After losing five of their last six games, the Oakland A's have fans wondering if it's still possible to turn things around and retake the AL West lead.
Now eight games back in the division, the A's are struggling to keep hold of a playoff spot at all. They are currently one game up on the Detroit Tigers and 1.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners.
Heading into August, this team was on top of baseball. Then they made a huge swap at the trade deadline, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox for ace pitcher Jon Lester Jonny Gomes. Many ...
To put things simply, this is not a great time to be an A's fan.
The last two years and leading up to the All-Star break this year, it was wonderful. This scrappy bunch of young players and overachieving journeymen were a joy to watch. Even with two straight first-round exits from the playoffs, each season felt satisfying and fun. This year started out that way as well, with the A's destroying their competition and putting up the best record in baseball and far and away the best run differential.
Oakland made one trade, giving up a key part of their future ...
This is not on Billy Beane, and it is not a result of Yoenis Cespedes living in a different time zone.
This is just epic all on its own without placing blame or cause on either of those two men.
The 2014 Oakland A’s have set themselves on fire, and it is quite something at which to marvel. The best team in baseball five weeks ago is now playing like the worst, capped Monday night by maybe its worst loss of the season that now has it eight games behind the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West while cutting its ...
The Oakland A's have called up three players since the Sept. 1 roster expansion.
The team has been scuffling as of late, but don't expect any of the recent call-ups to be the spark that rights the ship. A regular will have to be that guy. Instead, these three will be looked upon simply to add depth and play roles in key situations.
So, who are they, what roles will they play and what do they bring to the table?
Let's answer all three questions.
Billy Burns
Burns came to the A's organization via trade with the Washington Nationals. He was named the Nationals' Minor ...
Change is the ultimate mixed bag. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's inevitable and sometimes it backfires big time.
Just ask the Oakland Athletics, who reshuffled their roster this summer despite a stirring run of success, and have watched their lead in the American League West evaporate.
On July 5, Oakland engineered a deal with the Chicago Cubs that brought pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the East Bay for a handful of stud prospects.
At the time, the A's had a 3.5-game division edge over the Los Angeles Angels and owned baseball's best record at 54-33.
Then, at the July 31 trade deadline, Oakland ...
The Oakland Athletics had to do something. With the team continuing to struggle badly of late, having lost the first three contests of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels to fall a season-high four games behind their AL West rival, the A's acquired veteran slugger Adam Dunn in a waiver trade from the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
Oakland's once formidable lineup has been particularly problematic recently, to the point where Angels shut out the A's the past two days. Saturday's scoreless outing was especially troubling, as the Angels used eight different pitchers—none of which was a starter—to tame the ...
The Oakland A's are all-in for 2014, but what happens this offseason if they lose? Heck, what decisions will the team be facing if it wins the World Series?
The team opened the 2014 season with an $82 million payroll, its biggest in the last 15 years, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Winning the World Series or not, the A's aren't likely to spend that kind of money in back-to-back seasons unless there's a strong chance of repeating. Even then, big spending is doubtful.
Oakland must decide which players to try to re-sign, which free agents to pursue and how much to ...
As the Oakland Athletics head into the most critical stretch of the MLB regular season, they'll be without closer Sean Doolittle for at least a couple of weeks.
According to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, the 2014 All-Star is suffering from an intercostal strain and was placed on the disabled list:
MLB.com's Jane Lee thinks the closer could miss serious time and added the current timetable for his return:
In conjunction with Doolittle's move to the DL, the A's have called up Dan Otero from Triple-A Sacramento, per Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today:
Doolittle was hurt on Saturday night against the ...
Rosters expand September 1, and although any minor leaguer who gets called up to the Oakland A's likely won't see too much playing time, certain guys may still have an impact.
Typically, rebuilding teams use September to see what the kids can do. Oakland, however, is smack in the middle of a playoff hunt. With the current 25-man roster as is, the team's call-ups ideally will be pinch hitters and runners, late-inning defensive replacements and depth.
With such a heated battle for the AL West crown taking place, the A's can't afford to lose a starter to injury without a viable replacement.
So ...
Jason Hammel was having a career year for the Chicago Cubs when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics on July 5. He's been a completely different pitcher since then, raising questions about whether the A's should be looking for another pitcher to round out their top-tier starting rotation.
General manager Billy Beane gutted the farm to get Jeff Samardzija and Hammel, who was 7-5 with a 2.98 ERA at the time of the trade. He's 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA since coming to Oakland, with only 32 innings pitched over seven starts.
Another trade for Jon Lester forced Jesse Chavez, who ...