With the A's out of playoff contention, fans just have Brad Pitt's "Moneyball" movie to look forward to this month. (Photo Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Columbia Pictures)

The Oakland Athletics were finally mathematically eliminated from the playoff race with Sunday’s loss to the Texas Rangers. Not that the A’s were in much of a race anyway. The team, with Sunday’s 8-1 loss to Texas, was denied a trip to the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.

Oakland’s 2011 season has not gone the way most envisioned it earlier in the season, largely because of the team’s first-half offensive woes. The team hit .233/.299/.337 before the All-Star break.

The A’s ranked 28th in both runs scored (315) and home runs (50) during the first-half of the season. While the offense lagged, the pitching staff churned out quality start after quality start, ranking 3rd in baseball with a 3.13 ERA during the first-half. (more…)

Grant Green is producing in Double A Midland...(Photo Credit:TheGoldenSombrero.com)

Drafted as the Oakland Athletics’ first round pick during the 2009 draft, SS Grant Green is seen as a part of Oakland’s future infield. Over the past few seasons, the Athletics have attempted to rebuild the franchise and Billy Beane’s youth movement was on full display during Thursday’s Mark Ellis to Colorado trade.

With the Ellis deal, the A’s demonstrated that they’re getting ready for the future. Handing the job to rookie Jemile Weeks is an indication that the A’s know they have pieces down in the minors getting ready to help out the big league team.

Weeks provided a spark on offense the moment he was called up last month after Ellis landed on the DL. Weeks, younger brother of Milwaukee’s Rickie Weeks, has hit .309/.349/.469 with six RBIs in 21 games this year for the A’s. Ellis may have been a better defender, but Oakland is confident in Weeks’ ability to help out offensively. (more…)

On Friday, the Oakland A’s announced that the team was placing starters Brandon McCarthy and Tyson Ross on the 15-day DL. The A’s rotation has been the team’s number one strength early on this season, but losing your No.4 and No.5 guy on the same day is never a good thing.

The A’s lose McCarthy to what Jane Lee of MLB.com says is a “stress reaction in his right scapula,” while Ross is out due to a left oblique strain.

McCarthy was 1-4 with a 3.39 ERA in nine starts prior to landing on the DL. Ross, meanwhile, went 3-3 with a 2.75 ERA this season in nine appearances (6 starts). The A’s, given their recent battle with team injuries, will likely be extremely cautious with both players, and will not want to rush either of them back.

Oakland’s new “Big Three,” consisting of Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, and Gio Gonzalez, remains in tact, but if one of them goes down, the team could be in serious trouble. (more…)