With Oakland 8.5 games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West, I thought it would be nice to change the subject and take a quick look at what lies ahead next year for the A’s. Next season, the A’s will be without Ben Sheets ($10 million in ‘10), Eric Chavez ($12.5 million in ‘10) and possibly even Coco Crisp ($5.5 million option for ‘11) and Mark Ellis ($6 million option for ‘11). But, for the sake of this particular article, let’s just say that the A’s will have a little over $20 million to play with next offseason. [...]

The Oakland A’s, who enter today’s finale against the Tampa Bay Ray, are hoping to get Andrew Bailey, their young closer, back from the 15-day disabled list today. Bailey, who has pitched exceptionally well this season—he has a 1.56 ERA and 20 Saves this season—made a rehab appearance on Friday with mixed results. Bailey threw 18 pitches on Friday, and faced five batters. Altogether, however, Bailey allowed two earned runs on three hits and struck out one. The A’s, however, are just happy to see that Bailey is healthy, or at least getting there. This season has been riddled with [...]

At 60-60, the A’s are back up to .500 and are hoping their young rotation will keep things rolling in the right direction for them. In the first game of a four-game set against the surging Tampa Bay Rays, A’s starter (and ace-in-the-making) Trevor Cahill pitched eight solid innings en route to his 13th win of the season. Cahill, who won 10 games last season in his rookie year, has been vastly different this season and has enjoyed a great amount of success. Last season, Cahill surrendered an A’s rookie record, 27 home runs. This season, however, Cahill’s sinker has [...]

With the A’s trailing the Rangers in the AL West by 8.5 games, the team could use all the help they can get in the second-half. The A’s had Brett Anderson back last night, and despite his sub-par performance, the team should be excited to have their young ace back in the rotation. Dallas Braden, who returned not too long ago himself, gets the start tonight against the White Sox. Braden, who beat the White Sox last week, will look to impress Ozzie Guillen, who called Braden’s last start ‘nothing special.’
In other news, the A’s have recently activated OF Travis [...]

That’s all folks. You know, $10 million doesn’t go as far as it used to. The A’s announced on Wednesday that pitcher Ben Sheets, Billy Beane’s $10 million investment, is going to miss the rest of the 2010 season. Sheets, who signed a one-year deal in January, went 4-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 20 starts with Oakland. Despite his efforts, Sheets was unable to maintain any kind of momentum, and was relatively mediocre for the season. While he had shown some signs of improvement (2.25 ERA in July), Sheets did not impress many scouts as trade rumors swirled around [...]

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. [...]

The Oakland A’s were dealt another blow, as Ben Sheets was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 20). The A’s veteran pitcher is out due to an elbow injury. In fact, it’s the same elbow that caused Sheets to miss the entire 2009 season.
The A’s, who have been adressing trade rumors involving Sheets, are uncertain where the veteran stands at now. The A’s were fully aware of the potential risks that came along with Sheets and his $10 million contract, but they were also aware of the upside Sheets would bring to their relatively young rotation. That’s [...]

The Oakland A’s are known for making their share of moves at the trade deadline, but General Manager, Billy Beane, insists that the team will remain relatively quiet this year. The A’s, who enter Tuesday one game below .500 and 8.0 games behind first-place Texas, have a few chips they could potentially deal before the deadline. Ben Sheets, who was signed this offseason for a healthy $10 million, could be dealt to a team looking for a solid arm. Sheets (4-9, 4.53 ERA), who has pitched better recently (1-2, 2.51 ERA in July), should stay in Oakland simply because of [...]

The A’s are on quite a roll. The A’s, who just finished a sweep against the sluggish Royals, will look to extend their season-high winning streak to six games against the banged up Red Sox.
Ben Sheets, who has been mentioned in trade talks, will look to build upon his last start, where he pitched six-shutout innings against the Angels. The A’s pitching staff has been exceptional for the past week or so, and have one of the top team ERAs in the AL.
The A’s offense, however, has also found success recently. The A’s 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff recorded seven [...]

The fact that the Texas Rangers added an ace in Cliff Lee means the A’s quest to catch up to the Rangers will not be any easier than it was before. However, relax A’s fans, the green-and-gold have no intention of giving up on the season. At 44-46, the A’s sit 8.0 games behind the Rangers, and 3.5 games behind the second place Angels. The A’s opened the second-half, however, on a very high note with Gio Gonzalez’s (8-6, 3.63 ERA) seven innings of brilliance.
The A’s will have a tough hill to climb if they truly want to reach the postseason [...]