Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The pitching staff ranked among the best in the American League in all major statistical categories.  That did not matter.  Oakland’s dead beat offense ranked last among fellow American League teams during April and May in runs scored, runs batted in, hits, and batting average.  As much as we would all like to forget, the Athletics ended the month of May by losing their last 8 games and losing the first game in June to complete a 9 game losing skid.  Then before the second game of June, Grant Balfour erupted in the clubhouse telling his teammates “I am tired of losing.”  They must have listened. Oakland would go on to unleash the fury of their offense and abolish the Kansas City Royals 9-3.

The month of June was a completely different story.  Oakland’s offense found life.  Finally, the A’s trustworthy pitching staff that has pitched far beyond expectations, now had an offense to back them up.

The beginning of June was nothing easy for the Athletics.  Despite taking three of four games at home from the Texas Rangers, the A’s struggled to find ways to win against the Kansas City Royals and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In a desperation move to find some offense at first base, the A’s recalled Brandon Moss and designated Kila Ka’aihue for assignment.  Brandon Moss not only jump-started Oakland’s offense but he miraculously resurrected his career.  Moss—who hit 7 home runs in June— sparked the teams sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Coors field with the help of Seth Smith, who the A’s acquired from the Rockies via trade this past off-season and ended June hitting .296 with 12 extra base hits.  Smith and Moss both helped lead the Athletics to win five of their next six games which included a sweep at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The A’s went on to lose two of the three 9^th inning nail biters against their cross bay rivals the San Francisco Giants, salvaging the last game in walk off style.  On a road trip to Seattle the A’s managed to sliver off enough hits to win the three game series against the Mariners—thanks to the help of Seth Smith and Yoenis Cespedes, who hit .343 with 4 home runs in June.  Astonishingly, the Oakland offense blossomed in June and lead the American League in “money ball’s” favorite statistic, walks, with 103, ranked 4th in extra base hits (88), 6th in runs scored (133), 5^th in doubles (47), 3^rd in home runs (34), and 6^th in runs batted in (125).

DownSide: The offense has done enough to win in July but still find themselves at the bottom of the list in most offensive categories.  They are the second worst team in home runs (22), runs batted in (21), and have the 4^th worst batting average (.235).

UpSide: After the all-star break the A’s are promisingly within striking distance of the second wild card spot, only 2.5 games back.  They are currently sitting at .500 with a 43-43 record, and are 6-1 through the first week of July.  The pitching staff has started July putting up astronomical numbers.  They rank first in the American League with a 1.57 ERA, a WHIP of 0.91, they have given up the least amount of free passes with only 14 walks, they are tied for first with opponents only hitting .197 against them, while only giving up three home runs, which they rank first in also.  An offensive upside is that they are getting clutch hits from players coming off the bench and are tied for 3^rd with 11 pinch-hit hits.  Last but not least, the A’s also lead the majors with 8 walk off hits.

As you can see, the upside for the A’s is much larger than the downside.  The A’s also started off the month of June slow before launching into one of the best offensive teams in the American League, so there is no reason to think they can’t do it again.  They have been one of the most exciting teams in baseball and who knows what kind of excitement will be in store in the second half. Go A’s!

May 4, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki (8) at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The time has come. The A’s and Kurt Suzuki need to finally part ways with each other. Oakland’s catcher hasn’t produced much this year and he’s had plenty of time to step up and produce offensively.

This season, Suzuki, 28, is hitting just .216/.256/.268 with no home runs and 16 RBIs in 61 games. Even more unimpressive is Suzuki’s BB%, which has dropped from 7.4% last year to 4.0% this year. He’s also striking out at a higher rate, as suggested by his 19.3% K% rate, which is an increased rate over his 12.4% last year.

The A’s haven’t really gotten much out of Suzuki this year and with prospect Derek Norris making his way up to the big leagues, Suzuki’s time in Oakland seems to be nearing its end. Much like Jason Kendall before him, Suzuki may well be the odd man out.

Since performing so well in 2009, when he drove in a team-high 88 runs and hit 15 HRs, Suzuki has fallen off the rails a bit. He followed up his big ’09 season with a decent 2010 outing with 13 HR and 77 RBI, but it was still drenched in disappointment. He followed that season with another down year last season, hitting just .237/.301/.385 with 14 HR and 54 RBI.

He hasn’t shown any signs of improvement this year, either. The A’s backstop has produced an ISO of .053 (down from last year’s .148) and has seen a huge drop off in the power department. For the offensively challenged Athletics, a powerless Suzuki is a Suzuki worth trading. The A’s have Derek Norris, who figures to help give Suzuki a break behind the plate from time to time, as a potential successor to Suzuki.

In 55 games with Triple-A Sacramento this year, Norris hit .273/.331/.474 with 8 HR and 36 RBI. He was regarded as a top-catching prospect in the Washington Nationals’ farm-system and has shown some promise since coming over to Oakland in the Gio Gonzalez trade. He’ll get plenty of opportunities, especially if Suzuki continues to struggle, to prove himself to Oakland’s top brass.

Suzuki, meanwhile, could be a potential trade chip for Billy Beane and Co. According to several rumors, including this one, the A’s could explore the possibility of trading Suzuki. According to Peter Gammons of MLB Network, Suzuki could make sense for a team like the Marlins or even the Rays.

While the possibility of a Suzuki trade seems ever more likely, it is sad to see how far Suzuki has fallen off the rails. His defense behind the plate goes unquestioned and his handling of the pitching staff is excellent, but his contributions on offense have become increasingly frustrating. That’s why it’s time to say goodbye.

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Follow me on twitter @oaklandace75 and for more A’s related analysis, stories, and opinions, follow us on twitter @FS_SwinginAs or like us on Facebook.

Kurt Suzuki, Daric Barton, and Cliff Pennington have done little to help the A's score runs this year. Photo Credit: USPRESSWIRE

Thanks to a current eight game skid, the Athletics find themselves in last place in the AL West. Tied with Seattle, the A’s sit 9.0 games back of the first-place Rangers, a team that can actually score runs. Oakland’s offense hurt the team during their horrid skid to end the month of May, but with guys like Yoenis Cespedes and Manny Ramirez looking like they’ll be joining the team relatively soon, can the A’s offense turn things around?

Oakland’s offense currently ranks 29th in runs (164), 30th in batting average (.210), 29th in on-base percentage (.288), and, wait for it, 30th in slugging percentage (.332). Those numbers are, well, terrible. Billy Beane has spent a considerable amount of time assembling a new core of young pitchers that he may forgotten to address some of the team’s needs on offense.

All joking aside, the A’s have a few talented hitters down in the minor leagues waiting for their chance to impress us all with their skills. But the key word in my previous sentence is waiting. Guys like Michael Choice, Grant Green, and even some of the guys who have had a taste of the big leagues like Michael Taylor and Chris Carter, are all waiting to help Oakland.

The A’s have one guy, however, who has been doing his part to help Oakland generate some runs: Josh Reddick. The A’s acquired Reddick in the trade that sent Andrew Bailey to the Red Sox. He leads the team in HR (14) and RBI (27) and has been an absolute steal for the A’s this season. Imagine what the team would look like without Reddick in the lineup? Pure torture.

Anyway, on to the question at hand. Will the A’s finally wake up once a few helping hands arrive and finally score some runs to help support a decent starting rotation? Voice your opinion by placing your votes in the poll below and feel free to sound off in the comments section!

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Follow me on twitter @oaklandace75 and for more A’s related analysis, stories, and opinions, follow us on twitter @FS_SwinginAs or like us on Facebook.