With less than one month to go before the regular season ends, the Oakland A’s are currently behind the first-place Rangers by 7.0 games. The Rangers (75-62) are 3-7 over their last 10, and are currently on a four-game skid. Meanwhile the A’s are 5-5 over their last 10. The Rangers’ lead in the west is still very comfortable, but the A’s are still hanging around in the division.
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 [...]

Any way you look at it, the A’s have to start playing exceptional baseball if they want to catch the powerful Texas Rangers. The A’s are 11-7 since the All-Star break, and hope to continue their success at home (32-23) when the Rangers come to the Coliseum for a three-game series starting Friday. The A’s, who have seen their pitching staff mature this season, have the league’s 6th best ERA (3.72). The staff, which recently got Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden back from the DL, has seen guys like Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro mature into solid pitchers. [...]

The A’s (50-48), head into Texas on Tuesday in the hopes of making a run at the first-place Rangers. Texas currently holds a 7.5 game advantage over Oakland in the AL West, largely because of their potent offense and surprisingly sharp pitching.
The A’s meanwhile sit in third-place and trail second-place Los Angeles by just a half game. The A’s young rotation looks to be without its veteran leader, Ben Sheets, but with Brett Anderson due back this weekend, the A’s rotation should prove effective.
The A’s are winners of nine of their last 11, and hope to continue their winning ways. [...]

Remember the good old days when Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito helped the A’s reach postseason on a cosistent basis? Remember that run of 20-straight wins in 2002? Well, I sure do.
It seems so long ago when you think about it, and I know I’m not the only one who misses those days.
The A’s of today, however, are starting to resmble that of the famous ‘Big Three.’ Youngsters like Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro are giving A’s fans reasons to believe that this young ballclub is close to becoming a serious playoff [...]

Well, it’s June 2nd and the Oakland A’s are in a virtual tie for first place in the American League West. Who would’ve thought, huh? Pitching and defense have kept the A’s in the thick of things, and while the offense hasn’t stepped up yet, the A’s are starting to look like contenders in the weakened AL West. So, with the first two months officially in the books, here’s the A’s report card for April-through-May.
Let’s begin with pitching:
The A’s have a lot of pitching depth this season, and because of their talented young staff, the A’s find themselves in a [...]

When the A’s swept the San Francisco Giants this past weekend, I was most impressed with A’s starter Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who struggled in the past with his command (and emotions), finally seems comfortable on the mound. Gonzalez, who came in the Nick Swisher-deal, is having a very nice season so far.
Gonzalez leads the A’s staff with five wins, and is quietly emerging as a solid young star. At just 24, Gonzalez is having a career year, and has yet to reach his full potential. The A’s certainly have benefited from the Swisher deal, and with Sweeney starting to emerge [...]

At 18-17, the Oakland A’s will look to rebound against the struggling Angels. With the Angels struggling with their starting pitching, the A’s must capitalize on offense if they want to catch the Texas Rangers, who currently sit atop the AL West standings.
The A’s will have Dallas Braden (a.k.a. Mr. Perfecto) on the mound Friday night, which will be the first start after his perfect game. Braden (4-2, 3.33 ERA) does not have overpowering stuff in his arsenal, but he does a good job at mixing speeds with his pitches. The Angels, who are batting just .247 as team, will [...]

Daric Barton has remained consistent through the first month and a half, and is currently hitting .296/.411/.435 with 2 homer runs and 14 RBIs. Barton, who was once considered a top-hitting prospect for Oakland a couple years ago, finally seems ready for a breakout type season. Barton helped the A’s win last night in Texas, and continues to improve at the plate. Barton currently has 23 walks in 33 games, and seems more disciplined at the plate this season. Barton’s performance at the plate certainly has been a surprise to many A’s fans, considering most fans wanted to see highly [...]

Vin Mazzaro, who just so happens to be one of my new favorite A’s players, will be making his 2010 seasonal debut against the Texas Rangers tonight. Yesterday, the A’s faltered against former-Athletic (also one of my favorite players), Rich Harden. Harden’s fastball isn’t what it used to be, but it consistently hit 93 mph on the gun last night. The A’s hitters looked silly and dazed, but they will look to improve tonight against Texas pitcher, Scott Feldman (1-2, 4.50 ERA).
Mazzaro, who went 4-9 with a 5.32 in 17 starts last season, will be filling in for the ailing [...]

At 13-13, the A’s are half a game back of the AL West leading Texas Rangers (13-12). The A’s early success in April was a result of a very timely hitting offense and a stellar starting rotation.
In their recent road-trip, however, the A’s went 1-5 while visiting Tampa Bay and Toronto. Ben Sheets and Dallas Braden were roughed up by the hot-hitting Rays, and Gio Gonzalez was the only A’s pitcher to record a win during the six-game road-trip. The A’s have not played exceedingly well on the road, and are currently 4-8 this season on the road.
Despite their recent [...]