Last Year: Last year, the
A's started very slowly, and it took a huge second half to get to the
playoffs comfortably. This year, they would like to have to avoid
making up so much ground in the 2nd half, and to allow their big guns to
rest up for the playoffs. The main loss is Jason Giambi, who is one
player the A's cannot replace. Art Howe was able to manage his club to
the playoffs amiss rumors of firings and hirings.Infield:
Eric Chavez blasted out last year for a great season, but chances are his
growing is not yet complete. Chavez struggled through the first half,
and used a monster 2nd half to finish with a great year. He's also
improved his fielding to Gold Glove expectations. Miguel Tejada
stars at shortstop, and also needs to cut down on the wild swings, but could
easily slug 40 HR's. The Frank Menechino/Randy Velarde platoon brings
stability to the 2 spot in the lineup. Carlos Peņa will start at 1st
base for now, but his hitting will need to improve. He has great
talent, and a great 1B glove, but the A's would like to see his hitting
improve. Ramon Hernandez has excellent fielding and a great handle for
the A's pitching staff, but should also be able to improve his offensive
numbers from last year as well.
Outfield: The backbone of this outfield is Jermaine Dye, but he's
out for a while with the broken leg suffered in last year's series vs. the
Yankees. When he's back, he brings a 30 HR presence, a Gold Glove, and
a true #4 hitter in the lineup. T. Long flanks him in CF, while he
also brings consistency to the lineup. Lastly, David Justice in left
field brings power and experience, plus a potential 40 HR bat.
Bench: The DH for the A's is going to be Jeremy Giambi,
though he will also spend time in left field and first base. Always
overshadowed by his brother, he has the same hitting style and could put up
very solid numbers in the leadoff spot, though he is definitely not your
prototypical leadoff man. Scott Hatteberg brings a bat to 1B and C,
and Velarde/Menechino brings defense off the bench. Olmedo Saenz
brings righty pop off the bench and can DH as well. Mario Valdez
brings a good lefty bat and can play 1B.
Starting 5: The A's starting rotation is the future of baseball.
We'll start with Tim Hudson. Though small in stature, he makes up for
with a giant heart and excellent statistics. Last year, he battled
back from a slow start to notch 18 wins and a 3.37 ERA. Mark Mulder
and his fastball bring 20 wins to the table, as well as a dominating
repertoire. Barry Zito is the oddball out of the big 3 (Hudson,
Mulder, Zito), with his quirky habits and interesting hair. When on,
he is the most dominating pitcher in baseball, with 10 wins and a 1.32 ERA
during one stretch last year. He also has the best overhand curveball
in baseball, comparable to Sandy Koufax. Cory Lidle brings a solid 4th
starter to the table, though he will be hard-pressed to repeat last years
excellent results (3.59 ERA). Erik Hiljus, the talented youngster
brings his 3.41 ERA, though he will have to pitch a full year now.
Bullpen: This pen was a weakness last year. Jason
Isringhausen is gone, but the addition of Billy Koch should make up for it.
He is a very dominating closer, and his 4.80 ERA of last year doesn't show
his true ability. Jeff Tam and Jim Mecir bring a very solid 1-2 punch
out of the pen, with 3.01 and 3.43 ERA's respectively. The 3 Mikes (Venafro,
Holtz, and Magnante) form the lefty part of the bullpen, which is amazing to
have 3 lefthanders in a bullpen, and 5 on the whole staff.
Conclusion: The A's superstar used to be Jason Giambi. Now
it's the Big 3. All the same, these A's are ready to play, and should
contend for the AL West title, if they can only get some consistent,
middle-of-the-lineup hitting.
