* – indicates new to team
ERA – Earned Run Average
HR – Home Runs
RBI – Runs Batted In
SV – Saves

1. Los Angeles Angels
They’ve filled in their holes, but will they take shape?
2. Seattle Mariners
A Cy Young winner, but no big bat to speak of.
3. Texas Rangers
The bats are there and the bullpen, but who are the starting pitchers?
4. Oakland Athletics
A promising pitching staff going to waste without any run support.

Player to Watch: P Cliff Lee Seattle Mariners
His ’07 season was a forgettable one. Five wins to eight losses. An ERA at 6.29 in 20 appearances. Started 16 games, was removed from the starting rotation and eventually sent down to the minors to fix what was wrong. That was all the wake up call he needed as the ’08 season he won 22 games to only 3 losses in 31 starts for the Cleveland Indians. His ERA was an astounding 2.54. Astounding because he did it in the American League. The ’08 season was his Cy Young year and the ’09 season could have been another had the Indians been contending most of the year. However, he was traded to the Phillies and promptly helped them get to the World Series where Lee continued to perform beyond expectations. He was the winning pitcher in both wins against the Yankees and was primed for a big extension. Partly why the Phillies decided to let him go in order to get Roy Halladay. Lee has deceptive stuff. He won’t overpower you, but will make you look silly if you think he’s gonna throw a fastball, but oops that was his changeup. Seattle becomes instant contenders in the division thanks in large part to the arrival of Lee. In a contract he will likely continue to outperform expectations and help the Mariners climb to respectability in AL West.
Manager on the Hot Seat: Bob Geren Oakland Athletics
General Manager Billy Beane is one of the most creative GMs in the game today. Always makes the best possible deal that will help the club long term. Never likes to spend a lot of money on one or two players. However, pressure is starting to slowly creep up on Beane. That means it will be making its way to manager Bob Geren. Geren has fielded average ball clubs in his three seasons as manager (76, 75, 75 wins). However, Geren is changing the way the Athletics are accustomed to playing. Normally the A’s play with power and hardly any speed. That has changed since Geren has taken over. They haven’t had the kind of lineup that was seen earlier in the decade, but he is making the most out of what he has. Speed is the new power for Oakland. It has given opponents in the American League fits since they’ve known the Athletics to be a more swing for the fences type team. Speed won’t be enough though to get them out of the cellar in the AL West. Seattle has improved from last years 85 win performance. Texas can still hit and has the best bullpen in the division. Oakland does have one thing they can count on and that’s the fact they have another young crop of pitching that will eventually get them back at the top. It won’t include Geren though.
Trade Bait: P Ben Sheets Oakland Athletics
I was very puzzled when GM Billy Beane drew up a contract for Ben Sheets that include 10 million dollars for one year. But then it started to make sense, for Beane, not the Athletics. Beane likes to make trades to better position his team for the future. He took a risk signing Sheets though. Sheets missed all of ’09 due to a shoulder injury and wasn’t signed by anyone down the stretch toward the postseason. Sheets has great stuff, but can’t stay healthy anymore. From ’02-’04 he played in 200+ innings and started in 34 games each year for the Milwaukee Brewers. The next three years were marred in injuries for him in Milwaukee. The ’08 season was a return to form (13-9 3.09 ERA), but that’s when he suffered the shoulder injury before the Brewers postseason run. If Sheets is banged up, it will be seen as a disastrous move by Beane. If Sheets plays anywhere near his career year of ’04 (12-14 2.70 ERA 264 K to 32 BB), Oakland will undoubtedly take advantage of that and trade him for 2-3 prospects from a contender. Sheets again is a great talent, but a risk for a low budget team that can’t afford to have him go down for very long. If Oakland is somehow in contention though, will Beane still pull the trigger knowing he probably won’t be able to keep him long term? Oakland has some thinking to do.

