Thursday, August 17, 2006
A's en fuego
It's August, which means the Oakland Athletics are on a tear, currently leading the AL West by 6 1/2 games. Can they keep it up? I'll be optimistic for once and say that I think they will win the division. Despite a starting pitching staff that looked deep to start the season, the A's have been shorthanded due to injuries to both Rich Harden and Esteban Loiaza, having to use multiple spot starters. Barry Zito and Dan Haren have both been good if inconsistent. Joe Blanton's hit rate is way up this year and he's still giving up a lot of walks, but he's capable of throwing a gem at any time. Loiaza is looking much better lately, and if Harden manages to make it back in time for the playoffs, the staff looks a hell of a lot better all of a sudden.
The bullpen is also very good, with Kiko Calero, Justin Duchscherer, and Huston Street combining to be one of the best 7-8-9th inning combinations in baseball, accompanied by a variety of fairly capable middle/long relievers in the 'pen with them. All of the pitchers have been helped by Oakland's underrated defense, which (when healthy) features three outfielders with excellent range and a solid infield.
Of course, the offense has been a weak spot for Oakland all season, which is reflected in their weak run differential. However, there is reason to believe we'll see some improvement heading down the stretch. There haven't been many times this season where all of the A's key hitters have been healthy. Nick Swisher was red-hot early in the year only to come down with mono or something like that, but he appears to be heating up again. Jay Payton started out the year badly and has since rebounded, while Frank Thomas has started hitting like, well, Frank Thomas. Mark Ellis and Jason Kendall have shown some signs of life lately as well. Although Mark Kotsay and Eric Chavez continue to battle nagging injuries, Bobby Crosby should return soon and the A's will actually have all of their starters in place for the first time in a while.
I think they'll have enough gas in the tank to hold off the Angels and Rangers. I'm more concerned about the Rangers and their high-powered offense, but their pitching staff is pretty bad, with very inconsistent starters and no great arms in the bullpen (outside of closer Akinori Otsuka). They could make a run, but the A's already have that 6 1/2 game lead.
Bottom line is that if the A's get healthy and stay that way, they should hold on to win the division. If Harden is 100% by the playoffs, they could even do some damage there; Zito, Haren, and Harden have the potential to shut anyone down. OK, almost anyone. Fuckin' Yankees.
The bullpen is also very good, with Kiko Calero, Justin Duchscherer, and Huston Street combining to be one of the best 7-8-9th inning combinations in baseball, accompanied by a variety of fairly capable middle/long relievers in the 'pen with them. All of the pitchers have been helped by Oakland's underrated defense, which (when healthy) features three outfielders with excellent range and a solid infield.
Of course, the offense has been a weak spot for Oakland all season, which is reflected in their weak run differential. However, there is reason to believe we'll see some improvement heading down the stretch. There haven't been many times this season where all of the A's key hitters have been healthy. Nick Swisher was red-hot early in the year only to come down with mono or something like that, but he appears to be heating up again. Jay Payton started out the year badly and has since rebounded, while Frank Thomas has started hitting like, well, Frank Thomas. Mark Ellis and Jason Kendall have shown some signs of life lately as well. Although Mark Kotsay and Eric Chavez continue to battle nagging injuries, Bobby Crosby should return soon and the A's will actually have all of their starters in place for the first time in a while.
I think they'll have enough gas in the tank to hold off the Angels and Rangers. I'm more concerned about the Rangers and their high-powered offense, but their pitching staff is pretty bad, with very inconsistent starters and no great arms in the bullpen (outside of closer Akinori Otsuka). They could make a run, but the A's already have that 6 1/2 game lead.
Bottom line is that if the A's get healthy and stay that way, they should hold on to win the division. If Harden is 100% by the playoffs, they could even do some damage there; Zito, Haren, and Harden have the potential to shut anyone down. OK, almost anyone. Fuckin' Yankees.
# posted by Smooth : 10:27 AM
