The A’s young core of arms is getting better with each passing day, and as a result of their growth, the team owns the league’s 4th best ERA (3.53). Guys like Brett Anderson (4-6, 2.97 ERA), Dallas Braden (9-10, 3.23 ERA), Trevor Cahill (15-6, 2.72 ERA), and Gio Gonzalez (13-8, 3.12 ERA) have Oakland in a decent position to make a late season run for the division. Whether or not they’ll actually come close to catching Texas, however, hinges upon their offensive production.

The A’s have scored 555 runs, which ranks 25th in baseball. As a team, the A’s are currently hitting .255/.322/.375 and have hit just 88 home runs this season—the second fewest in baseball. In fact, the A’s only have three players with home runs in the double-digits: Kevin Kouzmanoff (14), Kurt Suzuki (12), and Jack Cust (10). And of those three players, only Cust has a batting average over .260 with a .276 mark entering Tuesday.

1B Daric Barton, who has been one of the few consistent players on offense, owns the highest average on the team with a .283 average. On the season, Barton has performed quite well. Through Monday, Barton has hit .283/.400/.418 with 8 home runs and 47 RBIs. Aside from the players mentioned above, the A’s have not seen much production from their offense this season.

If the A’s are serious about catching the Rangers, the offense needs to step up and produce. The A’s still have a shot to catch Texas, albeit a very small shot, so it’s literally now or never.

A's Eric Chavez Calls It a Season. Chavez finished the year with one homer and 10 RBIs.

Oakland’s longest tenured-player, Eric Chavez, has said that he’s most likely done for the remainder of the 2010 season. Despite this news however, the A’s Gold-Glove winner, has not announced his retirement just yet. Chavez, who is in his final year of the six-year deal he signed back in 2004, has an option for 2011, but the A’s are figured to just buy it out for $3 million.

Chavez, 32, has played in just 154 games since the start of the 2007 season, and has not been healthy since 2006. In his career, Chavez has hit .267/.343/.478 with 230 home runs and 787 RBIs. This season, however, Chavez played in only 33 games and hit just .234/.276/.333 with one homer and 10 RBIs. While initial reports suggested that the A’s 3B/DH expected to resume baseball activities last month and make a return this month, the team expects Chavez to close things down for the remainder of the season. Chavez was plagued with two bulging disks in his neck, and was never really able to make a full recovery. Despite these injuries, however, Chavez said that he’s got his own “Brett Farve thing,” and won’t announce his retirement until he’s absolutely positive that he cannot play baseball any longer.

Unfortunately, Chavez may not have much of a choice. Chavez is expected to be a free-agent this winter, and I just don’t see many teams giving him a shot to play. Given his injury history, Chavez should just call it quits and become an advisor or some sort of coach for the A’s organization. But for right now, the A’s slugger is expected to shut it down for the year and take things from there.

Disclaimer: The news about Chavez’s future for the 2010 season was first published by the San Francisco Chronicle or SF Gate. You can see the article by clicking here. All information, etc. is and should be credited to the SF Chronicle.

The A’s pitching staff had been incredible up until the series in New York, where the staff allowed 29 runs to cross home-plate. As a direct result, the A’s staff ERA rose to 3.56—which is still 4th best in the AL. The A’s offense did its best, but despite their efforts, the currently sit three games under the .500 mark.

Dallas Braden, who was Thursday’s starter, lasted five innings, but was removed due to cramping in his legs. The A’s fiery starter allowed just one run, two hits and struck out four before departing. The A’s don’t see this as a serious injury, in fact, it’s suspected that Braden suffered cramps due to the hot weather in NY.

Meanwhile, the A’s received news that outfielder, Connor Jackson, had a sports hernia surgery. The A’s note that the surgery went well, and that Jackson should be able to resume baseball activities in a couple of weeks. On the year, Jackson has played in just 18 games for the A’s. He was hitting .228/.362/.316 with a homer and five RBIs. On the year, Jackson is hitting .236/.336/.327 with two homers and 16 RBIs.

While this may be a little late, the A’s called-up two right-handed pitchers as their September call-ups. Many figured that the A’s would go with Chris Carter, Michael Taylor or one their other talented young hitters. However, with Carter injured and Taylor sent off to the Arizona Fall League, the A’s decided to go with pitching depth rather than offense.

The A’s called up Justin James, and Ross Wolf. For more on these call-up’s, you can click here. Personally, I would have loved to have seen Taylor up in the big-leagues, but the A’s aren’t exactly in any playoff race, so I guess the A’s front office figured it’d be best to give Taylor a little more seasoning in the AFL.