Angels Lineup

SS Erick Aybar
.312 AVG 5 HR 58 RBI
RF Bobby Abreu
.293 AVG 15 HR 103 RBI
1B Kendry Morales
.306 AVG 34 HR 108 RBI
CF Torii Hunter
.299 AVG 22 HR 90 RBI
DH Hideki Matsui*
.274 AVG 28 HR 90 RBI
LF Juan Rivera
.287 AVG 25 HR 88 RBI
C Mike Napoli
.272 AVG 20 HR 56 RBI
2B Howie Kendrick
.291 AVG 10 HR 61 RBI
3B Brandon Wood
.195 AVG 1 HR 3 RBI

No Chone Figgins or Vladimir Guerrero for the lineup this year. To replace them the Angels signed the World Series MVP in Matsui and have given the third base job to top prospect Brandon Wood. All the other spots remain intact and will look to continue on last seasons success in which the Angels lead the American League in batting and were second in runs scored. Aybar had a breakout year to which this year he will be counted on to be the new leadoff hitter. He’s a tough out and is lightning fast when he’s on base. Those 14 steals are expected to be higher now that he will get a chance at 600+ at bats this year. Abreu was rewarded with a three year extension in the offseason after changing the culture with the Angels hitters. Patience is definitely a virtue as the Halos finished third in the AL in OBP (On Base Percentage). Abreu didn’t have a career year, but driving in 103 runs and stealing 30 bases were amazing for a guy now 36 years old. Morales was getting MVP consideration with his power production. When Guerrero went down and Hunter before the All-Star break, the one constant was Morales and his bat. Letting Mark Teixeira go now seems like the best thing the Angels could have done entering the ’09 season. Hunter was probably the favorite to win the MVP award until he went down with a rib injury around the All-Star break. That and Joe Mauer of the Twins was just destroying every pitcher in the league. Hunter is the quint essential leader of this team. He has the best glove of any center fielder in the game. His bat is a perfect fit in the middle of a lineup that stresses small ball, but if given the opportunity Hunter will punish a mistake pitch. Matsui will have all eyes on him. The Angels let Guerrero go, arguably the face of the franchise his 5 years in Anaheim. Matsui is another patient hitter that will fit the new style, but will he have the kind of production he was putting up in New York? With only a one year contract, it seems doable, but he is 36 with bad knees. Rivera had a career year. When given the chance to play he can put up some decent numbers. He will continue to produce as the starting left fielder and not a part time player. Napoli is going to be splitting time with Jeff Mathis. Mathis will bat eighth when he’s in lineup switching with Kendrick. Napoli has tremendous power and is a big part of the bottom of the order. Having Mathis will help keep Napoli healthy and keep his bat in the lineup. Kendrick was demoted last year and he found his epiphany in AAA Salt Lake. When he returned, he batted over .350 to finish the season. Kendrick and Wood are here to stay. It is there time to shine and live up to the expectations. Wood will be given every chance to stay, but he must keep the strikeouts to a minimum. Not enough contact to be a starting third baseman, but Morales performed above all standards. Can Wood do the same in 2010?

Bench

INF Maicer Izturis
.300 AVG 8 HR 65 RBI
C Jeff Mathis
.211 AVG 5 HR 28 RBI
OF Terry Evans
.291 AVG 26 HR 90 RBI (AAA stats)

The one problem with having so much depth, is that it will end up hurting your bench when you use it to fill in the holes. Rivera would be the first bat off the bench, but now is a full time starter. Izturis will take over that role now. A solid pinch hitter and fielder. Izturis can play either third, short and second base. Manager Mike Scioscia is a big fan of Izturis as he can put him at almost any spot in the lineup and produce no questions asked. Mathis is a solid defensive catcher. His bat has never come around to warrant being the everyday catcher, but it works for the Angels. Napoli is not as sound defensively, but Mathis can fill in late in a ballgame to catch. And Napoli can pinch hit for Mathis in a key part of a game. Evans is getting the chance to be the fourth outfielder with the trade of Gary Matthews Jr. to the Mets. Evans was acquired from the Cardinals in ’06 in a trade for Jeff Weaver. Evans has shown that he could hit in the minors, but hasn’t quite shown it at the major league level. This is his year to prove his worth as the Angels will need that power bat off the bench.

