Bartolo Colon will be on the hill for the A's in the first of a 2-game series against the Texas Rangers. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The Texas Rangers have been one of the most powerful offensive forces in all of baseball.  Texas leads the American League with a team batting average of .278 and are tied for first with 450 runs scored on the year.  As for their pitching staff, they are also very good.  The Rangers pitching staff has a 3.70 ERA, which is second behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League.  Texas also has a 3.51 ERA on the road, which is also the second best in the American League.

The Athletics, who find themselves in playoff contention after the all-star break, will need to continue to play extremely good baseball if they want to gain ground on the Rangers in the A.L. West.  Currently the season series between the two teams is tied at 5-5.  After a rough series in Texas to end the month, which the A’s salvaged the last game of the 4-game series, the Athletics will look to Bartolo Colon in game one of the series.

Bartolo Colon, who threw threw eight scoreless innings in a victory in his last start against Texas, will try and mirror that start tonight.  Each game creates a 2-game swing in the standings, so if the A’s can win both games they can continue to climb the standings in both the A.L. West and the American League Wild Card Race.

Bob Geren's A's have been annoyingly inconsistent this season. Will that change?

The title probably has most of you shaking your heads in disagreement, as it’s still too early in the season to start thinking about a possible coaching change. But then again the A’s have remained annoyingly inconsistent under skipper Bob Geren.

Not much has changed in Oakland since the conclusion of 2007 season, which marked Geren’s first year as the team’s manager. The A’s went 76-86 that year, then they followed up that season by going 75-86 in 2008. Granted, the A’s haven’t have the best of luck when it comes to keeping their players healthy, but Geren’s managerial skills have always been questionable.

Bob Geren’s 2009 squad was upgraded, on paper at least, with the additions of Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparrra. Unfortunately for Oakland, the young pitching staff had a difficult time adjusting to major league hitters, and the offense was soon dismantled. Holliday, as you all know, was shipped over to St.Louis in exchange for Brett Wallace and two other prospects. Cabrera was sent to Minnesota, and Giambi was released from the team.

Last season, several of the A’s young pitchers had break-out years, and the team finished with an 81-81 record. A’s pitchers Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez won a combined 33 games, and helped an A’s rotation that led the majors in quality starts with 103.

Offensively, however, Oakland did not put up any impressive numbers in 2010. The team struggled to score runs, not entirely Geren’s fault, and the team could never get over the .500 mark. (more…)

Can the A's pitching staff keep the club in contention for an entire season?

At 9-9, the Athletics are currently 3rd in the AL West, sitting three games back of the division-leading Angels. So far this season, the AL West looks like a three-team race with the Angels, Rangers, and A’s all vying for the division crown.

During the offseason, A’s GM Billy Beane made several acquisitions during his efforts to upgrade an offense that ranked 28th in home runs in 2010. Guys like Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham, and David DeJesus were brought on board to help Oakland’s offense support what many consider to be a top starting rotation.

Through the first 18 games of season, however, the A’s offense still lacks power and the ability to hit with runners in scoring position.

The A’s rank 23rd in the majors with runs scored (66), 19th in batting average (.241), 26th in on-base percentage (.306), and 23rd in slugging (.666). Matsui leads the team with 11 RBIs, while Willingham leads the team in home runs with three. DeJesus, meanwhile, is hitting .246 with 7 RBIs. (more…)