It was on this fateful play that Scott Sizemore tore his left ACL for the second time. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

This is a tough blow for the Athletics, and an extremely tough one for Sizemore as he has to redo all the rehab and the recovery that he had to endure all throughout the last year.  This will be the ultimate test of Sizemore’s will, his determination, and his character.  He had to sit by the wayside and watch as his teammates embark on one of the most incredible runs as they caught and passed the Texas Rangers to take the AL West title.  There is no doubt that had to be extremely difficult for him, even though he was surely happy for the team.

This also puts the Athletics in an even more precarious situation with their middle infield.  Two months ago there appeared to be far too many middle infield candidates for far too few spots on the roster.  Guys like Eric Sogard and Andy Parrino (who was recalled to replace Sizemore on the roster) had virtually no chance to start the season in Oakland no matter how well they performed.  But Jemile Weeks got hurt, then demoted, then both Adam Rosales and Hiroyuki Nakajima found themselves starting the season on the 15 day DL.  Next thing we know, Eric Sogard is the starting second baseman on Opening Night.  Scott Sizemore was presumed to be the one to get the bulk of the time at second, but Sogard’s sizzling spring moved him ahead in the depth chart.  Sogard’s hot bat had cooled considerably and Sizemore figured to start getting a little more playing time.

Now we’ll never know what Scott Sizemore would have been able to contribute to the 2013 Athletics, a far different team from the one he played with last in 2011.  As the A’s and Sizemore move forward on the long road ahead, time will tell just what impact this injury will have on the future.  For the A’s, what effect Sizemore’s absence have on the team; for Sizemore, what effect this will have on the rest of his career.  We wish Scott all the best in his recovery, and hope that last night wasn’t the last time we’ll see him in green and gold.

Coco Crisp would lead off the top of the second inning with his 4th home run of the season, in his 4th straight game.  Coco is on fire to say the least.  But after that Wilson would settle down nicely and would last 6 innings.

April 9, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Brandon Moss (37) hits a two run RBI single in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Parker was not so fortunate, lasting only 3.1 innings while allowing 9 hits, 3 walks, and 2 ER, with just a single strikeout.  We’re still in early season territory, but after struggling during most of the spring and in his first start of the regular season, there isn’t much to inspire confidence in the young right hander at this point.  It won’t get much easier for him either as his next start will pit him against the equally tough Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Chris Resop provided crucial innings once again, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in relief of Parker, but Pat Neshek gave up a lead off triple to Mike Trout (always a bad idea) and that’s when things started to get ugly.  Brendan Harris (who replaced Erick Aybar who left with an injury) attempted to hit a sacrifice fly, but Chris Young couldn’t make the catch and put Harris on second as Trout scored.  An error by Jed Lowrie put Albert Pujols on, and Harris to third base.  Jerry Blevins relieved Neshek to face Josh Hamilton, he got Hamilton to fly out but the tying run crossed the plate.  Ryan Cook joined the party and allowed a triple from Howie Kendrick that scored Mark Trumbo from first base to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.

The A’s stormed back though in the top of the 7th when Coco Crisp reached on an infield single, while Chris Young and Jed Lowrie failed to continue the rally, a walk by Yoenis Cespedes put two runners on with two outs.  John Jaso came to bat in place of Derek Norris, needing just a single to likely tie the game once again.  He smacked a Kevin Jepsen pitch down the right field line that bounced off the top of the 4 foot wall and over for a 3 run home run to give the A’s a 7-5 lead.  Brandon Moss would put the exclamation point on the rally with a 2 run homer of his own to make it 9-5.

Cook, Sean Doolittle, and Grant Balfour would slam the door shut to seal the victory.

Brandon Moss led the charge offensively tonight going 3-4 with the home run and 4 RBI, Yoenis Cespedes went 2-3 with 2 runs scored, and Coco Crisp went 2-5 with 2 runs scored and the solo home run.  Chris Young was on the opposite end of the spectrum, going 0-5 and having a bit of a rough time in right field in place of the injured Josh Reddick.  Chances are Seth Smith will start in right tomorrow night.