Rotation

Jered Weaver
16-8 3.75 ERA
Joe Saunders
16-7 4.60 ERA
Ervin Santana
8-8 5.03 ERA
Scott Kazmir
10-9 4.89 ERA
Joel Pineiro*
15-12 3.49 ERA

Setup

Fernando Rodney*
37 SV 4.40 ERA

Closer

Brian Fuentes
48 SV 3.93 ERA

The team’s strength in ’08 became a weakness in ’09. The starting staff aside from Weaver and the since departed John Lackey was shaky. Kazmir was fantastic (2-2 1.73 ERA) in 6 starts for the Halos after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in August. However, he fizzled in the postseason where he was counted on to offset the Red Sox and Yankees, teams he’s had success against. This year Weaver is the clear ace with Lackey gone. Weaver had a career year, but make no mistake that he will have better years and at least one Cy Young award before his career is over. He has a deceptive delivery with great stuff. The Angels are extremely happy to get him with the 12th pick in the ’04 draft. Saunders was a contender with Santana for the AL Cy Young award in ’08, but both struggled to get outs in ’09. The home run was the worst enemy for both pitchers as they took two steps back. Saunders did manage to get 16 wins, but his ERA skyrocketed from a 3.41 clip in ’08. His strength is getting groundball outs and working around the strike zone. Not getting the strikeout. Santana is that strikeout pitcher, but has struggled with injuries two of the last three seasons. Last year when healthy he was the jekyl-hyde pitcher for the Angels. Struggling at home (6.05 ERA), but good on the road (4.23 ERA). The Halos need Santana to be in the middle and healthy the entire year. Kazmir showed that his arm was perfectly healthy when he put on the Angels uniform. Kazmir being in a contract year will look to prove his worth and earn a nice extension. However, should the Angels make it to the postseason Kazmir will need to perform more to his standards. A 7.59 ERA in three games to go along with only 4 strikeouts to 8 walks will not make the cut for a team competing for a World Series title. Pineiro was signed to a two year contract to provide insurance at the back end of the rotation. Strictly a groundball pitcher, he keeps his defense in the game and rarely walks batters (27 BB in 214 innings). Should an injury befall the staff, Matt Palmer and Sean O’Sullivan will be ready to take over. Palmer won 11 games in 40 appearances, 13 of which were starts. O’Sullivan started 10 of 12 games and went 4-2.
The bullpen will hopefully become a strength for the Halos. Almost every year since Mike Scioscia has managed the club, the bullpen ERA has been either the best or the top three in all of baseball. In ’09 they ranked 23rd. One reason for optimism is with the signing of Fernando Rodney from the Detroit Tigers. Rodney was their closer last year and with the struggles of Fuentes down the stretch last year, Rodney provides a back up plan. Fuentes did lead all of the majors in saves, but was shaky in most of those saves. Six of the eight months of the regular season his ERA was 4.50 or higher. You can’t have a repeat of that if you’re Scioscia. The bullpen does have stability in the setup realm leading into Rodney and Fuentes. Kevin Jepsen was a breathe of fresh air with his electric stuff. His ERA was high (4.94), but from July on it was no higher than 3.86. The most important player though is Scot Shields. When healthy Shields is the most versatile pitcher of the pen. Before last year, his highest ERA was 3.86. Since becoming full time reliever in ’04 he appeared in at least 60 games for the Halos. When they have Shields, the bullpen functions more to Scioscia’s liking.

Mariners Lineup

RF Ichiro Suzuki
.352 AVG 11 HR 46 RBI
2B Chone Figgins*
.298 AVG 5 HR 54 RBI
1B Casey Kotchman*
.268 AVG 7 HR 48 RBI
LF Milton Bradley*
.257 AVG 12 HR 40 RBI
DH Ken Griffey Jr.
.214 AVG 19 HR 57 RBI
3B Jose Lopez
.272 AVG 25 HR 96 RBI
CF Franklin Gutierrez
.283 AVG 18 HR 70 RBI
C Rob Johnson
.213 AVG 2 HR 27 RBI
SS Jack Wilson
.255 AVG 5 HR 39 RBI

