Oakland A's Preview 

The Oakland Athletics finished with a 88-74 record last season, which isn’t bad, but they missed the playoffs for the second straight time, and only time will tell if this team can get back over the hump. My best guess is no in 2006. The 2005 A’s were a profitable team, especially against left-handed pitching. They went 30-17 against lefties for a positive 11.6 units. They have consistently been good when facing left handed pitching over the past 5 seasons and we expect this trend to continue into 2006. However, the A’s will more than likely not make it very far over the .500 mark this year.

20% Signup Bonus when depositing via eCheck at SportsInteraction!

Barry Zito was the best pitcher in baseball in 2002 posting a 23-5 record, but he is just 39-36 the past 3 seasons and he has A’s fans wondering what happened to their former ace. His recent decline doesn’t appear to be all on him as he has had a respectable E.R.A. He got off to a slow start in 2005, but came on strong as the season progressed proving that he still has some good years ahead of him. The A’s will need to do a better job supporting all of their pitchers this season. I think Zito has a good chance to have another 20-win push this year despite a slow start, and 17 wins is very realistic. The collective pitching staff was surprisingly impressive with an opposing batting average of just .241 and an ERA of 3.69 ERA. Rich Harden, Estaban Loaiza, Danny Harden, and Joe Blanton are pitching pretty much to the extent of their abilities and they are waiting on their South Paw with the nasty curve to once again shut team down.

I know it’s a ways off but one thing to keep a close eye on is fo is how the Athletics finish out the season. The hard work they put in to have a respectable season in 2005, was all for not by a 14-18 finish which put them out of playoff contention. Hopefully they’ll be able to sweeten up the sour taste in their mouths as well as the mouths of Oakland backers who dropped 6 units down the home stretch.

Offensively, the A’s are confident in the abilities of Eric Chavez, who is a very underrated left handed stick. Although there is a list of other possible candidates who have the potential to be big contributors on this year’s team, we really can’t pencil anyone else in as a reliable force. What are the A’s really expecting from the “Big Hurt,” Frank Thomas, who had a major falling out with White Sox management. Will Frank get healthy and fit and put together one last big season at the plate to silence doubters, and there are plenty, or will he over take Barry Bonds as the butt of bay area jokes.

The A’s are slated to be bad this season, but I think they will surprise people. So pick your spots with this team against lefties, we could find some very favorable lines to exploit the books with.

 

2006 Baseball Previews

 

Free MLB Picks by Jimmy Boyd