A’s Aim To Play Better On The Road

The Athletics haven’t fared well this season outside the comfy confines of O.co Coliseum, and are entering their series with the Cleveland Indians sporting a 25-43 record on the road. The young A’s ball-club has fared better at home this season, with their 35-30 record suggesting that this is a team that doesn’t handle the pressures of leaving home very well.

A championship caliber team plays well both at home and on the road. Oakland, at 60-73, isn’t a championship caliber team, not by a long shot. However, the A’s are a major league team, and playing well on the road is one step that this team needs to take in order to better themselves in the rankings of the American League West division.

This season hasn’t gone according to plan, and the organization is, as general manager Billy Beane suggests, treading water. Last season, the A’s managed to post a .500 record, but they also went just 34-47 on the road.

Had they played better on the road, they would’ve put together their first winning record since 2006.

Oakland has gone 3-3 so far on this 10-game road trip, and while that’s certainly an improvement, the A’s could still do a lot better. Facing an injury-depleted Cleveland Indians team could help to remedy the A’s road woes. Offensively, Oakland has done much better since the All-Star break, but finding a balance between a consistent offensive attack and solid pitching has been a problem for the A’s this year.

It’s almost September, and the A’s still face a number of problems, including an inability to produce outside the Coliseum. They haven’t found a way to solve that problem yet, so I’m not about to hold my breath until they do. If the A’s plan on playing meaningful games in September in the coming years, they’ll need to improve on the road, and that’s just one of the things they’ll need to improve upon after this year.