Getting runners on base will not be a problem in Seattle anymore. With Ichiro and Figgins at the top, the Mariners have perhaps the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Who will be the guy to drive them in though? Figgins will probably get 70+ RBI with Ichiro batting in front of him. How often can you say that your first two batters can bat over .300, steal over 30 bases and score over 100 runs? The Mariners have that with Ichiro and Figgins. The person or players that will be counted on to score them will be Kotchman and Bradley. Not exactly the big splash they were looking for, but it’s what they could get. Kotchman is a fantastic defender and a good contact hitter, but not the ideal power threat you want from your first baseman. Bradley is a good hitter, but can also be a cancer almost everywhere he’s been. He seems to be all right playing in the AL West though (2 in Oakland, 1 in Texas). There is risk in playing Bradley in the cleanup spot should he go in a slump or his emotions erupt. Having Griffey for one more year will help settle down Bradley who has someone to keep him in check. Griffey is a future Hall of Famer who won’t be counted on to do a lot of damage, but it would be a welcome sight to get 20+ HR out of him this year. Lopez was a pleasant surprise for Seattle in ’09. He will be playing third base this year and with a change of scenery, he will still be counted on to continue his offensive climb. Gutierrez is starting to settle in at the plate. Decent power, but his true strength is his speed. He can turn what is a single into a double and the same with a double into a triple. Many gold gloves will be in his trophy case before his career is over. Johnson will be in a platoon with Adam Moore. Johnson is the defensive wizard, but his bat is lacking for the position. Wilson is the same with his gold glove defense at short, but when he was acquired last July his batting average was only .224 in 31 games. Should Seattle stay in contention going into the All-Star break, they will have to make a move to bring a bat to help with this lineup.

Bench

1B Ryan Garko*
.268 AVG 13 HR 51 RBI
OF Eric Byrnes*
.226 AVG 8 HR 31 RBI
C Adam Moore
.294 AVG 9 HR 43 RBI (AAA stats)

This is an improved part for the Mariners. Manager Don Wakamatsu made the most with what he had last year and this year they’ve given him more options to work with. Garko is a great addition. He will be the primary backup at first and can play against certain lefthanders and DH from time to time giving Griffey a day off. Not a lot of power, but Garko can hit with the best of them when he’s seeing good pitches to hit. Byrnes will be looking to regain what was lost while playing in Arizona the last four seasons. No longer can run as well as he did playing Oakland. He will be counted on to provide depth and be the fourth outfielder. His bat is decent, but it’s his hustle that Seattle likes. Moore has great potential as a hitting catcher. Being platooned with Johnson will help offset the defensive weakness, but Moore will be given every opportunity to hit while up in the majors.

Rotation

Felix Hernandez
19-5 2.49 ERA
Cliff Lee*
14-13 3.22 ERA
Ryan Rowland-Smith
5-4 3.74 ERA
Ian Snell
7-10 4.84 ERA
Jason Vargas
3-6 4.91 ERA

