Oakland Athletics: One Step Forward, Ways To Make Another Leap

Well, the A's ended their losing streak. Not easily, mind you.

They've started again, this time with a minuscule two-gamer. But don't worry, this one's got potential.

Apologies for the doomer outlook, but things don't look great for the green and gold.

Pitching. That thing that's kept the A's afloat through thick and thin is waning and the minors are drained.

Graham Godfrey got the opportunity to make his big league debut, and while he wasn't great, he was about the same as the rest of the starters this month. The A's are 1-10 in June and the starters haven't been up to par. Granted the hitters haven't really stepped up either, but the great pitching hasn't been there.

Anyway, there is some good to come out of this month. One Bob shipped out and another on in his place. Bob Melvin is a change, that's good, the A's needed a change for better or for worse Billy Beane has done something.

So far Bob Melvin has been good. The A's are only 1-3 in his tenure but Melvin has made some changes that seem promising. Moving Cliff Pennington to second and dropping Barton has boosted the offense a bit. Playing Matsui everyday for a few weeks a good idea to see if he's got anything left.

If not, perhaps it's time to give Michael Taylor a shot. 

Billy Beane, for once, has not been sitting back and hoping the team would turn itself around. I'm proud Billy did something in replacing Geren with Melvin. Now Beane needs to keep going. Mark Ellis' injury doesn't count, Jemile Weeks has been surprising solid through his first week but even if he keeps it up, it won't be enough to help turn around the A's.

Moves must be made. Kevin Kouzmanoff sent down, good. Adam Rosales off the DL, homers in first game—also good. Daric Barton's batting average still very bad. Starting pitching okay.

Sorry for the caveman speak, but it helps get a point across occasionally.

The prudent thing would be for the A's to decide what to do for the rest of the season. Offense can't get much worse, unless they opt to trade Josh Willingham. I'm personally in favor of signing him to a two-year extension because he has been productive. 

The bullpen is deep and it might be worth seeing if there are any takers for Balfour or Fuentes. Fautino De Los Santos is deserving of a spot in the bullpen and shot in the majors. He's been good in limited appearances.

Another move I would make, if I were GM—I'm not, by the way—would be to trade David DeJesus for practically anything. Its apparent he's not the 300 the A's thought he was. He's fighting for playtime with Conor Jackson and Ryan Sweeney. Those two seem to have the edge.

Come to think of it, trade Sweeney, too. He's too big to not provide and power and while he plays a good outfield that's not enough to make up for his offensive shortcomings. Releasing Landon Powell also seems prudent. He's batting under .200 and "speed" is not really in his repertoire.

Anthony Recker is tearing it up in Sacramento and I'd love to see him get a shot. 

So I've freed up four roster spots with Balfour, DeJesus, Sweeney and Powell on the way out. Ellis will be back, call up Recker, De Los Santos and Taylor and see what they can do for the rest of the season.

The A's have a new manager. Let's see what he can do with a few new players on the roster.