Improved A’s face key questions
Posted: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 12:48 PM
An advanced degree in “Moneyball,” the book authored by Michael Lewis on how A’s general manager Billy Beane goes about running a cost-effective but also competitive franchise, wasn’t needed to fix the A’s this winter.
Beane saw the flaws of last season’s team, and aggressively addressed them. Oakland is a trendy pick to challenge the Angels’ dominance of the AL West, but to do so the A’s must get positive answers to some critical questions.
Oakland’s 2008 resume read last in the AL in runs (119 runs, nearly one per game behind the TENTH place Angels), last in OPS (.686 to AL average .755), last in OBP, 11th in home runs, fifth in ERA, and second in relief ERA.
Summary: The A’s couldn’t hit for average or walk. They featured one power threat (Jack Cust), and had a strong bullpen that had too few leads to protect.
So Beane quickly went to work. He identified his targets, and traded for Matt Holliday, who becomes a free agent after the season. Beane also added free agents Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparra at little financial risk. And now the A’s have a legitimate lineup that’s thick with power through the middle.
Last year, the A’s had one player (Cust) in the top 50 in the AL in OPS. Despite his age (38), Giambi (with the Yankees) still ranked 13th in 2008 in AL OPS. Holliday has motivation to prove his worth outside Coors Field, as he’ll be agent Scott Boras’ show pony next winter). And Cabrera, while not a huge stick, is an upgrade from Bobby Crosby, who in 2008, was last among qualified AL shortstops with .645 OPS.
Let’s go now to the questions so vital to the A’s fortunes. If Eric Chavez can sustain health for any substantial part of the season, the A’s should have one of the game’s most improved lineups. It does, though, come with gamble and sacrifice.
Can Giambi play first base most games? The A’s need that to allow Cust to stay away from a glove and act as fulltime DH. If Giambi is forced to DH, then Cust goes to right field, and a combination of Nomar Garciaparra and Daric Barton handles first base. Can Chavez regain some of his All-Star form? And can Ryan Sweeney develop more pop to avoid a possible platoon with Rajai Davis in center field?
These A’s may trend towards their predecessors of 10 years ago, heavy on power, and getting on base, while light on defense. They are deep with Garciaparra and Crosby (unless he’s traded) serving as super subs. And Davis provides speed off the bench.
We think the A’s will hit, but will they pitch?
Beane said last week that he was most concerned about his fourth and fifth starters. Then Justin Duchscherer, the A’s projected No. 1 starter, began to feel elbow pain, raising some questions over whether that issue eventually disappears or becomes a serious one. The development with Duchscherer has reportedly triggered internal discussions about returning him to the bullpen, something Duchscherer is not in favor of. Problem is the A’s lack a top starter without Duchscherer, and he is fragile with a twice-repaired hip.
Last time Oakland made the postseason a strong finish from Barry Zito, and shutdown relieving from Duchscherer and Huston Street, fueled its 2006 season. This season questions abound in the rotation, and the late game duo of Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine, is unproven under pressure.
It will take a lot of good fortune on the mound for the A’s to seriously contend, but at least Beane, through the moves he has made, has given the A’s some hope of challenging the Angels.
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. BASEBALL AMERICA has its Top 100 prospects…issue out, and the battle for top billing is between David Price (remember his late-season Tampa Bay heroics), and Orioles’ catcher Matt Wieters. There’s a tough call ahead for Baltimore. Do the Orioles keep Wieters to start the season or allow him some more time (and delay his major-league service time clock as Tampa Bay did with Evan Longoria) in Triple-A?
2. BASEBALL MAY LOSE ONE OF ITS BRIGHTEST MINDS. Sandy Alderson will leave the Padres before opening day when the operation of the team goes to its new owner, Jeff Moorad. Credible reports have Alderson as a leading candidate for Pac-10 Commissioner, a move that could be a tremendous gain for the conference, and a big loss of a significant executive for over two decades for MLB.
3. JUST IN CASE YOU STILL DON’T BELIEVCE THE ECONOMY…is struggling, (HEADLINE - I HEARD SCOTT BORAS acknowledge the economic downturn in a Friday interview. Such drama is not recommended while driving), note that the New York Yankees are taking out large ads in New York papers to sell high-priced seats in the new Yankee Stadium. Now the Yankees advertising anything is like Streisand on an infomercial.
4. WATCHED A FEW MINUTES OF THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC…and saw a full-page graphic highlighting the pitch count restrictions in effect. I understand why the MLB teams want these restrictions, but how can this event attain full credibility under these circumstances? At least Olympic baseball was played (until a silly 2008 rule change) without handcuffs.
5. AS HYSTERIA ABOUNDS OVER A-ROD’S ADMISSION...Eric Gagne will slip away unnoticed. He was released Sunday by Milwaukee. Look at his 2002-04 numbers, as astounding a three-year stretch as any reliever has ever enjoyed. Then read about Gagne in the Mitchell Report. No outcry, which lends credence to the complaints that A-Rod and Barry Bonds have been singled out in the performance-enhancing-drug era.