Setup

Mark Lowe
2-7 3.26 ERA

Closer

David Aardsma
38 SV 2.52 ERA

All of baseball was buzzing when Seattle put themselves in the three way trade with Philadelphia and Toronto. The thought the Mariners wouldn’t be involved, but low and behold they came away with Cliff Lee a former Cy Young award winner. Lee paired with “King” Felix Hernandez and you have yourself a chance to win now. Easily you could see them both winning 20 games this season. Felix finished second to the Royals Zach Greinke in the Cy Young voting last season. He will undoubtedly have a repeat performance of last year, maybe even better, scary as it sounds. Lee will be sidelined to start the season though because of an abdominal injury, but it isn’t thought to keep him out for more than a handful of starts. They will need Lee later in the year more than the beginning. Rowland-Smith in 15 starts for the Mariners had respectable numbers. With a full season it is expected he will get over 150 strikeouts (52 K last year). Snell when he arrived in Seattle from Pittsburgh was thrown into a playoff race and performed well in the new surroundings. He did walk more batters than he struckout (39-37). A full year with the Mariners and pitching in Safeco Field will help Snell’s mechanics. Vargas is full of potential, but is wild at times. When he finds the strike zone, he is nearly unhittable. When batters get to him early, he gets flustered and begins to shut down. He will be counted on to hold up the back end of the rotation until Erik Bedard returns from injury around the All-Star break. Doug Fister will be replacing Lee in the rotation until his return. Fister (4-3 4.13 ERA) has good mechanics and if he shows he can hold his own, he might stick around later in the year.
Aardsma surprised everyone including Seattle last year. They didn’t expect him to take off like he did when he was given the closers role from the departed Brandon Morrow. A hard throwing righthander Aardsma struck out 80 batters in 71 1/3 innings pitched. Exactly what they thought they were going to get out of Morrow, but he faltered early. To get to Aardsma will be the most important part. Lowe has great stuff and can rack up the strikeouts (69 in 80 innings). If he improves his ERA by a run, it will greatly help the bullpen settle in late in games in which they are winning. Manager Don Wakamatsu lead Seattle on a 24 game turnaround last year, will this year mean a trip to the postseason?

Rangers Lineup

CF Julio Borbon
.312 AVG 4 HR 20 RBI
3B Michael Young
.322 AVG 22 HR 68 RBI
LF Josh Hamilton
.268 AVG 10 HR 54 RBI
DH Vladimir Guerrero*
.295 AVG 15 HR 50 RBI
2B Ian Kinsler
.253 AVG 31 HR 86 RBI
RF Nelson Cruz
.260 AVG 33 HR 76 RBI
1B Chris Davis
.238 AVG 21 HR 59 RBI
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
.233 AVG 9 HR 34 RBI
SS Elvis Andrus
.267 AVG 6 HR 40 RBI

The ball really dropped on Texas last year. The best hitting team in baseball dropped to 19th in batting, 24th in OBP and 10th in RBI. Almost everyone except Young, Kinsler and Cruz had awful years. The big problem was health. Hamilton was healthy for much of the season, but is back to normal and looking to get back to where he left off in ’08. Borbon is now getting his chance to show why the Rangers let Marlon Byrd go to play for the Cubs. Borbon has 50+ steal potential and has decent pop for a leadoff hitter. They don’t need him to hit the home run, but rather get on base and wreak havoc for opposing pitchers. Young will settle in at the second spot which is ideal for him. Great contact hitter his whole career and the leader everyone will be turning to when times get tough. He’s not afraid to take the spotlight and when he is on his game, the Rangers are tough to stop. Hamilton will be greatly helped being the number three hitter rather than at the cleanup spot. He was trying to do too much last year and it showed how much the Rangers missed Milton Bradley who helped in that department. That is why they went out and signed Vladimir Guerrero. Guerrero fought injuries last year with the Angels, but had a great postseason batting .378 in nine games for them. Not that he will need extra motivation, but he is a beast at the Ballpark in Arlington (career .394 14 HR 33 RBI in 50 games). Perfect signing for the Rangers who grew tired of seeing him in Angels red. Kinsler and Cruz provide perfect backup to Guerrero. Kinsler will have a few more 30-30 seasons in his career. Cruz made his first All-Star appearance last year, but struggled down the stretch. Both will be counted to improve on their batting average from a year ago. Davis has great power, but strikes out too much. He must keep those totals down to keep his spot in the lineup. Saltalamacchia was hurt for much of the ’09 season. His bat is too good to keep him out of the lineup. His defense is what will keep him out though. He has to reach his potential soon or the only saving grace for trading Mark Teixeira will be shortstop Elvis Andrus. Andrus was everything the Rangers hoped he would be. Fantastic hands and his arm is superb. There will be time for him to settle into a groove at the plate, but with him and Borbon in the lineup, Texas will be making defenses’ heads spin.

