The Oakland Athletics wanted to make sure they could keep David Forst in the front office after other clubs sought to hire him, so they promoted him to general manager Monday and elevated Billy Beane to executive vice president of baseball operations. ''Long overdue,'' Beane said of Forst's promotion. Forst just completed his 16th years with the low-budget franchise and 12th as assistant GM, though Beane insists his right-hand man has been assuming general manager duties behind the scenes for some time. More...