A towel caused one toilet backup and a major incident in June was caused by an unidentified cloth item that blocked pipes.

In addition, a plumbing contractor has determined that drains and pipes had been blocked by grease from concession stands; all pipes and drains have been cleared.

"We are working with A's management and all of our partners to ensure that no inappropriate items - food, clothing, or otherwise - are put down the drain," Coliseum general manager Chris Wright said in a statement.

Briefly: Game 4 starter Dan Straily threw 45 pitches against teammates Wednesday; he was most excited to have struck out Donaldson and Derek Norris in back-to-back at-bats. "It was a battle back and forth with both of them," he said. ... Yoenis Céspedes had a line-drive hit off Tommy Milone, and afterward Céspedes, who has had right shoulder tendinitis for three weeks, reiterated that he will play Friday and throughout the series. ... The parking lots will open at noon Friday and Saturday and gates will open two hours before the games. ... Metal detectors will be in use at all gates and all tickets come with holograms to prevent counterfeiting.