Reddick, Drew, and more (Oakland Update)

This Tuesday, Oakland’s own shaggy bearded southerner, Josh Reddick, took home a fancy piece of hardware in MLB’s Gold Glove awards, crowned as the AL RF recipient. The rail thin outfielder dazzled the Coliseum crowds this season with marvelous defensive plays, preventing runs and winning games with his glove constantly (Important after tanking offensively post ASB). He even gained some infamy with a catch that required scaling Toronto’s RF chain link fence and forever earned the designation as “Piederman” in the Easy Bay. However, what shouldn’t be shocking is Reddick being honored as the best right fielder in the AL (Which he was) especially given his competition of Shin-Soo Choo (Having zero business of being up for a defensive award) and Jeff Francoeur (Which the fact of him even being up for a postseason honor is side numbingly hilarious on its own), but rather that an Athletic won a prize when the voting was done by national figures. I can assure that if Nick Swisher was a nominee instead of Choo (CLE) or Frenchie (KC), the Yankee would’ve won. The awards are predicated not only on offensive numbers, illogically enough, but equally the market of which team the player represented. All postseason honors and All-Star voting essentially is a sham. To give an example, Reddick, back when he was in his offensive stride before the ASB and was as defensively dominant as he has been, went up for All-Star voting the OF was one of the consensus top 20 best positional players in 2012. Where did he wind up finishing? 18th. In the American League. For outfielders… While yes, writers are more qualified than the general public, the GGs have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Luckily, they chose the correct man here, so congrats to Reddick for the recognition. Well-deserved after the All-Star snub.

The green and gold were also busy with roster adjustments over the past few days, beginning with exercising the option of Grant Balfour. The October workhorse will return for a third consecutive season as Oakland opted to spend 4.5 Million on their most reliable bullpen piece during 2012. The Aussie constructed a resume that rivaled his best overall campaign in 2008 and guided the Athletics with steady performances to close out ballgames throughout the second half of the schedule.

More unexpected, however, was the declining of Stephen Drew’s 10 Million dollar option which coincided with Balfour’s payment. Oakland acquired the Arizona SS in an August swap for Sean Jamieson and provided the A’s a veteran presence in the left of the infield for the playoff push. Drew played spotty defense at times, finishing with a -4.4 UZR during his career in the Coliseum, but proved to be a cheap and consistent performer overall. In 172 PAs, Drew put together a .250/.326/.382 slash along with a .306 BABIP, 10.5% BB%, .310 wOBA, and a 97 wRC+ throughout 39 contests. He carried the white spikes through key series in Yankee Stadium and in the Ballpark of Arlington with a slightly above average power bat that helped him gain fans in the east bay. However, despite Oakland publicly announcing their intention to sign the new free agent, the chances seem bleak in regards to seeing him return as an Athletic.


Drew is going to be undoubtedly the most highly prized free agent infielder this offseason. That is how weak the market is. Oakland obviously doesn’t want to pay him double digit figures per season in a contract or else they would’ve picked up his option. With large market organizations such as New York, Boston and Detroit in need of shortstop help and willing to splurge, A’s fans can practically say bon voyage to Stevie. Though Drew’s name could’ve been sharpied in to the 2013 opening day roster after Pennington was dealt, there is now a large and significant position in flux for the Athletics… AGAIN. And now comes the time where potential candidates, from within the organization and outside of it, can be discussed:


First would be the obvious, the former first round selection and Futures Game MVP, Grant Green. Green has bounced around the minor leagues and has made residence in Sacramento and Midland for the previous two seasons and is a self-described “field rat”. In short, meaning essentially that he lives and breathes baseball. However, the utility extraordinaire has struggled defensively and doesn’t project to dominate MLB pitching. The youngster and former 13th overall selection has never had a single season where his BB% has gone above 6.8% and could struggle to get on-base especially with a favorable BABIP assisting him throughout the minors. Regardless, Green should still find himself on the 40 man roster come spring to avoid the Rule 5 draft and promises to at the least receive some consideration in Phoenix.

Adam Rosales, another option in the shortstop race and resident utility man, would basically be as offensively productive as Green with slightly superior defense. And while no one dislikes a sprinting Rosales bounding around the basepaths after a homer, he doesn’t seem like a fitting everyday replacement to succeed Drew with a projection is more underwhelming than the newly assigned FA. Eric Sogard, the spectacled middle infielder, arises as another option with solid defensive intangibles and a dominant minor league resume. But, Sogard has struggled in the majors at the plate and continues not only to cause damage to himself with shaky plate discipline, but cannot seem to become friends with the luck dragons either. But, who’s to say Sogard couldn’t find his stride similarly to a Carter, Moss or Donaldson?... Well, those dramatic transitions are pretty rare to come by consistently and there’s no guarantee Sogard will or will ever join them. Greg Sparks does have an impressive track record though, so we’ll just until February arrives and the “spectacled avenger” can be reevaluated. (And NO, JEMILE IS NOT AN OPTION AT SHORTSTOP. GET OFF YOUR PIPE)

The Athletics also have a surplus of starting pitching depth and projectable minor leaguers, which opens the possibility to trade. Some candidates and potential targets include Yunel Escobar, Elvis Andrus, Marco Scutaro and Asdrubal Cabrera. All are earning under 7 million next season and would provide a boost even greater than Drew did. There are some few free agent options as well such as Alex Gonzalez and, should Detroit acquire Drew, Jhonny Peralta. But, only time will tell if any of these players are picked by Beane or if rather they experiment with Green, Sogard and Rosales (NOT WEEKS). So, try to stay patient with this as the situations develop.


Also, Oakland quietly inked Quad A reliever, Mike Ekstrom, to a minor league contract. Ekstrom, after horrendous major stint in San Diego, turned the corner in Colorado this season in 15 2/3 IP. He allowed a single HR and maintained an impressive 2.8% BB% despite his .333 BABIP, which made his 1.15 BB/9 seem atrocious. Finishing with a 3.16 FIP during his brief stint at mile high and an even more impressive 2.31 FIP throughout 43 appearances in AAA, Ekstrom seems to be an intelligent pick-up by Beane as the righty should leap over Miller and Simmons on the depth chart.

Also new for the green and gold was their releasing of Joey Devine and Dallas Braden to free agency. Devine, an injury ridded reliever who had made appearances for Oakland between 2008 and 2011 (For a combined 2.0 fWAR in 68 2/3 IP), underwent yet another TJ surgery this season and left Oakland on a gloomy note. After a sensational 2008 in which he torched the competition en route to a historical rookie campaign, Devine had to undergo his first TJS (See Link)

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/remembering-joey-devines-2008-brilliance/

However, he never would recuperate from the surgery and set-backs would derail the outstanding beginning that he had. Devine leaves a somber reminder to Oakland as to how injuries can brutally strip one’s aspirations and squander talents.

Coinciding with this was the departure of Dallas Braden. Braden became a household name and an inspirational story after his perfect game against Tampa Bay on Mother’s Day 2010. Braden had been a dependable name for Oakland out of their rotation as the soft tossing lefty amassed a 7.7 fWAR through 491 1/3 IP for the Athletics between 94 appearances. But, things turned sour for Braden in a 2011 start versus Detroit in which he not only had to leave the game, but the season as he aggravated his shoulder and would be sidelined until 2012. Entering this season, Braden was marked for a Mid-April return, which was then moved back to May, then June, then July, then 2013… Braden experienced numerous setbacks in his recovery and couldn’t make an impact on the field during Oakland’s remarkable 2012. Frustrations escalated for Braden in his adopted city of Stockton too, as he made news by criticizing the police force publicly by gaining entry into a rally while carrying a baseball bat and announced his intentions to leave the now bankrupt community after robberies involving his grandmother. Now, the longest tenured Athletic to date has entered free agency and seems to be looking for another home now that Oakland’s rotation has filled up.

The flipside from these goodbyes is that Oakland now has two more 40 man spots available (36 filled out of 40). With the Rule 5 draft approaching, expect Green and Ynoa to nab the positions vacated by Devine and Braden.

Oakland and SF: A Peculiar Relationship (And some fandom etiquette)

Unfortunately, that certain team is back in the world series. You know the one I’m talking about… No, not Detroit, that other one. The one that resides across the Bay area. And for the second time in three years, Oakland fans are burdened with having to witness arguably the most shameless bandwagoning in professional sports. It’s no secret that most Oakland fans hold shaky relations with SF. And why not? The two franchises are extreme opposites and geographic adversaries that have historical grudges dating back to the first few years of the 20th century. The manager of the New York Giants insulted Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 calling them “White Elephants” and implying that they were useless oddities, a tired phenomenon requiring high maintenance. Mack decided instead to embrace the insult and the image of a white elephant became a symbol epitomizing the underdog mentality for the Athletics that has withstood for 111 years. And validating the old adage that “history repeats itself” once again, the Giants are still just as irritating more than a century later.

More recently, San Francisco has formed a split with Oakland through territorial rights. The much disputed San Jose region, given to San Francisco by Walter Haas in a verbal agreement, and now proved as a battleground for the most tired, prolonged, and draining argument in sports. Oakland, wishing to relocate from their current confines at the Coliseum, has requested that commissioner, Bud Selig, step in the settle the rightful owner of the region. Selig continues to spew off his patented response such as “It’s a complicated issue” and “We’ve got people working on it”. Months later, practically zero progress has been made as the Athletics’ lease with the Coliseum expires following the 2013 campaign (However, there have been rumors of an extension through 2018). Though the area has become far more economically fruitful over the past decade or so, Oakland claims they have the right to move into the land given their situation. The entire scuffle has been extraordinarily thorny and convoluted so I refuse to go into every detail as of this point.

San Francisco has notoriously attempted to label Oakland as a “little brother” within the Bay Area market. It’s a classic symptom of rivalries between two ballclubs sharing regions. But, not in Chicago, New York, Baltimore/DC, or Los Angeles is there more of a noticeable difference financially between two organizations. The Athletics have been well renowned for their ability to thrive despite a low payroll and playing in a stadium not up to snuff with major league baseball standards. San Francisco on the other hand is a “good child” within the eyes of baseball, utilizing their expansive payroll, opulent attractions, picturesque location and indulgent fare to draw in the crowds. The pinnacle of a white collar ballclub.

Oakland is housed in the Coliseum, a dilapidated, crumbling, eyesore according to major league baseball (I personally believe it’s a comfortable environment with cozy confines and a place where the Oakland community is strengthened. But, that’s MLB for you). With some of the most affordable tickets in a baseball and the only facility left hosting both baseball and football teams, Oakland continues to grip onto their “White Elephant” mentality. Criticized for attendance constantly, the A’s of Oakland have taken the label of the “misbehaving child” with stride, establishing themselves as polar opposites from the organization just a minutes’ drive away.