Bench

OF David Murphy
.269 AVG 17 HR 57 RBI
C Taylor Teagarden
.217 AVG 6 HR 24 RBI
INF Andres Blanco*
.252 AVG 1 HR 12 RBI

Murphy will be the first guy off the bench for manager Ron Washington. Murphy is a great hustle guy who can hit the ball very well. Now that he is relegated to being the fourth outfielder it will be interesting to see how he responds. Teagarden is the defensive catcher the Rangers sorely need. Not the best bat, but he can get a few hits here and there for Texas. Max Ramirez is another catcher waiting for his chance. Ramirez is the perfect balance Texas has needed since Ivan Rodriguez skipped town. Blanco was acquire this spring from the Cubs. Great defensive replacement and pinch runner, but his bat has been lacking since his been in the majors. Strictly acquired to provide depth in the infield.

Rotation

Scott Feldman
17-8 4.08 ERA
Rich Harden*
9-9 4.09 ERA
C.J. Wilson
5-6 2.81 ERA
Matt Harrison
4-5 6.11 ERA
Colby Lewis*
0-2 6.45 ERA (2007 stats)

Setup

Neftali Feliz
1-0 1.74 ERA

Closer

Frank Francisco
25 SV 3.83 ERA

The Rangers only splash this year with starting pitching was bringing in the oft-injured Rich Harden. Not a bad move, but Harden is not what Texas needs for the top of the rotation. He’s a strikeout guy who is prone to the home run. Last I checked, their ballpark is not a pitchers paradise. Feldman emerged as the staff ace. He kept the ball down and it resulted in 17 wins leading the team and getting some consideration for they Cy Young award. Texas will be expecting similar numbers from Feldman. Wilson will be moving from the closer/setup role last year to being in the rotation. He says he will be able to handle the adjustment, but I would agree if he weren’t the number three starter. Depth isn’t an issue with the Rangers, but losing Tommy Hunter (9-6 4.10 ERA) to start the season doesn’t help. When Hunter does return, Wilson will move down one slot meaning that either Harrison or Lewis will be moved to the bullpen. Harrison needs to get his ERA lower if he wants to stay in the rotation. Lewis played the last two years in Japan and seemed to have figured out the art of pitching there. The Rangers are not going to be putting too much pressure on him as he starts out as the fifth starter, but if he falters they won’t stand idly by to make a move.
Feliz is the most hyped arm to come out of the minors since Francisco Rodriguez came up in ’02 for the Angels. That’s the kind of excitement Feliz’s arrival brought to the organization late last year. He struck out 39 batters in 31 innings. If Frank Francisco doesn’t get the job done to start the year, Ron Washington won’t hesitate to make the move to Feliz. No one will be able to figure out his stuff for quite some time. Francisco has the right mix of a hard fastball with a good breaking pitch, but his ERA was way too high for the Rangers liking. This was an area of strength the last two years for Texas, being the bullpen. It will be the strength again heading into 2010.

Athletics Lineup

LF Rajai Davis
.305 AVG 3 HR 48 RBI
CF Coco Crisp*
.228 AVG 3 HR 14 RBI
DH Jack Cust
240 AVG 25 HR 70 RBI
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff*
.255 HR 18 HR 88 RBI
2B Mark Ellis
.263 AVG 10 HR 61 RBI
1B Daric Barton
.269 AVG 3 HR 24 RBI
RF Ryan Sweeney
.293 AVG 6 HR 53 RBI
C Kurt Suzuki
.274 AVG 15 HR 88 RBI
SS Cliff Pennington
.279 AVG 4 HR 21 RBI

