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.
The additions of Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra, Orlando Cabrera, and Matt Holliday should pay off immediately for the A's and they should be able to jump out to a solid start. Their defensive lineup for the season should resemble this:
C: Kurt Suzuki
1B: Jason Giambi
2B: Mark Ellis
SS: Orlando Cabrera
3B: Eric Chavez
LF: Matt Holliday
CF: Ryan Sweeney
RF: Travis Buck
Reserves:
Bobby Crosby
Rajai Davis
Nomar Garciaparra
Daric Barton
Jack Hannahan
Landon Powell
Defensively, the A's have one of the best double play combinations in all of baseball. Ellis is one of the most underrated second basemen in the league, especially with the glove.
Offensively, with him being healthy, he should have a year similar to his 2007 season, where he hit .276 had 19 homers and 76 RBI.
There are two question marks on defense in going into the season. One is the health of Eric Chavez. The A's have three choices if Chavez is not able to go on Opening Day: Garciaparra, Crosby, or Hannahan.
The other issue defensively is Giambi. Do the A's sacrifice a not-so-limber first basemen in Giambi and put him at the DH, leaving Cust on the bench? Do the A's hope that Barton can start hitting like he did when he started off so well in 2007?
Even with these questions the A's offense has dramatically improved from last season. The A's should expect to be able to give their starters some runs, so they can relax on the mount and not have to worry about making the perfect pitch because their offense is so much stronger than it has been in a long while.
The starting rotation, though, is young and inexperienced which is another concern. Even though last year, the A's had a strong rotation that kept them in ball games and finished the season with the fourth best ERA in the American League and tied for 10th in all of baseball at 4.01.
The rotation is setup like this:
1. Dallas Braden
2. Dana Eveland
3. Trevor Cahill
4. Brett Anderson
5. Josh Outman
Unfortunately for the A's, their ace in Duchscherer had to have elbow surgery and won't be back for at least another month. So, the A's biggest strength from last year may not be turned into a weakness.
Dallas Braden will get the opening day nod for the A's. Even though the A's have some inexperienced starting pitchers with Kurt Suzuki in his third year and continuing to grow as a solid everyday catcher, the A's pitchers should be able to mature very quickly.
The A's starters should have some struggles, but with Suzuki and the added offense this year the A's will be able to afford to give up a few runs and it won't be as a big of a worry as it was last year.
The bullpen should resemble this:
Jerry Blevins
Gio Gonzalez
Andrew Bailey
Russ Springer
Michael Wuertz
Santiago Casilla
Brad Ziegler
The bullpen should be strong this season with the added presence of Springer and Wuertz. Gonzalez may struggle a little bit, but he does give the A's a second lefty in the bullpen and a replacement for the departed Alan Embree.
Ziegler won't be as dominant as he was when he first arrived on the major league scene, but he does know how to pitch and should have a solid start to the season. If he does struggle, look for Casilla to replace Ziegler as closer or possibly Gonzalez.
It would have been Joey Devine taking over as closer for the A's, but Devine has had recurring elbow pain and apparently may need season ending ligament replacement surgery. He's currently visiting Dr. James Andrews for his injury.
The A's have the talent put up a solid beginning of the season especially with the added offense of Holliday, Cabrera, and Giambi in the lineup. Even with the concern of the young pitching, the A's should be able to start off the season well.
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