Now, bandwagons are natural for any contending team. The bandwagon didn’t pass Oakland, as there was an increase in attendance and green and gold. But, historically the bandwagon bump hasn’t made a drastically significant impact on Oakland’s fanbase if they were to advance into the postseason. On the other hand, San Francisco’s expands exponentially when contending in October. Even the supposed “Flagship station for Oakland Athletics baseball” couldn’t escape this conversion, currently discussing SF 24/7. San Francisco seems to be the casual fans paradise, most having misperceptions of Oakland or believing the Coliseum doesn’t provide a “genuine baseball experience”. These fans ju… Hold on. Let me define what an actual “fan” is:


“Fan” is short for fanatic. “Fanatic”, as defined in the dictionary, is “Marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion”. Someone who is fanatical about baseball doesn’t watch 5-10 games a year (Also, watching 2 ½ innings or checking a boxscore isn’t watching a game). Someone who is fanatical can recognize all of the players on their team’s roster and not just the four or five most famous ones. Someone who is fanatical doesn’t attend a game and talk the entire way through paying zero attention to the game. Someone who is fanatical knows that there are three strikes given to a batter, the distance between the basepaths and how many players there are on a field at one given time… I for one propose a name change. I move that these people be called “Seat fillers” and not fanatics.

Now, just as there are “Seat Fillers” in every franchise, there are also legitimate fans. I admit San Francisco has actual fans amongst their stands and to those few I apologize that these seat fillers have tried to take credit for your level of dedication. While Oakland’s seat filler ratio can’t possibly approach San Fran’s, the white spikes do unfortunately have their share of periodic seat fillers. However, despite an attendance that doesn’t amaze, The Athletics have some of the most devoted fans in baseball. From lifetime season ticket holders to the rowdiest bleachers in the sport, the Athletics could arguably have one of the largest fanbases (Actual fanatics) in the game. So please all of you SF seat fillers, stop trying to emulate Bay Area/KNBR lingo and bash Oakland’s attendance. Since you’ve only been following baseball for three days, maybe focus on attempting to find out what those large yellow poles are used for instead…

Anyways, us Athletics fans might just have to endure yet another offseason of SF propaganda and shameless bandwagoning, but it’s nothing we can’t handle no matter how irritating it may be. And whether or not this stadium situation has a definitive ending, it won’t change our long standing rivalry with our neighbors on the peninsula. Just remember, stay strong and keep your eyes on spring training 2013 at Phoenix Muni. It’ll be here sooner then you think…

Starting Candidate Profiles: Tomaso Milone

Earlier in the 2011 offseason, Beane dealt away phenom Gio Gonzalez and minor leaguer Rob Gilliam for a bounty of prospects including Brad Peacock, AJ Cole, and Derek Norris. The final piece of the haul was arguably the most major league ready, yet featured the least amount of projectability. The prospect, Tommy Milone, not only exceled in his spring audition but barreled through 2012 for 31 appearances without injury or demotion. Not many could’ve foreseen that. And the soft tosser brought an elite changeup to the East Bay which immediately received comparisons to Jason Vargas’ for its velocity and distribution. As promised, the rookie seldom walked the opposition and tied the Oakland record for starts with one or fewer walks at 14 straight. With the 2013 season on the horizon and a full slate against Houston (LOLZ) upcoming, the lefty looks poised to build upon his solid campaign in 2012.

Milone’s bread and butter was his changeup, thrown at a ridiculous 25.5%, a mark that ranked 8th in MLB behind fellow soft tossers Vargas, Capuano, and Buehrle. His reliance on his offspeed offerings (47.6% FB) proved to bode outstanding results for Tomaso (Evidently unaffected from inheriting Fuentes’ #57…). He posted a 3.93 FIP for the season in 190 frames and finished with a 1.71 BB/9, tying follow rookie Wade Miley for 6th best in baseball. He clocked in at a 2.7 fWAR for the season, sliding in behind Jarrod Parker for 2nd best on the club. And it all began during his quirky debut against Kansas City…

In Oakland’s first bout against a non-Seattle opponent, Milone took to the mound and twirled a Glavine-esque performance by going eight innings, striking out zero and allowing no runs. He became the first since Glavine to have such an outing an MLB. But, the lefty proved he could have strikeout potential with two double digit punchout starts against New York (Becoming the first Athletic since Eddie Plank to strikeout 10+ Yankees in a single start) and in Seattle. Both times he walked none. Despite his pedestrian 6.49 K/9, Tommy earned a 8.7% SwStr% which could signal an increase in K’s next season (Again, especially with Houston coming to town).

The one factor that nipped at Milone throughout his campaign were not just his HR tendencies, clocking in at a 1.14 HR/9 and a 10.2% HR/FB (Decent for a FB pitcher though), but his ridiculously lopsided Home/Road splits. It was no secret that he benefitted from the spacious Coliseum with a 5.6% HR/FB compared to an atrocious 15.4% on the road. The lefty had a higher K/9 away from the Coliseum, but that can be traced to the schism between the home/road BABIPs, something that can’t quite be explained as easily as park factors. With a .273 BABIP in Oakland compared to a ridiculous .350 on the road, more damage was caused when Tommy left the Coliseum despite similar home/road percentages (LD%: Home- 23.8%/Road- 25.6%, GB%: Home- 41.0%/Road-35.0%, FB%: Home: 35.2%/Road-39.4%). This phenomenon can’ keep up forever though, so here’s hoping Tomaso’s luck evens out in 2013.

Tommy promises to slot up behind Anderson, Jarrod, and McCarthy in the upcoming rotation as long as he can remain healthy through the spring. With 190 major league innings under his belt, Milone is sure to improve upon a season where he shattered expectations and became the dependable name in Oakland’s starting five. With a pinch of consistency, Tommy could evolve into a soft tossing phenom to end all soft tossing phenoms.

Starting Candidate Profiles: AJ Griffin

One of the quietest surprises of Oakland's 2012, AJ Griffin burst onto the scene for the Athletics in Mid-June and made his first of 15 starts against San Francisco at the Coliseum. Griffin, a San Diego native and 13th round selection in 2010, began his 2011 in Burlington, Iowa and wound up guiding Stockton to a northern divisional title by the season's end. He began the 2012 campaign slotted in Midland and ascended to Sacramento after a mere seven appearances. After a brief eight in California's capital, the righty found himself suiting up in a major league baseball uniform for the Athletics. It was just a few years ago that scouts doubted his projectability and cited his senior status after throwing his name into the draft pool following his campaign as a torero coming to a close.
Griffin displayed his absurd curveball movement early in his budding major league career:

http://www.fangraphs.com/not/index.php/request-a-gif-a-j-griffins-curvepiece

This offering housed in his repertoire carried him as a staple through his 2012 along with an effective changeup and slider. But, his curve proved to be most effective in his initial few outings. Against SF and Texas (Shown in the link), Griffin had stretches in each game with retiring 13 consecutive batters and provided momentum heading into a July where he took to hill five times, going six or more innings in each appearance. He posted a 84.5% LOB% the month and benefitted from a favorable .267 BABIP against Boston, Minnesota, New York, Tampa Bay and Toronto as he steered Oakland towards their greatest single month in franchise history.

Griffin's first August start wound up derailing his month though as he exited against Toronto while pitching in the Coliseum. His velocity on his FB alarmingly decreased to 83 MPH and prompted the training staff to visit him and escort the 230 pounder to the clubhouse. Shoulder inflammation placed the righty on the disabled list until September 1st where he would re-emerge against a Boston club now in shambles to commence his September/October of extremes.

Griffin took aim at Boston, Seattle, and Anaheim where he went 20 1/3 IP, walked a lone batter, surrenered zero HRs, and had a .263 BABIP, 15.05 pitches per inning and a mere 5.31 balls thrown per inning. He culminated his dominant stretch in an eight frame scoreless performance versus Anaheim to claim Oakland's 12th consecutive road victory (Which tied an OAK record). See Link:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/a-j-griffins-lofty-season-continues

Afterwards, the Griffindor began to regress from his unsustainable BABIP and LOB% numbers with some shakey performances to close out his 2012 and left the 5th starter post in 2013 up for grabs.

To begin the Athletics 10 game roadtrip Griffin took the mound against Detroit and easily had his worst contest of his career. He would surrender three homers and couldn't receive any offensive support despite having Scherzer leave the ballgame after two innings en route to the worst loss of the season by a 12-2 final. Griffin would close out the season in his last four starts by going 17 1/3 IP while permitting 8 walks (After 11 in his first 11 outings or 65 IP). He also allowed 5 HRs and saw his pitches increase to 21.29 per inning and 7.55 balls per frame. And, predictibly enough, AJ's BABIP swelled to .375 in his final four appearances. Overall, Griffin still made a solid postseason stint in Oakland's 4th game against Detroit and tamed his demons against the kitties (Welp, not Prince Fielder. But still...). In 82 1/3 IP, Griffindor finished with a 3.85 FIP, a .264 BABIP, 81.3% LOB%, a 10.2% HR/FB ratio, and a 1.3 fWAR. One characteristic that remained steadfast for Griffin was his efficiency and pitch precision, which had carried and allowed him to be buddies with the luck dragons. Once his control began to lose its luster towards the end of the season so did his luck.

Griffin still assisted Oakland to their astonishing finish and features a devastating arsenal which could fend off statistical regression. Unless he gets dealt for a catching upgrade this offseason, he should defeat Straily and Blackley for the final rotation position entering 2013 (A solid spring pending). Start preparing the "Griffindor" banner, Right field.

2013 Bullpen Preview

The Athletics' outstanding 2012 was most well known for their "bloop and a blast" offensive philosophy and a starting staff that made the rest of MLB green with envy. Coupled with the homer happy offense and consistent starts that became the norm in the East Bay, Oakland's bullpen received a hardy infusion of youth this offseason and emerged as one of the most promising pens in baseball as a result by the time October came around. Now, as the offseason has come prematurely to the Athletics, the question comes up of how this bullpen on the rise will shake out as Oakland enters a season where the expectations will be at their highest in a decade (Arguably). I can tell you one thing: The "Sophomore slump" will not take a toll on 85% of the pen members (Especially with 19 games against Houston). With the RF bleachers all but guaranteed to continue raging, the true shift could come at the back of the pen with numerous spots up for grabs. There's still an entire offseason and spring ahead, but I'll try to make sense of who the seven members of Oakland's opening day pen might be here in Mid-October.

