Eric Chavez

Remember when Billy Beane traded for Matt Holliday? Or when he signed Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera in an attempt to boost an anemic offense?

Remember when the A's were said to be the darkhorse team in the American League?

With the month of June half over, the A's trail the first place Rangers by nine games. How can a team with Matt Holliday, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Giambi be nine games out of first?

Billy Beane used too make great decisions and make trades that benefited the Oakland A's, but lately, Beane's genius has backfired on him, and it hasn't been pretty for the Oakland A's.

No one could make the argument that the hiring of Ken Macha was the beginning of the end for the A's run, but at least Macha had teams that made the playoffs and had a winning record.

This article originally appeared on Fantasyfootballmaniaxs.com.

The 2009 Oakland Athletics have created the opportunity to compete in the American League West, especially with the veteran hitters brought in during the offseason. These players are going to determine how the A's season will be.

Last season, the main problem for the A's was their offense. Part of the reason was injuries to key players like Ryan Sweeney, Eric Chavez, and Mark Ellis.

With those injuries it forced in players that were not necessarily ready to be in the major leagues players like Eric Patterson, Cliff Pennington, Wes Bankston, and Brooks Conrad.