Health has always been an issue with the Oakland Athletics. Just ask six-time Gold Glove winner, Eric Chavez. Chavez, who signed a six year, $66 million contract in 2004, has played in only 121 games in the last three years. Forearm tendinitis, and back injuries have plagued Chavez’s career.

Chavez, who is coming off yet another surgery, will try to comeback and serve as the A’s utility player. He is expected to play first-base, shortstop, third and possible the outfield. He is also expected to share some time at DH with Jack Cust.

As a Gold Glove winner, Chavez is expected to be just fine in his transition over to first-base. In his first Spring Training game, Chavez hit a triple and played solid defense at first. Although he still has a little more work to do, Chavez is progressing nicely and that should be looked at in a very positive way.

Despite having a young starting rotation, the A’s finished with a team ERA of 4.26 (3rd in AL). Among those youngsters were Brett Anderson (11-11, 4.06 ERA) and ROY Andrew Bailey (26 SV, 1.84 ERA). Anderson was dominant in the second-half and Andrew Bailey emerged as one of the game’s finest closers.

But heading into 2010, A’s GM Billy Beane felt that the A’s could use an established veteran presence in their young rotation. Enter Ben Sheets.

Sheets, who missed all of the 2009 season, signed a one year, $10 million contract with Oakland. The A’s took a risk by signing Sheets to a big contract (at least for the A’s). However, the risk isn’t without its reward. Sheets, who has compiled an 86-83 record and a 3.72 ERA in his career, should be a clubhouse leader for the A’s. Sheets’ attitude towards the game should rub off on the younger guys like Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez.

Like Chavez, Sheets made considerable strides in his quest to get himself healthy and ready for Opening Day in his first Spring Training game. A’s manager, Bob Geren, said that he liked what he saw from Sheets. Despite giving up two runs in less than two innings, the fact that Sheets felt good after throwing is extremely encouraging.

The A’s have two players coming off injuries, and both players want to get out on the field and contribute as much as they can. For Chavez, it’s his last shot at salvaging what could have been a Hall of Fame career. For Sheets, it’s all about getting healthy and proving to those around him that he’s still an All-Star pitcher.

With two spring training games completed, here’s a look back at some of the action that took place on Thursday and Friday:

THURSDAY, MARCH 4 (LOSS, 9-3)

Trevor Cahill: Put in two-innings of work Thursday against the Cubs. Cahill allowed two runs on three hits, and struck out two. A’s manager, Bob Geren, said that he liked what he saw from Cahill.

Justin Souza: Pitched one frame, allowed one hit but also managed to strike out the side in the eighth inning.

Michael Taylor: Went 0 for 1 in his first spring training game for the A’s.

Chris Carter: The highly touted prospect went 1 for 1 in Thursday’s loss to the Cubs. According to Geren, Carter’s lone hit (a homer) traveled roughly 500 feet.

FRIDAY, MARCH 5 (WIN, 8-7)

Travis Buck: With the depth Oakland has in the outfield, Travis Buck will have to prove that he belongs in the mix. On Friday, Buck blasted a homer en route to a 1 for 2 performance.

Ben Sheets: The A’s took a chance on Sheets by signing him to a one-year, $10 million contract. This season, we’ll see if that risk pays off for Oakland. In his first spring start, Sheets pitched two frames, struck out two and allowed two runs (one earned).

Eric Chavez: Chavvy, who is coming off yet another injury plagued season, connected for a triple in Friday’s win over the Brewers. Chavvy also started over at first-base–where he committed an error on a pickoff.

Note: Mark Ellis, Jemile Weeks and Chris Carter all collected a hit in Friday’s win.

**Finally! Spring Training Baseball!

Last season the Oakland Athletics opened the season with sluggers such as Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Jack Cust and Eric Chavez. The sluggers were supposed to provide ample support for the young pitching staff. However, Holliday and Giambi got off to slow starts and Chavez played in only 8 games.

Holliday was later traded to St. Louis and Giambi was released upon hitting .193/.332/.364. The A’s offense didn’t have too many bright spots aside from their catcher, Kurt “Clutch” Suzuki.

A product of Cal State Fullerton, Suzuki hit .274/.313/.421 for Oakland last season. Aside from blasting 15 homers, Suzuki drove in a team leading 88 runs.

Suzuki also helped young starters like Brett Anderson (11-11, 4.06 ERA) and Trevor Cahill (10-13, 4.63 ERA) in their transition into the big leagues. As a whole, the A’s finished with a team ERA of 4.26 (3rd in AL) and held opponents to a .265 BAA (7th in AL). And Suzuki, who led the pitching staff, deserves a lot if the credit for the A’s pitching success.  

