Are the A’s Ready for a Return to Prime Time?
The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 last night to improve their record to 13-9. That record has put the A’s in a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West. Not a lot of people expected much from the A’s this year (that includes yours truly), but folks tend to forget that this is an organization that has had only one losing season since 1998.
That one losing season was last year, when the A’s finished with a record of 76-86. It seems that all of the hoopla surrounding Oakland at the turn of the century, the 100-win seasons, the playoff battles with the Yankees, Moneyball, has largely faded away, causing people to forget that two years ago this organization won 93 games and the division. This year’s A’s team has been put together in much the same way Billy Beane and his staff have put together past champions. The A’s have consistently used draft picks acquired in compensation for free agents who left for big-market teams. There’s Joe Blanton, a starting pitcher who was drafted in 2002 with a pick from the Yankees in exchange for Jason Giambi. There’s closer Huston Street, who was drafted in 2004 with a pick from Baltimore in exchange for Miguel Tejada. The A’s have also acquired key components through trades. Most recently, the team traded starting pitcher Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks and in return got lefty starters Dana Eveland and Greg Smith. There are also several players who have picked up after being cast off by other teams, such as DH/1B Mike Sweeney and reliever Alan Embree.
So far this year the A’s have relied on a strong bullpen to carry the team. Street has saved six games so far in seven opportunities in spite of an ERA of 5.23. But the real strength is coming from the middle relievers. Three pitchers, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, and Joey Devine have combined for 30.1 innings of scoreless relief. Casilla looks to be a star in the making, with 14 strikeouts in 11 innings and a WHIP of 0.82. Don’t be surprised to see him move into the closer’s role if Street falters. In fact, don’t be surprised if Street is traded before the deadline for some guys you probably haven’t heard of, in typical Billy Beane fashion.
The starting rotation has been bolstered by the return of ace Rich Harden from the DL. Harden had missed two weeks this month due to a shoulder strain. In the two starts he’s made so far, Harden has been dominant, with an ERA of 0.82 and 15 strikeouts in 11 innings. A big surprise in the rotation has been Eveland, who has a record of 2-1 in four starts with an ERA of 1.90. That ERA ranks fifth in the AL among pitchers with at least three starts. Eveland has only given up one home run in 23.2 innings but his 11 walks (versus 18K) is a concern. Also pitching well is Smith, who is 1-0 in three starts with an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.17. The A’s staff is 2nd in MLB with a team ERA of 3.24 and their 14 home runs allowed is tied for third. One blight in the rotation has been Blanton, who is 1-4 in six starts with an ERA of 4.32.
If Blanton is an early season concern, the A’s offense has to be giving A’s management migraines. The A’s are in the bottom half of MLB in most offensive categories. The exceptions are walks (6th with 89) and, unfortunately, K’s (7th with 152). They are tied for last with the Royals with 9 home runs. Typical of this trend is outfielder Jack Cust, who is, somehow, tied for the AL lead in walks (18) and second in strikeouts (24). He also has only one home run, six RBIs and a slugging percentage of .250. There are bright spots, however. Shortstop Bobby Crosby has 15 RBIs and a .299 batting average. Outfielder Emil Brown has 17 RBIs and the aforementioned Sweeney, who has been used mostly at DH, is batting .309. All in all though, this is an offense that is desperately waiting for the return of Eric Chavez from the 15-day DL.
One interesting addition the A’s have made in the past couple of days is Frank Thomas. The Blue Jays released the future Hall of Famer after he grumbled about a cut in his playing time (not to mention his .167 BA). Thomas hit .277 with 26 home runs and 95 RBIs and an OBP of .377 last year. In 2006 with the A’s Thomas hit 39 home runs and 114 RBIs. Thomas has traditionally been a slow starter. Last season his BA, OBP and slugging percentage all increased significantly after the All-Star break. So it remains to be seen if this is just another slow start, or the end of the Big Hurt. The answer may make all the difference in Oakland’s season.
