Oakland Athletics Lineup Won't Stack Up in Tough AL West

The Oakland Athletics will not be able to compete in the A.L. West with the lineups they will have in any game this year. It’s a plain fact.

A very sad fact.

Don’t point the finger at the players on the team or manager Bob Melvin. General Manager Billy Beane is “building” for that hopeful future stadium in San Jose. Constructing the "future" has meant the present is a sidebar. There’s no player on the roster that opposing pitchers don’t want to face. Why is that?

Because there isn't a player currently on the A's roster that can be a pure power hitter. That could change from here to opening day but for now, the future is not bright.

Who’s going to hit for extra bases consistently? Who’s going to drive in the small ball hitters like Coco Crisp and Jemile Weeks?

Is it going to be new acquisition Jonny Gomes? From nearby Petaluma, Calif., he was officially signed to a two-year deal Thursday. Will he be able to stay healthy? Oakland hasn’t been known to be a place where players play the full 162-game schedule without some nagging injury.

Josh Willingham, despite his awesome numbers, was sometimes on the disabled list. Gomes is here to be the next Willingham. How’s that going to turn out?

Maybe this is Chris Carter’s year, but it was supposed to be his year in 2010 and then 2011. If this year turns out to be a bust for him too, will he be the next Daric Barton? Will Oakland just stick him as a puzzle piece on the lineup every third game?

Outfielders Seth Smith and Josh Reddick, acquired via trades, are both expected to be starting for the A’s. Reddick was a rookie outfielder with the Boston Red Sox last year while Smith was a starting outfielder with the Rockies for the past three seasons. In other words, one has a lot to prove and another has only proved that he can hit for decent numbers in a hitters’ ballpark.

Good thing Oakland knows what they’re getting out of those two hitters this year at the O.co Coliseum.

There are too many questions too early in the season for the A’s to say they’ll be ready to compete for a division title or the wild card over a span of five months. Most contenders already know who’s going to be their everyday go-to hitters.

But Oakland? No. Anyone can be the next piece of trade bait or the No. 3 hitter on opening day and the No. 9 hitter the next week.

These are the A’s. It’s the same strategy year after year: get on base, and we hope to drive you in—by the way, you may be traded by mid-July.

No team can contend with a strategy like that.