Grant Balfour (Closer/Rage Master/Aussie): Beane strongly hinted that Oakland's bullpen will have their pissed off aussie for another season, but nothing is absolutely official as Balfour's 4.5 Million dollar option has yet to be picked up. However, there's about a 97.5% chance it will be be, and for good reason. Balfour had a remarkable 2012, ranking just behind his 2008 campaign with Tampa for a career season. Embracing a closing position for really the first time during his baseball career, the Aussie thrived and took up residence as Oakland's veteran anchor of the bullpen. In Oakland's final five contests of the season en route to a jaw-dropping divisional title, Balfour became the first pitcher in MLB history to have five consecutive perfect frames on five straight days (5 IP/8 K). Other than being an October workhorse, Balfour clocked in a 3.03 FIP, 2.57 K/BB, 24.9% K%, and a drastically improved 5.3% HR/FB (11.0% in 2011). He might not be able to sustain his .201 BABIP, but he still promises to provide clutch performances, Metallica induced rage trances, and the ability to predict the future like an Austrailian Nostradamus (See ALDS Game 4)

Sean Doolittle (Lefty set-up/Feel good story): Alright, Doolittle does bring an inspirational tale with him, but he proved to be much more than that during his rookie campaign. Doolittle breezed through the Cal, Texas, and PCL leagues in less than 30 IP to make his Oakland debut on June 5th. Featuring a devastating 98 MPH FB and an improved slider, he quickly ascended to one of the elite set-up men in baseball. He rapidly became the first Athletic since 1999 (Tim Hudson) to punchout 10 in their first 5 IP for the green and gold. The let-handed flamethrower surrendered only three homers (All in September) this season and amassed an astonishing 31.4 K%. Doolittle also constructed a 2.08 FIP, 5.45 K/BB and a 1.6 fWAR during his first 47 1/3 major league innings. Not bad for an injury riddled first baseman whose previous pitching experience came as a soft tosser in Virginia..

Ryan "Cookie" Cook (Righty set-up/Closing option/All-Star): Ryan Cook became the diamond in the Cahill swap as a throw in addition after the headliner, Jarrod Parker. Oakland's 2012 All-Star representative established himself as one of the elite bullpen arms in the AL with a dynamite GB% and a slider that made scouts swoon. His 95-97 MPH FB wasn't shabby either as the reliever who struggled with control earlier this season closed out his 2012 with 13 straight appearances without a walk. A 28.7 K% coupled with a 2.96 K/BB were his final marks on a phenomenal season for the man affectionately known as Cookie. He only gave up four homers and compiled a 2.89 FIP on the year and has set himself up for a dominating 2013. Just remember: NO CHANGEUPS!!!

Evan "Scribbles" Scribner (Middle relief/Sexy curveball/Awesome name): Scribner looks to contend for a bullpen post on Oakland's opening day roster after a strong finish to his 2012. After a crucial three innings in game 162 which led the Athletics to an AL West crown and throwing the final pitches of the postseason (2 IP/0 R/3 K versus DET Game 5). Overall, Scribbles showed that he can be much more than a ROOGY after his 35 1/3 IP this season which included pivotal performances against Texas, New York and Seattle. He still has room for improvement after a season with a 0.3 fWAR and 3.15 FIP and at worst, he'll wind up riding the quad A shuttle. At best, Scribner, who actually outdueled Norberto and Blevins statistically this season, becomes a concrete fixture in the pen.

Travis Blackley (LH Long relief/Aussie/Hashtag Aficionado): Blackley emerged as one of the most sensational stories of the 2012 season after resurfacing from the Korean leagues. The once highly tought of Seattle prospect never stuck in the majors and bounced around from AAA, the Mexican leagues, Austrailia and Korea. After being DFAed by SF, Oakland claimed him off waivers and wouldn't regret it. An Aussie companion to Balfour brought one of the best pick-off moves in baseball to the east bay (Which appearently even fooled Larry Vanover...) and logged in 25 appearances (16 starts) for the A's. Blackley proved that he can be quite versatile with his constant shifts from bullpen/rotation and promises to compete with Griffin and Straily for the 5th starting spot in 2013. If he fails to pitch every 5th day, he's practically assured to wind up as Oakland's resident long relief specialist. Let's just hope the umpiring staff isn't affected by Elvis Andrus' tantrums in 2013...

Jerry Blevins (LOOGY/Donut demigod/Skinny man): Blevins not only started the Bernie Lean craze in Oakland this season, but also found himself as the longest tenured Athletic to date following the Suzuki deal. Not to mention he had a pretty solid season too. The 6'6" 175 pound hulk struggled with a 9.5% HR/FB throughout the season, but only surrendered a lone long fly since August 18th. Blevins also put together one the greatest two batter performanes in the history of baseball on September 11th against the Ange"lol"s. After a questionable strike zone given to Balfour, Oakland saw a 6-3 lead entering the B9th shrink to 6-5 with runners on the corners and no one out. In entered Blevins to face Morales who he promptly struck out in four pitches. Then, Blevins induced a game ending 5-4-3 GIDP to secure a victory and Oakland's 11th conecutive road win. Blevins saw the 33rd highest single inning WPA increase in MLB history and the 7th highest for a two batter outing. Jerry did have a .224 BABIP, a 4.21 FIP and a LOB% above 84%, so regression could be natural for the newly anointed veteran, but hey, maybe the Astros can prevent that.

Pat Neshek (ROOGY/Bradford/Zeigler mutant delievery specialist) Neshek turned in one of the most inspirational moments of the baseball season by pitching out of a one out, two baseruner jam in game 1 of the ALDS with a FC and a three pitch strikeout of Austin Jackson. It would be his only playoff appearance, but as he left, he tapped the initials of his son stitched into his sleeve. His son, Gehrig John Neshek, died unexpectedly 23 hours after he was born. Neshek, rather than mourning his infant son's departure alone, decided to rejoin his family on the baseball field and gave us a moment that transcended any sport. As his wounds heal, the ROOGY figures to factor into the 2013 bullpen. One thing is sure, if Neshek does wind up pitching for the A's next season, he'll be pitching for two.
RIP GJN

Pedro Figueroa (LOOGY/Potential/Sufferer of Male camel toe): Figueroa entered this season off of Tommy John surgery and quickly rose to the majors after seven innings of AAA experience. He fluctuated between Sacramento and Oakland all season (Essentially the 2012 version of the 2011 Blevins) and compiled 21 1/3 IP on the season. Figgy struggled with control but demonstrated solid velocity, reaching 98 MPH this season. Pedro also turned in his best performance of the season on September 29th in relief of Straily (1 2/3 IP/0 H/0 BB/3 K) in what proved to be crucial set-up for heroics from Moss and Donaldson. With a SSS, an absurd LOB%/BABIP, and shaky precision, another season in AAA wouldn't hurt him, but the organization seems to relish his potetial as a fireballing left-handed specialist. Figueroa is a longshot for opening day, but we may see him down the road yet again. (Also could model wrestling outfits if he wanted)

Jordan Norberto: (Beard stylist/Long relief): Norberto saw his season cut short by tendonitis that cost him an ALDS spot and a chance to directly influence Oakland's historic September. But otherwise, Norberto took huge strides of improvement this season after a lousy stint in 2011. In 52 innings, Norberto clocked in a professional low 10.4% BB% and accumulated a 45.7 GB%. With a 3.90 FIP and 0.3 fWAR, Norberto promises to return next season and continue to improve while throwing his iteresting personality into the already rich clubhouse atmosphere (He'll need to find another catcher to do the "Call Me Maybe" dance though now that Zuk is gone...)

Overall, I think the pen winds up like this:
RHP Balfour
LHP Doolittle
RHP Cookie
LHP Blackley
RHP Scribner
LHP Norberto
LHP Blevins

Chris Young comes to Oaktown

Billy Beane wasted zero time in jumping back on the horse in preparation for the 2013 season in acquiring another member to the Athletics. Oakland shipped off the longest tenured positional player left on the roster, Cliff Pennington, and SS prospect/former 2nd round selection in 2010, Yordy Cabrera, to the desert for veteran center fielder, Chris Young. Beane reportedly contacted Kevin Towers, the GM for Arizona, in regards to Young's availability the day following Oakland's LDS elimination. Young, an elite defensive CF, hit .231/.311/.434 in 2012 with a 97 wRC+, .325 wOBA, 2.8 fWAR, a .263 BABIP and 14 HR in 363 PA during the 2012 season. Before that, CY had consecutive 4.6 fWAR campaigns in 2010 and 2011 in where he had over 20 HR and 20 SBs, albeit with over 640 PAs in each season. Young is owed 8.5 million in 2013, and Arizona ate 500,000 of that total in the exchange which signals, as Beane admitted, that the payroll will expand for the upcoming season. If Drew's option were to be exercised, which seems all the more likely after Pennington's departure, Oakland would have four players (Young, Crisp, Drew, and Cespedes) who would receive excess of 34 million dollars next season. A rare sight in Oakland.
It would also mean the Athletics would have two center fielders with contracts of over seven million each in 2013 in the incumbent, Coco Crisp, and the challenger, Young. Initially, it seemed as though this swap assured Crisp of being dealt at some point during this remaining offseason. However, Beane declared that every outfielder signed through 2013 would return, making Jonny Gomes the odd man out. Gomes, a flamboyant clubhouse personality and Petaluma native rapidly became not only a fan favorite in the Coliseum, but also one of the crucial offenive pieces at Bob Melvin's disposal. Gomes clocked in a career campaign with a 2.1 fWAR in 333 PA along with a .376 wOBA and a 142 wRC+. However, he is unlikely to replicate this sort of season again and thus opens the door for CY to test the waters of the AL. Young surely won't match Gomes' ridiculous 20.5% HR/FB (Young's highest HR/FB of his career was 15.6% which came during his 2007 year. A relatively low mark for a 32 HR season in Arizona). Where Young trumps Gomes and practically everyone else but Reddick on the roster is his defensive presence. CY has had a UZR ecipsing 11.0 for two straight years and has made his share of showstopping plays while preventing runs throughout his career. One could say the same for Crisp, which would be true to some extent. However, Coco arguably has the worst throwing arm of any outfielder in baseball, which was exaggerated this past season while being flanked by such cannon arms as Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick.
Crisp obviously is a favorite and deserves his share of opportunities during the season, but Young has shown to be a consistent force in his own right. While Crisp has a minuscule K%, Young has shown a higher propensity in drawing walks and has slightly more pop. No to mention the difference between theirs WARs over the past three seasons (Young: 11.7/ Crisp: 8.2) and their UZRs over the previous two (Young: 25.4/ Crisp: -6.4) is noticeable. Still, a platoon is unlikely and DHing Young squanders the majority of his value. But, an entire offseason and spring awaits for this new contender to find a niche on the squad.
The other shakeup that comes from this is that of a vacant starting middle infield spot. Drew, if picked up, is sure to start at shortstop the entire season. The absent post comes at second base, where Pennington occupied after Drew's acquisition. Beane has announced that Sizemore, who missed the entirety of 2012 with a torn ACL, would return to his original position at second base. This also will allow Rosales and Green to wiggle their way into the opening day picture.
There's still over three months until the next Athletics event (FanFest January 27th), so hold on because Beane might not be done just yet...