The Athletics have mixed up their lineup to match their strengths rather than try to be something they’re not. Speed is the name of the game. Small ball not hitting the long ball will be the new mantra for Oakland this year and maybe for the foreseeable future. GM Billy Beane is not a fan of small ball, but what choice does he have with Bob Geren at the helm. Davis and Crisp will set the table for the A’s. Davis is capable of stealing 50+ bases this year (41 last year). With Crisp behind him, when healthy, they will be a tough two outs to start a ballgame. Cust is the only legitimate power threat in their lineup. Not the greatest contact hitter, but when you need to drive in runs, he’s their best option. Kouzmanoff was acquired before spring training from the Padres and will be put in the cleanup spot. He goes from one rebuilding project to another in Oakland. Getting out of the pitchers paradise at Petco Park will help his power numbers, but is not an ideal cleanup hitter. Ellis drives in runs which is why he slides into the number five slot in the order. Makes good contact and has decent pop, but Oakland has very few options as far as guys to drive in runs for them. This will be a make or break year for Daric Barton. A highly touted prospect for the A’s, he got a little taste of the majors last year, but didn’t show a lot of power when he arrived. Playing first base in Oakland, you’re expected to be a major power threat in the order. Sweeney responded well as a starter last year. A good defensive option at either outfield position. He could see his spot change in the lineup if he has another good year. Somewhere towards the top. Suzuki broke through in a big way in ’09. Playing in 147 games, he showed no signs of wearing down towards the end. It would be wise to give an extra 10 days off this year at least. He could easily replicate his offensive numbers from a year ago. He also did a masterful job handling a young pitching staff for Oakland. Pennington was good in limited playing time last year. Only 60 games, but he is the favorite for the starting shortstop position this year. Easily can steal 20 bases for the A’s and has the potential to be a .300 hitter in the majors.

Bench

INF Eric Chavez
.100 AVG O HR 1 RBI
INF/OF Jake Fox*
.259 AVG 11 HR 44 RBI
OF Gabe Gross*
.227 AVG 6 HR 36 RBI

Chavez has been suffering through back problems the last three seasons. This is one big reason why Billy Beane has avoided signing players to long term deals. Chavez is healthy now and hoping to get back into the lineup sooner rather than later. One way he can do that is by playing a different position. He’s had extended work at first, even shortstop and second. That will be the quickest way for him to get back. Also if injuries or inconsistency should hit those positions, they will give Chavez a look. Fox was acquired from the Cubs and is the righthanded version of Jack Cust. It helps that Oakland can mix and match the DH spot to help them get the upper hand against the opponents pitching. Fox can also play the field at third and first base, plus left field. Gross was signed to provide depth in the outfield and be another pinch hitting option for Bob Geren. Gross is not the greatest fielder, but can hit when called upon. Just ask Tampa Bay how much he’s helped them the last two seasons. OF Travis Buck is another option off the bench who must bounce back at the plate if he wants to get more playing time.

Rotation

Ben Sheets*
13-9 3.09 ERA
Dallas Braden
8-9 3.89 ERA
Brett Anderson
11-11 4.06 ERA
Trevor Cahill
10-13 4.63 ERA
Justin Duchscherer
10-8 2.54 ERA (2008 stats)

Setup

Michael Wuertz
6-1 2.63 ERA

Closer

Andrew Bailey
26 SV 1.84 ERA

Sheets is getting paid to be the ace of this young, but extremely talented staff. How he fares will have a long way in determining whether the A’s will sneak up on the rest of the division. If Oakland gets the healthy and dominant Sheets, will they try to trade him to bolster the minor league system? Braden became the ace last year and will be given a break with the arrival of Sheets. Braden is not an overpowering lefthander, but works to his ability and throws strikes. Anderson is the strikeout pitcher who throws heat with a devastating breaking ball. Anderson and Cahill provided a nice lefty-righty combination last year in the middle of the rotation. Cahill struggled with command (72 BB to 90 K), but with less pressure this year he will look to have a turnaround. Braden was considered the veteran being only 27 while Anderson and Cahill are both 22 years old. Duchscherer had back trouble last year that kept him out all year. When healthy he is a stable force that will provide the A’s with another veteran to either get them back on the winning track or continue a winning streak. A lot depends on the success of Sheets, but even more is expected from a healthy Duchscherer.
Bailey was the real deal and it led to being named AL Rookie of the Year. Didn’t get many save opportunities, but made the most of his 68 appearances striking out 91 while walking only 24 in 83 1/3 innings. It also helped that Wuertz had a career year striking out 102 while walking only 23 in his 74 appearances. With Wuertz, the submarine righthander Brad Ziegler (2-4 3.07 ERA) and lefthander Craig Breslow (7-5 2.60 ERA) playing ahead of Bailey Oakland will have a deep bullpen that will help keep them in close games with all of the American League. Will it be enough to help Bob Geren keep his job? Only time will tell.