A's Season Preview

Athletics magazine editor Jeff Gire gives you the scoop on the hometown team in 2009

A wily Billy Beane trade. The return of Jason Giambi. Lew Wolff announcing free beer through the first seven innings of every home game.

Alright, so the A’s offseason was thiiiis close to perfect. But, seriously, have you talked to an A’s fan in March? They sound like new parents. You keep waiting for them to whip photos of Giambi out of their wallets: Just wook at that salt-and-pepper goatee!

What's that? Rather than visiting oaklandathletics.com daily you were following a historic presidential race, once-in-a-century financial catastrophe, and the ridiculously drawn-out prelude to American Idol’s final 13?

Not to worry, we've broken down each facet of the Oakland A’s (Infield and Outfield for batters—Bullpen and Rotation for pitchers), for a season preview that will have you talking A’s baseball in midseason form starting on opening day (April 6 at Los Angeles, BTW). The Beginner category gives you the basics that any casual A's fan should know about the hometown team. Memorize the Advanced section and you'll be ready to debate a rabid member of Athletics Nation over who should be Oakland's fifth starter. 

But whether you're hard core or you hardly care, Beane's offseason moves have at least assured that this year's team will be interesting to watch. Let's go A's!  

INFIELD

Catcher: Kurt Suzuki and Landon Powell. First base: Jason Giambi. Second base: Mark Ellis. Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera. Third base: Eric Chavez. Utility: Bobby Crosby, Nomar Garciaparra.

Beginner: Giambi returns to man first base after seven years with the New York Yankees. The 38-year-old brings all kinds of presence to the clubhouse, and it looks as if fans are ready to embrace the prodigal slugger. He can still bring it on the field, too, in a 14-year career, he’s averaged 32 home runs and 112 RBI over a full season.

Advanced: At shortstop, 34-year-old free agent Orlando Cabrera has displaced longtime starter Bobby Crosby. Cabrera has a pair of Gold Gloves, a championship ring and received MVP votes as recently as 2007. Crosby earned props for taking the move to the bench in stride—although he didn’t hide his desire to play shortstop, just days following the Cabrera signing Crosby was playing third and first in Spring Training.

Nomar Garciaparra, decided to suit up for one more season with the A’s after mulling retirement. Although Crosby now fills a similar role as Garciaparra, this is an infield that could use insurance, with both Eric Chavez and Mark Ellis returning from offseason surgery.

OUTFIELD

Travis Buck, Jack Cust, Rajai Davis, Matt Holliday, Ryan Sweeney.

Beginner: Acquiring Matt Holliday was easily the biggest coup of the offseason. The November trade for one of baseball’s best all-around players sent a message that was only confirmed by the subsequent Giambi, Cabrera and Garciaparra free-agent signings: the A’s plan on winning a couple of baseball games this year.

Although the soon-to-be free agent might only play one season in Oakland, he’s planning on immersing himself in the Bay Area—moving the family (he and his wife Leslee have two sons) out to the East Bay for the season.

Advanced: Except to see plenty of twentysomethings Travis Buck and Ryan Sweeney as Jack Cust rotates between right field and designated hitter. Both Buck and Sweeney played through injury last year, so although fans have gotten to know Buck for his hair and Sweeney for his model-looks, if they stay healthy this could be a breakthrough season for these outfielders.

Rajai Davis joined the A’s last season and in part-time duty stole 25 bases, which was the highest total since Johnny Damon swiped 27 in 2001. Manager Bob Geren raves about Davis, calling him the team’s best defensive outfielder and baserunner. Between Davis, Cabrera, Holliday and Sweeney the A’s will have more speed on the base paths than any Oakland team in recent memory.

BULLPEN

Jerry Blevins, Santiago Casilla, Joey Devine, Russ Springer, Chris Schroder, Michael Wuertz, Brad Ziegler

Beginner: Relief pitching was one of the strengths of last year’s team. Brad Ziegler 39 inning scoreless streak set a major league record for rookie awesomeness after a made-for-TV rise through the minors that included two skull fractures in freakish accidents on the field. After an offseason that included flying with the Blue Angels and driving an F1 race car, Ziegler just returned from pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Advanced: Here’s a cool stat, last season Joey Devine nearly became the first pitcher to have an earned run average lower than the price of a stamp (.59 vs. .42). As it stood, his microscopic ERA still set a record for the lowest of any pitcher to throw at least 40 innings.

Russ Springer replaces Alan Embree as Oakland’s elder statesman in the bullpen. The Louisiana native, who turned 40 in November, has been as effective a relief pitcher as there is. Look for Springer to specialize in facing right-handed batters, a role he perfected with St. Louis the past two years.

ROTATION

Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill, Justin Duchscherer, Dana Eveland, Sean Gallagher, Gio Gonzalez, Vin Mazzaro, Josh Outman

Beginner: It’s complicated. With about two weeks until the season begins, the A’s have two out of five positions in their starting rotation locked down between Dana Eveland and Dallas Braden. Sean Gallagher is a strong candidate to open the season as the A’s third started. Justin Duchscherer would normally be the team’s ace, but he could begin the season on the disabled list.

Eveland figures to get the ball on opening day. His highlight from last season was shutting out the AL-champion Tampa Bay Rays and then winning a long-drive golf competition in the span of two days. Braden and Gallagher are two young pitchers from opposite ends of the country and pitching spectrum. Braden is a lefty who grew up in Stockton and combines savvy pitching with mental toughness. Gallagher was born in Boston and blows hitters away with a sizzling fastball complimented by a hard-breaking curve and slider combo.

Advanced: That leaves a lot of young pitchers vying for those last two spots. The candidates include Oakland’s trio of top prospects Vin Mazzaro, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill (collectively known as MAC), and a pair of lefties coming off their first season with the A’s, Gio Gonzalez and Josh Outman.

The buzz from Spring Training is that Anderson and Cahill both have a legitimate shot at the rotation (Mazzaro will open the season in the Minors with the Sacramento River Cats). Left-handers Gonzalez and Outman both gave left-handed batters trouble last year, which could make one of them candidates to move into the bullpen to begin the season.

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