The 22 most nail-biting, nerve-racking, suspenseful, entertaining, improbable, and most memorable games of 2012 (Part 1)

Unfortunately, one of the most entertaining Athletics campaigns in recent memory came to an abrupt conclusion on an overcast October evening in Oakland. Seth Smith's grounder completed a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Justin "Tight pants" Verlander and Detroit which resulted in a 3-2 ALDS departure. A season that saw a collection of youngsters, rag-tag castoffs, and forgotten names become the first team in baseball history to overcome a 5 game deficit with fewer than 10 games remaining in a season and win a division to accumulating the most wins since 2003. From the Bernie, a dance craze that united the clubhouse and swept across Oakland, to the 15 walk-off victories (Plus a severe whipped cream shortage...) and loose atmosphere surrounding the ballclub, 2012 has truly been a one for the ages as the Athletics became arguably one of the most improbable playoff teams in baseball history. And before we all hunker down for spring training 2013, it's time to recount the most memorable contests of 2012. In the first installment, games #22-#18 will be counted down as I try my best to reverse those frowns after Oakland's untimely elimination. Without anymore delay, let's get this started.

#22: Craziness in Colorado (June 13th)
Oakland traveled to mile high following a wasted opportunity in Arizona and still trying to forget their nasty nine game slide a week earlier. Things got off well for the green and gold after a 8-5 victory in which they blasted four bombs and allowed Ryan Cook to record his first career save. On the verge of a crucial series win, Milone took to the mound looking to continue his fabulous rookie campaign, but the Oakland offense would steal the show. After a one out Cowgill single in the first frame, things got off rapidly as former Rockie, Seth Smith, belted a HR off of one of the players that sent him to Oakland, Josh Outman. After the fireworks subsided, Tomaso took the mound only to become yet another victim to Coors Field. After two walks that loaded the bases, Todd Helton deposited a Milone fastball into the bleachers for grand slam. Adding insult to injury, Outman would smack an RBI single later in the inning to make it 5-2 after one. In the second inning, Cuddyer would wind up hitting a solo HR to extend Colorado's advantage to 6-2 and kept the score that way through three. However, in the 4th inning the Athletics rallied the slashed the deficit to a lone run after a Gomes Double, Inge single, Donaldson FC, and Moss HR. But the thorn of the day would prove to be Michael Cuddyer, as he blasted a second HR in the bottom of the 4th to swell Colorado's advantage to 8-5. Tommy surrendered three homers on the evening with 4 walks, however, he would then go 14 consecutive starts following this one with one or fewer base on balls, tying the Oakland record. After this, Oakland couldn't solve the Outman riddle in the 5th inning and looked to Jonny Gomes to knock Outman out to leadoff the 6th, which was exactly what he did, shrinking the deficit to two runs. The Athletics wouldn't tire in the 7th, as Cowgill knocked home a 7th run and put the pressure squarely on Colorado's bullpen. Nursing a 8-7 lead, the Rockies turned to their reliable closer Betancourt in the 9th and Coco Crisp promptly responded with a leadoff single. After a sacrifice and a stolen base, Crisp plated on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 8-8. But the green and gold weren't complete yet, as Seth Smith smacked a double and Reddick was IBB'd. Up next was Brandon Inge, who would slap a two run double into the left field corner and locked up a final score of 10-8 for Oakland. It would be one of seven victories when facing a 4+ run deficit for Oakland and lead to the first road sweep of the season.

#21: The Walk-Off is born (April 11th)
Oakland entered the finale against Kansas City (Their first non-Seattle opponent of 2012) in search of their first won series of the year. Things got off to a quick start for the A's with a Cespedes double to leadoff the 2nd and later scored due to a throwing error on KC's catcher, Pena, on a stolen base attempt from Yoenis. Kansas City wouuldn't quit though, as they scored in the 3rd and 4th innings off of McCarthy. But Gomes wouldn't allow the club to go down quietly, smacking his first stateside HR to grant a 3-2 lead to the good guys. In the 7th, Fuentes would blow his first save of 2012 with a Gordon HR and the score would remain the same until the 12th inning, where Butler gave the Royals a 4-3 lead and sent Broxton to the mound. After a Barton punchout, Smith reached on a gifted fielding error from Escobar and Oakland drew two straight walks to load the bases. After a game tying Crisp groundout, Cespedes would be hit by Broxton and glared at him while trotting to first (It was the 3rd HBP he sustained in his first 10 games). Gomes, the hero of the 4th inning, took to the box, readied, and took his base. Gomes would be responsible for Oakland's first walk-off of the season. They would wind up tying the Oakland record (Including postseason) for walk-offs with 15.

#20: Hicks, Weeks, and Weird Baseball (July 30th)
Oakland would head home for a crucial 10 game homestand after a 18-4 July, needing one more victory to set the Oakland record for a single month winning percentage. Facing their 4th straight AL East foe, they matched up against Tampa's ace, David Price. The white spikes inflicted the first blow, with consecutive doubles from Trogdor and Zuk in the 2nd to claim a 2-0 lead. But,a two run double from Pena tied the game in the 4th and Matt Joyce homered in the 6th to give the Rays a 3-2 lead. Things seemed bleak with Price on the mound, as he struck out the first two to leadoff the 7th. As Brandon Hicks dug in against one of he AL's best, not even he could've predicted what happened next. Hicks swung at an elevated Price offering and carried it into the RF bleachers. His game tying, opposite field HR not only proved to be one of the most important of the season, but also extended the game for an additional eight frames. Oakland set a single game strikeout record on the night with 21 and left 10 on-base in innings 9-14 including two bases loaded situations in the 9th and 10th innings. But, with mayor Jean Quan in attendance in the 15th frame and weird baseball officially underway, Inge would slap a leadoff single to start the inning. After a sacrifice and an IBB, Sogard walked to load the bases for Weeks with one away. Jemile eventually slaped a shallow fly to RF and allowed Inge to score and grant Oakland with their 12th walk-off. It was also their 9th walk-off in 17 home games, the best stretch since the 1973 Dodgers, and it gave Oakland their 19th victory (19-4) in July. It was the best month in Oakland history and the best July in MLB since the 1956 Yankees.

#19: Inge sacrifices a shoulder (August 11th)
The Athletics were walked-off on the previous night in Chicago's bandbox after a 3-0 lead for the Athletics turned into a 4-3 defeat with four solo HRs. After a back-and-fourth exchange in the first six innings, the score sat tied at 6-6 following Trogdor, Reddick, Norris and Rosales base knocks and a shaky outing from Travis Blackley. However, the true story of the contest would come with one out in the B7th. With Youkilis on base and Rios batting, a sharply hit grounder was knocked down by Inge at third to prevent an extra base hit, but arose grasping his shoulder and seemed to contort his joint back into place. After a check-up from the training staff, Inge gave the ok and stayed in the game. Afterwards, Chicago would hit a go-ahead single for a 7-6 lead, but this would prove to be short lived. Jonny Gomes launched a game tying HR in the next half frame and Cespedes reached on an error. After a Trogdor single, Inge stepped to the plate and would produce one of the most memorable moments of 2012. He would line a go-ahead opposite field double with a dislocated shoulder which gave Oakland an 8th ining advantage they wouldn't let go of. Inge would be placed on the 15 day DL and allow Josh Donaldson to showcase his improvement. Inge would return on September 1st only to tweak his shoulder on a throw and miss the remainder of the season (After his second dislocaton he also hit a two run double to RF in his final 2012 PA)

#18: Hicks starts a streak (July 18th)
After dropping their first game following the ASB, Oakland looked to salvage a series split versus Texas at the Coliseum. After a scoreless four frames, Texas finally woke and got out to a 1-0 lead against Oakland's aussie pressence in the rotation, Travis Blackley. Inge would immediately respond though with a booming HR to tie the ballgame yet again. But, unfortunately, the Rangers knocked home another bunch of runs in the following inning to make it 3-1, but this again would be brief as Reddick banged two runs in the 7th to bring it to another stalemate. After this, Brandon Hicks entered to leadoff the 9th and wasted no time in making Texas sulk off of the Coliseum field. He blasted an offering to opposite center (Which Michael Kirkman pointed at as though it would be a shallow fly ball) and gave Oakland their 1st second half walk-off. Hicks now joined Norris as Oakland became only the second team to have two players have their first MLB homers be walk-offs be walk-offs in a single season (1986 Padres). This also ignited a seven game winning streak that was pivotal towards the Athletics' historic July.

Games #17-#12 are up next.

Most Surprising First Half Performances

Most couldn't have expected the results of first 86 games the Athletics have played thus far into the 2012 campaign. Following an offseason dump of Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey the 2012 outlook seemed bleak for most of the fanbase (who did not seem to investigate the trade returns at all...). But regardless of even the most optimistic scenario, the Athletics were widely expected to be one of the worst squads to take to a baseball field in 2012. However, after grappling with a nine game skid, offensive inconsistency, numerous injuries, and waiver wire replacements, somehow Oakland came out at 43-43 having won six out of their previous seven and winding up at 2.5 games outside of the newly founded second wild card. To the optimists, pessimists, and those who were neutral, the result was a consensus shock. A ballclub riddled with rookies, has-beens, those claimed by MLB pundits as "not fit to play major league baseball" have outmatched teams with 100 million dollar payrolls. Easily the most exciting Athletics team since 2006, they've constructed a noteworthy season that has (as expected) been widely ignored by national media. But us Athletics fans should be desensitized to being swept underneath the rug by now. Still, for a ballclub that has overachieved, there have been countless performances of note. Of these performances, there have been a select few that have put together 2012 resumes that have not only baffled, but have led the ballclub to it's current position. But enough with the introduction, without further adieu, the most surprising 2012 performances for your Oakland Athletics.

