A’s Not Going Quietly

Despite being 7.0 games out of first-place, the A’s are still mathematically in the race for the playoffs. The A’s will try to complete a sweep of the visiting Chicago White Sox, who were officially eliminated last night in Oakland’s 6-2 victory, and inch closer to the first-place Rangers before inviting them to the Coliseum for a four-game series.

Led by an impressive young rotation, which leads the American League in ERA (3.53) and shutouts (15), the A’s are two games above .500 (76-74) and have a shot at a winning record for the first time since 2006. Brett Anderson will go today for the A’s against Chicago, and the A’s hope he can extend his winning streak to four games. On the year, Anderson has pitched fairly well despite landing on the DL several times. The A’s lefty, who figures to become the ace of the staff next season, is 6-6 with a 2.83 in 16 starts this year. The A’s, whether or not they make the playoffs this season, have a very formidable rotation set for next season and beyond. Aside from Anderson, the A’s have another young-ace in the making with Trevor Cahill, who just won his 17th game of the season—the first Oakland pitcher to do so since 2004 when Mark Mulder went 17-8. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that the A’s might have another “Big Three” on their hands with Anderson, Cahill and Gio Gonzalez. The growth and maturity that these young pitchers have displayed this season should be a clear indication that Oakland’s future is bright.

Offensively, however, the A’s are still without a big power-hitter in their lineup. When the A’s begin their four-game set with the Rangers this week, they will have to rely on their strong pitching to keep Texas’ bats at-bay. The A’s offense this season ranks 19th in batting average (.254), 16th in OBP. (.323), and 27th in SLG. (.373). On a more positive note, however, the A’s offense has been able to swipe 143 bases (3rd in baseball).

The A’s speed and defense has put them in a position to theoretically or mathematically catch the Texas Rangers this month. One has to wonder where the A’s would be right now if they had a couple big bats in the lineup…(Carlos Gonzalez, anyone?)