Oakland A's: Heart of Lineup and New Arms Need to Develop for Team to Succeed

The heart of the Oakland A's lineup has the potential to improve an offense that did very little in 2011.

The 411 on the Oakland A's in 2012 seems to be that they downgraded their pitching and didn't improve their bats. At first glance, both might be true.

The A's are pretty darn good at making fans forget about lost arms, but the bats have been harder to replace in general manager Billy Beane's system. 

Let's concentrate on the A's bats.  In case no one noticed, runs were at a premium in 2011.

Questions after Two

The top two spots in the A's lineup are set in stone, with Jemile Weeks and Coco Crisp at one and two, respectively.  Although, who knows what might happen to Crisp by the trade deadline.  He has made it clear that he thinks he should be the A's starting center fielder, instead of the newcomer from Cuba, Yoenis Cespedes.

Manager Bob Melvin has made it clear that Cespedes will be the A's center fielder.

Crisp is there now, so that's what the A's are working with.  Both Weeks and Crisp are off to slow starts, but this tandem can develop into a nice one-two punch at the top of the order.

Who will be occupying the three through five holes is not as clear.  The focal point of spots one through five is Cespedes.  No. 52 has hit from the seven hole all the way up to third.

Protection Program

Cespedes will eventually find a home somewhere between three and five in the A's lineup.  Once this is settled, the club needs to surround him with protection.

Cespedes needs to see fastballs because he crushes them.  It's the breaking stuff that has given him fits so far this young season.  Having a threat behind him will allow him to see better pitches. 

Cespedes has hit cleanup three out of the last five games (including today); this spot will be where he likely lands.

Wrap Around Effect

Who do the A's put at the three and five holes if Cespedes is indeed the cleanup hitter?

Left fielder Josh Reddick and designated hitters Seth Smith and Johnny Gomes have all had chances to protect the A's new slugger.

Smith is batting .364 in11 at bats.  At this point, Smith would be Melvin's best option out of the aforementioned players.

Reddick has hit third four times, including today.  He is hitting .227 and has yet to establish himself as someone who can provide protection for Cespedes.

Gomes has seen more time hitting fourth than fifth, but like Reddick he has not done anything to impress, although he did hit a two-run homer today against the Royals.

Until Melvin gets things straight at the heart of the order, runs will be hard to come by once again.

Quick take on the Pitching

Tommy Milone pitched an eight-inning shutout on Monday, and you can't use the, "yeah, but it was the Royals," excuse.  Guys like Eric Hosmer, Jeff Francoeur, and Billy Butler provide some heat in Kansas City's lineup.  So let's play the wait and see game before we crucify Beane for letting guys like Andrew Bailey and Gio Gonzalez go.

In the past, when Beane cuts ties with talented pitchers, it seems like a whole new crop is obtained from the respective trade, or a nice young talent emerges from the farm system.