Lost in the shuffle of tonight’s wild game was the injury to Scott Sizemore, who appeared to pull up lame chasing down a pop up.  The team announced that he had suffered a knee sprain in his surgically repaired left knee and will get an MRI to evaluate any potential damage.  If Sizemore misses any time, expect to see Jemile Weeks or perhaps even Grant Green finally getting his chance in Oakland.

It was hard fought, and in that respect the A’s passed this first test with flying colors.  They made a lot of mistakes, and bad pitches and still managed to come out on top; that really says a lot about this team.  Good teams are able to win games when they aren’t at their best, so this win was very important.

The Athletics signed the Japanese born player to a two-year deal this off-season to replace Cliff Pennington and Stephen Drew, who both played shortstop for the A’s last year.

Dec 18, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima poses for photos with his jersey during a press conference announcing his signing at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

According to CBS Sports baseball insider Danny Knobler,  ”A’s people” have been very “unimpressed” by Nakajima and consider the shortstop position to be “open.”

Nakajima has played in ten spring training games and has a slash line of .250/.357/.292. He has also struck out ten times in twenty-four at-bats.

There has been nothing to like about his spring training. Instead, it raises question marks for the Athletics.

The thing that has stood out the most about the 2013 Oakland Athletics heading into the season is how much depth there is on the roster. This depth was supposed to be ammunition the A’s could have at their disposal throughout the season — it might become utilized much sooner then expected.

One major piece of that depth is shortstop Jed Lowrie. The A’s traded for him during the off-season and planned to use him all over the infield. Since the team traded away first baseman Chris Carter in the package that landed Lowrie, it was expected that he would play an important role as a platoon option for A’s manager Bob Melvin at first base — this makes sense considering he is a right-handed hitter (Brandon Moss hits left-handed) that can hit for power. But now that Nakajima is struggling to impress, Lowrie might see plenty of playing time at shortstop. Lowrie has a slash line of .375/.483/.708 so far this spring training.

Lets not forget we cannot expect Nakajima to adjust to Major League Baseball instantaneously. The game he played in Japan is much different — and a lot slower — than the baseball he is playing in the United States. I mean, he hadn’t even hit off a tee before working with A’s hitting coach Chili Davis and that is how most of us start playing the game.

We also cannot try to compare him to Yoenis Cespedes either. Yes, I know, Cespedes had to deal with all of the same obstacles that Nakajima is trying to overcome, but they are two totally different players and the speed in which Cespedes developed last year was remarkable. All we can do is hope that Nakajima can get some advice from Cespedes (using interpreters of course) and apply those things to help him adjust to the new game and lifestyle he is being exposed to in America.

Lets look at other possible options at shortstop and at second base as well. 

September 20, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore (29) returns to the dugout after striking out against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning at O.co Coliseum. Texas defeated Oakland 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports

Since Knobler also reported that “A’s people” have not been impressed with Scott Sizemore at second base this spring training, the predicament the A’s find themselves in becomes more difficult. Sizemore, who is coming off an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2012 season, has a spring training slash line of .143/.345/.143.

The team needs to figure out what to do at both middle infield positions.

Everyone has wondered about the future of Jemile Weeks. The once only labeled ”untouchable” player on the team found himself demoted to Triple-A Sacramento late last season and is now battling it out with Sizemore for the second base job. Although Jemile Weeks’ shoulder injury seemed to put him behind Sizemore in position for the starting job, that might not be the case anymore with the lack of production from Sizemore.

Weeks started spring training red-hot before getting hurt. He only has eleven at-bats in 4 games but he has an impressive slash line of .545/.538/.1000.

At the start of spring it looked as if the Athletics double play combo would consist of Nakajima at shortstop and Sizemore at second. But if things continue to go the way they have this spring, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the A’s double play combo be Lowrie at shortstop and Weeks at second on opening day.

Either way, the Athletics will need a pair of middle infielders to come to the rescue and put together a lethal double play combo.

What do you think the A’s should do at shortstop and second base?