The Oakland A’s have had a pretty productive offseason so far as they try to improve on their .500 record from 2010. Of course one of the keys on improving on that record is the development of their offense. They are going to need to do better than finishing 11th in the American League in runs scored in order to pass the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
Another key to the A’s’ season is getting closer Andrew Bailey healthy.
Bailey is on schedule for Opening Day
Bailey missed the final month-and-a-half of the regular season last year because of an elbow injury. When he went to visit Dr. James Andrews, I thought he was headed for Tommy John surgery, but that was not the case. All Bailey needed was a quick “clean up,” which was great news for A’s fans.
Five months later, A’s fans got some more great news about the former AL Rookie of the Year.
According to MLB.com’s Jane Lee, Bailey was cleared to begin throwing again, and all signs point to him being ready for Opening Day. I know the godfather of Moneyball Billy Beane doesn’t believe in one guy being the man in the ninth, the A’s really do need Bailey in 2011.
In two seasons with the A’s, Bailey has a 1.70 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and averaged 7.7 K’s/9. Bailey saw a slight dip in his K/9 from 9.8 in 2009 to 7.7 in 2010, and he saw a HUGE increase in his O-Contact Percentage (Percentage of times a batter makes contact with the ball when swinging at pitches thrown outside the strike zone) from 57.6 percent in 2009 to 66.9 percent in 2010.
That nine percent increase is pretty big. I will attribute those dips in performance to his elbow issue and spending time on the disabled list with a right intercostal strain beginning in late July.
The reason Bailey is so important to the A’s is because when you put him and Brad Ziegler at the end of games, the game is over. If Bailey can’t go early on, Ziegler is a more than adequate replacement, but the both of them together give the A’s a lethal one-two punch in the eighth and ninth.
The next step for Bailey is to start throwing from 120 feet. If he can do that pain free, all signs point to him being ready by Opening Day.
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