5. Brandon Moss:
Brandon Moss burst onto the scene as a call-up to prevent a contract loophole where he could've explored free agency if he was not placed onto the 25 man roster by a certain date. Moss, who has received a infamous reputation amongst the Oakland faithful for slamming a decisive HR against Huston Street in the Athletics 2008 Japan series versus Boston, hasn't exactly been noted for his major league consistency. Bouncing from Boston, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia's organizations, Moss only received one entire major league campaign with the Pirates in 2009, where he hit .236/.304/.364 in 133 contests. Eventually, he was scooped up by Oakland and would begin his 2012 season in Sacramento. With the Rivercats, Moss shined by hitting a team high 15 HR with 27 cumulative XBH, a .371 OBP, and .952 OPS. In June, Moss was assigned to Oakland at the expense of Kila Ka'aihue, who had gained a positive reputation around Oakland. But, despite the native Hawaiians cult following that had grown in the coliseum, Moss would trump Kila's respectable power. In 26 games, Moss has clobbered 10 HR, accumlulated a .644 SLG%,.391 ISO, and amassed a 0.9 WAR (neglect the .316 OBP...). He would claim AL player of the week following a 6 HR period which included a 4 HR series against Colorado. During that series Moss hit only the 33rd second deck Coors field HR in the ballpark's history. But despite Coors drastically inflating his HR totals, 5 of his long balls have come at the coliseum, so don't say he's only #Mossome in offensive parks (Sorry about the pun). But, with the addition of Chris Carter to the squad, i'd prefer to see Moss' appearances decrease, but Moss becoming the second fastest Athletic to 10 HR since Dave Kingman cannot be ignored. His most recent fit of heroics came against Boston, where a slammed an 0-2 offspeed offering into center field with one out, two on-base, and Oakland down by one run in the bottom of the ninth. Crisp would walk it off with a game ending sac fly.

4. Travis Blackley
When Graham Godfrey left a gigantic, oozing, and distusting mess against Anaheim, Travis Blackley was there to mop it up. And Blackley did such a wonderful job cheerfully cleaning that he usurped Godfrey's position in the rotation. Blackley, a waiver wire addition on May 19th, has left a tumultuous past, sinking from highly touted Mariners prospect to being exiled to the Korean leagues. But despite the reg flags in which Blackley had been riddled with, Beane gave him a chance (Possibly to fufill his Aussie fetish). Blackley, who has seen his BB% above 5.00 in each of his previous major league opportunities with Seattle and San Francisco, has been a pleasant surprise for the Athletics. Blackley in his 51 1/3 IP for the green and gold has a miniscule 2.60 FIP, 0.18 HR/9, and a 1.89 BB/9 (!!!). In addition, the Aussie leads the league in pickoffs with a staggering six. It would be fair to say NO ONE could have predicted Blackley's success, not even himself, but the Melbourne native native seemed to breakthrough following a contest versus San Diego where he was awarded with first MLB W in nearly eight years. Since then, Travis has dominated in three starts and one outing a long relief with a cumulative 25 IP while striking out 15 and walking ONE. His crowning acheivement was outdueling reigning NL Cy Young recipient, Clayton Kershaw, at the coliseum. Both went 8 IP, but Blackley struck out six and walked none while allowing a mere two fly-balls where Kershaw walked two and allowed six fly-balls, including a near Inge HR where Kershaw proceeded to spastically attempt a karate kick in frustration. All in all, Blackley may not stick around once Straily, Peacock, Anderson, Braden and Gray arrive, but he has revived his career in Oakland.

3. Sean Doolittle
Doolittle is placed at third due to the fact that it was well known he could pitch, having dominated at Virginia as a collegiate prospect, but ultimately being sdelected as a first baseman by Oakland in the 2007 draft. Doolittle rose to the occasion, poised as the Athletics future corner threat and destined to a career laced with honors and accolades. However, Doolittle would have a minor league career filled with missed playing time, nagging injuries, and lost seasons. After a wrist injury in 2011, the informed him that his days as a position player were numbered and he would be transitioning to the mound. (I'm sure for most of you this is the millionth time you've heard about his background so I apologize). Fastforward to June of 2012 and Sean Doolittle proudly dons his #62 jersey in green and gold lettering having acomplished his major league aspitrations. Doolittle would rise from Stockton to Oakland is less than two months... The minors proved a measly obstacle for Doolittle who brezzed through the treacherous Cal league with 21 strikeouts in 39 batters faced. Midland actually proved to be the most forgetable K/BB (19/4) during his 2012 campaign. But, his 11 innings with the Rockhounds saw him ascend to Sac-Town, where the kitties thrived with Sean on the mound. After striking out EIGHT in 3 2/3 IP, Doolittle got the call and was promoted on June 4th, 2012. He would begin his career by striking out three consecutive Rangers with filthy 95-98 MPH velocity and a vicious slider. After striking out five consecutive in Arizona, Sean became the first Athletic to punch out 10 in their first 5 IP since Hudson in 1999... To date, Doolittle has brought a 8 2/3 IP scoreless streak into the break while having struck out 24 compared to walking 3 in 14 2/3 IP.

2. Ryan Cook
Most thought the sky was falling following swaps of Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey this offseason. Cries of "OMG we are only winning eight games this year :(" and "Beane is a pile of [Expletive]" rung through and flooded social media. Ryan Cook (and equally Josh Reddick) are the reasons these prople will never in anyones wildest of dreams be a general manager. Cook, an afterthought in the Cahill swap that sent the white rabbit and Breslow to AZ for Jarrod Parker and Collin Cowgill, has been remarkable for the Athletics. A 27th round selection from USC, Arizona did present Cook an opportunity following a rocky collegiate career. After starting for the majority of his tenure as a Trojan and into 2010 within the diamondbacks farm system Cook switched to the bullpen for 2011 and eventually threw well enough to receive playing time come September. However, Cook left a sour taste in Arizona, permitting eight walks with seven strikeouts in 7 2/3 IP. Upon arriving in Oakland's system following the deal, many were unaware to Cook's status on the depth chart, as he would be ranked as the 37th overall prospect entering the season by Oaklandclubhouse.com. Still, Cook would defy the odds and be honored with an opening day invite for the Athletics. What would follow left many jaw dangling on floors around the east bay as Cook stormed into the season by demolishing the previous Athletics record for a scoreless streak to begin a season (while beginning on the opening day roster) with a 23 1/3 IP span that continued to inflate until late May,the lengthiest in MLB since 1918. The previous mark was held by Jim Corsi at 18 1/3 and Cook cemented his status as the 7th longest scoreless streak in Athletics history. (Personal note: While in the midst of Cook's streak, I spoke with Lancaster's (High A affiliate for Houston) radio brodcaster who happened to be an avid USC fan. He had no idea Ryan Cook was signed by a major league club let alone on a 25 man roster). Despite Cook's control issues, having walked 21 for a 4.93 BB/9, he has maintained a 2.83 FIP by having yet to allow a home run in 38 1/3 IP. And while Ryan's microscopic BABIP and LOB% have caved in on him at Minnesota and again versus San Francisco, Cook has been ridiculous when accurate, recording a 9.16 K/9 with a notorious slider that has gained a reputation in the MLB. His dominance would be rewarded with an All-Star invitation to Kansas City to represent Oakland at the festivities.

1. Josh Reddick
One who has been outspoken in his disdain towards the All-Star voting process has been easily the most valueable Athletic and "4th Outfielder" Josh Reddick. Reddick, a Boston product, was the headliner in the Bailey transaction that left Boston fans sure they fleeced Oakland. Now at the break with Bailey sidelined once more it seems the Athletics have pulled off one of thew largest heists in recent memory. With Head having left a path of devistation in the Cal League and Alcantara improving in Burlington, Boston regrets the swap more and more as each hour passes. Reddick, a supposed Sweeney clone, has proved body type doesn't define a player having become arguably the best statistical right fielder in major league baseball. Reddick, who amaased a 1.9 WAR with Boston last season, came to Oakland with a "He just a 4th outfielder" disclaimer. But, Beane would soon announce Reddick would be an everyday component to Oakland's outfield. Reddick hasn't dissapointed.
Reddick has eight outfield assists defensively with a 7.4 UZR which ranks 12th in baseball. Offensively, he has provided an even larger spark, smashing 20 HR to become the first Athletic since Swisher to have 20 bombs before the break, and which included a 10 HR May. The 180 pounder also leads baseball in two out HR and ranks 12th with a .264 ISO. But what was been truly phenomenal for Reddick has been his walk rate. After walking ONCE in his initial 92 PA, Reddick has recovered for a 10.6 BB% which slots him within the top 30 in baseball. Reddick has owned a .268/.348/.532 slash with a relatively neutral .292 BABIP which was contributed to his current rank of 13th in WAR amongst ALL major leaguers at 3.5 and ranks 5th in the AL. However, even this would not place him in the All-Star game, as he finished 18th, yes 18th, in voting for AL outfielders and was snubbed from the event. Reddick would deliver justice though, slapping a walk-off double in the 13th frame to claim Oakland their 8th walk-off victory thus far and put the A's at .500 before the break. Only fitting that the Athletics MVP would be invloved in the final play of the first half. And if the baseball world continues to remain oblivious to Reddick's exploits, I think we'll enjoy keeping him our little secret...

See you in the second half.

The Curious Case of Jordan Norberto

The 2012 season for the Oakland Athletics has brought numerous pleasant surprises to the forefront of the Oakland faithful. Countless performances have allowed for this ballclub to soar to a unprecedented 19-17 record while claiming sole possesion of 2nd place in the American league west. Ranging from Yoenis Cespedes' monumental contributions in his initial MLB season, to Tommy Milone's dominance at the Coliseum, to Jarrod Parker's imprerssive outings, to Josh Reddick's 9 HRs, to Jonny Gomes and Seth Smith's blazing stretches, to Oakland's three walk-offs, to newly acquired 3rd baseman, Brandon Inge, getting cozy with Lou Gehrig, to Kila Ka'aihue's monsterous campaign, to Ryan Cook's 17 2/3 scoreless streak, and on, and on, and on... Despite these brilliant performances from the green and gold, one bullpen piece has flown decisively underneath the radar. His name, Jordan Norberto. His previous major league performances: Awful, disgusting, putrid, nauseating, forgetable (Choose your adjective). His 2012 thus far: Noteworthy.



Norberto, a native dominican, was scooped up by Arizona in 2004 as a NDFA and eventually clawed his way to a major league opprotunity with the diamondbacks over the course of 33 contests and 20 IP during 2010. To sum his stint in Arizona: Subject yourself to a gruesome horror flick and you'll achieve a similar effect to witnessing him that season. He accumulated a 9.90 BB/9 ratio, 13.0% HR/FB, 1.90 WHIP, 6.83 FIP, and a -0.5 WAR. He wouldn't recover while with the D-Backs, receiving a swift and prompt demotion to Reno where, as in his previous minor league campaigns, he excelled, amassing a 6-2 record and a 3.04 FIP before he was dealt to the green and gold in exchange for Brad Ziegler. Norberto, accompanied by his follow teammate, Brandon Allen (Now with TB) were bestowed with yet another opprotunity to succeed in major league baseball and were whisked away to baseball's land of prospect prosperity, Oakland, CA.

