Oct 9, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sean Doolittle (62) celebrates after striking out the third batter against the Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning of game three of the 2012 ALDS at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Detroit Tigers 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The two would always be associated in my mind after that draft as they set out on their ascension to Oakland.  Things didn’t quite go as planned though, to say the least.  As we all know now, Sean Doolittle has become a centerpiece of the A’s after a long road through the minor leagues, but of course he’s no longer a first baseman, he’s the A’s primary left handed set up man.  James Simmons is still trying to make his way to Oakland.

Doolittle showed a great deal of promise in the lower minor leagues, in his first full season in the Athletics organization he hit 22 home runs between Stockton and Midland with an impressive .286/.358/.495 line in 603 plate appearances.  He was a rising star indeed.  That was until his knee problems began to surface.  Multiple knee surgeries, and 2 full seasons later Sean Doolittle reemerged as a pitcher in 2012.  His meteoric rise through the Athletics minor league system in 2012 all the way to his callup to Oakland after just 26 innings in the minors was nothing short of remarkable.  His performance in Oakland was much the same and he’s already become one of the most dependable and dominant left handed relievers in the game.

James Simmons followed something of a similar career path, save for the drastic position switch.  But shoulder problems derailed his progress and cost him the entire 2010 season.  He had perhaps been on the cusp of getting called up from Triple A Sacramento in 2009, despite his struggles that season.   After recovering he had to start back at the bottom and work his way through the system all over again.  He’s done so quite admirably.  Last season between Midland and Sacramento he posted a very impressive 2.98 ERA in 48.1 innings of work.  Now he’s in major league camp, alongside his fellow 2007 draftee Sean Doolittle, and he’s fighing for a spot in the Athletics bullpen.

He may be facing rather long odds in a crowded bullpen, but chances are he might find himself in Oakland in 2013 at some point.  He looked great in his first Spring Training outing, hopefully he can build on that.  The grueling 162 game season is a war of attrition, and without a doubt vacancies come up on the roster as players get hurt, and Simmons should be at the top of the list when an opportunity arises.  No doubt he will finally complete his journey to the Show, and no better way to do it than right alongside Sean Doolittle.

February 18, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics center fielder Chris Young (25) poses for a picture during photo day at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Athletics lineup did feature many more regulars and big league caliber players, and they made a struggling Barry Enright pay for his lack of control in the top of the first inning.  Working at a snail’s pace, Enright failed to attack the strike zone, instead leaving the ball right in the middle of it for the A’s hitters to attack.  Coco Crisp hit a single to lead things off, followed by a well struck, poorly judged double on a fly ball to left field over the head of Vernon Wells (remember, very thin, brittle shell) by today’s right fielder for the moment Chris Young that scored Crisp from first.  Seth Smith followed with a near home run to right field that scored Young, and a nice sacrifice fly by Scott Sizemore tacked on the 3rd run of the inning.  Enright wouldn’t finish the 1st and left Jarrett Grube to clean up his mess.

After the lengthy top of the 1st, Travis Blackley made his own contribution to the time clock with his laborious bottom frame.  He allowed 3 hits, picked off one of them, and struck out another as he escaped the inning unharmed.  Chris Young would not escape the first inning unharmed though, in making a nice leaping catch to save a couple of runs Young aggravated his quadriceps muscle and was removed from the game and replaced by Michael Taylor in right.  Word from multiple reports though was that it was simply a muscle cramp, so hopefully Young won’t miss any time because of this.

Brian Gordon struggled a bit in his two innings of work, but wasn’t aided by the defense behind him, he surrendered 4 runs, only 1 earned though.  Chris Resop, Pedro Figueroa, and Pat Neshek would all work clean innings in the 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.  Kyler Newby had his issues, and they should have been worse if not for a horribly blown call on a would-be home run off the bat of Bill Hall.  It clearly cleared the fence and hit the hill beyond the fence and bounced back into the field of play, but Shane Peterson fielded the ball, and relayed the ball to home to nail Luis Rodriguez attempting to score, Hall ended up at second.  The Angels would get a run on an RBI single by Travis Witherspoon to drive in Hall to make it a 7-5 game, and that would be the final score.

Some of the young guns provided a bit of a spark in the late innings, as Darwin Perez drove in two on a double to right, he was thrown out trying to stretch the double to a triple in the 7th inning.  Michael Choice also contributed an RBI single to plate Addison Russell in the 8th inning.

James Simmons had a very good 1-2-3 9th inning, and appeared to be a strike throwing machine as he retired the side.  Simmons will be an intriguing player to watch in 2013, more on him coming soon.

The A’s host their first Cactus League game at Phoenix Muni tomorrow against the Cleveland Indians, Andrew Werner will make his A’s debut as the starter.  Jed Lowrie will get his first shot at 2nd base tomorrow, and many of the starters from game 1 will return to the starting lineup as well.

Oct 6, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Oakland Athletics infielder Stephen Drew (5) throws to first base after forcing out Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila (13) in the seventh inning during game one of the 2012 ALDS at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

They stayed quiet during the Major League portion of the draft, and their organization remained untouched.  It was feared that reliever James Simmons was a strong candidate to be scooped up by a team needing some bullpen depth.  Simmons may very well find himself in the Major Leagues this season, and now there is still a chance that he’ll make that happen with the Athletics.

The A’s did become a little more active during the Minor League portion of the draft though, they selected a catcher by the name of Steve Hill from the St. Louis Cardinals, and third baseman Tommy Mendonca from the San Francisco Giants.  They did however lose a couple of players, whose names might be recognized by those more than just somewhat familiar with the organization as a whole.  Infielder Michael Gilmartin was taken by the Cincinatti Reds, and outfielder Eliezer Mesa was taken by the Detroit Tigers.  Both Gilmartin and Mesa spent the 2012 season with the Stockton Ports.  Mesa was one of the pieces acquired from the Colorado Rockies in the Mark Ellis trade.

Every year the Rule 5 draft comes up, and former Rule 5 players like Johan Santana and Shane Victorino are mentioned, there is no telling if anyone involved in the draft this year will come anywhere near their stature though.  It’s always a crapshoot, and sometimes you just might hit the jackpot.

There was a bit of news today from the woman with her finger on the pulse of the Athletics, Susan Slusser tweeted that an executive told her that he believed Stephen Drew planned to resign with the Athletics on a 1 year contract with a player option for 2014.  There’s no word on what the exact terms of this deal would be, but this could be a best case scenario for the A’s if Drew decides to return.  Of course his motive here would be to try to rebuild his value with a strong 2013 season and go back out to test free agency next offseason, if he doesn’t produce he can still pick up his own option and try again in 2014 to demonstrate his value.  This works for the A’s as well, as Drew can serve as the perfect stop gap between now and the eventual promotion of Addison Russell, who is the shortstop of the future for the Athletics.

I’ve been on the Hiroyuki Nakajima bandwagon since he became a MLB free agent, and I still think his addition would be a big get for the A’s, but we know what Drew can bring and there’s value in that.  They hit it big with the unknown quantity that was Yoenis Cespedes, but you can’t necessarily bank on that all the time.  Cespedes is special, Nakajima may be as well, but you just don’t know.  So while I’d love to see Nakajima signed, I see the wisdom in bringing Drew back.  It’s a true win-win situation for the A’s.