The … [visit site to read more]

Video Of The Week: Mulder vs. Zito - Swingin' A's - Swingin' A's - An Oakland Athletics Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Heading into the season, many believed that Oakland’s pitching staff would be enough to keep the team in contention throughout most of the year.

Unfortunately for the Athletics, early injuries to starting pitchers Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson helped to derail the A’s hopes for playoff contention this year.

Earlier this year, I praised Oakland’s strong starting rotation, even dubbing them the “Fab Four.”

In retrospect, however, Oakland’s starting staff fails in comparison Oakland’s driving force during the early 2000′s: “The Big Three.” In comparison to the original “Big Three,” Oakland’s new “Big Three,” (forget about the Fab Four reference, for now) which consists of youngsters Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Anderson, hasn’t accomplished very much.

Cahill and Gonzalez both displayed remarkable growth last year, posting 18 and 15 wins respectively, but they haven’t been as sharp this season.

Cahill, who went 18-8 with a nifty 2.97 ERA last year, is just 9-13 with a 4.26 ERA in 29 starts this season. It’s been a huge regression for the young righty, who was considered the ace of the staff last year.  … [visit site to read more]

Rethinking Oakland’s 2nd “Big Three” - Swingin' A's - Swingin' A's - An Oakland Athletics Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

The A's have become a team characterized by their inability to score runs, and their overly optimistic manager, Bob Geren...

The Oakland Athletics entered the season with a certain sense of optimism, but two months into the season, the A’s have fallen off the rails a bit. Led by manager Bob Geren, the A’s have been annoyingly inconsistent at the plate, and as a result, the team has failed to support a very talented starting rotation. Critics of the A’s will likely point to the team’s inability to score runs as the primary factor holding the team from reaching its potential, but there are other factors in play when considering the reasons why the A’s haven’t lived up to their potential yet this season.

One reason, as stated above, is the team’s inability to score runs. The A’s rank last within their division in runs scored with 208, while the first-place Rangers have scored 277 this season. The lack of production has really hurt the A’s this season, with the young starting pitchers in Oakland’s rotation being the primary victims of this lack of production. Guys like Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, and Gio Gonzalez have all made major strides this season, despite pitching with very little run support.

When you think back to the 2000′s, the A’s had their “Big Three,” in Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito, but they also had an offense to help support that pitching trio. Eric Chavez, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, and other premiere hitters led a Moneyball offense that helped carry the team to the postseason during the early 2000′s.

The “Big Three” Version 2.0, however, does not have that type of offensive production as their predecessors did. Instead, this year’s squad is finding it difficult to pile up the wins as Hudson, Mulder, and Zito did during the early 2000′s. … [visit site to read more]

Geren’s Job Is Safe…For Now - Swingin' A's - Swingin' A's - An Oakland Athletics Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More