Oakland A's 2007 Season Preview Part II

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lets jump into the busy outfield. ready...

OUTFIELD:
So with Swisher penciled in as the starting left fielder, no matter how long it stays that way, he is for now an outfielder. That makes 5 outfielders going for 3 spots. All of them are talented players, not doubt about it. Beane has built a strong outfield. Kotsay has center, that is a no-brainer. His glove and range is tops in the league. Can be a strong hitter, just streaky. I'd say after Milton Bradley's playoff dominance, they only guy who showed up at the plate in the ALCS, is a lock in right field. I like Bradley and I'm glad he is an Athletic. Baller. Left field is the tricky spot, with Swisher the starter, battling against Shannon Stewart and Bobby Kielty. I'm not sure if Kielty will get the nod, but he will still be a valuable backup. I mean, remember that 14-inning game against Texas when he walked off with a jack down right field? It's as if I was there, oh shit, I was. I hope Stewart comes out ballin', cause I think he can be a good player and I think he and Swisher are better than Johnson. That would make Geren have to put Swisher at 1B and Stewart at LF. Play the hot bat, right?

PITHCING STAFF:

STARTERS:
This is the young group on the team, and they need to grow up fast. Harden takes over as the ace. Please Rich, stay healthy. Don't go out partying in North Beach on a Monday nite. I just want to see the kid healthy for a full year and watch him dominate. I think Haren will improve this season. I say 17-10, 3.85 ERA. I think he is the key of the pitching staff, the A's need a solid #2, especially in the playoffs, and he seems most fit. Loaiza at #3 is solid, he had a great second half of the 2006 season and showed good work ethic and positive attitude. The A's put faith in him and he realizes he needs to focus. The partying can wait. Get the ring. Blanton returns as the #4 man. He had a great record and a poor ERA in 2006. He needs to find his fastball to go with his nasty change-up. Location, location, location. Joe Kennedy hops in as the lone lefty in the staff at #5. Personally, I'm not pleased with this, last year's staff was better. Either Kennedy/Haren/Blanton and co. step-up, or the A's offense will carry the load.



BULLPEN:
A great mix of veterans and youngsters makes this bullpen the best in the AL West and one of the tops in the league. Justin Duchscherer and Kiko Calero head the way as the top relievers. Kiko's slider was masterful at times in 2006, while All-Star Duchscherer is the stud set-up man, with the range to go 2-3 innings. Great pitches and strong focus. Chad Gaudin is a young pitcher with a prospective future. He appeared in 55 games in 2006, 9 more than his first 3 seasons combined. He posted a 3.09 ERA and finished the year pitching well. Throw in veterans Alan Embree and Jay Witasick, also lefty Brad Halsey, and the A's have depth with many pitchers that all have strengths different from one another.

CLOSER:
Huston Street will start his second season as the closer and upon an injury-free season is one of the best closers in the AL. He needs to stop giving up the big dong or blow a three run lead in the bottom 9 though. Those mistakes must go, and I think being injury-free is the key. He throws extremely hard and his body needs to be able to hold up and withstand the pounding. Duchscherer backs up and had 9 saves in 2006. He is capable of the position.

DESIGNATED HITTER:
The big off-season signing of Mike Piazza to replace Frank Thomas works, he is in no way as good as Thomas, but I think he will have an impact. My problem is that Piazza was a guy I never thought was good. Almost a poser. Like Karl Malone. Or John Elway. Not that good, but are somehow greats. And Malone is such an goof. Anyway, back to the A's. I think having him at the plate 3-4 times a games, hacking away at whatever he sees fit, is going to be effective. Erubiel Durazo, currently on a minor league contract but at spring training, could be healthy and effective as well. He batted .321 in '04, take it for what it's worth.

COACHING STAFF:
Bob Geren is the new head coach of the Oakland A's, replacing Ken Macha. Geren, former Sacramento River Cats (AAA) head coach, is groomed in Billy Beane's system. Geren understands the type of game Beane wants his players to play. Geren joined the A's organization in 1999 as manager of Single-A Modesto. A year later he was promoted up to manager of Triple-A Sacramento. The River Cats won two Southern Division PCL titles. Geren's overall minor league record is 452-390, a .537 winning pct. Seems liek a calm, focused manager. Technical. I think he will do just fine, he coached some of the guys in the minors.
The loss of Ron Washington as infield/3rd base coach will be significant, but as stated before, Chavez takes on a leadership to continue his teachings. Rene Lachemann moves from first base coach to third bas coach. Curt Young has a young group of pitchers to handle. I think he has done a fine job with the talent the A's have. Haren and Blanton improved in their second year with Young. He also turned Loaiza around after a drunken first half. New hitting coach Ty van Burkleo, a native of Oakland, played only two seasons in the majors with only 38 plate appearances. He did rip 1 homer, but from the looks of it this guy does not know how to hit.

What would be a preview without a prediction? Here it goes...

96-66. First place AL West.
Young bats lead the way. Harden All-Star.
A's will win the World Series over the San Francisco Giants. The Yankees have holes in the pitching staff and are not clutch anymore. Daisuke doesnt make up for a shitty offense. Minnesota will not be as good without Liriano. Chicago was a one-hit wonder. No, really, I think the AL is a toss-up and the A's are in the group of possible AL champions. As always, it depends on health and a young pitching staff. I love to gamble.






*off topic side note:
Tim Hardaway is a fucking idiot. Embarrassing, but in no way am I surprised. I hear people talk like that on MUNI. Sad, King Crossover. Then he gets banned from the NBA. You'll never see him on highlite videos again. I bet he was drunk at the time.