The Oakland Athletics Week 9 Review.

The Oakland Athletics are starting to hit! They won three out of four games from the Chicago White Sox after getting crushed by Texas Rangers on the last road trip before returning home. At home, the A’s swept the Baltimore Orioles.

Their bats are getting hot as well. The A’s batters are finding their swings. Ryan Sweeney got injured, but could be back as soon as June 8.

Their pitching is getting more consistent. They are finally becoming a well-tuned machine. Man, can Vin Mazzaro pitch or what? Impressive!

This is all and good, but there is a little problem. A few players are going to be coming back from injuries. What are they going to do roster wise?

Take second baseman Mark Ellis. Adam Kennedy has been a good replacement, and it is hard to see the A’s take his bat away from the lineup. There is talk about moving Kennedy to third when Ellis comes back. If they choose to do that, Jack Hannahan, Eric Patterson or Gregorio Petit will be sent back down.

Another person returning by the All-Star break could be pitcher Justin Duchscherer. Will the A’s bring him back as a starter or reliever?

If he is a starter, which of the young pitchers do you send down? Dallas Braden is not going anywhere, because of his experience and he is doing OK.

Do you send down Josh Outman? I don’t think so! He is doing really well. 

How about Vin Mazzaro? Too early to tell, but from what I have seen, he is not going anywhere!

So you are down to two, Trevor Cahill or Brett Anderson. They are both talented pitchers, I just can’t decide.

They can bring him back as a long reliever. This is where I would put him. Here, he can work back to starting gradually, at the same time secure the struggling bullpen. I think Edgar Gonzalez or Santiago Casilla will be the victim here.

Of course, they may choose to trade someone, but I don’t see that happening. Especially with any of the starters. They are too talented to do such a thing with.

Talking about trades, Matt Holliday has said he would like a trade if the A’s are not in contention. This poses a big problem for Billy Beane. Most likely the A’s are not going to be in the playoffs or any where close.

So, Beane trades him, for what? Prospects? Most likely. That is Beane’s thing, is it not?

Then again, the archangels of baseball might have a different plan for the A’s. The A’s could possibly rip the division apart and clinch the wild card or even win the division all together. Unlikely, but never impossible.

Of course, Beane doesn’t have to decide on these decisions quite yet. Ellis is out until June 28. Duchsherer isn’t due to return until July. The trade deadline is not until July 31.  He’s got plenty of time to think about these problems.

I’m just happy I am not in his shoes.