Norberto would ultimetely reestablish his major league reputation, as a mediocre reliever. While in a condensed and miniscule period of six and two-thirds innings pitched,Norberto essentially duplicated his 2010 statistics, 9.45 BB/9 and 5.43 FIP were his hallmark and fans' relationship with him adopted a striking parallel of their disdain directed at Brian Fuentes. However, determined to improve upon his frieghtening campaign of previous seasons, Norberto would enter the dominican winter league with Leones del Escogido and settle in towards his newly acquired starting position. Escogido would eventually claim the DWL title and Norberto started the championship bout, finishing with 3.1 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB and 4 K.

Norberto earned a opening day post within the Athletics bullpen and took full advantage of his opprotunity gifted to him. Norberto has evolved from a lowly, international relief piece to one of the premier bullpen residents in major league baseball's 2012 season. With a fully displayed mass of facial hair and a #77 worn upon his jersey (He stated he chose #77 for it's ability to provide him with luck), Norberto has whipped together a fantastic resume. He's pitched through 18.1 IP while permitting a mere 3.44 BB/9, manufacturing a slendid 0.3 WAR, and producing a 3.18 FIP. Norberto has allowed only 2 hits and 1 ER in his previous 8 IP for the Athletics including 8 K's to 1 BB over the current stretch. His most noticeable blemish came when he surrendered 3 ER in 0.1 IP in Boston, however, to Jordan's credit, he hadn't for six days prior to his miniature, and increasingly rare, meltdown.

In addition, Norberto ranks 6th amongst all major league relievers in WPA (Wins propability added) at 1.26. This statistic is truly a testament to Norberto's composure in situational scenarios, increasingly allowing Oakland to acquire chances to win contests. Norberto has essentially increased his slider velocity and completely cut curveballs out of his diet, while ramping up his changeup percentage to discover his newfound success.

Norberto, while widely unnoticed within the baseball universe, has dramatically boosted his numbers and stands today easily as the most improved player for the Oakland Athletics and is (actually isn't, but probably should) the most improved in all of major league baseball. His performance, coupled with Cook, have anchored a combustible bullpen and assisted the Athletics to one of the most suprising results in baseball.

Game 3: Miscues haunt Athletics; Cespedes amazes (Seattle @ Oakland)

The Oakland Athletics returned from Tokyo in hopes of continuing their success on the mound and to prepare for a possible run at an unprecedented campaign to baffle the collective baseball world. However, if this was Oakland's goal, they fell pain-stakingly short of that mark on Friday night.
The matchup featured Oakland's reformed sabermetric ace, Brandon McCarthy, versus that of Seattle's second starter, Jason Vargas. After a rapid 2 innings with both pitchers blazing through eachother's lineups, McCarthy, who had 33 pitches, 24 strikes and 3 strikeouts through 2 innings, surrendered a leadoff double to Seattle. The following at bat showcased Figgins completing a sacrifice bunt to Josh Donaldson, who proceeded to error the throw to Weeks at first and allowed the first run of the ballgame to plate. Seattle finished the inning by scoring 4 runs, 3 of them unearned (Oakland led the AL with 82 unearned runs last season).
The bottom of the frame was riddled with controversy. Jemile Weeks seemed to connect on a ground ball to third. He reached on an infield single and advanced to third on a throwing error, but, despite Tom Hallion, the home plate umpire, signaling a fair ball, the first base umpire, Brian O' Nora, declared it to be foul, thus ending any hope of Oakland immediately erasing a portion of their deficit. Oakland went 1-7 with RISP and left 7 runners on base.
McCarthy, fresh off of an eight day rest before his start at the coliseum, was a shell of his usual self. He pitched a mere 5 inning pitched and proceeded to 7 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), and most shockingly of all, 2 walks. McCarthy must recuperate for his next outing against Kansas City on Wednesday.
Oakland's lone highlight came off of the bat of Yoenis Cespedes. With two outs and Jonny Gomes on first, Cespedes demolished a towering shot to left-center that forcefully smacked into the concrete of the luxury boxes. The shot is sure to gain an infamous reputation amongst dwellers of the coliseum and left many agast. Cespedes did strikeout in his final two plate appearances to the contest, but subjected the stateside audience to his unparalleled potential.
Oakland ultimately lost the contest 7-3, but began their campaign in the states and hopes to rebound on Saturday night as Bartolo Colon will combat the notorious Felix Hernandez.

Game 2: Prieto's boys shine (Seattle @ Oakland in Tokyo)

The Oakland Athletics tasted victory for the first time in 2012 thanks in part to superb performances from Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick and the 38 year old veteran, Bartolo Colon. Colon took the mound with his health in question. The MLB journeyman and former Cy young recipient debuted his reformed stylization of pitching amongst the grandeur of the Tokyo Dome. Colon, infamous for his fiery velocity, has evidently transformed into a sagacious master of precision. His control was exceptional, finishing with 63 strikes and 23 balls, as he proceeded to retire the first thirteen batters in Seattle's lineup. He finished his outing after 8 IP with a mere 86 pitches and allowing 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER (A HR to Smoak) and recording 6 K's strewn throughout the duration of his appearance. Oakland's two starting pitchers (McCarthy and Colon), frequently mentioned as an embarrassment as the 1 and 2 pitchers in the order, combined for a statline of 15 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 9 K, 2 ER, 168 pitches (121 strikes) and 20 GB/5 FB. It was the first time two Oakland pitchers had begun a season with at least 7 IP and 1 or fewer ER since Dave Stewart and Bob Welch in 1988. Phenomenal is an understatement. Albeit, they were facing Seattle, but a duplication of these performances will result in a plethora of victories.
With the game in jeopardy after Colon surrendered a HR in the top of the 7th, Oakland would respond in the bottom of the frame. Yoenis Cespedes approached the batter's box with two outs and a runner on first. He readied... swung... and trotted. The Cuban sensation had hit the first HR of the season for the Oakland Athletics. And he didn't even make ideal contact... The ball rocketed to left-center and immediately boosted Oakland to a 2-1 advantage. Cespedes (Who slammed a double in the previous contest) became the first Athletics player since Geronimo Berroa in 1997 to begin the season with an XBH in the first two games of the season. The international superstar hit 2-6 with a 2B and a HR in 7 plate appearances.
After the Cespedes HR, Reddick then bashed a solo shot to right. Extending the Oakland lead to 3-1. Reddick had hit a double earlier in the game and had two XBH stolen from him by Mike Carp in the previous outing.
Donaldson proceeded to record his first single after the AB as did Ka'aihue... In the 8th, Jonny Gomes destroyed an offering to left-center making the lead 4-1 and made it a 3 HR contest for the Athletics.
Balfour entered his first save situation in the 9th, and despite throwing more balls than strikes, forced Seattle in to 2 groundouts and recorded a strikeout as well, earning his first save of 2012.
The paucity of Oakland's offense was blatantly obvious throughout the series, going 1-14 with RISP in the initial game and recording a mere 2 hits within the first 6 innings of the second game, however, the 7th and 8th innings truly illustrate the palpable potential within the Oakland clubhouse. And yes, Ariel Preito, the interpreter for Cespedes and Colon was flustered by the amount of translating that occurred afterwards...
Oakland will embark in an exhibition against Sacramento on Saturday and then proceed to engage in a three game series serving as calibration against SF. They'll open up against Seattle yet again on April 6th.

Game 1: Seattle @ Oakland (In Tokyo)

The day finally arrived... After 6 months of agonizing anticipation the Oakland Athletics resumed their usual duties and returned to the field in a game that would directly affect their W/L total at approximately 3:10 AM (PST). The absurdity of the hour can be contributed to that of Oakland's agreement to participate in a two game series with Seattle in Tokyo to usher in the 2012 baseball season. Oakland threw an intriguing opening day lineup at Felix Hernandez to begin the season: 2B Weeks, SS Pennington, LF Crisp, DH Smith, C Suzuki, RF Reddick, CF Cespedes, 1B Allen, and 3B Sogard (Melvin opted to chose Sogard over Donaldson in this instance to capitalize off of Hernandez's splits vs lefties).
McCarthy began the game with his statistical brilliance that endeared him to sabermetric fanatics worldwide, retiring 5 of the first 6 Seattle batters via groundout. His lone blemish came in the 4th as Dustin Ackley slammed a solo HR to center and put the Mariners ahead 1-0. Oakland would respond in the bottom of the inning however when Suzuki drove Pennington home on an RBI double to tie the contest. McCarthy would continue to dazzle finishing with 7 IP, 82 pitches (58 strikes/24 balls), 0 BB, 3 K, 6 H, 1 ER, 12/2 GB/FB. The shortness of his outing, considering his pitch count, could most likely be attributed to his injured fingernail and shortness of spring (decreased stamina). Cook, Balfour, and Fuentes all had successful debuts, but the stagnant nature of Oakland's offense would thrwart any notion of victory for the green and gold. The Athletics went an appalling 1-14 with RISP and left 7 men on base. They got men on and couldn't convert no matter what strategy they adopted. In a controversial moment, after a Yoenis Cespedes double for his first MLB hit to lead off the 7th (Cespedes finished 1-3 with a double and a HBP), Melvin elected to have Brandon Allen attempt to bunt Cespedes to 3rd. Allen, clueless in a bunt situation, popped up and any momentum built immediately deflated. Oakland would take the game to extras where Carignan would be charged with 2 runs after consectutive Ackley and Ichiro (Who went 4-5 in Tokyo) RBI singles. Oakland's only multi-hit contributor was Cliff Pennington, who went 2-5 with a double and single. Jemile hit the leadoff single and stole a base in the first, but then went 0-4 with 2 K's afterwards. Josh Reddick, while hitless, had two possible XBH stolen from him by Mike Carp which could've been the difference in the game.
Overall, the pitching seems legitimate as does the bullpen, but Oakland must locate some shread of offensive rhythm if they intend to compete in future contests.
It was a bittersweet result for most A's fans, as it was to myself, but actually having Oakland back fills a long vacated void that needed to be addressed. It isn't a cruel charade, Oakland Athletics baseball is finally back
Oakland had now lost 8 consectutive opening days, the longest such streak since the Phillies of 1985-1992. The MLB record is 9 owned by the Braves.
Oakland elects Bartolo Colon as their representative in a 2:05 AM (PST) game in the Tokyo Dome opposing Jason Vargas as the Athletics receive their first glimpse of the 39 year old in green and gold.

