Oakland Athletics

There was a point in time in the season where the Oakland A's could have made a surprising run at the American League West division title, but all hope are pretty much gone after another dreadful performance against the New York Yankees. 

So, what is there for the second half of the season for the A's? Well there's five things the A's have to have to show they could become a contender in the American League West division. 

As the All-Star Game approaches, let's take an updated look at Ben Sheets' season.

Last night, Sheets had his longest outing of the season, going 7.1 innings in a tough 3-1 loss against the mighty Yankees. This was his second-best outing of the year and his best one in a month, as he faced a very deep lineup.

The game displayed the ups and downs of his season. Sheets pitched a great game, except the home run that he gave up to Mark Teixeira, but still lost.

It was pretty well known around here last season that I was not a fan of A's righthander Trevor Cahill.

That wasn't so much because I didn't think the former top prospect had great potential. It was more due to the fact that Cahill wasn't performing well and had completely ditched his best pitch, a big curveball.

Cahill throws five pitches: a four-seamer in the low-90's, a two-seamer around 90 with unbelievable movement, a low-80's changeup with excellent movement, the big curve, and a slider.

The Oakland Athletics have a few players that are deserving of an All-Star invitation, including Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney, and Andrew Bailey.

Despite how great all of these players are playing right now, Trevor Cahill is the most deserving of any.

The 22-year-old right-hander is from the Southern California area and should be returning there to represent the A's in Angel Stadium. Cahill is 7-2 on the year with an impressive 2.88 ERA.

Of his 12 starts, 10 have been "quality starts," and the team has won nine of the games started by Cahill.

When Oakland Athletics fans (well, the ones that are left) walk into the Oakland Coliseum, they see a third deck covered in forest green tarp (not because of rain but because it makes the rest of the stadium "look more packed") and a team full of super...who's?

Since 2000, the A's have won the Western Division four times and the wild card once.

But since 2006, the low-budget ball club has yet to make the playoffs and seem poised for another run ending on October 3 against fellow division bottom feeder, Seattle.

The A's have had plenty of talent leave Oakland over the years.

Regardless of the fact that the team has had a three-peat of World Series wins in the 1970s, and remains competitive in a small-market, it seems that the Athletics get lost in a league that is dominated by big-market teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The departure of talent from the East Bay can be attributed to three things:

1) The city of Oakland. The A's need to separate themselves from the Raiders and Mt. Davis.

When I first arrived at the Oakland Coliseum for Tuesday's game against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, the sky was mostly blue as the sun was successfully holding streaks of gloom at bay.

By the time the Athletics had finished batting practice about an hour later, the clouds had inflicted heavy casualties on the other side and were threatening to win the battle in a romp.

That seems like a pretty good metaphor for the tack Oakland's 2010 season is on at the moment.

What started off in azure warmth is beginning to go cold and gray.

Bob Geren's continued misuse of the Oakland A's bullpen is getting very tiresome. Another game for the A's where the decisions made by Geren were headscratching to say the least. 

Although, there was one decision that Geren made right was taking Gio Gonzalez out after pitching seven solid innings and bringing in Craig Breslow. This because Breslow has been the most consistent reliever out of the bullpen this year for the A's. Every other decision after that has cost the A's runs and the game. 

After yet another near-sweep of a relatively weak team, the Seattle Mariners this time, the St. Louis Cardinals continue their quest for dominance in interleague play. 

St. Louis looks to recapture first place in the NL Central this weekend against the Oakland Athletics. 

The Cardinals haven't enjoyed much success on their California trips this year. They went 1-2 against the San Francisco Giants, 1-2 against the San Diego Padres, and 0-4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The Oakland Athletics were hanging tight in the race for the American League 
West division title. After the past two series where the A's have lost five games out of six that were played, it has become clear the A's need to make some major adjustments. 

That would involve making trades for a big time bat in the lineup. The only problem is, what self-respecting player would want to play for Bob Geren? This was shown by the most recent trade the A's have made.