Entering the second half of the 2013 season, the Oakland A's sit at a very respectable 47-34, good for second place in the American League West. The A's are on pace to match 2012's 94-win total in spite of some very key components either being injured (Brett Anderson) or flat out underwhelming (Josh Reddick). And while the performances of players such as Jed Lowrie, Grant Balfour and especially Josh Donaldson have been fantastic, the room for improvement is what should give A's fans cautious optimism for the remainder of 2013.So here's how I see the Oakland A's performing in the second ...
During the offseason, the Oakland A's were adding veterans like Chris Young and Jed Lowrie to bolster the batting lineup and improve the team's weakest area: hitting.However, with the pitching staff, the A's were thought to be getting younger after they lost Brandon McCarthy in free agency and had solid production from rookies Jarrod Parker, Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin and Tommy Milone. With Brett Anderson as the top guy, the rotation was set to defend the division title.Then, as the season approached, the A's decided to bring back Bartolo Colon—the 40-year-old veteran who had been suspended in 2012—on a cheap, ...
Starting Friday, the Oakland Athletics will host a three-game interleague set against the most dynamic, well-rounded team in the National League. The St. Louis Cardinals head to the East Bay carrying the best record in all of baseball (tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates). The A’s will have their hands full trying to keep up with a Cardinals team that has carried over its regular-season success from last season when they earned the second-best record in the NL. But how are the Cardinals doing so well in 2013? How are they baseball’s best team? That’s easy. Everything. You name it, St. ...
The Oakland Athletics aren't often buyers at the trade deadline, but if they want to end the back-and-forth battle with the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West, they should make a move or two. Specifically, starting pitching and some depth could put this team over the top.At this point, an addition would be a bonus. It's not a necessity.And in all likelihood, general manager Billy Beane will not sacrifice top prospects for a three-month rental in hopes of going deep into playoffs. Clearly, that's not his style. Instead, he makes subtle moves (see Stephen Drew) that get ...
A great white whale of modern athletics, the nacho ball is a myth that has been perpetrated by uncles and fathers across these great United States for decades “Let me tell you something, son. Everyone remembers Jeffrey Maier’s catch in ’96, but it was your old man who caught Bernie Williams’ walkoff with a tray of Xochitl in one hand.” Few—if any—people have ever actually caught a nacho ball, but I can confidently say now that the myth is real. I can confidently say that no one has ever caught a nacho ball with the panache an Oakland A’s fan ...
Dan Straily entered the 2013 season as the sixth-best starting pitcher in the Oakland A's organization, so he was first in line to be called up to the show when Brett Anderson went down with an injury. Straily has not been able to keep a hold on that job though and he has been sent down to Triple-A Sacramento after lasting less than five innings in his last two starts. On the season, Straily has a 5.00 ERA and his 53 strikeouts rank second among American League rookies.There will now be a lot of speculation as to what Bob Melvin and ...
It's likely that at the beginning of the 2013 season, no one would have assumed that starting pitchers Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics and Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners would be anchoring their pitching staffs.Colon pitched brilliantly last season—posting a 10-9 record and 3.43 ERA—before being slapped with a 50-game ban for violating MLB's joint drug program.Iwakuma was injured at the beginning of last season and worked out of the bullpen before joining the starting rotation, ending his first year in the league with a respectable 9-5 record and 3.16 ERA in 30 appearances, 16 of them starts.Yet ...
Though four of their bigger stars are off to disappointing first halves this season, the Oakland Athletics are playing good baseball. Once these guys rebound, though, we'll see the difference between good and great.After nearly three months of baseball, the Athletics are 43-32.Along the way, there have been plenty of surprises. Josh Donaldson has thrown his name in the hat as an All-Star candidate. Coco Crisp is unleashing unexpected power from the leadoff position. Bartolo Colon is defying the laws of aging.Unfortunately, not all surprises are good ones.There's no other way to say it: Jarrod Parker started terribly. Yoenis Cespedes ...
You may think it's too early to check out potential Oakland Athletics free-agent signees for the 2014 season, but that means you haven't seen how extensive the list of players who could possibly be gone is.Even considering that many of the A's whose contracts end before next year were in a similar situation last season—since they inked only one-year deals—it's a scary group to consider for Oakland fans.Jed Lowrie, Brandon Moss, Josh Donaldson, Derek Norris, Josh Reddick, John Jaso, Scott Sizemore, Nate Freiman.And that's just the position players.There's also Grant Balfour, Bartolo Colon, Tommy Milone, A.J. Griffin, Jarrod Parker, Ryan ...
Through 73 games, there has been much more positive than negative to write about in regards to the Oakland A's. Currently, the club sits at 43-30, good for first in the American League West, three games ahead of the Texas Rangers. While the second-best record in the AL is very much a positive accomplishment, there have been some causes for concern. The A's have been a whole that has been greater than the sum of all their parts currently available. The story of the first half of the 2013 season has been about surprise production from players such as Josh Donaldson, Bartolo ...