Cactus League Recap

There has been no spring training in recent memory for the Oakland Athletics that has had such significance as the one that has just occured. Amid the contested positional battles, the numerous debuts of freshly acquired talent, and the media frenzy that were the arrivals of Manny Ramirez and Yoenis Cèspedes, Oakland surprisingly excelled in this miniature and, to some, meaningless season that serves as an indicator to baseball's imminent arrival. Whereas to other franchises, who could nonchalantly strut through spring training without a care of their preformance knowing they'll produce in the regular season, Bob Melvin set a precedent with Oakland. He intended to instill a successful attitude with the club, regardless of how meaningful or meaningless the games were, and to prioritize victories. This standard seemed to resonate with the Athletics in Arizona as they posted a 14-5-2 record in 21 games, their most spring victories in over 12 years. And as the regular season beckons for the Athletics they intend to abolish any notion of a last place finish or 100 loss season, a prediction that is widely accepted throughout baseball.
Oakland's annual quests, as they always do, begin in Arizona. March of 2012 was no different as the green and gold reported and prepared for their upcoming season in the desert. Any sort of optimism for 2012 screeched to a halt and stumbled over itself as starting thrid baseman, Scott Sizemore, was diagnosed with an ACL tear in his left knee and would miss the entirety of the season. Rumors swirled of possible thrid base replacements, but hey were inevitably settled with converted catcher, Josh Donaldson, who has been named the starter at the hot corner to begin 2012. And paralleling with this decision he also recieved the most ST at bats (52). He began the spring rather clumsily, not developing any rhythm what so ever. However, he did recover to an extent but still managed to post a mediocre line of .231/.293/.288 appearing in 17 games. Coinciding with Donaldson's multitude of ABs, Sogard and Timmons were both in the top seven on the team in plate appearances. Sogard had an impressive camp, hitting .341/.400 and starting around the infield. He seems to be acquiring power as well, hitting the first homer for Oakland in the spring. The organization seems to have reaffirmed his role as a utility piece, for now. As for Timmons, he'll be traveling to Japan with the club. He earned his spot hitting .278/.372 in the cactus league. But having the 32 year old make his MLB debut still remains in question.
First base was the other area of positional intrigue. Allen and Ka'aihue have displayed their trademark power (5 HRs between the two) this spring. But Allen has separated himself as Oakland's opening day first baseman. Despite Ka'aihue appearing in more contests and may boast a higher SLG%, Allen showcased phoenominal plate discipline, only striking out a mere 5 times. Allen also put together a dominating 7 RBI game earlier in camp as well. Barton, experiencing a hindrance in his injury, will recuse himself from joining the team in Tokyo and recieved minimal ABs during camp.
News circulated around the outfield the entire spring. A recent development was the most intriguing as Bob Melvin announced that Cuban defector, Yoenis Cespedes would start in CF for Oakland, thus displacing Coco to LF. Coco, who infamously stated it would take "a demigod from the heavens to replace me in CF", has for the time being been replaced. His veteran presence was palpable throughout camp and intends on "bringing gold glove defense to CF". Another name to boost their reputation was Collin Cowgill, the utility OF acquired in the Cahill swap. His .419 spring average was not only the greatest average on Oakland's roster, but outstanding enough for 8th in all of spring training. His preformance, which included a streak of 11 consecutive successful attempts to make it on base, earned him the approval of Melvin who stated that he'll be on the 25 man roster to begin the season. Reddick (.333) and Smith (.286; however he had far more ABs Vs Lefties rather than righties) both impressed as well. Cespedes, greeting by a torrent of media, began his career with Oakland by going 2-2 with a walk, single and home run in his debut outing on March 10th Vs Cincinnati. However, the diverse pitching styles dashed all hope of consistency. He hit 3-23 to remainder of camp and continues to gradually adjust to American pitching.
Oakland finished 20th in ERA, 17th in WHIP, and allowed the 2nd most BBs in baseball. That won't exactly result in optimism. The Oakland starters continued to work through their kinks throughout the spring, and seeing as though no pitcher compiled more than 12.2 IP, their performances should be taken lightly. But the rotation and bullpen still remained as chief areas of competition. One of the most notable was Tyson Ross, who despite posting a 1.50 WHIP, recorded a 0.90 ERA in 10.0 IP and created a widening schism between himself and Godfrey, who put up a 1.66 WHIP and a 7.11 ERA in 12.2 IP. Ross seemed to have secured a rotation spot and will start an exhibition bout in Japan. Jarrod Parker threw himself into the mix of potential rotation candidates with a 2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K preformance in Oakland's first victory of the spring. He then proceeded to struggle with his control with culminated in a 7 BB outing in only 3.2 IP in his final start.
The bullpen made headlines as Grant Balfour was named Oakland's 2012 closer. His veteran leadership and firery passion seem to have vaulted him into the position as he expressed a monumental desire to be accepted into the vacant post. Fuentes, De Los Santos, Cook, Carignan, and Blevins all seem to be amongst Oakland's 2012 bullpen as well (With respectively honorable springs from Figueroa and Scribner). Devine has been put on the disabled list and shall be reinstated on April 9th, possibly allowing Jordan Norberto to compete in the majors. Norberto, infamous for his horrendously high walk rates, walked 3 in 8.2 IP contrasting with his 10 strikeouts. He seemed to be the most improved player in camp.
Oakland ultimately hit amongst perennial powers such as Detroit and Anaheim offensively. They were 3rd in average, SLG%, OPS, 2nd in doubles, HRs, OBP, and first in hits. This is unprecedented for Oakland, to witness them atop offensive categories alongside Detroit. I can only hope they may duplicate a fragment of this preformance and translate it to the majors. But if they could capitalize off of their characteristics and strengths, Oakland might shock the collective baseball world...
But enough with the endless speculation. The season begins March 28th... Let 2012 Oakland Athletics baseball comense.

You can play without a 3rd baseman, right?

Spring Training was previously characterized by positive bullpens from Dallas Braden and a rather petite Brett Anderson, the plethora of young faces descending on to Phoenix Municipal Stadium, and the highly publicized arrival of "the" Manny Ramirez as he vocally proclaimed his new found optimism towards the game. And it seemed as though the first day of full workouts would be mundane and ordinary. But as Scott Sizemore was routinely fielding ground balls at third, something odd occured. An awkward step. A twist. A turn. An "audible pop" was heard by onlookers as Sizemore immediately collapsed in excruciating pain. He was helped off of the field and the mood around camp suddenly took a dreary turn. Two days later it was made official to the public that Scott Sizemore, at the one position Oakland could least afford to lose, had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) within the first hour of the first day of full workouts and he would effectively miss the 2012 season.
Only in Oakland, folks
Now with Sizemore missing the 2012 season, a very relevant question arises: Who is Oakland's starting 3rd baseman in 2012? After an offseason where most were fretful of how a major league outfield would come into exsistance for the Athletics and who would be proclaimed the starting DH and 1B now has to worry about fielding a major league thrid baseman... In late February. There is a lengthy list of possible suitors of which Oakland can choose from. But are any even qualified to produce in the major leagues? Let's take a look at the candidates:
I will combine Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales for the sole reason of both being the epitome of utility infielders. Trademarked by his choice of optical flair, Sogard has had a sucsessful minor league career batting .300/.391 and .298/.381 in 2010 and 2011. The sucsess has not caught up to him in the majors, however, batting .200/.243 stepping to the plate 74 times in 2011. Not to mention Sogard's K% ballooned to 17.8% in Oakland. While Sogard needs far more ABs to make a permanent verdict, he'd be more inclined to take to the utility role in 2012. Rosales could be characterized by his unique choice of choosing to sprint around the bases during his homeruns. This characteristic has endeared him to fans, but his numbers remain less than desirable. He took the honor of having a team worst WAR in 2011 (-1.0) batting a mere 7-61. Rosales, frankly, wouldn't have a major league bat to survive 140+ games at 3rd. The team has already stated that they viewed Rosales and Sogard has utility players in 2012 so don't anticipate seeing those glasses or Rosales sprinting around the basepaths very frequently in 2012.
Next up is the BYU product, Stephen Parker. Parker captured attention in AA Midland last season hitting .286/.373 playing in 132 games at 3rd. He was called up to play with the AAA club in Sacramento late in the season and batted .320 in 27 plate appearances. An area of concern, however, is his strikeout rate. He had a 18.6 K% in Midland that could easily grow to a 20+% in Sacramento and the majors. While Parker will most likely play in some spring training games with the major league club, he'll most likely start off in Sacramento.
Next is a non-roster invite, Wes Timmons. The former Braves darling played with Atlanta's AAA club for 5 seasons (2006-2010) and didn't have a single season with a strikeout rate of 8.7%. He played for Midland and Sacramento last season and hit .365/.402 and .321/.432 in Oakland's minor league system. He also was able to draw a 13.0 BB% compared to his miniscule 4.3 K%. He possesses the ability and major league intangibles to preform in Oakland next season and with Sizemore's injury he could seize his chance.
But the seemingly leading candidate is none other than former A's catcher, Josh Donaldson. With the addition of Derek Norris and Anthony Recker looking to become the backup to Suzuki in 2012, Donaldson added third base to his resume. Donaldson hit .261/.344 in Sacamento last season with a K rate over 20%. But apparently his metrics, as reported by Susan Slusser, improved at thrid in the minors and when he played thrid in the domincan winter league. The team seems to support Donaldson with his switch and he has shown monumental signs of improvement in camp.
The team has been rumored of possibly looking at Felipe Lopez or even Miguel Tejada to make a return to Oakland. But most recently with Sizemore's injury being season ending, the possibility of adding Alberto Callaspo presents itself to Oakland. Callaspo, the Angels thrid baseman, hit .288/.366 in 2011 while compiling a 3.6 WAR and 7.8 UZR in 475 PA. He also reflects Timmons' plate discipline with a minute 9.0 K% in Anaheim last season, but he trumps Timmons as far as major league experience. Callaspo seems extremely inticing, however, Oakland and Anaheim aren't exactly the most willing teams to comply in late February. And Oakland would not give Anaheim a multitude of talent as Callaspo would be a one year fix. Callaspo might be a difficult reality for Oakland.
With numerous possibilities, the race to claim thrid base promises to be a spirited exhibition within the organization as the spring continues to unfold.

