How to Fix Brandon Moss

Jun 28, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Brandon Moss (37) reacts during a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Ballpark. The Oakland Athletics won 7-6 in 14th inning. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

These past couple months have been difficult for the A’s, who are in the midst of an incredible, possibly historic, collapse. One of the major reasons for this lack of production has been the disappearance of their all-star Brandon Moss.

Our own Ryan Heuer covered this a few weeks ago and it is unfortunately still a major problem for both Moss and the entire team. Take a look at his splits between the first half and second half of this season:

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So what has caused this offensive collapse? The answer lies in the strikeouts. Even though Moss is actually walking at a higher rate in the second half, he has stuck out in 38% of his at bats second-half at bats, compared to just 26% in the first half.

My guess is that Moss is not getting pitches to hit, since he does not have a lot of protection in the lineup. Derek Norris has hit behind him for most of August, and he has struggled against righties as well, hitting just .244 against them for the year.

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However the one area where Moss has had success is against left-handed pitchers, rendering the platooning system useless. Moss has hit .274 against lefties and just .232 against righties this year, but Melvin has not taken advantage of this skill set, giving Moss just 95 plate appearances against lefties this year.

Therefore, the solution to this problem seems pretty simple. Moss should be in the lineup every day and should be batting in the middle of the order. Melvin has experimented with Moss’s lineup spot, moving him from second to eighth and everywhere in between. I appreciate BoMel’s efforts to find a home for him in the lineup, but I believe that his ideal spot would probably be third or fourth, protected by Adam Dunn’s powerful bat against righties or Norris’ lefty-killing power. As I wrote earlier this month, Josh Donaldson should bat second, with the big left-handed bats behind him.

One of the most notable aspects of Moss’s game is the extreme defensive shift applied against him. Opposing teams generally play all four infielders on the right side of second base, with the second baseman playing short right field. While at first it seems like the shift is killing Moss’s swing, that is probably not true at all.

Moss has always been a pull hitter, and this isn’t the first year that the shift has been used against him. When he is rolling offensively, he isn’t hitting ground ball base hits, but rather line drives into the gap and over the fence. Even when he was successful, he would frequently ground out into the shift. If he alters his swing to adjust to the shift, it probably would kill his power swing, which would kill whatever power that remains in his bat.

Unlike some of their other all stars, such as Scott Kazmir and Jeff Samardzija who are free agents after next year, the A’s are lucky enough to have Moss under team control for the next two seasons. Therefore it is even more imperative that they get him back on track soon.

It may seem counterintuitive to bat a struggling lefty in the middle of the order against a left-handed pitcher, but that might be just what Moss needs to get out of this funk.