Had the 2005 Oakland A's realized that the season starts in April, not June, we very well could have seen a 100 win total from last year's squad. After starting the season well under the .500 mark, Oakland came on strong to post a solid 88-74 record and chasing the wild card until the final couple of weeks.
I think that Oakland very well may be
the team to beat in the entire bigs this year. Here's why:
Pitching:Chicken Little was certainly getting a lot of work, running around with "the sky is falling" after Oakland dismantled the "big three." Turns out to be a pretty solid move after all.
- Rich Harden, 26 years old. In '05 Harden posted a 10-5 record on only 128 innings pitched. The real story is the 2.53 ERA and the better than one strike out per inning average. Harden is an ace in the wings.
- Danny Haren is another youngster. Looking beyond his 14-12 record, Haren was the victim of a bullpen that didn't find it's footing until late in the season. An innings monster, Haren tossed 217 innings, and posted a 3.73 ERA in '05
- Barry Zito does not have to carry the load, but boy...he sure can. Another slow start, yet another double digit win total in '05 to go along with a solid 3.86 ERA. And the greatest thing for Oakland? They don't need him - some team in the chase for a playoff birth in '06 is going to drastically overpay for Zito's services and that will strengthen an area of need for Oakland.
- Esteban Loaiza is a crafty signing by Billy & Co in the Bay area. They might have overpaid a bit for him, but Loaiza is capable of having a big year. His ERA in '05 was up to the task at 3.77 and with 173 K's Loaiza showed the ability to get people out. Not a headline grabbing signing, but a solid one when put into place with the other starting arms in this rotation.
One of the kids I am most excited about this season is Justin Duchscherer. 85 K's in 85 innings pitched, 2.21 ERA and Justin only surrended 7 home runs.
And then enter the rookie of the year, Huston Street. Once he got his fingers around that closer role - he wasn't letting it go. Rarely do you find a kid that young ready for this kind of role, but he really sparkled. 5-1, 23 out of 27 save shots, a sick 1.72 ERA and 72 K's in 78 innings pitched. The most amazing part of the 72 K's is the fact that so many of those came in the 9th inning during games in which he had to save leads of two runs or less. Street is the real deal.
Joe Blanton is a wild card. He's also one of their young guns. At 26 - last year was his first full year in the bigs. He struggled at times to a 12-12 record, but double digit wins for a rookie playing at the AL West is quite the feat. His ERA was very solid at 3.53.
On offense, Eric Chavez makes the world go around. He started slow and turned it on late - showing why he's one of the top third baseman in the game. 27 home runs and 100+ RBI's last season, his power numbers will go up in '06.
Milton Bradley is a potential time bomb - but he's saying all the right things right now. A .290 hitter last year, his power numbers fell off. He's a potential 20-30 home run guy that should knock on 90 RBI's.
Jay Payton is a solid, if unspectacular, outfiedler. Once he got out of Boston, his power numbers climbed. For a club that traditionally has a tough time scoring runs, the power numbers out of these three alone should be an improvement. Payton should easily equal his 18 home runs from last season.
Other interesting bats to watch will be Mark Kotsay (.280 / 15 /82), Jason Kendall (.271 with 58 RBI's), Bobby Kielty (.263 / 10 / 57) and...Frank Thomas?
Yep, the Big Hurt will DH for the A's. Could be interesting to see if the big man has anything left in his bat.
Mark Ellis, at .316 / 13 / 52 will provide a better bat at 2B than most clubs have. Youngster Bobby Crosby is a potential all-star at SS. Dan Johnson chipped in 15 big boy flies and 58 home runs last year and will start at 1B.
Defensively this is a very strong club all around the horn. Kendall's ability might be slipping a bit, Melhuse is a vet that has been around that could provide quality in the back up role. The A's have one of the strongest outfields in the bigs and the 3B, SS, 2B combo is a very good one. In only 84 games last year, Crosby turned 60 DP's on his way to a very fine .981 fielding percentage and only 7 errors. Second baseman Mark Ellis is over shadowed for his glove, his fielding percentage was .996, turning 86 double plays and only 6 errors. 5 of those errors came while he played out of position, subbing for the injured Crosby.
Defense wise, Chavez might be the weak link - I'm using "weak link" in the lightest of terms. He's usually good for 12-14 errors per year on his way to a mid .970 / .980 fielding percentage and almost always over 300 assists. As a method of comparison, the Yankees Alex Rodriguez is widely considered one of the slickest fielding infield players. He's only finished one major league season without double digit errors.
I feel that Oakland has the defense to hang with the running Angels and the arms to deal with the slugging Texans. Seattle could be a problem for some teams this season, the division might come down to who plays the Mariners the best. I see Oakland reeling in a 95+ win season this year, barring injury.
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