Oakland Athletics

As we just passed the two-year mark since commissioner Bud Selig launched his "Blue-Ribbon" committee to determine if the Athletics would be granted permission to move to San Jose, I decided I wanted to look back at the failed attempts to stay in Oakland.

The Oakland Athletics haven’t been much a factor in the AL West the past few seasons, but are coming off a 81-81 finish where they ended the year second in the division behind the Rangers.

As Spring Training winds to a close, with only about 10 games remaining on the Cactus League schedule, the Oakland Athletics have already begun trimming their roster down to the required 25-men they plan to open the season with.

A few roster battles still remain, leaving a few roster spots in question. Likewise, a few injuries have popped up, which will provide opportunities to a few players who otherwise may have seen them ticketed for Minor League Spring Training and a trip to the minors.

The Oakland A’s are being called the San Francisco Giants of 2011.

The comparisons stem from the fact that the A’s have a solid pitching staff. Like the Giants, the A’s have added some key veterans to make a push towards the playoffs.

The last time the A’s made the playoffs was 2006 when they lost to the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. The A’s have added a list of veterans to help them get over the 500 mark for the first time in four years.

Josh Outman has been optioned by the Oakland Athletics to Triple-A Sacramento following a frustrating spring where he was unable to find consistency from the mound.

Outman put together a very promising rookie season in 2009, going 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA and earning some All-Star consideration before his season was cut short by elbow troubles that led to Tommy John surgery in mid-June.

In 2010, the Oakland Athletics took strides in the right direction, posting an 81-81 record to snap a streak of three consecutive losing seasons.  Though Oakland's pitching kept them competitive, lack of offensive production counteracted a solid rotation and kept the A's out of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

Brett Anderson had a bit of a coming-out party in 2010, though injuries didn’t allow him to fully put his talents on display. You can see by his numbers what could be possible:

Seven Wins
112.1 Innings
2.80 ERA
1.19 WHIP
75 Strikeouts (6.01 K/9)
22 Walks (1.76 BB/9)
.294 BABIP

The fifth starter competition is now officially without its original favorite.

Over the weekend manager Bob Geren declared Rich Harden officially out of the competition, stating that there was not enough time left in spring training for him to compete with other starters Brandon McCarthy, Josh Outman, Tyson Ross and Bobby Cramer.

"Yeah, there is not time for that," Geren said regarding Harden continuing to compete for the fifth starter spot.

It sounds weird, but there is an air of finality about the start of the Oakland A’s 2011 season.

The offseason additions of Josh Willingham and David DeJesus created a log-jam in the Oakland outfield. The two offseason trade acquisitions joined returning A's outfielders Coco Crisp, Ryan Sweeney, Conor Jackson and Chris Carter, meaning that come the end of Spring Training, there would be one player headed to Sacramento to begin the season.