Season Preview

It's that time of year again! Spring training is on the horizon for the Oakland Athletics and with that comes a new season featuring a rejuvenated and renovated ballclub. To say that the offeseason in Oakland was eventful is an understatement. Fans witnessed Cahill, Breslow, Gonzalez, Sweeney, Moscoso, Outman and Bailey depart and saw a plethora of youthful faces migrate to the coliseum which included Cowgill, Parker, Norris, Reddick, Smith, Cook, Peacock, Milone, and Cole. Oakland has been busy on the free agent front as well signing Bartolo Colon, Jonny Gomes, and making a splash in the international market by signing Yoenis Cèspedes. The A's managed to resign Coco Crisp as well to a rather horendous 2 year/ 14 million dollar contract. Rumors are also suggesting that Oakland's offeseason acquisitions may not cease. Oakland apparently intends to sign another reliever such as Mike Gonzalez or trade for Koji Uehara. And of course, Manny Ramirez. But without further ado, here's my season preview of the 2012 Oakland Athletics

OUTFIELDERS:
The one single position that presented the most perplexing challenge entering the offseason was the outfield, which was setting itself up to become led by Ryan Sweeney, Michael Taylor, and Jermaine Mitchell. Now as spring training approaches, the outfield is still undecided, but now purely for the reason of having acquired too many outfielders. The starting regular that returns is Coco Crisp. Crisp utalized his specialty (Speed) and collected 49 stolen bases, which tied him for the AL lead once the season was complete. Coco's ability to hit won't dazzle critics (.264 avg/.314 OBP), but capabilities on the basepaths and in the outfield make him a useful tool. One might question a resign of Crisp after we managed to piece together a legitimate outfield. And a 14 million dollar contract is a gross overpayment. But, Crisp can can develop into a valuable trade possibility at the deadline.
Joining the green and gold via the Bailey trade, Josh Reddick becomes a wonderful addition to Oakland as the A's enter a period of adjustment. Reddick mystified Boston fanatics in his 87 games in 2011. He compiled a 1.9 WAR playing in 10 fewer games than Jemile Weeks collecting a .280/.323 statline along the way. Reddick becomes a fantastic defensive replacement to DeJesus as well, he amassed a 5.9 UZR playing 43 fewer games than DeJesus in RF. Look for much needed consistency from the former Bean town starling in 2012.
By relinquishing Moscoso and Outman to Colorado, Oakland gained another consistent chip to compliment their outfield chemistry. Seth Smith, famed for being Eli Manning's backup QB at Ole Miss and the last out of the 2007 world series, is taking his talents to the coliseum. Smith, who has a club option through 2014, hit .299 with a .356 OBP against righties last season and has hit .290 against righties over the duration of his career. I obstain from mentioning his statistics against lefties primarily for the reason that will not be utilized against them (He has a career .202 avg against lefties for his career). Someone who will be used exclusively for lefties is Petaluma native, Jonny Gomes. Gomes has a career 13-45 line in Oakland and hit .311 with a .407 OBP in just under 100 ABs against lefties in 2011. Gomes is likely to earn time at DH as well and will attract his usual fanclub to Oakland.
Cèspedes shocked the collective baseball world by selecting Oakland as his destination to showcase his talents on a major league stage. As previously stated, Cèspedes is a freakish athlete that hit .333/.424 in his last professional season and hit .458 in 6 WBC games in 2009. He possesses unparalleled talent defensively and can blossom into a legitimate all-star. There will be a period of adjustment in becoming acquainted with major league pitching, but Cèspedes' can make an immediate impact on Oakland's outfield corps.
Future outfielders still have yet to debut such as Choice, Green, and Mitchell. With this established nuecleus that Oakland has developed, the foundation has been set for competitive success with the Oakland athletics.


INFIELDERS:
Of course headlining the infield is Jemile Weeks. Weeks had a exemplarary rookie showcase hitting .303 (The best among 2nd basemen) and an OBP has eclipsed .340. Replacing Oakland's veteran, Mark Ellis, Jemile electrified Oakland with his exuberant style of play and he appealed as an endearing character with his humility. While his defense must improve (-4.1 UZR in 97 games), he still remains a spark plug for the White elephants. Most experts expect a sophomore slump from Weeks, however I personally disagree. While opposing pitchers may grow more accustom to Weeks, stating he'll decrease to hitting barely above .260 is outrageous. His average could decrease to .290 or .280, but Weeks remains a figure of importance in Oakland.
Cliff Pennington suffered a terribly lackluster campaign in 2011. His defense steadily declined (9.9 UZR in 2010/-5.2 UZR in 2011) and his normally stalwart production regressed as he committed atrocious errors. Pennington does provide relatively consistent offense, batting somewhere around .260 to .275 with a .320 to .335 OBP. Pennington recently stated, however, that he feels as though he's a .300 hitter. While this has yet to become reality, at least Cliff presents confidence. Pennington's defense should restore itself to some sort of it's 2010 form and with no challengers at shortstop, get comfortable with Cliff in 2012. In quite possibly the steal of 2011 for the Oakland Athletics, Beane swapped a below average reliever, David Purcey, for his soon to be starting 3rd basemen, Scott Sizemore. Sizemore, normally acclaimed at 2nd base, had to adjust to life at the "hot corner" and his struggles showed (-6.0 UZR), however, he still managed to preform dazzling plays taking his post on the left side of the infield. Sizemore (.245/.342) will become our best hitter with RISP due to Willingham's departure. RISP seemed to be Sizemore's specialty (86 ABs, .360 avg, .481 OBP). This uncanny ability to produce with RISP earned him a 1.55 clutch rating, which would've been the 6th best in all of baseball if he qualified for the minimum number of ABs. This production will be crucial in a potential dark horse run for Oakland as The A's look to Sizemore for consistent leadership.
First base welcomes an intriguing competition as Daric Barton and Brandon Allen square off for supremacy. Allen claimed the starting role after Barton was sent down to Sacramento and Allen promptly became a momentary phoenom beginning his Oakland career hitting 11-30 in
a 10 game honestand. Allen than began to suffer eventually barely keeping himself above the Mendoza line and finished with a collective .277 OBP. Where Allen trumps Barton in power, Barton trumps Allen in consistency. Barton, while hitting a dismal .212 avg and an average .325 OBP, he still maintained a 13.9% BB rate. Barton hit .273/.393 just in 2010 and he, very much like Pennington, possesses defensive capabilities that dwindled in 2011 (11.2 UZR in 2010/ 1.9 UZR in 2011). Look for a solid season from #10 and for him to snatch the starting role back from Allen. Unlike the outfield, the infield remains virtually similar to last year's. Prepare for improvement as each player gains much needed experience at their respective positions.

PITCHERS:
The offseason saw leaders on the starting staff such as Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey get traded for prospects. Two more
starting pitchers were sent to Colorado for Seth Smith in Moscoso and Outman. However, pitching still remains quite a large point of emphasis in 2012 as visions of a new rotation begins to shape.
Becoming Oakland's de facto #1 starter in 2012 is Brandon McCarthy. McCarthy's sense of humor and tremendous preformance on the mound quickly classified him as a fan favorite. McCarthy led the AL in FIP and ranked among the elite in BB/9 (2.86 FIP/1.32 BB/9). His outstanding control was a welcome addition to a lineup that contained two of the top 3 pitchers in the AL in terms of walks (Cahill and Gio). McCarthy is set to build apon his breakout 2011 and continue his success into 2012
Oakland made some headlines when they signed former AL Cy Young winner, Bartolo Colon, to a one year deal. Colon, who is 39, is far past his prime and showing noticeable signs of fatigue in August and September last season. However, when rested, Colon put up surprisingly consistent numbers Pre all-star break (3.20 ERA/ 1.14 WHIP). Oakland's plan seems to be to start Colon in the first half and then deal him to reintroduce Brett Anderson into the rotation.
Dallas Braden returns after making just three 2011 starts. Braden has not had a ERA or FIP above 3.90 in the past 3 seasons and promises to mentor the youth on the pitching staff as he did with Gio. Braden's return will be a joyous one for the Oakland faithful, witnessing their own bay area native on the mound once again.
Tom Milone figures to solidify a starting role in 2012. Acquired in the Gio trade from Washington, Milone's minor league numbers seem ludacris. He collected 155 strikeouts to 16 walks. He has drawn comparisons to Dallas Braden and his accuracy will be welcome for a team that started Trevor Cahill in 2011.
The fifth spot in the rotation must be decided in spring training. The candidates figure to be Tyson Ross, who sustained a debilitating injury that derailed his 2011, Graham Godfrey, who's FIP numbers seem to suggest success in the majors, and Brad Peacock, acquired in the Gio trade as well and who's FIP numbers dangerously increased from AA to AAA.
With others such as Jarrod Parker and AJ Cole to make impacts in years to come, the revamped rotation seems to be prepared for it's first test in 2012
With the departure of Andrew Bailey, the bullpen is without their two time all-star. The search for a new closer begins with Grant Balfour. Balfour has become infamous for his antics on the mound and his veteran leadership. The austrailian finished with a 2.47 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a .232 BABIP. He also was one of the AL leaders in holds as Oakland's set-up man in 2011.
Two other reasonable candidates for the closer role are Fautino De Los Santos and Joey Devine. Devine seemed to have a fantastic first half, holding opposing batters to a .195 avg. But very much like Tyson Ross, Devine suffered an injury and struggled to regain his consistency in the minors. Devine returns as a frontrunner for the closer role. De Los Santos also baffled the opposition early in the season, holding opponents to a .158 average in the first half. However, his inexperience reared it's head towards the end of the season. De Los Santos was only a rookie and he had an incredibly limited sample size (33.1 IP)
The bullpen will be solidified by those previously mentioned and Blevins, Fuentes, Carignan, Norberto and Cook. Rumors also suggest that Mike Gonzalez or Koji Uehara could be added before spring training begins.

CATCHERS:
Kurt Suzuki enters 2012 as it seems as though he will be replaced relatively soon with the addition of Derek Norris. When this transition to the Suzuki to Norris era is unknown, but it shall most likely occur at some point before or during the 2013 season. Suzuki had a dismal 2011 hitting at a frustrating .237 mark with a .301 OBP. To give you an idea of how terrible those numbers were, Conor Jackson possessed a better average and OBP than Suzuki. Suzuki did set a personal best for runners caught stealing, however, he also set a personal record for runners allowed to steal as well. Suzuki still promises to be a veteran presence in the clubhouse and a leader on and off the field. Recker will most likely be Suzuki's backup in 2012 and does not expect to make an impact. Derek Norris is nowhere near the majors at this moment in time, but very well could make an impression in 2013.

VERDICT:
The A's began 2011 with high hopes and monumental goals of upsetting the Texas Rangers and winning the AL West. That plan hopelessly failed as Oakland finished a deflating 74-88 campaign. With departures of Cahill, Gio, and Bailey afterwards, most fans felt alienated by the management and excepted a lackluster 2012 season. However, when reflecting apon the offseason, the team seems to have strengthened. The outfield and pitching staff has added notable talent that has given us a foundation in which to compete in future years to come. The infield and bullpen remain somewhat similar and continue to develop. And realistically, Baseball can be measured in statistics, however, it is somewhat of an imperfect science. It is also very much determined by a player's personal ideology. If a team such as Oakland can establish a strong sense of team unity and believe in a overall goal, they can exceed expectations. Am I saying that Oakland will win the world series or make the playoffs in 2012? Not nessescarilly. However, I believe for a team that easily could have been .500 in 2011 if not for being 25th in UZR and 2nd in all of baseball in errors, an 81 win season is achievable. As for my prediction: I believe maturation will be nessescary for The A's to compete with the elite in baseball, but I believe Oakland has a legitimate chance at their first +.500 season since 2006. FINAL RECORD: 83-79
And feel free to surprise me, Oakland.