Know Your Enemy: Oakland Athletics
by Randy Booth on Apr 13, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
in News
9 comments
Editor's Note: Please visit OTM's sister site AthleticsNation.com for all your A's coverage.
These ain't your daddy's Oakland A's. Or, more fitting, these ain't your older brother Oakland A's.
In the past, the A's were a team built off youth. Rarely did they make a splash in free agency by actually signing or pulling in proven players through trades. Typically, they would build up their young stars and dish them out once they were about to become too expensive.
It seems like that strategy has changed.
The A's made a big splash over the offseason when they traded for slugger Matt Holliday from the Rockies. The A's sent Huston Street, Greg Smith and Carlos Gonzalez for the soon-to-be free agent at the end of the year.
The move begs the question: will the A's just now trade Holliday at the deadline and bring some young talent back in like they always (always!) do? Or, similarly, keep him for the entire season and get two draft picks out of it?
Maybe not this time.
General Manager Billy Beane brought in a crew to support Holliday in the lineup. Jason Giambi is back in the green and gold while old friends Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra join him. (How ironic? Cabrera replaced Garciaparra in Boston and now they're teammates. Weeeird.)
And as usual, the A's pitching staff is still solid. They lost Street in the Holliday deal, but he's a pitcher with a lot of potential that really hasn't shown what he has. They might regret trading him in the future, but as of now the staff is pretty strong.
STRENGTHS
Don't be surprised, but the team's biggest strength is the offense. With Holliday and Giambi in the middle of the lineup, you really can't go wrong. Cabrera can still bat the ball around the park and Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis and Garciaparra are no slouches either. I didn't even mention Jack Cust who is a home run-hitting freak of nature (and strikeouts).
WEAKNESSES
While the pitching staff is good, they're young and quite unproven. That could hurt down the line. They have eight pitchers on the staff that were born in 1983 or later. Two, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill, are just 21.
A'S KEYS TO SUCCESS IN 2009
While the young pitching could be their weakness, it could also be the biggest reason why they could surprise teams in the West. As Sox fans, you all know that young pitchers with even a little skill can devastate teams. So why can't it be the same for the A's? See: Rays, 2008.
The offense, also, will need to be clicking for the A's to do well this season. And with some mashers in that lineup, they very well could do that.
HOW THE SOX CAN BEAT THEM
Patience is important. If the Sox hitters can make their pitchers work for every strike, the Sox can take advantage. But if they are going up there hacking and swinging early in counts, they'll be in trouble. For the Sox pitchers, they just need to get strikes early in the count and make the mashers swing at bad pitches later in the count. Don't give them anything even close to a meatball or guys like Cust are going to just rip it out of the park. Give them the junk and it'll induce some air conditioning ... like Cust!
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I'll be up late tonight
Last night of Spring Break, and then School until June 6.
Hope I got some company. I may a little Late (around midnight I’ll jump in)
Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.
by sox-inda-south on Apr 13, 2009 9:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I'd call the starting pitching a liability until proven otherwise
It’s a thoroughly uninspiring bunch. Here are last year’s numbers:
Braden: (fangraphs)
1.42 WHIP
5.15 K/9
1.64 K/BB (99:52)
4.57 FIIP
Eveland: (fangraphs)
1.48 WHIP
6.32 K/9
1.77 K/BB
4.09 FIP
These guys are Oakland’s #1 and #2 starters? Yikes! I think they’re in some serious trouble. Brett Anderson is supposed to be a big-time pitching prospect, so perhaps he’ll be a bright spot for the A’s.
Fortunately for Oakland, the bullpen is dy-na-mite! You’re going to see the starters grinding out a lot of bad innings to spare the bullpen from complete overuse.
"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.
by SoxDevil on Apr 13, 2009 1:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Thank God
Joey Devine is on the DL, He was Atlanta’s half of the Kotsay Trade (We wern’t involved). If I remember right, he was drafted one spot ahead of behind Craig Hansen
Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.
by sox-inda-south on Apr 13, 2009 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Trevor Cahill is supposed to be real good too.
by BTLove on Apr 13, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Cahill is good. Nearly threw a no-hitter yesterday. Their only problem was that they had no offense.
Adopted Giant: Clayton Tanner
"He [Sandoval] is a big, puffy crouton in our wilted salad of a lineup. Do No matter how bad a movie is a eight game sweep is wacky in baseball, so a one run loss in the series is not the end of the world. disparage the comedian." -sfgiantstoday
by walkoff baltimore chop on Apr 13, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I heard
That Cahill has excellent control, but his stuff isn’t as good as many other prospects. In the end control is probably more important, but it’s not as inspiring.
"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.
by SoxDevil on Apr 13, 2009 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
When the A's think they have a chance to win, they go for it.
Some years they have traded away their guys (especially pitchers), but other times they have kept the guys and let them walk. They traded for Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye and let them walk. They let Tejada, Giambi, Foulke and Zito leave in free agency at their height of their careers when they could have traded them for prospects. So what the Holliday trade says to me is that Billy Beane thinks this team has a chance to win that division this year. If they are out of it at the trade deadline, then I’m sure he will shop Holliday. But if they are in that race they will not mind letting him leave in free agency (they will get 2 draft picks out of it anyway.)
by BTLove on Apr 13, 2009 5:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I really hope these posts start bringing in some new users.
They’re awesome and will keep readers informed and help them understand the strategies that Tito uses.
I hope this series begins the turnaround for the offense. Maybe the strategy of being patient (so that we can see more pitches from the young guys and try to figure them out) will help us get back on track. Oh, and let’s hope Bay keeps mashing.
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Apr 13, 2009 5:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The one thing I'm sure about the A's is this:
Whenever Crosby has an at-bat, the pitcher should just throw a low and outside slider. He’ll swing at anything that’s low and outside and miss.
Adopted Giant: Clayton Tanner
"He [Sandoval] is a big, puffy crouton in our wilted salad of a lineup. Do No matter how bad a movie is a eight game sweep is wacky in baseball, so a one run loss in the series is not the end of the world. disparage the comedian." -sfgiantstoday
by walkoff baltimore chop on Apr 13, 2009 5:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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