My Take On The Oakland Athletics

I had high hopes that the Oakland Athletics would be close to first place by June, maybe even in first place. I was caught in the hype of having  major bats back in Oakland.  There were three major signings by Billy Beane that I thought were great: Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday and Nomar Garciaparra.

How wrong I was. All three have been fairly disappointing. Giambi looks like he has lost all of the hitting skills he once had. 

Garciaparra has been hampered by injuries, though that is no surprise.  He is not an everyday player anymore, but he can still hit.  With Eric Chavez going down, he played more third base then he could handle. 

Matt Holliday has had a rough start to the season and he knows it.  He is still trying to find his swing, which he has shown glimpses of.

I was ecstatic when I heard Chavez was healthy and back to playing third.  He has been my favorite third baseman for the past seven years.  If you rotate Garciaparra and Bobby Crosby in at third then you have a good thing going.  Unfortunately, Chavez is starting to have problems and Garciaparra is starting regularly, which things are bound to break, especially when talking about Garciaparra.

The A’s do okay until the game.  If you don’t know what game that is, I’ll tell you. 

On April 28th, the A’s are slapped in the face with four injuries.  First, Garciaparra pulls his calf muscle trying to get on first in end of the first inning, and he’s out.  Then, Mark Ellis strains his calf trying to get on first in the second inning, and he’s out too.  Brett Anderson, the A’s starting pitcher gets a blister on his finger in the sixth inning, he is taken out of the game.  When I thought no one else could go down, reliever Santiago Casilla is pulled after sustaining a sprained knee. 

So, in the days after the game, the A’s place Chavez for his elbow, Ellis for his calf, Garciaparra also for his calf, and Casilla for his knee on the fifteen day Disabled List.

By today, May 29th, Casilla and Garciaparra have been re-activated and have played, while Chavez and Ellis were transferred to the sixty day DL.  It turns out that the A’s placed Garciaparra back on the fifteen day DL with a strained calf.

It has took Anderson a couple of weeks to return to his usual form.  The pitching staff has not looked like a major league staff should. I should note that the A’s have one of the youngest pitching staff in the league.  This is another reason why the A’s are not successful.  I fear, the A’s pitching does not have the experience to be consistent to be competitive in the league this year.  That does not mean they don't have talent.  I know they do, I am saying the pitching needs time to develop.  In fact, Anderson is showing signs of being a Major League pitcher, along with Josh Outman and Dallas Braden.

Although it has been a disappointing year so far, I can see that there is a sparkle of hope in the near future.  A new era of A’s success is on the horizon.  Granted they need a lot of pieces, but the foundation has been planted firmly in the ground.