Oakland A's Notebook: The State of the A's After 6-Game Road Trip

The Oakland A's are coming home after their six-game road trip back east, going 2-4. The record on the trip doesn't exactly tell the whole story.

Two of those losses were one-run defeats, including an extra-inning loss to the New York Mets that ended in the bottom of the 13th with A's reliever Brad Ziegler beaning Justin Turner with the bases loaded.

The second loss of the road trip was a heartbreaker as well. Vance Worley, a rookie for the Philadelphia Phillies, and Guillermo Moscoso both took no-hitters into the sixth inning.

Neither one of the rookies gave up a run, but A's closer Brian Fuentes was unable to get the game to extra innings, giving up a pinch-hit RBI single to Ben Francisco to end the game in the bottom of the ninth.

The A's pitching staff was solid on the trip, and the A's did beat Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, keeping Hamels from getting his 10th win of the season.

Expecting the A's to win on Sunday might be pressing your luck, as the A's would face Roy Halladay, who was going for his 10th win. He beat the A's 3-1, improving his record to 10-3 and giving him the major league lead in wins.

During the A's past 11 games or so, a lot has been going on, not making the transition for new manager Bob Melvin an easy one. Melvin has been tinkering with the lineup, out of necessity and also to provide a much-needed spark. He didn't do too badly, with the A's going 7-4 in their last 11 games.

With outfielder Josh Willingham and second baseman Mark Ellis being hurt, things have changed. The injury to Willingham has caused Hideki Matsui to move up in the lineup and forced him to play left field at times.

If the A's want his bat, Matsui has to play defense when they are in a National League park.

Ellis' injury has brought on the emergence of Jemile Weeks; with Willingham out, Weeks has moved to the leadoff spot, pushing Coco Crisp to the three hole, with Matsui batting cleanup.

The dynamic Weeks has provided an energy to the A's lineup that has been lacking for a while now. Weeks seems to relish the leadoff spot; he takes pitches, battles and gets on base, and when he does get on base, his speed gets into opposing pitchers' heads, and he seems to find his way home quite a bit.

The A's ability to scratch out runs to win games lately is definitely a welcome change. This is something that the A's were expected to do the minute they broke spring training. The A's did bring in Matsui, Willingham and David DeJesus to add pop to the lineup, but small ball was definitely going to be their game.

Playing small ball is not a bad option when you have a solid, deep pitching staff, and in case you haven't noticed, the A's have exactly that.

Starters Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson have vanished from the rotation due to injury, but guys like Tyson Ross and Brandon McCarthy have done formidable jobs. Then Ross and McCarthy got hurt, and one would think the A's would flounder—not the case.

Guillermo Moscoso, Graham Godfrey and Josh Outman have stepped in and pitched very well.

With a 10-game losing streak a while back putting a damper on things, the A's still find themselves in contention in a division that is there for the taking.

Even with Braden being out for the season, most of the other injured pitchers are expected to return at some point during the season.

Questions

There are some unknowns in A's land. The July 31 trade deadline looms, and there are questions as to what the A's might do. Josh Willingham's name has popped up as well as Gio Gonzalez's as players who could be moved by the trade deadline.

If the A's sell on Willingham, that would leave Ryan Sweeney and Conor Jackson to take over in the outfield. Sweeney has a good glove and is hitting .287. Sweeney went 2-for-4 against the Phillies on Sunday and on June 21 he went 4-for-5 against the Mets.

Jackson's average is .265 after going 3-for-4 against Halladay on Sunday. The fact that he has been able to play every day has helped his production lately. Plus, Jackson and Sweeney can play right or left field, which could be a good thing considering the way David DeJesus has been playing.

The Chris Carter situation is still uncertain. The A's recently called him up from Triple-A Sacramento, but his overall ability has not lived up to his potential. He possesses power but is a liability in the field.

For now, Carter being with the big club seems to be temporary. If Mark Ellis can make the transition to first base, allowing Jackson to play in the outfield, the A's might be in business.

There are rumors of the A's dealing Ellis. If this happens, the position might be handed to Jackson.

Sweeney, Crisp and Jackson in the outfield together seems like it could be a good fit, but if Ellis gets traded, the job in right field would belong primarily to DeJesus.

As far as Gonzalez goes, the A's should leave him be. Gonzalez has become the anchor of that rotation, and with all the injuries, getting rid of him could be the wrong move. That said, the A's record and how many games they are out of first will play a major part in a decision about Gonzalez.

Cahill feeling it again!

Trevor Cahill is dealing once again. In his last two starts he has pitched 15.2 innings, going 2-0 and allowing only eight hits with 13 strikeouts and two earned runs.

This is just what the doctor ordered, as the A's ace had lost five of his previous seven starts without a victory before this recent surge.

Melvin doing what he can!

Bob Melvin has done a nice job keeping things patched together, and if he gets his full arsenal of players back, this could be a fun, wild ride for A's fans.