As the backbone of the defense, Suzuki will look to anchor a squad that has recently been upgraded with the likes of Kevin Kouzmanoff and Coco Crisp. Suzuki will also have the opportunity to work with veteran pitchers like Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer, provided that they stay healthy all season.

Although Suzuki is not a top-tier catcher, he’s really developing into his own. He has solid numbers against right-handed pitchers (.283/.317/.420, 9 HR, 63 RBI) and should be able to build upon his strong 2009 campaign. His only area of improvement should be improving against left-handed pitchers. Last season, Suzuki only managed to hit .250 against lefties.

Despite his “struggles” against lefties, Suzuki should come into his own this season. He’s entering just his third-full season in the big leagues, so I expect a career year for him.

Prediction:

.286 BA, 17 HR, 91 RBI

Heading into the 2010 season, the Oakland Athletics sure look like the “Swiping A’s” rather than “Swingin’ A’s.”

With the A’s focusing on pitching and defense, the offense has taken a hit in the last few seasons. There’s few players to be thoroughly excited about this season on offense.

Jack Cust? Eh. Cliff Pennington? Eh. Rajai Davis? Hmm.

Davis, who stole 41 bases in 2009, helped lead the A’s to a .500 record in the second-half. In fact, as a team, the A’s managed to swipe a total of 133 bases. A year earlier, in 2008, the A’s managed to swipe only 88 total bases.

With Davis in the lineup (preferably near the top) there’s no doubt that the A’s will remain aggressive on the base-paths. Last season, Davis hit .305/.360/.423 and drove in 48 runs. While Davis’ numbers are expected to drop a bit, there’s no question that he’ll continue to be a force in the A’s lineup.

Upon evaluating the rest of the offense, it’s no secret that the A’s can’t afford to wait around for a two-run homer to get them on the board. The A’s will have to rely on their aggressive-style of play that helped them go 17-10 in September last season.

Aside from Davis, I see Ryan Sweeney, Kurt Suzuki and Kevin Kouzmanoff as being key contributors to the A’s success on offense. Sweeney, who hit an incredible .360/.418/.477 last September, will look to build upon his strong finish. While Suzuki, who’s coming into just his third full season, will look to build upon a season where he hit 15 homers and drove in 88 runs. Lastly, there’s Kouzmanoff, who is also coming off a season where he drove in 88 runs.

If these four players can continue to build upon a strong ‘09 campaign, the A’s on offense should be okay. Who knows, maybe these guys can start a new identity for the A’s. Perhaps they could be known as the “Swiping A’s” opposed to the “Swingin’ A’s.”

**At least until Michael Taylor and Chris Carter arrive

I’m the first to admit that I initially hated the Nick Swisher deal that took place unexpectedly after the 2007 season. For one, the A’s had just finished locking up the fan favorite Swisher, to a multi-year deal worth $45 million. Secondly, when the A’s had sent Swisher to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos, and Ryan Sweeney, I had no idea how they’d pan out in Oakland.

Well, two seasons later I now know what Oakland got in return for Swisher. For the sake of this blog, I’ll only be focusing on one of those players mentioned above–Ryan Sweeney.

Sweeney, who debuted in 2008 for the A’s hit .286/.350/.383 in 115 games. That year he hit 5 homers and drove in 45 runs. Last season, the defensively talented Sweeney made difficult plays in the outfield look like routine ones. Sweeney batted .293/.348/.407 and knocked in 53 runs. So, after his first season with the A’s, Sweeney improved offensively in 2009, and proved to be an excellent defender in the outfield as well.

If you need more evidence of Sweeney’s abilities offensively, take a look at his performance in the second half of ‘09:

June: 42 ABs, 15 hits, .357/.372/.500, 1 HR, 6 RBIs

July: 80 ABs, 23 hits, .288/.321/.363, 6 RBIs

August: 92 ABs, 27 hits, .293/.356/.500, 3 HR, 10 RBIs

September: 86 ABs, 31 hits, .360/.418/.477, 16 RBIs

In contrast with Swisher, Sweeney may lack power, but he definitely has the edge on Swisher in terms of average, speed and defense. Below is a look at Sweeney and Swisher’s 2009 campaign:

Sweeney, A’s: .293/.348/.407, 6 HR, 53 RBI, 40 BB

Swisher, Yankees: .249/.371/.498, 29 HR, 82 RBI, 97 BB

Sweeney and Swisher are two completely different players in terms of what they can bring to their respective teams. Sweeney will give you a high average, and will generate his share of runs, while Swisher will hit 25 bombs and draw 100 walks.

Although Swisher was one of my favorite A’s players, Sweeney is playing at a high level that deserves recognition. Now that I look back at it, the A’s didn’t do too bad in the deal that sent “Swish” away from Oak-Town.

Here’s my prediction for Ryan Sweeney in 2010:

.293/.354/.412, 10 HR, 61 RBI