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2014 Oakland Athletics
2013 Year in Review
2013 Record: 96-66; 1st in the AL West
- Second straight AL West championship, losing in five games to the Tigers.
- Second best ERA in the league. The offense is balanced with strong defense up the middle and in RF with Reddick.
- Bright spots: AJ Griffin and Jarrod Parker were a great starting duo under 25 years of age, keeping ERA under 4. Bartolo Colon won my heart keeping his weight under 400. Holy crap, he won 18 games too? Drugs are awesome.
- Dim spots: I'm not sure if Oakland Coluseum Poopergate was a low light or the greatest thing to happen last summer. But, they are in the worst stadium in the league by a wide margin. Who knows where the franchise will end up.
2014 Preview
Key Additions
- SP Scott Kazmir
-UTILITY Nick Punto
-Fernando Abad
Key Losses
-CL Grant Belfour
-SP Bartolo Colon
-RP Jerry Blevins
-Jarrod Parker had Tommy John surgery
Projected Starting Lineup
1. CF Coco Crisp
2. 3B Josh Donaldson
3. SS Jed Lowrie
4. LF Yoenis Cespedes
5. 1B Brandon Moss/Daric Barton platoon
6. RF Josh Reddick
7. 2B Alberto Callaspo
8. DH John Jaso (Due to a concussion)
9. C Derrick Norris
Projected Pitching Rotation
1. SP Sonny Gray
2. SP Scott Kazmir
3. SP Dan Straily
4. SP Tom Milone
5. SP Jesse Chavez
*A.J. Griffin is slated to start his return in mid-April and be the ace, but its hard to say with injuries to a pitching arm.
Closer and setup:
CL - Jim Johnson
Lefty setup - Sean Doolittle
Righty setup - Luke Gregerson
Deep bullpen:
Fernando Abad? He's not that Agood. They do have Billy Beane finding these guys I've barely heard of before, so they are probably the shit. Ryan Cook, Dan Otero, Evan Scriebner, and the legendary Drew Pomerantz.
Best Case Scenario
All these injured arms get healthy by late April and they don't wear out the healthy arms in the process. Cespedes starts looking like a possible MVP candidate, which he flashed in his first year in the States. Josh Donaldson is one of those guys who could end up being above average or just blow up... in fact the entire roster is young and bursting with the potential to step up. I'm petrified of Billy Beane, and you should too.
Worst Case Scenario
They leave the Bay area because the Giants have won over the suburbs straight up to wine country. Oh, this year? Got it... They never have star power like the rest of the West. They have Cespedes and a bunch of guys who are under appreciated unless you follow the minors and advanced statistics. They have actually gotten away from the speed and contact game that "Moneyball" was credited for reviving. But, they have injuries. They also lost their top three starters and are relying on a green kid, Sonny Gray, to fill huge clown shoes as the #1 pitcher out of the gate. The rational minds are giving them a fighting chance at the wild card, but injuries can get in the way of that.
Prediction
85-77, AL Wildcard
I'm not betting against Billy Beane. I'll give them the AL wildcard with a bunch of guys I've never heard of leading the way. It's the house that Al Davis built, leaking raw sewage on the homeless around it... how they win this much is a complete mystery.
2013 Year in Review
2013 Record: 96-66; 1st in the AL West
- Second straight AL West championship, losing in five games to the Tigers.
- Second best ERA in the league. The offense is balanced with strong defense up the middle and in RF with Reddick.
- Bright spots: AJ Griffin and Jarrod Parker were a great starting duo under 25 years of age, keeping ERA under 4. Bartolo Colon won my heart keeping his weight under 400. Holy crap, he won 18 games too? Drugs are awesome.
- Dim spots: I'm not sure if Oakland Coluseum Poopergate was a low light or the greatest thing to happen last summer. But, they are in the worst stadium in the league by a wide margin. Who knows where the franchise will end up.
2014 Preview
Key Additions
- SP Scott Kazmir
-UTILITY Nick Punto
-Fernando Abad
Key Losses
-CL Grant Belfour
-SP Bartolo Colon
-RP Jerry Blevins
-Jarrod Parker had Tommy John surgery
Projected Starting Lineup
1. CF Coco Crisp
2. 3B Josh Donaldson
3. SS Jed Lowrie
4. LF Yoenis Cespedes
5. 1B Brandon Moss/Daric Barton platoon
6. RF Josh Reddick
7. 2B Alberto Callaspo
8. DH John Jaso (Due to a concussion)
9. C Derrick Norris
Projected Pitching Rotation
1. SP Sonny Gray
2. SP Scott Kazmir
3. SP Dan Straily
4. SP Tom Milone
5. SP Jesse Chavez
*A.J. Griffin is slated to start his return in mid-April and be the ace, but its hard to say with injuries to a pitching arm.
Closer and setup:
CL - Jim Johnson
Lefty setup - Sean Doolittle
Righty setup - Luke Gregerson
Deep bullpen:
Fernando Abad? He's not that Agood. They do have Billy Beane finding these guys I've barely heard of before, so they are probably the shit. Ryan Cook, Dan Otero, Evan Scriebner, and the legendary Drew Pomerantz.
Best Case Scenario
All these injured arms get healthy by late April and they don't wear out the healthy arms in the process. Cespedes starts looking like a possible MVP candidate, which he flashed in his first year in the States. Josh Donaldson is one of those guys who could end up being above average or just blow up... in fact the entire roster is young and bursting with the potential to step up. I'm petrified of Billy Beane, and you should too.
Worst Case Scenario
They leave the Bay area because the Giants have won over the suburbs straight up to wine country. Oh, this year? Got it... They never have star power like the rest of the West. They have Cespedes and a bunch of guys who are under appreciated unless you follow the minors and advanced statistics. They have actually gotten away from the speed and contact game that "Moneyball" was credited for reviving. But, they have injuries. They also lost their top three starters and are relying on a green kid, Sonny Gray, to fill huge clown shoes as the #1 pitcher out of the gate. The rational minds are giving them a fighting chance at the wild card, but injuries can get in the way of that.
Prediction
85-77, AL Wildcard
I'm not betting against Billy Beane. I'll give them the AL wildcard with a bunch of guys I've never heard of leading the way. It's the house that Al Davis built, leaking raw sewage on the homeless around it... how they win this much is a complete mystery.
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